Westerdam Alaska Family Adventure

[brazilgirl]

 

More desserts

[brazilgirl]

 

Last formal night

[brazilgirl]

[sportsmum]

Oh you devil! This makes tonight dinner soooo lame!

 

If I could say Thank you in Portuguese I would. Unfortunately my Gramma had a wicked sense of humour and taught us all one phrase in every language she could. So to you I say, in English for everyone else:

 

When the grasshopper f*rts, the ants all run away.

 

Said in any language - does not get you anywhere near a ladies restroom.

[Lizzie68]

Oh you devil! This makes tonight dinner soooo lame!

 

If I could say Thank you in Portuguese I would. Unfortunately my Gramma had a wicked sense of humour and taught us all one phrase in every language she could. So to you I say, in English for everyone else:

 

When the grasshopper f*rts, the ants all run away.

 

Said in any language - does not get you anywhere near a ladies restroom.

 

 

Loving your photos and review! Thanks so much for taking the time.:)

[brazilgirl]

Thanks ( in Portuguese " Obrigada" ). Watching Brazil getting romped [emoji30][emoji30] will post more soon.

[brazilgirl]

Well , Brazil got tromped. Such is the world of sports. Germany has the best team.

 

Some comments on the Neptune Suite experience. There are two " heated threads " about Suites and snobbery etc.

 

I have traveled in inside cabins , balcony cabins , Family Verandas ( my favorites are Celebrity's aft corner FOV - the balconies are hugggggge and my family of 5 can fit in one. The balconoes are better than the SA suites on HAL in my humble opinion.)

 

We travel in economy on planes and when I find great deals , we do business class ( very recent development). We are tending towards traveling about less and having more comfort when we travel. We are not retired and our daughter is doing college entrance exams , so time is an important issue. We pay everything up front and only do what we can afford to do at the time.

 

We plan way ahead of time and every month , we pay for the hotel , the rental car , the cruise , so it is evenly dividided. It works for us.

 

That said , we booked the suite last year so we could select the location of balcony and get a stateroom next to my friend's so we could open the divider on our balconies.

 

I loved the Neptune Suite and would book it again in a blink of an eye.

 

I loved the laundry service , which for our family was an excellent deal.

 

I loved the whirlpool bath and bath salts. So relaxing.

 

I loved the big bathroom and the dressing area and the extensive closet space.

 

I loved the loungers and table on our balcony , especially for a scenic route like Alaska.

 

I loved the Neptune lounge. A lovely staff and so nice to be able to get plates of snacks for our balcony scenic viewing. I like a lighter breakfasts and the fare was perfect for me . It was fantastic not having to look for a table in the lido or wait in line.

 

 

 

 

Here is a letter we received upon arrival in our stateroom. Overall , having so much space and light was very , very nice. A big thumbs up for the Neptune Suite!

[AlohaPride]

Oh you devil! This makes tonight dinner soooo lame!

 

If I could say Thank you in Portuguese I would. Unfortunately my Gramma had a wicked sense of humour and taught us all one phrase in every language she could. So to you I say, in English for everyone else:

 

When the grasshopper f*rts, the ants all run away.

 

Said in any language - does not get you anywhere near a ladies restroom.

Hilarious!!!

 

Thanks for the pictures and review, Brazilgirl!

Edited July 9, 2014 by AlohaPride

[brazilgirl]

June 23rd - Juneau

 

It was a cloudy , slightly drizzly day . Unbeknownst to us there had been a 7.9 earthquake in Alaska and a tsunami alert in some areas. So glad I didn't know as I have a weird fear of tsunami.

 

We arrived at 1:00 and had a whale watching tour with Captain Larry of Orca tours which would leave at 3:00 . We needed to be at their offices , just in front of where we docked , at 2:15.

 

It was a very nice tour. We had 3 whale sightings ( humpbacks) , one of which was quite near and exciting. We learned a lot about whales and they served hot chocolate and smoked salmon , crackers and cheese.

We saw bald eagles and sea lions as well . I can recommend this tour!

 

 

Juneau

 

 

 

Landscape

 

 

Bald eagle and sea lions

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review.

Love your pictures.

[brazilgirl]

June 24 Glacier Bay

 

We were really looking to the wonders of this National Park. I headed out to the bow of Deck 4 before the suggested time to view Hubbard Glacier. The entry to the park had been watched from our balcony. But I hadn't been terribly impressed , as there was a lot of fog.

 

We stood out on the bow for a long time. Quite chilly and very foggy. The ranger came out to talk about Hubbard Glacier...... But nobody could even see the outline of the darn thing as it was covered in pea soup fog.

 

The ranger seemed quite worried. He said twice in 8 yrs of doing cruise talks had they not been able to see Hubbard. We waited. Nothing.

 

Here's the group on the bow

 

Then suddenly a faint portion of the Glacier peeked out and soon its full glory was evident.

[brazilgirl]

 

The ice

[brazilgirl]

 

The Glacier

 

The bow

[brazilgirl]

Pictures of Glacier Bay from the balcony our

 

[brazilgirl]

 

I loved sitting on the balcony and watching the scenery

[brazilgirl]

The Neptune Lounge

 

I posted these photos in another thread , but as I had planned to include the in the review , here they are.

 

As mentioned , I really enjoyed the Neptune Lounge. I loved the snacks ( first ever gained weight on a cruise , dangerous!) and loved the light breakfast and convinience.

 

Obviously , the snacks are not worth paying a huge price for... The location , spacious stateroom , balcony , laundry ... All of those make the SA suites pricier. But the NL is certainly a plus as well.

 

Afternoon nibbles

 

Sweets

 

 

Morning pastries

 

Breakfast options

[PathfinderEss]

I knew your reporting would be wonderful, and what beautiful photo's. Thanks, I almost feel like I'm there.

Edited July 9, 2014 by PathfinderEss

[brazilgirl]

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me!

[brazilgirl]

Sitka , Alaska

 

Oh , Sitka! This is such an amazing place . My favorite port on this itinerary. While Alaska is new to me , I would say Sitka and Galcier Bay are musts on an Alaska Itinerary.

 

We had booked a private boat with Paul Gallant to tour Sitka by water. Only six could be on the boat , so my sister and the smaller boys went to the Raptor Center and Science Center , both of which they liked .

 

 

Our trip started our early at 7:30 am. We tendered out and were met by him at the dock. He has a small but comfortable vessel and he is very personable.

 

This was an incredible excursion. I cannot say enough about it. We saw otters , eagles , deer , and had the most incredible whale encounter. The whale breached and slapped its tail next to us for a lifetime....it literally " conversed " with us! I got so excited that I took a bad tumble in the boat trying to take photos and banged my finger up pretty badly. I still have bruises! But I wouldn't change it for anything! Just glad I didn't fall into the ocean.

 

 

Otter

 

Whale Tail

 

dorsal

 

Lighthouse

[brazilgirl]

 

Sitka

 

 

Seaplane and boat

 

starfish

 

 

Sitka's Archipelago

[brazilgirl]

After we left our boat tour ( at 11 ) , we explored the city and had a chance encounter with a mush dog at the visitor center.

 

Funny tourist picture , but the kids loved it!

 

 

The Russian Church

 

 

Totem Pole

 

History

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report with great pictures.

Sitka is also one of our favorite ports.

[brazilgirl]

 

My sister and I with the Westerdam in Sitka

 

 

Sitka's flowers

 

 

While waiting for tenders , local entertainment

 

 

Local kids making some pocket money

[brazilgirl]

Some comments about the Westerdam :

 

Service : good in general. The dining staff really need to get the open dining together for bigger groups. It is not ideal.

 

Our stateroom attendant was attentive. Hazel , the concierge in the NL lounge , was wonderful and very helpful and kind.

 

The ship is very well kept. The young British lady in the Crow's Nest at the computer table was excellent.

 

 

Entertainment :

 

We really didn't go to the shows. We went to one called Recycled Percussion which was fun and very energetic and our kids loved it.

 

The Spa :

 

All of the adults in our group had massages. Nice. Still feel the hard sell is annoying.

 

The Dive-In Burgers : love , love , love ...so good and love the beepers. Yum , yum!

 

 

Room service : not as good as the Eurodam

 

Food favorites :

 

The mixed berry crisp.....oh my good it was delicious ! And I loved the mushroom ravioli.

[brazilgirl]

Well , guess I will wrap it up [emoji6]

 

In Ketchikan we did the Bering Strait Dealiest Catch tour , which was fun and informative. It is very commercial , with a stadiumlike set up on board. You see crabs , fish and a very dramatic " bald eagle " moment...they throw fish to the eagles for quite a show ( they have a deal with Native American reserve , because this is not allowed by Federal law ).

 

Fish on the Deadliest Catch show boat

 

 

Part of the show

 

 

Bald Eagle

 

 

Charming Ketchikan