Dave’s Live from Amsterdam 14-day Alaska, August 24 – September 7, 2014

Hello CC’ers,

I’m back with another “Live From” blog, this time from MS Amsterdam on a 14-day round-trip Alaska cruise from Seattle. This is my first attempt at love-blogging since Harris became the Internet provider. I have read the reports on the service on board Amsterdam, and may be limited in what I can manage to post.

Here is our itinerary:

- 24 Aug., sail from Seattle at 4 p.m.;

- 25 Aug, at sea;

- 26 Aug, Ketchikan 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

- 27 Aug, Tracy Arm scenic cruising noon to 5 p.m.;

- 28 Aug, Juneau 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.;

- 29 Aug, Icy Strait Point 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.;

- 30 Aug, at sea;

- 31 Aug, Anchorage 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.;

- 1 Sep, Homer 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.;

- 2 Sep, Kodiak 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

- 3 Sep, Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising 2-6 p.m.;

- 4 Sep, Sitka 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

- 5 Sep, at sea;

- 6 Sep, Victoria BC 1-11 p.m.;

- 7 Sep, Return to Seaattle at 7 a.m.

Here is a map of our itinerary:

More later,

Dave

Pre-cruise

We arrived in Seattle on Friday, and spent Friday afternoon to Sunday morning with our sons and friends. We have lived in Seattle and visited often, so did not “see the sights.” However, visiting one son involved ferry rides to Bremerton and back on Saturday, so we were treated to the usual spectacular scenery on that route, and were lucky to have glorious weather.

We noticed that Westerdam was in port, berthed with a Princess ship at Pier 90:

An NCL ship was at Pier 66, as seen in this shot of the Seattle skyline taken from the ferry on the approach to the city:

More later,

Dave

Looking forward to another great Live report. Hope you have a fantastic cruise!!

Robert

We had to cancel our July 27, 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam. We will be eagerly looking forward to going along with you. Lots and lots of pictures please.

Embarkation Day, Aug. 24

This morning we walked to Pike Place Market to have breakfast at Lowell’s, which has excellent food, good views over Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, and opens at 7 a.m. daily. The day has started sunny and pleasant, with a bit of mist burning off the water.

We walked out to the elevator for the parking garage, where we were able to see around the buildings to Pier 90, and were gratified to see that Amsterdam was in port. So, we are here, the ship is here … now for the third thing: us on board Amsterdam.

When walking back, we noticed that the mist had risen a bit, and was shrouding the Space Needle, making for an interesting view:

Now, we are rechecking our packing, and getting ready to go. In about an hour or so, we’ll take a cab to the pier, and board.

My next post, Harris cooperation willing, will be from our cabin.

More later,

Dave

Looking forward to your Live reports Dave. They are always so good. Bon Voyage!

Have a great cruise....we did the 14 day twice, and it is the best of Alaska!:)

Karen

Love your live from threads. Have some bitterballen for me :D.

Thanks so much for doing a live report on your 14 day cruise!! We have yet to do Alaska...so I love all the reviews..and your reviews are always wonderful:)

Dave...I hope you and Mrs. "Mustang" have a wonderful cruise. I, too, love your "live from" reports!

ready to be with you on your voyage as you are so good at writing where you are,........have a great cruise

Dave:

It is a great cruise. I did it several years ago and I loved it.

Looking forward to your "Live From" reports. Hope the Internet has improved since we were on the Amsterdam in December (right after the switch) and again in May (when it still was not that great.) We board the Amsterdam the day you disembark so keep her bright and beautiful for us. Barbara

Dave,

Hope you and Kathy have a great cruise like we did in June. Looking forward to your excellent photos and commentary. We ordered sun today but no guarantee after today. We have had great warm weather here in he Northwest this summer.

Rick & joyce

Already enjoying your 'live' report, love your photo's, thanks for taking us along for the ride.:D We did this cruise several years ago and really enjoyed it.

Here is a sniped photo from the web cam over in the Elliot Bay small boat harbor taken at 1:45 pm PDT. Looks a little hazy there and sorry Mt. Rainer is not visable. I will snip another one later when the sun is in a better angle.

I'm eagerly following along. We have done two different Alaska cruises and are planning to do another on HAL in 2016.

Embarkation Day, Aug. 24 (Cont.)

We took a cab from the hotel to the pier, and quickly dropped our bags inside the terminal at the drop-off point, and then went up to check in. The 5-star and 4-start area had no line, and we filled out our health questionnaire and got our ship cards quickly. We waited about 20 minutes before being called to board. First called were 5-stars, followed by 4-stars; mobility challenged people were led out a side door closer to the gangway.

We went to our rooms, unloaded our carryons and explored the ship a bit before coming back to check on our bags. We found they both had arrived, so while DW unpacks, I am editing photos and registering for the Internet.

Attached are the cover of our Explorer booklet:

And the On Location pages for today:

Amsterdam is an elegant ship and appears to be in great shape. We look forward to getting to know her over the next two weeks.

More later,

Dave

Thanks for taking the time to do this review. I'm already enjoying it and looking forward to seeing more.

Oooo!! Great!! Thank you, thank you!! Love your live reports and the photos are super! What a treat!!!

Is RuthC on this one? And Aloha Pride? What a group you guys will be!!

Hope you see them all and say "hi" for all of us here on CC.

Enjoy your cruise

Tell Diane Fast hi for me -she is great!

Great, look forward to your report!

Dave, when we did our b2b in '09, RuthC and AloahPride were on the "Good Nuts" cruise with us. When they disembarked, you boarded for the "Voyage of the Pink Flamingos" (don't know how I remember all this!).

Please say hello to Ruth and to Mary ("AloahaPride"), Keaka, and their 3 little girls for me!

subscribing to ur review

Looking forward to your "Live" report.

We have done that itinerary twice -- it is a great one.