AKJonesy

Another idea are canal boats or Narrowboats. There are a ton of them with all kinds of itineraries based upon your interests; wine areas, biking areas, etc. If you are interested, I'd start by looking at some you tube vids. This is something we are going to do on the Mississippi, and I'd love to do a canal/narrowboat in England. T

I feel like I always get a deal but I think only once in 200 cruising days have I booked directly with the cruise line. To give you an example, on an upcoming 31 day trip which is also available as a back to back, we saved about $3k by NOT booking through the cruise line. Also, instead of booking it as a 31 day trip which was a little more expensive, we booked it as a back to back trip 14 day and 17 day keeping the same stateroom so there is going to be no move. That back to back booking was also less. I don't look for the nickel and dime stuff like the OBC, etc if I can get a decent price. When I can save 3K on a trip, I don't concern myself with a $100 OBC because I'm looking at how much I'm saving. I have rarely and I mean rarely seen the cruise line beat my online discount cruise booker, and I have a personal cruise consultant as well. So, for me, I'm not getting any better "experience" or any worries by booking direct through cruise line. I've used the same online cruise agency for about 15 years. - I don't know anything about the casino offers, but I hear they are great. You can probably do a search on "casino offer" on this site and get information. I don't think we can link to discount cruise sites otherwise I would do that. One thing to caution you though is that depending on where you live and how you get to the cruise port may matter. That is, if you are traveling from far and you need to get there by a flight, the longer lead time could be important. IDK. I always book a one or two day in advance of cruise hotel, airbnb etc. Other people are going to chime in here.

We were last on ship in March 2023 and still did buy the cans of soda in ports. Not sure what you mean but the soda cans are zero waste. All aluminum is crushed on board and taken off for recycling. Maybe I just don't understand the comment, but it really doesn't matter bc that is what I have done and that is how I responded to the OP; what I have done every time.

@roxievegas I am only addressing the question relating to bringing on soda. So, as you have already seen someone has posted that information from the HAL site. I am sort of tired of this policy because it DOES NOT line up with reality. I don't bring on any soda upon embarkation. EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TIME I have been in a port after embarkation, I have brought soda back to the ship. Crew members do this as well. But, here is what I do so that I don't get anything confiscated. I ASK the security people when I get off the ship in port, "can I bring cans of soda back on the ship". EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TIME the answer is yes and every time I have bought and brought the cans on ship at the port stop with no problem. I don't know where you are going, but I usually find a grocery store or two on my cruises and that is when I buy and bring back soda. Maybe it is just that at the embarkation ports they are more strict and don't want people doing this; IDK.

Go to Booking.com and put in Seward. I found a few places there. Sourdough Lodging, Exit Glacier Lodge. Sourdough Lodging is right in Seward. Exit Glacier Lodge is out by the glacier in Seward. Exit Glacier is highly recommended to see.

Is anyone associated with the military - a military retiree maybe? If so, the Seward Military Resort probably has a lot of space and far more reasonable. It MIGHT be worth it for you to rent a vehicle for the one day so that you can get into more accommodations out at Miller's Landing area or get something through VRBO or airbnb. Hotels are going to be probably insane then anyway. You might have to get creative but here is an example of a place at Miller's Landing. You might have to book 2 places. https://www.millerslandingak.com/oceanfront-inn-duplex-downstairs-suite/ You wouldn't have to try and get some kind of big vehicle...you could shuttle people...stuff isn't that far. Open up google maps for Seward and then tighten the search to Miller's Landing. There you will see various places on Resurrection Bay. Don't look at the google maps availability because it won't be turned on or accurate; instead use Visit Site under the calendar.

@NothingBeatsBaseball mind saying why u did not do the PJs Taxi. I like to know all these options plus it might be helpful to the op.

The person that posted the stateroom and gave a tour on YT said they saw a few maintenance workers during the week and that cruise passengers were not allowed: Rotterdam and Nieuw Statendam are same class ship.

Thanks for clarifying. I don't know why a few of us assumed you are on HAL. So, coming out of Vancouver, you are going to be on the east side of the island, but @quack2 says west side which would be more rough IF there have been storms and wind. Hoping your Gulf of Alaska crossing will be smooth as you sail across to Seward from Hubbard Glacier. Just test a seasick pill at home before sailing to see if you get that hangover effect and if not, your sailing sb fine.

@DaveOKC , Steve in Omaha is on Norwegian Jewel; not HAL.

As an Alaskan, I'm going to take a jab. She works at ADN, so there's that, and I don't mind saying that IMHO ADN is the exact type of media outlet that defends this exact type of situation, making victims of people that refuse to take personal accountability for their own foolish actions/mistakes. Just sayin.

@Steve in Omaha a couple of things. First, are you sure you leave Sep 4? Which ship? I see several ships leaving Vancouver on Sep 3. Anyway, GENERALLY those leaving from Vancouver are smoother because they are not out in the open ocean. If you can provide the ship, I can show you your route unless you found it already. Here is another thing you might want to look at when you know the route you are taking up to AK and back. Go to wind alert dot com. Near the top of the page you will see "Live Wind". Simply drag the map to the area and you will see the wind. More wind means more waves. Of course, you would have to look at this on the day or thereabouts to get an idea. If you look at it today, you will see that outside Vancouver Island it is very windy but inside is different. This won't help you today, but you can get an idea. I like to use this around the coastal and inland waters of Alaska when I am in those areas.

My husband and I often stay in fully obstructed staterooms because they are good value. The HH category on Oosterdam will have a lifeboat in front of the window so there is really no view of the ocean, BUT there is light, and the rooms on deck 4 are close to the promenade so you can pop outside quickly and sit on the large promenade deck. I've been in these fully obstructed rooms many times and there is a loveseat which may convert to a bed. The fully obstructed are annotated with an x. Do you have a stateroom number in mind. In some of the rooms there is a bed in the ceiling that pulls down as a bunk bed. Take a look at the INSIDE pictures here on halfacts and you will see the set up for a room with a bunk and the loveseat. Nevermind the outside. I just wanted you to see the inside: 4014 – Oosterdam | HAL Cruiser Information (halfacts.com)

1. It depends on which stateroom. Not all of the family OV have grey spaces. If you have a stateroom number, it might help to share. But, as example on Main Deck on the left side of the stateroom pdf above the family ocean view is the kitchen area for the staff. On the right side of the ship above some of the staterooms are the Ocen View Bar and more.

Excellent idea.

@Steve in Omaha I find that the Dramamine in both forms makes me completely drowsy so I don't take that anymore. I can't remember if Bonine made me drowsy, but label does say may cause drowsiness. I know that these meds need to be taken before the symptoms start.

MACS bus as mentioned is easy and runs pretty often depending on the day. https://www.macstransit.com/349/Metropolitan-Area-Commuter-System-MACS You can also track the busses live.

I find that very unlikely.

Here is the information on the Park Connection bus I mentioned earlier. The SEWARD route between Anchorage and Seward leaves for Seward in the morning from Anchorage and leaves from Seward to Anchorage in the evening. Next year may change so you will have to check that. The route time is 2:45 about the same or maybe a little less than driving time. https://www.alaskacoach.com/routes/seward-express.html

Do I understand this comment to mean that your are doing the pre or post cruise WITH NCL provided by NCL? The downside for this is the very long bus ride between DNP/Anchorage or Seward depending on your itinerary. I advised my friends against this when they came and when I asked about the pre-cruise, they said too much time in the bus. I know that some people don't mind the bus trip but with kids, IDK. I won't comment on other options if this is what you plan on doing. I totally get taking all of the planning and just turning it over; the planning can really get overwhelming.

@GatorMomInNC In addition to the cruise ship transfers from SEWARD, there is the train and also the Park Connection. I'm not sure when the Park Connection and the train stop running between Anchorage and Seward but those are options for SEWARD and WHITTIER. No one except locals fly in and out of Seward but this is one of the cruise ship ports for Alaska and of course, cruise lines are not going to just abandon you in a small town in Alaska. It's too bad you got some poor info but sounds like in the end you made the right decision. Good for you.

When I hear things like this, I am reminded we live in a post covid world and there is no consequences for bad information. "Back in the day", people were trained and there were consequences. Nowadays, it's, "oh well", "sorry about that", "thanks for your understanding". When someone makes an assumption like "thanks for your understanding", and I'm not understanding, I shoot right back, "what makes you thinking I am understanding of your mistake?". I'm spouting off probably because I was told my car was ready for pickup today and when I got there, they said the car wasn't ready. When I checked out 1.5 hours later, she said, "thanks for your understanding", and I replied, "what makes you think I am understanding"? Tell your friends they are not going to Seward and tell them to get a different TA. It's obvious the one they have is incompetent if that is what they are being told.

I also suggest HAL and based upon what you said about your lifestyle. Even though I live in Alaska, we still do cruises because it's a less expensive way for us to get down to SE Alaska from where we live. In the summer, you will see more kids on HAL than once school season starts up but HAL doesn't really cater that much to kids anyway, so that's why we like it. It's more laid back. There are a few ships to pick from and a few itineraries. Weather really starts dipping down in September, but it's still lovely. No matter what time of year you come, you will still need to prepare for weather.