4th of July on-board...any celebration?

[sparklplenty]

The family and I will be onboard the Oosterdam for the 4th of July. In your experience, does HAL do anything special to celebrate? Fireworks? Party? Any past stories would be most welcome.
Thanks!

[Silverwing]

When we were on board on 4th July the only celebration was a US themed buffet lunch around the Lido pool ie burgers, hot dogs, apple pie etc - decorations were large pictures of landmarks - Empire State Building, Mount Rushmore, Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood Sign etc and lots of American flags everywhere. I remember the music being very loud and it was very popular, so we went and had lunch in the main dining room where it was much quieter, there was a delicious US themed menu and we were given a complimentary glass of sparkling wine with our lunch to toast the US!

(Off topic - we have been on holiday in the States on July 4th twice - once in Phoenix, Arizona where there was the most amazing red sunset sky and at Mount Rushmore where we took part in a moving ceremony at sunset - in both places we were in patriotic gatherings of large numbers of people and on each occasion when different nationalities were asked to raise their hands, we were the only people from Britain - we were cheered and made to feel very welcome - two truly memorable occasions.)

[brewersfan]

sparklplenty; we will also be on board the Oosterdam the same week as you. what shore excursions do you have planned? have you joined the roll call?

[kazu]

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[sail7seas]

Not all guests on HAL ships are from U.S. and celebrate July 4.

It is Canada Day on July 1, 2011.
What would be fun is to celebrate both aboard in the same week. :)

[we're sailing away....]

Not all guests on HAL ships are from U.S. and celebrate July 4.

It is Canada Day on July 1, 2011.
What would be fun is to celebrate both aboard in the same week. :)




Good thought

[sparklplenty]

Not all guests on HAL ships are from U.S. and celebrate July 4.

It is Canada Day on July 1, 2011.
What would be fun is to celebrate both aboard in the same week. :)





True. I was just wondering if they did anything, but understand that it would be impossible to mark the holidays of every nationality aboard. Your idea about a joint celebration sounds like fun, though. Perhaps an Independence Day themed Pub-crawl??
Aside: Last year on the Rotterdam the day we were in Juneau happened to be Indonesian Independence day. While everyone (except me) was off exploring the town, the crew had a celebration on the big area at the front of the ship (the foredeck?...probably the wrong name for it). It was an absolute HOOT to watch. They had all these games with different teams doing silly tasks and special food. It was great to see them enjoying themselves for once and taking a break from all the exemplary service they provide us.

[sparklplenty]

sparklplenty; we will also be on board the Oosterdam the same week as you. what shore excursions do you have planned? have you joined the roll call?

Yep, I've joined both Roll Calls, as we seem to have two ;)

As for excursions, we're not planning on any except our own. In Juneau, I think we're going to hop on bus to Medenhall, and then try to find the local brew-pub everyone raves about. In Sitka, we'll walk out to totem pole park and then visit a few haunts my brother ( who's a commercial AK fisherman) knows about. In Ketchican, I'm going to try out the "day in port" specials at the spa :D

How about you?

[bakcd]

We embarked on an Alaska cruise on the 4th of July several years ago. I don't remember any special celebration other than a photo with "Uncle Sam" when boarding.

[brewersfan]

sparklplenty: in Juneau we are taking the shuttle to Mendenhall to see the glacier, and hike around, hoping for a clear day to take the tram up to Mt. Roberts and hike a little up there, in Sitka just exploring on our own, totems, etc., and in Ketchikan we are doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour.

[lilybob]

The family and I will be onboard the Oosterdam for the 4th of July. In your experience, does HAL do anything special to celebrate? Fireworks? Party? Any past stories would be most welcome.
Thanks!

We were on the Oosterdam in the Mediterranean for the 4th of July in 2008. They had a big elaborate bar-b-que at dinner time with hot and cold foods. The deck was decorated with red, white, and blue along with fruit and ice sculptures on the various serving tables. It was a lot of fun for all nationalities. I'm sure you will enjoy it if they do one on your cruise.....I don't recall any fireworks though.

[gregdude]

I was on a HAL cruise several years ago over Canadian Thanksgiving and they celebrated with a special Thanksgiving dinner menu.