Booked on the Noordam - and now.....

[jmk22574]

My husband and I are officially booked on the Noordam this September, and now I can finally ask a few lingering questions that are specific to this cruise.

 

1. We're in a VE deluxe verandah cabin, verandah deck, port side. Looking at some pictures, the lifeboats seem to be right outside our balcony. Does anyone have any experience with these particular rooms - good or bad?

 

2. We are wait-listed for early dining but I'm a little confused. Reading these boards, I've found some posts stating the Noordam will be trying out "open seating" on its Alaskan itineraries this summer. Does anyone know anything more definitive about this?

 

3. Lastly, I've read various opinions on mid to late September sailings to Alaska. We're on the last cruise of the season up there. My husband and I both LOVE cold weather, we're not planning on doing more than one or two shore excursions, and I'm not a real big "shopper." The most common downfalls I've read from past Alaskan cruisers in September are the weather, some shore excursions not being offered, and some stores already being closed for the season. It seems to me that we've picked a perfect time of year for our tastes, but am I missing any additional pros/cons on cruising Alaska at this time of year?

 

As always, thank you very much for any and all thoughts. ;)

[jtl513]

1) Here's a good thread on that subject, with pictures:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=525894

 

2) Can't help

 

3) We are going on the last Statendam AK cruise of the season ... but are mainly going to see Denali, College Fjord, and Glacier Bay, none of which we've seen yet. We don't plan on much in the way of excursions or shopping. One possible "pro" for that time of the year is that the whales will be starting south, and you/we could see more of them. Also, more bears should be out fattening up for the winter.

 

One possible "con" is that there's a higher chance of rain than earlier months. Also, the natives could be a little "jaded" from a summer full of cruisers, and more interested in getting it over than being particularly enthusiastic about pleasing you/us!

[Juanita462]

We have cruised to Alaska 3 times in the middle of Sept. It always rained in Juneau but had nice weather a good part of the time. I have a picture of DS in a short sleeved t-shirt playing shuffleboard on the top deck. We have seen lots of sea life on these cruises and even saw one of the great brown bears at a distance. Saw several types of whales and lots of them. yes, the stores are closing down for the season but what bargains and we never got the feeling that they were impatient to get the season over with. In one store I wrote out a pattern for the toques that we were wearing for the store owner - who then gave me an extra discount on what I bought. We rode the local buses and had people act as tour guides for us and comment on local landmarks - even the bus driver asked us if we were now going to move to Alaska. It was great fun. I think they are more relaxed after the main tourist season is over.

 

We see the cruise ships sail by all summer long - won't be long until they start up again. Celebrity stops at our home port and they tender the pax right to the downtown area where there is a lot to do - maybe someday HAL will consider stopping here too.

[M&MCruisin]

My husband and I are officially booked on the Noordam this September, and now I can finally ask a few lingering questions that are specific to this cruise.

 

1. We're in a VE deluxe verandah cabin, verandah deck, port side. Looking at some pictures, the lifeboats seem to be right outside our balcony. Does anyone have any experience with these particular rooms - good or bad?

 

As always, thank you very much for any and all thoughts. ;)

 

I am by no means an expert here since I have never cruised HAL, but I have been researching all day about the Zuiderdam and Westerdam and if you look at the deck plans, the picture will show the lifeboats outside the room. On the ships I am looking at, they are rooms starting with G and H. VE category on the ones I am looking at do not have lifeboats outside the window. I think its below it. Hope you have a fantastic time.

[RetiredMustang]

jmk22574,

 

1. We were in a VE port side on Westerdam earlier this year. More details in my member review (http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26653) , but a quicker answer: The view is only blocked straight down. The top of the tender is below the level of the verandah. Should not be a big problem.

 

2. I think this is new to everyone. HAL is instituting this on the Alaska runs this summer, and no-one so far has actually experienced this. We are all waiting to see. We are booked on the Noordam in Sept. through the Panama Canal -- would appreciate your feedback on your cruise. Happy sailing!

 

3. Not done Alaska yet, so can't offer an opinion. Sorry.

[hunzabunz]

Hi,

We're on the same cruise and if you have a veranda the life boats will be below you. This will be our 2nd Alaska (we're celebrating our 20th wedding and our 5th year of sailing with Hal). Our 1st cruise 5 years ago was to Alaska and so wanted to make this special being our anniversary also.

 

Alaska is so special and beautiful that you can't miss. Our last time was in August and we had rain in some ports and others were sunny. My MIL is coming with us (she's 91 and went with us on our 1st cruise) and she is just as excited. Of all the places to go on a cruise, we think that this one is at the top of our list (as far as leaving out of a US or Canada port).

 

Know you will have fun. BTW what size table did you request? If you're at a smaller one there should be no problem with the open dining. We had that on the Oosterdam last Dec. and I had requested one for 4 (there was 3 of us). Being that we showed up at the same time our servers were ready for us. The larger groups seem to have a little problem if they weren't all together.

 

The sooner the cruise gets here the more we can find out.

 

Nan

[jmk22574]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. Hunzabunz, it's nice hearing from someone else who will be on the same cruise. We didn't actually request a table size for dining, we were just told that we would be waitlisted for early dining. I'm not really picky on that subject, as long as I eat something. Retired Mustang, I will definitely take the time to write a review after our cruise. I've learned so much from past reviews on these boards, so I'm hoping my review might be helpful to others. I'm glad we have a pretty busy summer ahead, otherwise I'm not sure how well I'd do waiting for late September to roll around! ;)