Thoughts on a 1 day cruise?

Holland just sent me an email that there is a one day cruise out of Seattle. It's less than we usually pay for a nice dinner. What are they like?

It does last long, but it's a fun day out and no need to unpack. Basically, it was lunch, time around the pool, get ready for dinner, a couple of drinks, dinner and a show.

The bus ride home cost us more than the cruise cost.

Sandra

When is it?

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When is it?

 

 

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The 24th of September.

Even if I lived handy to Seattle/Vancouver, I would never do a 1 day cruise.

You aren't even on the ship 24 hours.

Many years ago, my husband and I did a 1 day to Mexico from San Diego. But we had to be at the dock at 7am and we disembarked the ship and it was dusk. We did this in July. It was fun We went to Ensenada and got off and shopped and the bars and dancing was in full swing on the ship. It was cheap .. I don't remember exactly the cost ... but it was cheap.

Didn't know HAL did a one day cruise. If I lived at that port & depending on how much it would be a great way to spent the day.

Allan

Didn't know HAL did a one day cruise. If I lived at that port & depending on how much it would be a great way to spent the day.

Allan

Many years ago, my husband and I did a 1 day to Mexico from San Diego.

But we had to be at the dock at 7am and we disembarked the ship and it was dusk.

Personally I didn't like the food or the entertainment enough on my one HAL cruise to get on for a single day cruise but I guess it would depend on where you live and what other options for entertainment exist there

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Never been on one.

I did one once (Vancouver to Seattle), as a means to get on the ship one day prior to our 14 day Alaska cruise and because it was much easier for us to fly to Vancouver than Seattle. There were a lot of families; more than on a usual HAL cruise. The kids took over the Lido pool area. We avoided the Lido the rest of embarkation day!

If you're expecting a one day cruise as if it were the equivalent of an evening out, you should know that the MDR did not have the best menu selections, IIRC. I found something to eat but it was not the typical first night menu; it was more like a menu on a late night port call where there are basic selections, like what one makes at home (lasagna or pot roast). Yes, you could book the PG but that increases the cost of your "evening out".

I don't think I would choose to do a one day cruise, even if I lived close to the port. One gets on around noon, and then gets kicked off by 9:30 am. And then one has to make their way back home somehow. To me, that additional cost would be the deal breaker. It was sad to see those excited people from the day prior leave the ship. But if you can pair it with something else, like an event in the disembarkation port, or just a longer stay there to see the sights or visits with friends/family, then it would be more worthwhile.

Short cruises are attractive to some Mariners looking to make it to that next * level, particularly if you are getting a suite bonus. ;)

Interesting idea - but because the boarding and debarkation processes are annoyances - the few hours on board would not be worth it to me , regardless of how inexpensive--- especially if I lived more than a five minute's walk away from the pier.

We live within a half-hour of Seattle. Years ago when we first started cruising, we took a one-nighter. I'm not interested in doing it again, just too much hassle for such a short time. Now the minimum we book is a 4+-day Pacific Coastal (combined with some land time at the other end). And then only as little sea breaks between longer cruises! :D

OP if you treat it as a night out, live in the Seattle area and you are indeed getting such a deal, it may be fine for you. :)

We've done a couple of 3-day r/t out of Port Canaveral because it's only 25 min away, and 3 or 4 days out of FLL just to see Eurodam and Koningsdam on their inaugural US cruises, but that's our minimum.

I did one once (Vancouver to Seattle), as a means to get on the ship one day prior to our 14 day Alaska cruise and because it was much easier for us to fly to Vancouver than Seattle. There were a lot of families; more than on a usual HAL cruise. The kids took over the Lido pool area. We avoided the Lido the rest of embarkation day!

 

If you're expecting a one day cruise as if it were the equivalent of an evening out, you should know that the MDR did not have the best menu selections, IIRC. I found something to eat but it was not the typical first night menu; it was more like a menu on a late night port call where there are basic selections, like what one makes at home (lasagna or pot roast). Yes, you could book the PG but that increases the cost of your "evening out".

 

I don't think I would choose to do a one day cruise, even if I lived close to the port. One gets on around noon, and then gets kicked off by 9:30 am. And then one has to make their way back home somehow. To me, that additional cost would be the deal breaker. It was sad to see those excited people from the day prior leave the ship. But if you can pair it with something else, like an event in the disembarkation port, or just a longer stay there to see the sights or visits with friends/family, then it would be more worthwhile.

Be careful when doing this, as you might run into US restrictions on cruising (basically you cannot go from one US city to another and combining the two cruises could run into this restriction). Check with your TA first. Even involving two ships does not get you around this.

Even involving two ships does not get you around this.

That only applies if you were to make a cruise on one ship, and wanted to get on the same ship for another cruise that when combined as back to back would be illegal.

 

Here are some examples:

 

You take Ship #1 from LA to Vancouver, and then Ship #1 again from Vancouver to Alaska, ending in Seattle: not allowed.

 

You take Ship #1 from LA to Vancouver, then get off, while the ship sails to Seattle, and get back on Ship #1 from Seattle to Alaska and back to Seattle: allowed (essentially the 24 hour rule)

 

You take Ship #1 from LA to Vancouver, then get directly on Ship #2 (same cruise line or different line, makes no difference) for Vancouver to Alaska and ending in Seattle:allowed (each ship only took you from a US port to a foreign port, or from a foreign port to a US port, so each is allowed). Remember, it is all about one ship.

Chengkp75 says it does:

Well, I am not an expert on this, but I would still check with my TA or the cruise line directly before booking it. Rather be safe than sorry!

From the Celebrity website:

There are some specific US regulations which mean we can’t take bookings for consecutive sailings that start in one US port and finish in another unless they include a distant foreign port. If this is something you were planning, contact your Personal Cruise Specialist or your travel agent to check for further advice before making a booking. If a booking is made on this basis we must reserve the right to cancel it and refund to you the price paid.

Be careful when doing this, as you might run into US restrictions on cruising (basically you cannot go from one US city to another and combining the two cruises could run into this restriction). Check with your TA first. Even involving two ships does not get you around this.

It was not an issue in our case as we embarked in Vancouver.

Holland just sent me an email that there is a one day cruise out of Seattle. It's less than we usually pay for a nice dinner. What are they like?

Many of the so-called "one day cruises" are frequently attached to longer itineraries: for instance, this September 30th, HAL is offering a 17-day Seattle to Vancouver Hawaii itinerary on the Eurodam, which is actually comprised of two portions, a one-day Seattle-Vancouver, and a 16-day Vancouver to Vancouver (that begins October 1st.) Therefore, many of your fellow passengers will actually be on board for much longer than you are. Because it's part of a longer itinerary, the dining and entertainment offerings for the one- day cruise will be pretty much the standard fare. Your mini-bar in your cabin might be locked up for the one-night cruise, however, and your cabin attendants will be anxious for you to leave pronto in the morning so they can ready your cabin for the passengers boarding in Vancouver who are doing the longer itinerary. The people who are on the ship for one night will stay up late and party, in order to extract every active minute from their short experience. You may encounter employees from HAL corporate headquarters, who are doing the short trip as a familiarization experience, or to take advantage of their travel benefits with HAL.

I did one once (Vancouver to Seattle), as a means to get on the ship one day prior to our 14 day Alaska cruise and because it was much easier for us to fly to Vancouver than Seattle. There were a lot of families; more than on a usual HAL cruise. The kids took over the Lido pool area. We avoided the Lido the rest of embarkation day!

 

If you're expecting a one day cruise as if it were the equivalent of an evening out, you should know that the MDR did not have the best menu selections, IIRC. I found something to eat but it was not the typical first night menu; it was more like a menu on a late night port call where there are basic selections, like what one makes at home (lasagna or pot roast). Yes, you could book the PG but that increases the cost of your "evening out".

 

I don't think I would choose to do a one day cruise, even if I lived close to the port. One gets on around noon, and then gets kicked off by 9:30 am. And then one has to make their way back home somehow. To me, that additional cost would be the deal breaker. It was sad to see those excited people from the day prior leave the ship. But if you can pair it with something else, like an event in the disembarkation port, or just a longer stay there to see the sights or visits with friends/family, then it would be more worthwhile.

Interesting comment about the food. Cheap cruise, cheap food? We sailed on Norway twice, same itinerary, but the second time very late in her career. The second cruise was amazingly cheap. Much bigger/better cabin for much less money compared to the first one. We could see a definite difference in the food. Cheaper cuts of meat, etc.

I don't think I'd do an overnight cruise unless, as you did, I could use it to extend a longer one.

Many of the so-called "one day cruises" are frequently attached to longer itineraries: for instance, this September 30th, HAL is offering a 17-day Seattle to Vancouver Hawaii itinerary on the Eurodam, which is actually comprised of two portions, a one-day Seattle-Vancouver, and a 16-day Vancouver to Vancouver (that begins October 1st.) Therefore, many of your fellow passengers will actually be on board for much longer than you are. Because it's part of a longer itinerary, the dining and entertainment offerings for the one- day cruise will be pretty much the standard fare. Your mini-bar in your cabin might be locked up for the one-night cruise, however, and your cabin attendants will be anxious for you to leave pronto in the morning so they can ready your cabin for the passengers boarding in Vancouver who are doing the longer itinerary. The people who are on the ship for one night will stay up late and party, in order to extract every active minute from their short experience. You may encounter employees from HAL corporate headquarters, who are doing the short trip as a familiarization experience, or to take advantage of their travel benefits with HAL.

Very good description. And pretty accurate with our cruises when the coastals joined. On our Westerdam cruise I discovered the mini bars were locked (they did ours by accident - only reason I found out) and the Bose players in the Neptune suites are taken.

However, one thing I did notice was a huge difference in the MDR menu. I was really glad we had booked some PG's for that segment. The MDR menu had little appeal to me and was not typical of what we had had for 26 days or the 16 day previous.

It was not an issue in our case as we embarked in Vancouver.

True of course, but I wanted other readers to know that they may or may not be able to do something similar to what you did.

The only 1-days currently listed are between Seattle and Vancouver.

 

On HAL?

 

Not even one night on board? Did you have a cabin, or was it like the day cruises from FLL to Freeport Bahamas where we don't get a cabin?

It was Princess. We did NOT have a cabin ... it was just a day cruise where you eat and drink and sailed to Ensenada and back.

Thank you for the info. We thought it might be too good to be true, but we are still considering it just for the veranda and room service. We love Vancouver, and our friends there will meet us at the port, so it might be fun romantic night on the sound. Lots to think about. Thank you