HX Expeditions excursion in Alaska — Our HX Expeditions cruise in Alaska lasted 18 days and marked the first time we’ve gone to the Aleutian Islands in our favorite destination. (Photo by John Roberts)

We’ve cruised in Alaska many times, enjoying a variety of ships of all sizes and shapes. When we finally went out to the Aleutian Islands, though, to see. The remote western reaches of our favorite destination, we did it with HX Expeditions on the 530-passenger ship MS Roald Amundsen.

During this voyage we traveled from Vancouver to Nome, making our way through a bit of the traditional SE Alaska cruise route — Canada’s Inside Passage by Vancouver Island, Wrangell, Misty Fjords National Monument, Icy Strait, Icy Bay and Sitka — before crossing over into new frontiers (for us).

We stayed in an incredible suite that made the journey especially comfortable and memorable. Our stateroom, Cabin 801 the Olav Bjaaland Suite was a fantastic home base and vantage point to enjoy this 18-day epic adventure.

I’ll give you a review of this special stateroom that you might want to book when you cruise with HX Expeditions on Roald Amundsen and then tell you all about the best experiences we had on our cruise to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The Suite Life on HX Expeditions

MS Roald Amundsen ship in Alaska with HX Expeditions — MS Roald Amundsen can carry up to 530 passengers, and we cruised with 400-plus people on our adventure in Alaska. (Photo by John Roberts)

Our cabin the Olav Bjaaland Suite No. 801 is one of 53 dedicated Expedition Suites on MS Roald Amundsen (out of the 265 total cabins onboard). Our suite was named for a Norwegian ski champion and one of the first five men to reach the South Pole as part of Roald Amundsen’s famed expedition in 1911.

The suites come with a host of perks, including no-fee access to the specialty restaurant Lindstrom for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other cruisers can make reservations to have meals here for a fee.

Our suite, Cabin 801, measures 495 square feet, and offers a big living room and viewing lounge. (Photo by John Roberts)

We also were able to have our laundry done every day if we wanted. We took advantage of this perk and had our clothes cleaned a few times during our long trip. This allowed us to keep our packing lighter and to return home with freshly cleaned clothes, which is fantastic.

Suite cruisers also get some additional drinks included in their drinks package, such as a selection of canned beers and an upgraded selection of cocktails.

With our port-side balcony and a huge lounge area with two couches that looks out the front of the ship over the bow, we were able to stay in the comfort of our cabin and watch for wildlife. The stateroom offers full panoramic views, and we spotted orcas, otters and seabirds from our perch as we cruised.

The space also allows plenty of room for our morning stretch routines and even afternoon yoga sessions.

Full Suite Tour: Our Spacious Cabin on MS Roald Amundsen

The suite also features a large living room with a couch and two chairs with a large flat-screen TV offering a selection of live channels and on-demand movie and TV show choices.

En-suite dining is available with take away items from the Fredheim casual eatery (burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken breast, steak and pasta) and room service breakfast. A small dining area off the the side of the living room offers seating for up to four people.

We had room service breakfast to start a couple days, as well as a few nights when we enjoyed dinner and a movie in our suite.

Cabin 801 on MS Roald Amundsen from HX Expeditions — We spent a lot of time relaxing in this space and enjoying the views during our nearly three-week voyage. (Photo by Colleen McDaniel)

The bedroom is a cozy space, also with a big-screen TV at the foot of the bed. The bedroom is a little bit strange in that each person must enter through different opening on each side of the room to get to their side of the bed, and the room uses curtains to close off each side from the living room. We thought of it as a little nesting area. It offered a wonderful sleeping environment, though, with a comfortable bed and separate temperature control that got the room to an ideal temperature. The curtains keep the bedroom plenty dark, too.

We loved all the storage available. We packed fairly lightly, as we always do, but for other cruisers taking a nearly three-week cruise on this type of itinerary with HX, you’re going to be able to easily organize all your clothes and gear.

There are large drawers in the living room that I used, so Colleen could have the bulk of the massive walk-in closet, which offers a lot of hanging areas, shelves and more drawers.

The room also features a safe, hair dryer and a drying closet for parkas, boots, rain pants, rain jackets and other gear that got plenty wet during our trip in Alaska.

The bathroom is awesome, too, with dual sinks, a bathtub and a huge shower that accommodates two people at a time, with the rainfall feature and shower wands also available. HX provides all the needed toiletries, too, with conditioner, moisturizer and body wash/shampoo.

The room has European plugs and a few USB ports, so you would need to pack adapters as needed.

Amenities include a mini-fridge and extensive coffee bar. Plus, you get an included 25-minute taster massage at the spa.

This was the nicest cabin I’ve stayed in on any of my expedition cruises, so I wanted to showcase this in detail for you.

Now, about our voyage and the four top things you can expect when you take an Alaska cruise with HX Expeditions. The cruise line is the world’s first and longest-running expedition cruise company, with a history dating to 1896.

1. Three Restaurants Offer a Mixed Dining Experience

Hot dog and bao buns at Fredheim eatery on MS Roald Amundsen — Fredheim is the casual eatery onboard, featuring burgers, hot dogs and other tasty foods, as well as specialty theme nights. (Photo by John Roberts)

Roald Amundsen offers three restaurants plus a service called Take Away for meals in your cabin.

The variety is pretty good, but the menus are far too light on salads and vegetable options for the plated dinners. You can always make a nice salad at at the lunch buffet in the main dining room, which occasionally offers the buffet setup for dinners, too.

Cruisers can make reservations to eat at Lindstrom and Fredheim for dinner each night or simply go to the main restaurant Aune.

Lindstrom and Fredheim have limited seating, and the former is a specialty eatery that is available for all meals to travelers who book suites. Other cruisers can try Lindstrom by paying a fee (15 euros for breakfast, 25 euros for lunch and 35 euros for dinner). You get essentially the same food that you will find at Aune but with a quieter environment and slightly more attentive service.

We didn’t see anyone booking into Lindstrom for the added fee. Most cruisers were perfectly happy to eat at the main restaurant for all of their meals. We had a couple dinners at Lindstrom and one lunch and most of our breakfasts — as we were eligible because we stayed in a suite.

But we found that the variety of food was much more attractive at the other restaurants for our meals other than breakfast.

Fredheim, for example, hosted special themed menu nights for Filipino cuisine, a Tex-Mex meal, Indian dishes and Italian food.

Also, Aune had a huge seafood spread one evening, and offered a very nice daily lunch buffet with a carving station, pastas of the day and a different soup and sandwich combo every day. We also like the ice cream station that offers three flavors daily alongside toppings.

The service was disappointing at both the restaurants and the Explorer Lounge bar, though, as we found it understaffed and those who were working were lacking a warm touch and any attentiveness to those who might be needed service while seated around the lounge.

2. Wellness Options for Fitness-Focused Cruisers

MS Roald Amundsen features hot tubs and a heated pool — We took advantage of the ship’s hot tubs, sauna, gym and spa services. (Photo by Colleen McDaniel)

Our ship features a Wellness facility offering massages and other spa treatments and a well-equipped gym. The fitness center on Deck 7 is home to an area for stretching and yoga, with mats and blocks available. You also have a cardio area with elliptical machines, rowing machines, bikes and treadmills.

Then, a small weight-training sections with a couple of cable machines for back exercises and the universal wall-mounted cable system. Plus, it offers a selection of dumbbells and kettlebells. All of this allows travelers to get in any kind of workout they need, and we had plenty of time in our daily schedules to keep up with our regimens.

We also had time to enjoy the sauna, hot tubs and pool.

These are all located on Deck 10, with the huge sauna featuring window that allows you to relax while keeping a watch out to the waterways for whales and other creatures.

The aft of the ship on Deck 10 has a heated infinity pool and two hot tubs, as well as comfy lounge chairs with heat lamps and the nearby pool bar. This is a fantastic space to take a soak or swim while embraced by Alaska’s beauty.

3. A Slice of Southeast Alaska

Misty Fjords in SE Alaska with HX Expeditions — We had our first skiff tour during our afternoon stop at Misty Fjords, the first stop in Southeast Alaska on our way out of Vancouver (Photo by Colleen McDaniel)

The early part of this trip is familiar. Departing from Vancouver, we traveled Canada’s Inside Passage, passing Vancouver Island heading north and were treated to the stunning scenery.

The voyage started with a sea day that took us first through a protected, scenic maritime route that travels through a segment of islands, fjords and channels along the coast of British Columbia. During this time, we spotted numerous orcas and some dolphins in the open waters.

Then, we arrived to Misty Fjords for our first expedition activities, a skiff tour that started in rainy conditions, but it cleared up and we enjoyed a close-up view of waterfalls and some seals and seabirds during our 60-minute excursion.

When you visit Southeast Alaska, you immediately fall in love with the beauty of the region and start to realize why Alaska is so special. The waterways give you access to the scenes of magical fjords framed by immense rainforests and sheer granite cliffs.

Then, of course, there are glaciers, icebergs, whales and bears.

Our trip also included stops in Wrangell, Sitka and Icy Strait, where we visited the small fishing community of Elfin Cove.

Finally, to finish out the section of SE Alaska that most cruisers will see on their trips, we stopped for a day at Icy Bay, where the weather was perfect so that we could see Mount St. Elias in all its glory. The mountain is the icon of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and rises to 18,008 feet, the second-highest mountain in North America (Denali is the tallest).

Colleen and I went out for a kayaking adventure. It was amazing! HX offers both guided kayaking outings and discovery kayaking (which are self-guided in certain spots such as quiet bays.) The kayaking activities are extra charges for cruisers, and you won’t get a chance to go out as much as you might like because this is a little bit bigger ship for expeditions, unlike the 60- to 200-passenger ships that can offer more daily excursion options.

This was disappointing, but we had a great time during our kayaking day and took advantage of all the other activities — which included going ashore for community visits or short zodiac rides to look for wildlife.

4. Journey to the Aleutian Islands

HX Expeditions in Old Harbor — The community enthusiastically welcomed our group to their town. It was a beautiful day to see the town and meet some of the residents in Old Harbor. (Photo by John Roberts)

After Icy Bay, we had a section of cruising over the course of 10 days that brought us to even more remote islands — incredible spots filled with bears, seals, sea lions and sea birds.

During our trip, we became the first commercial cruise line to visit Old Harbor, which is home to an Alutiiq community on Kodiak Island. While this is not part of the Aleutian Islands, cruise ships aren’t typically coming here unless its part of the itinerary heading out to the Aleutians, and this is a new location for us in Alaska, so I am mentioning it here.

We were warmly welcomed by the people of Old Harbor, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the Kodiak Archipelago.

Ahead of HX's first-ever visit, the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor passed a formal resolution endorsing the visit and supporting the opportunity to share the community's culture, history, and values with visitors.

Alutiiq singers and dancers in Old Harbor, Alaska — The singers and dancers from the Alutiiq tribe gave a number of performances throughout our day in Old Harbor. (Photo by John Roberts)

We had a full day to wander around the town, with points of interest notated on a map, leading us to a small community farm, the historic Three Saints Orthodox Church, the Nubian Center and a traditional home site, where we were treated to an Alutiiq song and dance performance.

Next up was Katmai National Park, where we found brown bears on the shore on back-to-back outings. This was a definite highlight of the entire trip, to get this close as they grazed for food along the shoreline.

We saw this brown bear snacking in the grasses on the shore within hours after we arrived to Katmai National Park. (Photo by John Roberts)

Then, we reached the Aleutians, stopping at Unga to go for a hike around the ghost town, which was a former fishing settlement and then a mining town during the gold rush period. It’s been abandoned since the late 1960s.

The island of Unga is near a huge colony of puffins, and it was fun to see them flying around the ship all day. However, I expected that we would have activities top take a tour by the nesting areas and get a closer look, but that didn’t happen. There were several missed opportunities like this during our trip, and I chalked that up to the fact that we had 500 cruisers onboard, and there’s not enough time to do multiple excursions in one day for everyone.

I love whenever there are two daily outings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but we had just one per day (many days we had no excursions at all because of community visits and three full days at sea).

We stopped for a day at Unalaska, which is known for Dutch Harbor, the top commercial fishing port in the United States. It handles billions of dollars of seafood every year. This is also a major WWII battleground in June 1942 as U.S. forces and the population held off Japanese bombing raids over the course of two days at Amaknak Island.

Colleen and I had a long walk in and around town, and shuttle services was set up for a route to reach points of interest, such as the Russian Orthodox Church and the Museum of the Aleutians. We saw dozens of beautiful eagles all over the place on a perfectly sunny and warm day.

We also visited the remote St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands group. This spot is home to the largest colony of northern fur seals in the world, and our group of cruisers eagerly set out on a hike in misty conditions to see the hundreds of seals, as well as a large rookery of puffins, auklets and other seabirds that make their homes in a steep beachside cliff.

Our plans to land at St. Matthew were scrapped for weather reasons. This would have been our final day of expedition activities. So, instead, we had the final two days of the voyage as sea days onboard Ronald Amundsen.

The voyage ended in Nome. After 18 days cruising and having many cool sightings and experiences in the wilds of Alaska, we pulled into port in this coastal city that sits on the Seward Peninsula, overlooking the Bering Sea just 150 miles from Russia.

HX offers an afternoon charter flight from Nome to Seattle, which includes an overnight hotel stay and included breakfast before people begin their onward travel or journeys home.

Before the charter flight, though, you have the morning to experience Nome, and tours and lunch are provided during this time, as well as access to a hospitality center and luggage room. So, the process is nicely dialed in so that you can have a hassle-free experience overall.

Colleen and I had a nice trip, with a mix of good food, nice onboard amenities and beautiful scenery and wildlife. Alaska never disappoints. We really enjoyed our suite and spent most of our ship time in there, watching movies, viewing wildlife and the ocean from our balcony and lounge.

The cabin included a welcome bottle of Champagne as well as four bottles of wine and a drinks package with mini fridge, and we savored our bubbly with a nice Champagne and cheeseburgers date night in our room while watching a movie one night.

We also took advantage of the unlimited laundry service, and our cabin steward Renz was fantastic, keeping us stocked up on plenty of Coke Zeros and craft beers.

We saw so many incredible creatures. We’ll always remember the brown bears, running salmon, cute sea otters, frolicking fur seals, curious sea lions, soaring seabirds, adorable puffins, majestic eagles and awesome orcas and humpbacks.

The nearly three-week voyage was a little bit boring at times, though, and the trip didn’t include nearly enough expedition activities to keep us out in the wilderness like we really enjoy. This is what you get from a trip that is as much about relocating the ship out of the region at the end of season, I suppose. It felt like a ferry trip from Vancouver to Nome with a bit of expedition added in, too, along the way.

This also is a byproduct of the sheer numbers of people that have to be handled to get out in the skiffs every day so that everyone has a chance to be out doing stuff.

We had more than 20 nationalities onboard for the passenger mix, and most who I spoke too were in Alaska for the first time and said they really enjoyed the trip, wowed by the beauty of the destination.

Being in the Aleutian Islands and learning more about the history and culture of the people who have lived here for generations made this voyage especially wonderful for us. If you’ve done other regions in Alaska, this is a place worth cruising to because it’s filled with great stories and surprises.

Our Expedition Cruise to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska with HX