friendswithdave

Great answers, thank you! Spa prices / benefits make sense. Cooking class charge is surprising considering how much else is already included. I will assume it is a high quality demo.

Considering an O cruise for the first time in December and had a few questions. We've been on 6-8 HAL cruises plus a few others so we are most familiar with HAL. Value is important to us so we work hard to cruise when we can get great value. We upgraded to a suite on our most recent cruise and it will be hard to go back. That said, I could see us going to a verandah on O if the quality and value are both worthwhile. I looked on the O website to try to find answer, but few were there. Considering the new Vista if that makes a difference for answers. We drink little and don't do ship excursions. We tend to book the lowest rates and purchase stuff a la carte. - It appears specialty restaurants are included. Does this mean all? Unlimited? That doesn't seem to make sense. How does this work if not? - Wife enjoys specialty coffees. Are these included as well? - Did I see the spa areas are also included, like sauna, stone loungers and therapy pool / hot tub? If so, how do these areas keep from being overcrowded? - Are there areas of the ship reserved for suite guests? - Entertainment has been disappointing on HAL, but we love the BB King band. How is the entertainment and live music on O? - Did I see free internet is included? - How are the cooking classes? Wife loves to cook and bake and would love those if the quality is there.

Thanks for the feedback! Two weeks is our absolute limit since we are both working, so a week off in between sound great in theory but tougher in practice. I looked at google maps in Whittier and thought I saw a few places to stay. If not, we can train to Anchorage and back which is a beautiful ride.

Hello All! I'm thinking about putting together a unique Alaska itinerary and wondering if anyone else has ever tried this or something similar. We're always seeking great deals and getting the most for our $$. We've been to Alaska 3 times before and enjoyed each trip. Instead of the standard 7 day cruise out and back from Sea or Van, I'm thinking about linking together two one-way cruises from Vancouver - Anchorage and back. Instead of staying on the same ship there and back, I'd like to take one ship out and another back. Looking closely at what's possible in 2024, there aren't two ships that leave Vancouver and arrive in Anchorage on the same day so we could switch ships on the way back. What I did find is a ship that goes from Van to Anc on Saturday and another ship that returns from Anc - Van on Sunday. Therefore it works if we just commit to staying a night in Whittier or taking the train to and from Anchorage from Sat - Sun. Putting this together checks a number of boxes, like - Great rates on inside rooms for one-way cruises. - Getting to see Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Love those. - Different experiences on two ships, like Sapphire Princess going out and HAL NA coming back. I love HAL, but I could see more than a week things might seem repetitive. Never been on Princess, so that would be a new experience. Your thoughts? Anyone else done this before?

Just make sure you get a villa with working air conditioning. That AC for the open air villas is essential! 🤣

This was my exact same experience as well. We had already purchased CO and received a credit for that amount when upgrading to a suite.

I can see this concept exploding in popularity in the next 10 years. Wife and I are definitely considering it in our upcoming retirement years.

Thanks for sharing this news! I was on this same ship during the same week in 2022. We regularly cruise that week because we always get a great deal and it works with our schedule. The ship was about 70% full on our December sailing. We are planning to cruise that week again this year with this ship as one of three options. We haven't booked yet because we are waiting for prices to drop. I am guessing since they have three ships doing the same itinerary around the same time that they offered a GREAT deal to some charter company to take the ship for the full week. This will reduce their inventory during a slow time of year, allowing them to raise prices on the other two ships they have sailing the same itinerary at the same time. I expect we'll be on one of these two ships in mid-December.

In mid-December we arrived around 9:45. We were among the first through the lines and everything was very fast. We spent more time walking for place to place than we did waiting in any line. We boarded right at 11:00 and I think our rooms were ready by 11:30. Incredibly fast and efficient but our cruise was only about 70% full.

Thanks for sharing the story. The band is usually top notch, so it does sound like something is going on behind the scenes.

As I remember they used to offer a discount on the first night to try to fill the restaurants, but that ended a few years ago.

Thanks for sharing your story. I understand your frustration, but if you didn't give them your credit card number, you have nothing to worry about. Does seem like a slimy practice.

As I remember, you can bring water bottles off and on the ship in port. Where to find boxed water in port depends on which port. Most ports have stores near the ship that sell trinkets, drinks, and water, but most water is probably bottled in plastic.

We had a nearly identical experience to mathed101. We used CLub Orange to upgrade our guarantee balcony to 4168 on a Dec 11 NA cruise. I called about an upgrade I think 11 days out and took an upgrade to the Neptune for $549 pp but they refunded our Club Orange purchase. Definitely worth it for us, our first suite on a cruise. We enjoyed the bigger room, Neptune Lounge, and a few other perks.

We love PG for lunch. We've never had trouble making reservations while on board and it is rarely full for lunch. If you know when you want to go, find the "reservations" podium once you get on board. It is near the PG and will be easy to find. Make a noon res for best seating options.

We got one on Nieuw Amsterdam in Dec.

A little tidbit I learned years ago when we had young children. Theme parks have very light crowds between Thanksgiving week and the time around Christmas. Same with cruise ships. We've cruised in mid-December for a few years now and love the relatively uncrowded ships during this time.

Our 12/11/22 sailing on the NA had around 1500 passengers with a capacity of 2100, or around 70% full.

Great article, thanks for sharing.

7 day Caribbean.

Pamps, would you like to make other comparisons between HAL and Princess? We've done HAL many times but never Princess. A friend who had been on both preferred HAL by a little, all things considered. You?

In our experience, times are available for most days when we request after we board. If you aren't real picky about day or time, just wait until you board.

We upgraded to a Neptune on our December cruise. After extensive research, I called the upgrade number and asked what was available. I believe this was 12 days prior to sailing. At that time, upgrade was $550 per person from a balcony. There were lots of Neptunes available, maybe half. We took one. I'm guessing price dropped to $500 each a week prior to the cruise (heard from another person). If you are interested, I would recommend calling 12-13 days prior and asking. If it is a little too expensive, call back 7 days prior to see if it has gone down.

We sailed to AK on the Koningsdam last year. I don't drink coffee but wife has always said the coffee is good but strong. She drinks both the free coffee and gets a few fancy coffees each day. Fancy coffees are a max of $4 plus 18% tip. Most are closer to $3 plus tip. Grand Dutch Cafe is a hidden treasure. Rarely crowded and usually great snacks and drink. I would definitely recommend not getting the drinks package. You will need more than 4 drinks a day, every day, too make it worthwhile. Remember you will have a few port days. Dressy nights have gotten less dressy over the last five years. Your wife will be fine in whatever she wears on dressy night. With slacks and a button shirt, you will be too. Roll call will likely eventually form. Just check back every few weeks. Welcome to cruising! Don't sweat the small stuff.

Yes, the SRO crowds were not Covid safe. Funny, we should have carpooled. I am in Knightdale.