Andi Land

Thank you Copper, Roy, and Ruth. I have taken your advice and booked the Volendam for August. Both Seattle and Vancouver are driving distance for us so either port is great. 

In 2019 the Amsterdam is doing a one off unique itinerary:  Round trip Seattle, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Cruising Tracy Arm.  This is a one time cruise in July.  I've been to Sitka 4 times now but not Skagway.  Is it worth missing one of the glaciers to go through Tracy Arm?  I haven't been up Tracy Arm on any past cruises but have been to both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.  All opinions welcome, please.  I've posted here rather than the Alaska board since the ship being the smaller Amsterdam may have some impact on whether or not this unique itinerary is a good choice.

Thanks!

As far as I know these are being sold as 7 day cruises that can be bundled as back to back. I was just in the website and found multiple dates spanning May thru September. 

Click Search, then narrow it down to where you want to travel, then narrow it down to the 7 day itineraries. 

Hope me this helps. 

Thanks Andi, OP for alerting us on this.

 

I was successful today getting it added and considering especially that my Explore4 is priced in Canadian dollars the additional $200 USD OBC pp is much appreciated.

 

So glad you posted this :D

You’re welcome! I’m always looking for those extras and since my next cruise is a 14 day one it’s worth it to us to have the E4 and the OBC is a nice bonus. I’m happy it’s worked out well for others too.

The trend industry wide is to shorten sailing lengths in an effort to increase revenue/yields. Longer cruises attract a more well travelled clientele that spend less on ancillary items - cruise line shore excursions, photos, shops, spa, specialty ding, alcohol, and on and on.

Thank you for the information. Do you still think they’ll keep the 16 and 17 day Hawaii trips? I was looking to do one in 2021.

It’s really unfortunate that the longer Tahiti cruise isn’t being offered. It looks like a great itinerary.

Found on the website today as part of the E4 promo:

Thank you! Mine looks okay.

We chose the 15 day RT Seattle in the Amsterdam. We have been to Alaska 4 times but this is the first for us in this itinerary. We sailed Amsterdam this year and absolutely loved the ship. It’s become my favorite.

We loved our lanai cabin, but I doubt if I'd pay that much more for one. Can you find one of the outsides that are near an exit to the aft deck? You could have the best of both worlds in that case, just steps away from the deck.

This is what we are doing for our next cruise. Lanai category is sold out currently but it looks like it was about $1,000 per person more than the ocean view. Not sure I could justify that price increase.

I thought that Amsterdam still had a laundry. Can anyone confirm? I'm doing one of the World Cruise segments and had planned to do laundry every 2 weeks - I don't mind spending a few hours on a sea day doing this for a long cruise. And, I'm just a 1 star so have no status to get mine done for free.

We were on the Amsterdam the last week of August. The laundry facility is still available on both floors 3 and 6. We used it on one of our sea days.

Between a H outside category & the Lanai Category it is a $940 cabin cost difference on a 12 night cruise:)

I would do it if I could get one midship. Rooms 332 thru 361. The ones farther back may be under the noisy galley. I’ve stayed in 3361 on the Amsterdam just a few weeks back and thought the location was perfect.

I’ve loved the lanai rooms that I’ve had in both Veendam and Amsterdam. My next cruise is sold out in that category or I’d choose it again. I can’t say whether or not it’s worth it. What is the price difference?

I just checked in POLAR (travel agency booking system). For the 8/12/19 sailing category CA (lanai) rooms are currently sold out. All other suite, oceanview and interior categories show as available to book, regardless of fare code (Advantage, Explore4, Non-refundable deposit, or agency groups). Categories DD and N are on a guarantee basis only, all other categories have rooms available for assignment.

 

I do know the HAL system limits the number of cabins showing available on their website, or on other consumer websites, but their call centre agents, PCC's or a knowledgeable travel agent should know how to access full inventory. If you are being told otherwise by whomever is helping you book I would find another agent to work with.

Thank you for the helpful, thoughtful, positive reply. It is appreciated.

But that doesn't answer the OP's question...because there is no definitive answer for the OP. There is no way to know, or even predict what will happen with cancellations. The OP seems to acknowledge this, but still wants some magical answer to appear...

I don’t want a magical answer. If I did, I’d talk to the fairies and unicorns who live down the street with the magician to see what they have to offer. I asked for opinions and supposition. Sometimes there are people in the know. Like the gentleman who is a travel agent. He had something concrete and valid to offer and I appreciate the dialogue he gave.

Andi - which sailing date are you on? It is possible that only certain categories were available under the fare type / promo you were booking under.

We booked for August 12th. I did ask to get on a waitlist if rooms open up.

Thanks for keeping us abreast of the situation!

Pun intended?;p

Thanks CruiserBruce

I did book an OV stateroom that will be great if things don't change. It just seems really odd to be sold out a year in advance.

Hi! I'm looking at the 14 day Alaska round trip Seattle on the Amsterdam for 2019. It looks like some categories of staterooms are sold out already. For those of you more familiar, does this happen often or could it be that lots of people booked on the $1 deposit day and are holding rooms they don't plan on keeping? I know any answers will be educated guesses at this point but that's why I came to the most cruise educated group I know. I was specifically looking at the Lanai category.

I’m not bothered by the topless area. To each their own. I would, however, have expected some sort of notice from HAL if my stateroom overlooked said area so I could make an informed decision.

I find the site very easy to navigate and use, once the initial 'learning curve' of the new UI has been accomplished. ;) My experience with the new booking engine is that it nearly always defaults to 'Guarantee' initially, and if that is not what you want then you have to intervene. Intervention consists of simply selecting 'change stateroom' (top of page), then 'select your stateroom'; at which time options to change deck, select a specific cabin, etc. appear.

 

 

It's all rather intuitive to me, but YMMV..

I agree with you. Once the learning curve was over it’s quite easy.

The frustrating part for customers is the different answers you get from Seattle reps. I called today to get pricing on my next cruise without the Explore 4promo. I was told the new pricing and that it was a “restricted”fare. I asked for explanation and it is the non refundable deposit fare. I said “oh, so that means I can’t make any changes to this reservation if I take that pricing.” The Seattle rep said, “we offer deals to lots of people with this type of fare if pricing changes. You’d just have to call us.”

So, if I called because I was told I should, would they honor what the rep said or would they honor the non refundable terms? Hard to say since every time you call you get a different answer.

I kept my refundable fare. I can re-price it once the E4 expires.

We ate in the Pinnacle twice; once for lunch on Hubbard Glacier Day and Rudy's Sel de Mer night. Both were very good and service exceptional.

We also had lunch in the Pinnacle on Hubbard Day and dinner at Sel de Mer. 2 ships passing I guess! Until next time. 😊

Booked aNeptune suite on this cruise on the spur of the moment at the end of June. AsDH is no longer able to travel, I am now traveling solo. Friends of mine werelooking for an Alaskan cruise and I told them about this one and they booked aswell. Alaska was an escape from the heat for me and an escape from the smokeyair from the California fires for them.

 

Flying inthe day before we stayed at the Lake Union Courtyard Marriott. Although underremodel, it was fine and the food in their Bistro restaurant was quite good.

 

We arrivedat Pier 91 about 11:30 and check in and embarkation were a breeze. I asked ifmy friends could have the same boarding number as I and the request was granted.Since boarding had started, we were on the ship almost immediately. They hadreceived an upgrade at check in from inside to window and were a littleconcerned but when they found their cabin to be still in the center, they werepleased. Later on they would be even more pleased as one morning, they pulledback the curtain and there was a whale doing its thing just outside the window.

 

I like thenew décor of the Neptune suites – blues and grays. It appears all the fixturesin the bath are new – the shower is much better pressure wise IMO. New countertop and flooring and tub. New counter top in the dressing area as well. Mycabin stewards, Leonard and Alit. both with 10 years with HAL, were outstanding,always friendly, always helpful, what we have known to expect with HAL crew.

 

We ate thefirst lunch in the MDR and it was very good. We had open seating for dinner andwere able to procure the same table (108 by the window) for the entire week. Diningstewards Deden and Islam were outstanding. One of my complaints in the past hadbeen cold food but not this time. Everything that was supposed to came out hot,was served hot. I thought there were better menu choices thanI remember from the past.

 

Breakfastwas in the Lido. My friends who had feared a free-for-all buffet were very impressedwith HAL’s use of stations, fresh cooked eggs, berries, and the wide variety ofchoices. I have always contended that HAL’s Lido breakfast choices and set-upare the best of any cruise line.

 

Weather wastypical Alaska – overcast – with a little rain in Juneau and Ketchikan. TheHubbard Glacier experience was fantastic. Captain Jonathan steered us to within.6 mile and we stayed for well over an hour. Calving occurred. Absolutely beautiful.

 

Activitieswere abundant. The EXC guide gave very interesting and well received talks. America’sTest Kitchen is a welcome addition to the program. Entertainment was good.There were two production shows, one BBC Earth presentation, and a couple ofcomedians. The Adagio duo was fantastic. At the Captain’s toast, after he hadtold a little about himself, a woman in the audience yelled out “And are youmarried? Captain Jonathan replied “Yes, I am and she is right here” pointing tothe center section. Everyone was laughing and Hamish, Cruise Director said, “We’venever had that question before”

 

The sevendays flew by and it was back to reality. We all used Port Valet and it is so convenient.Already There Town Car picked us up at the appointed time and off we were to SEATACand our flights home.

 

This was my 11thcruise on the Amsterdam, mostly Alaska with a few Panama Canal transits. Theship is beautiful and the crew wonderful. With apologies to the Prinsendamfans, the Amsterdam is the best in the fleet. (Although I will be sailing thePrinsendam before she leaves HAL so Iwill get a chance to compare the two).

I think this is the second time we’ve been on the same cruise and didn’t know it. 😊

Loved this trip. I agree about the ship. This was my first time in Amsterdam but she became my favorite. The crew was outstanding.

We could not find this deal that you mention for our Blue Cash American Express Credit Card nor our Hilton Honors American Express Credit card .

 

What american Express credit card has this $150 credit after spending $750 on a listed cruise above ?

 

TIA :)

I had this available on my Blue Cash card. I had to filter by travel as the category to find it.

We finished our cruise yesterday on the Amsterdam and it was wonderful.

We stayed in a Lanai stateroom number 3361. Pictures have been submitted to halfacts and are there now for viewing for anyone interested.