ALASKAN CRUISE 2025 AND JUNEAU SHORE EXCURSION

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Hi and welcome to my second post focusing on our recent (August 2025) Holland America Inner Passage cruise.  I hope you find it interesting and worth your time!

With this being our very first cruise experience, I wasn't sure what to expect and I didn't want my husband and I to miss out on anything. I knew there would be things to do on the ship (daily activities, which populate on the Holland America Navigator app, but not till you are onboard the ship! I also wanted to visit new areas of Alaska (daughter Staci lived in Kodiak for several years so that was all we really knew, aside from the Anchorage airport lol). 

We booked our cruise through Costco Travel, booked a special dining experience through them, too, the Costco Travel rep called Holland America (HAL) rep and stayed on the phone while I let the HAL rep know what we were celebrating and which specialty restaurant I would like. That was helpful and I felt a bit more at ease as I navigated the HAL website and app. I did purchase two shore excursions from HAL and two from Costco Travel. Shore excursions are guided tours or activities that you can schedule at each port the ship docks in. Typically, our ship would dock at 0700 in the morning and often leave by 3 pm, with everyone needing to be back onboard 30 minutes prior to disembarkation of the ship. When you check in at boarding, you are given a ship keycard that also acts as your ship ID. When you leave the ship at a port, your card is scanned and scanned again once you return to the ship. This allows for easy tracking of who is on or off the ship. The times would vary depending on the port.

JUNEAU

Juneau, AK was our first port on the 3rd day of our cruise (first day began at 3pm when we set sail, the second day was a "sea day"). We had wanted to book a Juneau shore excursion to take a summer sled ride on an Iditarod sled! I actually had one booked for both Larry and I but then received a message that only one ticket was available. Bye, Larry! No, I didn't do that. If we go again, I want to book far enough in advance that I do get us with the Iditarod dogs--at the end of the sled ride/tour, you get to meet the puppies who will train to be Iditarod sled dogs! That was my main reason for wanting that excursion.

My second choice was whale watching, which we did schedule.  It was a sunny and warm day in Juneau. Our shuttle driver was very friendly and pretty good with jokes and local information. He drove us out to the marina to board our whale watching boat (crew of 3 with a captain and two marine biologists) and seated 45 passengers.

A quick pic of our ship, the Westerdam. Those are lifeboats on the 4th deck. 

A view from our ship after reaching Juneau.

You can see a tramway here in Juneau that leads to the Timberline Restaurant. We didn't go on that excursion, but I am sure the views are awesome!

Once we reached our shuttle, the driver drove us to the marina to board our whale watching boat. I did have scopolamine patches in case we needed them but never needed them the entire week.  

The captain headed out to more open sea and the biologists gave us info regarding humpback whales. HAL also had a presentation the day before regarding "Pacific Giants,' such as humpbacks and orcas. Very informative. 

Photo of a catalog which includes photos of the many humpbacks who have been seen in the Juneau area. Did you know that the coloring on the flukes is individual to each whale, much like fingerprints are specific to each human? I didn't know this till this excursion!

A National Geographic research vessel was in port.

These cute seals were the first wildlife we saw once we left port! The crew of the whale watching ship referred to them as "bowling balls"--I can see the resemblance!

Our first humpback sighting! There were several whale watching vessels in the area but also a total of seven humpbacks were active!

Mama and calf--pretty exciting to see them breach the water together!

Our guides, both being marine biologists, were very informative during the approx. 3-hour excursion. We would stop in areas where the whales were active and have a chance to take photos and learn info from the guides. Humpback whales who summer and feed in Alaska, return to the Hawaiian Islands to breed and birth their calves. As the calves age, they migrate back to Alaska with their mothers, learning whale behaviors along the way.

It does help on a journey such as this to have good quality, waterproof binoculars to view the beauty of Alaska. You can find a pair, such as these, at Amazon.

Taking it easy.

Stellar sea lions

 

We had quite a cruise--lots of info, lots of beautiful scenery and stunning wildlife. So many magnificent creatures that God has created.  It was educational also on our ship, the Holland America Westerdam. My husband and I spent an hour in a presentation in the World Stage (3 decks high with stadium-style seating, entertainment shows, and informational presentations) regarding humpback whales and orcas. It was an hour well-spent! I would encourage you to take advantage of the various presentations that HAL or any cruise line may offer. 

Ending our Juneau shore excursion, on our way back to the ship, out shuttle driver stopped by the Mendenhall Glacier for us to view.

It is quite impressive in person! Per Wikipedia, the glacier is approx. 13.6 miles in size and approx. 12 miles from downtown Juneau. Over the years, the glacier has been known to flood at times, as the temperatures rise. The glacier sits behind Mendenhall Lake, which formed due to run-off from the glacier.

Side notes about Juneau: it is the state capital of Alaska and has NO road system leading to it. Flying or boating in is the only way into Juneau. The year-round population is approximately 32,000 residents but when it is cruising season, that can easily increase the amount of people in town daily by thousands.

Also, did you know that Juneau is the home to the world's smallest Costco? Our shuttle driver told us that but unfortunately, driving by it wasn't an option lol. Here's a LINK

if you want to read more on that.

I would suggest, being out on the water such as on the whale watching ship, to have waterproof items on hand. We ordered POLARIZED SUNGLASSES to cut down on the glare of the water; a LIGHT HOODED RAINCOAT for myself, and one for MY HUSBAND. The weather can change quickly in Alaska so good to be prepared (the HAL ships do provide umbrellas for each passenger in the staterooms).  The jackets were also lightweight so not to warm and easily wrapped around out waists. 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting our post about Juneau! More to come about our Alaskan cruise!