Live from ms Nieuw Amsterdam 2018 June 30

[bUU]

Chatham Strait

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Love the picture.

[Iamthesea]

Beautiful!

 

Just back from first gala. Second will be Wednesday.

 

Men wore 75% dark suits, 10% sport jackets and slacks, 15% no jacket no tie. I saw no one with tie but no jacket. I saw one tux. That was upstairs. Anytime dining, downstairs, was a bit more casual than that.

 

Thank you for the Gala information. I am surprised with all the dark suits. DH will be in the 10% category.

[innlady1]

The other offerings were, for folks who eat beef, lamb or duck. It seems to me that they are lagging with regard to what people prefer, favoring the older favorites even when more and more of their passengers have diverse tastes. There are signs that they are evolving to what we prefer, but the beige stage show and MDR menus still are somewhat stuck in the past.

 

 

 

I always look forward to the first Gala night and the escargots and the rack of lamb. I always have rack of lamb in the Pinnacle, too. In Tamarind, I enjoy the wasabi encrusted tenderloin. Or the blue cheese encrusted tenderloin in the Pinnacle for lunch. All things I look forward to on the cruise. Vegetarian offerings are not HAL’s strength.

 

 

 

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[baggal]

The other offerings were, for folks who eat beef, lamb or duck. It seems to me that they are lagging with regard to what people prefer, favoring the older favorites even when more and more of their passengers have diverse tastes. There are signs that they are evolving to what we prefer, but the beige stage show and MDR menus still are somewhat stuck in the past.

 

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I have to agree that both in the MDR and the Lido there is too much emphasis on meat (beef, lamb, pork) and not enough on emphasis on fish dishes. Last year on the Zuiderdam there was a Q & A with the head chef. He said that the menus are created mostly for the "palates of Midwestern U.S." passengers. His words not mine. That's very evident. No disrespect intended, but I can just imagine some passengers coming home and telling their friends that the cruise was great - they served prime rib twice for dinner!

 

And while I'm writing, a few words about the Lido and why its so crowded. Recently we were on the Koningsdam in Europe. We did not necessarily take all day excursions and sometimes came back to the ship for lunch or a snack. I think many other passengers did the same and returned to the Lido for lunch, had their lunch, and then just sat at the table socializing. After a few days of trying to find a table, I noticed that there were no lines at buffet itself, but the tables were full with other passengers nursing their beverage. Some were reading and even playing cards. No idea how to change this pattern, just an observation.

[bUU]

We've seen some glimpses of what could someday be good vegetarian options. After trying to eat at the Lido for lunch yesterday and being unable to find a seat, we went down to the Neptune lounge. There I had a very nice orzo and lentil dish. Balanced, well-seasoned, and exactly what a vegetarian would be looking for for a light, summer lunch. In the Lido itself there were some small plates with grilled eggplant (and prosciutto, but let's say they replace that with a side of mozzarella); I didn't have a chance to taste but it sure looked good. And Indian options are available on request; I hope to have a chance to try that out.

 

 

 

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[bUU]

With regard to seafood, I'll try to keep an eye out for other MDR menus this week but I have one here from late May and they had halibut as well as sole on the same night... And that wasn't a gala night. Sole is generally sold into less lucrative markets for a reason. It's considered to be a lesser fish than salmon, halibut, sea bass, etc. And it's preparation last night was so paradoxically poor as compared to the beef, lamb, and duck dishes on this silver gala menu that it just screams, "mistake," to me. I think the takeaway for me isn't that they can't do seafood but rather this specific (silver gala) menu is flawed.

 

Maybe the chef/buyer meant yellow fin tuna rather than yellow fin sole, but auto correct messed things up. :)

 

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[bUU]

Frederick Sound

 

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[innlady1]

Was the salmon not available on Gala night? I had that one evening on our Bermuda cruise in May but it wasn’t on a Gala night.

 

 

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[bUU]

Was the salmon not available on Gala night? I had that one evening on our Bermuda cruise in May but it wasn’t on a Gala night.

Our server mentioned the "salmon is always available" only after we had already gone through the sole and the stuffed shells. At that point, I wasn't focused on the food that was available (as much as I was focused on my company [emoji7] ). Of course, I wouldn't have known how mediocre the sole and stuffed shells were until I had tried them... Chicken and egg (pardon the mixed metaphor). There was also a risotto available. If I was so inclined I probably would have tried that next.

 

UPDATED: I am reminded that my spouse actually had the salmon at lunch on embarkation day and it was, indeed, excellent.

 

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Edited July 2, 2018 by bUU

[Iamthesea]

I always look forward to the first Gala night and the escargots and the rack of lamb. I always have rack of lamb in the Pinnacle, too. In Tamarind, I enjoy the wasabi encrusted tenderloin. Or the blue cheese encrusted tenderloin in the Pinnacle for lunch. All things I look forward to on the cruise. Vegetarian offerings are not HAL’s strength.

 

That all sounds delicious!

 

I have to agree that both in the MDR and the Lido there is too much emphasis on meat (beef, lamb, pork) and not enough on emphasis on fish dishes. Last year on the Zuiderdam there was a Q & A with the head chef. He said that the menus are created mostly for the "palates of Midwestern U.S." passengers. His words not mine. That's very evident. No disrespect intended, but I can just imagine some passengers coming home and telling their friends that the cruise was great - they served prime rib twice for dinner!

 

And while I'm writing, a few words about the Lido and why its so crowded. Recently we were on the Koningsdam in Europe. We did not necessarily take all day excursions and sometimes came back to the ship for lunch or a snack. I think many other passengers did the same and returned to the Lido for lunch, had their lunch, and then just sat at the table socializing. After a few days of trying to find a table, I noticed that there were no lines at buffet itself, but the tables were full with other passengers nursing their beverage. Some were reading and even playing cards. No idea how to change this pattern, just an observation.

 

We have noticed this when sailing HAL. My pet peeve is the card players. Our solution is to ask if we can sit with them. They will usually leave at that! :D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the review

 

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[bUU]

We are back from Tracy Arm. It is a really nice excursion. We had some wonderful opportunities to see some unique things.

 

We saw one calving and it was awesome. I was really glad I was out on deck then. We spent what seemed like five minutes or so at each glacier. I wish we could have spent more time.

 

The naturalist/deck hand, Maryna, was personable and informative. The operator should take special care to keep her happy.

 

There are good seats and not so good seats, and up top excellent viewing positions are always at a premium. Unfortunately, aggression seems to be rewarded greatly, and nice guys finish last. :( There was a lot less sharing of the limited resources than one would hope. (We're going in the White Pass Railroad tomorrow. I fear it'll be the same. Advice would be appreciated.)

 

I had several email exchanges with the operator and was assured that vegetarians shouldn't be concerned about food options. If you are a vegetarian, ignore what you are told and "worry". We ended up having a soft pretzel for "lunch".

 

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[dech810]

Hello,

I think you will find the White Pass Railroad tour much tamer and easier to get nice views. On your way back they make everyone switch sides so everyone gets equal opportunities of the views. IMHO I would sit on left side of train if possible on the way up. Just seemed more interesting seeing them the first time. You can also go out the front or back of the car at anytime. The car we were in only 3 people in our group went out, but that could be issue depending how many people in your car want to be outside taking photos vs taking them through windows.

When you get to Glacier Bay you should spend quite a bit of time at John Hopkins Glacier and be able to get good visuals of glacier caving. We saw it several times both while on deck on port side and when ship turned from our balcony on starboard side.

 

Hope the rest of your cruise is awesome.

 

We are back from Tracy Arm. It is a really nice excursion. We had some wonderful opportunities to see some unique things.

 

We saw one calving and it was awesome. I was really glad I was out on deck then. We spent what seemed like five minutes or so at each glacier. I wish we could have spent more time.

 

The naturalist/deck hand, Maryna, was personable and informative. The operator should take special care to keep her happy.

 

There are good seats and not so good seats, and up top excellent viewing positions are always at a premium. Unfortunately, aggression seems to be rewarded greatly, and nice guys finish last. :( There was a lot less sharing of the limited resources than one would hope. (We're going in the White Pass Railroad tomorrow. I fear it'll be the same. Advice would be appreciated.)

 

I had several email exchanges with the operator and was assured that vegetarians shouldn't be concerned about food options. If you are a vegetarian, ignore what you are told and "worry". We ended up having a soft pretzel for "lunch".

 

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[bUU]

Skagway

 

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[bUU]

I cannot offer much because the switchover to the three tier unlimited plans had hit a snag: we are blocked after a day and a half of service. They will refund half and continue to work towards a solution. Of course if they don't fix it by Thursday I'll put that portion of my final bill in dispute.

 

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[Iamthesea]

Could you tell me if the movie theater is still on the ship? Word is that it has been removed on the Eurodam and replaced with a photograph studio. :rolleyes:

[Stpatsirish]

It was no longer there in February. Movies were shown in the Main Stage. It was removed during dry dock in November.

[shadow8800]

Will be on this sailing next year. Was the Tracy Arm excursion worth the cost?

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry to hear about the internet.

[Iamthesea]

Yes, the Internet must be down. How disappointing. :loudcry:

 

It was no longer there in February. Movies were shown in the Main Stage. It was removed during dry dock in November.

 

That's too bad. :( At least they have movies playing someplace outside out the staterooms. Thank you.

[bUU]

Could you tell me if the movie theater is still on the ship?

If there is a movie theater I haven't seen it. There is an excellent array of very recent movies available in the staterooms. We've watched a couple after reaching the point of exhaustion with our daytime activities.

 

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[bUU]

Will be on this sailing next year. Was the Tracy Arm excursion worth the cost?

Yes. Like everyone else, it goes by to quickly though.

 

There are some things you can do to make it even better, like behind sure to board first and go directly to to the second deck to grab a prime seat by the window. You'll down a lot of time standing outside but it is best to have a better place to sit down too.

 

 

 

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[bUU]

Yes, the Internet must be down. How disappointing. :loudcry:

It is disappointing that they made the switch without testing or a roll back plan, and that they choose to take that risk during a week when they knew their support staff in Seattle were having days off for a holiday, but that's the way things go in the mass market. Hopefully, you don't hit a lot of that on any single cruise. We didn't.

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

You are right -- not a good time to try something different when Seattle has people on vacation.