MisterMatthew

Haljo... very nice of you to say. I did have a good time. Mother nature is a wonder, no doubt. ---Matthew

Yowza! My guess is that the rocks are, slightly, more than 3 LBS each. --MisterMatthew

For sailing, EURODAM May 20, 2023 to Alaska.. I rec'd email with offers to upgrade on May 3. ----Matthew

Good man.

Wonderful. ---Matthew

Very interesting. Something I did not know. Cool! ---Matthew

Now -- THAT is the kind of thing I love to hear! ---Matthew

Ger --- Good thinking, I just may do that as well. :) :)

Well, now... that makes me feel a little more confident! ----Matthew

Good stuff! :)

I think something that is pretty interesting.. I have several occasions (on both Eurodam 10 days ago, and Zuidy last year), in which crew-members have asked me to make mention of their efforts on the APP. Mind you, only a couple of them were "pushy" about me following through and DOING IT. While, others have mentioned it in a casual way. Hmm. ----MisterMatthew

Interesting stuff! Thank you for sharing that. ---Matthew

I do not think that is silly AT ALL. I like creative ideas.

Good stuff. Yep, I have a smartphone -- although, it is a few years old! When I posted this, I should have mentioned that I do "know" about the NAVAPP feature. Thank you my friend.

Those are, certainly, heroic people! Way to go! ---Matthew

Not to go off topic, but i am more of the type that enjoys getting to know the crew. Much greater degree than MORE COFFEE PLZ. I like learning bout where they came from, their hobbies, siblings, what their career hopes are, and more. I talked with one person at the pinnacle bar, turns out they do sculpting - and, showed me some things. They worked for three cruise lines, etc, etc, etc. People have life, stories, everything. Sorry, don't mean to ramble. But, they remember you --- by name --- and, like when you sit in their Section. --Matthew

( i am still reading.. lol.. )

I am reading through the replies, and thank you! Yes, i am aware that the NAVAPP has a feature. I apologize for not saying so. But, good point. How do you know they are read? Accepted, and so forth. Hmm. During the cruise, i jotted down notes, names, etc.. Glad i did, so i can compose a response to the Email Survey.

I would like to GET THE SKINNY on something. When I sailed Zuidy last year, i filled out 8 of those comment cards. The ones you obtain from the Service desk. I had 6 people that i wanted to recognize. One person got 3 "pages" worth of praise. That is another subject. Alright. Im on the Eurodam 10 days ago. I am at the Service desk, and there are no cards visible. I ask one of the clerks and he says "we are out of them", and instructs me to wait for the post cruise email. And, to give feedback that way. Hmm. A day later, i inquire once again. Curious to see if a seperate clerk has the same response. Well, she says "the ship NO LONGER uses the cards". Hmm. I tell her "The wooden box is still there for drop-off". She shrugr her shoulders. Double hmm. 1st, I like the use of pen and paper for some things. 2nd, I am slightly old fashion. 3rd, I do understand people's hand writing is, frequently, bad. BUT, when you are IN THE MOMENT --- you want to offer praise! Is a customer going to remember a wonderful crew member's name, etc 5 days later?! I am not a happy camper with this. Other HAL ships? Recent policies on the cards? FILL ME IN please. Thank you. ----MisterMatthew

I was on Eurodam a week ago. It was closed a lot. On day 2, SEA DAY, it was open at 215pm. Please let me say that was WHEN I WALKED in. It may have been opened before i got there obviously. They had the machines on. One BJ open, roulette open, and one other card game open. I asked WHEN WILL DICE be open. Answer, 8pm. --matthew

Continuing... Well, a few more things to add, and I'll wrap it up. The last port was Victoria, B.C. -- and, with the itinerary, you do not get into port until evening. I was considering going to Butchart Gardens, but figured what would be the point at going at night. Or, if they would even be open at night. I do understand (correct me if I am wrong), cruise ships MUST go to a foreign country for at least one stop ---- IF THEY ARE a closed loop cruise. Meaning they go from SEATTLE to SEATTLE. Oh well, there will be other times. Friday started with a visit to the Explorations Cafe. I got there, about 7 minutes after it opened. I perused the drink menu, and a cappuccino sounded good! Waited my turn, and placed my order. I asked for one "with whipped cream, please".. "large size". The cashier swiped my card & said "your drink will be ready at the other side of the counter". No problem. Then, 6 seconds later she told me "Oh, we are out of whipped cream". I paused, and then said "But, you just opened!?!?!". The cashier grumbled "sorry" in a low tone. Oh boy. I walked over to the other side. Waited for my drink. In addition, another person in line said "Did I hear you say you don't have wihpped cream?" Her voice displayed MUCH more disappointment than mine. What can you do. Well, I hung out for a little bit, and took in the views. Next up, hit the gym. I spent an hour in there. I went nearly an hour. Mostly on the treadmill. And, some time on the (how do you say it...) thingy where you use your hands to pedal "machine". I have a photo of it posted earlier. Lunch was a combination of Dive-In, and the Lido. One item I got at the Lido was a beef dish. It was from the section (I think they call it Distant Lands?) Most people refer to it as asian. The placard near the item denoted it was "Beef Tagalog". Oh my lord.. very chewy. And NO TASTE WHATSOEVER. My guess is the word "tagalog" is defined as unseasoned. This stuff was awful. If I get an item I do not care for, that is one thing... just don't finish it. Move along. But, this stuff. I took a bite & did not care to swallow. You know -- you know -- yep -- hold up a napkin to your mouth & you know. Oh boy. Otherwise, rest of the grub was fine. I had some of the cold cuts. And, they were tasty. The dessert, was... berry cheesecake. The standout item on the Lido tonight was carved sirloin. I'm almost positive that was the name of it. A nice medium rare, and tender! The art gallery had some promotions going & I guess an auction, or the FINAL auction of the day. I just took glimpses of the stuff. There was a giveaway (I think) earlier in the cruise that mentioned 'GUESS THE WEIGHT of the figurine", and you win it. Not sure if you had to buy a ticket, or it was just a free entry. Most of the time, there was not a representative near the artwork during the cruise. Then again, I only passed by three times. So, I digress. Tonight, by 11:59 we had to have suitcases, bags, caskets, and other luggage out in the hall. I did my packing -- well most of it before dinner. It was around 5pm, and not that many bags were in the hallway from what I could see. Son passed by, I said hello. I was not sure if I would see him in the A.M. so placed green-paper-cash into his palm & thanked him. No, did not use an envelope. No, was not discrete. I don't leave thank you envelopes on my dresser, etc, etc, etc. There are occasions in which your room steward may not be the one cleaning your room on a particular day. So, I like to HAND THE DOUGH to them face to face. That's just me. I was going to go downstairs & see about luggage tags, but then remembered that they were delivered to my mailbox in an envelope. I filled them out and attached them. Took a nap for what seemed like a good hour or two. Nope, it was just 25 minutes. But, felt like much longer. Guess the nap did me good. Got cleaned up early afternoon & then went to the Lido to hangout. It was a good hour before it opened. Chatted with Pravin, Sri, Dwinda, and a few others once they arrived. Thanked them & took care of them too. Once it got close to supper time, many of the tables had been taken. And, a gentleman named Pete asked to sit at my table. He is from Florida, and we chatted for a good hour or so throughout dinner. Nice guy. Pete is retired from the heating/cooling biz. When I asked him how long he has been cruising.. he responded "well, this is my 23rd.. and my 4th on HAL". When I told him it was my second, he laughed and told me that I was young & got plenty of time! I did not notice (even though we had a table near a window) that Victoria came into sight, nor that we docked! See, you get into a good chat & there you go. I have to say, I did not spend much time in Victoria off the ship. It was fairly windy. Once I returned to the ship, the weather screen mentioned that there were, currently, 42mph winds. Hold onto your hats & little ones! I did not charge my phone enough, so, only snaps I got were of the staging area for shuttles / cabs / rickshaws. Yeah, rickshaws. Seeing these, sooooo reminded me of "that" Seinfeld episode. Lol. At around 9:45pm... I was coming down the corridor to my stateroom, and there were about 12 suitcases, etc in the hallway. Two cabins (across from one another) had bags outside. I took it upon myself to put them on the same side, even though they were not mine, just in case a wheelchair, walker, etc had to pass. Day 7.. Disembark They had announced that the Lido (and Ii think the MAIN D.R.) were going to be serving early. I slept in. My group was 9:30am .. the VERY LAST group. It was assigned to me as my flight that day will not have left til 3pm. I packed my carry-on, which is just a charging cable, my travel docs, and light items. Had some fruit and juice for breakfast, and that was basically it. I wanted to get out of my stateroom & let the stewards / crew do "what they gotta do" on turnaround day. Thusly, I went and nabbed a chair just outside of the pinnacle grille. Listened as they called out the colors and numbers, etc, etc. Now I was not exactly sure when the next "time" would be that I will see my luggage. But, I got the answer after we left the ship & got into the Terminal Building. That is where color-coded sections / numbers had luggage stored. It was well organized. I found my area & of course spotted my bags as I was last to get off the Eurodam. There was no one asking for names, passes, tickets, etc for the Shuttle. You just got in line & waited. From the time I left the Terminal Building & was physically "on" a shuttle bus was roughly 30 minutes. Not too bad. I enjoyed the cruise very much. I still think Holland America has great service. I have not sailed other lines, but that is my opinion for "what it is". I would do the AK cruise again, certainly. The only thing I would do differently, is perhaps choose a different HAL Ship. And, the reason for that is, I kind of want to dabble. Maybe get to the juncture where I've been on all of the "dam" ships!! Got to SEA-TAC. Like I said, it's a large airport. I checked in pretty early and my boarding pass did not even have a gate number on it. Anyhow, the T.S.A. lines were fairly lengthy. This airport has a digital screen that shows the # of minutes the wait is. I have PreCheck. Most lines were showing 32 or 33 min. My line showed 1 min. I am home SAFE now. ----Matthew

LabMom, Hi there. :) Have you been on a cruise to AK before? Just curious. I'm glad my writings have augmented your excitement, passion, and smiles! ----Matthew

Julia, I think we have a good chance this year. And, the team is much more "healthy" compared to last season! ----Matthew

POA1, Well, I really appreciate that! Thank you so much. ---Matthew

LAFF--- thank you my friend, I try to be candid and tell how things went. Good or bad. ----Matthew