crystalspin

Everywhere I'm reading (including the PointsGuy article), it is stated or implied it is for new bookings. @LAFFNVEGAS's screen shot says "wait 2 days before booking" for example. Too bad I changed a booking to a longer booking last week as that should have qualified as a new booking (AND it costed us $600 in OBC).

Sister! I have "formal" flip flops too! (My family laugh about that term.)

Roger got back to me with the current laundry list: https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Laundry-Price-List.pdf

You are correct, there are no "regular" verandahs on the Zaandam. We took a paid upgrade ("upsell" in CC usage) to a Zaandam vista suite travelling with my mom. LOTS of room for three adults, notably three banks of drawers, plus lots of closet space. Subsequently my husband and I sailed in a vista suite on the K'dam. Much smaller, only one bank of clothing drawers. Fortunately we have learned to travel more lightly in the meantime, so it was fine for us! There is a lot of comment that the Vistas on the Pinnacle Class ships (of which K'dam is one) are not appreciable larger than their verandahs. Both the Zaandam VS and the K'dam verandahs have the sitting areas next to the balcony, whereas the VS on the K have the bed near the balcony. To see for yourself, look at https://halfacts.com/ Zaandam is an R class ship, Noordam a Vista class, and Koningsdam is a Pinnacle. Note that the Vista Suites for the Pinnacle ship are not tagged correctly. Most are just labelled "V", although some are "MS" for Mini-Suite. So if you see the bed by the window, it is actually a VS not a Verandah! Any "V"s on the R-class ships are Vista Suites as well. ETA: as far as Port or Starboard, there is no right choice. Or rather there is no WRONG choice! The views are everywhere and if your view is ocean for a while, you might see whales!

Roll Call: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2949097-may-24-2024-alaska-northbound-glacier/#comment-65686545 You will be the second member! Alaska port-of-call: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/ Q&A for Vancouver in this forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/ We, too, took my mom to Alaska in June of 2009. We rented a car for two weeks, staying in Seward, Palmer, and Healy (for Denali). The road was open to the interior visitor center and beyond. We ended up wishing we'd only gone to the VC! the mosquitoes at the pond farther along (something like Mirror Lake?) were so bad it really wasn't fun!

Alaska!

Yes, if you buy outright, but not if a paid upgrade (upsell in CC lingo).

Hi Sunshine and welcome to Cruise Critic! What is the date of your sailing? My experience is that Alaska RollCalls are not particularly active (at least not on Holland America, with whom I have sailed three times), but I will check if there is a Roll Call for you. How will you get from Anchorage to Denali? Will you rent a car? There is a Wildlife rescue center 47 miles from Anchorage (in the other direction from Denali!) in Girdwood, that we took my family to since we didn't have time for Denali on a one-day visit to Anchorage. There is a 1.5mi loop walk to all the different enclosures. It seems like there were ample places to sit and rest. (My family group included two people with COPD and one with reduced stamina. I carried two tri-pod stools on this and other day-trips and never used them once!) https://alaskawildlife.org/visit/ I understand that there are route closures within Denali and you may want to determine how that will affect your visit. A few days in Anchorage and few days in Denali also includes a long day of driving between them. Oh, and for what it's worth, your chances of seeing Denali the mountain stand at 50% or less; it spends much of the time enshrouded. What amount of walking is the concern-level? What are your ports? (I can find them from your sail-date, but you can also just tell me!) Again, Welcome!

I think you'll be fine. I haven't disembarked in Whittier, but be prompt and ready with your bags and even queue up to be among the first off.

Carry-on only and still cross-pack with my husband. I see/assume that you travel solo, so that is a stickler!

Yes and no. If you have Premium Internet, audio and video are supported. There are no accessible ports on the cabin TV.

Here is your rollcall: We sailed the Koningsdam (sister to R'dam) last winter and pretty sure it is our favorite ship/class now. So many venues, but rarely the feeling of crowding. Except the line for Open Seating for the MDR. If you want to dine there, get fixed seating if you can!

Hi newgirl! It isn't that bad! Please don't eat in your room except maybe breakfast on a port day. If you aren't already, get yourself changed to Open Seating for dinner (also called "As You Wish"). If you are marked "early" or "late" that refers to Main Dining Room (MDR) seating. You can change it on board -- ask where the dining maitre d' is on the first day (it's probably too late to change by phone as it's the weekend and then just the two days where no changes are made). Woohoo! Your first cruise is almost here! You might want to take a culotte or capri or two. Feel like shorts but more coverage for any situation (not just MDR). My husband used to want to go to MDR and be waited on, but our back-to-back (B2B) cruises over last New Year, we ate only in the Lido (or specialty restaurants as we had some onboard credit -- OBC -- to use). Not only did we not have to change clothes, the food was just as good and at our own speed. Also still keeping some social distance where possible. I don't think the Oosterdam has a separate Pizza Place. But may have a pizza station in the Lido Market. And, for what it's worth, Ooster rhymes with Toaster (not OOOster), so you'll be in the know! Happy sailing!

You definitely need Premium level internet for anything audible or video. Cruise Wi-Fi Plans & Internet Packages (hollandamerica.com)

The PDF showing that as a possibility is still on line. The Web never dies, I guess.

Had another thought. I believe you pay 18% added to the pre-purchased beverage packages, but not HIA! making it even more a bargain. Someone correct me if I'm wrong... What if you have standard HIA but really want the Elite BP for the unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and higher dollar wines? it has been reported that if you find a bartender (not server) BEFORE you have used the SBP of the HIA, you can upgrade it. The price is probably $10pppd and all adults in the room must do it. And that's 11.80pppd including the service charge.

Gratuities are $16pppd balcony & under, and $17.50pppd suites. Prepurchased, the Signature Beverage Package is $55pppd, Elite is $60. Currently if you have SBP and order a drink over $11, you pay the difference +18%. Right now HIA is listing at $50pppd and includes SBP. As well as specialty dinner(s), shore excursion(s), and Surf wifi.

Gosh, I guess we were lucky on the K'dam last January. Stopped by (next to the Front Desk) without an appointment and bought 6 FCDs in minutes. I suppose there was a form, but I filled it out right there. I believe they were just linked to my Mariner number and no physical proof. Put them to use in time to get the recent-cruiser OBC, but just lost it when I transferred the cruise to a different one. But, that process was smooth as silk through my PCC so it's all good.

People can set their reading experience to not include others' signatures. Also "10 day Canada/New England" doesn't answer the question about WHERE in Canada. I grew up in the Adirondacks and my idea of Minnesota is that you have about the same weather?

Hi Jacqui! Please alter Volendam - 27-Jul-24 - 24 day Canada, New England & Iceland crystalspin to Zuiderdam - 20-Jul-24 - 35 day Voyage of the Vikings crystalspin Woo hoo.

Woohoo Lois, that is getting close! I didn't buy anything new for our B2B last winter (Mexican Riviera x2), I didn't even make a list or pack very much ahead of time! I just set up a two-sided clothing rack in our bedroom and swapped items on and off it; one side for me, one for dr'spin. BUT, the next cruise is much longer (35 vs 16 days) and to a more tropical environment than we are used to. (At least we will not have to fly to the port.) But the one after that (375 days and counting!), we will fly to Boston for a few days ahead of sailing AND possibly a week or ten days after, rent a vehicle and travel to upstate NY to visit family. So more planning and a few new things for those combined, like the new Personal Item bag is really for the Boston trip.

I watch it as if my life depended on it... because, you know...

I feel I should share that by our next cruise we will be 65 and 76, with no major physical ailments. We "made do" with Holland America's Premium Cruise Protection for our Mexico B2B last winter, but our two booked cruises for 2024 are longer and far more distant. The "Blue" in GeoBlue is from the fact they are the travel arm of BlueCross/BlueShield. Which seemed like a good thing! But I will be reading up in the Insurance Board here.

Near the end of 2019, we purchased a GeoBlue Trekker (annual) policy. My husband retired on the last day of that year and we were going to travel A LOT. I had found the plan by myself, BUT there is a whole board on Cruise Critic to help! https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ The Q&A stickied to the top has its own topics, I think.

Arrange ahead of time for transport. Google is your friend. We disembarked with our luggage, and it was confusing with not a lot of taxis and our credit card wasn't recognized by the ticket machine for the bus (we were staying a few days down the street!) -- had to find the office etc etc.