Also Mostly Live from the NA 4th Sailing

[luvteaching]

Just back and started the unpacking and a bit of laundry (yay for 4 stars!). Anyway, the captain announced yesterday that the patient was at the hospital and we doing much better. The cruise was wonderful! 

 

Karen

[aliaschief]

44 minutes ago, luvteaching said:

Just back and started the unpacking and a bit of laundry (yay for 4 stars!). Anyway, the captain announced yesterday that the patient was at the hospital and we doing much better. The cruise was wonderful! 

 

Karen

Good news!

[ontheweb]

45 minutes ago, luvteaching said:

Just back and started the unpacking and a bit of laundry (yay for 4 stars!). Anyway, the captain announced yesterday that the patient was at the hospital and we doing much better. The cruise was wonderful! 

 

Karen

That is excellent news. Thanks for sharing.

[St. Louis Sal]

8 hours ago, RuthC said:

You can request the kind of chocolate you want. I prefer milk chocolate, so ask for two of those when I meet them the first day. 
I always come home with a nice supply of milk chocolate HAL candies as a souvenir. 

You reminded me that after one of my cruises my DH found my stash of chocolates and started turning the bed down and putting a chocolate on my pillow to ease my cruise withdrawal!

 

St Louis Sal

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, St. Louis Sal said:

You reminded me that after one of my cruises my DH found my stash of chocolates and started turning the bed down and putting a chocolate on my pillow to ease my cruise withdrawal!

 

St Louis Sal

That was such a sweet gesture! I like him already. 

[scubacruiserx2]

zgscl

We hope that you got home safe and thank you for taking us along on your trip . We would love to hear about the rest of your trip if you have some time to spare.

Thank you again for taking the time to share and bringing us along on your cruise.

[zgscl]

On 8/20/2021 at 2:42 PM, caribill said:

Is HAL still putting chocolates on your bed each evening?

Yes they are! 

[zgscl]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:52 AM, SilvertoGold said:

I may have missed this amid all the excellent info on this thread, but does HAL have any "newpapers" now?  I am thinking of the old printed NY Times Digest. What is happening with this?

I did not see any printed newspapers but there was a place in Navigator you could view news. To be fair I never made it up to the EXC Central so it could have been there. 

[zgscl]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:22 PM, Trentjr said:

Hello everyone and thanks zgscl for the fantastic updates. We are on the September 4 sailing, our first time on HAL and to Alaska. Very excited but my wife tends to get chilly. Does HAL offer a spare blanket in verandah staterooms, or will they provide one if asked?

We were in a Neptune suite and did have two blankets that were available for use on the balcony. I would assume they would make extra blankets available if it was not provided as a standard amenity. 

[zgscl]

On 8/18/2021 at 5:06 AM, Euby said:

It's great to read trip reports from someone else that has mobility issues.  I actually purchased an upright walker on Amazon to use on my upcoming cruise.  It was cheaper than renting something twice.  Plus I like the way it folds up so it is easy to get through any narrow doors or spaces.  The one I rented for my last cruise was a nightmare to get in and out of my cabin.

This is a great thought and will probably make the whole embarkation process easier for you if you can do it independently, or if you use the provided wheelchairs you will be able to get from the midship elevator lobby to your stateroom and around the ship without issue. 

[zgscl]

On 8/17/2021 at 7:43 PM, St Pete Cruiser said:

Thanks for sharing your cruise and with so much info.  The Nieuw Amsterdam is the only ship in the fleet I haven't been on.  I guess she is the newest of the old ships now, as the Pinnacle class is quite different.  

I remember when the Vista and Signature ships came out and thinking we would hate them. Now they are basically the fleet along with 2 of the older ships and the three Pinnacle class ships. I actually really like Eurodam & NA and wish HAL had bought a couple more in this class before moving onto the Pinnacle class. I have not yet sailed on a Vista class but I believe it is essentially the same as the Signature (with some notable differences in particular the lack of one deck which includes Tamarind/Nami). 

[zgscl]

On 8/19/2021 at 3:47 PM, aliaschief said:

I cannot report on MDR but the breakfast in Pinnacle Grill had fresh hash brown potatoes last week. Not those Molded McDonalds style hash browns.

That is interesting, we had breakfast in the Pinnacle daily this past week and the McDonalds style was bountiful, however if you ordered the breakfast skillet it had diced potatoes. I wonder if this could all  be supply chain related. I am definitely being a whole lot forgiving right now of the MDR menu changes due to this. 

[zgscl]

Hi All, I definitely got behind on posting between poor internet and staying busy! Will try to get the last few days posted ASAP. 

As @luvteachingnoted the Captain reported that the medivac passenger was doing better. Many thanks to the USCG for their help in getting the passenger to the care they needed. 

 

[zgscl]

Tuesday Morning - Glacier Bay

We woke up to the entrance of Glacier Bay. Cruising the inside passage and Glacier Bay is always special. I love seeing all of the mountains on both sides of the ship.  I believe this is the Lamplugh Glacier as I took the photo right before breakfast which we had about the time we made it to the Johns Hopkins glacier (we couldn't get in too close due to seals on the ice and I did not take a picture of this one). 

 

Breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill was a bagel with cream cheese and salmon (not enough cream cheese for more than half the bagel and only one piece of smoked salmon that barely covered half). We had plenty of other food coming so I did not ask for extra but keep this in mind if you plan to order this item. Mom had the Eggs Benedict and the Swedish Crepes and I had the pancakes (also quite small as a stand alone dish). 

[zgscl]

Approaching the Margerie Glacier & Grand Pacific Glacier we picked up a stow away. I guess everyone is excited to have cruise ships back! 

 

This is really the highlight of Glacier Bay and we spent about an hour with the glacier. While they did the typical rotation so all sides of the ship got a good view I believe there is a slight advantage to being on the port side (or port side aft wrap) as all of the glaciers will be seen first on the port. This allows you to get your viewing in at the earliest opportunity from the comfort of your own cabin. You will certainly be able to see from the starboard or aft but I do think you get more time on the port. Additionally you will get to see the glacier when first arriving and then be free to return to your activities earlier while the starboard side gets their turn. 

 

Even though today was foggy we had spectacular views of the glacier. The aft wrap is a huge plus here as you get to see both while the ship is showing the port side as well as the aft so you get a lot more viewing time. After enjoying the glacier and getting all our pictures in we both decided to take a nap (all of this eating really takes a lot of energy out of you!) 

 

[zgscl]

Tuesday Lunch 

 

We decided to have lunch in the Pinnacle. A warning to everyone who wants to book specialty dining - do it immediately when you get onboard (or from home is better). Pinnacle & Sal de Mer were both booked out no later than mid day on Sunday (lunch at Pinnacle was available a little later). Canaletto seemed to have at least some availability for much of the cruse and I didn't really watch Tamarind. It seems with all of the promotional give aways it is definitely taking up a lot of the reservations (as one would expect). Plan ahead if you want to go! 

 

To start with they brought out bread along with a garlic butter and bell pepper cream cheese spread (yuck). As my mom hates garlic and is allergic to bell pepper (I can't stand bell pepper but love garlic) we requested regular butter as well which they happily provided. 

 

She started with the Prawn Bruchetta and I had the Crab Cakes. Both were delicious. For a main course mom had the Cioppino with no muscles/clams and I had the Beef Tenderloin with Oregon Blue Cheese. Both were fantastic. For desert she did the Fresh Berries with Sabaon and I had the Warm Fudge Brownie. Both were excellent. The brownie is served with coffee ice cream and caramel corn (I could have taken a bowl of the caramel corn alone it was delicious). I generally do not like coffee flavored anything but the ice cream was very mild and went well with the chocolate. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by zgscl

[dobiemom]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:22 PM, Trentjr said:

Hello everyone and thanks zgscl for the fantastic updates. We are on the September 4 sailing, our first time on HAL and to Alaska. Very excited but my wife tends to get chilly. Does HAL offer a spare blanket in verandah staterooms, or will they provide one if asked?

Come join the roll call! 😉 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2758003-nieuw-amsterdam-sept-4-2021-seattle-to-alaska/ 

[zgscl]

Tuesday Afternoon

 

We went to both the ranger talk which had great information about Glacier Bay and the animals that live there. Following this was a presentation on the Native Voices of Glacier Bay which was also well done. 

 

We decided to try out afternoon tea today. Instead of coming around with trays they brought a display with sandwiches and sweets. They were all quite good but for some unknown reason they make each tray with only 1 of each item so you are left to cut everything in half. Not really a lot of fun cutting everything in half. They did offer a second tray later but we really did not need more food. A waiter came around and poured tea for everyone (no choice in type, it was all brewed and from a large tea pot). We only went the one day so I can't say if this was the standard service or if they still do the Dutch high tea and have other formats of service. 

 

Afterwards we enjoyed a scenic sail into Icy Strait Point. 

[zgscl]

Tuesday Dinner 

Due to the arrival time into Icy Strait Point the dining room opens at 5 PM so we were able to go to the MDR for dinner.  

 

To start with mom had the Coconut Crusted Shrimp (note it is a salad with shrimp, not shrimp with a bed of lettuce) and I had the crab cake. Both were good (though the Pinnacle crab cakes are better!). We both had the Prime Rib which was good and I asked for a side of the Gnocchi which was alright - the corn mixed in with it is a bit odd but who am I to question their culinary council?)

 

Nothing on the desert menu really appealed to us and we were under a bit of time pressure for our tour so we decided to forgo the extra calories (don't worry we had ice cream later in the Lido, heaven forbid we miss out and starve).

[zgscl]

Tuesday Evening - Icy Strait Point 

OK, first of all - this is not an accessible port. If you are mobility limited I strongly recommend the whale watching which leaves right across the dock from the ship. To get to anything else you must walk an extremely long bridge to get from the ship to land (coming back there appeared to be golf cart transportation but this was not available when getting to your tour). Additionally once you get to the top, nothing is paved and you must navigate gravel and muddy paths to get to anything including the gondola. I am not sure if the pictures really do justice to how challenging the terrain is if you are in a wheel chair. 

 

 

This port was a disappointment for us and we will do it differently next time around now that we know better. 

 

We opted to do the Hoonah sight seeing tour as we wanted to see the village and learn more about the culture. Before I continue I will say that our guide was absolutely lovely and very informative. Our disappointment was really more related to the logistics which were not at all her fault. 

 

 

First of all, after going up the long gangway you then go into a big room where they scan all of your tickets. Next to this is the gondola (no paved pathway you must navigate muddy gravel). After they took our tickets we walked a good distance to the open air tram which would have been perfect if the weather here was about 25 degrees warmer. They do not have accessible boarding on the tram and someone (as in your companion or another passenger) must lift the wheelchairs onto the back of the tram over a high railing.

 

Once on the tram we spent about an hour or an hour and a half driving over to Hoonah and back. We made a couple stops and heard stories of the Hoonah people (very interesting, and a very scenic drive). The village itself is not at all touristy. It is a real native village with a population of around 1,000 (less in winter and more in summer). Many homes needed either a fresh coat of paint or repair work. If you are lucky you will get to see the carvers working but they were not out when we went by. We were lucky and got to see a bald eagle nest and a baby bird learning to fly. The final stop on the tour was at the high school where we saw the totem poles and learned the story behind them. 

 

At the end of the tour they do not take you back to the ship. They drop you off by the Cannery museum and gift shops where you can shop and then need to walk back (supposedly there is a shuttle you can take back but everyone was quite vague about where to get on it and we never saw one come). I can't really tell you how far the walk was but it is a long distance if you are mobility impaired. 

 

We got back around 8:30 and wanted to try taking the gondola but they closed it already (why you would close it an hour before the ship leaves when the sole purpose of the gondola is for the ship passengers during a 3 hour stop is totally beyond me. It is not like the Mt Roberts tram in Juneau where they have other visitors too, Icy Strait Point is solely there for the ships). While the gondola is free right now I would have happily paid if it would have allowed them to keep it open for the duration of the ship's stop over. 

 

What would we do differently? 

The gondola is highly recommended and everyone we spoke to said it is not to be missed. While the narration on our tour was interesting, it was frankly not worth sitting in the cold and the difficulty of getting my mom to and from the ship. I think we would either forgo the tours all-together and just ride the gondola, or do the whale watching trip and not go up the bridge at all.

[zgscl]

All of a sudden the housekeeping section of the navigator app started working again. Below are the options available. 

[zgscl]

Back onboard we made an evening trip to the lido. NY Pizza was not doing custom pizzas tonight (seems counter intuitive as there were a lot of people eating upon their return to the ship). Instead they offered a seafood pizza (shrimp and calamari) or meat pizza. Both were also available on the main buffet also. I also tried the salmon and baked pasta. 

 

Back in our room we got our When & Where for Sitka

 

 

Staying in a Neptune suite we automatically got nightly service. While the beds were remade they were not turned down. We got our When & Where at the foot of the bed (two because we had requested form our room steward), two chocolates and the breakfast menu & tv remote placed at the foot of one bed. 

 

We did not see any towel animals during our cruise. They did open/close the curtains and they did lock the balcony door when they left the cabin. 

 

[zgscl]

Wednesday - Sitka

 

 

For breakfast in the Pinnacle we had granola and my mom had the Classic Eggs Benedict. She did not particularly like the filling of the Swedish crepes but did like the thinner pancake and so requested they be made without the filling. The Pinnacle staff were great and made it happen for us. 

 

Solely for the benefit of folks on Cruise Critic I decided to "indulge" and have the steak and eggs. They served a very generous size steak although it is a fairly thin cut and came out much closer to medium well than medium rare. I would suggest ordering on the rarer side than what you actually want. 

 

 

A Misty and Foggy morning in Sitka! Some may recall that Sitka used to be a tender port. They have now built a cruise ship dock outside of town where ships dock and then shuttle passengers by bus to the city center. Shore excursions mostly leave from the city center. Of course this is very crowded at first while people get shuttled over. We were fortunately on a mid day departure and when we went around 10:30 or 11 the bus was full but there was no waiting. While it is a long walk from the ship to the bus they have a golf cart that shuttles people needing assistance back and forth all day from the ship to the bus area. 

 

 

[zgscl]

Sitka was also emergency drill day for the crew.

 

For anyone interested I recorded most of the safety announcements before we had to get off. Prior to this the officer of the watch made the typical announcement that a crew drill would commence shortly, services would be limited and that no action is required from guests. 

 

Also as part of the drill they evacuated the ship and we go to see these nifty evacuated tags they put on your door. 

[zgscl]

Wednesday - Mid Day

In Sitka we opted for the "Birds, Bears & Barnacles" tour. As I mentioned above if you can schedule a mid day tour you will benefit from much less crowding on the shuttle busses. We were also lucky to be the only ship in port today. 

 

On the shuttle ride we got to chat with the bus driver who mentioned they are having significant staffing challenges. He and a number of the other bus drivers are actually based in Ketchikan for the summer and get flown over to Sitka for 2 days each week to drive busses and then fly back to Ketchikan to drive the rest of the week. Yikes - those logistics must be a lot of fun for someone to work out as well as very expensive. 

 

First stop on our tour was the Raptor center where they rehabilitate and release injured birds found from all over the state. Most birds go into a large enclosure where they will have almost no human contact (only 1x per day for feeding). The roof is made of slats with openings so the birds get natural light as well as whatever weather is outside. The goal is to have the birds live as naturally as possible and not to become dependent on humans. Only the birds that are permanently injured and cannot be released will be trained and handled by humans. When you go to the presentation room I recommend getting a seat to the right (when facing the front) as you will have a more direct view of the presentation. The bald eagles are incredible and this is a must see on your visit to Sitka. 

 

Our next stop was the Marine Science Center which is also a salmon hatchery. It is a neat stop and worth seeing once but I would not repeat it (and would skip if you are already familiar with the salmon spawning/hatchery process). It is really amazing to see the salmon leaping out of the water trying to swim further and further up stream. If you are traveling with kids this is a good stop - they have a touch tank where you can interact with some sea creatures. 

 

Finally we stopped at the Fortress of the Bear. Interestingly due to state law you cannot release a bear once it has been caught and so they will live in captivity for the rest of their lives (unlike the raptors and other birds at the raptor center). This law is very controversial as over 30 states and Canada currently allow for bears to be released back into the wild. 

Bear cubs are very reliant on their mother for their first few years of life and prior to Fortress of the Bear any time a mother bear was killed (generally due to getting too close to humans foraging for food) they had no choice but to kill the cubs even when there was no other reason to do so. The Fortress of the Bear founder thought there has to be a better way and started taking in the cubs of both black and brown bears. 

 

Bears are incredibly smart and I have to say the black bears are absolutely adorable and remind me a lot of my cat sitting up on a perch. Now if I saw one in the wild I would have a very different reaction (and of course I will say bears are NOT good pets just in case anyone has any wild ideas). They do a really good job trying to let the bears live as they would in the wild. Salmon are released into the water in the enclosure so that the bears still hunt for their own food. While handlers have some contact it is always protected  through the cage and never direct. They have trained the bears to follow several commands mostly surrounding medical treatment (such as show me your paw and show me your belly). The hope is one day the law will change and they will be able to release bears back to the wild. This is another must see during your visit to Sitka. 

 

For our next visit to Sitka we will plan to do "The Best of Sitka: Otters, Raptors and Bears" tour as I would love a chance to see the otters and the raptor center and fortress of the bear are absolutely not to be missed. The Marine Science Center is nice but again there is really no reason to go back if you have seen it, or if you have visited a hatchery or Salmon ladder and know the process. 

 

Accessibility notes:

There is a separate tour to book if you have a wheelchair and there was a second wheelchair accessible bus that followed the main one. We booked the standard tour and my mom brought her walker. They have space under the bus (school bus type bus) where it can be stored. If you can navigate the bus stairs I recommend this option only because you get to have the main guide. The driver/guide for the accessible bus may have been good also but it is always a risk when you are following the tour in another vehicle. 

The Raptor Center is totally accessible for the main building. There are several paths to go down that are less so but you don't need to go on any of them. This is to see some of the birds that are unreleasable and are being kept for educational purposes. The actual center and presentation area are easy to access and get around. 

The Marine Science Center has two areas - the main building where the touch tank is located is accessible. You will need to either go around or down some stairs and then onto a gravel area to see the hatchery. This area is not particularly accessible although the distances are short (though there is not much of an opportunity to sit). The bus remains out front and you can easily return to the bus for this portion of the tour although the hatchery is really the highlight unless traveling with kids who would enjoy touching fish. 

The Fortress of the Bear is also accessible. They have a long ramp to go up to the viewing deck. There is no elevator and only stairs coming back down, but those who cannot do the stairs can go back down the ramp (picture included below). Both the portion going up and back down only extends a very short distance outside of the range of the camera and seeing the bears is absolutely worth the trip up the ramp.