Live from Nieuw Amsterdam 14-Day Alaska Explorer

[VMax1700]

11 hours ago, Crew News said:

Drydock will be in December.

December 2nd - December 16th ?

Can you find out what is happening between October 1st and October 21st as nothing is listed on the HAL site and I cannot find any charters being offered.

Thanks.

[Crew News]

Due to gale force windows, the ship could not safely dock in Kodiak so we are headed to Anchorage at a slower speed. 

[canadianbear]

Just now, Crew News said:

Due to gale force windows, the ship could not safely dock in Kodiak so we are headed to Anchorage at a slower speed. 

I saw a photo on another site and the seas looked really rough.  They mentioned too rough for pilot boat.  

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

December 2nd - December 16th ?

Can you find out what is happening between October 1st and October 21st as nothing is listed on the HAL site and I cannot find any charters being offered.

Thanks.

I will be aboard this ship from Oct 6-28 through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. I will try to get exact dry dock dates.

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

I saw a photo on another site and the seas looked really rough.  They mentioned too rough for pilot boat.  

Captain announced seas to rough for pilot and tugs to aid docking.  Same gale force winds in the port area makes docking too risky.  This happens often in Key West, Florida.

[SightCRR]

I couldn't find NA on marine tracker at Kodiak and faa kodiak camera it looks pretty rough. Now I know the rest of the story. 

[vicd1969]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

Due to gale force windows, the ship could not safely dock in Kodiak so we are headed to Anchorage at a slower speed. 

That stinks, that you won't have a chance to see the famous Kodiak bears. Appreciate your almost live trip reports, however.

[sunny days]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

I will be aboard this ship from Oct 6-28 through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. I will try to get exact dry dock dates.

I will be on the October 6 - 21 Panama Canal. I started a thread on the cruise critic roll call but no one has responded. I am glad to find a fellow cruise critic member who will be on this cruise. I am a bit worried about the internet. This will be our first time on Holland America. We always get an internet package because my husband needs to check his work emails every day. Is it going to be worth purchasing the package if we can hardly ever get on? Maybe we will need to only check emails when we are in port. We will have quite a number of sea days. Hmmm......  I look forward to your posts on this thread.🙂 I am especially interested in entertainment and activities. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Crew News]

47 minutes ago, sunny days said:

I will be on the October 6 - 21 Panama Canal. I started a thread on the cruise critic roll call but no one has responded. I am glad to find a fellow cruise critic member who will be on this cruise. I am a bit worried about the internet. This will be our first time on Holland America. We always get an internet package because my husband needs to check his work emails every day. Is it going to be worth purchasing the package if we can hardly ever get on? Maybe we will need to only check emails when we are in port. We will have quite a number of sea days. Hmmm......  I look forward to your posts on this thread.🙂 I am especially interested in entertainment and activities. Have a wonderful cruise!

FWIW here is the link to the Panama Canal thread that I started last October, 2022:  October 6 - 21 Panama Canal Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Feel free to join the roll call and the list of Meet & Greet.  There is another couple aboard now who will be on in October with us.  With the satellites over the equator, the internet is easy to connect but just slow. 

 

Feel free to ask lots of questions to help in your planning.  Check the link in my signature for current HAL information and menus.

[Crew News]

The ship is sailing at a constant list to the port side as I look out my aft balcony door. 

 

My Lido lunch dishes had to be held from sliding off the table and returning to my aft stateroom was just sliding along the smooth railing in the hallway.  The ship is not rolling from side to side but maintaining a constant list with a slight recovery from an extreme list to just a constant one.

 

My nightstand drawers are standing open and cannot be closed.  Pushing my desk chair back is an uphill battle.  Items on my nightstands are now on the floor.  Might be time for duct tape.

[canadianbear]

4 minutes ago, Crew News said:

The ship is sailing at a constant list to the port side as I look out my aft balcony door. 

 

My Lido lunch dishes had to be held from sliding off the table and returning to my aft stateroom was just sliding along the smooth railing in the hallway.  The ship is not rolling from side to side but maintaining a constant list with a slight recovery from an extreme list to just a constant one.

 

My nightstand drawers are standing open and cannot be closed.  Pushing my desk chair back is an uphill battle.  Items on my nightstands are now on the floor.  Might be time for duct tape.

Yikes. Sounds like a wild ride!  I loved it like that because I’d walk around the ship and it would be empty.  Find myself a nice spot to watch the waves while hubby would be in the room not feeling well, lol.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

23 minutes ago, Crew News said:

The ship is sailing at a constant list to the port side as I look out my aft balcony door. 

 

My Lido lunch dishes had to be held from sliding off the table and returning to my aft stateroom was just sliding along the smooth railing in the hallway.  The ship is not rolling from side to side but maintaining a constant list with a slight recovery from an extreme list to just a constant one.

 

My nightstand drawers are standing open and cannot be closed.  Pushing my desk chair back is an uphill battle.  Items on my nightstands are now on the floor.  Might be time for duct tape.

 

We are on deck 6, nothing on the floor yet.  Captain announcing right now that we've got another 6-7 hours of poor weather.

 

Disappointed to miss Kodiak Island.  I guess it is a good accused to rebook this cruise with slightly different ports, or a repo to/from Japan.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Stateroom_Sailor

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, sunny days said:

I will be on the October 6 - 21 Panama Canal. I started a thread on the cruise critic roll call but no one has responded. I am glad to find a fellow cruise critic member who will be on this cruise. I am a bit worried about the internet. This will be our first time on Holland America. We always get an internet package because my husband needs to check his work emails every day. Is it going to be worth purchasing the package if we can hardly ever get on? Maybe we will need to only check emails when we are in port. We will have quite a number of sea days. Hmmm......  I look forward to your posts on this thread.🙂 I am especially interested in entertainment and activities. Have a wonderful cruise!

As sucky as the internet has been on several cruises I haven’t ever had a problem with my email.  Websites that’s another story.

[oaktreerb]

I don’t understand why HAL now only books these 14 day cruises during shoulder season.  The 14 day itineraries have previously been very popular throughout the Alaska cruise season.  Fortunately the 28 day Summer Solstice cruise sails in June/July 2024.  

 

Prior to Covid we could enjoy the 14 day itinerary in June with better weather.  Just before the Covid shutdown HAL offered a 21 day itinerary which began in May.  We got lots of rainy weather on that one but I would do it again!

 

I hope you have a great cruise.  Thanks for all the HAL information you gather for the rest of us.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by oaktreerb

[Stateroom_Sailor]

17 hours ago, Crew News said:

As noted by others, the queue included passengers boarding all of the ships in port.  Cruise line reps wandered through the queue extracting their respective passengers.  Interestingly, I arrived at the HAL doorway at 10:55 AM to begin a slow stroll through serpentine stanchions and ropes.  Vancouver passengers now check-in before Security screening of their hand-carry luggage.  More serpentine lines downstairs for screening luggage followed by processing through US Immigration (passport scan), printed pass from the scanner, and then handing the pass to an Immigration rep at the doorway. 

 

Being a 5 Star Mariner got me into shorter queues in the process and I was eventually seated in the sixth priority boarding row at 11:26 AM.  I was in my stateroom at 12:02 AM.  My special thanks to those warning of the precheck-in queue before the entrance for check-in.  I did not witness the terminal headaches later in the day but I have heard of them.

 

We made the mistake of walking our luggage to the terminal, which was a bit tricky with the marathon blockades.  Once we finally got our luggage dropped off, we were misdirected to the security check, where we waited halfway through the line before someone redirected us upstairs.  Everyone in the original luggage line ended up in the same boat.  By the time we got back downstairs, the security line was much longer, but they had begun or resumed warning people of procedures.  4 Hours between entering the terminal to walking on the ship.

[Crew News]

27 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We are on deck 6, nothing on the floor yet.  Captain announcing right now that we've got another 6-7 hours of poor weather.

 

Disappointed to miss Kodiak Island.  I guess it is a good accused to rebook this cruise with slightly different ports, or a repo to/from Japan.

 

The Captain's "50 knot" winds tonight made me think of the typhoon of 2014 with 86 knot winds that took my furniture over the side.  On the good side, the ship is not rocking from side to side.

 

Just received my laundry and the delivery guy was having a really hard time pushing the trolley away from the walls.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Crew News

[Crew News]

5 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We made the mistake of walking our luggage to the terminal, which was a bit tricky with the marathon blockades.  Once we finally got our luggage dropped off, we were misdirected to the security check, where we waited halfway through the line before someone redirected us upstairs.  Everyone in the original luggage line ended up in the same boat.  By the time we got back downstairs, the security line was much longer, but they had begun or resumed warning people of procedures.  4 Hours between entering the terminal to walking on the ship.

The bellhop that picked up my luggage from my Pan Pacific hotel room gave me a detailed description of t he check-in process and told me to get in line early. Without his advice, I would have gone downstairs, too.

[SightCRR]

Here is a great ANC website link. I think NA will be in view on the Third St Market. Weather looks to be better tomorrow. Borealis Broadband » Webcams Just canceled my reservation again for Matanuska glacier tomorrow at 2:00pm. 

sightcrr. 

[*Miss G*]

I honestly have to wonder at the practicality of having a pre-clearance center at the Port of Vancouver.  Why is Canada allowing this?  It’s not like there’s a Canadian presence for pre-clearance at Seattle or San Diego, et al.  It’s mind-boggling.

[Crew News]

Captain reported 70 knot winds for the next 2-3 hours causing an extreme list then we turn into Cook's inlet with shielding from the winds. Getting close to my 86 know typhoon winds. Turn will be just in time for my Tamarind dinner. 

 

Everything that was on my table evaded my protective hands and is now strewn about the floor of my stateroom.  My balcony furniture is now pressed to one side of the balcony and the large drawers under the bed stand open. Everything on my desk is now against the wall and my desk chair wants to drag me under the desk.  Wish I could get an accurate degree of listing.  Elevators now turned off for safety.

 

With a splash of water in my face, I would feel like I am aboard the Time Bandit on Deadliest Catch.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Crew News

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Captain reported 70 knot winds for the next 2-3 hours causing an extreme list then we turn into Cook's inlet with shielding from the winds. Getting close to my 86 know typhoon winds. Turn will be just in time for my Tamarind dinner. 

 

Everything that was on my table evaded my protective hands and is now strewn about the floor of my stateroom.  My balcony furniture is now pressed to one side of the balcony and the large drawers under the bed stand open. Everything on my desk is now against the wall and my desk chair wants to drag me under the desk.  Wish I could get an accurate degree of listing.

 

This reminds me of early Costa Concordia's list, at least what I've seen from the surveillance.  Elevators shut down!

[canadianbear]

Oh goodness @Crew News what a wild day and evening.  Stay safe. 

[Crew News]

As long as the cello player does not start playing, all should be fine in a few hours according to the map.

 

Captain did report some bars are still open.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Crew News

[Florida_gal_50]

Take care.  Sounds terrible.

[POA1]

7 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

December 2nd - December 16th ?

Can you find out what is happening between October 1st and October 21st as nothing is listed on the HAL site and I cannot find any charters being offered.

Thanks.

It's not a Drydock. Some charters won't show up on Hal's site, particularly if they're not for public booking.