First time cruiser - need help choosing Alaska Eurodam cabin and finalize booking

[starrii]

Thanks! Is being next to elevators (6123) better than housekeeping closet?

 

Many cabins in AFT Deck 4 and 5 are available too - any idea why 4 and 5 fill up last? Looking at end of August

Edited August 5, 2022 by starrii

[crystalspin]

26 minutes ago, starrii said:

Thanks! Is being next to elevators (6123) better than housekeeping closet?

 

Many cabins in AFT Deck 4 and 5 are available too - any idea why 4 and 5 fill up last? Looking at end of August

I don't mind being across from the BACK of an elevator. Have heard people near the exposed sea-side elevators say they could hear every "ding"! being right at the T for the elevators you might hear voices coming from passerby's. So it's a toss up being near the elevator with passenger traffic or being farther aft near the closet and in general quieter staff traffic! 

 

There is no place on the ship that is library-quiet!

 

I think the verandahs fill up top-down because of an historical feeing that higher as well as more central is better. Some may like being close to the Lido and pool? Plus decks 6&7 are half or more suites. 

[starrii]

I need to contact my PCC once I choose the room. Would you recommend 6123 over paying $10 more ($20 for 2 people) for Deck 5 - 5166, 5170, or one of the ones from 5157 all the way to 5181 are available. Are these too close to the linen closet? Thank you!

[crystalspin]

I would choose 5157 or 5159. The $20 is a small charge for a quiet room!' You are buffered from the presumed Stewards' area by the sideways inside cabins and close enough to the elevators (but not too close!). Here's a help for choosing: with 57 on the top (forward) and 59 on the bottom (aftward). Help with which side of the bed you like to be on! 

If you pick one orientation, but your choice is gone, the two arrangements continue to alternate going on aft. Stay to 5169 or forward (behind are triple rooms and I would suspect the sofas might be less comfortable). 

Edited August 5, 2022 by crystalspin

[starrii]

Thanks, my PCC gave me great offers with 4053/4 and said if I want to change to 5159 I can pay the higher category rate for the lower-category room (because I can only change to Deck 8 FWD at the same category). She said it's a process to redo the offers for 5159. 

[crystalspin]

11 minutes ago, starrii said:

Thanks, my PCC gave me great offers with 4053/4 and said if I want to change to 5159 I can pay the higher category rate for the lower-category room (because I can only change to Deck 8 FWD at the same category). She said it's a process to redo the offers for 5159. 

4054 is over the Hudson Room ("used as a meeting room, but also as the ship's cards room"), and has the bed on the left looking toward the balcony like 5157. 4053 is over the Screening Room ("Screening Room is an ultra-plush 36-seat movie theater screening first-run films and special presentations") and has the orientation of 5159.

 

Considering the unpredictability of the weather in Alaska, I think I would pay a little more and go through the process of redoing to 5159, but if you were to get great weather the larger uncovered balcony might be nice! I can't make your decision, but you have pretty much all the info I can dredge up!

 

Let me know!

[starrii]

Thank you so much for your help. My PCC said if it's raining there's not much difference between the 2 balconies, I decided to just stick to the first one and will report back after the cruise!

[crystalspin]

16 minutes ago, starrii said:

Thank you so much for your help. My PCC said if it's raining there's not much difference between the 2 balconies, I decided to just stick to the first one and will report back after the cruise!

It's probably true. Rain will blow in even on a covered balcony. You said you were looking forward to photograph'ing Alaska, perhaps you should look into waterproof protection for your camera and/or phone?!! 

 

PS, I have booked but cancelled the similar room on a Vista ship (one size down from the Eurodam but much like deckplan. That bowling alley of a verandah is very tempting!

Edited August 6, 2022 by crystalspin

[Host Kat]

@starrii

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Your post has been edited & thread moved to the correct forum per your request.

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[MarinersBaseballFan]

On 8/5/2022 at 4:10 PM, starrii said:

Thanks, my PCC gave me great offers with 4053/4 ...

Wife and I did our first cruise ever on the Eurodam, Alaskan Explorer Itinerary in May of 2022, in stateroom 7107 with a verandah. We loved the sights but the staff and music venues really did it for us. 4053/4 is a great choice for less motion. Isn't 4054 over Women's room near meeting room? Probably little used after shows end well before midnight. Imagine the meeting rooms below are seldom used very late. SIDE-SWAY motion was much more noticeable than any fwd/aft seesaw on the open ocean days/nights and is amplified on higher decks. It was difficult to walk straight and staff said the sea conditions were not unusual. Fortunateley the open ocean days are only near beginning and end of cruise. Our 7107 had vibration too due to aft location over props (not enough to cause regret, not bad in bed).  On our cruise, movies were only shown in the main showroom. 

In Icy Straight Pt we enjoyed the cooking demo excursion, ending with prepping our own Halibut and Salmon portions cooked over wood fire grill. Lower tram is free but we went to cannery museum and shops instead. Very scenic but days were longer at end of May.

Smart to skip HIA, we will just buy our few non-alcoholic drinks on next cruise. Have fun!

Jeff and Lisa

Edited August 9, 2022 by MarinersBaseballFan

[MarinersBaseballFan]

On 8/2/2022 at 3:13 PM, starrii said:

On this trip I hope I'll get to see glaciers up close from the boat.

Yes you will (weather permitting) in Glacier Bay.

[reposado]

On 8/4/2022 at 5:38 PM, starrii said:

 

 

For this route, the representative said generally odd numbers are better for the view of Glacier Bay since on the way back it'll be dark. For sunsets though, would I be better getting 4054?

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A2E07A/D259.html

 

Nonsense. Sun sets around 9pm during summer in Glacier Bay and ships are done with that port way before. 

[reposado]

duplicate post. 

Edited August 31, 2022 by reposado

[starrii]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your tips! I'm back from my first cruise and loved it! The staff at HAL were very friendly and attentive. My friend gave me motion sickness bands and they seemed to work. The first day at sea was a little rough but then I got used to the sway; the only time I got very seasick was on a whale watching excursion while I was using binoculars so I kept eating the ginger candy provided on the boat. 

 

The room was spacious, and balcony was big. I liked the location of being able to walk down 2 flights of stairs to the main stage. The national park ranger suggested I view the glacier from Deck 3 which isn't as crowded as the front of the ship, but I found the Deck 3 view same as from my balcony. Only thing is the balcony lacked privacy unless i was close to the doors; I could see the balcony above me. For Margerie Glacier I viewed it at the front of the ship, enjoyed the delicious hot pea soup and then went to see it from our room's balcony. For John Hopkins inlet, the port side got to view the inlet first and then the ship turns around for people on our starboard side to view. I'm glad I went down to Deck 3 and viewed it from the port side because by the time my starboard side can view it, the fog rolled in. I learned that starting Sep 1, ships can go into John Hopkins inlet and get closer to John Hopkins glacier, which would be the sailing after ours. Our ship stopped at the entrance to the inlet. We got lucky that the skies cleared up while we were at Margerie and John Hopkins since it was foggy before. 

 

It was mostly foggy/rainy when we were at sea. The first two ports - Juneau and Icy Strait - were rainy when we first got to port, and then we'd experience beautiful sunsets. My dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier excursion was cancelled due to weather, which was fine since it was an impulse buy after watching the Iditarod show at the Main Stage, and I'm happy to save the $$$. At Sitka we had beautiful weather so I did the wildlife watching tour to St Lazaria island and saw whales and puffins! That night some people said they caught the Northern Lights late at night, but I was sleeping; I tried on other nights but they were cloudy. In Ketchikan it was foggy in the morning but the skies were blue by the time we had to board the ship. I left my binoculars on the ship since it was foggy, but the port tours to Herring Cove weren't expensive so we decided to take one in hopes of seeing bears! Some tours left early after waiting, but I'm glad our driver didn't rush us to leave since two bears appeared.

 

The sun came out the last day at sea, and they opened up the skylights over the indoor pool, but AFT's outdoor pool was still pretty cold! I now know why they called it the polar bear plunge. I'm pretty happy with our experience cruising Alaska end of August. The onboard naturalist said he'd never book a cruise after August 1 to see Glacier Bay due to weather but we got lucky with the weather. 

Edited September 5, 2022 by starrii