Holland America Alaska Cruise Review: Complete Guide to Glacier Bay, Wildlife and Insider Tips

🚢 My Epic Alaska Cruise Adventure: The Real Tea on Holland America's Koningsdam

Hey travel fam! Your girl just got back from the trip of a LIFETIME, and I'm spilling ALL the details. Grab your coffee (or wine, no judgment) because we're about to dive deep into everything you need to know about cruising Alaska!

Why Alaska + Why a Cruise = Perfect Match 💙

Alaska has been taunting me from my bucket list for way too long, so I finally pulled the trigger! I knew I wanted to experience it on a cruise so I could hit up multiple spots across this massive state. Plus, think about it- you unpack ONCE, wake up in a new stunning location every day, and have built-in excursions with local experts who actually know what they're talking about.

PRO TIP: If you can swing it, add on a land tour before or after your cruise. I couldn't because my PTO was basically non-existent (the struggle is REAL), but everyone I talked to said it's totally worth it

The Great Cruise Selection Drama 🤔

Choosing an Alaska cruise can be so hard, there are so many option that all look amazing. After going full research mode, let me share some things you want to consider:

• National Park Glacier Bay: You need to consider if this is non-negotiable for you- like it ended up being for me. Many ships have glaciers on their itinerary, but Glacier Bay National Park is what you want to look for. I write about this here . Mainly Holland America and Princess include this but some other cruise lines do as well. The ship has to be small enough to get into the area.

• Ports: Because Princess and Holland America have been cruising Alaska for so long they tend you get better access to closer docks and longer port times. Double check your itineraries to see if it meets your likes/needs.

• Flights: Some cruises are one-way (Vancouver to Anchorage), which sounds cool but can be a flight booking nightmare, especially from the East Coast. Other cruises have an in/out so you can fly back and forth from the same airport.

Meet My Ship: Holland America Koningsdam 🚢

Plot twist: I was lowkey terrified we'd be the babies on this ship (and we're in our 40s), but we were NOT! There were families and people of all ages to the vibe was absolutely perfect.

This ship became our floating home, and I'm not even being dramatic when I say we LOVED every minute. It's smaller than those mega-ships, which meant:

• No getting lost trying to find your room

• Cozy, intimate feeling

• Easy to navigate (important when you're carrying multiple plates from the buffet 😅)

The only meh thing? The promenade felt like an afterthought. But honestly, who has time for promenading when there's cake to eat?

Let me go over a few features of the ship and then I’ll review the ports. If you are just looking for information on the ports you can click here (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Glacier Bay)

Let's Talk Food (Because Priorities) 🍕🍰

Lido Buffet:

Overall, we really enjoyed the food at the Lido and while there were no huge standouts everything was satisfactory. I thought the buffet was better on the Koningsdam than other cruise and all inclusive buffets I have been to. It was set up station style however, which had positives and drawbacks.

The Good:

• You could get a lot of stuff cooked to order (Asian, Pasta, Omelets). At the Asian station you could get stir fry rice and noodle dishes customized with your choice of meat, veggies and sauce. Same with the pasta. This was perfect for picky eaters like me

• Ice cream available most of the day (soft serve AND hard, with actual waffle (or sugar) cones!

• You can literally make ice cream sandwiches with their yummy cookies right next to the ice cream (that’s why they put them there right? Lol)

• The selection and variety of food was good

• They serve you your food so you don’t worry as much about cross contamination (They also have a hand washing machine and sanitizer stations set up when you enter)

The Bad:

• It was a narrow space, so it felt congested and overwhelmed, especially because it was set up station style so there were multiple lines in multiple places. You couldn’t just go down the line like you do in a typical buffet.

• Multiple lines = multiple wait times. This also creates extra traffic in an already tight space.

• Not enough tables for the amount of people. I literally ate lunch on the deck once because no tables were available

• Make sure you check both sides of the buffet because there were a few things that were only offered on one side for some reason.

• Lots of dishes made it hard to carry stuff. Because of the station set up you get a new plate every time you get to a new area, making it hard to carry everything.

PRO TIP: Hit up the Asian and pasta stations for lunch, and that omelet station for breakfast

Main Dining Room:

The food in the main dining room was consistently impressive, and honestly, we never felt the need to splurge on specialty restaurants. If you're craving something extra indulgent, you can upgrade to premium options like lobster or higher-end steaks right from the main dining room menu. A friend ordered the Mexican tamales and declared them the best they'd ever had – high praise from a picky eater!

The desserts genuinely surprised me in the best way – they were actually decent, which is saying something for cruise ship sweets. But fair warning about the bread: it was disappointingly tough. Like, "did this come from yesterday?" tough. Skip it and save room for the better stuff!

Grand Dutch Café: My Home Away From Home

This became our hangout spot for playing cards, ocean watching, and people watching. I recommend the ham and cheese panini, fries, and chocolate chip cookies. The vibes were great- can’t say enough. Plus, all food and desserts were included in your cruise fare. You only paid extra for the specialty coffee and drinks.

Other Eats:

• Dive In: Decent burgers and fries and they also have Nathan Brand hotdogs (use the Navigator app to order ahead!)

• NY Deli & Pizza: Being from the Pizza capital of the US (CT)... their pizza was a hard pass BUT they do have late-night wings and pretzel bites. It takes awhile as the pizzas are made to order so plan ahead on the Navigator app.

• Specialty Dining: There are several specialty dining restaurants on board but I’m team, “I already paid for my food so I’m not paying more”. I’m a picky eater anyways so it works for me. Friends did go to Tamarind and raved about it.

A note about Beverages: Unlike other cruises, they actually had juice variety! For breakfast they had orange, apple, cranberry, pineapple and more. For lunch and dinner they offer ice teal or lemon-aid. Though some days it tasted like they were rationing all of it down with water. Also, stevia was like finding a unicorn - pack your own!.

Entertainment That Actually Slapped 🎵

Forget the typical cruise show situation - the LIVE MUSIC VENUES were where the magic happened! Honestly, all the musicians on board were very talented.

The Holy Trinity of Music Venues- a.k.a. Music Row:

1. BB King Blues Club - Our absolute favorite! These musicians were TALENTED, and they got everyone up and dancing.

2. Rolling Stones Rock Room - High energy, great crowd

3. Billboard Onboard - Dueling pianos with the most chill, fun vibes ever. They were great at playing off each other and getting audience participation. They even took requests.

Live Performances in the World Stage:

• Dancing Performances: Solid performances that really came alive thanks to the high-tech theater setup. The choreographed lighting and music made even standard cruise ship dancing feel pretty spectacular.

• Comedian: Always a cruise staple, and this one actually had us laughing! There's something about comedy at sea that just hits different.

• Country Rock Singer: We skipped this one, but judging by the packed house and enthusiastic applause, it was clearly a crowd favorite.

Interactive Fun

• Game Shows:

  Classic cruise entertainment that never gets old! Fair warning though – most were held at BB King's, which does not have doors and near the promenade, so if you're sitting on the promenade side, you'll get a delightful soundtrack of both pedestrian traffic AND live rock music. It's... a lot. An enclosed space would definitely be a game-changer here!

Educational Alaska Talks: Where Learning Meets Adventure 📕

Okay, confession time – I'm a total travel nerd, and these educational Alaska talks were honestly one of my favorite parts of the entire cruise! Holland America really nailed this experience, and it's actually one of the main reasons I chose this particular cruise.

The talks are held in the World Stage, which is basically like stepping into a nature documentary. Picture this: you're surrounded by wraparound LED displays that make you feel like you're literally floating through Alaskan wilderness while learning about glacial formations, wildlife behavior, and the incredible ecosystem around you. It's immersive in the best way possible – like Disney meets National Geographic!

One thing that really impressed me was their thoughtful inclusion of Tlingit culture. The Tlingit people are indigenous to Southeast Alaska, and Holland America did a beautiful job honoring their traditions, language, and cultural practices throughout the journey. It added such meaningful context to the places we were visiting – you're not just seeing pretty landscapes, you're understanding the rich history and people who call this breathtaking region home.

Fair warning though- They held some wildlife and port discussions at BB King's Blues Club, and while the content was fascinating, the logistics were... less than ideal. Picture standing room only, trying to hear about bear behavior while cruise ship promenade foot traffic creates a symphony of noise in the background. Not exactly the zen learning environment you'd hope for!

Still, these educational offerings absolutely delivered on why I booked this cruise in the first place. If you're someone who loves to actually understand the places you're visiting (not just Instagram them), this is your jam.

Pro tip: On Glacier Bay day, they smartly streamed these talks to other lounges like the Rolling Stones Rock Room. This was great in case the World Stage got too packed.

Bottom Line: Holland America clearly put thought into making education entertaining, and honestly, it worked. You'll leave knowing way more about Alaska than when you arrived – and isn't that kind of the point of travel?.

On Board Activities:

Daily Activities

This was honestly one area where the ship felt a bit lacking compared to other cruise lines. They offered the standard cruise staples – ping pong and pickleball tournaments, bingo, and the usual suspects. Beyond that, most activities seemed designed to upsell you on something (think chiropractic sessions, spa treatments, and shopping seminars) or were more low-key crafty options like watercolor painting or napkin folding demonstrations.

Wildlife Spotting

Here's where things got exciting! The daily schedule included dedicated wildlife spotting sessions with an onboard wildlife expert who stayed with us for the entire cruise. I mean, what's an Alaskan cruise without this, right? It's literally why most people book these trips in the first place. These sessions were built right into the daily programming and became my absolute favorite part of each day. Honestly, the incredible wildlife viewing more than made up for the lighter activity roster – when you're watching humpback whales breach or spotting bald eagles soaring overhead, who needs shuffleboard?

Sports Amenities

We enjoyed using the sports deck like corn hole, ping pong, shuffleboard, pickleball, basketball, and jogging track.

Bonus Tip: You can watch instructional videos on how to play pickleball in your stateroom

Nice Touch

They also had a couple of small things they did that were a nice touch to kind of thank the guests and do something different. They had a chocolate surprise night where they came around and gave out different chocolates for about 15 m at the BB king. At the orange party night (also at BB King) they passed around some Dutch treats.

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to "Cake Me Away" event- literally stations of yummy cakes you could sample. The set up alone will leave your mouth watering. Hats off to the pastry team! I may have gone back three or four times. No regrets.

Room Situation: Cozy = Tiny 🛏️

We upgraded to a "large" interior and it was still very small. The bed was positioned so you literally hit it when opening the door. But hey, the shower pressure was AMAZING and the beds and pillows were comfy. Plus, they provided an umbrella for Alaska weather! There is only one though, when I inquired about getting another it wasn’t an option.

Real talk: If you're claustrophobic, splurge on that balcony room.

Staying Active: The Struggle Is Real 💪

The gym was surprisingly packed (apparently everyone had the same "I'm on vacation but should still work out" guilt). Some equipment was showing its age, but it got the job done. There are some classes like spin or yoga, but you have to pay extra for them. (They were about $20)

HIDDEN GEM ALERT:

There's a sauna with ocean views that's nearly impossible to find, but SO worth it. It's like meditation with a view! It is not the one that is part of the spa but anyone can use it and I’m going to tell you how to find this hidden oasis that no one knows about! Coming from the gym back to the elevators it’s on the right hand side in the right coordinator. Or right after the elevators, and right after the spa area it’s on left.

What to pack?

• Binoculars- a must have for nature enthusiasts

• Magnetic hooks for the wall- (use them to hang things like coats, bags and hats)

• Over the door shoe bag or hanging toiletry bag (for the small bathrooms)

• Waterproof gear- it’s Alaska! Think light waterproof backpack for excursions, rain jacket, wind/rain proof pants, socks, etc..

• Layers -it’s Alaska!

The Bottom Line: Would I Do It Again?

ABSOLUTELY! This cruise exceeded every expectation. The combination of stunning scenery, solid ship amenities, and that perfect cruise size made for an unforgettable week.

Who This Cruise Is Perfect For:

• First-time Alaska visitors

• People who want comfort + adventure

• Anyone who appreciates good live music

• Travelers who want to see multiple destinations without the hassle

• People that are interested in the educational and cultural aspects of Alaska

Who Might Want to Look Elsewhere:

• Party animals looking for massive ship energy (they don’t even have a DJ on board!)

• People who need lots of space in their rooms

• Cruisers that are used to Broadway style shows and entertainment

• Cruisers with are looking to have their day packed with on board fun activities

Pro Tip: Stay up for the midnight sun! Alaska is so unique in that it only has a couple hours of darkness each day. I can't tell you how many times we commented on how crazy it was to see full daylight while eating dinner at 8pm. If you go out after 11pm, you'll witness the sun setting against the deep twilight sky – it's absolutely wild!

Planning Your Own Alaska Adventure?

Email me or subscribe to the socials to with any questions! I'm happy to spill more tea about specific excursions, packing tips, or anything else you want to know.

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What's your dream cruise destination? Alaska just moved to the top of my "will definitely do again" list!