Cabin Size

[Tri2]

My husband, two teenage sons and I are taking the Zaandam to Alaska on our first ever cruise. The cost for just one room (outside room without balcony) along with flights and excursions is already more than I have ever spent in a vacation. But now I'm worried about not having enough space for us. I'm wondering wether getting a second room or changing to a suite would be best.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Tri2

[SuiteTraveler]

A lot of families will have an outside for the parents and an inside for the kids. You register with one adult in each room, but onboard, the kids sleep in the inside. This is usually cheaper than a suite and you get 2 bathrooms. sometimes families get connecting cabins. However, it is not unusual for a family of 4 to share one cabin.

 

Whether you need this space or not has a lot to do with how you vacation. If you are mostly out of your hotel room all day and all evening, then you should be fine sharing one cabin. If you tend to spend a lot of time relaxing in your room and like your alone time, you might be better off with 2 cabins. If you live in a more modest sized house, one cabin probably won't be a big deal, but if you are used to a large house and having lots of privacy and space, one cabin will feel like the 4 of your camping in one tent which may or may not be a problem.

 

If someone in your family is a bathroom hog, having 2 cabins and 2 bathrooms would be the best arrangement.

 

The main thing I think you should be concerned about is not the space in the cabin but about getting some Bonine for your cruise and also having your doctor prescribe some Trans Derm Scops just in case you encounter high seas going up to or coming down from Alaska as it is unpredictable and you might or might not have this experience. On both of our Alaska cruises, we did encounter high seas and lots of cruisers and even crew were seasick. We had on our Scops, so we were totally OK and actually had a good time during the high seas, but noticed in the dining room, it was almost empty of guests on the second night out. My inlaws did not listen to me about the high seas and necessity of having the Scops, just in case and were terribly sick in their cabin.

 

When you first board the ship, put your stuff in the cabin and then go have lunch and then explore the ship and find out where things are. Since this is your first cruise, this will take quite a bit of your time and it's a lot of fun. Your kids will want to sign up for the kids club and go the first time it is open as this is when friendships are made for the duration. Especially with teens, they don't spend a lot of time in the club, so that first time is important for your sons to go make friends to hang out with on the ship. Pretty soon, there will be the lifeboat drill, which everyone has to attend and then afterwards, you will be getting ready for dinner, have dinner, see a show and then hang out in a bar or go to bed - depending on how tired you are. That first day goes really fast. For a sea day, it is often a great idea to schedule a spa treatment or hang out by the pool. There will be all kinds of activities and things to do all day, in between eating. My dad is a retired Captain and I can tell you he has lived his life by the meal. At breakfast he would talk about what he was going to have for lunch and at lunch, he'd talk about what he would have for dinner and at dinner, he was already thinking about breakfast. Food is a BIG thing on ships and I think it really breaks up monotony of days at sea. So, be sure and go out for your meals on the ship to the buffet or the dining rooms - we tend to prefer to go to the dining room, although meals take longer there we enjoy the service and talking with others on the ship.

 

Once you are up in Alaska, it becomes a very port intensive cruise where you are off the ship from early morning until around 5pm and then just have dinner, maybe see a show and go to bed only to get up early the next morning for the next port. it really becomes all about the ports and what you can do in port. The seas will be calm up there - so should you encounter high seas while in the open ocean, do be aware, things will be a lot better once you reach Alaska. Coming back, the seas may or may not be smooth - you never know.

 

The other advice I have for you for Alaska is to bring binoculars as the views are amazing!

[cb at sea]

The cabins are about 155-180 sq. ft for a OV cabin. That's not very large, as the bathroom is included in that sq. footage!

 

However, many folks do make it work.

[spookwife]

My husband, two teenage sons and I are taking the Zaandam to Alaska on our first ever cruise. The cost for just one room (outside room without balcony) along with flights and excursions is already more than I have ever spent in a vacation. But now I'm worried about not having enough space for us. I'm wondering wether getting a second room or changing to a suite would be best.

 

 

4 full or nearly full grown adults in a standard cabin is beyond cramped. At minimum, you will wish you had 2 bathrooms.

 

A second interior cabin for the kids is probably less expensive than upgrading to a suite

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[jennybenny]

We cruise (and hotel) travel with mom dad and 2 boys. It can get cramped sometimes. If you think you can arrange the shower times okay then one cabin is all you need. What do you do on land vacations? That will work for your cruise as well, or at least it's worked for us.

 

The cabins are small.

We do not spend a lot of time in there.

 

If you think you will need extra bathroom time or be spending a lot of time in your room, then 2 cabins would be better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nic6318]

My husband, two teenage sons and I are taking the Zaandam to Alaska on our first ever cruise. The cost for just one room (outside room without balcony) along with flights and excursions is already more than I have ever spent in a vacation. But now I'm worried about not having enough space for us. I'm wondering wether getting a second room or changing to a suite would be best.

 

Hi there

 

An ocean view cabin will be nice for Alaska.

 

It will be crowded but you are not talking about a lifetime spent in the cabin. Typically, most people only spend time in the cabin for dressing, washing up and sleeping. For an Alaskan cruise when you are on board and not in port, you will want to be on one of the exterior ships decks for the maximum appreciation of the scenery. Being able to go from one side of the ship to the other will allow you to see so much more that sitting in your cabin. Of course if there were any mobility issues with a passenger then perhaps a balcony cabin might be more of a necessity.

 

If you are concerned about the cost for the cabin you have selected, a suite would be a significant increase. Even an additional interior would require substantial additional funds which could be better spent on your excursions. Remember if you are looking at this trip as a "once in a lifetime", how you spend your money off the ship will be more important for the total experience. We did get to go last year to Alaska and it was great, but there were few ways to have that great experience once off the ship without spending a lot. If the money is in the budget for an extra cabin, I would try to get an interior near to your exterior, but I don't think it is necessary. Of course I don't know your family

 

I see you are new to this site, so I welcome you. Please be sure to look at the "port of calls" threads on this site. It can be found if you look down the main forum page. You will see links for Alaska, as well as Canada(Alaska/Pacific coastal). You will find much information about "everything Alaska". Very helpful, it will save you time and money.

 

Looking at that main forum page you will also see a section for "North American homeports" with a link for "West coast departures". You should be able to find anything regarding Seattle, Vancouver, such as transport, hotels, restaurant.

 

If you have any questions specific to HAL or your ship in particular, on that main forum page you will see a section with all the cruise lines listed. Select Holland America and you can ask those questions there. You should get answers quickly but there are also a "search" function at the top of each page which would allow you to do a quick search, because many questions have been asked hundreds of time and you would not have to wait for new responses.

 

hope this helps get you started with this site

have a great cruise

[murcor]

We did Alaska, 2 teens, outside room 155-161 sq feet.

 

It was out first non balcony room. Like the OP, cruise, air etc costs were higher than usual. If we wanted to cruise Alaska this is what we had to do.

 

It turned out great! We managed, we got along & no fights! Haha

 

Guess what?

We haven't gone back to a balcony!

 

The savings mean we can cruise more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[badtwin]

One possible solution to the shower crunch is to send the boys to the showers in the gym area. My sister, daughter and I shared a small OV on an MSC cruise and found the bathroom got cramped and so steamy. We tended to shower before dinner, so we all packed up our stuff and showered in the women's locker room - an added benefit was the free steam room on that particular MSC cruise we enjoyed before our shower.

[jennybenny]

One possible solution to the shower crunch is to send the boys to the showers in the gym area. My sister, daughter and I shared a small OV on an MSC cruise and found the bathroom got cramped and so steamy. We tended to shower before dinner, so we all packed up our stuff and showered in the women's locker room - an added benefit was the free steam room on that particular MSC cruise we enjoyed before our shower.

 

 

 

Excellent suggestion! Just ensure the ship you are sailing has showers available in the locker rooms. Found out the hard way that the Grand Princess does not. I had done that for previous cruises.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk