cruisingrob21

I almost booked one of these cabins on the Noordam.  I can only speculate that while you'll get more light, it will be windier.  Not as windy as forward facing cabin due to the lifeboats nearby, but not as wind free as a "normal" verandah cabin.  Not sure how else to characterize it.

It used to be a smoking/cigar lounge.  Now its just a closed off room thats presumably quiet most of the time.  It may be hosted for occasional functions or meetings  I imagine it may get repurposed during the next drydock to increase the crows nest area.

Some photos:

https://halfacts.com/vista-class/noordam-observation-deck/

I'm heading out on the Noordam later this month if you want more photos.

5 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

We have friends on the Nieuw Amsterdam tomorrow.  Is Cabo Rojo, DR, a new port for Holland America?  I have never noticed it before.

Thats a good question.  Satellite images show nothing there but this article says it just received its first ship this January.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/01/port-of-cabo-rojo-welcomes-its-first-ship/#google_vignette

22 minutes ago, barbAZID said:

Thanks all.  I was thinking of San Diego and Ensenada also but Holland sent me a no go notice.  Has anyone paid the fine for breaking the rule.

HAL won't let you, so not likely a fine has been paid.  I've read that if the ships allow this to happen they can be barred from entering that port or nation again.  

Waivers have been granted for extenuating circumstances (during COVID) or localized emergencies (weather, health problem), but this is not something that anyone can just "pay the fine" to get around.  The ship operator can get in trouble also.

Possibly related - the other day some sapphire and coral princess voyages at the end of 2025 were cancelled

I personally enjoy taking the Seabus to North Vancouver before embarking.  Lots of great restaurants and you can get some great photos of the city and your ship:

To make it a legal Seattle to Whittier/Anchorage, you need to do the cruise between Vancouver and Anchorage, and you'd use the cruise line transfer service from Seattle to get to vancouver.  It's about a 4-5 hour bus ride.  There is a train you can take (Amtrak Cascades) also which takes about the same time, or less than driving if border traffic is bad for road traffic.  Highly recommend the train routing, but I think there is only a 7am and evening train, so you are realistically looking at either a hotel in Seattle the night before, or a hotel in Vancouver.

Alaska 2025 was released in early December 2023.  Seems to be kind of late - Princess released Alaska 2025 in July of 2023.  So probably summer to late fall time.

I will say that by and large, HAL itineraries and ships on specific runs have been the same since the restart.  Eurodam and Westerdam out of Seattle, Koningsdam and Zaandam RT vancouver, and Noordam and Niuew Amsterdam doing the 1 way voyage between Seward and Vancouver.  There are exceptions to the itineraries (with a few unique ones) as well as some ships doing a few oddball swaps, but generally that was the trend last year.

Well, we booked the October voyage of this itinerary instead of our usual alaska voyage. It's nice to have some variety in alaska voyages and nice (for us) that they are RT out of Seattle.  Usually a voyage like this would be RT from Vancouver.

The R class (and maybe S class) also had that informal bridge-wing viewing area that was always enjoyable to visit when docking.  I recall when a family member worked for HAL and invited us onboard a brand new Maasdam in Seattle for lunch.  We later sailed on her and then later the Ryndam.  Do any of you remember that the Statendam and Maasdam (and maybe Ryndam and Veendam) had an escalator from deck 2 to deck 3 (I think?).  I think they were removed during drydocks, but I recall hearing it was to speed up getting folks to and from the common gangway deck.  Funny how that "speed" was needed on a ship holding 1200.

53 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I was once told, by a captain, that the pretty picture of the route map does not necessarily indicate what will happen.  Those are created by graphic designers and not by Captains who chart the route to save fuel.  I, like Blackduck59, suspect that northbound will be in open ocean and southbound will be in the Canadian inside passage.  Note that HAL considers cruises to be inside passage even if it will be only in the Alaska inside passage.  The scenery in the Canadian inside passage is stunning.  Hopefully, the route will be as depicted in the map but don't count on it.

And sometimes the opposite happens.  On a Crown Princess Alaskan Sampler from Seattle to Vancouver in 2022, the itinerary map showed that it would use the outside passage both ways - however we were treated to great weather and the captain maneuvered the ship through the Johnstone Straight and Seymour Narrows.  It is a bit shorter and I'm guessing if its favorable weather it might even be a net savings for the ship to use the cleaner fuel as required that close to land.  Note that the Grand class ships can sail this route, the Royal Class ships are not allowed per the Canadian government.  Of note, we arrived at Seymour Narrows at the same time the Noordam was heading northbound.  Because its narrow, we did slow down considerably to allow the Noordam to sail through the narrows first.  I'll say its unusual to get that close to another ship when not approaching port, or sailing in glacier bay or other fjord.  The image below is grainy due to night, but on the lower right you can faintly make out the Crown's bridge wing.

If Ketchikan and PR entice you, you can sail RT from Vancouver on a 5 night voyage at the end of April this year on the Noordam going to both.  Although there won't be a stop in Nanaimo or Victoria, and you'll miss the inside-inside passage, the voyage will be rather similar.  And its clearly not selling well, as I've had two upgrade offers and there appear to be plenty of available cabins just one month out as well as a few price drops.

I think all the cruise lines are approaching the recovery different.  Some (Princess, RCL etc are increasing costs, making formerly free things now have a price, and doing some cutting here and there).  HAL seems to be keeping their pricing somewhat controlled, but they do seem to be more aggressive in the cost cutting realm.  All the cruise lines have hefty amounts of debt and are likely preparing for expensive drydocks to upgrade their current ships as well as contemplating new ship orders.  HAL also seems to be changing their approach to entertainment and leaning more into their most well attended events.  They have started embracing more interactive games and trivia than I remember in the past and they seem to be well attended.  

Personally, I think we may have gone over the crest of a pricing wave centered on this summer.  I'm seeing somewhat more reasonable prices later this year and next, but I think there is more room to drop - fingers crossed.

Cooking classes are occasionally offered, but not as much as they used to and it seems like the partnership with America's Test Kitchen is over (fun fact, many of the lights in BB Kings are holdovers from that partnership and are inverted mixing bowls and collanders).

Classical music is now held in the World Stage area occasionally.  A much less intimate venue, but more seating.

Well, now I come to you all with another question and hoping for your wisdom on Noordam verandahs.

Choices on either a deck 5 aft cabin where there are 2 availabile (5187, 5189) or deck 4 wide balcony cabins (4164 or 4166).  What would you choose?  I've stayed in similar cabins to 4164 and 4166 on the K-dam and it was nice - never stayed in an aft verandah and a bit concerned about the noise from the wake when underway.

Keep in mind that Alaska ports on voyages RT from Seattle are not typical.  Juneau is afternoon and into the late evening, ketchikan is AM to noon-ish.  Victoria is 8pm to midnight.  Icy Strait Pt is evening only.  It's likely the performers will have one of the nights off where the ship makes an evening call since only a certain percentage of the passengers will be aboard - so you may not even miss it.

You say you've never been on a cruise?  I think you'll have a great time as long as you manage your expectations compared to land resorts.  There are many beneficial aspects of a cruise over a land resort, but obviously there are some tradeoffs.  For instance, generally, rooms are smaller than the average resort/hotel room, but at the same time, you are much closer to food, recreation, and entertainment.  

While I think you have a nice list here of things to compare the ships by, I wouldn't get too hung up on the details.

We took folks that had never been on a cruise on the old ms Amsterdam (near sister of the Zaandam before she was sold in 2020) and they had a great time which was nice to see given that that ship had very few bells and whistles compared to the newest ships out there today.

To speak to your questions specifically.

• The lack of Club Orange private venue won't be that much of an issue.  On the K-dam its in an interior area where you have to look through a hallway to see the water.  On all HAL ships the main dining room has stunning views - and the Zaandam and sister ship Volendam have probably the best views of all the ships.
• As for dining options, it depends if you get bored eating in the same place each night.  yes the K-dam has a few more choices but unless you like those venues that it has over the Zaandam, you wouldn't notice.  The main dining room menu is mostly different each night.  The other venues also cost extra - the food is very good and highly specialized for the venue, but I think most would agree that the included main dining room food is very good to excellent.  Sorry, that's not a good answer I guess.
• I can't speak to the NS rooms being quieter on the Zaandam - someone who has stayed in them is probably better qualified to answer.  But there really isn't that much to move around on the lido deck above compared to bigger ships.  Overall, the Zaandam is a quiet ship unless you are on deck 1 during docking or port activities.
• Crowds - well the Zaandam handles crowds very well in that you'll rarely see them, but compared to a land resort, you may experience them when you wouldn't expect them.  There will be fewer crowds than the K-dam for food and entertainment, for sure.  But remember, you are on a ship and when its at sea, everyone is onboard also.  If its a sunny day, expect it to be a bit more crowded around the pools.  On embarkation day, expect it to be very busy in the buffet right after boarding.  But on the Zaandam, I don't really recall seeing crowds other than those times.  There may be some when getting off the ship to go into port if there is only 1 gangway down.
• The Zaandam has better viewing areas, and more of them for the amount of passengers onboard, for sure.
• The Zaandam also has a better space in the Explorations Cafe and for that we would sail on her again over the K-dam. 

The K-dam is a beautiful ship, as is the Zaandam.  The Zaandam may not be around too much longer as its one of the older ships in the fleet and the cruise lines can make more profit with larger ships.  If I were you, especially going to Alaska, I would stick with the Zaandam. 

Yes, seems like it.

Astoria, Oregon posted an update to their cruise schedule for 2026 just yesterday which includes Brilliant Lady making a routine day call (8 to 7pm).  Presumably heading to Alaska?  Previous call appears to be Catalina Island.  I know the ship is potentially different to fit through the canal so its probably not too much of a surprise, but I haven't been following the development of BL that closely.  Additionally, Astoria posts these port calls pretty far out and they can be inaccurate as lines continue to make tweaks to itineraries, especially on these US coastal voyages.

I have a different perspective - it seems like HAL has changed their entertainment and now, with the game shows and more regular comedians, seems to be more similar to Princess' entertainment or other mainstream entertainment.  While I'll miss the LC group, the change has some positives I think.  It is disappointing however that they don't seem to fully utilize the main show lounges as much as they did pre-covid.  Most of the Princess ships have 2 or 3 lounges for the more informal performances (comedians, game shows, trivia) whereas the HAL ships really only have the Blues Club/Queens Lounge for those events.  Those rooms are sufficiently intimate, but seem to always be at capacity for the aforementioned events.  The Vista and Signature ships don't really have any room for changes to add another venue, and the Pinnacle class ships could make the Blues Club into two venues by removing the balcony, but I don't know how popular that might be.

Add on question - what is your favorite ship in each class?  This assumes that you've sailed on all ships in a class somewhat recently and I'm sure that list of cruisers is pretty short for the Vista class ships and the Pinnacle class ships.

The "Have It All Plus" package on bookings more than 12 months out shows that it includes the elite beverage package with drinks priced to $15.  The package price is still $55 per person, per day.

Thank you all.

39 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

 8069 is midships, but appears to be under the DiveIn kitchen.

Good point.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Could I ask why you would choose 4053/4054 rather than 4123/4124?

I have an upcoming voyage on the Noordam and took an upgrade offer to a verandah.  It's not a well selling voyage (its an unusual 5 night voyage from Vancouver) and was offered an upgrade from Oceanview to verandah for $50 total.  I took it and have a few options of cabins that I'd love to get some input on.  It seems like deck 4 and 8 have deeper balconies than decks 5 or 6.

• 4053 or 4054 - I like the fact that I could look aft and see a bit more given that these are the last verandahs before the lifeboats.  I'm okay with the exposed nature of this location.  While underway, either of these would seem to have less wind.
• 4124 and 4123 - These are similar to 4053 and 4054 but have lifeboats forward and no adjacent room.  The only downside is they seem like they would be windier than 4053 or 4054, but its easier to see forward.
• Several VA rooms on on deck 5 -all seem to be the same with what looks like a narrower verandah
• 2 VA rooms on deck 6 (6082/6091), right next to the panoramic elevators which I've read have less privacy and the elevator makes noise all day and night
• 1 VA room on deck 8, near midship (8069).  This seems to have a slightly deeper balcony than decks 5 or 6.

Any advice would be appreciated - which room would you take and why?

Can I say the ms Amsterdam even though shes now with Fred Olsen Cruise Line?  I know the other R class ships were similar but the Amsterdam was special.

Of the current fleet I'm torn between the Eurodam and the Koningsdam