Zuiderdam VC 5160

[room with a view]

We have booked a VC balcony cabin 5160 on the Zuiderdam for our June

 

Alaskan cruise.

 

Is this a good cabin ?- any comments - good or bad.

 

Is port better than starborard - and if we changed , which cabin should be

 

try to book?

 

Thanks to all expert cruisers for your help .This is our "Trip of a Lifetime"

 

and we will never do it again so could I ask , on the excursions , what

 

should we "not miss "

[CruiserBruce]

Have you looked at the Stikcy at the top of the board entittled "Photos of Cabins/Saterooms"?

 

The scenery will be all around. There isn't a "best" side.

[jtl513]

5160 is a good location IMO.

 

If money is no object, in Juneau do one of the Dog Sled and Glacier excursions by helicopter. $554 or $579 pp.

 

In Skagway the White Pass & Yukon RR ride is a pretty, unique ride. You can do that with the Best of Skagway ($229 pp) or Klondike Gold Dredge ($174 pp) excursions. Or you could do a helicopter/dog sledding excursion there instead of Juneau.

[room with a view]

Thank you for your replies.

 

I've looked at the posts attached to the sticky - no photos but a good description of the Zuiderdam. I will also look at the Cruise Ports section of CC .

 

We are doing a land tour and Rocky Mountaineer before the cruise , it's all very exciting.

 

Hope someone has posted photos of VC cabins - even better if it's 5160:)

[Taz]

I, too, recommend one of the helicopter/dog sled glacier excursions from Juneau. Expensive, but well worth it.

 

I also loved the Rain Forest Canopy zip line excursion in the Tongass National Forest from Ketchikan. The scenery was stunning. It is a very active excursion though. If you're not in pretty good physical shape (particularly upper body strength) it may not be for you.

[jtl513]

There are pictures of Zuiderdam VC5157 and VC5176 here:

http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Zuiderdam/Deck-5.html

Both should be the same as 5160.

[room with a view]

Thanks for all your advice. We have sailed with RCI before - they always send a brochure with all the tours from the various ports of call. I'm sure HAL will produce something similar.

 

We are active 60 + year olds, though the trip line excursion will be (probably) too strenuous !!! I'm sure we will be spoilt for choice for other tours.

 

HAL or independant.

 

Thanks also to JJ for the photos - are there any available taken by CC Cruisers ?

[jtl513]

Thanks for all your advice. We have sailed with RCI before - they always send a brochure with all the tours from the various ports of call. I'm sure HAL will produce something similar.

I don't think it's possible to get paper copies any more. Go to the HAL site, Login, choose My Account > My Reservations >View My Itinerary. For each day there will be an excursion symbol, and when you choose that you will see what is available for that day.

Thanks also to JJ for the photos - are there any available taken by CC Cruisers ?

Nearly everything IRL_Joanie has was taken by CC members. Beneath each set of photos and comments she states who sent her that info.

[Carhut]

Just got off the Zuiderdam this past Monday. We booked Room 4144 which is basically under where you have booked. We went for the 4th floor as they have bigger balconies than the decks above it. Room is tight. I've had more spacious rooms on other ships. Desk had very little space to store things as the refrigerator was in one side. Not a lot of space at the end of the beds or sides for that matter. Bathrooms are fine. Enough space in them. Plenty of closet space.

Took an Alaska cruise last year. The highlight for us was the glaciers in Glacier Nat'l Park and in College Fjord. We did take a tour on the train in Skagway to the Yukon with Chilkoot Tours. They did the same as the ship but cost was cheaper. Very good service. Actually like it as they put us in the first train car and they bussed us back in a mini bus where as the boat's bus is a big bus. Our driver stopped whenever we wanted to take some pictures.

Go to the Alaska board for a lot of information on Alaskan cruises. I learned a lot from that site.

[room with a view]

Hello again,

 

Thanks every one for your advice. I will start looking at the tours with HAL and also see what is available with other tour companies. Chilkoot and others.

 

This is our first visit Alaska cruise, our first land trip and our first Rock Mountaineer journey , roll on June !!! .We are also staying a few extra days in Vancouver before flying back to London.

 

Every one says that this will be a memorable holiday . I have posted on Roll Call but as yet we seem to be the only passengers !!! :)