Silver Spectre

Haines today

Icy Point, whales and bears

Turnaround day in Seward yesterday, watched the great unwashed join the RCL Radiance of the Seas and gave thanks for being on SS. Went for a walk to find some NZ SB, poor quality and $17.99 to boot! About 50 newbies joined and the ship is chocka. Very rough last night and this afternoon we have finally had clear visibility at the Hubbard Glacier

And they still are. The whites can be expensive, however there are some very good value wines amongst the reds.

Supposedly it will be re-provisioned in Vancouver, just in time for all of us to get off. BTW they ran out of both of Rosés about a week ago, the only pink left is some nasty Zin type stuff.

The ship has run out of everything. The coffee contains a very healthy slug of Yukon Jack.

Real scallops at last!!

Interestingly a sports bar in downtown Kodiak has a much better choice of complimentary wines than the SS Shadow and their scallops are way off the chart better.

Gorgeous day in Dutch Harbour yesterday, snow and then sunshine

It’s 30F outside and pool deck is deserted apart from our little feathered Japanese stowaways, who are struggling to survive

It is there when required.

Today is our second full sea day on the way to Dutch Harbour, and its perishing outside, currently 35F or about 2C outside and even the most hardy of souls have vacated the pool deck. There are now many sniffles to be heard onboard. IMHO the best place to be is in bed, unless you happen to be hungry.

Currently on the Shadow WC with Moss. His Trivia is fair but hard and after 2 weeks, no team has managed to get a full 25 out of 25. That’s quite surprising as there are a number of very seasoned players on here.

How’s the included wine and beer selection on the Muse. As the Shadow has run out of many wines the HD and F&B mgr managed to effect a heist of some 600 bottles whilst you were in Hakodate.

Here’s one that you may never see again

Final port of call in Japan, Otaru. Immigration again, and now we begin the 6 day sail to Dutch Harbour.

His is a big change instigated by RCI since we were on the Spirit in Feb.

Tandoori chicken breast and a Sachertort

Lunch at sea

The biggest issue on here, SS Shadow WC, is the major cut backs of premium brand liquor and beers. The cheese paring and penny pinching has gone way too far. Many WC’ers will not be returning to SS in its current form.

I hope you enjoy. As this is promotional I’m a little surprised at the level of the fee.

Having left Japan 3 days ago we are now re-entering and have to go through all the immigration and customs procedures again this morning. Last night was informal and whilst all the guests were dressed appropriately in the restaurant a party arrived late for desert having dinned on the pool deck. No jacket was worn or required which again makes a mockery of the dress code. Yesterday was also the new low point of the wine drought. No more Pouilly Fume, Tiki and Vouvray. The is an ocean of undrinkable cheap Chardonnay left though. Putting logistical supply issues aside, this ship has relatively recently been in both New Zealand and Australia and it should have been possible to restock locally and avoid running out this early.

Beautiful day in the Sea of Japan on our way to Kanazawa, with some well deserved sunshine.

Yes, it’s called Glayva, and it’s a cheap alternative that will not pass my lips.