Crew News

Day 05 Anchorage The weather in Anchorage was raining and with no booked excursions for me so I opted to remain aboard and update menus, interview crew members, and take photographs of the ship. The cookies situation has deteriorated with their hardness nearing that of the Koningsdam cookies last week. To be fair, I tried all the different cookies and had to wait for the Late Snack to find the chocolate chip cookies. It is self evident that the recipe has not changed but the baking time has. I strongly recommend a dipping beverage to make the cookies chewable. Dinner at 5:00 PM in the MDR was completed in one hour which is my personal standard for a solo, table for two. It took ten minutes for my order to be taken in a nearly full dining room but food delivery was swift. It was a great finish. My record service remains 43 minutes on the Eurodam last February. On the beverage menu side, there are no changes to the basic menus but new inserts for Alaska have been added to some menus. I have posted many so far with a few more to check. There are Alaska canned beers available and I will post a list as soon as I review my photos. The new Morimoto Restaurant is very modern and brightly lighted in contrast to the Tamarind just a few feet away. The dinner menu on the Nieuw Amsterdam is more extensive than the pop-up versions on all of the other HAL ships. Both menus have been posted to compare. The Morimoto Beverages are the same on all HAL ships. The Tamarind Bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam does not include appetizers. Next stop Kodiak.

Biggest changes that I have noticed include the new Morimoto (replaced half of Tamarind), new hand washing sinks in Lido Market, lift chairs for indoor pool/hot tubs, and updated library. I will ask if other big changes.

Only half on Nieuw Amsterdam but probably all on "Morimoto Night" on other ships.

Seward was an add-on from the initial itinerary with only a few excursion options with photo opportunities. My last pass through Seward was enroute to Denali and no stops in the Seward vicinity. The weather in the northern Pacific Ocean is always bumpy in the Spring so I did not have high expectations. The fog and rain definitely detracted from photo opportunities but does give me a Photoshop challenge to make the photos somewhat presentable. It is my experience that Alaska has much better wildlife viewing opportunities in other ports.

As requested: Morimoto Sushi 2024 Morimoto By Sea Pop-up (All ships except Nieuw Amsterdam) 2024 Morimoto By Sea - (Only Nieuw Amsterdam) 2024

No smoking in the Nieuw Amsterdam Casino but other ships Casinos may have a small area for smoking. There are two Morimoto menus. One for the Nieuw Amsterdam and another for the rest of the HAL fleet (pop-up). I will have both posted soon.

My stateroom, VS6214, last summer on the Volendam, had extra outlets where the TV used to be in addition to what is above the desktop..

I have had these for my last three cruises and finally discovered them in my emergency kit. What a game changer!! It is remarkable how many hings can be hung on the ship walls.

My desktop photo as promised with Amazon links to some items shown below: Magnetic Hooks https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085DKDDT1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Power Strip (no surge protection) - far left with charging block (not listed below) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08119B7WN/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Outlet Extender - There is European version if needed. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BHYP9GBQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Foldable Charger - for phone , earbuds, and smartwatch https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJZFQZF7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 As posted, truly a cord maze but the maze is not covering my desktop

20 minutes is usually the standard for surrendering your table to those with "anytime" dining on Holland America..

This was indeed a HAL tour and I tend to stick with HAL tours for their feeling of security that does not require dealing with insurance companies in case of injuries, Seward is not a popular travel destination and tours with photography opportunities were not available. I did see a few private tours online but none attracted me.

5:00 PM

Day 04 Seward An early excursion departure at 7:30 AM necessitated an early rising and Room Service breakfast. The Room Service breakfast card states deliver "around" and in the last two weeks, that is typically 25 minutes early, and as a solo usually while I am in the bathroom. I have searched for the "guest is in the bathroom" sensor that causes both Room Service and Laundry deliverers to know when to knock on my door. There are more days left for me find the sensor and I am determined to prove that bathroom interruptions are not just happenstance. With the weather forecast of 39 degrees and rain couple with my intention of spending much of my time outside, all of my cold weather clothing found its way from my closet to my body. Many passengers were already lined up awaiting boarding the excursions buses after walking through the Seward Cruise Terminal (large warehouse). I watched as guests were loaded into buses without considering the number of seats. At least one bus had passengers disembarking when seats were no longer available and waiting for the next bus to be positioned. When the bus doors closed, the driver announced that the excursion boat was only a short walk away but buses were used so that guests would not "get lost" enroute. My Kenai Fjords National Park excursion boat held 200 guests, all potential competitors for rail space to take photos. I chose a seat closest to the door to enable a quick move to the door when photo ops were available. The next row of seat were for those with disabilities and provided great viewing next to a large window. For the duration of the excursion, boat staff had to go outside to move photo takers from blocking the view of those unable to go outside. The boat had three "heads" with finicky door locks that caused some surprises for their occupants who had not adequately secured the doors. A whale was spotted just outside the harbor and my seat next to the door gave me an ideal location to take photos. During the excursion, I captured photos of eagles, kittiwakes, sea lions, mountain goats, some very rugged scenery. The chicken burrito lunch was a flop in my opinion but the chips with salsa were quite good. A downside of the excursion was traveling in the Pacific Ocean and the very rough water. Boat personnel moved throughout distributing vomit bags. The return trip at 30 knots in rough ocean waters included hard bounces and jerks with more bags being distributed. This six -hour excursion with a lot of ocean travel time is not near the top of my favorite excursions list. Buses again transported most passengers the short walking distance back to the cruise terminal. I rushed from the Seward terminal to the ship as a cold rain, with a hint of sleet, began. My evening Canaletto dinner was again in a restaurant less than half filled. My server, Amelia, remembered me from last year and the lack of customers allowed a long conversation with her. The Burrata salad was fresh and the Ossobuco excellent. Amelia's broad smile was good to see as I demonstrated my Ossobuco tenderness test by gently pulling meat away from the bone with my fork. The same test I performed on the Koningsdam last week was a big failure and required knife intervention. The pistachio gelato was a big plus for me. It must be noted that the Canaletto Manager visited each table of diners more than once. I learned that the Canaletto kids menu featuring lasagna was in the works. I will be returning to the Canaletto two more times. Next stop Anchorage.

Here is the promised photo:

Thanks for your input. I now know that both Alaska North and Southbound days are different from what I was led to believe. In the aforementioned instances, Dressy Nights may be moved to intersect with sea days and early port departure days while the other MDR menus remain in the same sequence.