dpump

Recent widow and am taking my first solo cruise in Jan, 2019. What I decided to do is tag along with my nieces group of people (I'll be the lone solo person) just to get the hang of being alone and if any 'issues' come up, I'll have my niece there.

Have my fingers crossed.

We went in mid September (next to last cruise for the season) and the weather couldn't of been better! Also, not many kids on the ship, school had started.

I have already posted this in another thread but will ask here too. The one thing that we've always had when staying in a Neptune suite is complimentary laundry and dry cleaning. In fact, this past New Years we were on the Eurodam and had the benefit of laundry, etc. I have read the amenities offered and did not see this, so it made me think they have discontinued it. Could someone please advise me. Thank you so much.

We were on mid September and yes, the laundry was still a (very much) appreciated perk.

Don't remember the prices, but will say, they have the best cookies on the ship! Folks knew what time the cookies would be arriving and there'd be a line forming.

Just got off the Oosterdam in mid September. Once we looked at the prices of the wine purchased on board (North Star for ?$100 vs $29.00 at Costco), we decided to bring our own. What a mess that was. When doing embarkation, the man kept telling us, "no, just take your wine", we thought we needed get the little blue dot put on it and it'd go to the wine cellar or whatever until we requested a bottle, instead it sat in our room and we'd have to take it down to the dining room. At the end of the cruise, we asked our concierge to credit us the corkage amount of each bottle we didn't drink in the dining room, which they did. We'd do it exactly as we did for this cruise, bring our own.

The biggest problem with the Neptune Suites is that once you've been in one, you'll never want to stay in anything else!

We like the smaller ships and seems there aren't that many kids on the ships.

yes, it seems as if it depends on the ship, etc. Last cruise there was a line for priority, suites passengers, etc. Our last cruise in September, there was none of that.

Just off the Oosterdam, Pinnacle Grill and also offered Chef Rubi's one night and the Canneleto. Did Pinnacle Grill one night, had ressies for the other two also, but decided to save our money and eat in the dining room (we did eat breakfast each morning in the Pinnacle Grill). It was fine.

I would suspect so since we've never seen a children's menu in these venues.

 

Dan

I've never seen kids in the venue ever.

Just returned from an Alaska cruise (inside Passage) and brought along our adult daughter. At the time of booking had no thought of inviting her, but ran across a 3&4 person free deal. We were in a Neptune Suite and couldn’t of been more pleased with the room we had, absolutely no issues. It’s nice there is a dressing area off the bathroom that has a curtain for more privacy.

Highlights for us was Hubbard Glacier and seeing the Northern Lights. Lots of folks get excited about Victoria, but we live in Seattle and go quite often. Sitka was great too, went with a local dude to the Bear thing (sorta stupid) but the Raptor Center was fantastic.

Overall, wonderful cruise.

Hello, First let me thank everyone who has posted so much information on this board that almost every question I have I have been able to find an answer for in an existing thread.

I am ready to book a 7 day cruise to Alaska for DH, myself and our 2 young adult daughters for next September. We need to decide between 4 of us sharing a NS, or DH & I in SS & the "kids" in an inside cabin.

Are SS balconies generally large enough for 4 adults to hang out on?

We would love the roominess and perks of the NS but are concerned about sleeping comfort on the sofa bed.

Just returned from an Alaska cruise and our adult daughter came along. We were in a Neptune Suite and absolutely no problem with the 3of us in the same room, personally, I think 4would of been pushing it. As for the balcony, it’s Alaska, very little time was spent on it. We used it for Hubbard Glacier and to see the Northern Lights one night, nothing like when sailing in warm weather.

Besides the wonderful Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill, the best burgers and fries are at the Dive In. mmmmm

Sometimes you just want a good burger!

Couldn’t agree more about Dive Inn! Really, really popular.

If you want a DVD player to bring your own, must say we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of movies available on the tv.

I bought the same luggage tags through Amazon and really like them.

Just off the Oosterdam in an SB suite, last cruise was in an SA suite. Our SB was great, we even had 3 adults in our room and no complaints on storage or room to roam. Our balcony was huge but we were in Alaska, so not much use for it.

I've read that folks prefer SA's due to location of the Neptune Lounge. Yes, it was a bit further away (though on the same deck), but I estimated the walk to the Lounge was worth about 1/2 of a cookie. Wouldn't hesitate staying in an SB again, did save $$$.

Boy, with the luck your friend is having, I'd be taking a carry on with a few clothes. Better safe than sorry.

Just got home from our week long journey on the Oosterdam/SB7093 through the Inside Passage, here are some of my thoughts. Not an 'expert cruiser' by any means.

Pier 91, Seattle. It's a mess. Mass chaos, both embarkation, disembarking. Someone needs to figure this whole

scene out and fix it. We were able to drive to the pier from our home (live in Seattle) and couldn't

believe the mass chaos. Leaving this morning, all these transportation drivers just parked their

vehicles where folks were waiting to be picked up and blocked all the traffic. They were being told to

move along but would just move up some and then pop open their trunks like they were actually picking

someone up. It was bad.

Our Suite (SB7093). We had 3 adults in the room (hubby and I and one of our adult kids). Plenty of room, for all of

us and all our 'stuff'. The window next to the door out to the balcony was cracked, the entire

length, from the floor to the top. I let the powers to be know, hopefully it will be fixed quickly.

Room Service I requested a pitcher of water, was told the ship doesn't have any pitchers for water, instead

received 8 glasses of water........... yea, right, no pitchers. Next cruise, will bring our own

water containers.

Suitcase Jail Yep, my suitcase was put in jail for awhile. I had a power strip in the deep, dark cervices

of my suitcase I had forgotten about.

Food Food was fine, no complaints. The Crows Nest spot where food and mochas are made

had the best chocolate chip cookies on board. It was really obvious, they were gone

almost as quickly as they arrived. Was surprised how filled the Crow's Nest was every day.

Dive In As I had read, good food and really, really popular. Nice to have the ability to just eat

something simple and greasy.

Coffee Plain and simple, it just sucks. Drank lots of cappuccino's from the Neptune Lounge.

Staff They were all very friendly and worked so very hard.

Overall, nice cruise to Alaska, relaxing. Zero rain for us. Ran into several couples who had booked trips to the Caribbean but was canceled due to the terrible weather and chose to go to Alaska instead.

The Bear Refuge in Sitka sucked. We had grabbed an excursion in Sitka who was selling his trip in front of the Visitor Center in town, glad we could help the local economy ($30 pp). After about 15 minutes of watching the bears stare back at us, was ready to leave, had to sit there for an hour. The Rapture Center was wonderful, as was the trail in the area. Highly recommend.

Northern Lights!!!! Had asked our concierge in the Neptune Lounge if there was any way we could be notified if the Northern Lights appeared, sure enough there was. Got a call about midnight and ran up to watch them. Couldn't see the colors, but amazing anyway. This was the evening when we left Juneau and was headed to Hubbard Glacier.

Wine. After looking at the prices of the wine on board, we brought our own (helps a lot not having to fly). From my reading,

took our wine to the wine guy while checking in. He kept saying, "no, take your wine with you". Between the

language barrier and what I thought we were supposed to do, he put a blue dot on the bottles and charged us and then

proceeded to hand all our wine back to us. Boy, we were confused. When we wanted a bottle, would just take it

down to the dining room. What we wanted to do was to have it stored in the wine room on the ship. At the end of the

of the cruise, we asked and got a refund for the wine we did not consume in the dining room. Still confused.

Like I said, no expert, just opinions on our trip.

Are lots of people paying extra to eat at the specialty restaurants on board now? What's wrong with all the options on the ship? Yes, we do it, have reservations in the Pinnacle Grill and was going to make them for Canelotto when another popped up, Rudi's or whatever. Then it dawned on me, geez, pay all this money for our cruise and now additional money for these restaurants, why? My husband and I talked about it and we'd much rather stay in a suite rather than on food. Is the food that bad on board? I guess each to their own.

When we were in the Caribbean we'd look for the pack of people on their computers, iPads and phone, we new we hit a hot spot.

our tips (yes, that dreaded word) are already included/paid for on our upcoming cruise. We are in a suite and always leave an additional tip for our cabin stewards and also the concierge in the Neptune Lounge.

Do they get to keep that personal tip we give at the end of the cruise or does that also go in 'the pot' that is shared by all? We put their names on envelopes as we leave our cabin.

Thanks!

Temp on the ship.....

On our way to Alaska. Is the temp inside the ship suitable for short sleeves, long sleeves needed inside the ship.

Thank you.

You have to tote your wine on yourself. Whether in a rolling suitcase, carton, wine carrier---however. You can't send it through in checked luggage.

You can bring on additional bottles at port stops, so you don't have to bring it all at once if there are stops where purchases can be made.

Thank you (and Lizzie) for your responses. My husband was diagnosed with Mesothelioma about 3 weeks ago and his future living (if we're lucky) is about 1 year. Talked to the doc and she said to go ahead on our upcoming cruise (Alaska 9/10). I'm so overwhelmed right now I can't even figure what to cook for dinner nowadays, much less figure out the answers to the questions I have.

Again, I appreciate your kindness and quick replies.

Another question asked 900,000 kazillion times......

We've decided to just bring our own wine. Do we need to bring another suitcase/carry on and give to the people at the wine table when. He king in? OR can we just throw in our main luggage and then upon screening, they'll see it, pull it out and 'hold' it for us and then at dinner we can ask for a bottle? Am aware of the $18 corkage fee.

Thank you and sorry for asking.

I would estimate between 5-10 zillion (give or take a couple billion).. ;p

(y)