Check out a few pictures of the cruise.
On September 4, 2004 we boarded the Holland America ship "Zaandam" for a week of cruising the inside passage from Vancouver, BC to Skagway, Alaska and back.
Just prior to leaving home, we were given a chance to upgrade our room to a verandah unit and gladly paid the extra fee.
The first day (Sunday) was at sea, traversing the inside passage between the mainland of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, then along the Pacific coast past Powell River, Bella Bella and Prince Rupert.
We entered Alaskan territory early Monday morning and headed to Tracy Arm, a narrow inlet leading to Sawyer Glacier. We awakened to see icebergs floating by the ship. The weather was cloudy and rainy which lent an aura of mystery to the journey. After journeying to the base of the glacier, we retraced our line and headed to Juneau, the capitol of Alaska. Even though the population is over 30 000, the only access to the city is by sea or by air.
We booked a tour of the city and an excursion to the Mendenhall Glacier. The rain stayed all day. Passengers who had booked flights to the glacier were out of luck as the weather caused all flights to be cancelled.
The next morning (Tuesday) we were in Skagway, the beginning of the Klondike Trail. Sunshine was the order of the day. We booked the early trip on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad and enjoyed a very scenic trip up to the summit of White Pass. This was one of the routes that the goldseekers used to get to the Klondike gold fields in 1898. The scenery is magnificent as the train winds its way to the top.
After the trip, the rest of the day was spent wandering around the town. Only about 800 people make Skagway their home but the population can easily reach 10 times that when as many as four cruise ships tie up for the day.
The next day (Wed.) was spent in Glacier Bay under brilliant sunshine. This was definitely the highlight of the cruise. The ship traveled to the end of the Bay where we viewed two distinct and different glaciers, Margerie and Grand Pacific. Margerie is your typical tidewater glacier with lots of ice, Grand Pacific is covered with gravel and dirt.
We then entered Johns Hopkins Inlet which had only been open to cruise ships for a week. The area is closed during the summer months to allow the harbour seals time to raise their young. These seals were quite visible on ice floes as we approached the glacier. The Zaandam got right up to the glacier and we were treated with sights of the glacier "calving".
The last stop on Thursday was the community of Ketchikan, which bills itself as 'Alaska's First City". We just spent the afternoon walking around the town.
Friday was spent at sea in the rain as we made our way back to Vancouver.
Whales (Grey & Humpback) were seen on several occasions during the cruise.
HAL put on its usual great show with excellent service, wonderful meals, and great ambience. This cruise is highly recommended to anyone. The weather was great for the first week of September.