Live from Eurodam Transatlantic 11-27 August

[Teresa Price]

Hi Dave,

 

thanks for your brilliant reporting - enjoying it so much. We are very interested in this type of cruise just a little concerned re sea conditions. We got back recently from the Odam and also enjoyed the Canaletto.

 

many thanks

Teresa

[RetiredMustang]

On the Sound,

 

A quick post with some photos. It grew a bit overcast, but the sea/sound is very smooth. Air temp about 41 F (see photo of DW on the balcony). Stupendous scenery. We passed three places where the ice cap meets the sound.

 

More later,

Dave

[Susie51]

Dave, thank you for checking on Canaletto for me. Great pics.

[onthegogirl]

Dave,

 

What are you expecting in the way of weather for the next week?

 

Carole

[RetiredMustang]

Still scenic cruising

 

Another quick post with photos. The sun has come out, and it's warmed up to the low 50's.

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

A couple more photos.

 

Dave

[FLACRUISER99]

Dave,

 

What are you expecting in the way of weather for the next week?

 

Carole

Bill??

[RuthC]

Did you get any pictures of that little settlement in the Sund? I've always wondered if that's the modern, humane, version of sending the old folks off to die. It is soooo forlorn there!

[IRL_Joanie]

Aug. 19, Wednesday

 

Canaletto on Westerdam?

 

 

Trays. It doesn't bother us, but there are still several people complaining, some saying that other lines have them and they don't understand why HAL does not.

 

More later,

Dave

 

OMG! I am thoroughly enjoying your cruise right along with you RetiredMustang!!!!

 

I Can say for a fact that as of 17 May 2009 the ms Westerdam did not have a Canaletto. More's the pity, because my mouth is now watering for that bit of near real Italiano Cuisine!!! And we will be back on Westerdam 7 Feb 2010 for a B2B... I can hope they add it before then but....

 

A LIDO TRAY SOLUTION: If all cabins (not sure if all cabins have a tray in their cabins or not. But if you have a tray in your cabin which has glasses, water bottles or ice bucket on it (like the kind you find in hotel rooms), though it might be a bit small, take it with you to the Lido and use it as a food tray. BUT DO NOT leave it in the Lido, take it back to your cabin. Makes sense to me anyway....

 

I cannot wait for your full review after you get back. This is awesome what you are doing!!!

[DFD1]

Dave, You're doing a first rate, jam up job of this thread! Great fun to read and enjoy your pictures. Such a fascinating part of the world. Thanks so much, and keep up the good work!

[RetiredMustang]

Prins Christian Sund

 

I did a few quick posts with photos during the day, but here is a more in-depth wrap-up of our day of scenic cruising.

 

We continued our approach to the Sound in the early morning, and it became overcast, and colder. While at breakfast in the Lido, we saw several pods of whales passing to the starboard side, so we quickly finished and returned to our cabin to watch. We saw several more pods, including a pair of whales that surfaced just off the ship just ahead of our balcony, and then again a minute or so later. It was impressive. Jon later told us that we had spotted about 50 fin whales total from the ship as we approached. But, we only spotted one more pod, off in the distance and heading away after the two surfaced nearby.

 

About 9:20 a.m., we entered the sound. The scenery is majestic, and I only wish I had a better camera (and skills) to convey the stark other-worldly beauty of this place. We proceeded through the sound, past icebergs, some quite large, through the narrow squeeze and out into other fjords and channels. The sun came out, it got warmer and the clouds lifted off most of the cliffs and mountain tops.

 

We turned north to see some more fjords instead of heading directly south back to sea. One fjord the captain apparently had intended to enter was blocked by an enormous icebreg/ice floe. The bow decks had been opened all day, and we went out to see the iceberg as closely as possible. The captain brought us very close to it, and launched one of the small fast boats to go take photos. We were wondering how much we would pay to have been on that boat; the lowest I heard was two hundred bucks. Every woman on board wanted to be on the boat to see the majesty of nature up close. Every guy wanted to lick the iceberg to see if his tongue would stick.

 

Jon announced that the crew of the boat also picked up some Greenland iceberg ice, and that drinks with it would shortly be served in the Lido bar. Jon has a dry acerbic wit, and I was sure he was pulling our legs and that he and the Captain, Hotel Manager and Beverage Manager had cooked this up as a way to sell drinks. So, I went to the Lido bar and ordered a rum and Coke over Greenland ice, and got a drink with a big chunk of ice in it. They had a big tray on the bar of ice shards that _might_ have come from an iceberg ... but might also have come from the freezer and be remains of ice carvings. In any case, the bar was flat moving some drinks -- even the Beverage Manager was mixing a drink called a Blue Lagoon, featuring vodka and blue Curacao. So, the gag was a good one, and I got a rum and Coke out of the deal.

 

We continued sailing through breathtaking beauty, every turn of the channel revealing something else inspiring awe, until we neared the only village in the whole Prins Christian Sund fjord system, Aappilattoq. Ruth, I think this is the town you were talking about. Maybe it's because I'm a Sailor, and perhaps see the water not as a barrier between lands but as a connector of them, but I think the village has an outlet, and is not perhaps so remote -- it has a driveway leading to the on-ramp to the world's most extensive road system, the ocean. Now, I also realize that Jon said that the fjord ices up from late summer to spring, so maybe then they would be cut off then. But, then, I remember the sleds, and the heliport. In any case, they are far more remote than the D.C. area, so I don't think I could live like that any more than you.

 

It is now after dinner and we have now exited the fjord system back to the ocean, and are making our way slowly to Nanortalik. We did nothing today more taxing than taking a photo or eating lunch, but we are bushed. It is a day we will remember for a long, long time.

 

BTW, Carole, what I _expect_ is absolutely perfect weather for the next week, since that is what I ordered when I booked the cruise.:D But, I don't know what weather we will get; I haven't focused more than a day or two at a time on this cruise. We're hoping for nice weather, of course.

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Some more photos.

 

Dave

[IRL_Joanie]

Prins Christian Sund

 

Every guy wanted to lick the iceberg to see if his tongue would stick.

 

More later,

Dave

 

LOL Now that I've cleaned the coffee I was drinking of my monitor and keyboards.... I can just picture some guy with his tongue stuck to a huge iceberg:D

 

All right Pipedreams post a pic, I know you have to have one of those funny photos to fit the scene Dave set for us:rolleyes:

 

Amazing thread Dave, THANK YOU!!!

[RuthC]

Thanks for the picture of that little settlement (it's too small to be called a "town"). ;)

It's very possible that those drinks were made with real iceberg bits. On my first South America cruise a small boat was sent out to retrieve a berg in a Chilean fjord. It was brought up and set by the Lido pool. Many of us had pictures taken with it.

[onthegogirl]

Dave,

 

Never thought I would want to sail the North Atlantic, but your posts and pictures have changed my mind. You should write for a travel magazine.

 

I was lucky enough to wake from a nap on my flight home from Copenhagen, just in time to see the view of Greenland from 36,000 ft. Even from there it was awesome, stark gray and brown mountain peaks, blue sea and white icebergs, glaciers meeting the ocean, nature's grandeur.

 

Thanks again for your posts.

 

Carole

[catl331]

Weather: We have Hurricane Bill (Cat 3) heading for Bermuda. Right now we have interesting waves here in FLorida and getting worse as Bill passes by 600 miles to the East as it heads for Nova Scotia--(Monday):eek: Love those pics and I too want to take the north route.

 

See predicted Bill track

[Susie51]

Wow, those are great pics of the iceberg. Imagine how big it is, since most of it is under water! Are the ships equipped with a detection device to warn the captain there are icebergs ahead?

[kodiac]

Dave,

 

Thanks for the updates and taking time out of your vacation to copy and paste your logs into CC. It is nice to hear you are enjoying the ship thus far.

 

I do have a quick question. You mentioned you ate at the Canaletto restaurant and it seems like something we may try out in December. Since this venue is no charge, is it custom to tip your waiters in this dining room or other free venues on the ship?

 

Thank you again and I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[catl331]

The waiters in the Canaletto get some of the daily hotel service charge $11 per person you are automatically charged. BUT, if they do something very special for you, you can tip.

[Boytjie]

I do have a quick question. You mentioned you ate at the Canaletto restaurant and it seems like something we may try out in December. Since this venue is no charge, is it custom to tip your waiters in this dining room or other free venues on the ship?

 

I would treat it the same as any of the other 'free' dining area: the Lido buffet, the main dining room, the pizza joint etc. The hotel service charge covers all of it.

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 20, Thursday

 

Nanortalik

 

This morning started very foggy. We were slowly moving through the haze, and we were beginning to wonder if perhaps the Captain would decide not to try to anchor off a port he had never visited in such weather conditions and limited visibility. We would have understood, but have been disappointed.

 

Shortly after 7 a.m., though, he came on the announcement system and told us that we were making our way to Nanortalik and would arrive soon. He said the fog would slowly lift and the sun would come out and it would be a great day. Turns out, he was right! The fog lifted, receding only out to sea behind the ship, but letting the sun shine down on town and the mountains behind.

 

We were on one of the earlier tenders ashore. It was a short ride, but there was a delay as we waited for earlier tenders to unload their passengers at the very small dock -- one tender could come alongside while another was abreast the end of the platform. Later, another docking area opened up a bit further down.

 

We walked into the small town, to the tourism office, and purchased combined tickets to the exhibitions and displays that the town had planned for our visit. Then, like most of our fellow passengers, we went into the larger of the two supermarkets in town and looked around. It had a fairly small disply area, but actually held a quite extensively varied selection of items, ranging from groceries, wines, household items, microwaves, knitting needles and yarns, etc. -- pretty much anything you would need.

 

We then walked to the end of the town where the museum was situated, on the site of the Danish settlement during the colonial period. There we watched a demonstration of kayaking, and toured some of the old buildings and their exhibits, including a small display of traditional Inuit clothing.

 

We went to the post office to purchase stamps, and then just generally walked about enjoying the brightly-colored buildings and the incredible setting of the town, and talking to people. We came back before the last minute rush; last tender was at 1:30.

 

Tonight is our third formal night, and we just checked out the menu -- it's osso bucco night! The show is a comedian from New York, so we'll probably take that in as well.

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Some more photos.

 

Dave

[jtl513]

Loving your pictures! :) How long does it take to upload one at those latitudes?

[catl331]

We have a heat index of 105 here today--humidity. Those iceberg look very inviting but not the heavy sweaters. Love those pictures. Colorful town. I hope everybody on the ship took some interest in this town to help their economy.

[MrsMuir]

All I can say is WOW. You should get a commission for all the cruises that will be booked because of your reports, Dave. I second the nomination for your writing for a travel magazine.