sparklplenty

Has anyone ever heard of charges on Norwegian to book adjoining cabins? A dear friend is taking her ailing parents and her kids on their first cruise. She just booked two guaranteed inside rooms for the June 24th sailing, but when she asked if they could get adjoining rooms or even rooms across the hall from each other, she was told by her TA that it would be a $1600 fee! Now I've never sailed Norwegian before, but that sounds like either incorrect information or highway robbery to me...or both. When she told me this, I said I'd hop on the CC Norwegian Board and ask all the helpful folks here what their take on this situation is. Advice, insight, suggestions would be most welcome. Many thanks in advance!

If your luggage doesn't easily slide under the bed then just lift up the bed frame and slide it under. That's what we did and it worked just fine.

 

 

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Beautiful solution! Thanks!

Thanks, all, for the tips on storing the bags. Don't think we ever would have found the closet behind the mirrored post!

Thanks, Ridethetide and Floridaag! I'd read a poster from a long while back bemoaning the fact their luggage didn't fit under the beds and was worried. One more item checked off my prep list! Thank you!

Sailing a B2B on the Breeze this summer...our first...and wondering if there's room under the beds for luggage. If not, where did folks stow suitcases? Many thanks!

Not sure what counts as a smaller HAL ship. It looks like the only choices for the itinerary we would use are ms Noordam and ms Zaandam and I don't' see any remarkable corner suites on the deck plan.

Right you are, the "smaller" HAL ships (Zaandam, Volendam) don't have the wrap-arounds, but their Neptune Suites are quite nice. The larger ships (Noordam, Westerdam) have the aforementioned wraparounds.

As a native of the great Pacific Northwest, and having cruised to Alaska 3 times, twice from Seattle and once from Vancouver, I'd suggest considering these points:

1. Try a mid-week departure. On the F, Sa, Su departure dates you'd be one of 4-5 cruise ships following each other from port to port..and flooding same ports with 6-10,000 passengers in a single day. No joking. On one cruise, 6 ships were in port in Juneau...two tendered (Seabourne and Silversea)! Mid-week cruises cut the number of ships in half.

2. Choose Vancouver instead of Seattle. Gasp! Yes, I just suggested our rival to the north rather than my beloved city as your jumping off point, and I do not do so lightly. However, my Vancouver cruise was FAR more enjoyable for a number of reasons:

a) First and foremost, you cruise the inside of Vancouver Island which is absolutely gorgeous! When you leave from Seattle, you miss this amazing experience entirely and simply have much more time at sea.

b) Seattle is beautiful, but cruising out and returning under the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver is spectacular.

c) a more varied and international group of passengers. Bluntly, Seattle cruises are filled with 85+% Americans. Vancouver cruises have many many more folks from around the world. Our Vancouver cruise had a large (and joyously boisterous) Australian contingent, more than a few Europeans, a number of East Indians, plus the usual Canooks and Yanks.

3. Try a cruise that includes Skagway...and book the train tour with Chilkoot Tours. Informative, scenic, delicious, and most importantly, not crowded. Mom and I booked this while some friends went with the cruise line's tour. Their train car was filled cheek to jowl with 45+ people. Our private car had...wait for it...10 people. Spacious, relaxed, and convivial.

4. Consider HAL. All three of my Alaska cruises were on HAL, and for a specific reason; namely, they have the corner on AK. Because of their long-standing relationship with the various ports, they have prime docking rights. More importantly, they have seem to have first dibs on glacier access to Glacier Bay and other glaciers. And let's face it, the glaciers are the reason you're going to Alaska.

5. If #4 is acceptable, book a corner suite on one of the smaller HAL ships. These suites tend to be huge (500-700sqft) with accordingly wonderful balconies. And yes, you will use your deck in AK, even in the cloudy, rainy horrible weather. Nothing quite like ordering shrimp cocktail, clam chowder, toasted cheese sandwiches, and truffle cake to your balcony as you sip champagne and snuggle in to your wool tartan blanket to watch the glaciers calve 300 feet from your wrap-around aft deck. [happy sigh at the memory]

6. Regardless of which cruise line you book with, look at the lunar calendar and try to book during a full moon. Trust me. This was my mother's brilliant idea on our last cruise, and it was...did I say already...brilliant. Sipping that last night cap, wrapped again in your trusty wool tartan blanket, watching the moonlight dance off the glowing waters of Glacier Bay is, well, priceless.

Sparkleplenty (what a fun name), I'm so relieved to know I'm not the only one pouring over spreadsheets, fussing over which cruise line will be the best at whatever, and turning a vacation planning process into a labor of love. It truly isn't work at all, is it?

Indeed, it is no work at all, tho' I suspect my spreadsheets were far more old school (paper and pencil) than yours. ;) I believe I may have found a new calling if ever I tire of the classroom. As I continue my researching, I may be in touch about more details for specific ports...

Thank you also for providing the info on the car service! We'll definitely be using it in Italy.

Wonderful review! Love the tips, especially. Also, completely identified with your travel agent mode as I've assumed the same role. Any spare moment, I'm researching tours and destinations while comparing reviews of the same. You should have seen the spreadsheets I'd crafted in order to decide between Silversea, Seabourne, and Windstar for a B2B next summer! So very happy we chose Windstar, and even more so after reading your review.

BTW, I'd be interested in the name of that car/van service you used.

Milepig is spot-on.

My husbands owns his own company and has done this countless times for major companies and it all boils down to this -- you never NEVER have the site down for more than a few minutes...in the dead of the night...when the fewest users are online...and only after doing demographic research to ascertain when the fewest number of users are on the site. Very rarely a gremlin pops up and it may take...gasp...an hour, but that's it. If we told one of our clients their site and booking system would be down for 2 weeks, we'd be fired in a New York minute. Plain and simple.

In my husband's humble opinion, something else is going...

Many thanks, Tahiti1 and ridethetide! We'll stay where we are, and instead, I see a couple of massages in my future...;)

Happy Saturday, all!

DH and I are booked on the Breeze for next summer in cabin 124 (basic Ocean View cabin) directly amidship on Deck 4. I'm wondering if it's worth the extra 200pp to upgrade to an OV1 on Deck 5.

For you who've cruised on the Breeze, has anyone had any issues on Deck 4 with a) noise/vibrations/pumps/etc., or b) smoke from crew smoking area? Any other thoughts on Deck 4 vs Deck 5?

Many thanks!!!

UPDATE - after much pleading and some truly exceptional salesmanship, I convinced DH of the infinite merits and pleasures of booking....wait for it... a B2B Rome-Venice-Athens on Star Breeze! Booked 7/27/17-8/13/17!!! WoooooooHooooooooooo!

Yes, I absolutely want to do a trip on one of the sailing vessels, but 17 nights in the Med??? Hands down the best choice. So a HUGE thank you to everyone who brought up the notion of amortization of costs. That was final straw (or downy feather in the fluffy pillow) of DH's objections.:D:D:D

BTW - "RHV "and "Sparklplenty" are both me. I'd forgotten I had this older account and will henceforth be known as "Sparklplenty".

My thoughts exactly, Ducklite. And BTW, absolutely loved your packing list! I'll be following it almost to the letter. :D

Thank you, ALL, for the great suggestions and insights!... especially about which ports to venture out on our own, which to find a guide for, and which are safe/unsafe at night. DH and I are adventuresome, having lived abroad for a number of years, and believe it's always best to get pre-trip advice from those who've gone before. I'm an avid researcher and can't wait ti dig deep into all these threads!

One more WS question - given that we're doing B2B, in your experience what's the likelihood of a cabin upgrade?

Just booked my first ever Windstar cruise (DH has sailed a number of times)- B2B Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens next summer on Star Breeze!!! :D I'm so excited I can scarcely contain myself! The Windstar agent was laughing along with me in my joy...

Having only ever cruised on Holland America to Alaska, any and all advice or redirects to threads about Windstar, warm weather cruising, ports, etc., would be most welcome!

Thanks for the info!!!

Hi all! Mom and I are sailing on the Volendam on July 9th. We were wondering what the line-up of Happy Hours is -- times and locations. From our last Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam, I seem to remember a 2-for-1 in Crows Nest around four-ish. Any specifics on this and other HHs?

Many thanks!

:D

Hi lovely_serenity,

 

I just wanted to let you know that we are back from our Alaskan cruise on the Volendam and had a wonderful cruise. One of our top vacation experiences ever. Thank you so much for your wonderful review. It is nice to once again re-visit your blog now that we have also experienced Alaska on the Volendam.

 

Best wishes on your August cruise.

Lovely_serenity, thank you SO much for your beautifully detailed review! It's what tipped Mom and me over to choosing the Volendam over the Zuiderdam this July.

cbr663 - we're on the Volendam to Alaska July 9th. How was she? Things you loved?

Here is the list we were given. You can see that some bottles were 1 for 2, or 1 for 4. Hope this helps.

I just started a new thread about the Suite Amenities, but I should have searched the forum first...oops! Anyway, my question is in regard to the wine selection. Some folks on this thread have said they selected from the wine menu in the MDR and others from the Signature Bev list (thanks for posting that, OVGirl!). Here, finally, is my question:

Can you choose from any wine on the wine list, or just from the ones on the Signature List? If it's any, then it would be a nice perks because there are some really nice wines. If it's just off the Signature list, then I'm hesitant....

Thoughts?

Hi all!

Mom and I are sailing to Alaska on the Volendam in July in a balcony cabin. I just discovered the Suite Amenities Package. I'm wondering what y'all think of this package. Aside from the wine, I'm mostly considering it for Mom so she can have a leisurely disembarkation. Specifically though:

1. If you've utilized this, what did you love about it?

2. It's ~400 total for both of us. Worth the money?

3. For the bottles of wine, can you choose from any of the on-board offerings or is it from a limited selection? If it's any, hello Chester-Kidder and Sequel!

4. With the package, how late can one disembark?

5. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

It was our first try and we will definitely be ordering again. We tried breakfast on our balcony, but did find it just a little too chilly. We always have breakfast on our balcony several times during a cruise. It is one of the things that we look forward to the most.

 

Our dinner on the balcony was just as magical. We were so lucky to have a warm evening and calm waters. The operator will always ask you how many servings you want of anything and will give you an expected time for delivery. They were right on the mark and we just asked them to leave the tray on the desk and we served ourselves on the balcony. Throw a small table cloth in your suitcase to make it even more special.

 

We forgot to ask about dessert. I am guessing you could just inquire as to what is on the menu or order the dark chocolate cake from the room service menu.

Thanks for the tips! If the weather is nice, we'll definitely try this. :)

Your mother has every right to use that cabin. One does not need to be in a W/C full time to be "handicapped". So stop feeling guilty right now ;)

 

As for the location, I can't imagine that little deck will get much use. I spoke with a couple who were in a cabin by the door to the Lower Promenade Deck\ and asked them if they were hearing the door a lot. They said it was not affecting them at all, that they did not hear it. The doors to the LP would, I suspect, get MUCH more use than the door to that little aft deck.

As you command, Cow Princess, I will stop feeling guilty right now...thanks! ;)

That was my hope about the little deck, so it's nice to get reassurance. Besides, all Mom has to do is take out her hearing aids at night and she won't hear a thing! Now me, that's another matter :D

You don't have to be confined to a wheel chair to be handicapped. I use a scooter or walker sometimes (depending on how far o have to go and energy level) but I am not chair bound. I have serious mobility issues that require modified access that other cabins (and hotel rooms) don't offer. If I don't have grip bars in the bathroom I can't get up from the bathroom on my own and I can't stand in a shower without a seat. For a tub I need help since I cannot lift my right leg more than an inch or so on my own.

 

If they offered both handicap and modified rooms then you could put for modified only. But that is not your situation so don't feel guilty about taking that room for her, she needs it.

 

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Thanks for the reassurance, Sherilyn! You described Mom's situation exactly, with the need for bars in the bathroom and, optimally, the shower. Good to know there's a spectrum of needs for the HC rooms.

Just booked the July 9th cruise with Mom. Can't wait! Didn't know about ordering room service from the MDR for dinner. We've got a verandah (B6228), so definitely will try that if the weather is warmish ;)