Bean na mara

Following along. Great to see you and DM are cruising again! Still talk about our wonderful table mates on that 18 day Circle Hawaii cruise. Hugs to both you and DM. If all the forces in the universe align well, Jamnut and I will be on another 7 day Alaska cruise in May of 2019! Smooth sailings. Jean

Glad the trip home went well. Thinking of you as you return to work. Post cruise blues hit as I did laundry and packed away my cruise stuff. The get away cruise that I had hopes for with DH has turned into a land vacation as he could not get away for all seven days! Hope our paths will cross again. Jean

Loved your reports...felt like I was there right with you! But lets be serious here. Hope your day in my fair city went well. Missed my dinner mates at Table 36 tonight but it is good to be home. Look forward to your reports over the next few days and hug your DM for me Safe trip home. Regards Jean

I feel like I am a little late for the party here but can someone direct me to WCB's blog? Thanks Jean

Thanks everyone! One day closer to sailing--six more sleeps!!! (can you tell I'm excited?)

I have revised most of my lists, I am down to 3 or 4 items on my "to do list", have most of the laundry and ironing done, have a couple of items to pick up at the stores, down loaded a book into my borrowed e-reader,will have my DD come and help me a final cull of things I want to take (Kate is my voice of reason) and do a mock pack Tues to see which suitcase to use! I am so excited...Looking forward to seeing beautiful Alaska again and enjoying our upsell to a Veranda suite. May 23rd can't come soon enough....By the way DH thinks I'm a little obsessive and he is probably right :p Spazzsmom (Jean)

We are set to sail on the Zaandam, May 23, 2014. Booked what we could afford directly with HA in Nov as an FF GUAR and was advised of our room assignment 2 weeks ago in an F - cabin #1827.

 

Last night I received and email from HA advising of an upgrade from category C-HH to A-BC for $49 pp. I called them 1st thing this morning and we are now in a vista room midship on the verandah deck!

 

 

Just curious if paid upgrades like this happen only when you book directly with HA? (This is my 1st time with HA and normally I book with a T.A.)

 

We are absolutely THRILLED to have a balcony!! What a totally unexpected surprise! I think now I need to go and pre-order a bottle of Bailey's since I will be needing it in my coffee on my deck :)

Great deal...Congats. Jamnut and I took an upsell 2 weeks ago to the same catagory of stateroom on your deck. We are also mid-ship.

We could be neighbors:) Are you on the starboard or port side? This is the first time I have been offered upsells but have been upgraded by a few catagories 4 out of the 5 cruises my DH and I have taken... This upsell has been the most I've "moved up" Maybe traveling with my long time friend is the charm for this upsell :D Again congats--you'll love the verandah! Spazzsmom (Jean)

Me again..Sorry I missed replying to Ruth C's question. Tracy Arm is listed as cruising from 7am to 4pm (give or take) then the next day we sail to Ketchikan (1000am to 6pm) Though it is still weeks away, I have to admit to starting my "What to take" list and have all my travel/stateroom stuff ready to go. My DH says I'm a tad obsessive this time:confused:

Thanks everyone for your replies...must research Endicott Arm just in case! I know I will be awed by the beauty of Alaska where ever we cruise to. Thanks again. I am always grateful for the wealth of info I have found on this site. About 6 more weeks to go so I am sure I'll be back asking something else.:D Spazzsmom

After searching the boards I have found the answers to most of my questions but am still "fuzzY" on a few...

I realize that May can be iffy for cruising the Tracy Arm due to ice and that sometimes full transit is not possible (or at all ) but my question is what happens in its place? There was one thread that mentioned Endicott Arm as a replacement but I was not sure if that was on HAL or an other line. As our itinerary has us doing a full day scenic cruising on May 27th , if the weather or ice doesn't allow us the go there, where do we go?

And on the same topic..If we get part way to the end and need to turn back, what then? A S-L-O-W cruise to the next port?

Not getting fussed about this, just wondering :D Thanks

Thanks so much for all your replies. An expired Tim Hortons card has been added to the "must take" list!

I lived in the thermal suite on the last two Alaska trips on the Zuiderdam--so much so that I feel I missed some of the ships activities :( No heated loungers this time as I hope to do trivia, watch cooking demos, art auction (just because I have never attended one) game shows, spa seminars, reading in the Crow's Nest etc...

The shorter walking distances may be put to good use as I always say I am going to walk around the Promenade deck on a daily basis ;) Is it 4 laps to equal a mile?

I am sailing on the Zaandam May 23rd to May 30th 2014 (Alaska Inside Passage). Looking forward to another visit to Alaska but all my 4 cruises have been on Vista ships (Alaska and the Caribbean.) What differences, if any, can we expect? I have always sailed in verandah staterooms but this time we are in an OV. I know there will be physical differences in the stateroom but how about the rest of the ship? How do the two classes compare food wise, types of entertainment, activities etc...I am assuming they will be comparable to the Zuiderdam but thought I'd ask

By reading other threads I found out that the Zaandam has the magnetic strip type safes still even after dry dock last fall. Do they work with your ship card? And if there are two guests per stateroom, will both cards work? :confused: Thanks Spazzsmom

We were in an aft cabin on the Noordam Deck 8 for a Southern Caribbean cruise. Wonderful cruise but our balcony did collect garbage from the Lido deck..napkins, fruit peels and once a bathing suit! And there was a waterfall every early morning when they hosed down the Lido deck. People could look down but you would only be seen if you were standing at the rail, so it wasn't a big deal...I have to agree with Ruth C. that there was no cross breeze and there were times that it was too hot for me to sit out there depending on where the sun was. For that reason we would not choose another aft cabin in the Caribbean or elsewhere that is hot.

I have enjoyed reading these boards for a long time! I have gotten great tips and information, read tons of reviews, laughed alot and cried some, shook my head at some things and cheered you on when some posters took on a cause! I raise a glass of wine in their honour... Now after 6 years and with the help of my computer savvy BFF (Jamnut) I have become a member of Cruise Critic! I have to say the hardest part was finding a user name:D

My DH and I have been on 6 cruises, the last five being on HAL and he has said "enough for now" So to that end Jamnut and I are putting our 25 year friendship to the test and are becoming roomies on a 7 day Inside Passage Alaskan cruise May 23-30 2014 on the Zaandam.

My question is for any one who has sailed on her recently. Is there any chance that the older safes that open with a card have been replaced with electronic ones with a code when she was in dry dock in Oct 2013? Not a big deal but I am used to the electronic ones. I don't do well with technical stuff:rolleyes:

Thanks for all you have given me so far and look forward to more interactive sharing in the future. Spazzsmom