Cruising through Alaska has been a dream of mine since I was a young kid. My grandparents visited Alaska before I was even born and my grandpa still talks about how amazing it was. On at least a monthly basis, over the course of my entire 28 years on this planet, he has reminisced about Alaska to me. He was in the Navy in his 20s, so he’s been all over Europe, the U.S., and the Caribbean, but the only place that ever really blew him away, from what he’s told me anyway, was Alaska. Ever since I started travel blogging, he’s asked me “So, when are you going to go to Alaska?” and I’ve always responded with “It’ll happen one day.” I think that my expectations were built up so much that I worried if it could really be that great, so I just kept putting it off for some reason. However, that “one day” finally came this past August.
.
When choosing which cruise line to go to Alaska with, there are a variety of options. There are also a variety of factors for any traveler to consider, such as which ports of call the cruise has, how long the cruise is, and how expensive. For wheelchair users, there are even more considerations to take into account. While I can’t really compare Alaskan cruise lines because I’ve only cruised with Holland America, I am happy to let you know why I absolutely LOVED my Alaskan cruise on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship! I’m sure that it’s the best choice for a cruise through Alaska because there’s just no way that it could get any better.
.
If you are searching for the perfect Alaskan cruise that you’ve always dreamed of, this is it. From exceptional accessibility on the ship to enjoying the exciting ports of call and much more, here are 17 reasons why you should consider cruising Alaska on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship –
.
.
1. Special assistance is available at check-in
From the moment I arrived at the terminal to board my cruise in Vancouver, I was impressed with the helpfulness of the staff and the accessibility. Our luggage was taken as soon as my mom and I got out of our taxi and within a few hours, it showed up to our stateroom on the ship. Much better than dragging all of our luggage and medical equipment all the way to the stateroom or through an airport like we usually do.
.
.
The staff pointed us in the direction to where check-in was. At check-in, there was a dedicated line for Special Assistance and we only had to wait for about 30 seconds. We quickly completed check-in, zoomed through a security check, and boarded the Nieuw Amsterdam ship. It was now time for the fun to begin!
.
2. The accessible staterooms truly are accessible
Before I enter my room at any hotel or on any cruise ship, I always get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Will the room really be as accessible as I was promised?”, I wonder. Well, I’m happy to say that my wheelchair accessible verandah stateroom on the Nieuw Amsterdam was better than I could’ve ever expected. When most people think of cruise staterooms, they usually think that they’re tiny… not this one! My room was very spacious and there was plenty of room for me to maneuver around.
.
.
My stateroom number was 6001 and it was toward the very front of the ship. This was awesome because it had the balcony, which was accessible with a ramp, and a window so that we could see the view in front of the ship as well. In the bedroom was a desk that I could easily roll under, two twin sized beds, and a TV.
.
.
.
In my stateroom’s bathroom was a roll-in shower, a pull-under sink, and a toilet with grab bars around it. Unlike on other cruises that I’ve done with other cruise lines, the bathroom was pretty spacious also. I could even do a 360 degree circle in my wheelchair.
.
.
.
.
While I stayed in a verandah stateroom, Holland America let me check out the other stateroom categories as well to see their accessibility. All categories of staterooms offer accessible options, but the interior stateroom, for example, isn’t as spacious as the verandah. It would certainly work just fine though for someone in a wheelchair. The best, and more expensive, accessible stateroom option is the Neptune Suite. It was gigantic and had every accessible amenity that you could think of, including a huge balcony. If you book the Neptune Suite, you also get access to the private Neptune Lounge, which has snacks, drinks, and entertainment all day, for your entire cruise. The Neptune Suite and Lounge are nice, but if you’re ballin’ on a budget like I usually do, the interior, ocean view, or verandah staterooms would be wonderful choices.
.
Neptune Suite
Neptune Suite
Neptune Suite
Neptune Lounge
.
3. You can view wildlife and glaciers from your balcony!
This was my sixth cruise, but my first time ever with a balcony. I’ve always wondered if it’d really be worth it to have a balcony and if you’re on an Alaskan cruise, you should definitely splurge and get it if at all possible. I enjoyed sitting out on my balcony every day with a hot cup of tea and looking for wildlife. One day, I got lucky and spotted some orca whales! It was incredible. Another day, I could see giant glaciers without having to fight the crowds for an optimal viewing spot. I’m not sure if I can ever go back to a lower room category after this cruise… #verandahforlife
.
Ramp on my balcony
.
4. The food is delicious (and included in your cruise)
Cruise ship food isn’t known for being good usually, but I was tremendously impressed with the variety of options on the Nieuw Amsterdam. There certainly something for everyone. And the best part? It is all included in your cruise!
.
The Dining Room is the more traditional dining area. I ate here for lunch on the first day and dinner one night, but breakfast is also served. The waiters and waitresses were very attentive and went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed. For dinner, I chose an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert, but if you’d like seconds of something, just ask! That’s the beauty of cruising.
.
.
If you’d rather hit up a buffet for a quick meal, head to Lido Market on deck 9. Lido Market serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the plethora of options on the buffet is unbelievable. I had breakfast here almost every day and lunch here a couple days. For lunch, you could get sushi, nachos, pasta, rice, burgers, and then top it off with three different desserts if you wanted to. Good luck not gaining a few pounds on this cruise! The lunch was great, but the breakfast was my favorite in the Lido Market. I am not a big breakfast eater when I’m home, but it turns out that I’m quite the opposite on a cruise. Well, on this one anyway.
.
Now let’s talk about my favorite restaurant that’s included with your cruise – Dive-In! This is a poolside restaurant on deck 9 that serves gourmet burgers and hotdogs. There are several different styles of each, but I really loved the vegetarian portobello mushroom burger. Get some fries on the side and have them covered in the special Dive-In Sauce, and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal! I ate this an embarrassing number of times during my weeklong cruise, but I have no regrets!
.
.
Lastly, head to New York Pizza on deck 9 for your pizza fix. This spot can prepare a pizza with any toppings you like, but I highly recommend the Caesar salad also. If you want a late-night meal, this could be your best option, as it’s open until 11:30pm.
.
.
5. In addition to the included food, specialty restaurants are available
There are definitely enough restaurants above to keep you satisfied during your entire cruise, but if you want something different and don’t mind paying a bit extra, there are a few specialty restaurants to consider. I actually dined at all three of the specialty restaurants during my time on the Nieuw Amsterdam, so let’s delve right into it.
.
The first specialty restaurant that I dined at was Tamarind, located on deck 11. Tamarind is an Asian restaurant and the menu is based around the four elements: fire, water, wood, and earth. To start the dining experience, we were served a cup of hot tea, but it was so good I kept asking for more throughout my meal. I enjoyed vegetarian sushi, vegetable spring rolls, and Thai mini doughnuts for dessert. Everything was exceptional and full of flavor. Tamarind has a set fee of $25 per person and it’s definitely worth it. This was one of my favorite Asian inspired meals EVER!
.
.
.
During formal night, where everyone on the ship gets dressed up a bit, we decided to treat ourselves to the most expensive specialty restaurant – Pinnacle Grill. This restaurant is on deck 3 and has a more upscale atmosphere than the other restaurants. Pinnacle Grill is a steakhouse, but has seafood and even vegetarian options on the menu as well. I had a Caesar salad, mushroom ravioli, and the chocolate volcano cake for dessert. The mushroom ravioli was, no exaggeration, the best ravioli I’ve ever had and I seriously tried to get a reservation at Pinnacle another night just so I could eat it again, but the tables were all booked. If you only dine at one specialty restaurant, I’d recommend this one. It’s $35 per person and worth every penny.
.
.
.
Lastly, for some Italian food, head to Canaletto. Canaletto is located in a separate section of the Lido Market and is only $15 per person. The menu has a variety of options, but focuses on sharing small plates. I enjoyed a zucchini risotto, spaghetti, and tiramisu for dessert. It was really great and at only $15, it’s a steal.
.
.
.
6. You can gamble your money away
I’ll admit it, I love gambling! Ever since my 21st birthday in Las Vegas, I have loved playing in a casino. As soon as I could, I went straight to the casino on the Nieuw Amsterdam.
.
.
There are many slot machines and all sorts of table games as well. My favorite game is roulette and I played for about ten minutes (and lost $50), but it was fun while it lasted. If someone ever thinks that I’m lost on a cruise ship, just check the casino and there’s a good chance that I’ll be there.
.
7. Nightly shows on the Mainstage are out of this world
In my past cruises on other cruise lines, entertainment has been mediocre at best. I worried that this would be the case on the Nieuw Amsterdam, but to my delight, it definitely wasn’t! The nightly shows on the mainstage were entertaining and a joy to watch. We were impressed by everything from a troupe of dancers and singers to a magician during the week.
.
.
Aside from the fantastic entertainment, I also appreciated that wheelchair accessible seating was dispersed throughout the Mainstage seating areas. There was accessible seating on every level, but my preferred spot was on the lower level near the stage. I had a perfect view of every show, but be sure to arrive at least 20-30 minutes before showtime because it does get filled up quickly.
.
8. Accessible restrooms are all over the ship
The Nieuw Amsterdam is 936 feet long and 106 feet wide, so if you’re at the opposite end of the ship as your stateroom, it could be a bit of a trek back. If you need to use the restroom while you’re out and about enjoying the day’s activities, there’s no need to go all the way back to your stateroom. Accessible restrooms are all over the ship!
.
.
I was really astounded at how many accessible restrooms were available. They were very spacious and had fold-down grab bars by the toilet. Accessible restrooms are located on decks 2,3, 9, 10, and 11. When the urge to go hits you, just wheel over to one of the accessible restrooms and you’ll be set!
.
9. All ports of call are docked instead of tendered
While this does vary depending on the ship’s itinerary and ports of call, every port of call on my weeklong Alaskan cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam was docked instead of tendered. In case you’re wondering what the difference between docked and tendered is, let me explain. If the ship is docked, it pulls right up to the port and you can just roll down a ramp from the ship and be in your port of call. However, if it’s tendered, this means that the ship cannot pull up to the port, so you’ll have to transfer from the cruise ship into a much smaller tender boat, and the tender boat will take you to shore. Many tender boats are not accessible for a powered wheelchair, so it’s better to plan cruises that only have ports of call that are docked.
.
.
The ports of call for my cruise were Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. At all three of these wonderful Alaskan cities, I was able to roll down a long ramp to get off the ship and never had to worry about using a tender boat.
.
10. Wheelchair accessible shore excursions are offered
What impressed me more than anything about cruising Alaska with Holland America was the fact that they offer SO MANY wheelchair accessible shore excursions! On most cruises that I’ve done with other cruise lines, I’m lucky if even one accessible excursion in one port of call is offered by the cruise line. In Alaska, Holland America offered multiple accessible excursions in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. I was able to go whale watching in Juneau, meet sled dogs in Skagway, and watch a lumberjack show and view majestic fjords in Ketchikan… all thanks to Holland America’s focus on accessibility!
.
.
I would recommend booking the excursions as far in advance as you can because there is a limited number of accessible spaces for each excursion, and it’s super easy to book everything online. However, you can also book excursions on the ship in Explorations Central, but the more popular options could be sold out by the time you actually get on the ship.
.
11. Towel animals!!
Can I really talk about cruising without mentioning towel animals?! I think that’s humanly impossible. Every night, I looked forward to seeing which towel animal we’d have in our stateroom and I was never disappointed. Check out these awesome towel creations below –
.
.
.
.
12. You’ll never get bored during a day at sea
When I wasn’t out gallivanting in the towns of Alaska, I was living my best life on the Nieuw Amsterdam. As I’ve already mentioned, I did gamble too much a bit during days at sea, but I also did sooo much more. There was trivia multiple times per day, which I always enjoy even though I’m not very good at it, and plenty of shops to browse around in for the perfect souvenir.
.
.
.
Some really unique and cool offerings on the Nieuw Amsterdam for any music lovers were Billboard Onboard, Lincoln Center Stage, and B.B. King’s Blues Club. On most evenings and sometimes during the day on days at sea, all three venues were cranking out the hits. Lincoln Center Stage had talented pianists, violinists, and more playing classical and more modern music, and as the name suggests, the B.B. King’s Blues Club had a live band performing the best Memphis music at sea. My favorite music spot every day though was Billboard Onboard. Two talented ladies sang chart-topping hits from the past 50 years while playing piano and it was a lot of fun to watch. I also liked that they took song requests sometimes, as it made it more interactive.
.
.
Holland America partnered up with O, The Oprah Magazine not too long ago and there are now a variety of O experiences onboard. They focus on wellness, connection, and personal growth, and there was also a book club that anyone could participate in.
.
Another really cool partnership that Holland America has is with America’s Test Kitchen. Have you ever seen the TV show? I hadn’t watched the show before my cruise, but I did enjoy America’s Test Kitchen on the Nieuw Amsterdam. It offered live onboard cooking shows and demonstrations, with focuses on everything from steak to chocolate. My favorite cooking show was the one all about chocolate (duh!) and I liked that the recipes were given out, so I can now attempt to make everything at home.
.
.
13. The elevators are fast and plentiful
For some unknown reason, on most cruises it seems to take forever to get an elevator. Maybe it’s because nobody wants to use the stairs or there just aren’t enough elevators, but on the Nieuw Amsterdam I always got an elevator extremely fast. It seemed like there were more of them available than on other cruises that I’ve done, which was great! This probably seems like a mundane reason to many of you reading, but as someone that’s waited 30+ minutes for an empty elevator on a cruise ship before, I was impressed.
.
.
14. There are educational programs so you can learn about the history and culture of Alaska
Whenever I visit a new destination, I love to learn about the history, local customs, and culture of the place. Thanks to a partnership between Holland America and BBC Earth Experiences, there were several programs focused on learning more about Alaska. Aside from the BBC programs, Holland America also had multiple presentations about all of the different ports of call with some excellent tips on what to do in each. Even though you’re on vacation, you should definitely take the time to learn more about Alaska during your cruise. Not only were the programs educational, they were quite fun and interesting as well.
.
.
15. Glacier Bay National Park rangers come onboard the ship
One of my favorite days of the entire cruise was when we were in Glacier Bay National Park. We didn’t get off the ship, but it was a beautiful day and we got to see some huge glaciers! This was my first time ever really seeing glaciers and I could not believe how big they were. It was remarkable to witness.
.
.
While we didn’t get off the ship, Holland America brought some of the park rangers onboard for almost the whole day. They were available to answer any questions and provided informative commentary over the speaker throughout the ship. They also had some Glacier Bay souvenirs available for purchase in Explorations Central. It was a nice peaceful day of admiring the natural beauty of Alaska and I loved that Holland America went above and beyond to enrich the experience.
.
.
16. You can play board games or enjoy a drink in Explorations Central
One of my favorite areas on the Nieuw Amsterdam was Explorations Central. Sure, this is the place where you can book shore excursions, but it also has a full bar (the hot chocolate is amazing FYI) and a bunch of books and board games are available to use. My mom and I played Scrabble in here several times and the views of the sea from here were exceptional. Whether you want to drink, play, or just relax, Explorations Central has it all.
.
.
17. The crew members are tremendously nice and accommodating
The Nieuw Amsterdam may have a large variety of things to do, places to eat, and it sails to some truly stunning places in Alaska, but the best thing about it is the many kind crew members all throughout the ship. Whether I was needing assistance with a shore excursion, asking about items on the dinner menu, or at guest services, the crew always greeted me with a smile and quickly answered any question that I had. In all of my travels on the high seas, the Nieuw Amsterdam had the friendliest and most accommodating crew I’ve ever encountered.
.
.
This was my first cruise with Holland America, but it certainly won’t be my last. Everything far exceeded my expectations and this was one of the most fun weeks I’ve had… ever. If you have been dreaming of visiting Alaska, I can assure you that there’s no one better to make the trip with than Holland America.
.
Start planning your own Alaskan cruise by clicking here.
.
.
*Thank you to Holland America Line for working with me on this adventure of a lifetime! While my cruise was complimentary, all opinions are authentic and my own.
.
.
.
Related Posts
A Perfectly Accessible Day in Ketchikan: The Best Things to Do in Ketchikan Alaska
4 of the Best Things to Do in Juneau Alaska as a Wheelchair User
Discovering Skagway, Alaska as a Wheelchair User
10 Wheelchair Accessible Cruises to Consider for Your Next Vacation
How to Have a Fun Weekend in Wheelchair Accessible Long Beach, California
An Accessible Day in Stockholm, Sweden: What I Did and What I Learned
I think you nailed it when you mentioned the ship docked at the port instead of having to rely on tender boats. This is the main obstacle for wheelchair users considering a cruise. Sounds like a pretty cool ship. We’ve never been on a cruise, but have been thinking about it more lately. Nice read, thanks for sharing!
Thanks a lot Cory Lee for sharing such an excellent & helpful information and your experiences on Cruise. It will help a lot to go there and you shared awesome tips!! Every picture look incredible in your post. Keep posting..