My experience on the Oosterdam in Alaska with Holland America was wonderful! The itinerary was; Seattle – Puget Sound (scenic cruising), Stephens Passage (scenic cruising), Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria (BC).
The ship itself is designed artfully and was easy to navigate. The Main Stage is located on decks 2 and 3 and this is where you will find most entertainment EXC Talks, Dancing, singing, magicians, and they even had a comedian onboard. If you choose to switch it up, I highly recommend the music walk. BBKing's club and the Billboard music room offer fresh and fun entertainment. Should you prefer to have a quieter evening, you may enjoy Lincoln's Center stage where musicians play classical music and may surprise you with pop tune.
The dining experience was excellent. The main dining room offered many options and were very tasty. You may take recommendations from the culinary council or you may go buffet style at the Lido Market. If you slip out to the indoor pool area you will locate the Lido Bar, a taco bar, and a little burger gem called the Dive In. They offer many options such as Nathan hotdogs and burgers cooked to order. I recommend the "Backflip" burger.
Juneau was really great -awesome cell service! We did not sign up for excursions and opted to visit the Visitors Center, picked up a map and did our own touring. Sitka was my favorite port - a very small town with one stop light. You can easily venture through the town and hit up all the historical points. Ketchikan is where you will find the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show and everyone enjoys this! We went to the visitor’s center that offered tons of information on Native Alaska life and they had many exhibits. Victoria was great for what we were able to see. (Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues we didn’t have much time here.)
Disembarkation was also very simple. Since our flight was a later departure, we chose to explore Seattle. We took the shuttle to the airport (booked by PCL) and had our bags held ($11 per bag). Then we took the train from the airport into Seattle – cost $6.00 per person roundtrip. Our plan was to visit the famous Pikes Market where we experienced fish throwing (and their chants) along with visiting the unique shops.
