Our Maiden voyage on (more to come) Alaska Cruise ExcursionsOn Sunday afternoon, 20 July 2008, on embarking upon one of our Alaska cruise excursions, we unpacked and settled in our cabin (number 8058) on the 8th Deck, the Navigation Deck. We were taking a look around the beautiful Westerdam cruise ship ..... 
She can take up to 2000 people, and has 11 Decks. Louis and I stayed in a beautiful stateroom suite with a fantastic view from the balcony. We had a never ending view of the magnificent Pacific Ocean. The 9th Deck is called the Lido Deck, where all the main dining rooms are. The 10th Deck, the Observation Deck, with the Crow's Nest and the Exploration Cafe - has a fabulous library and best little capuccino bistro on the ship. Imagine that!! The 11th Deck (Sports Deck) hosts the Gym, Sauna, Spa and all other sporting activities......
One third of visitors to Alaska come for the cruise on the 1000 – mile Inside Passage, a route through the narrow strip of mainland and islands that make up Alaska's panhandle. We were one of them. Almost twenty Alaska cruise excursions sail these waters each summer, operating ships that range from small expedition vessels to floating cities that carry 2000 or more passengers. I looked on Alaskan cruises on the internet, and all the main cruise lines, like Princess Cruise, Norwegian Cruise, Cunard and Holland America Cruise travel this popular route. 
This opened up a whole new world of travelling for me. I never knew that so many people travel by cruise ship to just about any imaginable destination in the world!! Imagine going into the Amazon river on one of these huge cruise ships .....Well ......what I loved about our cruise ship, the Westerdam, was that it was small enough to find everything quickly - the gym was only 2 decks above our cabin, and we were close to the elevator. Our cabin 8058 was very spacious, with a bath and shower and 2 washing tubs.
The part that I loved best about our week on the Westerdam, was the fact that I never had to pack and unpack my luggage, or rent a car - our cabin was our home for 7 nights - it was very convenient and became our home for the week. Every morning we would receive a programme of the day's activities on the ship, as well as the weather forecast!
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Our sleep area had a delicious queen size bed with 2 small bedside tables, a little sitting room area with a big coffee table and a television screen. It was very spacious but very cosy!! Outside, our balcony was quite wide, with 2 sets of chairs and tables. Our cabin was at the back part of the Westerdam, and beautifully furnished in warm red and pine colours.
