Denise T

As I read the various threads on this board and the boards of other cruise lines, I see a lot of unhappy cruisers. It seems expectations are high, and reality doesn't quite meet those expectations. I have come to realize (finally, at my age), that stuff happens. I have choices. I can choose to get upset at those things that are not under my control, or I can choose to acknowledge my disappointment and get into problem solving mode. I don't expect perfection and I have come to accept that many businesses tend to underperform. It is the reality that we are living in at this point in time. So, I expect that things will probably not go according to plan on my trip. I will pivot and refocus. I am sure that I will be disappointed but, when there is over delivery of service, I will be extremely appreciative. This trip is to spend time with my family. If weather prevents us from visiting a port or we have a meal that just isn't up to par, we will accept it as it is and enjoy ourselves anyway. The one thing that we have that is in our control to change, is how we respond. And, yes, I am a professional counselor in my day job, and I specialize with working with teens. 

And to those who were disappointed in their cruises, I am sorry that this was your experience. Hopefully, on your next cruise, you can find enjoyment. 

Here is our itinerary. I am looking forward to just sailing through the glaciers. I will be overnighting in Anchorage, then taking the train to Whittier. After the cruise, I will be overnighting in Vancouver. Looking forward to spending the day there with my family. 

15 hours ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I'm following along because, like you, our Alaska cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam will be our first HAL cruise. We don't cruise until the end of August and are heading North because I wanted to be on a ship for hubby's birthday.

 

I will echo what someone else above said (and I've already booked these tours) but Harv & Marv's in Juneau is great for whale watching. They have smaller ships and are very experienced. I used them back in 2018 when I took my elderly parents to Alaska. Also, the train in Skagway. We booked with Chilkoot Charters again as they were so good back in 2018. This time we're going even longer on the train.

 

Whatever you do, Alaska is magnificent and the glaciers awe inspiring. I hope you have a great trip!

Thank you! And thank you for the advice. I have seen so many pictures of Alaska and the area is just so gorgeous. When I was in Canada/New England, my sister and I decided that we would just love to live in one of the little harbor towns like Sydney or Halifax. I am sure I will feel the same about Alaska. 

Things I am looking forward to the most.

1. Alaska. I want to see the beauty of Alaska and experience sailing past the glaciers. I have a good set of binoculars that I used on my last cruise and will be taking lots of pictures. 

2. Wildlife. Hoping to see lots. Granted there will be no penguins (my favorite) but sea life will be awesome. 

3. The food. Love cruise ship food. Love that someone else cooks and cleans up. I love coffee and will be drinking lots. 

4. Drinks. On my last cruise, my sister and I loved sitting in the bars (one day we tried all that were open). We would play trivia, people watch, and enjoy music.

5. Crow's nest. I loved Spinnaker's on NCL. I love these spaces where you can sit and relax and watch the sea with a nice drink or two. Our plan is to play cards and other small games. I think these are the best spaces. 

6. Music Walk. I can't wait to experience this. I have read lots of posts about the lack of entertainment and how the quality has declined. I don't expect big production shows like NCL had and like many of the bigger cruise ships have. Just relaxing and listening to music is what I enjoy. 

Cabins

My sister and I have a verandah cabin on the Rotterdam deck (7). My brother and sister-in-law have an inside cabin nears ours on the same deck. I saw picture of their cabin and it looks bigger than I thought. I am glad that they were able to book a cabin near ours. My sister is claustrophobic, so we got the verandah cabin. On NCL we had a balcony and absolutely enjoyed it. I saw the best sunrises ever. The only issue was that the closet had sliding doors and a light that automatically turned on when the doors opened. Our first night on choppy seas as we tried to sleep, the doors would slide open, and the light would go on. We fixed that though. It was hilarious. I like that the closet doors on NA do not slide. Sometimes it's the small stuff. 

If anyone wants pictures of anything on the ship, let me know. I can try and post menus and activity schedules if the old Internet allows. 

7 hours ago, Hobcat said:

Denise, It sounds like you have a fun plan in the works.  Alaska is a great cruise, so much scenery.  If you are interested in seeing whales, I suggest booking a tour from Juneau.  I recommend Harv & Marv tour company, however they are a small company & may already be booked up.  There are others that will be fine as well.  As someone else suggested the White Pass Rail trip from Skagway is a worthwhile excursion & will get you into the countryside.  

We have been on 3 Alaska cruises with HAL.  I'll be following your "live from".

 

Thank you for the suggestions. I have a verandah cabin and I love walking the promenades, so hoping to see lots of wildlife. 

9 hours ago, LisaLeone said:

I'm excited to read your review! We are booked on this trip in June of 24. This will be my first time on HAL. 

Thank you for taking the time to share your vacation!

You are so welcome. Let me know if there is anything specific that you want me to get pictures of. 

14 hours ago, electro said:

Hi Denise,

I will be getting on the NA in Vancouver as you are getting off. It will be my 2nd time on HAL and 1st on the NA. I have sailed on NCL a lot. I'll be following your review to help know what to expect. 

Have a great trip.

Lois

I will make sure the NA is in ship shape for you when I get off!

15 hours ago, P&PNH said:

Hello Denise, welcome to HAL.  You have chosen a great trip and a wonderful ship for your first cruise. We sailed the Nieuw Amsterdam from Whittier to Vancouver ourselves the end of last May and had a wonderful time. The scenery is breathtaking, take a lot of pictures.  That was  our second cruise on the NA and we really like the ship.  I know food quality is a subjective opinion, but I thought the food was good.  I never went hungry that's for sure.  The ports are small so be sure to check out the excursions.  White Pass railway in Skagway is worth the time.  Have fun and enjoy!!

Thank you. The scenery is why we booked the cruise. I am most looking forward to sailing through Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. I also know that no matter what, I will not starve on the cruise!

Looking forward to your review. I will be on the NA at the end of May going to Alaska. I am going as a group of four-me, my sister, my brother, and my sister-in-law. This will be our first time traveling as a foursome. 

Hello everyone.

Even though it is 75 days away (who’s counting?), I will be traveling on HAL for the first time on the Nieuw Amsterdam. I have cruised before with NCL. My goal is to do a live review from the Nieuw Amsterdam beginning with my very long day of travel from Pennsylvania to Anchorage. Oh, what an adventure it will be. I am going to also share my experiences up until cruise day as there has already been several interesting issues.

I will be traveling with my sister, my brother, and my sister-in-law. We are all in our late 50’s and 60’s. We like to have fun and can be quite boisterous with laughter when we get together. My brother has already stated that he will be the “bag man” as we visit the ports. This will be our first time traveling all together. We have had such struggles over these past years having lost two of our older siblings. Life has been a challenge. So, this is an important trip for us.

We are going to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We are going to Alaska, and we are so looking forward to it. I travel a lot for business. I am very much aware of the state of the travel and tourism industry both pre and post COVID. I am not looking for perfection but to get away from the stress from the past several years.

When I traveled on NCL to Canada/New England (can you tell, I am not a Caribbean or warm weather person), I booked the cruise, hotels, and flights on my own. Everything worked with no major issues. This time I booked with a TA who is the best. I also booked flights through HAL which is unusual for me as I am a control freak and have ALWAYS booked my own flights. Now my brother and sister-in-law have booked with another TA through her work. We have already had issues with the flights (not unexpected) including a change in return flight that sent us to another airport over an hour away from the airport where our car will be parked. My TA was on the phone for hours getting that changed. My flights are not straight through, and we will have several layovers in Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth before getting to Anchorage. I have come to realize from my travels that the airlines simply do not know how to fly in a straight line. All is fixed and I am sure there will be another change or two or three.

As I said, I am not looking for perfection but to relax and enjoy myself. I love the smaller ships. I have no need for all the bells and whistles. Plus, my sister is not too fond of people because of her job so the less people around the better for her. I have been reading lots of negative comments about food. Food is subjective and I am not a foodie. I plan to eat the foods I can’t cook such as salmon and any type of fish really. I want to try new things. My brother is not a buffet person, he works in the dietetic department of a major hospital chain, so most of our meals will be in the MDR. We may try some specialty restaurants. We know that we will be playing the trivia games and listening to the music and of course having lots of drinks, except for my brother who does not drink. Besides, one of us has to stay somewhat sober!

We haven’t booked shore excursions. My sister and I didn’t when we sailed to Canada/New England. We thoroughly enjoyed walking the harbor and wandering around the neighborhoods around the ports. If we see something that is still available, we might, who knows. We will play it by ear.

I will try and share my experiences up to my embarkation and during the cruise. I did a review of my trip to Canada/New England and as that was my very first cruise, I realized I missed out on a lot. I will have to work a little on my cruise. I am self-employed and a college adjunct at two online schools. I will make do with the Internet that is available. My plan is to have all my classes set up prior to leaving.

Looking forward to sharing my adventures.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

10 minutes ago, travelnap said:

The older Princess ships don't have the Love Boat toots.  Only the newer ones.  Caribbean Princess is one of the older ships with a conventional horn.

That's what I thought. She looked older.

No Love Boat toots today.😔

I will be on the NA in 77 days! Not that I am counting or anything.

Checking in. 

77

Have a good Saturday everyone. Thanks for the thread Leanne. 

1 minute ago, travelnap said:

That is the frame for their sliding restaurant to go up and down.  Either that or a carrying handle for the Jolly Green Giant to pick them up with.

I saw a video on how that works. It's pretty cool. I always wondered what it was. 

Checking in. Hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday. 

1 hour ago, Hllb said:

I have never been on HAL (and only been on one Carnival cruise). Any newbies like me reading need to remember how subjective food is. If I'd listened to this board before going on our Carnival cruise, I would've packed some PB&J because the food was going to be atrocious, at least in the MDR. I mean, worst of the worst, school cafeteria slop.  And this was pre-pandemic. We were very happy with the food. No, we aren't foodies, but we do enjoy fine dining sometimes, kids included, though we aren't talking $100+ pp here - more like $50 pp max as we are a family of 5. 

 

I have been watching the latest menus for our booked ship (Eurodam) and the main thing I notice is that its a pretty limited menu - not a ton of choices. That said, the choices look pretty good and I have yet to see a menu where nothing sounded good (though admittedly, on some days (since I don't like seafood) it was a choice of 1 or 2 things for me). I also know that the lack of lobster included in the MDR (or filet for that matter) is disappointing to those that were used to it before. It's not the end of the world for us, so I'm looking forward to seeing what this lackluster food is really like come June on Eurodam.

I will be sailing on HAL for the first time at the end of May. I am doing the same for the Nieuw Amsterdam menus. As I look at the menus for the MDR, there are a lot of choices that I would like to try. I read these boards and take everything with a grain of salt. As you stated, food is subjective. I started my diet now so that I can enjoy all of the food! My main goal is to enjoy the trip with my family after the past several difficult years. Enjoy your trip!

See everyone next week. Thanks, Leanne, for the thread. 

Bye Nieuw Amsterdam. See you in 85 days. 

Sounds back!

No sound for me either. 

Checking in! Happy Sunday.