New to cruising, new to HAL, couple of questions

[Emily626]

Hi all!

 

As you can see below DH and I are booked for Alaska in 2011. This is our first cruise and after reading about other lines we decided to go with HAL (although I am slightly concerned with some of the threads on here........maybe another line would have been better?)

 

Anyways - I have a couple of HAL specific questions.

 

1. We are on the Zuiderdam in 4042. What is the difference between a VF cabin compared to say a VA, VB, etc.? Would it be worth extra to upgrade to a higher tier verandah room?

 

2. I read someone's thread about shopping for wine prior to boarding - I thought bringing alcohol on board was a no no? Or is HAL okay with you bringing your own and charging a corking fee? All the other lines seem to not allow this because there are so many threads about how to "sneak" it on.......?

 

3. Does port or starboard matter? Is one better than the other?

 

Thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi all!

 

As you can see below DH and I are booked for Alaska in 2011. This is our first cruise and after reading about other lines we decided to go with HAL (although I am slightly concerned with some of the threads on here........maybe another line would have been better?)

 

Anyways - I have a couple of HAL specific questions.

 

1. We are on the Zuiderdam in 4042. What is the difference between a VF cabin compared to say a VA, VB, etc.? Would it be worth extra to upgrade to a higher tier verandah room?

 

2. I read someone's thread about shopping for wine prior to boarding - I thought bringing alcohol on board was a no no? Or is HAL okay with you bringing your own and charging a corking fee? All the other lines seem to not allow this because there are so many threads about how to "sneak" it on.......? You can bring as much wine, champagne, bottled water and soda on board as you want. There is no limit. The only thing you can not bring on board is hard liquor. There is an $18 corkage fee per bottle if you take your bottle of wine/champagne to the dining room or to a bar/lounge. There is no corkage fee if you drink it in your cabin. You can ask for a corkscrew from your cabin steward.

 

3. Does port or starboard matter? Is one better than the other? We prefer the port side of the side. On about 99% of our Alaskan cruises the captains have kept the port side of the side facing the glaciers longer than the starboard side.

 

Thanks!

 

Can't help about cabins as we only stay in an SA.

[Bill B]

1. We are on the Zuiderdam in 4042. What is the difference between a VF cabin compared to say a VA, VB, etc.? Would it be worth extra to upgrade to a higher tier verandah room?

 

2. I read someone's thread about shopping for wine prior to boarding - I thought bringing alcohol on board was a no no? Or is HAL okay with you bringing your own and charging a corking fee? All the other lines seem to not allow this because there are so many threads about how to "sneak" it on.......?

 

3. Does port or starboard matter? Is one better than the other?

1. I'll leave this for someone who knows more than I about Zuiderdam verandah rooms.

2. HAL allows you to bring as much wine (water & pop) as you want. The corkage fee for wine is $18/bottle if you take it to a dining venue or bar. There's no fee to consume it in your stateroom.

3. You'll find differing opinions on this. However, I've done five Alaska cruises and feel it makes no difference which side of the ship you're on - especially since you're doing an 'Inside Passage' cruise, there'll be beautiful scenery on both sides. Near the glaciers, the captain will slowly 'spin' the ship around.

[elycelynne]

In addition to hard liquor, you also can't bring beer on board.

[Mary Ellen]

As you can see below DH and I are booked for Alaska in 2011.

Welcome to the CC. You do need to be aware that not everyone can "see below". A number of us have signatures turned off. Some just have WAY too much in their signatures. :eek:

 

For us in Alaska the side of the ship doesn't matter at all. The scenery is ALL around the ship. We prefer to be out on the open decks and not limited to seeing what happens to be on our side of the ship. For us, being mid-ships is more important.

[Emily626]

Excellent information - thanks everyone. One other question - how do I know if our room is port or starboard? :(

 

Sorry - out in Indy we don't get many opportunities to cruise the corn......lol so my "Ship lingo" is not the best.....;)

[Emily626]

Welcome to the CC. You do need to be aware that not everyone can "see below". A number of us have signatures turned off. Some just have WAY too much in their signatures. :eek:

 

Sorry - I had no idea you could do that........how does one do that? I am intrigued......:)

[Se4deb]

Port - left both end in 'T" and have four letters. Starborn and right I don't have any cute way to remember that but someone else must have one. Good cruising and enjoy Alaska. I bet it won't be your last.

[Bill B]

Excellent information - thanks everyone. One other question - how do I know if our room is port or starboard? :(

 

Sorry - out in Indy we don't get many opportunities to cruise the corn......lol so my "Ship lingo" is not the best.....;)

Look on the deck plans - port is left, starboard is right.

[Emily626]

Port - left both end in 'T" and have four letters. Starborn and right I don't have any cute way to remember that but someone else must have one. Good cruising and enjoy Alaska. I bet it won't be your last.

 

This is facing the bow?

[maxout]

Excellent information - thanks everyone. One other question - how do I know if our room is port or starboard? :(

 

Sorry - out in Indy we don't get many opportunities to cruise the corn......lol so my "Ship lingo" is not the best.....;)

 

Odd numbered cabins are on the Starboard (or right-hand side of the ship as you face forward toward the bow or front pointy end of the ship :D) Even numbered on the Port or left-hand side. Some cabins are at the stern (back end of the ship) and face aft (or back in the direction the ship has come from, looking out over the wake of the vessel)

[jtl513]

4042 has a 7.5 ft deep balcony, but with a steel wall railing so you can't see much when seated. If you moved up to a VE you'd get a plexiglas railing, but it would be just 4.5 ft deep. If you moved up to VD you'd have both the 7.5 deep balcony and the plexiglas. VC, VB, and VA have 6 ft deep balconies with plexiglas.

[Emily626]

Thanks everyone for putting up with my "novice" questions! :D

[Emily626]

4042 has a 7.5 ft deep balcony, but with a steel wall railing so you can't see much when seated. If you moved up to a VE you'd get a plexiglas railing, but it would be just 4.5 ft deep. If you moved up to VD you'd have both the 7.5 deep balcony and the plexiglas. VC, VB, and VA have 6 ft deep balconies.

 

Wow - which explains the price difference.......;)

 

May have to talk DH into "upgrading" - is that an easy thing to do?

[Boytjie]

This is facing the bow?

 

Yes :) Pointy end = bow. Port/starboard is in relation to looking towards the bow.

 

The way I was told to remember it, is 'There is no port left'. Others remember it by the fact that 'port' and 'left' both have 4 letters, the other two have more than 4.

[maxout]

Wow - which explains the price difference.......;)

 

May have to talk DH into "upgrading" - is that an easy thing to do?

 

If the cabin in the catagory you want is available then all it takes is a phone call and an adjustment in the price ;) :p

[Bill B]

May have to talk DH into "upgrading" - is that an easy thing to do?

I don't know what your husband's like ;); but as long as the room's available and you have the money, I'm sure HAL will be happy to take it.

[Boytjie]

4042 has a 7.5 ft deep balcony, but with a steel wall railing so you can't see much when seated. If you moved up to a VE you'd get a plexiglas railing, but it would be just 4.5 ft deep. If you moved up to VD you'd have both the 7.5 deep balcony and the plexiglas. VC, VB, and VA have 6 ft deep balconies with plexiglas.

 

Balcony railings for VF 4041 and VD 4043 on the Eurodam (same as Zuiderdam and starboard equivalent of 4042/4044):

 

[jtl513]

Wow - which explains the price difference.......;)

 

May have to talk DH into "upgrading" - is that an easy thing to do?

This far from sailing it should be no problem to do an "up-buy". Just call your TA or HAL PCC. Or HAL reservations if you have neither.

[rafinmd]

Sorry - I had no idea you could do that........how does one do that? I am intrigued......:)

 

1. Click on "Emily626" anywhere. This will bring up your user profile.

2. Near the top of your profile on the right-hand side, click on "Customize Profile".

3. On the left side click "Edit options"

4. On the right side of the Edit Options there is a box called "Thread Display Options". There is a box called "Visible Post Element". This has checkboxes for Avitars, Signatures, and Image. Uncheck the boxes for the things you don't want to see, then go to the bottom of the page and click on "Save Changes".

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

Roy

[Mary Ellen]

Sorry - I had no idea you could do that........how does one do that? I am intrigued......:)

In the upper right corner of every page, you'll see a blue box with "Welcome, Emily626". Click on Emily626. Now, just to the left of 'Mini Statics' box (on right side of page), you'll see 'customize profile' in small font. Click on that. Click on 'edit options' (left side of page). Under 'thread display' there are options such as 'show signatures'. If one un-checks that box and saves changes (at bottom of page) you'll no longer see signatures (some can run multiple screens in length :eek:). I just find it easier to read posts without all that in the way.

[Emily626]

Balcony railings for VF 4041 and VD 4043 on the Eurodam (same as Zuiderdam and starboard equivalent of 4042/4044):

 

 

HA!:rolleyes:

 

Sooooooooo - calling HAL to upgrade.........hahaha

 

Thank you for this!

[sassyredhat]

Welcome to CC !! It's alot of fun here. :)

Our first Alaska we were portside. In 2011 we chose starboard, just to be different.

You will love HAL.

Pat

[rafinmd]

Sorry - I had no idea you could do that........how does one do that? I am intrigued......:)

 

From a poster's point of view there's another option. Just below the response "Submit Reply" and "Preview Post" buttons there are some miscellaneous options, starting with a click box to show your signature.

 

I post on several forums, and each has their own culture, including norms for signatures. The HAL board tends toward extensive use of signatures, and mine is moderately long. I will usually include my signature here but will repress it if I make multiple posts on the same thread. On other boards (eg Crystal) signatures are rare and I usually uncheck that box.

 

Roy

[ccruisequeen]

CAN we fill our own water bottles on Lido deck, or do you need to fill glasses & pour them in separately?