**Possible Cruise Critic Group Cruise** Amsterdam - August 23, 2010?

[LEtue]

This is an awesome itinerary on the Amsterdam next year from Seattle. What about a Cruise Critic Group? Any interest?

 

HAL Amsterdam

 

 

Date/ Location/ Arrival/ Departure:

 

Monday, August 23, 2010 Seattle, Washington -- 04:00 PM

 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 At Sea -- --

 

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Ketchikan, Alaska 07:00 AM 05:00 PM

 

Thursday, August 26, 2010 Tracy Arm, Alaska, Usa Cruising Only 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

 

Friday, August 27, 2010 Skagway, Alaska 07:00 AM 06:00 PM

 

Saturday, August 28, 2010 Sitka, Alaska 08:00 AM 03:00 PM

 

Sunday, August 29, 2010 At Sea -- --

 

Monday, August 30, 2010 Anchorage, Alaska 07:00 AM 11:00 PM

 

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 Homer, Alaska 10:00 AM 06:00 PM

 

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Kodiak, Alaska 07:00 AM 01:00 PM

 

Thursday, September 2, 2010 Hubbard Glacier Cruising Only 12:00 PM 04:00 PM

 

Friday, September 3, 2010 Juneau, Alaska 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

 

Saturday, September 4, 2010 At Sea -- --

 

Sunday, September 5, 2010 Victoria Canada 02:00 PM 08:00 PM

 

Monday, September 6, 2010 Seattle, Washington 07:00 AM

[Kreuser]

Hi Linda- We too were "wowed" by the itinerary and have booked it for 5/17/10. Come on over! We'll get there before you do if you don't!

 

Vada :D

[azrose]

That may work for us....won't know until next year sometime though ..... but love that itinerary!! You might think we can't get enough Alaska :D

[Kreuser]

That may work for us....won't know until next year sometime though ..... but love that itinerary!! You might think we can't get enough Alaska :D

You live in Riverside?!!! That's where our DD and her family live! We are just over here in Highland, east of S.B. and north of Redlands.

 

We have cruised Alaska 7 times (I think) and absolutely love it!!

 

Vada

[azrose]

Small world! Yes, we are right off Central (from the 60) ... basically Canyon Crest / Central....My sister lives in Colton....My brother in Grand Terrace....

[LEtue]

Hi Linda- We too were "wowed" by the itinerary and have booked it for 5/17/10. Come on over! We'll get there before you do if you don't!

 

Vada :D

 

Yes, wow is the right word! We have been twice in May and thought we might like to see Alaska in a different season.

 

We're currently on the Spirit but with a Tuesday - Tuesday sailing we might as well go for 2 weeks and see Homer and Kodiak :D

[Kreuser]

Small world! Yes, we are right off Central (from the 60) ... basically Canyon Crest / Central....My sister lives in Colton....My brother in Grand Terrace....

The "kids" live in the Woods streets right off of Brockton! My DSIL has lived in Riverside all his life. Attended North HS I believe.

 

We have always gone to AK either at the beginning or end of the season. May is my favorite month for Alaska. Everything is fresh, including the tour operators! ;) By Sept. they don't care if they never see another tourist again!

 

Vada

[Sillyjilly]

Wow, what a great itinerary. Plus, I love the Amsterdam.

 

I'll keep checking to see if this group comes to be.

[LEtue]

Wow, what a great itinerary. Plus, I love the Amsterdam.

 

I'll keep checking to see if this group comes to be.

 

I sailed the Oosterdam to Alaska in May 2007. It was a great trip but this itinerary is just fantastic!

 

I hope we can get enough interest :D

[Assateague Island Princes]

We love this itinerary too - its great! We're currently planning on the May 31, 2010 sailing because it fits our schedule and our "dog sitter's" (my mom!) schedule as well. This will be our third cruise to Alaska, and are so excited about some of the new ports we've never been to before - Anchorage, Kodiak, and especially Homer. Times in port (except for Kodiak:() are excellent as well! The crappy part is we have over a year to go....Sigh...I'm going to live vicariously thru all the 2009 cruisers and try to keep my jealousy at bay!;)

[Sillyjilly]

I'm certainly open on the dates. I just want to be on that itinerary on the Amsterdam.:D

[LEtue]

I'm certainly open on the dates. I just want to be on that itinerary on the Amsterdam.:D

 

Okay, I hope it works! Now we just need to get a few more to join us!

 

Who else out there wants to sail with us :D

[skyedoggie]

Looks like a very interesting itinerary and one that DH and I have on our to do list. We will be watching to see if your CC group cruise works out!

Will check back periodically to see.

[LEtue]

Looks like a very interesting itinerary and one that DH and I have on our to do list. We will be watching to see if your CC group cruise works out!

Will check back periodically to see.

 

Great, hopefully we will get some more that are interested!

 

There hasn't been a HAL group cruise for a while and it's time :D

[BldLvr]

Hello everyone from northern Illinois! DH and I are looking at this cruise also, and we too like this new itinerary. We have been to Alaska in August and March, what is May like? I would love to see the mountains with snow on them! And would we see whales? We won't know until early next year if we can go.....the economy you know! This is certainly something to think about. Thanks! Marian

[Kreuser]

Hello everyone from northern Illinois! DH and I are looking at this cruise also, and we too like this new itinerary. We have been to Alaska in August and March, what is May like? I would love to see the mountains with snow on them! And would we see whales? We won't know until early next year if we can go.....the economy you know! This is certainly something to think about. Thanks! Marian

Hi Marian- You were in AK in March?!! Brrrrrrrrr! The couple times we were there in May it was gorgeous! Plenty of snow on the mountains and spring flowers just coming out.

If you go whalewatching with OrcaEnterprises in Juneau, (Capt. Larry), you'll be sure to see plenty of whales. :cool:

 

I have never been on a CruiseCritic cruise. What makes it so special?

 

Vada

[LEtue]

The couple times we were there in May it was gorgeous! Plenty of snow on the mountains and spring flowers just coming out.

If you go whalewatching with OrcaEnterprises in Juneau, (Capt. Larry), you'll be sure to see plenty of whales. :cool:

 

I have never been on a CruiseCritic cruise. What makes it so special?

 

Vada

 

I have sailed the last week of May twice and the first time in 2006 the temps were nice - probably low 70's in the ports. But during the same week in 2007 it was much cooler and rainy in Juneau and Skagway. So, you never know. But there is plenty of snow on the mountains :)

 

Orca Enterprises is great too! Lots of whales on both our trips....

 

What makes a Cruise Critic Group Cruise special is the lower price, the possibility of reduced deposits, OBC, and some organized events (if there is interest). There are also some CC goodies that usually get added but each cruise line is different. I have only organized on RCI in the past so HAL may be a bit different.

 

On thing for sure you get to chat with everyone up until the cruise and a lot of friendships can be made :)

[Kreuser]

I am excited about going in June. Only for a week, but we're taking our DD and her family which includes our two teenage grandsons. They are so much fun to be around!

 

A few years ago we took the So Carib. cruise on Veendam (2-weeks) and HAL gave us a beautiful CC party. We must have had 75 or 80 people on our thread. One person contacted HAL and they graciously set it up. Much nicer than RCL or X puts on, they served champagne, fruit, rolls and coffee/juice. It was beautiful. So I figured all it took was numbers and someone to ask HAL for a party. :p

 

I'll keep my fingers crossed we get a good group here online. No matter how small though, we can still plan on meeting up! But I would think once the word is out re this itinerary, these sailings will soon be sold out!

 

Vada

[BldLvr]

Hi Vada...we were in Alaska in March because we we went to the Iditarod! We were on a land tour with a small group of people and it was awesome. We flew out to a check point on the frozen river, a wonderful experience. And we got to meet some of the mushers and talk with them. Flying in from Chicago was beautiful, snow everywhere on the mountains. I have not been on a CC cruise but did meet some wonderful friends thru these boards on our South America/Antarctica cruise. DH and I will most definetly keep this tour in mind, let's hope the economy improves some but hey...ya only live once!!!! Marian

[LEtue]

Didn't think about these sailings selling out :eek: Do you think that is possible?

 

I'm certainly open to other dates. Like I mentioned before I was looking at August for a new season - but we can be flexible.

 

What does everyone think? Should we pick 2 dates and see what pricing/amenities is available? June and July look a lot higher from what I've been able to find.....

 

Let me know!

[Sillyjilly]

That sounds like a great idea.

 

I've been to Alaska twice in May and once in Sept. Both times we had awesome weather.

 

The September cruise was great for good bargains. They were practically giving the stuff away since it was the end of season. Never shopped so much in my life. Had to buy an extra suitcase to put everything in. Thankfully, we ended in L.A. which is my home town.

 

Going again this May. We'll see if my lucky weather holds up.:D

[Kreuser]

Hi Vada...we were in Alaska in March because we we went to the Iditarod! We were on a land tour with a small group of people and it was awesome. We flew out to a check point on the frozen river, a wonderful experience. And we got to meet some of the mushers and talk with them. Flying in from Chicago was beautiful, snow everywhere on the mountains.

WOW! What an awesome experience!

 

We are not married to this date (5/17/10), but I believe it is the cheapest. I know Sept. is a little more. We were on the Millenium last September for their repo cruise ending in San Diego. I was in the ship's hospital for the last 2 days of the cruise. Heart/lung problems brought about by my Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I told Jerry I didn't want to go back in September. Our weather was quite cold and wet. I know, it could have happened anywhere, but I have bad feelings about September in AK. BTW, we didn't even leave Vancouver until 9/21. That is very late to be in Alaska.

 

You all go ahead and pick a date and I'll see what we can do.

My vote is for 5/17 naturally. :cool:

 

Vada

[LEtue]

Okay, everyone. Here are the dates for this particular itinerary on the Amsterdam:

 

May 17

May 31

Jun 14

Jun 28

Jul 12

Jul 26

Aug 9

Aug 23

Sep 6

 

 

Day Port Arrive Depart

0 Seattle, Washington 04:00 PM

1 At Sea

2 Ketchikan, Alaska 07:00 AM 05:00 PM

3 Tracy Arm, Alaska, USA CO 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

4 Skagway, Alaska 07:00 AM 06:00 PM

5 Sitka, Alaska TR 08:00 AM 03:00 PM

6 At Sea

7 Anchorage, Alaska 07:00 AM 11:00 PM

8 Homer, Alaska, U.S. TR 10:00 AM 06:00 PM

9 Kodiak, Alaska TR 07:00 AM 01:00 PM

10 Hubbard Glacier Cruising CO Noon 04:00 PM

11 Juneau, Alaska 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

12 At Sea

13 Victoria Canada 02:00 PM 08:00 PM

14 Seattle, Washington 07:00 AM

 

 

So what does everyone think? Post your preference. Maybe a 1st and 2nd choice so that we can get pricing for both?

[BldLvr]

1st Choice......May 17th

2nd Choice.....May 31st

 

But right now we are flexible. I think May would be a beautiful time, everything fresh and new! Marian

[SharonN]

Okay, everyone. Here are the dates for this particular itinerary on the Amsterdam:

 

May 17

May 31

Jun 14

Jun 28

Jul 12

Jul 26

Aug 9

Aug 23

Sep 6

 

 

So what does everyone think? Post your preference. Maybe a 1st and 2nd choice so that we can get pricing for both?

 

I've been thinking about this one since I saw the itinerary but was looking at the Sep 6 one since that includes Labor Day and would require 1 less day of vacation. May 31 would work for the same reason but may be too close to the Australia cruise I just booked for Feb. I just need more vacation days! I've done 3 Alaska cruises but not sure you can ever get enough of it! Two of them were in Sep and had great weather.