Grand Alaska and Panama

[rafinmd]

Thank you Krazy Kruizers, Himself, MissG, and RuthC. Ah, those leading h's.

 

 

Day W1, Sunday, July 29, 2018, Board MS Westerdam, Seward

 

I was up at 5am but did not expect to see a sunrise in downtown Anchorage. I looked out my window about 5:35 and it was just peeking through between a couple of buildings.

 

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I had not actually been to a church in a couple of weeks but it looked like First Methodist in Anchorage would be an appropriate place. The timing was great. The Egan Center opened for registration about 9 with the first bus at noon. The service, about a 10-minute walk away, was at 10. I left the hotel about 8:30, went past the church to verify the location, and got my transfer pass soon after they opened. I did some internet work for about a half hour and then left for the service.

 

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There was a bit of a false start as there was a guest preacher and at 9:45 nobody had a church key, but the doors were opened in the nick of time. I was especially happy that I had done that as the Westerdam was not at all helpful. There is a priest on board and he is quite capable of doing an excellent interdenominational service (and it’s part of their agency’s mission), but HAL will not facilitate it. The interdenominational service they offer is “congregation led”, and to boot it was right in the middle of the early dinner seating. Very poor support HAL.

 

The first transfer actually left about 11:45, and was a very lightly loaded coach. It’s about 70 miles directly from Anchorage to Seward, but pretty close to double that by road. Soon after we leave Anchorage we follow for quite a distance along Turnagain Arm, perpendicular to our direct line to Seward. The Arm has one of the highest tidal ranges in North America, after the Bay of Fundy,

 

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Once we get around Turnagain the most scenic feature was probably Kenai Lake. We pulled into the cruise terminal about 2:15.

 

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There was only one line for checkin (nothing for 4-star+ mariners or suites) but it moved very quickly and I was on board by 2:30. The “meet me onboard” bag was missing so I stopped at the hardware to look for a couple of things as well as the Safeway. My walk was longer than I planned (the route took a big Z) and it was after 4 when I returned. The missing bag was there and the rest of the afternoon was pulling all my packing cubes out of the bags (another day to really deal with them).

 

I am at table 53 (the aft starboard corner of the upper level), an 8 top. I was alone most of the evening although a family did come in as I was on desert (they had come all the way from Denali). My first dinner selections were chicken with carrots and green beans, and then butter pecan ice cream.

 

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The weather had been cloudy much of the day and there were low hanging clouds out the dining room window.

 

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The muster drill was at 7:30, the standard HAL 3-stage drill on the promenade deck sans life jackets. Sailaway was at 8 but by that time there was quite a drizzle and I was outside watching our departure only briefly.

 

The “Mainstage” on the Westerdam is larger than what I am used to on most HAL ships but the opening (9:30) show was pretty much what I am used to. There were brief selections by the Westerdam singers and dancers, and the entertainment team was introduced. The Cruise Director is Saul Orr from Scotland.

 

 

I’ll take my parting shot from the bus ride. One of the little towns we passed through was Moose Pass, and our driver pointed out an old waterwheel attached to a grind stone. The driver reported there was a sign at the site “This is a peaceful town. If you have an axe to grind, do it here”. I like it.

 

Roy

[IllinoisGirl1978]

I did this trip on the Zaandam two years ago, I loved every minute of it. I hope that your in Haines. There’s a cafe with cinnamon rolls bigger than my head.

 

It’s where I saw coastal bears [emoji199] on a kayak Excursion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Happily@Sea]

Roy,

 

The Vista ships are my favorite size and the one I have sailed the most [120 days out of 242 - and I've not been on Noordam] Small enough size, enough balconies to not break the bank for a solo and just really knowing the layout. Plus every room has a refrigerator - even the insides(?) - never been on inside or OV on Vista.

 

Speaking of layout, that's one thing I didn't like about K'dam - some of the rooms were down separate hallways and I was right next to a junction - people would stop there to talk. You couldn't get the Captain's message in your room, it was only broadcast in the hallways and public areas. His talk would come on and invariably there would be people there talking - would they stop for a minute or two - NO - we'll just talk even louder. I heard only one talk without interference the whole 7 days. It also didn't look like a HAL ship either! Too loud too, including the 'background' music.

 

Haven't been on enough of the S&R ships to really form an opinion - I like P'dam - but she's leaving and I refuse to pay through the nose for other lines small ships. So I guess it is good I like Vista - Signature is an acceptable size too, but a second choice if another smaller Dam ship is also doing the same itinerary.

 

ETA: R&S ships have the Deck 7 that deadends at the MDR lower level. If you are Deck 6 aft and trying to avoid the smelling casino on Deck 8, it is very frustrating. I ended up always walking to the Atrium to go higher in the ship - unless I was going to eat.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Happily@Sea
one more...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your report and wonderful pictures.

At first we thought we would not like the larger Vista class and resisted sailing on them. Then we tried one and fell in love with them. We have quite a few days on the Westerdam.

Seward has never had a special check in line for 4 and 5 star Mariners.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy,

Just got caught up sorry been busy last couple of days!

Thank you for a morning sunrise in Anchorage. I like it there when I’ve been. I can do a lot of walking downtown and going into Cook Inlet near hotel and walk. The park and museum are nice.

Looking forward to your cruise and I’m glad your on board and going to enjoy your next journey.

Denise 😊

[rafinmd]

Thank you Carole, Illinoisgirl, Krazy Kruizers, and Denise.

 

 

Day W2, Monday, July 30, 2018, At Sea, MS Westerdam, Gala

 

It was mostly a day to stay inside the Westerdam. While I had heard quite a bit of the fog horn Sunday evening it had stopped but that did not mean the weather had cleared.

 

While the weather was not great it was good enough for walking and I completed my 5-mile (15-lap) walk about 7:15.

 

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In the morning I mostly worked on managing my pile of packing cubes, but also struggled a bit with my scanner and the internet. I do have a window but it isn’t much. I have an obstructed oceanview cabin and they really do mean obstructed. My view is essentially the hoisting machinery between boats 12 and 14.

 

One thing I find annoying about the Westerdam is that without buying a cabana, there is really no way to walk outside from the back of the ship to a place where there’s a view of the front. You can walk on deck 10 from the back to the end of the cabanas but must then go inside past about a dozen cabins before going up another flight of stairs to the front at deck 11. In his noon update Captain Smit’s main piece of information was that we were cruising about 14 kt to be at Glacier bay on time. Lunch was fries from Dive-In.

 

There is a significant destination staff onboard with a naturalist and 2 EXC guides. The EXC guides had a talk on ports of call at 2 followed by the future cruise consultant at 3. She had nothing particularly new and I did not win the drawing. The day stayed pretty gray without ever a break in the clouds.

 

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For our first Gala night we had a full table. In addition to me there are 2 families, one multi generational with grand parents, an aunt (I think) and a teen age girl. The other is a couple with a teen aged boy. Both the youth seem to be having a good time. The menu seemed to be pretty much the same as the Gala night on the Volendam and I again went for the rack of lamb.

 

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There was a bit of a switch in the traditional Captain’s toast. Captain Vincent Smit did the toast solo without introducing the other senior officers. The featured entertainment was a program called “Playback” by the Westerdam Singers and Dancers. It was pretty good although I think the Prinsendam does equally well with more modest but equally talented productions.

 

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As a parting shot I’m thinking that simple answers are not always right. I’m thinking specifically about the Westerdam’s internet. It’s been extremely difficult to work with, but I’m not sure the ship is really the problem. All sites are on the slow side, but for some the site runs well if on the slow side. Others (Cruise Critic in particular) are fairly close to useless, moving at a glacial pace trying to connect to one slow app after another. While slow, the Westerdam’s internet is affected by site design problems pretty well outside the ship’s control. With blazing fast internet the slowness of the site may not be apparent but the difference between one site and another is startling and I just can’t blame everything on the ship.

 

 

Note: I'm currently in the Haines Public Library and the wifi there is not much better right now (but lots of people using it)

 

 

Roy

Edited August 1, 2018 by rafinmd

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry to hear you had bad weather on Monday.

Haines is a nice little port.

We haven't seen too many captains on Gala night do what we have been used to -- introducing other officers, etc.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Krazy Kruizers. We had a senior officer introduction on both the Amsterdam Grand Asia and last fall's Prinsendam Transatlantic. I wonder if there's a big ship small ship difference.

 

 

Day W3, Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Glacier Bay

 

I was up at 5AM but one of the first sounds I heard was the Westerdam’s fog horn and hung out in my room for a while. I finally set out about 6 and walked 3 miles (9 laps) on the Promenade deck; I figured that was enough when combined with the walking I’d do changing viewpoints. As soon as I got on deck we were passing close by an island shrouded in fog.

 

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The day’s program started with an introduction to Glacier Bay by Ranger Jake in the Mainstage.

 

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While the morning was mostly foggy there were some good moments. The ranger commentator noted in the morning that we had a view of Mount Fairweather, visible rather rarely. By the time I got on deck and got my camera out there was just a bit of the summit showing

 

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There were many viewpoints available. One that was open just for this day was the bow of the ship.

 

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The fog was persistent and we delayed our entry deep into the bay, holding for a while at Lampugh Glacier. A smaller glacier, Reid, was more or less behind me.

 

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By about noon things were just starting to clear up and we still delayed visiting the main glacier but did take the side channel where we got a look at the Johns Hopkins Glacier. There are seals living by the glacier and we could not get close but got a nice view anyway. On the other side of us was Topeka Glacier.

 

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We finally started up the final channel towards Glacier Bay’s showcase, Marjerie, a little after 1,

and by the time we arrived the weather had cleared to glorious sunshine.

 

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We stayed near Marjerie for almost an hour. I watched mostly from the lido deck forward in front of the gym, and caught one beautiful splash from calving.

 

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As we made our way out of the bay, Kevin, a native Tlingit, spoke of their culture on the Mainstage.

 

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All 8 of us were again present for dinner. I chose the Pasta and Raspberry Tart.

 

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The featured entertainment was Aussie Comedian Jim Short. I went only briefly but he was quite good and the house was packed standing room only. I also watched about the last half of a Lincoln Center Stage performance. They were also very good.

 

I’ll take my parting shot from Jim Short: “I razzed my parents about needing to help them with their computer issues. They came back with ‘don’t forget who taught you how to use a knife and fork’” That sounds fair to me. It’s all a matter of perspective.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your report.

Glad the fog finally lifted and you got to see some calving and the glaciers.

How do you feel about sharing a table with 2 families?

[rafinmd]

Love your report.

Glad the fog finally lifted and you got to see some calving and the glaciers.

How do you feel about sharing a table with 2 families?

So far so good.

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

I love your pictures so much Roy!

That morning picture with a shroud of clouds wow.

Have a marvelous time, and keep those pics and your writings coming.

Take care Roy

Denise 😊

[kazu]

Beautiful pics, Roy. Absoutely amazing.

 

Thanks for sharing the issue on the non denominational services. I didn't realize it was HAL - had thought that the priest chose not to do it.

 

That really is a shame.

 

FWIW, I have also found CC can be painfully slow when I am travelling as well. It's happened on the ship and in hotels at times in Europe. Meanwhile, other sites have been working decently. Strange!

[Krazy Kruizers]

So far so good.

Roy

 

 

That is good to hear that so far it is working out at dinner with the 2 families.

[Happily@Sea]

I've had CC conk on me while doing a sailaway from FLL, that's why you seldom get updates on the ship actually leaving/preparing to leave from me. My CC has stopped working - I've just mostly given up on it now and enjoy the the sailaway itself.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Carole, Denise, Jacqui,, and Krazy Kruizers. A significantly better morning in Juneau than I expected, and wifi from the Douglas Library is great so far.

 

 

Day W4, Wednesday, August 1, 2018. Haines

 

We had a beautiful day in Haines. It’s a fairly familiar destination to me, about my 4th time here. The first was just a quick stopover on the ferry to Skagway (1991), but in 2010 I did some local touring before a small boat cruise and spent 2 nights here. I was also here on the Statendam in 2014.

 

Haines sits on the Lynn Canal, actually a fjord. Sunrise was technically before 5 but I walked about 5:30 to 6 and the sun just appeared above the mountains on my final lap around the stern.

 

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We had a long day here, arriving at 6:30 and leaving at 9. I took an early morning stroll off the ship checking out the hardware store across the street. Skagway is only 15 miles away and there were a number of tours there using a fast ferry which docks right next to us.

 

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My main goal for the day was to go to the library for the internet. As I left the ship I got a good look at it as well as my cabin’s position behind the tenders.

 

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Much of Haines’ history dates back to an old army base, Fort Seward. It sits pretty much above the dock. It was decommissioned around WW2 but most of the buildings are still there, either residential or shops and the like.

 

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Officers row sits above the parade field.

 

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One area I remember particularly is at the end of the parade field. There are 2 buildings side by side, a base “public safety” complex. The one on the left is the old fire shed with a white tower used to dry hose. The one on the right is the old guardhouse, and is now a bed and breakfast which is where I stayed in 2010, Both properties are now up for sale.

 

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Before visiting the library I stopped in at the IGA and got several items, primarily toothpaste.

The internet at the library was free, but there was a big crowd of people, mostly from the ship, and I think the performance was actually worse than onboard. On the way back to the ship I passed one of the eclectic attractions of Haines, the Hammer Museum.

 

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After lunch on the ship I returned to the library for a while, and the performance was better than in the morning, allowing me to get some work done. While leaving the ship there were some people at the waters edge swimming.

 

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I walked back to the ship along the waterfront. It looks like there may have been some gold mining activity near Haines, with an old gold drilling rig near the water. It drilled test holes with samples of the dirt periodically tested; if gold was found they would use other mining methods to get to it.

 

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There were just 5 of us at dinner with one of the families dining at the Canaletto. I liked the pork chop and peach crisp.

 

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The featured entertainment was a BBC-Earth collaboration “Alaska in Concert”. Lincoln Center stage was dark as their group joined the regular Mainstage group for the performance. We were just letting all lines go as the concert ended.

 

My parting shot comes from the bus ride to Seward. We passed a restaurant “Turnagain Arm Pit Barbecue”. It hit me that the phrase could really turn strange depending on how those words were grouped. English is a strange language.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Catching up with your reports.

What a great photo of the "calving".

[DeeniEncinitas]

Turnagain Arm Pit Barbecue”. It hit me that the phrase could really turn strange depending on how those words were grouped. English is a strange language.

LOL 😉 I so agree with you Roy!!

Such a beautiful day you had. Glad your WiFi got better for you too.Amazing that the weather is so nice for those people in your pick swimming! Water still should be cold😳 busy day did not get to your blog till late. No coffee in hand!

Roy how is your leg doing? I hope it is better and your doing well! Was so nice seeing your brother Roger on your trip!

Take care Roy

Denise 😊

[rafinmd]

Denise, I don't think much has changed clinically. What has changed is that I think going from trains, planes, and buses to a ship has been beneficial. Getting into seats and crossing my legs while sitting meant bumping into the bad spot frequently and the magnified the discomfort. When I actually put my hands on the spot and test the reaction it's pretty much the same but there's a lot less persistent discomfort.

 

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

You had a beautiful day in Haines.

The first time we were there we did a tour of the entire area, and a salmon dinner prepared by the locals and then a show put on by the Tingits.

Sorry to hear that the lump o your leg is sill bothering you.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Roy I’m glad the discomfort has lessened. Just posted your upcoming Bon Voyage back home👍 Looking forward to it.when we did South America this past Fed-March we did not go through the canal so will love to see your pics.

Take care

Denise 😊

[rafinmd]

Thank you Denise and Krazy Kruizers. I really wouldn't say the leg is bothering me. Like the old Doctor's office conversation "It hurts when I do this", the answer is "Don't do that".

 

 

Day W5, Thursday, August 2, 2018, Juneau

 

Weather in Alaska is certainly changeable. It would be difficult to follow the prefect day in Haines with another one in Juneau and that did not happen.

 

The itinerary calls for Southbound Seward-Vancouver cruises to arrive in Juneau at 8 but that seems quite fictitious. When I woke up at 5 I could see from the bow cam we were already in the Gastineau Channel. I walked about 5 laps on the promenade deck which I considered sufficient for a port day and headed off to breakfast.

 

Juneau is the only port of call duplicated on this itinerary but I never set foot on land, transferring to the St. Phillip hours before the ship arrived and transferred directly back onto the Volendam at the end of the Tracy Arm tour. Nearly all Alaskan itineraries include a stop in Juneau so I’m pretty familiar with the area and my plans for the day were not very ambitious, becoming even less ambitious in light of the weather.

 

With the poor internet situation I’ve been having finding good wifi was a priority. The central branch of Juneau Public Library is right next to the port but with 3 ships in port it didn’t seem a great option. There are 2 branch libraries, one north in the Mendenhall Valley and another across the Gastineau in Douglas.

 

I thought Juneau’s transit system less tourist friendly than many others. Rides are free for local seniors but those of us from out of town get no breaks. There’s a “transit center” where most buses depart, but no information there; the only way to get a schedule is to be on the bus. They might not want to give them out but posting one under glass in the waiting room would be a big help.

 

When a but did show up I found that the bus to Mendenhall, my first choice, left from a different location, was once an hour, and had just left. I opted instead for the Douglas library (bus service every 30 minutes) and was at the library at it’s 11AM opening. I was happy with the choice. It was never crowded and I had a little desk with a power socket, and with fast wifi I got a lot done that would have been nearly impossible on the ship. I was there about 75 minutes.

 

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When I left the library the streets were quite wet but nothing was actively falling. I walked a couple of stops along the bus route but when the drizzle started up again there was a stop with a covered shelter. Most of the cars had their wipers on intermittent.

 

It was pretty foggy and I took some pictures of the ships across the harbor but they were extremely fuzzy. I did get a good view out the window of the Gastineau Channel as we crossed the bridge. It was raining a bit harder as we arrived in town and I went pretty straight back to the ship for lunch.

 

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There was a break in the rain about 3 and I stopped at the downtown library for a few minutes. The internet there was pretty slow but better than what was on the ship. On nice days Juneau is teeming with seaplanes leaving and arriving but with the day’s weather there were just a few.

 

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All aboard was 5:30. I wanted to be on deck for sailaway so I went up to the lido for an entree. Holland America usually offers the same entrees in the lido as in the dining room but not this time. I would have gone for the lamb shank in the dining room but in this case it was not offered and I chose a pork entree instead. There was just a bit of a break in the rain as we left the dock. It was pretty murky again by the time we reached Thane.

 

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Once we had sailed I joined my table in the dining room for tea and desert. As we sailed towards Ketchikan we passed the Zaandam on it’s way to an anchor point for a Friday Morning arrival in Juneau.

 

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Desert was the blueberry sundae. The EXC guides had a talk on ship flags at 7 in their Crows Nest space. I would have liked to go but desert lasted into the talk and I opted instead for the end of the Lincoln Center stage program. The featured entertainment was Magician James Cielen. I didn’t think he was one of the better ones.

 

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This parting shot will be in kind of the “rest of the story” mode. While returning from Douglas and crossing the bridge I noticed a sculpture of a whale on the Juneau shore. The map didn’t have any information about it but a google search revealed it was new this year. I had heard that the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska had recently sued Juneau over port fees and how they were used, arguing that they should go to things that benefit cruisers. Among the things the money went for were the sculpture and the shoreside walk along the waterfront. My own personal opinion is that the walk (certainly if publicized) might benefit cruisers but I think CLIA has a pretty good point about the whale.

 

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you were able to get to a library to do some computer work.

Great pictures in spite of the rain.

That is a shame that the buses in Juneau will only accept senior freebies from their local people. Glad that isn't everywhere.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Happy Sailaway Roy!

I enjoyed your pics and nice to see the Zaandam crossing. Glad you got internet even if a little slow.

I enjoyed seeing the last pic. That is a nice sculpture of

The whale!

Denise 😄

[rafinmd]

Thank you Denise and Krazy Kruizers. Internet continues to be at a glacial pace. This time I called up the thread before going to breakfast and then used the "Quick Reply" box afterwards.

 

 

Day W6, Friday, August 3, 2018, Ketchikan. Gala

 

It looks like the run of nice weather is over for this cruise but it could have been worse. With both a port visit and On Deck For a Cause I walked only briefly in the morning, just a total of 3 laps or 1 mile.

 

On Deck For a Cause was at 9:30 with just a small group out on a chilly morning. The group was small but the leader did note that many more people had registered and paid.

 

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It started raining too hard to ignore and I walked only 4 of the official 9 laps but still stopped for a cookie when I finished my partial walk.

 

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The Alaska ferry system is building 2 new ships for the Juneau-Skagway route. One, the Hubbard, was approaching completion in a Ketchikan drydock.

 

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We arrived in Ketchikan about 11, joining the Norwegian Pearl and Coral Princess on a still very dreary morning.

 

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My big bag had arrived with one of it’s wheels falling off. In Haines there was a hardware store right across the street from the ship where I found some locking rings. None of them quite fit but there was another hardware store in Ketchikan. I had planned to go to McDonalds for wifi and the hardware store was just beyond it. I did find some bigger rings there and am not sure the wheel is attached securely enough to last until I’m onboard the Symphony but it’s worth a try. The rain held off just about long enough for me to complete the 3 mile round trip.

 

The weather was not especially pleasant in Ketchikan and I used the rest of the afternoon to start my packing.

 

I was the only one at table 53 for the second Gala night. I chose the steak from Surf and Turf as well as the orange and almond cake. Both of the families had tours booked. I saw one later and they were back too late for dinner and I expect the other one was as well.

 

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I was just leaving the dining room as Captain Smit gave his sailaway message. He indicated there would be high winds and we should stay indoors (as of 7AM Saturday the promenade deck is still closed and we are rocking quite a bit).

 

The featured entertainment was the Westerdam Singers and Dancers in “Ever After”. I was in bed early as we lost an hour moving back to Pacific time. Most of this cruise towel animals have been pretty modest but I returned from the show to a nice monkey hanging from the celing.

 

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My parting shot is a sad one. One of our sister ships, apparently the Amsterdam, had lost a crew member who has gone overboard. I wish for peace and healing for his family.

 

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

I’m glad you were still able to get some laps in even with the rain Roy.

Well I’m happy there was a couple of hardware stores in area for you to do a make shift on that broken wheel to get you through on your finally journey!

Sad on the crew member who died!

Stay safe with the high seas

Denise 😊