First Cruise ever

[wiking]

Hi, This May I will be taking my first cruise. It will be on the Westerdam. A couple of years ago while i was in san diego I saw the Oosterdam leave and thought how fun it would be. This year aspecial deal came for me to take the Westerdam. Will be staying in a inside cabin. How are they? Also is the combination of Glacier and Salmon bake a good one to do. Thanks Alan

[RuthC]

Will be staying in a inside cabin. How are they?

That depends a lot on which inside cabin you are in.

The insides on Main Deck are fabulous! I've been in several of them on the Noordam and E-dam. I've also visited some on other decks; those are noticibly smaller.

If your inside is termed a "large inside" (other than on Main Deck) it should be all right. If it's a "standard inside", think more "cabinette" than cabin. They are tiny.

[wwinfl91]

We did our first and second cruises on inside cabins and then started upgrading. The one problem we had with inside cabins was that it is very easy to over sleep since it is very dark without any windows.

 

Make sure you have asked whoever you booked with to put you down as upgradedable and that they haven't already assigned you a cabin.

 

Many times you will find that an inside cabin will at least become an outside one with a window or porthole depending on the deck or position on the ship.

 

Have a great first cruise and hopefully it will be the first of many.

[cb at sea]

Since you have nothing to compare it to, you'll have a great time! Realize that cabins are nothing like hotel rooms---they're fairly small, yet well-designed for maximum storage.

An inside cabin is a good way to "get your feet wet" regarding cruising. It will be dark, but if lamplight doesn't bother you, you'll be fine! Many will leave their TV set to the ship's camera, so that they can tell when sunrise has happened!

A cruise is MUCH more than your room! Enjoy the entire ship!

[Himself]

Have a great cruise and enjoy. It is a great vacation.

[wiking]

The inside cabin is on the upper veranda. i think it is a k one

[UTadventure]

I can't say yet what the inside cabins are like on HAL, but after May I'll be able to. We did a 7 day round trip on the Princess Dawn in July 2006, where we had a balcony, and found we didn't really use the balcony to any extent. This time we're going for 14 days on an inside, as we don't intend to use the room for much other than sleeping.

 

As for the combination Glacier/salmon bake, we took that tour last time and wished we had a little more time to explore the area around the Glacier. This year we're going to take a bus on our own so we can set our own pace.

 

The salmon bake was okay I guess, but being as how you're used to getting spoiled dinning wise, it didn't seem great. They've got the salmon cooking on a grill over a fire, and some chicken as well as I recall. Once you've eaten your meal, you can hike back a short distance on the trail following the stream where you'll find a waterfall, a mine entrance, and some old mining equipment which is kind of fun. Very green and beautiful area, more or less right in town.

[Boytjie]

On the Amsterdam they had a cookout for lunch on the Lido deck when we were in Sitka and it was very good. They even had Alaskan beer on tap. I am glad we didn't do an excursion with a salmon bake too. :)

[rjm1cc]

I have been in a number of catagories and locations. On HAL the difference between inside and outside is the window (or porthole). Otherwise the rooms are about the same. Your TV will always have a picture of what is in front of the ship so you can see the "outside" from your room anytime. You will probably spend most of the day out on the ship or on shore so I would book the cheapest cabin on a guarentee. That tells HAL that you want any inside cabin that sells for the price you paid but you are willing to move to any other cabin that costs more but you will not have to pay more. I think this is the way to go. Spend the savings on some land tours.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

We had an inside on the Westerdam on the Upper Veranda deck, if I recall correctly it was an I category. It was much nicer (newer, had a fridge & bigger closets with a full length mirror), had a better layout (was L shaped instead of just a rectangle), and was the same size as the outside we had on the Zaandam.

[geocruiser]

Hi,

Last June we cruised to Alaska on Tahitian Princess. We had an outside cabin. The only little "thing" wrong with the outside was the sun light would peek throught the crack in the curtains. The sun was up about 3:30 AM. I think an inside would be fine. Have a great cruise.

Maria

[jtl513]

The only little "thing" wrong with the outside was the sun light would peek throught the crack in the curtains. The sun was up about 3:30 AM.

We bring clothespins or chip-bag clips to close them snugly! :)

[Susie51]

I have often cruised in inside cabins on various cruiselines and they work out well for me and my family. DH, however, needs at least a window. On HAL I have been in OV twice and a suite once. As I walk by the inside cabins on HAL, they seem bigger than the average inside cabin on other cruise lines.

 

For various reasons in 2008, I was able to cruise 3 times: suite/inside/suite. The change in cat. doesn't seem to bother me. I hope the inside cabin works well for your family too. For a lot of pax the best part of the cruise experience is outside of the cabin and everyone gets to enjoy it. Have fun!