En Route with Hank in Japan and the Westerdam

[mrmoviezombie]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Wasn't that caused by the Federal government ?

No. It's caused by math. A tiny finite piece of ocean cannot supply an infinite amount of crab demanded by tens of thousands of cruise passengers per day.

[Hlitner]

Good Morning,

Our final day has us on the outside moving towards our final destination of Seattle.  Today involves some controversy, and anger/disappointment for many.  This cruise segment was advertised as an Inside Passage Voyage which was always a lie.  Some folks actually booked this cruise for that reason.  But it turns out that doing the inside passage, in May, was never possible because of the schedule and spring tides.

 

Seattle did not bother to notify we passengers of the “operational

 change” until way after the time

folks could have cancelled.  In fact, most had no clue about the change until they were already in Japan.  This can only have happened due to deliberate disinformation from Seattle or to complete incompetence in Seattle.  Either way. HAL sold an Inside Passage cruise that was never going to happen.

 

As Paul Harvey used to say, “and now you know the rest of the story.”

 

Hank

 

[ontheweb]

39 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Good Morning,

Our final day has us on the outside moving towards our final destination of Seattle.  Today involves some controversy, and anger/disappointment for many.  This cruise segment was advertised as an Inside Passage Voyage which was always a lie.  Some folks actually booked this cruise for that reason.  But it turns out that doing the inside passage, in May, was never possible because of the schedule and spring tides.

 

Seattle did not bother to notify we passengers of the “operational

 change” until way after the time

folks could have cancelled.  In fact, most had no clue about the change until they were already in Japan.  This can only have happened due to deliberate disinformation from Seattle or to complete incompetence in Seattle.  Either way. HAL sold an Inside Passage cruise that was never going to happen.

 

As Paul Harvey used to say, “and now you know the rest of the story.”

 

Hank

 

So they saved the worst for last! I would vote for deliberate disinformation as they did not want to give any excuse for passengers to cancel.

 

But you have to give them credit for withholding this information until the last minute so as to not ruin the enjoyment of the cruise earlier. 🤦‍♂️

[bennybear]

We have always had lovely weather in Alaska,  May and July with temps in the 80s.  It is very moderate on the coast.   This Canadian finds it lovely, I think it’s a common misconception that it’s cold. 
 

Too bad you didn’t do the inside passage, it is spectacular scenery and calm waters.   But as long as I can remember true inside passage cruises go to Vancouver and the ones to Seattle go outside Vancouver island.    Sometimes they consider part of the passage north of Vancouver island as also inside passage, so that may be the technicality.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

9 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Perhaps we’ve been lucky, but I’ve spent nearly a month in Alaska on two separate trips and was never cold.  And one of the times was so lovely we were wearing shorts onboard and had a wonderful barbecue in the sunshine. 

I have to agree I have had some very nice weather in Alaska but I have also had cold and rainy weather. Kind of the luck of the draw. One year in June it was so hot that the temps were in the high 90's we went to the Juneau Public Libary to use their faster internet, I was doing a Live from here on CC and the libary had fans blowing and people were sweating. We laughed because it was hotter that day than it was in Las Vegas. May and September have always been the coldest but I have had some nice weather in September and May.  After a hot summer in Vegas we enjoy coolng off a bit in early September. We are looking forward to returning this year. After numerous Alaska cruises we have found going everyother year works best for us.

[Expo67]

11 hours ago, mrmoviezombie said:

No. It's caused by math. A tiny finite piece of ocean cannot supply an infinite amount of crab demanded by tens of thousands of cruise passengers per day.

Good point which is enhanced by one main reason. While in Sitka last year our friends who have lived there for 35 years picked us up for the day. He has run a fishing/crabbing business with multiple boats for about the full 35 years. When it came to lunch discussions came around to finding a nice place with crab legs to treat them for their generosity. He laughed and said to us that he seriously doubted their touring us around could come close to the pricing required for a crab lunch. 🤣

 

He then went on to expand that the crab legs would be their treat as we went by his business and picked up some fresh catch from that morning. During the steaming he and I talked with an Anchor Steam in hand. The price increases and loss of stock in his estimation began about 8 years ago when the majority of boats in Alaska were bought by the Japanese and therefore most of their catch went directly back to Japan. The smaller local quantity therefore doubled in price and then doubled again over the past 4 years. Sad for crab lovers but brought on by business decisions of the industry. More than likely that also has play in why the Pinnacle no longer has crab legs on their menu. 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Expo67

[Expo67]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Good Morning,

Our final day has us on the outside moving towards our final destination of Seattle.  Today involves some controversy, and anger/disappointment for many.  This cruise segment was advertised as an Inside Passage Voyage which was always a lie.  Some folks actually booked this cruise for that reason.  But it turns out that doing the inside passage, in May, was never possible because of the schedule and spring tides.

 

Seattle did not bother to notify we passengers of the “operational

 change” until way after the time

folks could have cancelled.  In fact, most had no clue about the change until they were already in Japan.  This can only have happened due to deliberate disinformation from Seattle or to complete incompetence in Seattle.  Either way. HAL sold an Inside Passage cruise that was never going to happen.

 

As Paul Harvey used to say, “and now you know the rest of the story.”

 

Hank

 

Hmm sounds like the North Cape and Longyearbyen cruise we have scheduled for June on a Carnival Sister (Princess). They decided to wait until after final payment to notify all bookings that the ship would not be going to the Svalbard Archipelago even though they knew months and months in advance that they were never going there. They so generously offered a $50 OBC per stateroom. After many letters to Princess corporate some of us but not all received and additional $250 OBC. Yes most of us know all to well the paragraphs in the cruise contract about cruise port cancellations and substitutions. That being said when a cruise is being promoted and priced as an exotic voyage and added in the fact of the deception involved it just makes you cringe with a bit of anger. 😡

[ldog]

On 5/6/2023 at 6:21 AM, ontheweb said:

The accounting system works in strange and mysterious ways. It is not something we mere mortals should even attempt to understand. 

DH calls it 'creative accounting'.

[REOVA]

On 5/5/2023 at 12:45 PM, stairMaster said:

 

In contrast to some of the posts on this thread I find that I am at times overwhelmed with activities choices on the Westerdam. As I am not a night owl, I cannot comment on post 10pm entertainment since I'm usually back in my cabin for some night time reading and relaxation. 

Some of the daily activities include morning talks with our ever present cruise director Rachel and special guest(s)  ( ex. Head chef, engineer, entertainers, hotel manager, HAL cadets etc.) The talks were very informative and the floor was always opened to questions.

Another well attended event on the World Stage were lectures from Andy Fletcher on the Universe and everything. He touched on topics like Einstein, Newton, Gravity, Quantum particles, chaos theory and much more. Bridge lessons, orgami folding, ping pong, pickle ball, fitness classes, mah Jong and of course trivia and others were always available everyday. 

A pleasant surprise was having the Captain introduce his senior staff on the 2nd night of the cruise before the evening show. He also presented a talk a couple days ago on the World Stage and took some hard questions especially on itinerary changes. 

We did have a couple of issues with our stateroom which were resolved efficiently in a few days. 

Overall, this has been an excellent cruise and we would not hesitate on taking another HAL cruise. 

 

Thanks for your varied opinion as it is important to extrapolate the balance. And thank you for specifying what you like because we've seen Andy Fletcher on multiple cruises and the first time was great....we would skip him again, but glad you enjoyed him. Same for much of the entertainment that HAL repeats. You have not been "cursed" by doing B2Bs or even multiple ships within a year or short period which may be a reason for better review than others on the same cruise (or other cruises). Probably happens on other lines as well. And not being a night owl or drinking specific items may also contribute to differing cruise experiences, so the detail from all reviews helps others prepare, depending on what they are looking for. I enjoy reading wine reviews but know that palates are different and I would not necessarily drink a wine based on one critics review over another but the details they add help. We can see HAL has a way to go to get to/back what many "expect" and hopefully someone behind the curtain is working on that. 

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, ldog said:

DH calls it 'creative accounting'.

I wonder if the creative accountants have a special line for overcharges not caught by the passenger and brought to the attention of the onboard staff. 😉

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 5/6/2023 at 10:12 AM, Hlitner said:

Good Morning,

Our final day has us on the outside moving towards our final destination of Seattle.  Today involves some controversy, and anger/disappointment for many.  This cruise segment was advertised as an Inside Passage Voyage which was always a lie.  Some folks actually booked this cruise for that reason.  But it turns out that doing the inside passage, in May, was never possible because of the schedule and spring tides.

 

We boarded Nieuw Amsterdam today, to embarkation chaos in Vancouver.  This extended to existing crew members going through customs.  One of them recognized a familiar face starting new contract.  This person told them how beautiful the inside passage was from the prior sailing.  Looking at the April 30th itinerary, inside passage was included.  Why would spring tides affect Westerdam and not Nieuw Amsterdam?

 

 

 

 

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We boarded Nieuw Amsterdam today, to embarkation chaos in Vancouver.  This extended to existing crew members going through customs.  One of them recognized a familiar face starting new contract.  This person told them how beautiful the inside passage was from the prior sailing.  Looking at the April 30th itinerary, inside passage was included.  Why would spring tides affect Westerdam and not Nieuw Amsterdam?

 

 

 

 

I guess you would need to ask the Captain of the Westerdam.  Only know what we were told.  

[BetsyS.]

Stateroom_Sailor - Bon Voyage!  🥂😊 Have a great cruise!

[Essiesmom]

Nearly all cruises from Seattle go west of Vancouver Island.  All ships from Vancouver use the inside passage east of the island.  Simple.  EM

[sunviking90]

22 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Nearly all cruises from Seattle go west of Vancouver Island.  All ships from Vancouver use the inside passage east of the island.  Simple.  EM

Yes, I have never heard of a large cruise ship heading to Seattle going through the Canadian part of the Inside Passage east of Vancouver Island. That is also a long distance to go in a day and a half (from Ketchikan) at the new reduced speed required. Correct me if I’m wrong. It’s disappointing that the passengers were mislead in this way when HAL would have known long ago.

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, sunviking90 said:

Yes, I have never heard of a large cruise ship heading to Seattle going through the Canadian part of the Inside Passage east of Vancouver Island. That is also a long distance to go in a day and a half (from Ketchikan) at the new reduced speed required. Correct me if I’m wrong. It’s disappointing that the passengers were mislead in this way when HAL would have known long ago.

As I mentioned in a previous post, that has been the case as long as I can remember.  But I have seen the inside passage also described as north of Vancouver island as well, with other cruise lines as well.   So the devil is in the details, the map description would have likely shown which side of Vancouver island.  
 

The same cruise next year shows inside passage to Ketchikan than to Victoria which would be outside of Vancouver island.  So wondering if that was the case this year as well?  
 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by bennybear

[Stateroom_Sailor]

6 hours ago, bennybear said:

 

The same cruise next year shows inside passage to Ketchikan than to Victoria which would be outside of Vancouver island.  So wondering if that was the case this year as well?  
 

 

 

Hank will have to do a 2024 Reunion Cruise to help us get to the bottom of this.

[Lido deck main]

33 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Hank will have to do a 2024 Reunion Cruise to help us get to the bottom of this.

That map show west of Vancouver Island. 

[Blackduck59]

I think when my friend did an Alaska cruise out of Seattle they went to the west side of Vancouver Island for the outbound leg. On the return leg they went via the "Inside Passage" on the east side of Vancouver Island with a stop in Victoria before returning to Seattle. That is the logical route to get the mandatory Canadian stop and it would be a much smoother ride.

 

[ontheweb]

Is the cruise done? There have been no new posts for days.

[USN59-79]

The cruise ended in Seattle on Sunday morning.  We got off about 8:30 and were happy to be home by noon.

Ray

[Hlitner]

30 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Is the cruise done? There have been no new posts for days.

Yep, as Ray posted, we finally got off that dam ship on Sunday morning.   Since we are finally home, we enjoyed some decent pizza (last night) which is something we sorely missed on the Westy, which is one of the HAL ships without a NY Deli.  

 

Kudos to HAL for quickly crediting our credit card for our unused OBC (significantly over $1000).  That unused OBC would have been a lot less if we had not closely monitored our onboard account and constantly asked for overcharges to be corrected (at least 11 overcharges on our cruise).  The Westy has a serious problem with their onboard accounting system and we again urge future cruisers to carefully check their onboard account (on a daily basis).  

 

We have consistently posted that we found our 42 day cruise, OK!  Some things were better than expected (such as our suite and our terrific stewards), some things were "HAL normal,"  and too many things were well below old HAL standards (and our own standards).  We did find that most of our food in the MDR (we almost always eat dinner in the MDR) were properly cooked and give a high five to the cooks and chefs for doing a pretty good job....given the products with which they must work.  The always offered salmon was always excellent and our "go to" item on the evenings when the daily menu was awful (this happened too many times). 

 

  On Sunday night, while in Tacoma, DW and I went to a decent seafood restaurant where DW had excellent Rainbow Trout and I enjoyed a fantastic piece of Alaskan Halibut.  While the fish prep on the Westy was generally very good, the farmed fish is basically tasteless and that dinner in Tacoma just confirmed the obvious.  Cruise lines (not just HAL) like to boast about using "sustainable" fish, but this is generally a code word for tasteless commercially farmed fish.  I also had a clam chowder (on Sunday in Tacoma) that was thick, tasty, with plenty of clams.  Something else you will not find on HAL.   The beef filets (on the Westy) were generally quite good (a nice surprise) while other cuts of beef left something to be desired.  All the offerings at the Dive-In (I had just about everything on the menu) were good and up to old HAL standards.  The Pinnacle Grill continues to be one of the worst values in the cruise world with a very tired menu, so-so food (hits and misses) and ridiculous add-on charges.

 

While DW and I are not big dessert fans, we did try many of the offerings on the Westy and this is an area where HAL could do much better.  In 42 days, there was not a single dessert offering where I said, "this is something I must try."  Yes, I know we can usually get decent cream brulee on HAL (the Pinnacle offering is really good) but it would be nice to have some excellent pies, cakes, etc.

 

With a few exceptions, the hotel crew on our cruise were excellent and up to previous HAL standards.  But there were obvious crew shortages (or cut-backs) which does have a negative impact.  Supervisors and very senior staff often seemed to be in hiding, and a few of us speculated they did not want to hear (or deal with) passenger complaints.  Service in the lounges was very uneven and bars were often staffed by a single bar tender during some of the busiest pre-dinner times.  Our service in the MDR was generally excellent, but we dine later (usually after 7:30) when there is much less pressure on the dining staff.

 

After a few days off the ship and some time to reflect on the cruise, we can find little reason to even consider HAL for future cruises (we heard this was from quite a few folks).  While we do think that HAL is "Ok" we already know (from experience) that we can find much better quality/value with several other lines.  I do hope this will change in the near future but will not hold my breath.

 

Hank

 

 

 

 

[BetsyS.]

Hank - Thanks for all your reports throughout the cruise and your summary today. 

I appreciate your honesty. I hope that HAL will pay attention to all the post cruise surveys.  I feel sorry for the crew. They do the best they can, but HAL needs to hire 

more crew. 

[scooter6139]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

 ...

  On Sunday night, while in Tacoma, DW and I went to a decent seafood restaurant where DW had excellent Rainbow Trout and I enjoyed a fantastic piece of Alaskan Halibut.  While the fish prep on the Westy was generally very good, the farmed fish is basically tasteless and that dinner in Tacoma just confirmed the obvious.  Cruise lines (not just HAL) like to boast about using "sustainable" fish, but this is generally a code word for tasteless commercially farmed fish.  I also had a clam chowder (on Sunday in Tacoma) that was thick, tasty, with plenty of clams.  Something else you will not find on HAL.   

---

 

Hank

 

 

 

 

  Interested in what Seafood restaurant you visited on Sunday, as we are from this area.  

[Hlitner]

14 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

  Interested in what Seafood restaurant you visited on Sunday, as we are from this area.  

We just headed to Anthony's at Point Defiance.  Hard to resist the sea view after 6 weeks on a ship :).

 

Hank