Please help me choose which cruise to take

[JillGoBlue]

OK, so my husband thinks I'm being neurotic, and perhaps I am, but here's my situation.

 

Right now we're booked the NCL Pearl for 8/30/09-9/6/09. However, I'm considering switching our booking. Right now, we're in a non-obstructed oceanview, but the cost is kind of insane - $959 per person, much more expensive than some of the other lines at the same time.

 

We definitely want to do Glacier Bay and need to do round trip out of Seattle so here are my options:

HAL Westerdam- 8/30- $850 unobstructed ocean view

HAL Zaandam- 8/28- $800 unobstructed ocean view

 

So here's about us:

We're not super formal people but 2 formal nights sound fun. However, I'm not excited about doing resort casual or whatever they call it other nights. I like jeans, though I don't mind nice sweater, collared shirts, etc. Can you usually get away with this in the dining room on HAL? I've heard Alaska cruises are more informal.

 

I'm also a recent law school grad with a lot of debt, so cost does matter. It seems like NCL's extas cost a lot, especially with so many specialty restaurants, so we're concerned about that as well.

 

I have a big problem with smoke and had read that some of the HAL ships were smokier... is NCL any better really?

 

Also, we were wondering about the activities- we're in our late 20s and we don't really do the whole clubbing/drinking thing, but we also aren't really in favor of Bingo and Shuffleboard. Will HAL have stuff for us to do?

 

Has anyone done as you wish dining on HAL? Is it any good?

 

Also, do you think we would have time for both the Glacier dog sledding trip and Harv and Marv's whale watching at either of the HAL stops? Since we wouldnt be going to Skagway on HAL, our only opportunity for the dog sledding would be in Juneau.

 

FYI, we aren't considering Princess b/c 1) I don't think they offer any flexible times for dining and 2) to get an unobstructed ocean view is $1199- same price as balcony which is a good deal for a balcony but probably not afforable for us right now.

 

OK, so now there's my neuroticism for the Cruise Critic world to view. Any advice appreciated.

[vbmom87]

view

 

So here's about us:

We're not super formal people but 2 formal nights sound fun. However, I'm not excited about doing resort casual or whatever they call it other nights. I like jeans, though I don't mind nice sweater, collared shirts, etc. Can you usually get away with this in the dining room on HAL? I've heard Alaska cruises are more informal..

 

Jeans are fine in the dining room on HAL ships on the non-formal nights. In Alaska even formal nights do not seem to be as formal as other destinations, according to my research anyway. We were on the Volendam and on our cruise they let the men in with just a dress shirt and tie. You did have to have a tie, or you were turned away. Men also came in on formal nights with a jacket and a turtleneck. Women were in a variety of outfits, from very formal to just a nice outfit they could go to work at an office. It really was quite a variety. Now, I can not say it will be the same on every Holland ship, but that is what it was like for us in June 2008 on the Volendam. You also have the LIDO which is a nice place to dine on formal nights if you don't want to get dressed up.

 

 

I have a big problem with smoke and had read that some of the HAL ships were smokier... is NCL any better really?..

 

Can't say which is better. In reality, it will be who happens to be on your cruise at the same time. I will get an asthma flare-up if I am exposed to smoke so I was also concerned about this very thing. However, our room had not a scent of smoke. There were two places I picked up smoke: casino and when I happened to walk past someone on the promonade deck who was smoking. Other than that, we were very fortunate on our trip. I saw very few smokers. I understand from my research that if your room does smell of smoke, your room steward can bring in some type of machine that will clear the air. I understand they work great!!

 

 

 

Also, we were wondering about the activities- we're in our late 20s and we don't really do the whole clubbing/drinking thing, but we also aren't really in favor of Bingo and Shuffleboard. Will HAL have stuff for us to do?..

 

On our Volendam cruise they had activities for the 20s/30s. Not sure what they all were as we were not paying attention. We are a bit older;) However, I will say that we needed no entertainment. The scenery was our entertainment.

 

Has anyone done as you wish dining on HAL? Is it any good?

 

Yes, we did the As You Wish Dining and it worked out great!!! It gives you flexibility, especially on port days. FYI Princess does have its own type of As You Wish Dining, but it goes by another name. I believe Celebrity still has just set dinner seatings.

 

Also, do you think we would have time for both the Glacier dog sledding trip and Harv and Marv's whale watching at either of the HAL stops? Since we wouldnt be going to Skagway on HAL, our only opportunity for the dog sledding would be in Juneau.

 

Check with Harv and Marvs. I know they will drop you off or pick you up from the Helicopter airport. They will be the best judge for what you have time for.

 

.

[diathoney]

I feel for ya! Just went through the same wringer. Writing a Pro/Con list helped us. We kept adding to it as I read reviews and learned more until finally the choice for us was clear. We're in a different "life stage" than you (middle age w/ 2 teens) so our list was different than yours will be. You've still got plenty of time to "jump ship" if you change your mind.

[MercedMike]

...We're not super formal people but 2 formal nights sound fun. However, I'm not excited about doing resort casual or whatever they call it other nights. I like jeans, though I don't mind nice sweater, collared shirts, etc. Can you usually get away with this in the dining room on HAL? I've heard Alaska cruises are more informal...

 

Jeans are usually not recommended for the evening dining on either line. However, a nice dressy pair of jeans will probably be fine. What they don't want are faded, baggy, torn jeans. Why not just get one pair of dark slacks to wear in the evenings?

 

...I'm also a recent law school grad with a lot of debt, so cost does matter. It seems like NCL's extas cost a lot, especially with so many specialty restaurants, so we're concerned about that as well...

 

All the lines have specialty restaurants but they are purely optional. There is always wonderful dining for no extra charge.

 

I

have a big problem with smoke and had read that some of the HAL ships were smokier... is NCL any better really?

 

Almost all ships are completely smoke free in the dining room and theater, and only small sections of the bars allow smoking. We have never had a problem on any of them.

 

Also, we were wondering about the activities- we're in our late 20s and we don't really do the whole clubbing/drinking thing, but we also aren't really in favor of Bingo and Shuffleboard. Will HAL have stuff for us to do?

 

Alaska trips are port heavy so most of your days will be filled with activites ashore. But there is always a full schedule of shipboard activities too, including things like cooking classes, trivia, dance lessons, pilates classes, napkin folding and on and on. Another very popular shipboard activity is just sitting or lying and relaxing!

 

Has anyone done as you wish dining on HAL? Is it any good?

 

I don't think as you wish on HAL is quite as flexible as anytime on Princess. But they serve the standard dining room menu so the food is wonderful.

 

FYI, we aren't considering Princess b/c 1) I don't think they offer any flexible times for dining and 2) to get an unobstructed ocean view is $1199- same price as balcony which is a good deal for a balcony but probably not afforable for us right now.

 

Princess pretty well pioneered the anytime dining concept. They are very good at it and it works extremely well. They have some wonderful prices right now. Have your TA (a CLIA Accredited Cruise Counselor, I hope) check again for you. That price doesn't seem right. Actually Princess is probably our very favorite line for Alaska.

 

Check out our Alaska cruises on both Princess and HAL at

http://www.bully4.us/cruising.html

 

Whichever you pick, Have a GREAT cruise!

[judyf]

Okay, I will give my 2 cents. Which is only worth 1 cent as I have never sailed on Hal.

 

BUT have sailed NCL many times and a few other lines just not Hal.

 

1) Jeans are now allowed on NCL freestyle ships. Do not wear old faded ones with holes in them.

 

2) I never pay for the specialty restaurants on NCL they have more then enough to offer as far as food goes. I really like eating when ever I want and Where ever I want. NCL has an optional formal night if you wish, we do not plan to do this on the Alaska cruise. Flying from the east coast, I'm packing as little as possible. Plus we love that we can always get a table for 2 or 4 or a big table if we meet a lot of folks at the meet and greet. Lots of options and the Blue Lagoon is great for late night snacks and a snack after a port visit.

 

3) And most important for me I would NOT give up a visit to Skagway. I'm so looking forward to this port, train/bus/dog carting.

 

There's bowling on the Pearl for an activity, that's knew for me. I have read that Hal is much more dressy then NCL, only read as I said I have not cruised on Hal.

 

Read the web sites for each line and then decide.

 

Did you get OBC? If not keep watching the sales and cc and jump on it when they offer it. I booked last April for this May and had no OBC. There was a sale a few months ago I read on cc and we got $150 per cabin, so that brought the price down.

 

Hope some of my rambling helps you make a decision that works for you.

[JillGoBlue]

Thanks for all the advice. Decided to go ahead and book an Oceanview on the Zandaam- $869 for non-obstructed, non-porthole oceanview, plus $175 OBC and one free dining at Pinnacle Grill. Really excited for it. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

[geshaw30]

Thanks for all the advice. Decided to go ahead and book an Oceanview on the Zandaam- $869 for non-obstructed, non-porthole oceanview, plus $175 OBC and one free dining at Pinnacle Grill. Really excited for it. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

 

Congrats- you made a good choice. We sailed on HAL Noordam and found the as you wish dining great. Will never do the traditional seating again. I'll give you a suggestion we used nightly. On cruise day 1 go into the dining room and find a table you like, jot down the number, and call late morning/early afternoon to ask what time that particular table wil be open then request to reserve it. It, needless to say, requires a phone call daily but it's worth it. The wife & I sat at the same stern window every night with a fantastic wake view. It was a table for 4 and we had really nice guests twice out of the 9 days we pulled this stunt. The other 7 days we had the table to ourselves. You just have to be flexible on time and you'll get whatever table you want.

[vbmom87]

Congrats- you made a good choice. We sailed on HAL Noordam and found the as you wish dining great. Will never do the traditional seating again. I'll give you a suggestion we used nightly. On cruise day 1 go into the dining room and find a table you like, jot down the number, and call late morning/early afternoon to ask what time that particular table wil be open then request to reserve it. It, needless to say, requires a phone call daily but it's worth it. The wife & I sat at the same stern window every night with a fantastic wake view. It was a table for 4 and we had really nice guests twice out of the 9 days we pulled this stunt. The other 7 days we had the table to ourselves. You just have to be flexible on time and you'll get whatever table you want.

 

Not sure if this works all the time but here is what we did: Upon arrival on the ship my BIL immediately went and made a reservation for dinner that night. He requested a table for 5 by the window. We really liked the location of our table and the waitstaff. My BIL asked the waiter if we could have the same table each night. He obliged us and we were even able to make our reservations for different times depending on our port times. Worked great!!! However, I have no idea if we just got lucky or what. Normal rules are to call each morning. We just told our waiter each evening what time we wanted to eat the next day.

[kenish]

You will like Zaandam. I highly recommend choosing open seating and not pre-reserving on port days. Then you can spend as long as you want on shore and don't have to rush back to the ship at a prearranged time. We were a "walk up" party of two, always requested (and got) a table by the window, and never waited more than 3 minutes to be seated.

 

Whether you want to preselect a table or roll the dice is up to you. We left it completely open and met a lot more interesting people.

 

The only time I smelled smoke was in the casino and on deck. We were in Glacier Bay, probably the most pure and pristine air on the planet. People were smoking on deck, I guess their brain couldn't handle an unpolluted blood supply. On top of that a few just tossed their butts overboard despite ashtrays 10 paces away....totally disgusting...although most smokers were very fastidious.

[Sunshine Gal]

Thanks for all the advice. Decided to go ahead and book an Oceanview on the Zandaam- $869 for non-obstructed, non-porthole oceanview, plus $175 OBC and one free dining at Pinnacle Grill. Really excited for it. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

 

That is a very good price. You will love the Zandam. I always book direct through the cruise line as that way if anything changes or you have any questions or problems there is no middle man involved.

 

Also be sure and watch prices and if they go down Holland America will adjust your price for the cruise. Even if you use a TA it is still up to you to watch the prices for any price drop.

 

Congrats and have a great cruise.

[geshaw30]

We were in Glacier Bay, probably the most pure and pristine air on the planet. People were smoking on deck, I guess their brain couldn't handle an unpolluted blood supply. .

 

Amazing isn't it.....

You can only shake your head then walk off in search of an undisturbed pocket of clean air.

Mores the pity.

 

Have a great cruise JillGoBlue. We are waiting on early May for the Ryndam.

[judyf]

On top of that a few just tossed their butts overboard despite ashtrays 10 paces away....totally disgusting...although most smokers were very fastidious.

 

Now this really bothers me. Thank god I have never seen that as I would say something. I'm really into trying to save the planet as much as possible and this is a no brainer and costs you nothing.

[judyf]

Thanks for all the advice. Decided to go ahead and book an Oceanview on the Zandaam- $869 for non-obstructed, non-porthole oceanview, plus $175 OBC and one free dining at Pinnacle Grill. Really excited for it. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

Great price, you will be happy with your cruise no matter what ship you are on, it's all about Alaska.