Cruise control
NTA cruise companies ply the group market with water-based product ranging from weeks-long voyages to one-hour trips.
The following pages include two first-person articles from cruise expert (and former NTA Chair) Bob Hoelscher, as well
as updates on Entertainment Cruises, Phillips Cruises & Tours and NTA-member cruise companies in Massachusetts. Our
coverage concludes with the full list of the association’s cruise providers.
Cool Alaskan waters
BY BOB HOELSCHER
In addition to glacier viewing, our sightseeing options
included sea kayaking, exploring pristine beaches and beauti-
ful island rainforests (sans the rain), an air/sea trip to Misty
Fjords National Monument, plus a wonderful evening explor-
ing the uncrowded, extensively illuminated Butchart Gardens.
This particular itinerary did not feature the famed “Inside
Passage,” but it did offer sunshine and bright blue skies,
lengthy hours of daylight, Alaska before countless land travel-
ers arrive beginning Memorial Day weekend (although cruise
vessels were already out in force) and the inevitable June
mosquito hatch, plus exceptional shoulder-season pricing.
Last May, spring once again proved to be an ideal time for a
cruise to Alaska—in this case a one-week, round-trip sailing
from Seattle aboard Holland America Line’s spacious Oosterdam.
Just over 2,000 guests enjoyed splendid weather; visits to
Juneau, magnificent Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay, Sitka and
Ketchikan; and an evening in Victoria, British Columbia.
Although I have embarked previously on numerous Alaska
cruises on a variety of lines, the Oosterdam’s excellent food,
wide variety of onboard entertainment options and excep-
tional shore excursions combined to make this voyage one of
the most memorable.
Three photos from a cruise on Holland America Line’s Oosterdam: on the deck; at the dock in Ketchikan, Alaska; and aboard a kayak.
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