We had sailed on the Westerdam 10 years ago on a Glacier Bay tour and wanted to repeat it but with a balcony room which, I highly recommend a balcony whose windows the steward cleans daily as opposed to common areas, and a voyage that goes to Skagway versus Sitka. Additionally we wanted to see more of Alaska so added HAL’s train journey to Denali for two nights via Anchorage and out Fairbanks.

There was continuous rain in Ketchikan, but other than that, rain did not spoil excursions and it was clear and sunny for the land tour. We also were one step ahead of the mosquitoes.

The cruise was smoothly run. We ended up having to tender in Skagway as there was a small landslide where we were suppose to dock and 3 ships were port. There were a few issues with the land accommodations, extremely early start times, and not being given information that would have helped us in packing before we left home. I will elaborate to help others. Read more