Live and live from Nieuw Amsterdam on her voyage up north to Alaska

[Copper10-8]

46 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Another good morning, John!  It should be a beautiful day in Victoria today, around 20 celsius!  Hope you see some orca, and Maria some tulips (by the thousands!)  Victoria seems to be choc-a-bloc full this weekend, the m.v. Coho has started up again, ferrying people from Port Angeles, WA., cruise ships abound, and I tried a number of places in town for reservations, with no luck.  I think we are better off thinking further afield, I'll attach a menu from a little bistro in our closest shopping centre, the Artisan Bistro, failing that there is Romeo's, or the Penny Farthing Pub in Oak Bay, which I couldn't find a reso for after 5 p.m, but perhaps might have more luck on the phone.   I won't offer to cook for you, I've forgotten how after a month away!  But we would like to bring you out here to our home and have a drink and then go on to dinner somewhere nearby.  How does that suit?

 

https://www.artisanbistro.ca/dinner/

 

PS  Tell Maria that the gelato in the gelato place at Butchart's is really good - it's in the Italian Garden.

 

Really nice Ann! No pressure! Romano's sounds good! Maybe Ray will be there 😉 and so does the Penny Farthing! Maria remembers the gelato place in Butcharts. See ya tonite at 6:30! 🙂

 

[Copper10-8]

Day 3 – Friday 28 APR 23 – At Sea

 

We awakened to overcast gray skies around 7:00 AM as Nieuw Amsterdam passed the California-Oregon border still on her way south. We haven’t deviated for Honolulu yet! The ride has been surprisingly smooth while headed in the direction that points directly towards the geographic North Pole, especially at this time of year still. According to Nieuw A’s master, we might get some rain in Victoria and Vancouver over the weekend but that is to be suspected so we shall see!

 

We have so far seen three California gray whales on our starboard side from our cabin and from Lido deck mid-ships, so between the ship and California shore, as they also head northbound after spending the winter breeding and calving off the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. Always very cool to see them breath out, or even breech.

 

Breakfast was in our usual spot inside the Pinnacle Grill. They have a pretty good crowd in there, at least between 0900-0930 hrs. however, service has been good by the six or so Indonesian stewards. Manager Carlos takes the time to come by each and every table to inquire how things are going, the sign of a good manager. We reversed selections with Maria taking the French Toast and moi choosing the All-American Breakfast. When this was consumed, we checked into the Neptune Lounge while Reza and Abdul took care of our cabin. That coffee machine in the Neptune is always goo, It gives you six selections plus hot chocolate however, it has had some issues with the temp. since we boarded. Today was the second morning in a row that one of Nieuw A’s white overall-clad technicians was working on it. He was able to rise the temp when he was done.

 

At 1000 hrs., this morning was the Mariners reception, now known as the Mariner Recognition Event inside the Explorer’s Loung on Deck 2 aft. We chose not to attend since we’re staying on for another week. Upon returning to the cabin however, we found the two Royal Goede Wagen / Delft’s Blue “tegels” / tiles on our bed, as well as a HAL 150 Years at sea shopping bag. The tiles are the current (2021-2022) version, arranged by ship’s class (in our case the two Signature class sisters Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam), which depict a sea monster on the bottom of the tile. The corner ornamentations refer to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York. The crown consists of seven points symbolizing the seven continents and oceans.

 

By around 11:00 AM, the marine layer/cloudy conditions disappeared, and the sun made an appearance, which was unexpected and nice! We wound up basically and shamelessly doing a lot of jelling & vegging for pretty much the entire afternoon. That is what vacation is for, right? Maria found Fisherman's Friends on the cabin TV selection, a 2019 British comedy-drama film and true story about a group of Cornish gam hens, sorry, fishermen from Port Isaac who were signed by Universal Records and achieved a top 10 hit with their debut album of traditional sea shanties.

 

Lunch was at the Lido Market where we chose pasta (she) and a couple of tacos (me). Those tacos used to be a self-serv option at the, you guessed it, Taco Bar, outside the Dive-In but disappeared after the restart post-Covid. They have now made a reappearance at the pasta station in the Lido Market, along with chips & salsa, however, are no longer self-service. They will be prepared for you on request and placed upright on your plate with the help of a little silver mini stand.

 

Since this Pacific Coastal/Panama Canal transit extension is ending for the majority of a fellow pax (some are staying for the first Alaska voyage), the “On Deck for a Cause” 5K walk to support Ukrainian refugees was scheduled for 2:30 PM. 30 minutes prior to that, magician Scott Pepper had a magic “workshop” going. At 3:00 PM, they were showing “A Man called Otto,” a really good flick with the super talented Tom Hanks. We saw it in the theaters when if first came out. Third Avenue West played dance music in the Ocean Bar at 5”00 and 6:00 PM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

19 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

Lunch was at the Lido Market where we chose pasta (she) and a couple of tacos (me). Those tacos used to be a self-serv option at the, you guessed it, Taco Bar, outside the Dive-In but disappeared after the restart post-Covid. They have now made a reappearance at the pasta station in the Lido Market, along with chips & salsa,

 

 

 

Interesting. On Volendam the taco bar is once again self serve.

[LawDog61]

 Copper you always write such great reports!

[Copper10-8]

42 minutes ago, LawDog61 said:

 Copper you always write such great reports!

 

Thank you kindly Mr. Lawdog, Sir, counselor! Prob is connected to all those "just the facts Ma'am" arrest reports! 🙃

[POA1]

Wow! This is a really good thread John! I hadn't really been keeping up with people's ship trip reports in the past few years. (Too depressing with no sailing scheduled.) The current "Live From" game is at a higher level than ever.

 

Thanks for taking us along.

[Copper10-8]

23 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Wow! This is a really good thread John! I hadn't really been keeping up with people's ship trip reports in the past few years. (Too depressing with no sailing scheduled.) The current "Live From" game is at a higher level than ever.

 

Thanks for taking us along.

 

Thanks as always Brian! Just found your email from a week ago! Apologies for the lack of response so far! 🙃 Don't know what happened!

[oakridger]

I'm so glad your trip north along the coast was smooth sailing.  All of my northbound and a couple of the southbound coastals have been pretty bumpy! 🤢

 

I really enjoy your posts!

 

~Nancy

[Copper10-8]

Day 3 – Friday 28 APR 23 – At Sea (Con't)

 

So today was the only “non-casual” night on this 4-day Pacific Coastal, HAL called it “Dressy” in the daily program. We had a seven thirty reservation in the Tamarind, HAL’s Asian Fusion restaurant up on Deck 11 mid-ships, one of our favorite feeding establishments onboard. Upon arrival, were duly escorted by the restaurant’s manager from Indonesia, to a nice table for two adjacent one of the starboard side windows. The place was pretty popular tonight! We received primary service from a Thai young lady who called herself Ing-Ing and to reemphasize that name, she added “like a motorcycle Vring, Vring” (as opposed to the Vroom, Vroom sound of a car). Ing Ing turned out to be the Energizer Bunny personified! Very quick to respond, and just a fun individual to be around, no doubt the leader of the Tamarind ladies! We enjoyed her service very much!

 

So in the Tamarind, the main dishes are categorized into the elements of water, fire, wood, and earth. We started out with a really nice bowl of Krupuk (Indonesian shrimp crackers) with four assorted dips (Soy sauce, Sambal (a lot of heat! Tarzan would not like this amount of heat, but I do}, a sweet & sour plus a green contraption). The appetizer we both chose was the Satay sampler (Thai chicken, Malaysian lamb, Chinese Beef, Indonesian pork, and Vietnamese shrimp that comes with green mango, yuzu kosho and black bean powder). For our main entrée, Maria wound up having the Chinese Five Spice Baby Back Ribs with Jasmin rice on the side, while I had the wasabi and soy crusted beef tenderloin with brown rice. For dessert, Maria chose the mango cloud while I had the cheesecake. To wash it away, Maria had a glass of wine named after her, while I had the and cold (not warm) Sake. Overall, we had an excellent dinner as well as professional service from Ing Ing and her colleagues. Unfortunately, the incredible “growing napkin in liquid” trick, the Pan-Asian hot tea, and the Miso soup, all taken away post Covis, have not made a return to the Tamarind as of yet. On the way out, we ran into Nieuw A’s executive chief housekeeper Michiel who was obviously enjoying a similar nice dinner along with three of his colleagues.

 

Post dinner, off we went to the Main Stage for the second show of Uruguayan guitarist Nestor Santurio. Different songs and genres than his show on opening night but still good. Followed that up by the last two sets of the B.B. King’s All-Stars at 9:45 and 10:45 PM who were excellent as always. Especially the 2nd set was standing room only and a full dance floor to great music. The female vocalist – don’t have her name as of yet – has an awesome range, while her male counterpart – Cole – is no slouch either. After their final set, the band leader and keyboard player made it a point to come down the stage to thanks us for being there! Pretty cool! We called it a night at 11:50 PM.

 

Tomorrow (Sat) is our first port of call, Victoria, BC on big Vancouver Island! See ya then!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I don’t love the new desserts in the tamarind.  I got to talking with the server about how much I loved the tamarind chocolate.  Out of the blue she asked if I would like to have it on my next visit.  Yes, I’d love it.  She put one down on the table and said to me wait there is more and put another one down ❤️.  I took it back to my room for the next night.  I thought it was so kind.  

[Copper10-8]

12 hours ago, oakridger said:

I'm so glad your trip north along the coast was smooth sailing.  All of my northbound and a couple of the southbound coastals have been pretty bumpy! 🤢

 

I really enjoy your posts!

 

~Nancy

 

It was a very smooth ride north all the way, just a little motion, enough to make you fell you are on a ship 😉 

[Seasick Sailor]

@Copper10-8 

John, we loved Ing Ing. We sailed with her on Rotterdam Dec/Jan 2022. She has a distinctive walk and she's always on the go. We were disappointed this Dec/Jan that she moved to NA, but happy you are enjoying her service. 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Seasick Sailor

[lobsternight]

@Copper10-8 on our way shortly.  I am making you responsible to oversee the loading of the lobsters. 

[Copper10-8]

7 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

@Copper10-8 

John, we loved Ing Ing. We sailed with her on Rotterdam Dec/Jan 2022. She has a distinctive walk and she's always on the go. We were disappointed this Dec/Jan that she moved to NA, but happy you are enjoying her service. 

 

 

She's a hoot, isn't she? Thanks for the pic! We'll show it to her when we see her again and tell her you said hi!

[Copper10-8]

7 hours ago, lobsternight said:

@Copper10-8 on our way shortly.  I am making you responsible to oversee the loading of the lobsters. 

 

Hope you got on board OK! It was an absolute zoo down at Canada Place at 3:00 PM with at least 2,000 pax for three ships (Nieuw A, Discovery Princess, and Radiance OTS) in looooooong slinky lines waiting to go through shoreside security.

 

The situation was so bad, it is delaying our (plus the other two ships') departure this afternoon. Canada Place needs to very much get its act together and make improvements in the passenger boarding process or there will continue to be lots of angry cruise ships pax, as well as captains who are forced to depart late!

 

But we did see cruise ship crew throwing lobster pods into Vancouver Harbor, no doubt trolling for the elusive hard shell British Colombia rock lobster 😐

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Brilliance, not Radiance OTS ☺️

[canadianbear]

@Copper10-8 enjoying your review, comments & photos. Sorry our weather changed today.  Our port is not the best when more than one ship is in sad to say.  I also wish they’d get their act together.  
 

Enjoy!

[sunviking90]

Really enjoying your trip report! We were on the Discovery Princess next to you in Victoria. Here is a shot of you sailing in. 
Canada Place seems to be especially crazy at the beginning of the cruise season. Being a seasonal port, combined with more passengers than the place was designed for (even after expansion) can be chaotic. It is also (I think) one of the only ports in North America where you have to clear US customs on embarkation. We usually sail out of it later in the season and it seems to be a bit better then, but even living here we are sometimes confused as to where to go. I find some of the the waiting areas are now the exhibition halls I used to attend dental conventions in! It is all worth it to sail the beautiful inside passage though.

Sorry we didn’t have better weather for you today! Enjoy part two of your journey!

Edited May 1, 2023 by sunviking90

[Copper10-8]

27 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

@Copper10-8 enjoying your review, comments & photos. Sorry our weather changed today.  Our port is not the best when more than one ship is in sad to say.  I also wish they’d get their act together.  
 

Enjoy!

 

We had a great time in your beautiful city, as always; wound up taking the Hop on Hop off bus and had lunch in a place called The Keg on Granville Island. Your DH's former colleagues just saw us off from Burrard Inlet to the Strait of Georgia 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

31 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Really enjoying your trip report! We were on the Discovery Princess next to you in Victoria. Here is a shot of you sailing in. 
Canada Place seems to be especially crazy at the beginning of the cruise season. Being a seasonal port, combined with more passengers than the place was designed for (even after expansion) can be chaotic. It is also (I think) one of the only ports in North America where you have to clear US customs on embarkation. We usually sail out of it later in the season and it seems to be a bit better then, but even living here we are sometimes confused as to where to go. I find some of the the waiting areas are now the exhibition halls I used to attend dental conventions in! It is all worth it to sail the beautiful inside passage though.

Sorry we didn’t have better weather for you today! Enjoy part two of your journey!

 

Thanks a bunch for the pic!! Yes, we were seen by U.S. CBP inside Canada Place this morning, rather than by CBSA. If I remember correctly since we have not flown out of there for a while, CBP also hangs out at YVR to clear/screen U.S.-bound pax by air.

 

It was all rather chaotic on the return to CP at 3:00 PM which surprised me because it was so close to all aboard time having to screen that many pax, that late. But, like you said, I'm sure they'll figure ity out in time since they do it every Alaska season

Edited May 1, 2023 by Copper10-8

[Ineke]

Thanks for the updates, John.  I must say I’m not looking forward to next Sunday’s repeat of today, considering we’ll be in that crazy crowd waiting to board, since standing for any length of time is virtually impossible. And I’m guessing the requested wheelchair assistance is absent?

[Zagqwest]

2 minutes ago, Ineke said:

Thanks for the updates, John.  I must say I’m not looking forward to next Sunday’s repeat of today, considering we’ll be in that crazy crowd waiting to board, since standing for any length of time is virtually impossible. And I’m guessing the requested wheelchair assistance is absent?

Looks like will be shared with Noordam. Never been in a situation where two ships from same line were using common use port. Do check in staff deal with both ships? Or are certain members only checking people in for one ship?

[canadianbear]

@Copper10-8 Glad you enjoyed our city again.  We love the Keg-especially their mushroom Neptune appetizer.  
 

Your escort was Port Authority not VPD.  They don’t do it much any longer since Mr Bear retired which is a shame. 

[Copper10-8]

11 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

@Copper10-8 Glad you enjoyed our city again.  We love the Keg-especially their mushroom Neptune appetizer.  
 

Your escort was Port Authority not VPD.  They don’t do it much any longer since Mr Bear retired which is a shame. 

 

Of course! Mr. Bear was VPD, not Port Authority

 

[canadianbear]

Just now, Copper10-8 said:

 

Of course! Mr. Bear was VPD, not Port Authority

 

You got it!!  Lol.