Thank you Cruise Critic Boards: Tips I used that helped

[Orsino]

Thanks to this board (again) for helping me plan my cruise vacation. We sailed on the Zaandam last week from Seward to Vancouver and had a great time.

 

Thermal Suite:

Someone posted a fantastic review of her Alaska cruise last month that mentioned the Thermal Suite. I'd never considered buying into this option before, but based on the recommendation, we paid for the week pass for two. We loved it and used it every day. After each visit, we felt so relaxed. I found it especially nice on Glacier Bay Day which had us outside in the cold quite a bit. I went to the Thermal Suite twice that day to warm up and relax between looking out at the scenery on the cold deck. I'm not sure I'd get the Thermal Suite if in a warm tropical location, but in Alaska it was fantastic. Every time we walked by the lido pool and heard all the noise, we commented on how glad we were to have the quiet Thermal Suite.

The flip side is how awfully loud the main pool area is. Last year we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise that had the indoor solarium adults only pool. That was decently quiet in and of itself without needing an extra fee.

 

Laundry

$20.00 bag of laundry is fantastic! I'm so glad it is mentioned here often. With this information I was confident in cutting back on what we packed and did a bag of laundry instead. We fit more in the bag than I anticipated and were able to clean extra shirts.

 

Main Dining Room Espresso and Cappuccino

This one we knew already, but it bears repeating. Espresso and Cappuccino are included with dessert in the main dining room. Love this and enjoyed it every meal.

 

Harv and Marv

Based on the good reviews we selected Harv and Marv for our Juneau Whale Watching excursion. We were not disappointed. Without commenting on what we actually saw (since that will be different for each trip), I really enjoyed being on the smaller boat with fewer people. We had plenty of room to move about and were never in each others way. It didn't hurt that we were 4 of the 6 passengers on the boat. The captain (Captain Sean) was very nice and knowledgeable. I appreciated that he could tell when a whale would show the back fins. This information was quite useful to set up for photos. Also, based on his comments, we soon could tell on our own what to look for in anticipation of a fin dive. Looking at other boats whale watching revealed others that looked not too crowded and some that were crazy packed. My traveling companion mentioned that he saw a boat with people packed 3 deep at the rail. I'm very glad to have taken Cruise Critic advice and booked with Harv and Marv.

 

Not tips, but I'll mention some not-so-good things here:

Windows

Before we went, someone linked to a review that mentioned dirty windows. I can confirm that the windows on the Zaandam are filthy. Absolutely terrible. This applies to all windows in the main dining room and Deck 5. In contrast, the Lido Deck was pretty clean.

 

Trays

I found the Lido Restaurant to be infuriating due to the lack of trays. So much running around to get food and drinks. Plus, at one point I was handed a very hot plate that I had to carry to the other side of the restaurant to put down on my table. This is madness.

[jtl513]

Plus, at one point I was handed a very hot plate that I had to carry to the other side of the restaurant to put down on my table. This is madness.

I would have immediately put it down on the rails and looked around for a steward to carry it for me, just to make the point. I too strongly dislike the lack of trays because of the amount of running around that it takes to get a full meal. We bring a small tray of our own, but it mainly gets used for breakfast since we usually don't want to make a special trip back to the room to get it for lunch.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad that you found some helpful hints here that helped you on your cruise.

So -- when and where is your next cruise?

[catl331]

It is especially difficult to keep the windows clean on the lower decks especially if the seas have been rough. The salt just clings to everything. In some ports there are very strict limits to what the ships can do for cleaning and repairing. I really wouldn't want to see cleaners hanging from the rails while the ship is sailing along. The most important cleaning is getting the rust off daily and repainting. They always seem to be cleaning somewhere on the ship hourly and vacuuming and polishing 24/7.

[erewhon]

Orsino,

Thank you for your report.

Did you mention the problem hot plate /lack of trays in Lido on your comment card at the end of your cruise?