Help with booking my cruise to Alaska...

[Molecularblonde]

Crystal,

Oh gosh, I have to laugh! My husband is a physician as well. So I tend to plan all of our trips! He just shows up. No, seriously, he's very interested. But at the end of the day, he's too busy too look into every little detail...

 

That Adagio, (the duo of piano and violin) sounds just lovely! And it would occur every evening? How nice. From what you gave described it seems the seating for the Adagio is more sumptuous and the space is somewhat larger on the NA compared to that of the Eurodam. (How are you so good at this?) That's something to consider.

 

 

So that would be another vote for NA. Plus it sails the more scenic route compared to the Eurodam. However, you mentioned that the NA wouldn't be refurbished in drydock until the holidays. And Eurodam visits Sitka instead of Skagway. Not sure which would appeal to us.

 

But I'm certain that whichever vessel I choose, our trip will be great!

And it's nice to know that the Adagio will be playing. How lovely.

 

I cannot believe you were on a HAL cruise for 26 days! How incredible!

 

Thank you again for all of your fantastic help!

MB

[crystalspin]

@MB PS

 

Oh I missed where you said you were torn between balcony and suite. Definitely balcony! Spend the difference on great shore excursions! HAL will make you feel totally pampered without being in a suite. It looks like there are several forward of midships on the port (left) side of ship on the Verandah deck (looking at the Sept9 sailing)... currently 5068-5076. These rooms have other staterooms above and below them (no unexpected noises like jazz bands, dragging of chairs, or rolling of food preparation carts overhead). Here is a video of 5078. 5068 and 5072 would look like this room and 70 and 76 would be the mirror image left for right. And you are not too high to see things (marine wildlife) from your balcony as my mom and I saw lots from the Lido on the Statendam (a smaller ship no longer in the fleet) and that was the same height or one deck higher.

 

 

For shore excursions, I have done whale-watching with Mendenhall Glacier stop (time to walk to the overlook and I think some even went to the waterfall) at Juneau -- HIGHLY recommend the whales: spotting is guaranteed or money back. At Skagway have ridden the train twice and most recommend the train up, bus back for twice the landscape... unless you want to do one of the longer train trips like to Carcross (short for Caribou Crossing!) which go into the Yukon Territory as well, OR take the luxury car. At Ketchikan have gone to two different totem pole parks, Totem Bight was better, but takes longer and the second time we wanted to get back to Creek Street for some shopping and fish-n-chips... salmon weren't running yet but that is where you would see them. There are also some adrenaline trips from this port, as well as fishing and crabbing depending on season. You can check the Shore Excursion listings for more ideas (for all the ports).

 

ETA, you probably can't see the ShoreX until you are "Already Booked" (I know that's crazy isn't it.) -- There are things like helicopter landings on glaciers and float-plane rides, if you really want to throw money at them! At Sitka there is a bear rescue park and a sea-otter viewing boat ride (that can be combined); you may also be able to do whale-watching from there (if you were for instance, going in the helicopter at Juneau). IDK although we are booked to visit Sitka in 2018 the ShoreX are not published for then, yet.

Edited June 22, 2017 by crystalspin

[CruiseGal999]

Cruisegal:

 

OMG!

I gave credit to the wrong person for this post. I'm so terribly sorry! It was *you* who called HAL.

Thank you SO MUCH for doing this! It was so kind of you! I greatly appreciate it. It was so sweet.

:)

MB

Thank you again Cruisegal!

 

No worries. Your welcome. I got some information for me as well. Thought while I was on the phone with them, and they told me about the promotion, I'd pass it along. I knew who/what you meant. :)

[JVilleGal]

We just got off the Zaandam and she is beautiful. I like the smaller ships because there are less long lines, less people, very few children. She has been lovely maintained by happy crew.

We sailed Vancouver to Seward - don't miss the train in Skagway.

 

 

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[JVilleGal]

 

Our Neptune Suite!

 

 

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[CruiseGal999]

OMG ... that is SO gorgeous! It's an apartment! Maybe someday I'll be able to cruise like that. Everyone needs a dream.

[Molecularblonde]

We are booking today! Seven days leaving from and returning to Vacnouver.

Hooray!

There are two options left....

 

Nieum Amsterdam....

What's left:

veranda for $1999

Or a signature suite for $2,599

 

Zaandam...

What's left:

Ocean view $999

Vista Suite: $1899

 

Why is it that the veranda is almost identical to the price of the Vista suite?

 

We cannot sail during the first four days in Sept, so this is why our options are limited...

 

Thanks Crystal spin for those room numbers...

Sorry, what boat dot hose correspond to? The NA?

 

JVilleGal....

Loved the photos, what an amazing suite. And the Zaandam looks exactly our speed.

MB

[crystalspin]

Hi MB -- Sorry I didn't see this message earlier. The Verandah and the Vista "suite" are the same -- the Vista suite is not really a suite -- no concierge, no special lounge or privileges. I do not know why some ships call them Vista Suite and some the more realistic Verandah AKA balcony room.

 

Those room numbers were for the Nieuw Amsterdam, at the time I wrote. I didn't look into the Zaandam bc you expressed interest in the newer ships... There is nothing "wrong" with the Zaandam, we took my mom to South America around Cape Horn in a balcony room ("Vista Suite") on that lovely lady. One memory of the room was the incredible storage! There were THREE banks of drawers, one apiece for us, and the typical great storage in the closets.

[Molecularblonde]

Crystalspin:

 

I swear, you're as knowledgeable the PCC I spoke with today!

Thank you for this reply!

 

You're 100% the "Vista" suite is essentially a Verandah room. The square footage is the same. I really wanted to book on the Zaandam, simply because it was a smaller ship, but I got a better room location on the NA. And, as you said, she's a newer ship. It's so exciting.

 

We're thrilled!

 

We booked for 6/16-6/23, and chose a Verandah room. I actually read your specs to the PCC over the phone. It was smart to help me to chose a room that wasn't underneath the restaurant and one that wasn't too high up!

The PCC said that I can go to the HAL site and now register and print my boarding passes. Actually I don't think I can do that until we are fifty days out.

I can't imagine what things you can do in the boat. Helpfully my husband will be awake enough to enjoy the activities. But we are fine with just sitting on the balcony.

 

I had to laugh though: apparently there is a price differential between a steel balcony and a plexiglass one. I had no idea. I chose the plexiglass one.

 

Thank you, (and everyone here) for your help! It was priceless!

 

Please keep any tips coming.

MB

[crystalspin]

Wait I thought we were looking at September? Did you mean to type 9/16?

 

Yes, the plexi-guard balcony will be best to see if what is there warrants getting up to look over the rail. You'll still want to look over if there is wildlife as the plexiglass distorts and may get spatters on it during the week.

 

Have lunch in the Tamarind (at least, if you like Asian/fusion food) -- lunch is very reasonable up charge. Tamarind is only on the newer ships. Canaletto was also very nice and reasonable for dinner, my family enjoyed it very much. We like to book specialty restaurants on Gala nights as those venues are always "smart casual"... that said, Alaska "formal" is about as casual as you want it to be -- the other Gala night the men just wore nice Hawaiian shirts! I believe your Gala nights will be night of Glacier Bay and the last night (cruising Inside Passage by British Columbia). And *that* said, you may dress up as much as you like, if you like!

[Molecularblonde]

Yes, I meant to write 9/16! Wow, I need bifocals!

I love, (love!) Asian fushion food. I can't wait to check Out Tamarind.

 

The PCC asked if we wanted to have a set dinner at eight every evening, or to do a more "free style" option. I wasn't certain, so I chose the latter. Is this what you opted for? It might be nice to dine with the same people every evening....not sure if I made the right call....:confused:

 

What are Gala evenings?

 

My husband and I enjoy dressing up. He wears scrubs to work, so wearing a jacket and a tie is a welcome event. It sounds like that type of attire isn't common on HAL. This reminds me of Seattle, very laid back! Well, we will dress up, why not, lol!

 

Cheers!

MB

[crystalspin]

When it's just dr'spin and I (w/ or w/o my mom), we opt for As You Wish Dining -- you can still eat in the MDR -- one level is fixed time and the other is "walk-in". People say you can still make reservations, but to us that misses the point. If we do go to the MDR (which DH likes), we tell the M'd to "seat us wherever makes it easy on you" -- we just love the beaming smile that elicits from them! 90% of the time that will be at a table of 8 or 10 -- usually new-to-us people, usually pleasant. AYWD leaves us free to grab a bite in the Lido after a long day, or go to an up-charge venue without remembering to let our (fixed time) servers know we will not be there.

 

When we took another 6 people of my family to Alaska last year, we did do early seating fixed at a table for the 8 of us -- it was one time for sure we would be together -- although most of us usually made a group for happy hour as well, I wanted everyone to know we weren't bound at the hips!

 

If you do Fixed, there's always a chance you will be at a table with people who skip, or those you wish would! (not compatible that is). We did have 'forced' tablemates on two river cruises in Russia, and were fortunate to have pleasant people, if not ones we wanted to or have stayed in touch with.

 

"Gala" is the fairly new title for what used to be "Formal" nights. Usually 2 on a 7-night cruise. Usually on SeaDays. As Formal got less and less so, HAL (and many other lines) faced the facts and rather than inconsistently enforcing the dress code, simply relaxed it. You can read the current explanation on the website (under Already Booked, scroll down to "FAQs", then "What to Wear")... you are encouraged to dress up whatever that means to you!

 

Dr'spin wears blazer and tie every work day and we have multiple dressy events through the year. We travel (vacation) three or four times a year and enjoy simplifying the process (i.e. packing light). However, I would encourage you to make this YOUR experience! Take the coat and tie and a pretty outfit or two for you! You will have plenty of storage in your Verandah stateroom, as I mentioned before (we had plenty for three, and we did take a change of clothes just for Gala nights that time, to keep it special for my mom). I only recommend that you be able to handle all of your bags in one trip, by yourselves -- so that you may leave the ship early on the last morning and get to your prearranged-if-possible transportation... even if it's your own car! Make the break ahead of the masses.