Kfrech

4 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

Oh Ms. Poodle Lady, I hate to see you miss the whale watch.

Re: crowds, I’ve often taken the “evening whale watch” on the Allen Marine boats and they were never as crowded as the trips earlier in the day.  They also have a very smooth ride.  If the boat stops, you can go outside and get fresh air.  It’s not like being crammed into one of those claustrophobic little boats where your head hits the ceiling.
I can get very seasick without my ReliefBand, but that said, I have been to Alaska and done a whale watch in Juneau every year for the past 18 years on the photography tours, the jet boat tours, the whale watch/ Mendenhall combo tours, and the Allen Marine tours, and never had any motion that my ReliefBand couldn’t handle.  If Bonine works for you on the ship, I hope you will give it a try in Juneau.  The whales are so worth the trip.

 

Besides the smaller crowd, is there any other advantages to doing the evening whale watch?

I purchased 2 quench beverages packages and additional OBC on Sunday evening, totaling $503.88. The charge posted to my Amex on 1/26; the $100 credit posted to my account yesterday (1/29).

Thanks everyone for the great tip!

I just used the Amex offer to buy 2 quench beverage packages and some additional OBC. Total came to $503.96. I received an email confirmation from Amex confirming my purchase and saying that provided my purchase qualifies, I should see the $100 statement credit soon. My thought was that even if I don't use the additionally purchased OBC (since I already have $400 from HAL and $355 from the big box TA), it will just be refunded to me. I'll be certain to use a different credit card once onboard the ship!

I'll post as soon as I receive the statement credit.

Really wish a package that included alcoholic did not have to be purchased by both adults in the cabin. My DH hasn’t touched a drop in 16 years. 

HAL OBC totaling $400 (since i can’t use to pre purchase):

  Gratuities (7 day cruise)

   Laundry for 7 days

   Misc (maybe one alcoholic drink per day for only one of us)

$355 OBC from TA - totally refundable

Quench package around $300 for 2 of us. I’d charge this to American Express, plus $200 in OBC in order to get to $500 ($100 statement credit from AE) Any unused OBC that I purchased would be refundable. 
 

Shore excursions will be booked independent of HAL 

Sounds like a plan!

We are only interested in the Quench package (about $300 for the two of us--neither one of us are big drinkers). I'd have to add $200 in OBC from HAL in order to qualify for the $100 statement credit off of the purchase of $500, I'm thinking whatever we don't use would also be refundable. Internet is already paid for through the Explorer 4 promotion; thinking I may want to do laundry while onboard.

Trying to figure out the best way to do this.

I have $400 OBC directly from HAL.

$355 from Big Box TA (which will be refundable if we don't use).

Also have an American Express card so I'd like to take advantage of the $100 statement credit off the purchase of $500 or more.

Any advice?

No, I am specifically looking at one of the drink packages (not a beverage card).

Thank you for the quick reply! Makes perfect sense.

When are they applied? I'm assuming they are just added to your onboard account each time you buy a beverage (even if you have a package).

How many passengers sail on the Allen Marine tours? I too am a bit concerned about seasickness, so I'm not interested in a very small sailing. At the same time, however, I've heard that larger tours (100-150 passengers) make it difficult to view.

HAL offers a "small" excursion, but I'm not sure through what tour company. I've read somewhere that they serve 22 passengers.

Sounds terrific! Thank you!

I'm more worried about an accident, car breaking down, etc. than I am about getting lost. Makes me a bit nervous.

I am thrilled to hear this! We are sailing on the Koningsdam to Alaska in June. We absolutely love live music...can't stand cheesy stage shows, etc. Although we have not cruised extensively, the entertainment has always been my least favorite part.

I love the idea of exploring on our own, but am leery. We’ve rented cars all over, but have never had to be back to a ship by a certain time. 
 

Can anyone provide with some reassurance?

I booked the Explorer 4 package on HAL in October. We are sailing roundtrip from Vancouver for 7 nights. We have an aft facing balcony. Total price for 2, including port charges and taxes is $4778. The Explorer 4 promotion included premium internet (because we had a balcony room), $400 in OBC ($200 per person), one dinner in the Pinnacle Grill (one of their specialty restaurants) and a reduced refundable deposit.

We will not be purchasing a drink package, so obviously I did not include that. We still need to account for tips, excursions and miscellaneous expenses onboard the ship.

We are flying roundtrip from Pittsburgh to Vancouver and spending 3 nights in Vancouver prior to the cruise. This will not be an inexpensive vacation, but we are splurging for our 35th wedding anniversary.

That sounds wonderful!

I agree--I think we will absolutely love it!

I'm inclined to stick with our aft-facing balcony; I think the views will be better since we will have more side to side view, but I'm sure we will spend plenty of time on the open decks. I like the idea of being able to take in the sights from our balcony with a beverage in hand (probably a warm one at that!)

We are going on our first Alaskan cruise this June, roundtrip from Vancouver. We've only sailed twice previously--both to the Caribbean, once on Disney and once on Royal Caribbean. We've been to many other Caribbean/tropical climates (but without the cruising part).

We are not really cruise people--too sedate for us and we've found the onboard entertainment rather cheesy (again, our cruise experience is quite limited). We don't enjoy endless sea days and aren't really into just hanging by the pool. Than what are we doing on an Alaskan cruise??? We are avid photographers and are in awe of fabulous scenery. We spent 10 days a few years ago in Banff and Jasper; we loved everything about that trip! We are active vacationers, so a port intensive cruise such as an Alaskan one is much more appealing to us. The idea of the sun rising at 4 a.m. thrills me! I can't wait to experience something so completely different!

My biggest predicament right now is cabin choice--smaller aft facing balcony with great views, protection from the wind, or larger balcony cabin (still in the aft area of the ship). We'll be sailing on HAL's Koningsdam in June.

Can't wait!

Below is from Crew News: Following this post, I asked if he could estimate the amount of coverage above and he said about 2/3. 
 

As a hobby photographer, I am a devotee of aft staterooms for scenic cruises such as Alaska.  On the Konigsdam in Dec 2018, I was in 7195 in the middle of the aft staterooms.  On the NS, I was in 5208 also in the middle of the aft staterooms.  Both great for photographs but these two rooms were in the Caribbean. 

Alaska is scenery intensive and requires a lot of time just looking for creatures from your balcony.  If your stateroom is on the side of the ship, you cannot see both sides of the ship at the same time.  You will have to leave your stateroom and compete for space at the railings on the public decks.  If someone spots something on the other side, those on the decks rush to the other side meaning those next to a railing for good photos are now in the back of the crowd.  Trying to take a phota with a camera that requires looking through a viewfinder with lots of IPads and cell phones in your way is frustrating.

With an aft-facing stateroom, you can just stay on your balcony and see what is happening on both sides of the ship.  Your bathroom and minibar are a few feet away while those on the decks will lose their "spot" for food/bathroom breaks.  You can set up a tripod to make videos from your balcony or even attach a GoPro to your railing.  You have your own chair and small table on the balcony to hold your Room Service snacks and beverage while those on the decks will not.

Needless to say, with the rain in Alaska, having a roof over your balcony will keep you and your camera dry unlike those on Deck 9 who will be wet and risking their cameras. Being on the aft part of the ship, you will be able to spend more time on your balcony out of the wind while the ship is moving while others will have to huddle next to their balcony partitions to escape the wind.  Imagine holding a camera out of the passenger window of a moving car and trying to taka a photo without the camera moving in the wind.  Not a problem on an aft balcony.

If viewing Alaska scenery and photographs are not important, the aft balcony loses its lustre.
 

So sorry. I was looking at the wrong ship.

I’ve been corresponding with another poster. His guess was that 2/3 of his aft balcony was covered. 

Perfect! Thanks so much. 

That's great information. Thank you! I'd like to be able to enjoy the scenery of Alaska and take some photos, while staying out of the rain and wind whenever possible.

Crew News: I cannot thank you enough for this!! We have aft facing cabin 5221 (one cabin to the right of center) booked for Alaska. For whatever reason (probably reading WAY too much), I begin second guessing myself and was almost lured away by talk of deeper balconies on deck 4. We are avid photographers, so this sounds ideal. Can you give me an idea of the depth of the balcony? In your estimation, how much of it is covered by the deck above?

17 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Would love to know this as well. I have looked on Halfacts and there are no regular aft balcony cabins showing for deck 5 or deck 6 on NA or her sister. We are in 5193 and knowing how much is covered would be really good information to have. 

Did you mean 5198? Looks like 5193 is an inside room. The best I could find about 5198 is that the balcony is about 6 ft. deep and 10 ft wide....no mention of how much of that is covered from the deck above.