luvteaching

Good morning, My husband uses a scooter and it's an easy walk/scooter over to Creek Street. If you like local shops stop at Parnasus books! Karen

Juneau is now under a "Special Weather Statement" with heavy rain Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. My weather app shows 1.34 inches expected tomorrow and 1.83 inches on Wednesday. That's wet! Karen

We used to take a sport coat, etc. for DH but now do a pair of dressier slacks, button down shirt, tie (sometimes) and a sweater vest and he looks pretty darn spiffy in my opinion! On the Alaska cruises a suit isn't necessary. Karen

We had 8068 on the Westerdam a month ago. It's right next to the glass elevators. I checked and you could see a very small portion of our balcony but not much at all. If you were at the railing the riders could see but not if you were sitting on the chairs (at least not more than your feet!). Karen

Nobody asked to see it because it's attached to your passport and comes up on their screens that you have completed the process. I'll be heading to Canada tomorrow and have completed my ArriveCan. They won't ask to see it but if I hadn't done it I'd be pulled over and denied entry until it was done. Karen

The cruise terminal is about 6 miles out of town. They have a great shuttle service running to the Convention Center. Sitka has it down to an art getting people on excursions and to town. Karen

We got that email as well. I'd been on the HAL site over the weekend and saw Future Cruise Credits listed and was wondering where they came from! Karen

Good evening, It's been a rather warm day, 85+, in our neck of the woods. I'll be ready for Monday when the high is in the 70s! Our DS (who stays with his dad every Monday so I can go to water aerobics) turns 46 on Sunday and he requested my homemade lasagna (with cheesy bread) for dinner. So today I got the meat mixture done. Tomorrow, before the kitchen heats up (I hope) I'll get the pasta made, cooked and the lasagna put together. I make the noodles and bless DS and DDIL for getting the pasta attachment for the Kitchen Aid for me one Christmas. This recipe is called a BBQ lasagna, is super simple, and just uses what cheese you have in the fridge! It's a family favorite. BTW, the lemonade pie was a huge success yesterday and the mini-croissants worked great for sandwiches. Karen

Good morning, It's another rather warm day in the Pacific Northwest (for us). Catch up time for me on back issues of the Daily. IRS - I was on the phone, on Tuesday, with the IRS for 5.5 hours! My issue did get resolved but 4.5 hours of that time was on hold and I had 3 different transfers. It all came down to what we'd paid in federal withholding had not been transferred on one of their forms. So, what started as a refund of just over $5000.00, then went to us owing just over $9000.00, ended up being a refund of just over $6000.00 so the time was worth it! In honor of yesterday's "Take your Houseplants for a Walk" day: https://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/roseisrose/ I'd better get busy. Friends are coming for lunch and the menu is mini-croissant sandwiches, pasta salad and I made the lemonade pie yesterday. Hopefully they'll enjoy it! Karen

Good Evening Dailytes! It's in the mid-80s in the Pacific Northwest and that's plenty warm for this area! Our wired-in smoke/fire alarm keeps going off from the heat but I figure it will stop in a couple of hours. It's sporadic so I can deal with it and our son will come look at it tomorrow for us. DH's comment" I have plenty of energy. I just don't care to use it." That's after falling asleep off an on all day! We're cruising again in a month - yay. One week on Crown Princess (to go to Skagway and ride the train) and then walk across the pier and get on the Eurodam for a week. We're having company for lunch on Thursday and I'm going to make the lemonade pie. From those who have made it do you have any hints for me? Did you use the regular 12 oz (354 mL) size of lemonade or the smaller one? I'm going to make it tomorrow for Thursday's lunch. Thank you! Karen

At Seattle there are "pushers" and they are great! They take you all the way from carside at the pier, through check-in and then to a waiting area. From there, once boarding begins, shio's crew take over and wheelchair people on. It used to be that they took you to the cabin but not sure on that aspect as we now use a scooter which we pick up at the pier and DH motors on! At disembarkation you are given a bar (usually Pinnacle) to report to and there the staff will wheelchair off and down the elevator then port staff take over. They'll take you to your carside, shuttle, etc. They do accept tips (used to be they didn't but I asked this time as we needed one for a short distance and he assured me he could accept them). Karen Karen

There aren't wheelchairs available at the port. If you think you are going to need one check out Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea and get one rented for the cruise. The only port you'll have wheelchairs available is Seattle. Sitka does offer a golf cart ride up from the ship to where you catch the buses to town. Karen

Good morning Jacqui, Since DH did so well on the Westerdam cruise and is chomping at the bit to cruise again I'll add our one we had booked last year as well. We're doing our own version of a back-to-back with the Crown Princess on Aug. 27th (so DH can ride the White Pass Railraod at Skagway) and the we'll get off, go across the pier, and hop on the Eurodam (Sept. 3-10). It gives us 2 weeks of cruising! I know adding the Princess to the list isn't doable for you but please add the Eurodam. Thank you! Karen

An ambulatory room is a bit bigger and has some nice things. We had one on the Westerdam last week (DH needs a handicapped room). There was a button on the wall to open the bathroom door. The bathroom was super spacious (we had a signature suite) and we did well. We've had handicapped balcony cabins as well. If you look up the site halfacts and then navigate to your ship you may see pictures of your cabin. Karen

Good afternoon, In the PNW we are having a cooler day with the sun recently coming out and a nice breeze. This weekend isn't supposed to be that warm but by Tuesday we'll be up close to 90. The big deal that is being made, besides it being hot, is that it won't cool down much during the night so relief won't be as readily available. I sent in our Income Tax at the end of February and kept checking the "where's my refund" site about mid-April. It always said the return couldn't be found. I finally got through on the phone to a real live person who checked and came back to tell me not to panic for several months, that they still were working on returns from the year before! I put my panic mode on hold and finally checked the where's my refund site when we got back from the cruise (last Sunday) and lo and behold the return is being processed. There is hope! Karen

Just off the Westerdam. Ordered a glass of wine nightly and it arrived within 5 minutes or so. Very prompt service.

As stated earlier I was on this cruise (#21 to Alaska) and the seas were definitely not what I would define as rough. I've had worse on the Amsterdam across the Gulf of Alaska to and from Anchorage! Friday night it was a bit rocky but this was close to midnight and I noticed creaking but nothing much in the way of movement. Monday there were bags out at the elevators but the motion I experienced wasn't bad at all. I expected more on Saturday especially and it felt relatively smooth. Others may not feel that way and I understand that but it defintely wasn't huge swells, ship rocking, etc. on Saturday. Karen

Just got off the Westerdam on Sunday and one blue bag was in the suitcase!

Good Evening Dailyites, FIrst of all a great thank you to @kazu Jacqui for posting for me while we were on the Westerdam cruise. It was totally frustrating as I couldn't log in to Cruise Critic and I'd not had that problem before. As you may remember we had azipod issues and ended up not getting too close at all to Hubbard Glacier, arriving about 2 hours late to Sitka and then missed both Ketchikan and Victoria. We were given $100.00 each in nonrefundable onboard credit. DH and I were fine with everything. We were cruising and enjoying ourselves. Others were not happy and I heard that the Ask the Captain event got quite raucous with unhappy folks. I'm glad I wasn't there! It would have been nice if the $100.00 each was refundable but that's the way it goes. We got off the ship in Seattle at 9:20 AM, our bags were the only ones in the "pink" area so easy to identify (and they were all there), got a porter and, for the first time, there were long lines to clear customs. It took about 10 minutes or so. Got DH's scooter and walker returned to the Scootaround kiosk, got a wheelchair person to take him to the passenger pick-up area, and I rode the shuttle to the car park (at the Armory - great people). I was back to pick him up and we were on the road at 10:30 AM, took one quick stretch break on the way home and we were in the driveway at 12:01. I still have one suitcase to unpack but it's full of clean clothes so I can do that tomorrow. It was a good trip, even with the missed ports, and we'd get back on the Westerdam in a heartbeat. We didn't venture far, I didn't walk the promenade deck (for the first time ever) and we absolutely loved the quartet at the Lincoln Center Stage! Karen

DH and I just disembarked the Westerdam and had a lovely cruise. We weren't at Meet the Captain but were told by several that it turned into an ugly mess. Personally I was on a cruise ship and on vacation so I was fine. I appreciated the $100.00 in onboard credit (it would have been even nicer if it had been refundable but I found plenty to spend it on). We didn't get as close to Hubbard Glacier as we have in the past and we got into Sitka a couple of hours late and the on-board time was the same. They told us that morning that HAL was flying in some experts for the azipod. We were told later that we'd leave at 6:00 and we pulled out right about that time. Yes we missed Ketchikan. In Victoria we stayed at anchorage and did not dock. They sent in staff with the customs forms and other paperwork by tender. We left Victoria just after 9:00 PM and made it to Seattle by early morning. We were told that the earlier we got there the earlier they could get the azipod worked on. I felt Captain Smit was very open and aboveboard with us and did a great job of keeping us updated. If you look at my signature you can see that this wasn't our first cruise and we were happy just to be on a ship and on vacation.

Good evening, I heartily endorse the "Sweet Potato Pie..." book. I've not seen the movie. Another book I really enjoyed set in this area is The Girl from the Channel Isands by Jenny Lecoat. We're getting ready to sail on the Westerdam on Sunday. Due to DH's medical issues I've worked hard not to get excited but we have negative Covid tests (waiting on Verifly to ok them) and the suitcases are out. Since this is cruise #21 to Alaska packing is fairly quick and easy. We upgraded to SS 8068 and pictures will be taken and submitted. Those riding on the glass elevator can see our deck but we are looking forward to the location. The weather in Alaska is rain for the week but we'll be fine. Karen

Looking forward to this report Lisa. You and @dobiemom Marcia have a great time! Karen

MIssed the sail in. A number of years ago we arrived in Juneau on July 4th and I remember all the sirens and we could see some of the parade from the ship! That was fun. Karen PS: It's 10 degrees warmer in Juneau than on my front porch!

THanks for the wishes @dobiemom. After all DH's issues since December I'm not allowing myself to get excited until about Thursday! He's all set and has told me if I want to stay home he'll go by himself! How he plans to do that since he doesn't drive, doesn't pack, etc. I have no idea. I have to like his spunk. Enjoy your trip! Karen

It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Juneau with a temp of 75 (warmer than we are in the Sedro-Woolley area)! Also the Queen Elizabeth is at anchor. Karen