Just booked - so excited!!

[Emily626]

DH and I (ages 30 and 26) just booked our very first cruise! We are on the ms Zuiderdam for the 9/17/2011 cruise to Alaska on the inside passage. It has always been a dream of ours to visit Alaska, so we are thrilled! We have a Verandah room (4042 I believe). We know nothing about cruising, nothing about HAL, and barely anything about Alaska - so I have a lot of homework to do! We picked the anytime dining seating because we like flexibility on vacation. Our main reason for picking HAL over the other lines was due to the larger shower in the bathroom for the verandah rooms, HAL's experience in Alaska, and the itinerary was perfect for our needs. Other than that - I do not know a whole lot about the line.

We are hoping to fly into Seattle from Indianapolis and then drive to Vancouver on 9/16 and spend the evening in Vancouver...........any suggestions for good hotels near the port? How early should we book our room for the night of the 16th?

Just wanted to drop in share my excitement and introduce myself - I will be around a lot in the next few months!! If anyone has any good tips or suggestions for a first timer for Alaska, HAL, or cruising in general - I am all ears!!

[CJcruzer]

Congratulations! our first HAL cruise was to Alaska, and they hooked us!!

Go to the roll call section for Holland america, click on your ship's roll call, and then look for a roll call with your sailing date for Alaska - you will find others on your cruise and that will help with planning, sharing tours, rides, etc...and of course the favorite "Meet & Greet" for the cruise critic group.

For info on ports of call, look up at the top of page and there will be a heading "ports" --- you can click on Alaska and then find your ports - there will be some quick facts, highlights of what not to miss, etc....Also the port section itself of Cruise Critic will help - you can post questions.

Good luck and have fun researching!

[sail7seas]

Congratulations, Emily.
What a wonderful cruise to look forward to. :)

[aliaschief]

Welcome to Cruise Critics and the joy of cruising. My best suggestion would be to reading ship reviews that were done on Alaska cruises. Ports of Call pages and you can gather a ton of information by reading some of the old Roll Calls for groups cruising to Alaska.

If there is a Roll Call for your cruise, join it and work with the Roll Call group in helping each other plan your vacation.

Congratulations on booking your first cruise but I have to warn you that it can become rather addicting.

[NH Cruisers]

You will love the Alaska cruise.

Any time dinning is the way to go in Alaska. I went in May '09 and I just could not bring myself to be eating at my set time. Too much scenery going by. Alaska so far has been my favorite destination.

[fsdj1097]

We sailed the r/t Vancouver itenerary on the Zuiderdam this past May/June. Are you planning on overnighting in Vancouver or Seattle?

We usually spend the night in Seattle, then take the AmTrak to Vancouver the morning of embarkation.

We have had great success in bidding on a hotel on Priceline. We have gotten some 4 star hotels for less than $100 in Seattle.

I agree with an earlier poster to look on the Roll Call forums to see if your cruise already has a roll call started. If not, start one yourself and start networking with others on your cruise.

Also, there is a ton of information on the Alaska port of call boards about shore excursions, what to pack, etc. Just start hanging out there and soak in all in.

You will absolutely fall in love with Alaska and the Zuiderdam. Be careful, Alaska, and cruising are both highly addictive!!! ;).

Have a great cruise and enjoy your days planning.

[AZNative2000]

DH and I (ages 30 and 26) just booked our very first cruise! We are on the ms Zuiderdam for the 9/17/2011 cruise to Alaska on the inside passage. It has always been a dream of ours to visit Alaska, so we are thrilled!

We are hoping to fly into Seattle from Indianapolis and then drive to Vancouver on 9/16 and spend the evening in Vancouver...........any suggestions for good hotels near the port? How early should we book our room for the night of the 16th?

Just wanted to drop in share my excitement and introduce myself - I will be around a lot in the next few months!! If anyone has any good tips or suggestions for a first timer for Alaska, HAL, or cruising in general - I am all ears!!

Welcome to CruiseCritic! We did that cruise as our first-ever cruise in June 2010. Leaving out of Vancouver will present you with calm water and spectacular scenery from the first minute as you cruise through the Strait of Georgia and among the coastal islands. See photo. You will love it!

I would book your hotel ASAP to get best location. You can always change hotels if you find a better one or a SALE:D

You will find a world of knowledge and very helpful people here at CC.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af337/aznative2000/Zuiderdam%20Alaska%20June%202010/LOOKAHEAD_0641.jpg

[maxout]

Wonderful! :D

[fann1sh]

Welcome!

Your cabin's verandah will be 9 feet wide, and roughly 7 and a half feet deep. That's a foot and a half deeper than the average balcony. Those extra eighteen inches make a big difference.

However, looking at AZNative2000's photo a couple posts above this one on this thread, do you see the smoked plexiglass panel? Your balcony will have a solid metal rail instead.

Here is a thread which has a picture at post #10 which shows the difference:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1294581

The cabin next to you towards the stern (back) of the ship will have the smoked panel, though.

[vbmom87]

Welcome!

Your cabin's verandah will be 9 feet wide, and roughly 7 and a half feet deep. That's a foot and a half deeper than the average balcony. Those extra eighteen inches make a big difference.

However, looking at AZNative2000's photo a couple posts above this one on this thread, do you see the smoked plexiglass panel? Your balcony will have a solid metal rail instead.

Here is a thread which has a picture at post #10 which shows the difference:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1294581

The cabin next to you towards the stern (back) of the ship will have the smoked panel, though.

How does one find out which kind of railing/panel will be on your balcony?

[schoolinmy3]

How does one find out which kind of railing/panel will be on your balcony?

You can tell by going to the holland america website and clicking on the deck plan for your ship. When you find the stateroom number it will have a diamond symbol beside it and that indicates the solid steel railing. Also the room categories are priced accordingly. The VF rooms on that deck have the solid steel railing and the VD railings have the plexiglass. Everything else I believe in the room is the same. The nicest thing about your room is that it is on the deck with the wider balcony. We love that deck!
diane

[rochelle_s]

Emily..

Welcome to cruisecritic.

My first real cruise was in the 80's and I still get excited whenever I have another one booked.... but you girl ...are just bubbling!! I can feel your excitement. If you're anything like a lot of us here the research and planning just adds to the excitment.

Do join your roll call as previously suggested.... Have fun with the boards... Happy researching and I wish you a wonderful cruise!

Rochelle

[tcook052]

FWIW I loved the Fairmont Waterfront hotel which is right across the street from Canada Place pier and is a very well appointed luxury hotel. Here's the picture I took from my room.

Good luck and enjoy the cruise. :)

[kalliekae]

Welcome! Half the fun is researching planning, and anticipating the cruise. I think you picked a great month to cruise to Alaska. We also cruised to Alaska in Sept. and saw lots of bears, whales, and other wildlife. The naturalist on board stated that Sept was a great time to view wildlife due to the animals gettting ready for winter. So enjoy your cruise and everyone here will be most willing to answer any questions.

[CowPrincess]

Welcome Emily626! Check out the "West Coast Departures" board here on CC for unvarnished info about Vancouver hotels -- there are some Vancouverites who post there and have TONS of info. Cruising to Alaska is addictive -- be warned :)

[andeesue]

You're going to have a great time!
Have you been to either Seattle or Vancouver before? They're both wonderful cities with lots to see, so if you have the time, plan to come in more than a day ahead and stay a few days extra.
I've had success booking Vancouver on Priceline. I'd stick with 4 stars in the downtown area. Check out the information on www.biddingfortravel.com (http://www.biddingfortravel.com) if you're unfamiliar.