LIVE from the MS Ryndam, Let the Alaska Season Begin

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from the Las Vegas McCarran Airport, well we are not quite on the MS Ryndam:o but the journey has begun. After having our son who is soon to be 27 yr olds take us to the airport which btw we call Mr. Toad's Wild Ride we feel we have finally started the vacation. Strange but I do not have that feeling I am forgetting something:eek: So far everything is going well. It is surprising how many people are in this airport at 4:30 in the morning. We had to wait to check our luggage in a very long line. Yet with so many people Starbucks is not open :( Guess I will just have to wait till we get to Denver for the connecting flight.

Not must information on thisfirst post other than to tell you "Let the Vacation Begin":D

I should be able to post in Denver.

[FlorenceItaly]

It's great to hear from you this morning, especially since the Oosterdam is not in San Diego :(. I can't wait to hear all about your journey. I've only been to Alaska one time, in 2004, on the Veendam, and it was late August. Of course, I plan to go back! I think you receive a HAL award/pin on the Ryndam, don't you?


Marie

[sail7seas]

Good to hear from you, Lisa.......

Have a safe flight and we'll look forward to any and all reports you want to share with us. I always think it so generous of CC'ers who post while they are aboard.

Have a great time on the beautiful Rrrrrrryndam!!! (:) Regards to Captain Consen and his wonderful crew. My DH thought him Grrrrrreat!!!) :)

[jhannah]

Good morning, Lisa and Tom. It is amazing how many folks are out at McCarran at very early and late hours. We'll look forward to your posts from the chilly North. (It's 41 and raining right now in Skagway.)

[maxiesmommie]

Yeah! So glad you are on your way! Looking forward to all your posts. This will be us in 4 weeks :D

[RevNeal]

Strange but I do not have that feeling I am forgetting something So far everything is going well.

Lisa ... Lisa ... Lisa ... you DID forget something. You forgot to take ME with you!!! :(

[fridayeyes]

Bon Voyage, Lisa! And I am GREEN with envy even though I depart myself on Tuesday. You are on my favorite ship, the lovely MS Ryndam. Tip for the Vegas airport - there's an EthelM store there, my favorite chocolatier.

[SDHALFAN]

Hi Lisa,

I can't believe that you have already started posting - and without a cup of coffee yet. You are one mighty woman.

Have a wonderful cruise.

Valerie:)

[BajaFred]

Lisa, Have a great time on your trip. I am anxious to hear how it goes with regards to the inclement weather they are expecting in AK the next few weeks.
We will be leaving for Seattle next Fri & boarding the "O" next Saturday (5/13) for our trip. Since cruising in the rain will be different could you please let us know what you brought with you that you were real grateful for and what it was that you really wished you had brought.
Any insight to life on-board in the cold/rain would be very much appreciated.
No matter what the weather, you will have a great time.
Carole

[SeaGypsy1]

Hi Lisa and Tom,

Soon you will be in the beautiful city of Vancouver. Enjoy your stay there and tell us what you think about it. Have a wonderful time.

[jlynnek]

OOhhh, bad news, not being able to start the day without a cuppa java. Hope you have a fantastic time. I am really looking forward to your posts. We're leaving for Vancouver in just over 2 weeks for a nice pre-curise stay before our May 24 departure on the Volendam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi, We are here in very beautiful Green Vancouver. It really seems like has been a very long day. After I posted good old Ted aka United had 3 gate and airline swaps at McCarran airport before we even left. Our flight that was to leave at 6 AM did not leave till 6:55 luckily we had a fairly long lay over in Denver so all worked out well.We had a little Micky Ds for breakfast in Denver airport. We landed her in Vancouver at 1:05, now the one thing I was a bit worried about with all the gate and plane swaps before we even left Las Vegas I was fearing our luggage would not make it but it did:) Vancouver is certainly a beautiful airport and so very quiet (noice).

We have never been to Vancouver so this is quite different for us, it really is a beautiful city, interesting buildings, and so many high rises. Definitely a vertical city. We did get a very nice view but of the wrong side of Canada Place but still very nice.

We are going to dinner with Aaron and Kim this evening so I better go. I will write more tonight.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is another picture of our view.

[Aussie Gal]

Lisa,

I am enjoying reading your report and seeing your lovely photos. Just think, next time you do this you will be boarding the Veendam with us in September!

Have a wonderful cruise and I look forward to hearing more.

Jennie

[cruzbums]

Thank you for sharing your trip with the rest of us.

We will be sailing on the Oosterdam next Saturday. Really looking forward to the trip.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

Had I known you were coming through Denver I would have gone out in my back yard and waved! :) Nice pics of Canada Place. Captain (Mr. Clean) Consen is my favorite. You will have a blast! Hoist one or two for all your CC pals who wish they were along!

[earl_m]

I hope you have a grrrrrreat time . I was on the ryndam april2.
you will like the captan of the ship..






westerdam nov. 12 2006

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Well, I will do one last report of the day. It has been a very long day.I probably got a whole 2 hours of sleep last night. I was just a bit excited:D and the alarm went off at 2:45 AM

We went to dinner with Aaron aka CC name Atomica and his girlfriend Kim aka CC name kikiwik. After dinner they took us for a drive thru Stanley Park. What a great evening, we had a wonderful time. I want to thank Aaron and Kim it was so nice of them to show us around.

Have to admit so far everything has gone really well, now of course there are always a few strange things that happen like when we checked in to the Fairmont we came up to our room and the keycard would not work so I had to go down and security came up and they had to replace the key. Other wise everything has been great.

I am very pleased with our hotel room and view, yes it is too bad the HAL docks on the other side but this is still a great view.:)

Tomorrow the is the BIG day, and I am so looking forward to returning to the Ryndam.

I am about ready to call it a day, but I will post a few pictures of us with Aaron and Kim.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is another picture with Kim, Aaron and myself

[middle-aged mom]

Thank you, Lisa, you are very good to us:)

Hi Aaron (Atomica)! Hi Kim (Kikiwik)!

from your neighbor across the border,

Karin (middle-aged mom):)

[RuthC]

Glad you like your hotel room; I remember you were a bit worried at first.
Now get a good night's sleep so you will be all ready to rest up on your cruise.

[SeaGypsy1]

Ah Lisa, you are just the best. I am so glad you had a good time in Vancouver, thanks to Aaron and KIm. Good nights rest and off to Alaska. Thanks for taking us along. :)

[Vic The Parrot]

Thanks Lisa!

Great to hear you're off to a good start. (And it is a nice view from the Fairmont...) I thought you and Tom were considering the PanPacific??

At least you can 'see' the PanP .... :rolleyes:

Have a great trip, and my regards to Tom.

[Atomica]

I want to thank Aaron and Kim it was so nice of them to show us around.


Lisa, it was our pleasure! It was nice to see you and Tom again - I know it's pouring rain out now, so I'm hoping it clears up in time for you guys to have a nice, sunny sailaway to Alaska on the Rrrrryndam :) We had a great evening with you and Tom as well.

[cruznon]

Lisa,
Thanks for the posts and photos. Hope weather clears up for your sailaway. We all look forward to hearing from you on your Alaskan cruise.
For so little sleep, you look great!

[jckvpa0]

I just stumbled on to this thread, I love,"Live from", threads :) !!!

Looking forward to taking this journey with you!

Hey, shouldn't you be up & getting ready to go ?

[DonMaryCar]

Lisa

Have a wonderful cruise, sure looks like you are off to a good start. Your live broadcast will make us all feel like we are sailing through those glaciers with you. We did it two years ago on the Statendam and found it one of our best cruises (of course is there ever a bad cruise?)

Have fun, I bet you are among the 1st on board

Mary :)

[sail7seas]

Thanks for this fun thread, Lisa. Happy you are both safely settled in Vancouver, had a nice evening with Aaron and Kim......(what great photos!!).
Happy Boarding tomorrow. Again.....please send our regards to Captain Consen and his wonderful crew!!!

Fair winds and a following sea........

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from rainy foggy Vancouver:) I am showered and about ready to fix my hair. As soon as I am ready we will take a walk over to Canada Place to see if the Rrrrryndam is here. We see the aft end far out of a NCL ship. I am guessing the Ryndam may be in as well. We are to have our luggage by the hotel room door (on the inside) by 9 AM so a porter may come and get it to take to the ship. Also our instructions say we will be able to check into the ship here at the Fairmont at the HAL desk downstairs after 9 AM. I slept a bit beter but did keep waking up, the bed was really hard. I guess when you sleep on a HAL bed at home it is just tough to sleep anywhere else but on a HAL ship:D

(Vic, you missed my thread about 6 weeks ago, when we picked up our docs we found they booked us at the Faimont rather than the Pan Pacific. I was upset at the time but everything always turns out fo the best:) )

Sail, I will definitely be giving my regard to Captain Consen for you:)

Well, I better get ready. After our walk to across the street we will have breakfast. I heard they have a great vanilla waffle thanks to BillS. Think I might just try that:D

[Copper10-8]

Wow, daily reports plus pics! Awesome! Lisa, you and Tom have a great trip on the Rrrrrrrrrrrrryndam! Say hi to Captain Consen for us please! Best wishes and nice weather!

[SDHALFAN]

Great photos Lisa, thanks, and what a nice looking couple Aaron and Kim are. As cruznon said, you are looking mighty fine also after so little sleep.
Have a wonderful cruise aboard the Ryndam - oh I love that ship.

I'm so envious of you right now. I think I may have to go back to Alaska next year.

Valerie:)

[Ine]

I am sure you both will have another great cruise.
I love to read your daily reports, feels like we are there too.

Enjoy your time on board!!

[puddles'n splashes]

Greetings; hope the weather clears for you as you set sail for Alaska. It is a fabulous cruise and the Ryndam is a gorgeous ship. We have done two btob's on her to Alaska.
So glad you saw some highlights of our beautiful city.
Here's to a great trip.:)

[sail7seas]

puddles 'n splashes (love the nickname :) ........Welcome to the HAL CC Board. I see this is your third post.

Pull up a deck chair and make yourself 'comfy. Nice to 'meet 'cha'.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hello again, still in our room in the Fairmont. We plan to walk over to the ship at about 11, although when we checked in downstairs they told us that they probably would not board till 12:30. I guess we will see. Not sure that checking in down stairs here in the hotel was any easier especially since we are S Suite passengers. We had to wait in line with 3 other couples in front of us and it was before 9. Then she only had our folder with our guest cards. We will still need to check in for our credit card and go thru security she said. The rep only had about 10 to 12 folders so I do not think there were that many staying here in the hotel. They did come to pick up our luggage at about 9:50 so it is on the way to the ship:)

We know our table number already. I will say I am a bit dissappointed because this is three cruises in a row that we were not given the table we requested:confused: I had requested 128 or 129 we have 107. I just found the map and I see thaqt we are still next to a window on the starboard side:(

I am hoping it is still by a window although I really wanted an aft window. Oh Well maybe we were destined to be seated with someone at table 107:)

BTW for anyone that want to know the internet is not free here at the Fairmont but it is also not that expensive. It is $7.95 can for unlimited 24 hours. That is why i am using it this morning while I can:D

[richwmn]

Greetings from the Zaandam -- two days ahead of you. the weather is beautiful so far. Hope your cruise is as wonderful as mine

Rich

[puddles'n splashes]

Thank you for the welcome. I have been a "lurker" for quite a while, and have enjoyed reading the boards, and benefiting from all the good advice. We are due to sail in less than two weeks on the Prinsendam Transatlantic, and are getting excited. Packing has started.Hopefully, our documents arrive, but I know they are on the way. The roll call board shows there are some cc'ers on board as well. Hopefully, we can meet.

[kakalina]

Lisa, so good of you to keep us "posted" ;) . It sounds as if you are off to a wonderful cruise on board the elegant and spacious Rrrrrrryndam. The pix are great and I can't wait for more.

Our regards to Cap'n Hans.

Puddles and Splashes, love the name. Welcome to the HAL boards. We are a friendly bunch and always willing to lend a helping hand.

Trisha

[Silverwing]

I am in England and new to these boards. I was so pleased to see this thread and am looking forward to following your progress. We haven't cruised before, but are waiting for HAL to announce their 2007 prices so that we can book an Alaska cruise (Glacier Discovery northbound) on the Ryndam. As we will have our children (by next summer they will be 21 and 16) with us and we are all happy to share we have decided to book a deluxe verandah suite (S). It all looks wonderful and I am really excited already. It will be part of a 5 week trip, as we are hoping to visit friends in Vancouver and Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) as well as spend a couple of weeks driving in Alaska.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi, well we are finally LIVE from the MS Ryndam. I will write up later about the somewhat disorganized embarkation, but we were the very first passengers on board at 11:15. Went up to the Neptune, were able to leave bags in our cabin and were eating lunch in the Lido by 11:30.

I write more later, one quick note I said the cost of the internet at the Fairmont was $7.95 it actually was $13.95 plus tax:o

Also when I signed on here they only offered 2 packaged beside the pay as you go. The best being 100 minutes for $40 in the past (although it was July last yr) there was at package that cost $100 I thought:confused: Oh well guess I will need to renew several times.

So far no one seems to know if our Asti champagne is here that we requested.

I will write a review tonight after dinner.

Life boat drill is in a hour and 45 minutes

[localady]

I am in England and new to these boards. I was so pleased to see this thread and am looking forward to following your progress. We haven't cruised before, but are waiting for HAL to announce their 2007 prices so that we can book an Alaska cruise (Glacier Discovery northbound) on the Ryndam. As we will have our children (by next summer they will be 21 and 16) with us and we are all happy to share we have decided to book a deluxe verandah suite (S). It all looks wonderful and I am really excited already. It will be part of a 5 week trip, as we are hoping to visit friends in Vancouver and Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) as well as spend a couple of weeks driving in Alaska.

Silverwing-
What an excellent holiday you have planned. Welcome to CC!!! Many of us have cruised and driven in Alaska, some here on the board even live in those areas. Let us know if you have any questions and welcome aboard!!

Lisa- Hoping the MIA Asti is located!! Smooth seas and sunny skies!!

[RevNeal]

Lisa,

I sure wish I were aboard the lovely Ryndam with you this week. :) Someday, maybe! :D

[willowoodf]

Lisa:

I am SOOO envious! Take care of the beautiful and elegant RRRRRRYNDAM for us! I can't wait to see further LIVE posts!

Mary

[Cinderalla3]

Loving your pictures and report. We leave the 21st on the Ryndam, first trip to Alaska. Have learned so much from you and others from this board. Have a great time.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday May 7th 2006

Wow what a great first day. Now I have to admit Embarkation was not the best but definitely not the worst. Things are just different in Vancouver. We were kept in a holding area because on of the NCL came in late but plus this was the very first week and they were training people. What was odd at embarkation they did not give out number. We were the very first people on board so not sure how hectic it must have gotten. I will say they need to rearrange it just a bit. They hand you all the wine stuff, then the Green House Spa things, then take you picture, then make you stop and use Purell sanitizer. It would have been smarter to do that first before you hands are full. It was funny they as I mentioned they did not give out numbers but as we were going on board a couple with a blue card was positive they were in a suite and wanted to board right away.
Despite some sprinkling of rain it was really a nice Sail Away. Tomorrow when I am a bit more sober l will post the pictures. Yes, we were thrilled they did have our Asti Champagne just for us. We drank 2 bottle tonight then. Dinner was very nice we are seated with a Mother and daughter from Flagstaff, AZ. After dinner we looked around the shops for a bit then went to the Explorer’s Lounge and I had a Flaming Coffee while we listened to the Champagne Strings which was Great!!!!. I must tell you that during dinner we watched several rainbows, it was so beautiful. Of course I did not bring my camera to dinner. The snow capped mountains with rainbows made for beautiful scenery.
One thing I will mention is the age range is really mixed, to be honest I expected an older crowded based on being the Ryndam and being the first week but that is not the case at all. I actually think there are a lot of first time cruisers, during the life boat drill there were so many that definitely were extremely confused and had no idea what they were doing.
Another interesting thing is they did not have the Suite Reception tonight, not sure when it will be maybe tomorrow. Also I know there was a thread a week ago or so about slippers. I did not read it but tonight when we came back to the room there was a matt on each side of the bed that said “Good Morning” and had packaged slippers that was new to us.
Now if I am sounding like I am rambling you can blame it on the Champagne.:D

I will report more tomorrow.
Signing off from the Elegant MS Rrrryndam.

[kikiwik]

Well Lisa and Tom I hope your having a wonderful time. We were worried this morning when we woke up and the weather wasnt' that great. Then it turned in to a beautiful day. I'm counting down the days until we leave and I cannot wait. I'm enjoying your updates so far and keep em coming. It was great to meet you and we'll be sure to see you again when you get on the veendam. And dont' forget the Internet is cheaper in alaska at the little cafes (at least thats what aaron said)

[jckvpa0]

Thank-You for the updates :) !

[dakrewser]

Lisa -

Despite the rain I hope you & Tom went out to watch the ship sail under the Lion bridge - I always think that the best view of a bridge is looking up at the underside! :rolleyes:

And BE CAREFUL! This early in the season, the bears - and even the eagles - are mighty hungry....

[jhannah]

I hope your Monday wasn't too hung over! ;) But after two bottles of champagne and a flaming coffee, maybe that's why we haven't heard from you since last night! Hee. I hope all continues to go well.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday May 8th, 2006
Good Afternoon from the Elegant MS Rrrryndam
Well, let’s see if I can give better review so far. I hate to even read what I wrote last night.:eek: I am just not safe behind the keyboard after two bottles of champagne.:D

Embarkation was definitely not very organized but being the first week for Alaska season we will chalk it up to that.

Our captain is Captain Frans Consen, Hotel Manager is Paul Muller who just came on board in Vancouver and Cruise Director is Bobby Broughton. Our Concierge in the Neptune is Tonie and her assistant when she is away is Tiffany. We were excited to see Tiffany because she was our Concierge when we were on board the Ryndam in 2004. She was excited to see us and told us she got married a few weeks ago in Barbados. So Congratulations to her and her husband.:)

They did not hold the Suite Reception last night but instead held it 12 noon today in the Piano Bar. I was surprised I did not think it was that well attended. Also the dining times are 5:30, 6:00 8:00 and 8:30. We have the 6:00, this is a bit different since we are use to early seating times being 5:45 and 6:15. The times for this cruise is how it was when we first started with HAL. Another thing a bit off is, as I had stated when we received our cruise docs it stated 2 Formal 5 casual so that is how we packed. Unfortunately the first days daily program does call for 2 Formal, 1 Informal and 4 Casual.

Life boat drill seemed more disorganized than usual with many having no clue what they were doing and many in our section that did not respond and I could tell from their list did not attend. I am beginning to think there are a lot of first time cruises on board or at least first time to HAL. The age of the cruisers are very mixed.
Sail Away was very cold and windy with a bit of rain but still very nice. Since we had never cruised out of Vancouver before we went up top to watch going under the Lions Gate Bridge.

Since no one seemed to know anything about our Asti Champagne prior to dinner we thought we would need to find an alternative. Ronald our Wine Steward was not aware but went to check on it. When he returned with a champagne bucket and our Asti we were extremely thrilled, so thrilled we had two bottles. We then walked around the shops then relaxed in the Explorer’s Lounge listening to the Champagne Strings and I having a very good Flaming Spanish Coffee.

I am beginning to think fire alarms in the middle of the first night are a tradition. When we were on the Oosterdam in Feb. there had been a fire in the incinerator room, last night or I should say this morning at 4:40 there was some type of fume that built up in the engine room to cause the fire alarms to go off. The strange thing is the public address system does not seem to be broadcasting in the cabins. I remember from previously on the Ryndam you could control the announcements above the headboard of the bed but that did not work.

The seas have finally become a bit calmer in the past 30 minutes since last night we have had a very strong under current causing the ship to be extremely unstable. The seas appear to be calm but with the under current many were having a very hard time walking including myself. This has been the first cruise in a very long time that I actually got a bit of motion sickness. I made the mistake after breakfast of going up to the Thermal suite, well with the water splashing all over and being so far forward I could only stay for about 30 minutes. When we went to the Suite Reception at Noon Frans said that about 2 PM the seas would become calmer and he was right on.

I remember seeing a thread about slippers and I have to admit I did not read it but to my surprise last night we had a matt on each side of the bed with slippers on them. This was something new to us that we had not had before. Also it was not till this morning that we received notification that Suite passengers could Dine in the Pinnacle for breakfast. We did but were just a bit disappointed. Tom always orders tea in the morning and on the Oosterdam both in October and February they would bring him the wooden box of teas to choose which one he would like.
They did not do that here, also on the Oosterdam in the Pinnacle for breakfast they served the same coffee the Pinnacle served in the evening that has that slight foam on the top. The coffee served was just regular coffee. The other disappointment was no rolls or danish. We had always had them serve us a tray of rolls, danish or donuts, there was not a one in sight. I am thinking that we may order room service or go to the Lido tomorrow.

Tonight is our first Formal night, the menus are pretty close to the usual fare with the exception that they have special Alaskan Salmon prepared in various ways every night. I had the Alaskan Lingcod last night that was very good.
As usual we are totally enjoying ourselves, it is always good to be back home on a “Dam” ship.
I will post some pictures of Sail Away.
Signing off form the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrrryndam.:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here are more pictures of Ryndam at Canada Place

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sail Away

[LAFFNVEGAS]

And yet another getting ready to go under the Lions Gate Bridge

[crzn4fun]

Oh, Lisa, I am so excited to see your posts! My family will be on the Ryndam in July for the mirror image of your cruise, ours is from Seward to Vancouver. I look forward to reading your thoughts and experiences on this cruise. Please share any secrets you may have on both the Ryndam and cruising in Alaska. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[maxiesmommie]

Thank you so much for the updates, Lisa. I am loving them! Interested to see there is still one informal night after all.
The picture of the bridge is beautiful as well.

[Aussie Gal]

Lisa,

I wonder if all passengers get the complimentary slippers or only the Suite passengers. How interesting to think that HAL are now providing slippers after the long thread we had here on the Board.

Jennie

[refman]

lisa,
great reviews and pics, looking forward to more.

[sail7seas]

I'm loving your thread, Lisa. Makes me feel like we are still on Ryndam ourselves.

We were excited to see Tiffany because she was our Concierge when we were on board the Ryndam in 2004. She was excited to see us and told us she got married a few weeks ago in Barbados. So Congratulations to her and her husband.:)

I'm quite sure she was married on our cruise......I remember some of the ladies talking about a wedding in Barbados and I think it was Tiffany. :)

We, also, did not have a Suite Welcome Aboard Cocktail on Embarkation Day but they offered the Piano Bar get together the next day. We didn't go. Noon time on our first day aboard......too many other things to do so we skipped it and many others did as well.

We had slippers and the nice mats beside our beds on Volendam in October and again on Ryndam in April. It's very nice and we really liked that touch. They also had the slippers on Noordam when we overnighted on her in New York.

Continue to enjoy and Thank you so much for sharing with us. It's always fun to read your Live From Aboard posts.

Fair winds and a following sea........ :)

[Copper10-8]

Hey Lisa; great review and pics! I am enjoying your report on the Rrrrrrrrrrryndam very much! Quick question: what is a Flaming Coffee:confused: Does it hurt?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hey Lisa; great review and pics! I am enjoying your report on the Rrrrrrrrrrryndam very much! Quick question: what is a Flaming Coffee:confused: Does it hurt?

:D John, only if you drink too many.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday Evening May 8th

Good Evening to all my on line friends. We have retired to our room for the evening after having a really nice Captain’s Reception and Formal Dining. We were surprised to see that there were far more Tuxes than the last time we did Alaska on the Oosterdam so Tom did not feel as out of place. The reception before dinner was truly Frans Consen at his best. He has quite the wit and loves to entertain his guests. I always enjoy his Captain’s Receptions. At dinner itself besides enjoying the music of the Champagne Strings we had a great display from whales along the Starboard side. Not exactly sure what kind but pretty sure it was not Humpbacks or Orcas. Upon returning to our cabin we saw they were still frolicking outside so we put on our coats and stood on the balcony watching them.

Tonight we move our clocks back an hour since we are entering another time zone. We arrive in Juneau at approx 2 PM at that time we get off the ship to do the tour of Mendenhall Glacier, Whale Watch then the 7 PM Salmon Bake so tomorrow will be a very full day.
It is almost 9 PM and it is still very light outside, that always amazes me when we come to Alaska. I am hoping to get some really good pictures of whales tomorrow, as I write this we are still seeing spouting from our cabin of whales just outside our cabin.. Frans did warn us at the reception that we would start to feel the “Motion of the Ocean” at about 9:30. It is now close to 9:00 and we are starting to rock a bit more.

Our tablemates are a Mother and Daughter from Flagstaff AZ and a couple from So Florida that are originally from Manchester England. The Mother and Daughter are also in a S Suite and they like us did not receive the Suite Coursages. It was alright with us since I actually have never worn it.

As usual the week is going by far too fast, but I know time will not slow down so we are just trying to relax and enjoy as much as we can. Hoping to get a uninterrupted nights sleep.

Signing off from the Elegant and Beautiful MS Ryndam.:)

[St. Louis Sal]

Lisa, thanks so much for sharing your cruise. Your pictures are great. I will be on the Ryndam June 25 so your posts are just like watching the coming attractions. I love the Ryndam; on our first cruise together in 2003 my husband and I sailed on her to Alaska and I can't believe I get to go again. Have a great time. ;)

[jhannah]

The Mother and Daughter are also in a S Suite and they like us did not receive the Suite Coursages. You didn't miss anything. Ours were all just boutonniere. The ladies' had one small sprig of greenery ... but it was still just a boutonniere.

[cruznon]

Lisa,
Thank you for bringing us along on your Alaskan journey! Whales along side the ship at dinner! WOW! I can hardly wait!

A Flaming Spanish Coffee, huh? Think I'll need to try that....:)
Have a great time tomorrow.

Peggy

[mrblack]

Enjoying following your trip Lisa.

I am in England and new to these boards. ... We haven't cruised before, ... As we will have our children (by next summer they will be 21 and 16) with us and we are all happy to share we have decided to book a deluxe verandah suite (S). It all looks wonderful and I am really excited already. It will be part of a 5 week trip, as we are hoping to visit friends in Vancouver and Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) as well as spend a couple of weeks driving in Alaska.

You will have a great time but just remember it takes a lot longer to drive places here because of the distance. We have friends who visit from England every year and they always overestimate the distance they expect to cover in their travels.:)

[Silverwing]

Many thanks for the warning - however we lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia for two and a half years and we do three week road trips in the States most summers, so I have plenty of planning practice! We all love touring, especially in the southwest. Our favourite is probably being based in Moab for exploring Arches and Canyonlands - we loved it so much the first time we returned the following year! This year we're off for three weeks. First to Chicago (son's special request - he's really excited - we have Cubs and White Sox tickets) then driving south of the lakes to Niagara and Toronto. From there we fly to Halifax to catch up with friends before flying down to New York for a few days of retail therapy plus a Yankees game for husband and son!

Planning for our Alaska trip next year is all in place and I have even convinced my dear husband that we should include three nights at Camp Denali! It will cost almost as much as the cruise, but by all accounts it promises to be a once in a lifetime experience.

I am enjoying reading all about life on board the Ryndam - it makes next year seem closer and is helpful for someone who hasn't cruised before. Just interested to know whether your suite is on port or starboard side? I am looking forward to HAL opening their booking for the 2007 Alaska season!

[jhannah]

A Flaming Spanish Coffee, huh? Think I'll need to try that... Just make sure your hair spray is dry! :D

[Bucky3]

Thanks so much for your daily reviews. We're sailing next week on Volendam, so your reports are just great for us. Did you have those rough seas inside or outside Vancouver Island?? Guess I expected/hoped the Inside Passage would be calm??

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks so much for your daily reviews. We're sailing next week on Volendam, so your reports are just great for us. Did you have those rough seas inside or outside Vancouver Island?? Guess I expected/hoped the Inside Passage would be calm??

The rough seas wer after leaving Vancouver where the two bodies of water mix causing it to get quite rough and not just the normal sensation of the ocean but more of amixed us feeling. It was a bit harder to get your sea legs.

[sail7seas]

Loving your reports, Lisa, and happy you are enjoying yourselves so much.

We had the usual corsage/boutonniere and DH always puts his on his tux lapel. I pin mine to my evening purse. I like them as we feel that little bit more festive with flowers. Of course, everyone here know me and flowers!!!! :)


What luck to have the whales playing alongside the ship. That must have been a wonderful view.

Continue to enjoy........

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday Morning May 9th 2006

Good Morning from some where in the Inside Passage getting close to Juneau AK

I feel so much better today, last night I got a really good nights sleep, the movement we did have was the good stuff that rocks you to sleep J
The scenery is almost magical, and we are still seeing small gray whales spouting all over the place. We went to the Lido for breakfast and it was really good. While sitting their enjoying these really good round potato cakes with my eggs made perfectly over easy I marveled at how beautiful the mountains with the snow and clouds laying low were. For many years I considered myself a Tropical Island Girl but with this being our second trip to Alaska I cannot tell you how beautiful it really is. The air outside smells so fresh and yes, it is very cold about 44 degrees F but some how it is just not that bad.

The Ryndam looks to still be in great shape, we were last on her just s couple of weeks after she completed her Signature of Excellence but her staff has maintained her well. With a little reminding Frans did remember us and we just get such a big chuckle out of his personality.
This morning we went looking thru the pictures for the first time I noticed that they did not do up all the special pictures that have the dates or ship information on them. Instead they were just plain pictures. One of the pictures that was so very cute was of a couple holding a baby that looked to be about a year to 18 months and everyone is smiling especially Frans, the baby looking at Frans with his mouth wide open as if in shock. It was great J :D

Today we should arrive in Juneau about 2 PM and we will start our big day of the Mendenhall Glacier Tour and our Whale Watch Excursion. We had no problem adding on the Salmon Bake like HAL’s Excursion office told me. When we return from the Whale Excursion they said to just stay on the bus and they will take us to the Salmon Bake.

I am trying to upload some sampling of pictures to my Webshotsbut it takes so long on this connection.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrrryndam some where getting closer to Juneau.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have uploaded some pictures into webshots so here is the link to just a few pictures. I of course will do a full album when we return.:)

http://community.webshots.com/album/550224844jHpqzh

[SeaGypsy1]

Lisa, Thank you for the beautiful photos! Wow! they are good. I can tell you are very relaxed and having a wonderful cruise. Thanks for sharing. We think of you and Tom everyday and wonder what you are doing now. Alaska is so peaceful and beautiful. Enjoy every last minute of it. We are loving your daily post! :D

[booboo29]

Lisa,

Great, Great, Great!!! Thanks for sharing your anventure and for the photos. I never thought I had any interest in sailing to Alaska, but now I am thinking I may have to change my mind.

Continue to enjoy your trip!

Jennifer and Frank

[Copper10-8]

Hey Lisa, nice pics and great review! Instead of having one of those flame thrower coffees, maybe try a Wang Wang in the Crow's Nest one evening. You haven't lived until you had one of those! Enjoy yourselves on Mendenhall!:)

[jhannah]

Alaska is truly breathtaking! Anxious to hear about your Tuesday.

[RuthC]

Lisa, you are starting to get me all excited about my Alaska cruise! But I have over two months still to wait! Waaaaa!!!!!!

[Bengoshi]

Lisa: I'm developing a serious case of Ryndam envy! The antidote will require vicarious cruising, so keep up the excellent reports and great photos.

By the way, Semper fi to Copper 10-8!

[Himself]

Lisa:

Great reporting--keep up the good work!

[Himself]

Lisa:

After my last post I went off the cruisecritic and went to Kroooz-cams.com and saw the Rydam docked there. It is nice to see the HAL ships back in Alaska. It is a little late but I should have told you to go into the Alaskan Fudge company and say hello to Blue and Deb for me. But then again, they don't know me as "Himself."

If any one else is going that way and stopping in the the Alaskan Fudge store up in town--not the one by the docks--just tell Deb and Blue that "Father McGeean" says Hello.
Himself

[Copper10-8]

By the way, Semper fi to Copper 10-8!

And "Go Navy" to you, Sir - thank you for serving!

[refman]

lisa,
still very nice and thanx.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday Evening May 9th, 2006

Good Evening from Aboard the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrryndam :)

It has certain been a very full day, did a lot and say a lot. We arrived in Juneau right on time at close to 2 PM but for some reason they were not expecting us here in Juneau (someone looked at the wrong day on the calendar) so they did not have anyone here to clear us to dock. Our tour of Mendenhall and Whale and Wildlife Excursion was to start at 2 PM and return to the ship at approx. 7 PM for us to then be taken out to the Salmon Bake. It ends up Everything was delayed an hour or more. We were not back to town till 8:30 but everyone was so great they still got us out to the Salmon Bake and it is now 10 PM and we just got back.

OK back to the beginning, we did the usual Mendenhall Glacier and Visitors it was nice and extremely educational. Weather basically held out for us, we felt a few sprinkles of rain and saw a few snow flurries but otherwise was quite nice. It was overcast and cloudy all day but as long as it was not raining I thought we had a great day. Now the High was probably high 40’s F and by tonight had to be high 30‘s. Well let’s put it this way at the Salmon Bake all the food was steaming and we could see our breath in front of our face. Would you believe when we talked to our son today he said it was close to 100 degree F. Now that is a bit of a difference.

Next stop after Mendenhall was the Whale and Wildlife Excursion, this is done by Allen Marine out of Auke Bay. We were on the St. Maria which was the same boat we took the tour on in May 2004. In 2004 we saw a few Humpbacks and several Orcas. This year we saw many animals but no Orcas. We had barely started the tour and we saw Humpbacks, a whole lot of them. They were spouting all over the place but not we coming out of the water that much, then suddenly and of course I did not have a camera ready we saw a Full Breech. It really was amazing. I probably will wait till I get home to post any of those pictures because I took so many and have to sort thru what I actually captured. After following the Humpbacks for just over 30 minutes we continued ion then to the crew’s amazement we saw Dall’s Porpoises. They little but extremely fast creatires almost look like baby Orca Whales with the black and white bodies. Once they saw them they said they wanted to turn the boat in circles and see if they could get them to play in our wake.
It was amazing suddenly the were quite a few of them and they were jumping all over the place and really having fun. This continued on for well over a half hour. They adorable porpoises are so very fast, they claim they swim as fast as 35 miles per hour. I can tell you I never could capture a good picture of them just splashing water :(

Then we saw some Bald Eagles pretty far off my zoom worked pretty well so again I will wait till I get back to see what for sure I captured. Then we also saw Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. The only thing did not see was Bear unless you count the stuffed one at the Mendenhall Visitor’s Center. Then after those great tours they drive us back to town to turn around and get us back to the Salmon Bake. The Salmon Bake was very good and would have been even better had we have gotten there earlier but I am just really glad everyone was able to arrange for us to get there. I would highly recommend it. Right now we are seriously considering coming back here next year but coming back in July for a change.

Today was a very good FULL day and tomorrow will be even busier with our 8 hour tour of the Yukon and White Pass Railroad.

WOW it is Tuesday night already. Where is this week going? :(


Signing off from the Beauiful and Elegant MS Rrrryndam.

[cruznon]

Lisa,
I can hardly wait! This is the tour we're taking in Juneau--it sound's great. God to hear you can add on the salmon bake. We may just do that also.
Thank you for the vivid commentary--you make it come to life for all of us!
Enjoy tomorrow!
Peggy

[jhannah]

Fantastic! Sounds like a wonderful excursion.

I'm anxious to ride the White Pass RR again. You'll love it.

[RevNeal]

Lisa, I pray you and Tom are having a LOVELY time. I'm VERY jealous. :( But ... I only have myself to blame. I COULD have booked, if I had really wanted to set the time aside.

Oh, well.

Thank you SO MUCH for posting the pictures and keep us up to date with what's going on. If we can't all be with you in body, at least you're posting is enabling us to enjoy your trip vicariously in spirit!

Safe journey's to you both!

[shipcafe]

I'm not always a fan of repeating ships and/or itineraries but your report and photos have certainly piqued my interest to do BOTH. I would not even mind the cold weather to be able to stroll around Ryndam's decks in beautiful Alaska right now . . . . . .

[Atomica]

I think you will enjoy the White Pass Railroad - the views are incredible! I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Hope you and Tom have a great time in Skagway

[FlorenceItaly]

I am SO enjoying the LIVE postings and the pictures. Thank you so much. All the whale sightings sound fabulous. I was a bit late in the season when I was there in August. Next time it is MAY for me :).


Aaron - you and Kim are an adorable couple. Congratulations on your S suite!!

Marie

[Gramsk]

Thank you so much for allowing all of us to share your trip. We leave in 18 days (who's counting) on the Westerdam and are thrilled that your seeing so many whales. I am getting so excited and want to finish packing so bad, but keep telling myself wrinkles, wrinkles. Continue to enjoy your trip and thanks for taking the time to post.

[sail7seas]

Lisa......

I have to say I have never had much interest in cruising Alaska but your posts are the first ones that have ever made me stop to maybe rethink about that!!!! :)

How fun to see porpoises playing in your wake!!!
To See a whale full breech.

You might be personally responsible for getting this Bostonian who always says Nay....Not Me to an Alaska cruise to really think about it.

Continue to enjoy. It all sounds wonderful.

[Himself]

Lisa:

I hope you enjoyed your day in Skagway

[kikiwik]

Aaron - you and Kim are an adorable couple. Congratulations on your S suite!!
Marie

Aww thanks marie. Hopfully one day we'll get to meet you. I'm so excited about my cruise on friday! I will keep you posted. We haven't talked since aaron's oosterdarm cruise. Hope all is well :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Wednesday May 10th 2006 Skagway, AK

Oh My, just where is this week going? Today was such a full day that I am not sure where to start but first before I forget….We have just returned to our cabin from dinner and we hear our horn being blown then we hear the NCL Star’s horn being blown. Tom quickly put the bow web cam on and sure enough the NCL Star was leaving and they played their horns at each other for quite a while it was actually quite fun :)

Today was our really big excursion day, we did the Ultimate Yukon and White Pass Railway. It really was a very full day. We got up early and had a quick bite of breakfast in the Lido, then was off the ship by 8:15 for our 8:30 excursion. Our tour guide was very good and told he told us many great stories. If you have ever done this then you know what our day was like but not quite unless you came up here the very first week and it was a late Spring. There was so much snow all over plus we actually saw it snow quite a bit. We had the chance to have numerous stops along the way to get off the motor coach and take some great picture. We stopped for the BBQ chicken lunch at Caribou Crossing (not sure of spelling) It was the first week it was open so several of the shops were not open but lunch was good and we had fun playing with the Dog Sled puppies. Then after lunch we went to Carcross, then to Fraser where we boarded the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. Now I do agree that it is a must to sit on the right hand side going down but I must also advise if you take the bus going up you must also sit on the right had side of the bus for the better views. The amount of snow was totally amazing plus when we were at an elevation of over 3000 feet and we were in the middle of clouds and snow all you could see what white.

One of the things I found amazing was the blue you could see in the snow. I tom and I both grew up in Iowa and saw our far share of snow and ice and do not remember seeing the snow looking almost blue. Yellow on occasion but never blue :D

We ended to tour at about 4:00 so we walk around town briefly then walked back to the ship. Now let me tell you with sprinkling of rain mixed with snow it was quite cold and even colder when we got near the cruise ships. The ship said the temp. was 44 degrees F but my guess with the wind chill factor it had to be close to 34 degrees.

It is now 8:40 we are not to leave till 10:00 PM but we have just pulled away from the pier. We heard our horns blowing again. For some reason we are not getting any announcements in our cabin. I had been in the bathroom and Tom went down to one of the bars to get some soft drinks, he came back and said “What was Frans talking about?” I said I had no idea Frans was even talking. I guess it was to tell us that all passengers were on board and we were going to leave early is my guess. While I type this I am watching the Bow Web Cam, what a nice one the color is very good and you can really see a lot but no sound or music like on other ships.

Dinner tonight was like a true Dutch Night, they just did not call it that and there were no Dutch Hats. They even had Whole Dover Sole Menuniere, Brisket of Beef with Hodge Podge, Nasi Goreng Rijsttafel, soup was Dutch Brown Been Soup with Smoked Pork meat.
One of the things I do not believe I have not mentioned is about something that is offered every night that I have not seen before. One is a section at the bottom of the menu that states Choose One of These Salmon Dishes As Holland America Line Goes Wild On Salmon. Each night they have two different ways the Salmon is prepared. Tonight I had Almond Crusted Salmon with Leek and lemon Cream. It was very good and the Salmon tasted extremely fresh. Another item they have every night on the Dessert Menu is the Gold Rush Baked Alaska. This is French Vanilla ice crème crusted with a double chocolate fudge brownie and meringue dusted with gold, served with your choice of toppings. Each night they off three different toppings.

So as you can tell we had a very long full enjoyable day. I would definitely do this excursion again and we may next year. We have decided to take the Noordam to Alaska in June now if we could just book it on board now.:rolleyes:

I will post a few pictures that I did up load from today.

Signing off from the Elegant MS Rrryndam as we leave Skayway AK and have some whales just outside our cabin:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here are some more picture:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

As I said we saw lots of snow.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here's another picture

[Copper10-8]

Goeieavond, great job and cool pics Lisa! Continue to have fun!:) Slaap lekker vanavond!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Of course as many of you know Tom often likes to sport a hat of the area such as a Mexican Sombrero or a Lobster Claw had, well this time we could not find a hat so a partial antler will have to do:D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Of course I had dog sled puppies that wanted to go home with me.

[middle-aged mom]

Lisa, bless you, bless you, for taking us all along with you! Your live postings are currently the highlight of the HAL board for me:) Dank u wel! Thank you so much! It looks like you're having a marvelous time:)

Karin (middle-aged mom, who should be making breakfast and waking up children, but who just had to check in to see if LaffnVegas had made another post:) )

[jhannah]

What fun! I liked the pix in front of the Yukon sign. We have the same pose from our trip up there. It's breathtakingly beautiful, and even excellent pictures can't do justice to the scenery. (Sail, you really do need to take this cruise and excursion!)

We eagerly anticipate more!

[Atomica]

Aaron - you and Kim are an adorable couple. Congratulations on your S suite!!

Marie

Thank you very much, Marie! I'm excited about taking Kim on her first cruise, and an S-Suite is definately quite the way to start off :) Like Kim said, I hope we have the chance to cruise together some day.

Lisa, great pictures of Skagway - it looks cold, but it looks like a lot of fun.

[Ine]

Great photos and great review Lisa.
I really must try to convince Ton to make the cruise to Alaska one day.

Have some more fantastic days.

[Bucky3]

Can hardly wait for the next "chapter." !! Thanks for posting onboard - where we'll be next week only on the Volendam. Hope you're having a wonderful cruise.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thursday May 11th 2006 reporting Live from Sunny Glacier Bay National Park:)

Good Afternoon, what an absolutely beautiful sunny day it is here at Glacier Bay. We could not have ordered more perfect weather with a good amount of calving. The almost constant “white thunder” was amazing. The weather like I said is very sunny, not windy and extremely clear. We boarded two Glacier Naturalists (Park Rangers) from the US Forestry service about 7:30 this morning and they have been doing a fantastic job of telling us all about Glacier Bat National Park. They also pointed out a Bald Eagle on a glacier which I will show you the picture as well as Sea Lions that we could hear roaring and seals.

We were able to get quite close to Marjerie Glacier and it was amazing to see the calving and the roaring noise just before it hit the water and after.

The water is a beautiful turquoise blue and so very calm. We feel extremely fortunate to have such wonderful weather. Next we are looking forward to later this afternoon when we reach Point Adolphus which is a feeding area for Humpback Whales. The Naturalists say that this is a great time of year to see them at this point.

Tonight we are having dinner in the Pinnacle and also tonight is the VIP Cocktail Party in the Crow’s Nest at 7:15, we have Pinnacle reservations for 6:00 I have a feeling we may not finish dinner in time to attend :(
I will now post some of my pictures I took this morning, It is almost easier to post a few now rather than put on Webshots because it takes far too long to upload and uses up too many internet minutes. Of course you know that when I return I will upload almost all of them to my Webshots. I will say I have been able to capture some amazing pictures.

Signing off from the Elegant MS Rrryndam in Beautiful Glacier Bay National Park.

Below is a picture of what we saw when we woke up this morning.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

The next pictures I will post will be pictures I took as we were out on the bow in Glacier Bay area.
The first is of a Bald Eagle on an Iceberg.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is a picture of Margerie Glacier, let's see if I can find one with the calving

[Copper10-8]

Lisa, another awseome pic! What kind of zoom/tele lens are you using?

[sail7seas]

Wonderful, wonderful pictures. Thank you sooo much for sharing your reports and pics with us.

Have a great dinner in Pinnacle. We enjoyed two really excellent dinners there. Ryndam's Pinnacle is among the best .....some seem to be a little better than others. IMO

Hope you make it to the Cocktail Party.

Enjoy.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa, another awseome pic! What kind of zoom/tele lens are you using?

John, I just have a Kodak DX6490 with the 10X optical Zoom, it does have an excellent lense that I have been able to get some greaat pictures.

[Bucky3]

Oh, my! What wonderful pictures. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful Glacier Bay day a few years back. This year we'll have a group with us and , oh, how I want them to see it as it can be - so beautiful. Thanks for keeping us updated - it's wonderful! Continue to have a marvelous journey!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I ran out of interent minutes to I had to go back in and buy another package. I will continue to post a few more picture.

I just want to thank everyone for reading here, I really enjoy posting for all of you. I honestly cannot tell you how amazing the scenery is. Sail you and DH really should come up here to Alaska. Maybe for you birthdays next year???? We are thinking of doing the Noordam in June.

OK for next picture, Of course no cruise to Glacier National Park can be complete with out having some Great "Dam" Dutch Pea Soup while out on the bow.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is another picture

[liv2cruise4ever]

Aww thanks marie. Hopfully one day we'll get to meet you. I'm so excited about my cruise on friday! I will keep you posted. We haven't talked since aaron's oosterdarm cruise. Hope all is well :)

Well, I have had the pleasure of meeting Marie and she is even sweeter than she is here on this board. We cruised together on the Zuiderdam in Dec. 05, then met up portside in San Diego when we were both on different ships. Can you tell I adore her?:D

Sorry for the lil hijack, now back to your regular programming.....take it away Lisa!

PS Beautiful pictures. I want to sail Alaska tooooo!

John

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is just one more picture of Tom and I this morning at Marjerie Glacier

[jhannah]

Fantasmagorical!

[Aussie Gal]

Lisa,

I am so much enjoying your wonderful diary and the lovely photos. When we were on the Maasdam last July for the Transatlantic, we had the salmon added to the bottom of the menu each night. I thought it was because we were up in the Greenland/Iceland part of the world and salmon is a common dish up there.

Jennie

[sail7seas]

Salmon has been an 'always available' on all the menus of the ships we've sailed in the last year and a half or so. Veendam, Maasdam, Volendam, Zuiderdam, Ryndam.... I think that Lisa said something about several different sauces and I have not seen that on any of the Caribbean or Canada/New England menus.

We had the salmon bake on deck once each cruise on Maasdam at lunchtime and it was really delicious. I sent DH back to get me another piece. (I was embarrassed to be eating so much.!!!)

[sail7seas]

Lisa.....You REALLY did have me thinking Hmmm, maybe we might consider this Alaska cruise thing.

THEN you posted that picture of you on the bow, all that ice and snow and you look so COLD. forgedaboutit!!! No way. I have all the cold and ice and snow here in Boston I need each winter.

Nope.....back to NO WAY I'm traveling across the continent in order to freeze and have to bundle up in jackets, gloves, scarves in June or July.

But the pictures sure are beautiful to look at. Thank you for them.


How was Pinnacle? Did you get to the Cocktail Party with Captain Frans?

[Aussie Gal]

Sail,

I am sure we had the salmon offered to us on the menu with different ways of serving it. eg. different sauces. Also we had the Salmon Bake on our Transatlantic trip as well.

I am not a fan of salmon, so didn't take advantage of it whilst on board. We have Atlantic salmon farmed over here in Tasmania and it is a very popular fish and is readily available at a reasonable price.

Jennie

[arzz]

LAFFNVEGAS referred to the blue color of the ice and glacial water. This color, I have always believed, comes from the dissolved oxygen in glacial ice and snow. I know this theory has been argued -- but the blue color of the glacial ice is the same blue as that of pure liquid oxygen (as well as the sky) so I tend to lean in that direction.

[jlynnek]

You've taken some wonderful pictures, Lisa. I'm so excited...we will be on the Volendam in a couple of weeks. It's nice to hear that you liked the 8 hour excursion on the bus/Whitehorse train. I'm making mental note to sit on the right hand side on both bus and train.

I must say it does look cold there. How did you do with your packing? Is there anything you wish you packed and didn't? Or that you packed and aren't needing??

Looking forward to more posts and pics, of course.

[jhannah]

Glacial ice often appears blue when it has become very dense. Years of compression gradually make the ice denser over time, forcing out the tiny air pockets between crystals. When glacier ice becomes extremely dense, the ice absorbs all other colors in the spectrum and reflects primarily blue, which is what we see. When glacier ice is white, that usually means that there are many tiny air bubbles still in the ice.

[sail7seas]

Jennie.....


We have lots of salmon here at reasonable prices also and I eat it often. Most of what we get is farm raised. I love the wild and it is so much healthier.

I particularly enjoyed the Salmon Grill at the Pool because of the charcoal. We use a gas grill and the charcoal was such a good flavor.

I'll have to pay closer attention on Maasdam in August to see if they are offering us different styles/sauces with the salmon. Maybe they did last year and I don't remember it?

[Grumpy1]

Lisa.....You REALLY did have me thinking Hmmm, maybe we might consider this Alaska cruise thing.

THEN you posted that picture of you on the bow, all that ice and snow and you look so COLD. forgedaboutit!!! No way. I have all the cold and ice and snow here in Boston I need each winter.

Nope.....back to NO WAY I'm traveling across the continent in order to freeze and have to bundle up in jackets, gloves, scarves in June or July.

But the pictures sure are beautiful to look at. Thank you for them.


How was Pinnacle? Did you get to the Cocktail Party with Captain Frans?

We did an Alaska Cruise that started on August 9, 1997. That late in the season, there aren't as many whales around the ship, but we did see lots of them on the wildlife river tour that we took in Juneau. We never needed anything heavier than a light jacket or sweater while we were there. It was fantastic! Consider trying it later in the season... the weather really changes by July.

[Grumpy1]

Glacial ice often appears blue when it has become very dense. Years of compression gradually make the ice denser over time, forcing out the tiny air pockets between crystals. When glacier ice becomes extremely dense, the ice absorbs all other colors in the spectrum and reflects primarily blue, which is what we see. When glacier ice is white, that usually means that there are many tiny air bubbles still in the ice.

That was the explanation we were given, too. I recall our helicopter tour out of Juneau that landed on a glacier. We walked up to the edge of a crevasse that was hundreds of feet deep. The deeper down you looked, the more blue it was.

[arzz]

though a seemingly good explanation for the blue color of glacial ice is proposed by jhannah, I am not sure that I buy it entirely.

1 - the color you see for any object is the color of light that object reflects -- all other colors are absorbed -- that is a good explanation for the color of any object but it does not explain the reason that glacial ice is blue and not, for instance, pink -- it does nothing to pinpoint the source of the blue color

2 - I can easily understand that tiny pockets of air might scatter the incoming light (thus reflecting many colors, the sum of which makes white) and that might well be responsible for the white color of the snow (white being the sum of all colors in the visible spectrum) - snow is crystalline in nature and the sparkly nature of a crystal will reflect incoming light like a mirror -- again reflecting all colors

3 - BUT -- in Switzerland, specifically at Interlocken, there are mountain streams that come cascading down from the mountains and the glaciers on top of the mountains -- in the summer they run very fast (which means they are well aerated and would certainly have many small pockets of air in them) yet they are not white -- they are that distinct glacial blue color

Could it be that the compression of the glaciers doesn't completely force the air pockets out but, instead, forces them into a solid solution in the ice? -- air is about 80% nitrogen which is colorless, and 20% oxygen which is blue. This dissolved oxygen could then be responsible for the distinct blue color of both the glaciers and those glacial streams in Switzerland (which I will postulate have not yet had time for the dissolved oxygen to dissipate). I am only guessing here -- but I have seen pure liquid oxygen and it is that same blue color as the glaciers

[jhannah]

... there are mountain streams that come cascading down from the mountains and the glaciers on top of the mountains -- in the summer they run very fast (which means they are well aerated and would certainly have many small pockets of air in them) yet they are not white -- they are that distinct glacial blue color But streams are from melted ice. No longer dense crystals, but liquid.

[cruznon]

Oh, Lisa,
This Alaskan journey with you is fantastic! The photos are incredible. We board the Statendam in 43 days and your posts and photos are really causing the anticipation to zoom!
Thanks you again for being so generous to share your cruise with all of us!
Peggy

[arzz]

In answer to jhannah: The liquid, however, can contain dissolved oxygen -- just like a can of soda contains dissolved carbon dioxide -- after a while it will dissipate but if a lot of oxygen were forced into solution under the massive pressure that created the glaciers it will take a while to dissipate, just like the fizz in your Dr. Pepper will take several hours to disappear completely from an open can. My hypthesis is that in the glacial streams the dissolved oxygen has not yet had time to dissipate back into the atmosphere, thus the particularly notable blue color. This color is no longer present farther down stream in the rivers and lakes as the dissolved oxygen has left the liquid water by that time.

In the chem lab, when doing analyses where extreme accuracy is required, it is standard procedure to let prepared solutions sit for 24 to 48 hours before use to allow the small amounts of oxygen, (and other soluble gases) that dissolve during the stirring and shaking in the preparation process of these solutions, to dissipate so as not to skew the final results.

Again I am only guessing. And probably the only reason that I am obsessing on this is I have had too much time on my hands this week -- several days in the house waiting for deliveries and workmen. Of these the only "really important" day was Tuesday when DHL delivered our documents for our June Westerdam cruise to Alaska.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thursday Evening May 11th 2006

Good Evening from the Elegant MS Rrryndam,
We are coming close to another perfect day at sea. Although it still seems very strange to have the sun still so high in the sky at 8:30 at night. As you have probably gather Tom and I are not exactly party animals. We like a very relaxing early dinner, then end up retreating to our cabin by 8:30 unless there is a show we really want to see of if we are with friends that want to do something.

Tonight we went to the Pinnacle for dinner we had 6 PM reservations we got there a few minutes before and were seated right away. Service was actually very quick yet we did not feel rushed. They had our Champagne waiting for us. I had the Smoked Pleasures of the Seas and the Petite Filet, while Tom always skips the appetizers and went right for the Bone In Rib Eye. He had the Baked Alaska and I had the Volcano Cake. I have to admit I was disappointed in that. It was cold thru out and tasted dry on top and like they just took it our of the refrigerator. The steaks were really good and perfectly done for both of us but I have been getting more and more disappointed with the desserts. I actually would like to see a slight change with different variations in the menu at the Pinnacle.

After dinner we were able to make it up the the Crow’s Nest for the Cocktail Party it was very well attended and again got a chance to talk to Bobby the CD, Captain Consen and Mr. Muller.

BTW, Copper, were your ears burning? We were talking to Frans about you. He said to say “ Hi” It was a nice party but I was feeling way to stuffed from dinner to actually enjoy myself and could get far more comfortable back at our cabin.

Hard to believe there are only two days left and the big highlights are over. Today was really an amazing day with the weather being picture perfect.

For those not sure about an Alaskan Cruise you really need to try it. It is so very different than other cruises. It really makes you appreciate some of the beauty that this great big world has to offer.
Signing off from the Elegant MS Rrryndam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sail and everyone else, I can honestly say that while we looked like we were cold we were dressed warm enough and you are in such amazement you really never feel cold. We were up here a week later in May in 2004 so we pretty much knew what to pack. So far I can't think of a thing I wish I had or had too much of. I brought turtle neck sweaters and a lined water proof parka with a hood that is not overly heavy. We wanted to come up here again in May. They are saying spring is about 1 to 2 weeks late this year is it is unseasonably colder than normal. By June it will be much warmer but you will still need a bit warmer clothing for the Glaciers. Living in Las Vegas and temps currentlyin the high 90's we are enjoying the cold before we have to endure the heat.:D

[Cachecara]

Thank you so much for your wonderful live reviews and photos. I have been hoping to cruise Alaska for some time and strongly thinking of HAL, so this is very informative and enjoyable for me. It looks like you are having a wonderful time!! :D

[RuthC]

Lisa, I was off the board yesterday and missed your posts about your cruise. What a thrill catching up! Those pictures took my breath away.
You reminded me to add dog biscuits to the packing list.

I hope my grandgirl sees this thread; it will help her get even more excited about our cruise.

Thanks for taking us along on this wonderful ride.

[Copper10-8]

Lisa; keep up the great work and enjoy your remaining days on the elegant and beautiful M/S Rrrrrrrrryndam If you happen to run in to the capt. again, ask him about the "toren van Arnemuiden" (the tower of Armemuiden) in his hometown in the province Zeeland:)

[SaltwaterTwo]

Glacial ice often appears blue when it has become very dense. Years of compression gradually make the ice denser over time, forcing out the tiny air pockets between crystals. When glacier ice becomes extremely dense, the ice absorbs all other colors in the spectrum and reflects primarily blue, which is what we see. When glacier ice is white, that usually means that there are many tiny air bubbles still in the ice.


I was told on my last trip to Alaska that blue glacial ice is where Windex comes from.

[mildavis]

Tuesday Morning May 9th 2006

Good Morning from some where in the Inside Passage getting close to Juneau AK

I feel so much better today, last night I got a really good nights sleep, the movement we did have was the good stuff that rocks you to sleep J
The scenery is almost magical, and we are still seeing small gray whales spouting all over the place. We went to the Lido for breakfast and it was really good. While sitting their enjoying these really good round potato cakes with my eggs made perfectly over easy I marveled at how beautiful the mountains with the snow and clouds laying low were. For many years I considered myself a Tropical Island Girl but with this being our second trip to Alaska I cannot tell you how beautiful it really is. The air outside smells so fresh and yes, it is very cold about 44 degrees F but some how it is just not that bad.

The Ryndam looks to still be in great shape, we were last on her just s couple of weeks after she completed her Signature of Excellence but her staff has maintained her well. With a little reminding Frans did remember us and we just get such a big chuckle out of his personality.
This morning we went looking thru the pictures for the first time I noticed that they did not do up all the special pictures that have the dates or ship information on them. Instead they were just plain pictures. One of the pictures that was so very cute was of a couple holding a baby that looked to be about a year to 18 months and everyone is smiling especially Frans, the baby looking at Frans with his mouth wide open as if in shock. It was great J :D

Today we should arrive in Juneau about 2 PM and we will start our big day of the Mendenhall Glacier Tour and our Whale Watch Excursion. We had no problem adding on the Salmon Bake like HAL’s Excursion office told me. When we return from the Whale Excursion they said to just stay on the bus and they will take us to the Salmon Bake.

I am trying to upload some sampling of pictures to my Webshotsbut it takes so long on this connection.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrrryndam some where getting closer to Juneau.



PLEASE let me know how this excursion works out for you. My TA called HAL for me last week to ask if we could do this very thing and they said "no, we need to allow at least 45 minutes in between excursions". I guess this is the typical keep calling and you will get a different answer each time. Maybe we can book the salmon bake once we get on board. Have a GREAT time!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Friday May 12th 2006 aboard the Beautiful MS Ryndam in Ketchikan, AK

Good Afternoon, well this has been a very lazy day for Tom and Lisa. We slept in till about 8:30, got up and had breakfast in the Lido, then walked around the Lower Promenade outside deck, then got off and went into town to go thru some of the shops. You know that you have been to too many jewelry stores in too many different ports when you recognize sales people from other cities.:D Such was the case today when we saw two men that waited on us in Mazatlan in the Golden Zone that were now working here. Now even more shocking is Lisa did not buy a single thing.:eek: I honestly have so much very good jewelry that nothing really jumped out and said “BUY ME” Well, actually one ring was kind of calling me but on the other shoulder was a little angel saying you have two more cruises to pay for this year. In going up and down the streets of Ketchikan one might forget they were in Alaska with all the Jewelry stores. Of course the have Diamonds International and Tanzanite International. There are also lots of stores with lot so boxes of smoked salmon and what I call Alaskan Junk. You know all the knickknacks one buys because it is cute and you are having fun and just cannot live without. I guess with having been here before and have cruised so often recently I am becoming immune to all the touristy things.

There are 3 other ships that we can see in town with us today, Island Princess, NCL Star which has been following us pretty much the whole way and the MS Westerdam. It is always good to see another DAM ship in port. If I am not mistaken the Westerdam has the same ports and times as the Oosterdam but is just a day behind so we were not surprised to see her leave at just after 1 PM this afternoon.

Tonight is our Farewell Formal Night Dinner with the usual Surf and Turf, petite filet and a lobster tail. One item that actually looks a bit tempting is Baked Flounder filled with Salmon Mousse presented on a creamy sauce of spinach and bay shrimps, with fingerling potatoes. Another thing I noticed in the past they would usually list several items on the Dessert menu besides the Baked Alaska. Here have been occasions that I actually wanted one of the other items but in the end was served the Baked Alaska or I had to wait a while to get something else while everyone at the table was eating their dessert. This menu has no other dessert with the exception of a couple of sugar free items.

Sail, you mentioned something earlier about the Salmon being prepared differently. Yes they have two different way every night which was really different for us. Tonight’s two Salmon dishes are Grilled Salmon with Ginger-Cilantro Pesto. Golden grilled and served with a gingery macadamia nut pesto on watercress with tomato, bell pepper and new potatoes. The second Salmon dish is Pan Fired Salmon with Stir Fired Vegetables. Served atop sesame-seared asparagus, carrot, squash, and bell pepper with spicy lime and ginger mango sauce and wasabi mustard mashed potatoes.

Overall the weather has really been very good this week, it sprinkled ever so slightly this morning but for the most part it has been very sunny here in Ketchikan. Actually we have seen showers but never when we needed to be outside this whole week. We have to laugh it is actually quite nice outside tight now and I would guess the temps is probably in the low 60’s but the temperature listed on the television with information from the Bridge has been a consistent 46.4 ALL week. At first we did not think it was off but then when it got warmer and then when we knew it was probably much colder it never changed.

I guess that is all the new info I know for now.

Signing off from the Elegant and Beauiful MS Rrryndam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Of course as many of you that have followed our cruise reviews before know that it is not complete unless Tom find a hat from the native culture, well he found the perfect one today.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Of course it is always good to see two "DAM" ships together.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Last time we were in Ketchikan in May 2004 it was very warm and you could almost wear shorts. Today it was nice but definitely a bit cooler. Last time there definitely was no snow on the mountains above Ketchikan while today there is definitely plenty up high.

[Grumpy1]

I was told on my last trip to Alaska that blue glacial ice is where Windex comes from.
Actually, it's TidyBowl....

[sail7seas]

Your posts have been amazing, Lisa, and I've looked forward everyday to see what you have posted. Thank you so much.


The second Salmon dish is Pan Fired Salmon with Stir Fired Vegetables. Served atop sesame-seared asparagus, carrot, squash, and bell pepper with spicy lime and ginger mango sauce and wasabi mustard mashed potatoes.


That sounds soooo good. That's what I want for dinner!!!

Continue to enjoy your wonderful cruise. I seriously doubt anyone has had a better time than you and Tom.......and all of us along with you.

[jhannah]

Was Tom's "do" done by the onboard salon? I love the color! ;)

[RevNeal]

Lisa,

I've enjoyed following your Alaska Cruise! What a GREAT trip!
I AM sorry you're almost finished. These 7 day cruises go SO fast. :(

[Bucky3]

Love that Hat! Thanks for taking us along all the way. I feel like I've already had a week's cruise! Now I have a days inbetween before joining the Volendam for real! Wishing you safe travels home - please leave the sunny weather there for us! Bucky

[arzz]

SaltwaterTwo and Grumpy I -- you know I just do not know where my head is these days -- your guys are quite correct -- I just forgot

Northern Hemisphere glaciers are blue due to Windex and Southern Hemisphere glaciers are blue due to Tidy Bowl! Yep...That's it

[willowoodf]

Lisa,

You are making me cry! Our first cruise (just a little over a year ago) was on the Ryndam to Alaska and you are bringing back such great memories! I've really enjoyed your posts and your photos. What cabin are you in? We were in 10.

Mary

[Aussie Gal]

Lisa,

Once again thanks so much from someone who has yet to visit Alaska. I have loved your photos and your descriptions.

We look forward to meeting you both in September.

Jennie

[Himself]

Sure and you will be back in Vancouver on Sunday and then the Ryndam will begin its two week runs between VanCouver-Seward--Vancouver. I once did that and it was on the RYNDAM. That was back in 2001 before 9/11

[RevNeal]

Looking at the prices for the Alaska cruises, it almost looks like it would be nearly as cheap to cruise for 2 weeks -- one week north bound, then one week southbound -- than to just take a round trip out of Vancouver!

Perhaps I'll find the time to do 2 weeks b2b in Alaska in 2008. :cool: Sure wish I could do it next year, but NOT with the Noordam and January and Asia in April/May. :)

[Silverwing]

Many thanks for all your posts, Lisa. I have so enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing the photos. Please could you tell us which side of the ship you are on? We are planning to book a starboard (S) suite for our Alaska trip on the Ryndam leaving Vancouver on July 8th next year. (Still waiting for HAL to open their 2007 Alaska booking!) As I said earlier in this thread it will be our first cruise. Something tells me that we might just get hooked!

Cheryl in Chichester, England

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This is a delayed report since I was not able to access the internet last night.

Friday Evening May 12th 2006

It is so very sad to know that this cruise is coming very close to ending. It was a very nice last Formal night, so many were dressed up so very nice. To our surprise we have actually seen a lot of men in Tuxedos even White Dinner Jackets. There is actually far more dressed up then there was for our first Alaskan cruise in 2004. Tonight Tom wore his red bow tie and cumber bum and he looked quite dashing, then right before we left our cabin this evening Mario our Cabin Steward brought us our Mariner Invitations and our new red 50 day Mariner Pin. So the new red pin looked quite nice on his tux. We then stopped by the Neptune to say Hi to Tiffany who was relieving Tonie. Tonie is very sweet but we really like Tiffany because she was the first Concierge we had with HAL so she is very special for us.

Dinner was very nice with the Lobster Tails being quite large. They brought Tom our 2 more so I had ½ of one beside the one that came with my entrée. Our view was just spectacular during dinner with the sun fairly low and the sky had such beautiful pink streaks. After dinner we walked around a bit, ran in to Captain Consen again. John, I mentioned to him what you said and he said the Clock Towers? But he actually was more interested in telling us his idea of opening up a Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas so he could do weddings and sing. He is definitely quite the character. His announcement he made just before we left Ketchikan was great. You can certainly tell he is a Captain that enjoys his job and his crew love him. We then stopped by the Explorer’s Lounge for a drink. I think realized that it was very close to a beautiful sunset so we went back to our cabin to grab my better camera and took some beautiful sunset pictures. We then returned to walk around a bit more, stopped by the gift shop and picked up a Ryndam Coffee Mug (I am starting a collection fo the frosty white and gold ones) and we picked up two new Dam shirts that showed the Noordam on them.

Interesting in all the times we have cruised it has never been during a Full Moon. We always thought how romantic it would be. Well. We finally have one that is straight ahead and on the bow web cam you can see it reflecting on the ocean. We had been dressed for bed and I was writing this report and we decided to quickly get dressed and run up the forward stairs to the bow balcony going thru the spa. There are two other cruise ships off in the distance and the moon is huge. It is really beautiful but oh so windy and cold.

Tomorrow is the Suite Luncheon in the Crow’s Nest at Noon which is one of the things Tom really looks forward to all week. Interesting but the Mariner’s Reception will be held tomorrow night in two parts. The early seating will be at 5 PM and the late at 7:15. I don’t think we have ever attended on that was in the evening. I am guessing there are far more Mariner’s on board than I originally thought. I did see several gentlemen in the tuxes with their Mariner pins on. Several wearing the bronze and one had a gold pin on.

I guess I will sign off for tonight but I will post a few more pictures.
Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrryndam.


**Update since I wrote this last night**

Good Morning, the seas look extremely calm yet we are starting to rock and roll so it is those darn under currents. We slept in this morning since we knew it would be our last chance to do so with having to wake up early tomorrow then I will be back at work bright and early the next morning. When I checked our mail slot before running across the hall for coffee I noticed new invitations. One was for the usual invite to view the Cruise Video which BTW I am thrilled our TA gave us a gift of this which is really great. We also had a NEW invitation to the Mariner’s Reception it seems they changed the time. It is now being held at 11:00 AM which is the time I am accustom to. So it looks like we will go to that then head up to the Crow’s Nest for our Suite Lunch. The unfortunate part is this is the same time they are having the Salmon Bake. Oh well I enjoy the Suite Luncheon and have also enjoyed quite a bit of Salmon all week.
This will make you laugh Tom was reading daily program and read to me what it said “This is our home away from home and we live together in peace and harmony. Along with the many wonderful memories you will take with you of your Caribbean cruise adventure, we hope you also take the memory of our exceelt helpful and friendly crew living together as one peaceful and truly united nation.”
Tom’s comment was “Darn was this all a big dream and now we have to fly home from Florida” LOL:D

Well, I better sign off again so I can attempt to post and then get ready for our final day of our Alaskan cruise.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Rrryndam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Beautiful view while dining last night

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Last nights Alaskan sunset was amazing.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is yet another sunset picture

[LAFFNVEGAS]

And here is that moon shining so bright.

[middle-aged mom]

Lisa, I'm enjoying your reports so much, that I believe that I will be as sorry as you when your cruise ends.:( Have a lovely last day!

[Copper10-8]

Thanks Lisa (that clock tower is pretty famous) and have a safe trip home! I believe you said via LAX. No transportation needed, correct?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks Lisa (that clock tower is pretty famous) and have a safe trip home! I believe you said via LAX. No transportation needed, correct?

Oh John, you are so funny:D no transportation needed but will see you in Spetember;) Unless we see you sooner for the June Get Together.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday Afternoon May 13th 2006

Live from the MS Ryndam, sailing thru the Inside Passage:cool:

What an absolutely beautiful day aboard the MS Ryndam, it has been very sunny all day with actually very calm seas. I hate to see this day going by so quickly. The suite luncheon was nice but not near as extensive of offerings compared to previous cruises. I was really looking forward to deviled eggs:( There were actually numerous items I was use to eating at this function that was not offered this time. Also very limited staff working usually there is several from the Pinnacle serving it, they only had one person carving the tenderloin the rest was “help yourself” We did have an Orca whale decide to make an appearance on the port side and saw a little tail action. We also had the pleasure of having Bobby our Cruise Director sit down and dine with us. What a great guy, he really loves his job and is so enthusiastic. The Ryndam is very fortunate to have him.

The scenery this afternoon is so beautiful, many snow capped mountains off into the distance. It is just so tranquil and relaxing. It as actually started to warm up a bit.

The Mariner’s reception was not nearly as packed as I am use to. They said there were 280 Mariners on board. I personally thought the numbers are extremely low compared to the 1250 passenger capacity. There were just 3 getting the 100 day medallions and only 2 showed up. They definitely did not need two sessions for the Mariner party, so it was a good thing they changed it to this morning. There were definitely a lot that stood up that had between 7 - 25 days. Very few of us between 50 to 99 days.

I believe this will probably be my last post while still on the Ryndam unless something really exciting occurs. I know many of you have asked questions. I am sorry I have not answered but will try to answer once I can reread everything when we get home. I know it was asked out cabin number and which side of the ship we are on. We are in cabin 023 right across the hall from the Neptune on the Starboard side.

This has truly been a fantastic week, the weather was actually perfect even in Skagway the snow just brought out the beauty of riding the White Pass Railroad. I am so glad that so many of you could enjoy this cruise with us, it makes it that much more fun knowing I am in a way cruising with friends.
Of course this has been pretty much my review but I will be doing up my photo album for all to see very soon.:)

Signing off from somewhere in the Inside Passage on the Beautiful and Elegant MS Ryndam.

[jhannah]

I absolutely love sunsets at sea. Those are great pix, Lisa. Thanks for sharing them.

[RustaRoo]

Thank you, Lisa, so much for your wonderful posts and pictures! It brings back very fond memories of my trip last May to Alaska. I need to go again:D

[Gramsk]

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with all of us. I am so excited about our upcoming cruise in two weeks, that sleeping is getting really tough for me. I keep thinking of what you have seen and reviewing what I have and have not packed. Even though this is our second cruise to Alaska I am beside myself with anticipation. I also feel sadness knowing your cruise is coming to an end. I hope someone going out tomorrow will post like you did. I refuse to think about the end of our cruise. We are looking forward to more of your great pictures. have a safe return home.

Carnival Celebration, 1997
Carnival Sensation, 1998
Norwegian Sea, 1999
Norwegian Sky, 2000
Celebrity Summit, 2001
Celebrity Infinity, 2002
Holland America, Zaandam, 2003
Carnival Celebration, 2003
Carnival Ecstasy, 2004
Norweigen Sea, 2004
Carnival Ecstasy, 2004
Caribbean Princess, 2005
Holland America, Westerdam 2006

[cruznon]

LIsa,
The photos are wonderful. Thanks again for all your posts. I can hardly wait until it's our turn to see Alaska.
I agree with you about your CD, Bobby. He's terrific. (He was the CD on our Zuiderdam cruise last summer.)
Your cruise has passed so quickly for all of us--as for you. Enjoy your last evening aboard the beautiful Rrrryndam! Have a safe trip home.
Peggy

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday Evening May 13th

Well, it is our last few hours on board the MS Ryndam and I still have 15 minutes left of my last Internet Plan. We are packed and the luggage is out in the hall. Beings that we are going thru Vancouver we took advantage of the plan where you pay $20.00 per person (separate from airport transfers) that they take your luggage and send it thru customs for you. The next time we will see it will be when we get it in Las Vegas tomorrow night. To me it was well worth the money to have them take care of everything especially with going thru Customs. The only down side to this is we have to report to the Vemeer Showroom at 7:30 AM and probably wait for at least an hour or more instead of relaxing in our cabin or having breakfast in the Lido. Then our flight is not till 1:55 so I guess we can relax in the Vancouver airport.

Dinner was the usual last night menu, I can almost order with out even looking at a menu. Yes, Tom and I both got our traditional Parmesan Crusted Chicken. The scenery tonight was so beautiful as we were still traveling thru the Inside Passage. The little Islands and towns were so interesting. I also got another great sunset picture which I will show you once we get back home and I can upload all the pictures.

Needless to say this was another great cruise for Tom and I. This last evening is always so sad. The good thing is we know we only have to wait till September 24th till we can come back home to another “Dam” ship, then while that cruise is only 4 days the next will be 10 days on November 16th.

Again Thank You to all of you that traveled along with Tom and I.

[Ine]

Lisa, I loved to read your reports and of course the lovely photos.
It felt like travelling with you.

Welcome home again and start counting for the next cruise....

[Cachecara]

Thank you so much for taking time from your cruise to give us the play by play! The photos are fantastic/breathtaking!! I can't wait to go someday and you have sold me taking a HAL cruise sometime in my future. :D

[jhannah]

Welcome home to one hundred degrees! :)

[mozart1999]

Lisa :
Thank You for take us all the way with You, We dream a little all week.

[Taylor]

I have not been on the board for awhile so was surprised to read your comments as we were in cabin 023 on the Ryndam on her 4 day trip. We got off and you got our suite. What a great location it was to hop across to get our coffee and juice and snacks... we had a bit of cigarette smoke smell so hope it was all gone for you (we don't smoke). we had a great little trip.... so good we booked a trip to Alaska on July 22nd. on the Zuiderdam. We will then have sailed on all HAL class ships. and our 5th trip to Alaska.(It's all about the cruise, right?? and easy for us as leaving from Vancouver we don't have to fly.) I really enjoyed reading your postings. Thanks

[Bill S]

Great cruise log, Lisa! Welcome Home!

[SeaGypsy1]

Welcome home, Lisa and Tom. Thank you for taking us on this beautiful trip to Alaska. :)

[SailorKate]

Welcome home Lisa and Tom,

We just arrived back in Western New York having left Florida and travelling while you were crusing so I sat down this evening to read all of your wonderful daily letters and photos. We will sail on the Rrrrrryndam on July 16th for 15 days and I an now REALLY psyched! I can't wait! Thank you for taking the time to share our expeirences with us. It was really generous:-) Kathie and Charlie

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Everyone. we are finally home in HOT Las Vegas. The day was long but it went very well with the Express Immigration the ship offers. The only thing bad that happened (well actually 2) one is when we got home to try to unlock our luggage we could not unlock one of them. We have TSA locks on all of our luggage 3 pieces and either Canadian Immigration or US Customs removed the lock and replace with a good size better than average luggage lock. The problem is it is not one of our TSA locks nor is it even a TSA lock. I have tried everything possible to open it. Unfortunately we do not have bolt cutters to open it and we do not want to destroy our luggage. The other thing is Tom has seem to come down with either the flu or Norwalk virus that just hit him late last night. Luckily I still feel fine, just tired.

I have to be at work bright and early in the morning but some time later this week I will upload all my photos and give you all the link.

Thanks again for cruising with us this past week, it was a lot of fun.:D

[Silverwing]

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with us all, Lisa - much appreciated. It was me who asked which side your suite was as we're planning an Alaskan trip on the Ryndam next summer and hope to book a starboard suite too. It will be our first cruise, so I'm learning lots by reading all the interesting posts on here. Now looking forward to seeing more of your pictures later in the week.

Cheryl

[DonMaryCar]

Welcome Home Tom and Lisa

Made me feel like we were back on a HAL ship in Alaska. All good memories. Sorry to hear Tom is under the weather, hopefully he will be "ship shape" by later today. Did you guys eat anything at the airport. Loved your postings, thanks for taking the time to write.

Mary & Don:)

[jhannah]

That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard ... someone replacing your luggage lock! Geez! What are they thinking?

Sorry Tom is feeling puny. Hope he shakes it quickly.

[Scrumpy]

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with all of us! I really appreciate you taking the time to post. It's great that so many of us got to come along with you. It was generous of you to bring us! The photos were lovely, too and thanks for posting those. I hope the lock situation gets sorted and that your husband feels better soon!
Scrumpy