V'sGirl

Nothing I've seen so far would ruin my experience on the Westerdam. In fact, it all looks bright and new and beautiful. The Crow's Nest seems to have many different types of chairs; I'd imagine that everyone can find at least one that is comfortable. I am really interested in viewing the suite renovations. I hope someone posts pictures or videos soon.

DH and I are booked on the 3/11/18 cruise. Thanks to all of you for the input and the pictures and videos! I am much clearer now on what happens during the canal part of the cruise.

Thank you for this great post! Hubby and I are sailing Boston to Montreal in June for our 10th anniversary. Your beautiful pictures and video have made me even more excited. Can't wait!

Go to the HAL website, click on community, then on blogs. By the way, does anyone else miss the old website homepage, with the beautiful video of the ship, the sound of the water as the ship cuts through it, and the lovely music? I used to just leave it on as I was doing other things.

 

How very true!:D

 

Thanks, both of you!

Fascinating, terrifying, mind-blowing...I need a thesaurus.

Great information everyone, strategies both booked well in advance and near final payment date. We fly out of Vegas, so would have the flexibility to cherry pick flights and sailings last minute, though that's not my first choice unless we're eyeballing something expensive.

 

I didn't know that you could buy a Future Cruise Credits and redeem it through a TA. RCL has pretty much axed this feature.

 

Congrats to the person who saved $600 just off this thread! ;)[/quote]

 

Thank YOU Stateroom Sailor for starting the thread, and all the Other Contributors who added so much excellent info. As my DH says, it's the happenstance encounters that turn out to be the game-changers.

We had an aft verandah cabin in the Zuiderdam a few years ago. We loved it because it was big, we were out of the wind, and we had beautiful, panoramic views. The downside is that we were on Navigation deck just under the aft Lido pool and sundeck, so lots of noise in the morning as chairs were moved and straightened, etc. I would choose a lower deck if I were booking it again. Also, the cabin had a little swaying movement all the time, even when anchored, so that might be a consideration for some folks. Choosing a lower deck might help that also, I guess.

Last month, we booked a June 2015 cruise through our HAL PCC. It is an anniversary cruise, so we booked a Neptune Suite. After reading this thread yesterday, I looked at the big box website and discovered that we would get over $600 in OBC if we booked through them! I immediately called the big box to confirm, then called our PCC. He said that we could switch our booking without costing him anything. I did so this morning, and we are thrilled.

Another great reason to subscribe to Cruise Critic!

Huh? This is related to shipping salmon home?

 

Sorry. It looks as though this is the OPs first cruise to Alaska; I just wanted to wish them as wonderful a cruise as we had.

You know it will be beautiful, but the reality is impossible to describe. It will absolutely blow you away! My Avatar is from our trip two years ago. We spent hours on our verandah watching the scenery go by.

Enjoy your wonderful cruise on the lovely Ryndam!

Thank you for the fantastic posts! We are traveling on Maasdam a year from now - Boston to Montreal. Even though we won't be in the Caribbean, I loved reading your comments about the ship and looking at your pictures. We have been to some of the islands you visited, and we have wonderful memories of them. We can't wait to experience Maasdam for ourselves. We have sailed on the Veedam and Ryndam and loved them both.

Beth and Victor

V"sGirl embarking on June 6 2015, on the Maasdam 7 day Boston to Montreal cruise.

I am a high school English teacher, and I can tell you that if one of your former teachers read your review, he or she would be very proud of your fine narrative form! We are booked on this same cruise a year from now for our tenth anniversary (second marriage for both). It has been two years since our last cruise, and I can't wait to get back on board. The next twelve months are going to be full of anticipation and planning.