Live from the Westerdam

I was getting a bit tired of the CC 5 picture at a time upload, so I put a bunch of photos on my SmugMug site. Here's the link -

I didn't edit or have time to really look through the photos, just randomly picked out a bunch. Enjoy!

Great photos- thanks!!!!!

Fabulous fotos!! Thanks for sharing

Thank you for the great photos. May have to change our minds about taking an Alaskan cruise.

Thanks all, and sorry for the duplicate photos (and tons of photos of the seals, but they were cute).

I don't think I've said much about the entertainment on board. The shows in the Vista Lounge have been good (the entertainment is not why we sail HAL, not as good as some other cruise lines). The first night sampler/welcome aboard was OK. Best show in the Vista by far has been Recycled Percussion, a group of guys that were on America's Got Talent playing homemade drum kits. Reading that back, it doesn't sound so hot, but they were great! Check them out on YouTube. The comedian on Monday night wasn't my cup of tea. I judge comedians by whether they or I laughed more at their jokes, and I didn't laugh much. It was OK. Last night's show was All For Love, per the On Location guide, "An incredible concert showcasing some of the world's greatest love songs." Incredible might be taking it a bit far; it was good. The Westerdam singers and dancer ensemble did a very good job; better than most ships' singers and dancers we've seen.

We've also checked out the BB King band a couple of nights. They've been excellent (in a previous comment it may have sounded like I didn't like them; the band and singers are great, I was just a little surprised at some of the song selections. Piano Man Mike is a great talent, albeit a bit cheesy at times. The man is an extraordinary piano player and singer. There's a violin/piano duo (sorry, don't know their names) that are absolutely amazing.

The trivia games have been a lot of fun to fill in some time; Cruise Director Rick is funny and a great host.

Just pulled into Sitka. Really looking forward to the excursion planned for today - "Otters, raptors and bears, oh my!"

Later.

Enjoying your "live" thread. Thank you for sharing your cruise with us.

Thank you for your live postings and the photo sharing. We board on Saturday. It's great to hear about your week and get a glimpse of what we have to look forward to!!

What an amazing day in Sitka!!! The past two days have been absolutely incredible. More later.

Enjoy these photos, in honor of the great excursion we went on today - Otters, Raptors, and Bears, Oh My!

Hi Frank! Did you do the 8:00 am tour with all the whales?? If so, we were on that too! Who knows, we could have been standing right next to each other. Enjoying reading your reflections and perspectives... Sincerely, your non competing "live from Westerdam" poster.

Yes, I was on that one - I was the guy with the really big lens. I probably just missed hitting you with my monopod!

Enjoy these photos, in honor of the great excursion we went on today - Otters, Raptors, and Bears, Oh My!

That's a neat tour that I enjoyed very much.

Thanks for the pictures, especially the one of the otter. They are so cute!

What an amazing day in Sitka!!! The past two days have been absolutely incredible. More later.

 

Enjoy these photos, in honor of the great excursion we went on today - Otters, Raptors, and Bears, Oh My!

Those pictures are fantastic. I love the close up of the eagle. Our pictures of eagles were unfortunately really far away. Thanks so much for sharing!

Ok! Definitely saw you Frank! I was probably unnoticeable other than calling out wail sightings times on the top of the boat... That and saying "this is unbelievable" over and over again. [emoji2] now my DH had a cowboy/Indiana jones type of hat on that might have stood out... Lol.

Ok! Definitely saw you Frank! I was probably unnoticeable other than calling out wail sightings times on the top of the boat... That and saying "this is unbelievable" over and over again. [emoji2] now my DH had a cowboy/Indiana jones type of hat on that might have stood out... Lol.

Well then, we have to figure out a way to meet each other in the 2 days left! At least you now know what I look like!

Yesterday was a fantastic day in Sitka; in fact, the past two days have been amazing! It will be hard to top them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we did the Otters, Raptors and Bears, Oh My! excursion yesterday, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it! Based on the experience we had, and the continual comments from the tour operators on board the boat that took us out to see otters, harbor seals and humpback whales, I don't see how it could ever be any better. The boat crew kept commenting on how amazing a day it was and how they've never seen a much better day. First, the weather. It was a beautiful sunny day with light wispy clouds for the most part. The otters were extremely cooperative and playful. We were able to get very close to them. Next on to the harbor seals. There were dozens of them lazily sunning themselves on the rocks. It was hard to beat the cute otters, but the boat trip ended with a bang! So many humpback whale sightings!! At one point, we were almost completely surrounded by them. Unfortunately, I seemed to be on the wrong side of the boat for most of them, but got some decent photos anyway. Again, there were more comments from the crew about how amazing a day it was!

After we returned to the dock, we were met by our bus driver Danny to head over to the Raptor Center. The Raptor Center is a non-profit organization that cares for and provides medical treatment for raptors (birds of prey) and other birds. Another fantastic experience. We were led into the center and met up with our guide (sorry, forgot his name). He told us about the center and its mission. We then met Volta, a bald eagle that's one of the permanent residents of the center. (Most of the birds they care for are released into the wild, but some have injuries that don't allow them to be released.)

The last stop on our excursion was the Fortress of the Bear. It's another rescue center, with several bears kept and cared for in open enclosures. There's a platform and walkways over the enclosures, so you can get some great views of the bears in a natural looking environment.

After the bears, Danny too us back to the dock where the tenders back to the ship were located. We had some time to walk around the town (doesn't take too long!) before heading back. The town was nice and we spoke with some local residents. If you don't want to walk, there's a complimentary shuttle that does a pick up at the tender dock that will drive the short distance to the top of Lincoln Street (Sitka's main drag).

I haven't had time to post any more photos on my SmugMug site ( ); I'll try to do that before getting back home. A lot to go through - I took over 1,100 photos yesterday!

Well, I can see Ketchikan outside my stateroom window, so more later. Can't believe it will be over soon...

Thanks all, and sorry for the duplicate photos (and tons of photos of the seals, but they were cute).

 

I don't think I've said much about the entertainment on board. The shows in the Vista Lounge have been good (the entertainment is not why we sail HAL, not as good as some other cruise lines). The first night sampler/welcome aboard was OK. Best show in the Vista by far has been Recycled Percussion, a group of guys that were on America's Got Talent playing homemade drum kits. Reading that back, it doesn't sound so hot, but they were great! Check them out on YouTube. The comedian on Monday night wasn't my cup of tea. I judge comedians by whether they or I laughed more at their jokes, and I didn't laugh much. It was OK. Last night's show was All For Love, per the On Location guide, "An incredible concert showcasing some of the world's greatest love songs." Incredible might be taking it a bit far; it was good. The Westerdam singers and dancer ensemble did a very good job; better than most ships' singers and dancers we've seen.

 

We've also checked out the BB King band a couple of nights. They've been excellent (in a previous comment it may have sounded like I didn't like them; the band and singers are great, I was just a little surprised at some of the song selections. Piano Man Mike is a great talent, albeit a bit cheesy at times. The man is an extraordinary piano player and singer. There's a violin/piano duo (sorry, don't know their names) that are absolutely amazing.

 

The trivia games have been a lot of fun to fill in some time; Cruise Director Rick is funny and a great host.

 

Just pulled into Sitka. Really looking forward to the excursion planned for today - "Otters, raptors and bears, oh my!"

 

Later.

thank you for taking us along on your cruise! Happy to hear that Recycled Percussion is still there - saw them in May onboard and it was a great show!! Sailing the 12th, can't wait for it to get here :)

Thank you for continuing your reports and for sharing your fabulous photos.

After the great excursions we did in Juneau and Sitka, and the great day in Glacier Bay, we decided to take in Ketchikan and Victoria on our own. The town of Ketchikan is easy to walk and we did a self-guided tour starting at Creek Street based on a tour map we received at the visitor center. It was a nice leisurely day after the previous three days. Tons of salmon in the water.

The crew put on a great authentic Alaskan salmon bake around the pool on the Lido deck as we left Ketchikan. Fantastic job by HAL as always.

We arrived in Victoria at 6pm, and decided to hire a car for a private tour of the town. Very nicely done. We went through the park and got some great photos of the sunset nearby. We also visited Craigdarroch Castle, then drove downtown and through Chinatown (only a couple of blocks long!), and finally spent some time at the Inner Harbor and the Empress Hotel. Lots of activity as three ships were in town. Wish we had more time there, but we had to get back to the ship to finish packing. Can't believe it's almost over!

I didn't have time to post any more photos to my SmugMug site; there are just too many to go through, and Lightroom is a bit slow on my laptop. I'll clean up and post a complete set of pics sometime next week.

Thank you for your live from thread. If it is possible, it has made me even more excited for our upcoming cruise. Two weeks from today!

Debbie

Thanks for your reports and photos - it looks like you have a lovely day in Ketchikan. Awful getting back to reality, isn't it? Safe journey home.

thanks so much for your wonderful live reports :)

So nice when people take the time and the $ to do this.

It is very appreciated.

Many thanks and welcome home :)

Thanks for posting your review and so glad you had a wonderful time. Alaska is just fantastic and we didn't want our cruise to end.

We are hoping we get to go back for the third time. Thanks again!!! :)

After the great excursions we did in Juneau and Sitka, and the great day in Glacier Bay, we decided to take in Ketchikan and Victoria on our own. The town of Ketchikan is easy to walk and we did a self-guided tour starting at Creek Street based on a tour map we received at the visitor center. It was a nice leisurely day after the previous three days. Tons of salmon in the water.

 

The crew put on a great authentic Alaskan salmon bake around the pool on the Lido deck as we left Ketchikan. Fantastic job by HAL as always.

 

We arrived in Victoria at 6pm, and decided to hire a car for a private tour of the town. Very nicely done. We went through the park and got some great photos of the sunset nearby. We also visited Craigdarroch Castle, then drove downtown and through Chinatown (only a couple of blocks long!), and finally spent some time at the Inner Harbor and the Empress Hotel. Lots of activity as three ships were in town. Wish we had more time there, but we had to get back to the ship to finish packing. Can't believe it's almost over!

 

I didn't have time to post any more photos to my SmugMug site; there are just too many to go through, and Lightroom is a bit slow on my laptop. I'll clean up and post a complete set of pics sometime next week.

Glad you enjoyed your visit to our home town.

Did you know that Chinatown Victoria is the oldest Chinatwon in Canada? It may be small but there is alot of history.

Come back and visit us again :)

Rockfan2

Thanks for an amazing review. One quick question, did you tip the concierge in the lounge? Thanks! We are in a Neptune suite in two weeks! :-)

Thanks for an amazing review. One quick question, did you tip the concierge in the lounge? Thanks! We are in a Neptune suite in two weeks! :-)

Yes, we did. There are actually two of them. Frances and Verena were absolutely fantastic (along with the rest of the crew). We tipped each separately.