Grand Alaska and Panama

Thank you for the comparison Roy. I believe you have linked to a locomotive instead of the steam clock in Gastown.

You're right. With wordpress I can give a file a quick name and I know the rest of the link. The problem comes up when I give the same name to 2 photos. I don;t get an error message but it adds a 1 to the second photo. The correct link is here:

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/steam1.jpg

The Volendam has arrived. I had taken my brother's room key so I didn't want to stay long but just caught her arriving:

Roy

Great scenery pics Roy. :)

And thanks for the train comparison, too.

Nice that you have connected with your brother. I hope the two of you have a fantastic time on your cruise :D

Good morning Roy,

Had my coffee and enjoyed the blog. Liked the comparison of The Canadian vs Amtrak. WOW what a great treat that you have your brother to enjoy Alaska with. Looking forward to your trip, and send a pic of the 2 of you too! Like I said will enjoy pics of Volendam.

Take care,

Denise 😊

We have had our picture taken many times in front of the steam clock.

Looks like a beautiful day in Vancouver.

Onboard, lunch in the dining room, bags arrived. Luggage dropoff was a real zoo; a LOT of walking for checkin, but once at the checkin counter the rest of boarding was really easy.

There is a price break on internet. Main plan is $25 per day or $45 for 3-day.

That's all for now.

Roy

Glad your onboard and luggage arrived👍 I know how it is with luggage! It sure can be a ZOO.

Relax and blog more later😉

Take care Roy

Denise :)

Thanks for checking in Roy.

Glad you are on the ship and luggage is there.

Off on the next adventure! How exciting.

Hello Roy,

Pleased to know that you and your brother are on board the Volendam.

Pleased that your luggage arrived safely.

The Vancouver steam clock is always interesting to see, thanks for the photo, and the photo of the Volendam.

Wishing you and your brother a very enjoyable time on the Volendam.

Thank you everyone.

Day Y4C-1, Wednesday, July 18, Board MS Volendam, Vancouver

Despite sleeping till about 5:45 when I looked at Marine Traffic the Volendam was still outside the Lions Gate Bridge. I hustled down to Canada Place to try to get a look at my ship’s arrival. She was further away than I thought and it was 6:15 when I saw movement behind Stanley Park’s trees. When the ship came into the clear I realized it was not the Volendam but the Coral Princess.

I discovered that I had brought all the hotel keys with me and did not want to leave Roger stranded after the breakfast room’s 7AM opening. The Disney Wonder came next and I was about to give up when the Volendam came into view about 6:45. I didn’t stay for the docking but at least got a good look at her arriving.

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Breakfast was oatmeal for me and mostly oatmeal for Roger. We made one brief foray to the drug store to get gatoraid for Roger and then headed off to Canada Place with our checked bags around 10.

I don’t remember embarkation at Canada Place being this bad; maybe it’s because there are 3 ships with the Coral Princess and Wonder being much bigger than we are. Baggage dropoff was especially bad with virtually no signage. Our dropoff point was the lowest level of the parking garage with just one small elevator leading down to the porters and a long line waiting to use it.

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Once we dropped the bags off it was up another elevator and the route took us out to the convention center and onto the Canada Place walking deck. Our round trip with the bags was just under an hour.

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We checked out of the hotel just after 11 and walked along the dockside walkway to the checkin area which was in the convention center. There were no checkin lines but each cruise line had one huge convention hall where we had to walk across the building to get to the checkin counters, then along three conference halls and across the 4th to the outside and down the escalators to US Immigration and security before finally heading on to the ship. Despite the long walks we were on board about 11:45.

We were among the first in the dining room for lunch with Roger getting the salmon and me the Tandori Chicken. We both finished up with ice cream.

Our bags had arrived when we returned from lunch and at least I only unpacked about half my stuff for the 3 day cruise.

The Neptune suite is quite spacious with a nice sitting area. A little “powder room” area between the bath and the bed area gives a second sink.

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Holland America seems to have switched from “by the minute” to unlimited internet internet on most ships. I was a bit concerned about the daily price but there is a nice discount when purchased for an entire cruise, even on 3-day cruises.

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The 3-stage muster started at 3:30 with the general alarm sounded at 3:45. We are in lifeboat 14. Soon after the drill the Disney Wonder, which had been docked immediately behind us, left.

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We let go all lines and set off at 4:30, passing under the Lions Gate Bridge at 4:45.

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We are first seating at table 31 on the aft starboard corner of the upper dining room. It’s a 6-top but we were the only ones present the first evening. I had the turkey scaloppini and Alaska tart for desert.

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EXC Guide Barbara had a talk on wildlife on the Main Stage at 7. After her presentation I popped in the Neptune Lounge and Captain Turner was there. I’ve sailed with him once before on the Zaandam and we compared notes a bit about Shanghai. He was on the Volendam while I was there on the Amsterdam and we were both held there long past the time we were due to leave. When I leave the Volendam I will have 35 days with Captain Turner, more than any other active HAL Captain.

We had the normal welcome aboard show at 9:30 with the introduction of most of the ship’s entertainers and presenters. The piano bar entertainer is Lee Streebeck. I can’t remember where I’ve sailed with him before but he was a familiar face.

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As a parting shot, while very short this will be something of a cruise of farewells. Venerable EXC guide Barbara has sailed her last World Cruise and will be retiring later this year. Captain Turner is on his penultimate contract and will conclude his career at sea in about 6 months. Best wishes to both for a great retirement.

Roy

SMOOTH SAILINGS AHEAD!

Roy what a delight enjoying your Neptune suite with your brother! Nice picture of room and him.

The pic you took on embarkation looks like a bunch of cattle moving through, Ive been there done that too many times.

Nice picture of Volendam coming into port.

Looking forward to your early morning walks and sunrise’s.

Finished my morning coffee off for my walk!

Look forward to more.

Take care Roy

Denise 😊

People have been reporting that things are like a zoo at Canada Place.

Great report along with great pictures.

The Volendam cabin looks exactly as when we sailed on her. TV still on the counter top. Same Black sofa.

We have sailed with Captain quite a few times on the Zuiderdam.

Roy,

Has the bath been removed from the Neptune Suite bathroom?

Have you had breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill?

Enjoy your Neptune Suite, Roy.

Interesting on the internet package. Nice to see there is a 'deal' for the entire cruise - even a short one.

How nice that you have one more sailing with Exec Barbara & Captain Turner. They will be missed but hopefully they both have happy and healthy retirements.

Loved the Volendam arrival pic! It brought a smile too my face. Happy sailing!

Day Y4C-2, Thursday, July 19, Inside Passage

I did not set an alarm but a fire type alarm went off at 5AM. I never heard anything about what caused it. We were probably right around the northern tip of Vancouver Island. It was a bit on the chilly side but I was ok to walk with just my gortex jacket. I think it got colder later in the day although it may have just been that the lower promenade deck is sheltered a bit from headwinds.

There is something on the Volendam I don’t think I have seen on a HAL ship before. At least on the upper decks at each elevator landing the carpet has a big picture of a ship pointing forward. A nice way to get oriented leaving the elevators.

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I walked about 3 miles (10 laps) on the lower promenade deck. Sunrise was much later than I expected and was officially about 5:45 but actually appeared above low lying clouds about 6.

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One of the perks of a Neptune Suite is breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. It was nice but I really wouldn’t spend the money for that. I did spring for our embarkation photo.

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I met in the morning with Jessica, the future cruise consultant. In 2020 the Koningsdam will spend the summer. It cannot go through the Panama Canal and will do a cruise around South America in April. I will not be able to go then but would be interested in the return trip at the end of the season. Sometimes they will offer a “future cruise request” to reserve a planned but not announced cruise, usually done for Grand Voyages. Apparently it can happen with other voyages but must be loaded into the system for it to be on request. That has not been done.

Either the weather became cooler after my walk or the bow of the ship gave some wind protection but by late morning the open decks were pretty chilly and a number of people were standing wrapped in blankets.

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We ate lunch on the aft pool deck. There are a few covered tables which were ok with a couple of layers of clothing. Roger had fruit and a sandwich while I had mostly pizza.

In the afternoon Jessica had her talk on future itineraries. I did not learn anything really new but did win one of the door prizes, a scrapbooking set. Unfortunately I decided not to carry it around with me for the next 40 days.

That was followed by Barbara’s talk on our upcoming ports. While I leave the Volendam in Skagway I will be visiting all the ports in the next couple of weeks on the Westerdam.

On the 3-day cruise there is one Gala Night. The menu was quite nice with steak for Roger and Rack of Lamb for me.

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Captain Turner’s Welcome Toast was held before the first show with introduction of the senior officers as well as the employee of the month, a member of the engine room staff. The show was “Rock Legends” which I thought was a little too loud.

After the show I stopped briefly at the piano bar where Lee Strubeck was doing a Rat Pack set. We gain an hour overnight in preparation for our Arrival in Alaska.

My parting shot is a sad story from the news that hits home with me. A scout leader (unidentified) lost his life rescuing one of his scouts from an accident in an instructional swim. That’s definitely NOT how it’s supposed to happen. Most leaders are parents and the man almost certainly left a young family behind. May the man rest in peace and may his survivors find healing.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/planner.pdf

Roy

Thank you Denise, Krazy Kruizers, Kazu, Erewhon, and Miss G. Yes, the Neptune Suite still has the tub. I will soon be sending photos to “that site”.

While I will only be on the ship for 3 days I have posted a 7-day “cruise planner” along with staff bios. Cruise Director Thomas Weber is new to Holland America.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/planner.pdf

Roy

Great embarkation pic, Roy.

How sad on the scout leader. :(. So sorry to hear this.

Roy,

We had those directional ships on NA after her December drydock. I did mention them in the the thread about what was new after NA's drydock, with also included the removal of the Atrium staircase on first 3 decks, which I did not really notice because of the huge Christmas display in that same area.

I wonder if some of the missed new carpeting on Zaandam was this directional ship motif?

Carole

Great embarkation picture. We haven't had our picture taken on embarkation day in about 15 years.

Dinner looked good.

Sorry you got bad news from home with a man losing his life trying to save someone.

Hi Roy,

I met Captain Turner on my Zaandam cruise and really enjoyed him and his knowledge. He did the noon ships horn (toot) followed by his noon report very much on time. Will he still be on the Volendam Sep 26 for its return trip back to Ft Lauderdale?

Met Barbara on the Maasdam on my first longer cruise in 2009 and thought she was also very good.

Enjoy your brief time on Volendam.

Rob

Dear Roy,

I am soooo sorry to hear such sad news. My prayers to the family.

Now my friend that is a great pic of you and Roger!

The famous sunrise 🌅 pic! I love your morning walks and your traditional sunrises you take!

What a nice addition with the carpeted rugs with the ship as you exit the elevator!

THANKYOU as always for your time you put into these great blogs👍

Denise 😊

Thanks for your reply Roy.

Great embarkation photo of you and your brother.

So sorry to read of the scout leader loosing his life.

Following this thread. We got off the Coral Princess in Vancouver the same day you boarded the Volendam (7/18). We will be back in Vancouver to board the Volendam on 8/8 to do what I think is the same sea/land tour you’re on. Our northbound sea (3 days) plus land (9 days) will be followed by a 7-day SB from Seward back to Vancouver. Thanks for the posts!!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you all.

Day Y4C-3 (Part 1), Friday, July 20, Entering Tracy Arm

I woke about 4:30 and headed up to the lido for coffee. The sun was just coming up and I walked about 1 ½ miles on the lower promenade deck. After about 2 laps the sun, which had fallen behind a mountain appeared again, making a better sunrise than what I saw through the pool deck windows.

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When I rose we were near the South end of Stevens Passage and sailed for a few hours in a fairly narrow channel with many of the mountain tops we passed snow covered.

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We paused near Hokham Bay to rendezvous with a small tour boat, St, Phillip, and a number of us got off. The boat had a completely enclosed cabin on the lower level with a snack bar (free coffee and donut holes and other items for purchase), and a smaller cabin on the second deck enclosed in the front and sides as well as an open deck area.

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Almost immediately after separating from the Volendam we had our first view of a distant glacier, Sumdum Glacier.

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As we crossed the Tracy Arm Bar we got our last glimpse of the Volendam as she continued up Stevens Passage while we entered Tracy Arm.

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Just a couple minutes later we got our first wildlife sighting, a bear walking along the shore.

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The entire trip up Tracy Arm (about 20 miles) was quite scenic with steep valleys and lovely waterfalls.

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Our guide pointed out one of the valleys cut by a glacier many years ago. Glacial valleys are rounded U-shaped while valleys cut by rivers are V-shaped.

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A little before the head of the fjord Captain Dave announced that he had just seen a humpback whale dive. I didn’t see it but he waited and it came back up after about 5 minutes. I missed that one but the 3rd time it surfaced I got some pretty good looks and a couple of not quite perfectly timed photos with the blow and some of the back.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/whale.jpg

More tomorrow (I hope)

Roy