Alaska - Retreat / Cabana

[cheeto]

I am in the middle of booking a 2017 Alaska cruise for mid July. This would be our first HAL cruise and I see that the Eurodam has Retreats / Cabanas onboard. I have searched and searched and the very little I can find is that the suggestion is that they would not be of any use in Alaska but I really couldn't find any definitive information. Is this because no HAL ship with Retreats / Cabanas onboard has sailed to Alaska as of yet? Looks like the NA will be going to Alaska next month and has them onboard; any cruisers know if they were available to pre rent for their Alaska cruise?

 

Thanks!

Nancy

[mllewis48]

I am in the middle of booking a 2017 Alaska cruise for mid July. This would be our first HAL cruise and I see that the Eurodam has Retreats / Cabanas onboard. I have searched and searched and the very little I can find is that the suggestion is that they would not be of any use in Alaska but I really couldn't find any definitive information. Is this because no HAL ship with Retreats / Cabanas onboard has sailed to Alaska as of yet? Looks like the NA will be going to Alaska next month and has them onboard; any cruisers know if they were available to pre rent for their Alaska cruise?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Nancy

 

 

 

Check http://www.halfacts.com it includes a link to the HAL Cabana Guide for the Eurodam that should answer your questions.

[TheEmerson]

I am on the Noordam in June this year and I have booked a Retreat Cabana. I will report back on the usability for the Alaska season. Even a photo or two. Yes you can pre-book in advance. For this trip the reservation was paid for in January.

Edited April 8, 2016 by TheEmerson

[cheeto]

I am on the Noordam in June this year and I have booked a Retreat Cabana. I will report back on the usability for the Alaska season. Even a photo or two. Yes you can pre-book in advance. For this trip the reservation was paid for in January.

 

Excellent, thank you so much. Can't wait to hear about your experience.

[lastlook]

I am on the Noordam in June this year and I have booked a Retreat Cabana. I will report back on the usability for the Alaska season. Even a photo or two. Yes you can pre-book in advance. For this trip the reservation was paid for in January.

 

I would also be very interested to hear about your experience after you return since I have been considering a retreat cabana on the Noordam in Alaska, June 2017.

[ATL123456]

I am on the Noordam in June this year and I have booked a Retreat Cabana. I will report back on the usability for the Alaska season. Even a photo or two. Yes you can pre-book in advance. For this trip the reservation was paid for in January.

 

Hi, did you book the cabana for the full cruise? I read in the HAL PDF that you had to wait and book just one day in a cabana on board.

[TheEmerson]

Hi, did you book the cabana for the full cruise? I read in the HAL PDF that you had to wait and book just one day in a cabana on board.

 

The PDF is oddly worded. Call Ship Services and book the full week. If you want to book one day, then that must be done on board.

 

Also if you do book with Ship Services, ask for a receipt email to be sent for confirmation.

[endless travel]

TheEmerson, did you find the cabana useful on the Noordam during your Alaska cruise?

[TheEmerson]

TheEmerson, did you find the cabana useful on the Noordam during your Alaska cruise?

 

It was "okay" but in my case, outside of Glacier Bay you would be the only ones there. Would I do it again for a whole week, no. But knowing that I had the family cabana reserved for Glacier Bay was a real plus. We were there all day and one of the cabana attendants would get our drinks, lunch, snacks the whole time we were there making it a lovely time.

[lynn2002]

I'm doing the 14 night cruise in Alaska this July/August. Was the weather warm enough to sit on deck or swim?

[marysb]

Have been to Alaska 3 times. We had some nice weather, but For me still not warm enough for sunbathing or swimming. The lido roof was closed most of the time and some people swam then, so you may want to book a lido cabana. But I don't ever remember the lido or back pool area as crowded as on a Caribbean cruise -You could always find a lounge.

Glacier bay day may be nice for view from a cabana, but with the cold air coming off the glaciers, you will want to bundle up and make some trips inside to warm up.

Anyway, from my experience, I would not see the need for a cabana. ( but we really enjoyed the veranda).

Mary

[TheCruisingAccountant]

I am in the middle of booking a 2017 Alaska cruise for mid July. This would be our first HAL cruise and I see that the Eurodam has Retreats / Cabanas onboard. I have searched and searched and the very little I can find is that the suggestion is that they would not be of any use in Alaska but I really couldn't find any definitive information. Is this because no HAL ship with Retreats / Cabanas onboard has sailed to Alaska as of yet? Looks like the NA will be going to Alaska next month and has them onboard; any cruisers know if they were available to pre rent for their Alaska cruise?

 

Thanks!

Nancy

 

We have been to Alaska four times, between May and Sept. Each time, we have had days warm enough, and with enough sun, to sun tan.

 

Our experience, Alaskan coastal weather can be very unpredictable.

 

You can freeze in rain for two days on the way there, sit in Skagway all day suntanning, freeze in Glacier Bay, but be back out on the pool in shorts and a t shirt that afternoon once out of Glacier Bay, pouring rain in Ketchikan, sun and clear skies back to Vancouver. That was essentially our September 2014 trip. Shorts, sandals, gloves, light winter jacket, all used

 

We did not have a cabana with HAL, but we did get one for Alaska with another line, and did not regret a moment of it; but then again, the day we booked it for, ended up being sunny and warm after a drizzly morning

[jhsocal]

Depends on your comfort zone for temperatures. Alaska cruise on Westerdam last July. Saw a few children using indoor pool, very few adults. Was definitely too cool for us to sit outside to sunbathe although, we had very little rain. Most people were on outside decks in jackets and sweaters or in in Crows Nest.

[TheEmerson]

I know I am the odd man out here, but the first sailing in May on the Oosterdam I was swimming daily in the sea view pool. The water was heated so it was nice. But the cold does not bother me. It was a silly sight when I would get out of the pool and get a G&T at the bar, drink it and go back in. All the bar/wait staff were bundled up.

[Orsino]

We had a Retreat Cabana for a week on the Niewu Amsterdam in mid-August 2017. We used it almost everyday, but we are okay with cooler temperatures (We live in New England). The only day we didn't use it was a rainy day. We didn't have a verandah so the cabana was great for us to relax and view the scenery as we sailed through Alaska. We dressed warm and ordered coffee or hot chocolate from the Cafe (the Cabana staff were happy to get these for us).

 

The Cabanas were not heavily booked, but both Family Cabanas were booked for the week. We had a regular cabana and I think one other regular cabana was booked for the week. On Glacier Bay Day it was very busy and all the Cabanas were booked for that day. Being the oddballs that we are, we hadn't planned on viewing the glaciers from the cabana and opted to walk around the promenade instead. But apparently, cabanas are very popular on Glacier Bay Day. When we went to the Cabanas in the afternoon it was packed, as in, more people than should have been there packed.

 

We were happy to have the Cabana for the week, but if cooler weather bothers you then I would not recommend it. Also we were sailing RT Vancouver, so both Inside Passage Days were 'warm.'