Live from the Shadow- new SS traveler posting from Alaska

[frequent traveler]

Smoking on veranda is verboten. Please inform reception. Enjoy the day!

 

Thanks. I thought so and was pretty sure I had heard that at safety drill also.

 

Today, when all clear to go ashore was announced we were told to take another picture ID with us when we left the ship. This is being required by local security. Since we don't hit US ports much I had not heard this before. I know we have to retrieve passports for train ride in Skagway but we didn't hear this in Sitka

 

Had breakfast in MDR. Hostess explained as she seated us that it could take a while as shared kitchen was extremely busy with room service. However that wasn't the case. And has there been another rule change? I have never EVER been able to get poached eggs, much less Hollandaise sauce on Sea Dream while in a US port, but the waiter today suggested Eggs Benedict before I even opened my mouth. I was able to get runny eggs, no problem. Coupled with fresh fruit, a grilled tomato, skinny latte, and a tasty mimosa (or two).:D I quite enjoyed my breakfast. ZQVOL started with grilled peaches drizzled with honey. They appeared extremely decadent but were from the healthy menu.

 

While waiters at upstairs buffet take your plates from your hands whenever they are available (much like Sea Dream, but less frequently) I much prefer table service. And we must have had 4 different people unobtrusively checking on water, juice and coffee throughout the meal. Service was excellent and again every staff member was quite personable.

 

As an aside, while we liked Regent's poolside breakfast buffet-quality was better than its indoor breakfast buffet, selection was limited. We did love talking to the various officers on Regent who seemed to stop by in the early morning. But for the indoor breakfast buffets, SS is much better in quality, variety, and service.

 

We've had several meals in close proximity with a family with 2 boys under the age of 5. They are extremely well behaved as seem to be all of the children we have observed so far. Again, the passenger mix is very low key which makes this very pleasant. Very nice that everyone was on time yesterday am for our excursion.

 

Supposed to be a bit cooler today - we'll see. Hope to send home some more salmon. Today is another "casual" dress day for dinner but we may eat ashore since it doesn't appear we have a reservation on board and we sail late. I am surprised by how little time we are spending in some ports. I want to check- we are thinking we had longer on Regent but maybe we had shorter excursions.

 

ZQVOL is on the tram to the top of the mountain. I've watched a couple of bald eagles go fishing and am off to figure out the rest of the morning.

 

Have a great weekend.

[Travelcat2]

Has anyone dined in this restaurant on the Shadow? We have dined in this restaurant on other ships, but this is our first time on the Shadow. The web site that there is a $40 reservation fee, but it did not mention wine. Seems like when we dined on the Whisper that there was a large additional cost for wine. People in our group are wondering about this since it might influence if anyone wants to make a reservation there if they have to pay additional for wine.

 

We dined there twice on the Shadow. The "included" wines that are served in The Restaurant are also offered in Le Champagne (as well as wines for purchase). Because we use our Amex Platinum card to pay for our cruises, they provide a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne (and a $300 on board credit). We brought the bottle of champagne to dinner which set it off nicely!

 

The first night we dined there the smoking wafting from the smoking area next door was awful (we were seated near the doorway of Le Champagne). There were also food and service issues. There were six of us at dinner and apparently everyone mentioned this to the manager. We were given a complimentary 2nd dinner - were seated as far away from the adjoining room as possible and had a fabulous meal!

[Jim Avery]

FT, I am with you on what SD says about Eggs Bennie. We had perfect Eggs Bennie delivered to our suite on Pacific Princess twice during the week in AK. Last I heard, that is US territory. Don't know why SeaDream uses that excuse. When are you in Ketchikan?

[RachelG]

Cigar smoking on balconies is strictly forbidden, and is a huge fire risk as well as they can smolder for a very long time. You definitely need to report his, not just from the esthetics standpoint of having to breath foul smoke but also the safety risk.

[vandrefalk]

Aw, FT -- lots of people like you!:D

Am loving your reports -- we so enjoyed Alaska and I am sometimes tempted to do it again -- but there are other trips still ahead of it! I loved the raptor center!!

Keep it up!

Vandrefalk

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like you both are having a great time FT and zqvol!

 

Thanks for the reports!

[DebbieH103]

I'm enjoying the live reports and have also started following on Instagram. You have some wonderful photos! It was fun to recap the posts in some of the photos.

 

I am glad you have enjoyed the grill and the MDR at breakfast. I do hope that you give the MDR another try at night. La Terraza is usually a lovely meal, also. I'm amazed at the bread incident.

 

If you like a wine from one night more than what is being offered that night, ask for it again. You can also have wine sent to your room from those choices if they have it.

 

I am not a rue person, and I don't do butter at all. I have never liked it, and my system doesn't handle cream, either. Rather than getting sauce on the side, if I am not fond of the sauce, I ask to have mine prepared a different way. They have been happy to grill lobster for me vs. the garlic butter that some guests crave. Also, when I see an appetizer I like, sometimes, I order that as an entrée portion or I will sometimes get all starters for my courses. I'm not someone for a big hunk of meat most of the time, unless it's osso bucco!

[frequent traveler]

Well, the King salmon were hiding today. Our boat with 5 passengers got 2 fish in 3 hrs and 1 had to go back for being too small. A gentleman from New Zealand reeled in the only catch on our boat- a 32inch, 17 LB (fresh out of the sea with all it's innards) King salmon. This seemed to be the trend for all the boats that went out this afternoon.

 

Klutz that I am, sport fishing with all it's lifts, levers, clips, etc is just too challenging when you don't know how deep the fish are running. Put a rod and reel where I can go from 60 to 140 feet quickly and feel the fish tug was fun. Watching a rod for 3 hrs with absolutely no alcohol is not.

 

Oh well, that's fishing:) we did see a number of whales. They were chasing the herring we were hoping the salmon were chasing and they came a little too close for comfort based on the small boat we were on. But seeing two side by side almost synchronized almost made up for $30.00 fishing license!

 

We ate off ship tonight as we had a craving for clams and King Crab. Thought about the Crab Shack but that was just too much work. Went to The Twisted Fish Company right on the Boardwalk. All very good. Highly recommend the steamed clams. Appetizer portion was enough for a main course. So when King Crab Tacos came, tortillas were left on the plate. Just for reference point- King crab legs fresh from the sea are running $50/$55 per LB in just about every city/restaurant in which we've inquired or actually eaten. The Crab Shack, only open in summer, was charging $30 per LB for King Crab but that included claws and other parts and you do all the cracking.

 

We threw our butler & cabin attendant off by not returning to the ship after our excursion. I had a lovely bubble bath, rose petals lining the tub, waiting for me when we returned. It had cooled down during our absence but was very thoughtful.

 

Tomorrow is Skagway and we are taking the Yukon Railroad excursion that leaves at 7:40. So we will be trying room service breakfast.

Edited August 4, 2014 by frequent traveler

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like you are getting your fill of fresh fish!

[frequent traveler]

I'm enjoying the live reports and have also started following on Instagram. You have some wonderful photos! It was fun to recap the posts in some of the photos.

 

I am glad you have enjoyed the grill and the MDR at breakfast. I do hope that you give the MDR another try at night. La Terraza is usually a lovely meal, also. I'm amazed at the bread incident.

 

If you like a wine from one night more than what is being offered that night, ask for it again. You can also have wine sent to your room from those choices if they have it.

 

!

 

 

Thanks for all the information. The regulars on this board have been very helpful and so very nice.

 

Since our what I thought were confirmed two reservations at La Terraza (one was for last night which was why we ate ashore) and another at The Grill have been "lost" we will be giving the MDR another try. Tonight with spanikopita and rack of lamb on the menu seems to be a good night.

 

We watched a waiter at the Grill the other night patiently try to find a wine "sweet enough" for a woman. When he got to the dessert wines she finally gave up and went back to her margaritas. Everyone had a great sense of humour about the whole process so clearly SS has the philosophy of making its guests happy.

 

Another word about excursions. Perhaps it's overkill but again SS had clearly marked signs and reps waiting. and all the guests were on time again yesterday. This combination made for a smooth and easy day - even with no fish.:rolleyes: I admire the SS employees with 6 month contracts. I spoke to one yesterday who will be leaving at the end of our voyage for 2 months off, she has absolutely no plans other than to sleep for now.

 

Breakfast was delivered on time this morning and we are getting ready to depart for the Yukon. It's cloudy and rain is expected. 4 ships in today. 2 RCL and 1 HAL (both were in Juneau) but like yesterday we are docked closest to town. And closer than when we were here on Regent.

[DebbieH103]

You can often show up at a restaurant right when they open and get in. I would see the Hotel Director if I could not get in during a week. You should be able to get in at least once.

[Silver Spectre]

Loving your reports, but sorry that you are having some food/service issues. Please keep the commentary coming and enjoy the rest of your wonderful cruise.

[frequent traveler]

Loving your reports, but sorry that you are having some food/service issues. Please keep the commentary coming and enjoy the rest of your wonderful cruise.

 

Glad to be of interest. When it all adds up, the "issues" are to date "minor irritants" which have been far outweighed by personalities and attitudes of crew, condition of ship and quality of excursions. I am reporting "real time" so it's my first reaction. At the end I always do a final summary, usually tracking a guest survey- does SS do?, so I hope to be factual in the end.

 

Today was another great excursion, taking the steam engine train into Fraser BC, not just to the summit (you will miss desolation or tribulation valley-not marked on the map, sorry). We went up when it was sunny and came down to clouds and rain and with a champagne toast at the top (go for a less than full train car if you want extra of the extra cheap "champagne" on the return trip). Magnificent waterfalls, glaciers and engineering feats. People were desperate, crazy, and stupid to attempt to get to the Klondike in the Gold Rush but this is where Donald Trump's grandfather amassed the grub stake for his NY real estate investments. Coupled with tidbits about the military significance of Alaska which I just learned about on this voyage, another fun day. Guides were some of the best we've had. Ended up at the Red Onion where we rode out the downpour before meandering back to the ship

 

Maybe a nap?

Edited August 4, 2014 by frequent traveler

[Jim Avery]

We had a couple of good beers at Red Onion too. Glad you had such a good day.

[whatnot]

Really enjoying your posts! The day we fished for King Salmon they were hiding too! There were 4 of us fishing and we got 2. Luckily I got one of the 2.

Loved that RR trip too. And also enjoyed the Red Onion. Guess you do a lot of the same things regardless of which cruise line you go on.

 

Looking forward to your next adventures!

[Jim Avery]

Really enjoying your posts! The day we fished for King Salmon they were hiding too! There were 4 of us fishing and we got 2. Luckily I got one of the 2.

Loved that RR trip too. And also enjoyed the Red Onion. Guess you do a lot of the same things regardless of which cruise line you go on.

 

Looking forward to your next adventures!

 

Good observation. Only just so many saloons in Alaska. We all end up in them at one time or another. We went into the Sourdough Bar in Ketchikan. I was amazed it was still there and still a Sailor's Dive Bar.:eek: I now have two T shirts from the Sourdough separated by more than a quarter century from back when I ran ships in that part of the world. The bar still looks the same and is worth a visit to see all the shipwreck photos on the wall. All local shipwrecks. As weird as some look, they are not staged photos and most were taken long before Photoshop. On the docks in Ketchikan more or less surrounded by the huge Tongass Trading store. :D

[whatnot]

If I go to Alaska again, I will have to check out the Sourdough Bar in Ketchican. And of course will think of Jim!

[frequent traveler]

Had such a pleasant room service breakfast this morning that we decided to "stay home" for dinner tonight even though a card confirming a reservation at La Terraza showed up today. Cancelled that reservation and ate in. ZQVOL had the rack of lamb chops which were perfectly cooked to order and I had a great steak tartar.

 

Sailing to Ketchican this pm has been beautiful. Started off sunny then cloudy then back to sunny. We arrive tomorrow at noon and plan on lunching at one of our favorites, Annabelle's. Jim, we will check out the Sourdough bar.

 

Wish I had gone fishing in Sitka - a couple caught their limit of 2 King salmons and the boat caught a total of nine. That's a lot of filets.

 

The dress code gets confusing. We've had casual, informal, and informal with optional formal. The book we received said to expect one formal night - I hope that counted because we chose the informal option

 

We are "excursioned out" and no plans but to wander Ketchican tomorrow. We only have 5 hrs and I easily spent 2 in the Tongass Trading store last time (their outdoor clothing sales are amazing)

 

We do have to prepare for cruising the inside passage. We brought our own binoculars. The room has a pair also but no comfy blankets for outside are in the room. I brought one down from the pool deck but it's short, so a couple of more will be needed on Wednesday

 

Leaving wireless range

 

Nite nite

[Jim Avery]

We usually have a night in once a week as well. Hard to keep up the pace of excess of food and drink even for one so well trained as Frequent Traveler.:eek: Loving the posts. Almost as good as being there. Almost. I am most interested in the course your ship takes after leaving Ketchikan. If you are up close and personal to the shore and the wildlife you are in BC Inside Passage. We had a basically wasted day as our Captain chose Hecate Strait. Hope you take Grenville Channel, etc. :D

[frequent traveler]

Jim,

I'm pretty sure we will take the "real" passage. It's marked on our itinerary.

 

We bought 2 days of internet. Work emails started piling up and Verizon was not strong enough on shore yesterday for me to fully download. Cost was $30 for 2 days, 24 hr access, but only 1 device at a time can be on. I'd much prefer a minute plan where both devices could access. That was Regent when we were in Alaska and that allowed us to get the most work done in the least amount of time simultaneously

 

Looks like it will be another sunny to partly cloudy day. Can't wait to get started.

 

FT

[Jim Avery]

Jim,

I'm pretty sure we will take the "real" passage. It's marked on our itinerary.

 

We bought 2 days of internet. Work emails started piling up and Verizon was not strong enough on shore yesterday for me to fully download. Cost was $30 for 2 days, 24 hr access, but only 1 device at a time can be on. I'd much prefer a minute plan where both devices could access. That was Regent when we were in Alaska and that allowed us to get the most work done in the least amount of time simultaneously

 

Looks like it will be another sunny to partly cloudy day. Can't wait to get started.

 

FT

 

That's good. Our itinerary simply said "at sea" for those days and they didn't lie.:eek: Hope the weather stays good as Ketchikan is a favorite walkabout port. They say if you can see the top of the mountain behind the town, it will not rain. Clouds on top of the mountain, rain soon. Sort of like those old rope weather predictors. If the rope is wet, it's raining, etc. If we do Alaska again, we will make certain we do the BC Inside Passage part. It is the best part of the trip imho. Technically, Hecate Strait is "inside". When I ran ships up there, Hecate Strait was referred to generally as "going outside". Have fun. I should have left my tab open at the Sourdough for Yall.:D

[frequent traveler]

If I weren't so lazy I'd be taking the Potuguese class with Ana right now. I'm currently getting by on my basic Spanish and a little Italian when I visit Brazil on work. We are port intensive and don't take advantage of many of the other daily activities. Everything from language classes (the 2 international hostesses on board between them speak 17 languages) to trivia to Coffee Chats with individual cast members of the Artists of Silversea to Fitness Seminars, sunrise walks and exercise classes (today's was Fab Abs). And of course guest speakers.

Tonight the show is Motown and the casino is offering roulette prizes. Could be a late night!

[zqvol]

Reading back through the posts it looks like I have been hiding since we were at the Hubbard glacier. The last time we were here Hubbard was shrouded in fog, low hanging clouds and mist, plus it was simply cold. This week was anything but. There was not a cloud to be found and the glacier shone in all its resplendent beauty. We did not notice any calving, but looking at a six mile wide face from 2.5 miles away makes it hard to find those events. It’s not like a huge iceberg falls into the sea, the events are usually small, but magnificent.

 

 

Unlike most passengers, who were on the bow as we approached the glacier, we spent our time outside the Panorama Lounge on the stern of the ship. This provided us a lot of space, and so much sun that all of the layers except the T shirt were quickly shed. It was close to the mid to upper 80s in the sun. Our view was spectacular. We spent about 4 hours from the time we entered the bay until we were back out and on our way to Sitka.

After dinner I enjoyed FABBALICIOUS – featuring the artists of Silversea. This was their version of songs made popular by ABBA. I really enjoyed the music. The theatre is small and intimate so the sound was not over modulated and you could see quiet well.

 

 

As a note crossing the Gulf of Alaska is usually the roughest part of this trip. The course is almost due east. The seas were relatively calm with 5 to 6 foot swells out of the south, just enough to make for a gentle rock. Once we reached Sitka we are in the inside passage and sailing has been smooth as silk. The sea is flat as can be no swells, and just a tiny chop that cannot be felt.

 

 

In Sitka we were picked up directly from the ship by Allen Marine and taken on the first part of our excursion. Upon boarding we immediately went to the top deck for easy viewing. The weather was again incredible as we searched for wildlife under a crystal clear Carolina blue sky. We spent about three hours sailing around Sitka sound. We saw, Sitka Black-Tailed deer on shore, along with numerous bald eagles. In the water we found two rafts of sea otters, some harbor seals, some stellar sea lions and numerous humpback whales.

 

 

 

The boat was well maintained, and not at all crowded so we had plenty of room to move around. Of course I got a lot of pictures some of which are on Instagram (zqvol) and more that will appear on Facebook when we get to a fast enough Internet to upload them.

 

 

Upon conclusion of the sea portion of our excursion we were taken ashore and went by bus to bear rescue center. There were about six or seven bears in residence. These are animals that would have been killed or died had they not been rescued, unfortunately they cannot be released back into the wild. While here the Silversea representative accidently knocked the lens cap off my camera, which fell right into the bear habitat. Oh well, but all was not lost as the facility moved the bears into their training den and retrieved the lens cab which was not damaged in it fall.

 

 

We then went to the Alaska Raptor Center, which rescues and rehabilitates injured raptors with the goal being to release them into the wild. The few that can’t be released are either kept there or sent to other facilities. Upon completion we were dropped in town, with about an hour and a half until the final tender. This did not really allow much time to do anything (no visit to the cathedral, or to the bishop’s house or the National park), so we grabbed a quick lunch at the Westmark and then it was back to the ship for a 5:00 p.m. departure to Juneau.

 

 

As we sailed on clam seas to Juneau we enjoyed dinner at “The Grill”. This is on the pool deck and is a unique concept. Your entrees are prepared to a very rare state by the chef and then brought to you a sizzling piece of lava rock that allows you to complete the cooking process to your desired temperature. This was a really good meal, I had a great piece of beef, a wonderfully prepared baked potato, and all of the usual fixings.

 

 

We arrived in Juneau early the next morning. We had planned to go to Misty Fjords but decided to cancel that excursion, instead opting to go fishing. I took the Mt. Roberts tram to the top when we arrived. The view was nice but I’m not sure that it was worth the $32 ticket price. When I got back down I wandered around town for a bit (we are not into shopping and that is pretty much what there is in downtown Juneau), and then went back to the ship.

 

 

 

We had a nice lunch at the pool grill and then went on our one excursion, sport fishing. FT has reported on this pretty well. I did enjoy being on the water and the whale sightings were spectacular as usual. Unfortunately we did not come home with any fish though we may going fishing in Vancouver. We ate dinner ashore as FT described. The portions were very generous and the food tasty. I had oysters, clam chowder and a wonderful piece of fresh King Salmon, then it was back to the ship.

 

 

I went to the Spotlight Cabaret: “Country Road” with Amanda Bridgette. This young lady resides in Nashville and is a songwriter. She performed a variety of songs. I met with her afterwards and told her that her set reminded me of being at “The Bluebird” in Nashville. She was pleased because she plays there on occasion.

 

 

Next stop was Skagway. We arrived early and were given what I think is the best berth in town. We were at the ore dock a short 5 minute walk to town. However, we were meet by our excursion right at the dock, the White Pass & Yukon Route steam train excursion. We did not do this the last time we were is Skagway, but what a wonderful excursion. We were on a narrow gauge train of five coaches pulled by the pride of the fleet Engine No. 73, a fully restored Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado Class steam locomotive. It burns bunker oil not coal. The journey lasted about 4 hours as we climbed to Fraser, BC at approximately 2,900 feet roughly following a route that the miners followed during the gold rush. The ride was most impressive and I spent 90% of the time on the rear platform taking photos.

 

 

We turned at the Fraser loop after making a stop to take on about 4000 gallons of water from the lake for the engine. It was then back to Skagway, where we got off the train in town and went to the Red Onion Saloon for lunch. That is always a fun place to visit. After lunch it was a quick 5 minute walk back to the ship and our cabin. The past 10 day shave worn us out so we elected to have dinner served by our butler in the cabin. I had great lamb chops. We are now sailing to Ketchikan and anticipate docking within the hour.

More later!

[duct tape]

Really enjoying your posts. Thank you. We did the bears and raptor center when we were up there, a few weeks ago. Mixed feelings about the bear containment facility but absolutely loved the Raptor Center!

[NCCruzQueen]

The weather was again incredible as we searched for wildlife under a crystal clear Carolina blue sky.

 

These words made me smile. There aren't any Tarheels onboard that ship, are there?

 

Throughly enjoying your posts. I've been fortunate to have cruised Alaska 3 times and another time coming in 2016. It's always nice to read about familiar places through different eyes. Thanks for your fun posts.

 

and GTHD!!:D