canuckcruiser08
July 26th, 2008, 02:19 PM
Hi Folks,
Just walked off the Oosterdam after seven glorious days. Here's some tips for saving money, and saving your sanity.
Saving Money:
We brought several bottles of wine and a six pack of beer. My husband discreetly drank the beer in our room. No problem bringing wine to dinner- even at the Pinnacle Grill. We were charged 15.00 corkage each time.
If you want a Spa treatment wait for a Port Day or near the end of the cruise when prices drop as much as 40%. Stand your ground with what you want or don't want because they will try to sell you a more expensive treatment and 'miraculous' ointments.
Wait near the end of the cruise to buy stuff from the gift shops on board. They drop their prices for t-shirts, jewelery etc.. in the last three days.
In Sitka and Ketchikan you can walk to the local parks, totem pole exhibits, etc.... within minutes. Save your money and walk.
In Juneau there are tours offered for everything (except I didn't see a bike tour) that HAL offers on the ship. We took the bike tour to Medenhall Glacier. I loved the bike ride ( it wasn't difficult or long) and we met some quirky locals.
Saving Your Sanity:
What is it with the 'piranha-like' behavior with those who eat at the Lido Buffet? I couldn't take some of the frantic energy of people running around piling their plates taller than the surrounding glaciers so we ordered in breakfast most mornings and started our day in the sanctity of our room/ balcony.
Coffee was bad on the ship. Really bad. Or maybe we're just coffee snobs. We brought our own filters and cone, ground coffee and ordered three pots of hot water each morning. Ahhh....it was divine.
Which leads me to the critical importance of a balcony. The weather wasn't great- cold, and drizzly but we still spent a lot of time on our balcony especially at the Hubbard Glacier. Sometimes fellow cruisers would irritate me and I would retreat to the balcony to take in the stunning scenery.
We chose the open dining option. We booked a time each morning (usually around 8:00pm) to avoid standing in line. On the second night we found a table and a group of wait staff that we liked and requested the same table each night. A couple of times we didn't get the table requested but we still had the same staff. If you are an extrovert you will love open dining. You meet different people each night and you have an opportunity to share your experiences and impressions of your trip.
Ketchikan can have as many as four cruise ships in port at one time. If you don't need another precious Alaskan t-shirt or diamond ring then explore the area outside of the tacky tourist shops. I walked off the ship to Main street and turned left- walked up the hill and long flight of stairs to get a panoramic view of the town and catch a glimpse of how the locals live.
Bring warm clothes-hat,gloves, rain jacket, sweater. I didn't bring enough warm clothes and I froze while we were at the Hubbard Glacier.
Bring earplugs. One port arrival announcement rang through the ship at 7:00 am. What is that?
Overall the trip exceeded my expectations. The day spent at the Hubbard Glacier was the highlight.
Just walked off the Oosterdam after seven glorious days. Here's some tips for saving money, and saving your sanity.
Saving Money:
We brought several bottles of wine and a six pack of beer. My husband discreetly drank the beer in our room. No problem bringing wine to dinner- even at the Pinnacle Grill. We were charged 15.00 corkage each time.
If you want a Spa treatment wait for a Port Day or near the end of the cruise when prices drop as much as 40%. Stand your ground with what you want or don't want because they will try to sell you a more expensive treatment and 'miraculous' ointments.
Wait near the end of the cruise to buy stuff from the gift shops on board. They drop their prices for t-shirts, jewelery etc.. in the last three days.
In Sitka and Ketchikan you can walk to the local parks, totem pole exhibits, etc.... within minutes. Save your money and walk.
In Juneau there are tours offered for everything (except I didn't see a bike tour) that HAL offers on the ship. We took the bike tour to Medenhall Glacier. I loved the bike ride ( it wasn't difficult or long) and we met some quirky locals.
Saving Your Sanity:
What is it with the 'piranha-like' behavior with those who eat at the Lido Buffet? I couldn't take some of the frantic energy of people running around piling their plates taller than the surrounding glaciers so we ordered in breakfast most mornings and started our day in the sanctity of our room/ balcony.
Coffee was bad on the ship. Really bad. Or maybe we're just coffee snobs. We brought our own filters and cone, ground coffee and ordered three pots of hot water each morning. Ahhh....it was divine.
Which leads me to the critical importance of a balcony. The weather wasn't great- cold, and drizzly but we still spent a lot of time on our balcony especially at the Hubbard Glacier. Sometimes fellow cruisers would irritate me and I would retreat to the balcony to take in the stunning scenery.
We chose the open dining option. We booked a time each morning (usually around 8:00pm) to avoid standing in line. On the second night we found a table and a group of wait staff that we liked and requested the same table each night. A couple of times we didn't get the table requested but we still had the same staff. If you are an extrovert you will love open dining. You meet different people each night and you have an opportunity to share your experiences and impressions of your trip.
Ketchikan can have as many as four cruise ships in port at one time. If you don't need another precious Alaskan t-shirt or diamond ring then explore the area outside of the tacky tourist shops. I walked off the ship to Main street and turned left- walked up the hill and long flight of stairs to get a panoramic view of the town and catch a glimpse of how the locals live.
Bring warm clothes-hat,gloves, rain jacket, sweater. I didn't bring enough warm clothes and I froze while we were at the Hubbard Glacier.
Bring earplugs. One port arrival announcement rang through the ship at 7:00 am. What is that?
Overall the trip exceeded my expectations. The day spent at the Hubbard Glacier was the highlight.