annmasae

I am thinking of booking a Panama Cruise also and I appreciate all the information about the port side. I was thinking of choosing starboard because I thought the views would be better heading up the coast to SD. I guess you are too far off shore to actually view the countries you are passing. Also the comment about the starboard having more morning sun was informative. Thanks to all the experienced Panama Canal cruisers for their input.

thanks to everyone for their help. I am working with a PCC since I think it is easier when trying to make changes. I know TA sometimes gives better OBC but working directly with HAL makes life easier.

@Kazu - thanks for your suggestion. I got my cabins and am ready to book. Really appreciate all the experienced cruisers on this board who are willing to help us newbies. I did my first cruise on the Sept 2017 Koningsdam Baltic Cruise. Hope to enjoy many more cruises on HAL.

Pick out the cabin that you want and call HAL, ask if it's available for your particular cruise and book it right there and then. I always pick my cabin and then call and book immediately and tell them no upgrades whatsoever.

 

Good luck, it's still real early so you should have no trouble booking the cabin you want.

thanks so much for your reply. i think only the cabins online are available. i called for other 2019 cruises and the PCC had no additional cabins from what is shown online but no harm in calling. aloha.

I was trying to book a starboard Verandah cabin for March 3 2019 sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego Nieuw Amsterdam.

I get seasick so I need a Verandah deck centrally located cabin. Because of the direction of the cruise I wanted a starboard cabin.

However only Verandahs closer to the rear are showing as available.

When do cabins open up for a 2019 cruise? I know full payments are due 90 days in advance so Dec 2018/Jan 2019.

Do I have to wait that long to get a good cabin?

I've been studying a lot of HAL cruises and have not seen "better" cabins opening up even as cruises get closer to sailing date.

My conclusion is you just have to keep checking. Too bad there wasn't some notification system to let you know when "better" cabins show up.

I just finished the Sept 2017 Baltic Cruise on the Koningsdam. I guess I was lucky because a centrally located cabin opened up 6 months before sailing so I was able to book a cabin that I wanted at a reduced price.

the explanation i got for the invoice is that the system requires you to book 2 for a viking ocean cruise. then when you change to 1 it adds and then reverses the single supplement. i sent my thoughts to TellUs@viking ************. i am satisfied with the explanation.

I would share these thoughts directly with Viking at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

thanks for the suggestion. I know the end cost of my cruise is the same but the way the invoice was worded was very irritating for a single traveler. I have calmed down so I may still take a viking ocean cruise because of all the wonderful reviews from people. It is interesting that even this far in advance for the May 26 2019 Alaska Cruise the cabins I wanted on deck 5 were already taken. Anyway thanks to all the cruisers on this forum who have provided a lot of valuable information about Viking Ocean cruises.

I just got a quote for the Viking Alaska Cruise in 2019 for a single. I wanted a DV2 cabin. My price almost 10,000 equals the cost for a couple. In addition, they had the nerve to charge me an additional 5,000 for the single supplement which was reversed out as a discount so my total price was still 10,000. I don't understand why I got charged a single supplement when I was already charged for the entire cabin. They reversed the supplement thinking I would be grateful. However because of this I have decided not to book with Viking Ocean Cruises since they seem to be discouraging singles. I did one cruise with Holland and a single ends up paying equal to a couple. However there is no "additional" single supplement and Holland at least gives you shipboard credits.

Can you tell me where to find the Pick Your Own option? I can't seem to find it. Thanks!

Helen

 

 

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On the Holland America booking screen "Stateroom Type", there is a place to enter your stateroom no after picking your type.

Happy Cruising.

thanks to everyone for their information. Special thanks for those posting pictures / video of glacier bay.

my friend really enjoyed the views.

Even if a stateroom is not shown to be available (highlighted) use the Pick Your Own option, type in the stateroom number and even if it wasn't shown on the initial display if it is available it will allow you to book it. Saves having to call HAL.

thanks!!! this works really well. Glad I didn't pick the available cabins HAL online shows. They are often not the best.

Kenai Fjords tour is out of Seward. It is on a good sized catamaran with capacity around 100 people. Part of the trip is in the Gulf of Alaska where the sea can get rougher. When viewing the glaciers, you are in the fjords and it is very calm water. Some of the other glacier boat excursions including Tracy Arm are on the inside passage waters so it is usually very calm. We took a whale watching boat out of Juneau and the water was very calm. Not the least reason to be seasick on a trip like that. Mendenhall flows into a lake not the sea.

 

I don't know if any of HAL's land packages spend time in Seward. Most go right out of it. We did the land part on our own (DIY) so we could have more freedom. Another option is to do a land package and then add a bit at the end to go from Anchorage to Seward or Whittier where one can take a glacier excursion. The ones out of Whittier stay in Prince William Sound so they are in very protected calm waters.

thanks so much for the information. now i have so many more options to see glaciers.

thanks for all the info about mendenhall. I plan to book my Alaska Cruise with HAL because of their Denali package. I will have to check the excursions to see if those other glaciers can be seen. The initineries only list Glacier Bay and I know Juneau has excursions to Mendenhall. Also I am not a good sailor so I normally don't take excursions in small boats or canoes. Maybe will make an exception to see Tracy Arm.

I agree - I always try 2-3 glaciers per trip when my first trip missed Hubbard glacier and I was crushed (and that was the only glacier on the trip). Thus, I always stress to try to book a cruise with 2 glaciers.

thanks for the great idea. i am planning a trip to Alaska in 2019 and I will be sure to see Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. My girlfriend was only counting on Glacier Bay and that did not work out. I must say these boards are very informative and I will use it more as my trip becomes closer.

Note to Keith1010. I passed on your pictures of the glaciers to my friend. Thanks!!!

They would have been in Glacier Bay within a day or so of us. We were on Crystal Serenity which left Vancouver August 8. There was fog near the first glaciers in the bay. It lifted just as we were getting to the first glaciers and all the glaciers were clear for us.

 

They allow 2 large ships in the bay per day. The other one must have gone in ahead of us because when we were at John Hopkins Glacier, we were told that the other ship had reported that they had no visibility at that glacier due to the fog. We were lucky to be there after the fog had cleared.

 

I don't know if Margerie was foggy for the earlier ship.

 

We had fog some of the time in the inside passage too. Other than that, we were pretty lucky with weather.

 

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thanks for your information. glad you were able to see the glacier after the fog lifted.

thanks for replying. I guess you can't plan for weather problems.

A friend of mine returned from an Alaska Cruise and said that Glacier Bay was foggy so she never saw any glaciers.

She left on Aug 9 from Vancouver on HAL Volendam.

I am so shocked that this can happen. Is this a common occurrence?

The whole point of going on an Alaskan cruise is to see the Glaciers.

It is strange that there is not much mention of this problem on the forums.

I plan to go to Alaska in the future and now will try to go May/June since the Glacier Bay website said these are the dryest months.

Thanks in advance for any comments on this issue.