Laundry, tea and formal nights

[kathyemma]

We are sailing on the Westerdam, Alaska, Inside passage - we leave next weekend! WOO HOO. We are going to take advantage of the laundry service. After the cruise we are staying in Alaska for the week. What is the last day I can use the laundry service? If the cruise ends Sunday - I don't think I would be able to give them laundry Saturday am, or could I?

 

It has been years since I sailed with HAL. Do they still do afternoon tea?

 

Any clue what nights will be formal?

Day 1. Vancouver

Day 2 Inside Passage

Day 3 Ketchikan until 3pm

Day 4 Juneau until 10pm

Day 5 Skagway until 9pm

Day 6 Glacier Bay

Day 7 off to Denali

 

TIA

Kathy

[AlaskaNewbie68]

Following. I'll be on the same cruise and then Denali in June!

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

No, you will not be able to send out laundry the day before you depart. The steward can tell you the last day when you can. It is most likely 48 hours before your departure. In fact we use the 48 hour rule now on all laundry. Happy when it comes back sooner, but we plan up front not to get it back for two more days.

 

Think about what the ship has to do getting ready on that last day of your cruise when several thousand passengers depart with all their luggage, all cabins cleaned and all linens washed, changed and then ready to welcome several thousand more passengers with all their luggage in that one turnaround day - actually all of this done in just a few hours. Getting your personal laundry back to you in that 24 hour context would just not be possible. Plan accordingly.

[kathyemma]

Following. I'll be on the same cruise and then Denali in June!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We are going to Denali with HAL and then staying in Anchorage for a few days on our on. I can not wait. We live in DC and it has been pouring rain all week - I hope Alaska is sunny!!

 

Kathy

[AlaskaNewbie68]

We are going to Denali with HAL and then staying in Anchorage for a few days on our on. I can not wait. We live in DC and it has been pouring rain all week - I hope Alaska is sunny!!

 

Kathy

 

We are in NJ, rainy and dreary here. Hope we both get sun in Alaska!

[OlsSalt]

As a general rule, gala nights are scheduled on at-sea days or early port departure days - closer to the beginning and the end of the cruise on the shorter cruises, and more evenly spaced on the longer ones if there are more than two scheduled. They are never on the first or last nights.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL hasn't had formal nights in a long time. They are now called Gala nights. And people dress the same for gala nights as for smart casual. Men wear slacks and a collared shirt. Ladies wear slacks with a nice top or dresses. You will see very, very few people dressed up -- especially on an Alaskan cruise.

The morning you can send out laundry will Be Friday.

As to Gala nights, with your staying in port a couple of evenings, you may have only 1 gala night -- the night you do the inside passage (day 2). It is possible you may have another one the very next day -- that happened to us once.

[OlsSalt]

Off to an Alaska cruise in a few days, I will keep notes since we still like to dress up and DH is packing his black tie. However, we dine at 8pm, fixed upper dining room. It tends to be more formal and traditional. But I will try to count up what I see. We got fooled once after hearing that Caribbean cruises are now very informal, yet there was a very strong presence of long formal gowns and black tie on that cruise too.

[kathyemma]

HAL hasn't had formal nights in a long time. They are now called Gala nights. And people dress the same for gala nights as for smart casual. Men wear slacks and a collared shirt. Ladies wear slacks with a nice top or dresses. You will see very, very few people dressed up -- especially on an Alaskan cruise.

The morning you can send out laundry will Be Friday.

As to Gala nights, with your staying in port a couple of evenings, you may have only 1 gala night -- the night you do the inside passage (day 2). It is possible you may have another one the very next day -- that happened to us once.

 

Perfect. I didn't want to have pack formal wear!

 

Any clue about afternoon tea?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but afternoon tea on HAL seems to be undergoing a transition. It's still offered, but the location and presentation can vary a bit. Last year on Eurodam, afternoon tea was done in the Ocean Bar, with the tables there pre-set with linens and accoutrements. They combined the tea with dancing to a live band during the tea service. I've also read that HAL continues with the teas served in the upper level of the main dining room. I believe the themed teas, such as the Dutch High Tea and Indonesian Tea, are now relics of the past. I promise to do assiduous research when I depart on my next HAL cruise, and report back here:D

 

Anyone else have observations that either confirm or dispute mine?

[bUU]

The Dutch and Indonesian teas were not in the daily planner for an Alaskan cruise on Volendam earlier this month.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[Mlb4chris]

Just got off the westerdam Alaska two weeks ago. Gala nights were inside passage night and glacier bay night. We were in the MDR the first gala night and dress varied A LOT! There were several formal (tux/gown) couples, but mostly “dressy” cocktail clothes and suits/jackets on men. There were also some very underdressed diners:(. We were in the pinnacle grill on the second gala night so not sure if attire was similar. as I was watching from the bar later, there didn’t seem to be as many dressy outfits on the second go’round.

[bennybear]

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but afternoon tea on HAL seems to be undergoing a transition. It's still offered, but the location and presentation can vary a bit. Last year on Eurodam, afternoon tea was done in the Ocean Bar, with the tables there pre-set with linens and accoutrements. They combined the tea with dancing to a live band during the tea service. I've also read that HAL continues with the teas served in the upper level of the main dining room. I believe the themed teas, such as the Dutch High Tea and Indonesian Tea, are now relics of the past. I promise to do assiduous research when I depart on my next HAL cruise, and report back here:D

 

Anyone else have observations that either confirm or dispute mine?

 

We found the same thing, sadly. I so miss the Indonesian tea. They seem to have had two types, one where they serve you scones with tongs and come around with sandwiches and another version with a tiered tray of goodies and finger sandwiches. The only problem with the trays I see there are only two scones for a table of four IIRC. And they are dried out. The tea is also not hot enough and no choice of types.

Ours were in the main dining room.

[ithaca gal]

Perfect. I didn't want to have pack formal wear!

 

Any clue about afternoon tea?

 

You do not have to pack formal wear but do not think that all men will be wearing just collared shirts and trousers. When we sailed on HAL to Alaska (twice), there were many many men who wore jackets and ties. Some wore a jacket without a tie and some wore a tie without the jacket, but there were MORE men who wore more than just a collared shirt and trousers than those who didn't.

 

Sometimes it seems like there are parallel universes out there where one week the MDR sees lots and lots of casual wear on Gala Nights ...... and the next week you would be hard pressed to find a good representation of just shirts and trousers. Go figure.

[haladdict]

Laundry service on the Westerdam 2 weeks ago was amazing. Our last load went in on Friday eve, and was back on Sat morning, for us to pack.

No guarantee that it's still that quick.

Sandra

[kathyemma]

Laundry service on the Westerdam 2 weeks ago was amazing. Our last load went in on Friday eve, and was back on Sat morning, for us to pack.

No guarantee that it's still that quick.

Sandra

That would be amazing!