RevNeal - LIVE from the Ryndam & Amsterdam

[Travelrd]

Is there a special fudge shop in juneau? what is the name and location? or do these people just make fudge for their friends out of their home? i'm wild about fudge!

[haligonian37]

Is there a special fudge shop in juneau? what is the name and location? or do these people just make fudge for their friends out of their home? i'm wild about fudge!

 

Oh there certainly is! It's the Alaskan Fudge Company on South Franklin Street and it's not hard to find.....your nose will find it for sure :).

 

http://www.alaskanfudge.com/

[themerle]

RevNeal, Thanks for posting the live review. I have enjoyed following your Ryndam cruise and I'm anxiously waiting to hear all the details about the Amsterdam crusie. I have enjoyed the photos too.

[RevNeal]

I'm sorry I wasn't able to get online last night and report on our sea day ... I was having a few technical difficulties. So, here's my report from Sunday.

 

***

 

Good Evening from the lovely and Rocking-and-Rolling Amsterdam! As we come to the close of a wonderful restful sea day, I must say that I've absolutely fallen in love with this ship. Like the Rotterdam, this vessel is a work of art in and of herself; special care was taken in her outfitting, and I am impressed beyond measure at the decor. Well done, HAL ... well done indeed. I still love the Rotterdam, but the Amsterdam is quickly becoming my second-favorite damship.

 

Today we spent cruising the "outside passage" at 21 knots. We've been experiencing heavy wind and significant swell, which has caused the ship to be in motion far beyond anything we experienced on the Ryndam last week. As a result, a lot of people have been very sea sick, including my mother ... who is having trouble finding her sea legs. But, she will ... it's only a matter of time. I felt horribly sorry for her, but there was little I could do but give her some medication and encourage her that "this too shall pass."

 

A word or two about the ship. Firstly, she is in immaculate condition. She is clean, neat, well maintained, and well cared for. The crew can be seen working hard to uphold the standing of the Line as operating "The spotless fleet." Secondly, Our cabin steward, Bambang, is doing an excellent job keeping our stateroom neat and tidy; he is responsive to requests and very helpful. Our dining room stewards are fantastic, quick, and efficient. The service has been perfectly paced, and apart from the few minutes between when we order and when our first course comes, we've not spent much time waiting these past two evenings.

 

My warning about the cramped conditions of 6102 still stand, however now that it is configured with the beds separated and all of our stuff is unpacked and put away, it's not all that bad. Yes, we're learning to live with it, but it's more than that ... I actually love the location, the view, and how the cabin is configured. In the future, when booking an R-class ship as a solo, I may well select this cabin again. Yes, the motion can be a bit extreme, but it's certainly livable. Here's a tour of the cabin:

 

A look at the windows from outside.

 



The hallway outside, showing the door leading outside to the observation deck.

 



A look into the cabin, showing the short hallway that turns to the left into the cabin, proper.

 



The bed, made up as a Queen. We had it separated, which helped the crowded conditions some.

 

 

[RevNeal]

Continued photos of our cabin, 6102, on the Verandah Deck forward, overlooking the forward deck.

 

 



 



The cabin configured for 2 twin beds.

 



 



Yes, that's the entrance to the bathroom on the left.

[RevNeal]

Today (Monday) was a lovely day in Juneau! Wow! The wind was chilly but there wasn't a cloud in the sky! And, oh, what sights we saw! Mom and I enjoyed our sail into Juneau. Having a Verandah Deck forward cabin afforded us wonderful views as we made our approach.

 

 

 

Continued....

[RevNeal]

Then, we disembarked early and selected a Whale Watching Excursion from those that are available from shore-side operators. We shopped for a couple of hours, then went up on Mt. Roberts and took in the sights until our excursion departed.

 

The view of the approach to Juneau as seen from the top of Mt. Roberts on a clear, cloudless day!

 



 



Looking down upon the city of Juneau, Capital of Alaska. The Amsterdam can be seen, docked behind the Celebrity ship.

 

Continued

[RevNeal]

And still more photots!

 

 



 



Yes, the Zuiderdam was docked there with us on Monday!

 

[RevNeal]

The excursion, itself, was fantastic. We got to see humpback whales ... up close!

 

 



 



 



 

 

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal with Bill and Virginia in the Pinnacle Grill. Then, a little bit of dancing and conversation, then I turned in early to try and get some photos prepared and these posts uploaded.

 

They're warning us that we will have shaking internet access tomorrow, but I hope to have photos of Hubberd Glacier to post sometime tomorrow night.s

[Silverwing]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip with us, Greg. I do hope your mother will soon be feeling much better. Our very first cruise was northbound on the Ryndam two years ago - your wonderful pictures bring back so many great Alaskan memories, although you are having much better weather than we had at the beginning of July!

 

Please pass on our good wishes to Bill and Virginia - hopefully you will remember us from the Euromast dinner and sailaway party on Brian's verandah on the Eurodam last summer. In September we are going on a 10 day Eastern Mediterranean cruise on the Noordam - we can't wait!

 

Cheryl and Peter

[Flyingfish]

OMG, those have got to be among the BEST photos I've ever seen! I'm still dizzy! Thanks so for posting and keep it all coming...

[babyher]

Beautiful pics RevNeal. Thank you for taking us all along.

 

Your cabin looks very nice, but I see what you mean. Looks like its a tight squeeze for the two of you.

 

enjoy :)

[Lovharvey]

I am so jealous!!!!!! I have been following your trip and another one that I found yesterday. Both of you are having great weather. It was cold and rainy at both of our first stops and then Sagway(sp) was beautiful and in the 70's. Your pictures could be printed in a travel magazine. I thought my Coolpix took good pictures, but, after seeing yours and the others, I may have to upgrade my camera. Have a wonderful cruise.

[Kyana]

Thanks for the pictures of 6102. We have booked it for Sept 6th next year. Looks a little tight but we are pleased with the pictures. Where is the bathroom situated. Is it the same size as the usual outside cabin bathrooms? Thanks again We do love your picutres.

Pat and Karen:)

[jtl513]

Where is the bathroom situated.

You can see the door in his last pic of post #205.

[Susie51]

Thank you for continuing to post your gorgeous pics. Please pass on my best wishes for your mom to have a speedy recovery. I'm so excited. I can hardly wait to see your pics of the glaciers and, also, Sitka!

 

The windows in your cabin provide such a wonderful view. How hard is it to get around the slant?

[Himself]

Great Pictures, Greg. Makes me "Homesick" for Juneau. I see you used the Mr. Roberts Tramway. One ventirloquist called it "Mt Roberts Skamway." Of couse he put the words in the mouth of a dummy.

[SabreSailor]

Your room is reminicent of the S-class cabins that have been referred to as the "dreaded NN's"; we found that the least expensive cabins were three NN-category rooms all the way forward on the port side of the Navigation Deck. We didn't know any better, and having spent countless summers cruising on a 34' sailboat, we were right at home. And since they are aligned fore and aft, we didn't mind the pitching seas of the Gulf of Alaska - at least we didn't risk being thrown out of bed as the rest of the passengers did (I think these are the only fore-and-aft aligned cabins on the S-class ships....)

[RuthC]

Wow. That's all. Wow. Those pictures make me yearn for Alaska.

And now I know for certain that I don't want that cabin; although the view from the bed must be gorgeous to wake up to.

I'm sure by now that Mom is feeling better. Make sure she gets lots of fresh air, and it will help. With outdoors so close, it's easy, too! :)

[bobpatj]

Thank you for the pictures of your cabin. I've always been surprised that it is a D category! When we've booked a D GUAR, I've worried that we'd be assigned one of these - aren't there two? At least I feel better, now, thanks to your pictures, that it won't be too bad if that's where we might be assigned. We're boarding the Amsterdam on Nov.1st, with an FF GUAR, so who know where we might be! Take good care of the ship for us. ;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greg, I like the lay out of the cabin, although it appears it would work better for shorter people like Tom and I ;) Those windows would be great but alas I have to admit I doubt I could stand to have a forward cabin in rough seas. :o While I no longer get sea sick, I truly have my sea legs I would not want to push it ;)

[Swedecruiser]

Greetings from the lovely ms Amsterdam!

How cool! Disembark one lovely damship on Friday, and the very next day board another lovely damship! How cool this is!

 

The Amsterdam is a lovely ship; the twin of the Rotterdam, which is my favorite ship in the HAL fleet, I can already tell that I'm going to adore this ship!

 

A word of caution, however. 6102, our cabin for this cruise, is a forward-facing outside cabin on the forward Verandah deck overlooking the Verandah Forward Observation Deck. It's a GREAT view, but it's an awkwardly shaped cabin and, quite honestly, SMALL. The bed needs to be seperated for my mother and myself, and then we'll have an idea of the real usable space ... but as of right now this is a tiny cabin. For me, when traveling solo, this will be a fantastic cabin and it's on my list to book in such occasions. However, as a share with one's mother the limited space leaves something to be desired. We'll manage, however. :)

 

Well, it's time for me to go and stand at attention for the Life Boat Drill! :D

 

 

Hi Greg,

 

Thanks for all your beautiful pictures and commentary it has been great to see that you have some wonderful weather! You didn't mention how you liked Cabin 421 on the Ryndam? I am most curious?! I know it is not everyone's fav, but I just love the location and size....Have a great rest of the cruise!

[RuthC]

Greg, something in some of the other threads prompted me to wonder---and you know how I am when that happens! I ask questions! :D

Do you have any info on the "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover", no, that's not it. Er, "Fifty Ways to Eat Your Salmon"? Yeah, that's it.

There's supposed to be 50 (cruiselong) different selections of salmon on the Alaska cruises this year. have you tried any of them? How are they?

Come to think of it, I don't ever remember seeing you order salmon. Do you eat it? Fresh?. Frozen? Smoked? With a bagel and cream cheese?

Whatever.... How is it on the ship?

[andreecruisemom]

Hi Greg,

 

I'm following your thread with great interest! We are on the Amsterdam 6/6/09 with extended family. We have 5 outside cabins on Main Deck from 2666 to 2682. Love your pictures, they make me so excited to get to Alaska. What shore operator did you use in Juneau for whale watching? I was thinking of pre-booking something, but we are traveling with kids and a great deal will depend on weather conditions that day. Taking the tramway to the top of the mountain could be fun also! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

[bellebaby]

I am very anxious to read your report on Hubbard Glacier. We will be there next week and am hoping to get closer than we did on a previous sailing.

 

Let us know!

 

B

 

BTW - I've been enjoying your thread. Thank you VERY much.