grammi

23 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

We were also on that cruise/tour.  The cruise out of Vancouver was wonderful.  All staff wore masks, most passengers also wore masks.  The land part of our cruisetour started with a crowded boat on the 26 Glacier Cruise.  Then came the bus to Anchorage, train to Denali, bus to Fairbanks.  Very few people observed the mask mandate on the land portion of the trip  If you figure a three day incubation period,  anyone who started showing symptoms at Denali probably came into contact with Covid on the first day of the land tour.    Continued close contact in bus/train transportation and open buffet breakfast/dinner options would continue to spread the virus.  

 

There was testing at the Denali hotel for passengers going the opposite direction (land first) to the ship.  According to reports as many as half of the passengers tested positive and were not allowed to join the ship.  It only stands to reason that a comparable number of passengers going on to Fairbanks also contacted Covid.  

 

There was no requirement to report symptoms of Covid during the land tour for those who were not heading for the ship. . If you reported while on the cruise portion, I think HAL would put you in a hotel in Anchorage and you would not do the land tour.

 

We we part of the southbound group and inside places we saw most masked, I would assume like us wanted to make sure we tested negative before the cruise. I did not notice any empty seats on the cruise train between Anchorage and Whittier.   Overall I saw a high percentage of mask wearing. 

23 hours ago, DrTee said:

How can you be sure that’s where he caught it? Did he get sick after you got home or before? I’m just wondering how they handle it if you get sick while near the end of the cruise. 

We can’t be sure and I should have written we think. We were not together and that’s pretty much he was unprotected by a mask in a place of high people density for more than a few minutes. 
 

He tested positive at home but thought he was getting a cold the last day of the cruise. 

I was just in 8152 port side aft directly under Lido. While in the cabin in the morning and at night we did hear the scraping of tables and chairs being moved. It wasn’t horrible and except 1 night it was over in less than 5 minutes. 
 

While on the balcony we could here the naturalist point out wildlife that was nice, but no other noise or conversations. 
 

We loved the location, quick step up for drinks at the Sea View bar or snacks at the Lido Market. 
 

Below is 5 levels the dining rooms. 

13 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Here is a link to a porcelain version:

Angled Bowls

I saw those but what I really liked was seeing the greens and the light weight plastic. It was easy to carry around and still looked nice. Nothing on Amazon or Websturant comes close

15 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Crate and Barrel? I have not looked but it sounds like something they would carry.

 

Glad you had a great cruise. I have read (from experts) that we are all going to get COVID and the task is to put it off as long as possible.

Thanks!  We were strict about wearing the mask but he went to the Music of Denali and that got him. 

Everything was perfect on our 2 week Alaska land/cruise tour. I would not change a thing about the decisions we made.   My husband fully vaxed and boosted came home with Covid mild to mod symptoms. I have no symptoms but will stay isolated with DH til Thursday then we’ll both test. 
 

I just have 1 question, I want those slanted, translucent salad bowls they have at the salad station at the Lido Market restaurant for my home but I can’t find anything like them even in the restaurant stores. Anybody have any suggestions?

32 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

We usually book Tamarind for the first night, as soon as we get on the ship.  We have found the dining room to be very disorganized that first day, (we do "anytime" dining), so we wait for them to get everything straight before we go to the MDR.

 

 

We always try to do a specialty dining the 1st night as well. Gives us a day to figure it all out. 

6 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

We like the Tamarind, even over the higher cost Pinnacle.  Tamarind has a great beef item, Wasabi (sp) beef that is fantastic.  

Also the service is great, the best onboard, and the views can be a real plus.  We like to schedule our dining times to be when in port or scenic sailing for this reason.

 

Is the wasabi just flavor or does it add quite a bit of heat.?

We sail on the NA Aug 21 and after playing in the Navigator app my husband requests we eat at Tamarind. When I question why, he tells me it looks cool and is at the top of the ship. 
We are Midwesterners that appreciate good cooking with complex spicing but do not appreciate heat or strong tasting fish. 
 

So please share what you liked or didn’t like about Tamarind and a description of any of the dishes you tried and your opinion of the dishes you tried. 

Oh and is the menu the same every night? 
 

Thank you!

I did a search but didn’t find a current post on this, though one probably exists. 
 

Are we able to order main dining room meals being served as room service?

I am working with my party of 5 which includes my brother and his wife and my mother. My mother has never and will never use any kind of smart phone. We are leaving finally August 13 for a two week land Sea tour out of Fairbanks. I’m trying to download most of my mother‘s stuff on my smart phone but it has been challenging. How does a Holland America handle all the details when the traveler doesn’t have a smart phone. What about the ARRCAN requirement? Any tips, suggestions, or observations would be helpful.

4 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

As the key cards already have a hole punched in them, I find it easier to use a lanyard.  Hang them on a magnetic hook near the door so we almost have to walk through them when leaving the room.  So much easier than heading to the front desk to ask for the door to be opened after we forgot to take the keys with us.

Who cares what people think?  They don't do it very often 😉

Yes, this. ^^^

It’s been a few years since we last cruised. I remember last time there was some that looked down on the use of Lanyards for sea passes.   Are lanyards now passé or are keys/seapasses handled differently in recent years?  
 

My DH just asked where his key holder is from 6 years ago because he wants to make sure he doesn’t forget it. 

28 minutes ago, Navybikermom said:

Mine was also the Pusser’s Painkiller, until I had two on the NA in March that tasted awful. Not sure what was missing, but they were definitely bad. Maybe they had to substitute something. 

I don’t think I would have noticed the 2nd one, my mouth was numb after the 1st one. 

37 minutes ago, cruisetravlr said:

It’s a weng weng.  Here’s the link…

 

 

It’ll knock you to the floor!  I’d advise against using your beverage limit on them!  😵‍💫

Just Wow, I thought the pain killer was bad. 

Tell me you favorite HAL shipboard, alcoholic beverages with a description and why it’s your favorite. Feel free to choose more than one. 

2 hours ago, celticGreen81 said:

Yeah, this has been the case - but as seen in the graphic, it depends on your particular  cruise's endpoints.

For some reason I was thinking it was only recommended but I I’m happy to wear a mask. 

Interesting, I received this via email today.  The chart indicates masking on ship required. The update is from June. 
 

I’ve seen previous charts that masking is recommended. 
 

this is for our Alaska Cruise/Tour from Fairbanks. 

We used to leave towell people for our cabin stewards to find. Every night would get more and more creative and dark as the steward responded likewise. 

Safeway did seem the most convenient and knowledgeable of all the brick and mortar options. 

3 minutes ago, zhuangcorp said:

Do you have a link to their partnerships?

US

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/Health_Sanitation/2022/US-Cruise-Protocols-0614.pdf

Download Alaska & Canada Cruise Protocols PDF

 

European 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/Health_Sanitation/2022/EU-Cruise-Protocols-0614.pdf

9 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

I find it interesting that @abouna was able to use Walgreens for their  pre-cruise tests.  When I contacted them they were sending their tests to a lab in Tennessee and had a 72 hour turnaround time.  It appears the situation has changed.

 

The only Fairbanks Walgreens and the University Avenue Safeway are about the same distance from the Westmark.

I called yesterday. They have 3 different tests they do. One of the goes out. The other 2 results come back in 2-24 hours. But they only schedule the tests like 2 days a week. 

When I called them they still seemed kind of clueless saying we can bring our test results down to them at the hotel tour desk but they won’t come looking for us. 
 

We’ll get the tests somehow probably through Onpoint. I’m not going to stress about it anymore 

1 minute ago, abouna said:

We just used Walgreens in Fairbanks for our pre cruise tests. Made appointments on line about four days ahead and did it. Was easy. It’s a drive through. 

I’m looking at that. There hours and days seem limited but they are on my list.  Are they far away from the Westmark?

Yeah, they were no help.