Almost "Live" Ms Zaandam 14-Day to Alaska (May 21 - Jun 4, 2018)

Originally posted by Crew News I replaced my old portable scanner with a Fujitsu iX100 Scan Snap that is both fast but can scan without a PC connected. Using phone scanner requires a lot of corrections to correct printed pages.

Thanks Roger. A bit out of my price range. :)

 

Since we left Seattle, the internet seems to be working fine. We were concerned about the data usage, but guest services says that isn't a problem with the premium package.

I love my ScannerPro by Readdle on my iPhone and it was only $3.99. I don't know if they have an android version. Yes, once in a while I have to retake a screen shot but if you do it with good light it almost always works. I love it for when we're out and about for menus at restaurants and other literature.

Utahtea

Hi Roger,

I've scoured your "Where and When (Daily Activities) for this cruise and I couldn't find any prices for the Photo & Video Gallery. Do you happen to know what their package prices are and do they have a digital photo only package.

Thanks for all you do for those of us that have this upcoming cruise!

Utahtea

..........<Snipped by Joanie>...... no dreaded green crabs were found...........<Snipped by Joanie>......

 

..........<Snipped by Joanie>......Alaska Fudge Company..........<Snipped by Joanie>......

.....<" no dreaded green crabs were found.">....

HUH?

I've heard of and seen Opies, Blues, King, Dungenes and other types of Crabs (thanks to Deadliest Catch) but have until now never heard of "Green Crabs"...) uh honey, what are they and why are they so dreaded?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alaska Fudge Company :) Did they tell you how long it would take them to get here?? Oh yeah, before I forget disregard the fudge part of my email from this morning:)

Joanie

Your Juneau whale excursion sounds awesome! A neuro issue has me using a portable electric wheelchair for traveling any distance. Do you remember the “walk to the dock”? In your opinion, was it very steep? I can make it a few steps up and down so I’m hoping to do this trip. I’m a bit more daring than most and my chair folds to suitcase size. Thanks.

Roger - thank you again for all the comprehensensive and detailed information you are providing. Your website is a truly valued resource!!!

 

I did notice some issues with how the MDR wine list seems to have uploaded. Several pages seem stretched/duplicated and it would appear the red wine by the glass page either did not scan/upload (sparkling/whites by the glass scanned/uploaded twice). As you were having issues with connectivity I thought I'd give you a heads up.

I will borrow and scan the MDR menu again.

Hi Roger,

 

I've scoured your "Where and When (Daily Activities) for this cruise and I couldn't find any prices for the Photo & Video Gallery. Do you happen to know what their package prices are and do they have a digital photo only package.

 

Thanks for all you do for those of us that have this upcoming cruise!

 

Utahtea

Candid Moments $139.95

5 Portraiture - $159.95

All inclusive - $319.95

Add $60 for pics on thumb drive

.....<" no dreaded green crabs were found.">....

 

HUH?

 

I've heard of and seen Opies, Blues, King, Dungenes and other types of Crabs (thanks to Deadliest Catch) but have until now never heard of "Green Crabs"...) uh honey, what are they and why are they so dreaded?

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alaska Fudge Company :) Did they tell you how long it would take them to get here?? Oh yeah, before I forget disregard the fudge part of my email from this morning:)

 

Joanie

European Green Crabs are an invasive species that destroys other crab habitats.

No mail goes out until Tuesday and no estimate on shipping time.

Roger,

Will you be posting the daily MDR menus all together at the end of the cruise (I'm getting hungry :D ! ) ?

Penny

Hi, Roger! I've been devouring your thread because Rhodi and I are on the 7/2 sailing. So glad to hear that the laundry has stopped using those sticky labels. I can't tell you how many broken seams and holes I have made trying to get them off.

Also thanks for the TV upgrade (NOT) info. Guess we will have to bring some DVDs.

You mentioned the first Gala night (Day 2). When is the next? I assume the last one is the night before Victoria.

Can you check the gift shop for cigarettes for us? Marlboro reds and Marboro light menthol.

This is the first I've heard of Sol de Mer. Do you think it's worth it? Do you know if there's a discount for 5*?

Thanks so much for all the info. We'll look forward to checking out the MDR menus.

Continue to have a great trip and I hope your weather improves!

Sue

Hi, Roger! I've been devouring your thread because Rhodi and I are on the 7/2 sailing. So glad to hear that the laundry has stopped using those sticky labels. I can't tell you how many broken seams and holes I have made trying to get them off.

 

Also thanks for the TV upgrade (NOT) info. Guess we will have to bring some DVDs.

 

You mentioned the first Gala night (Day 2). When is the next? I assume the last one is the night before Victoria.

 

Can you check the gift shop for cigarettes for us? Marlboro reds and Marboro light menthol.

 

This is the first I've heard of Sol de Mer. Do you think it's worth it? Do you know if there's a discount for 5*?

 

Thanks so much for all the info. We'll look forward to checking out the MDR menus.

 

Continue to have a great trip and I hope your weather improves!

 

Sue

They have DVDs you can get at Guest Services. Huge selection. But I would recommend bringing your own anyway.

Candid Moments $139.95

5 Portraiture - $159.95

All inclusive - $319.95

Add $60 for pics on thumb drive

Thank you so much for the info. Hope you're enjoying your cruise!

Utahtea

Thanks Crew News for all your insights! We're on the June 4 sailing, and find your thread fascinating. We sincerely hope that the weather on week two is better than it's been. Smooth Sailing!😎👩🏻

Day 06 began with heavy overcast skies and rain with temperatures in the 50’s at Icy Strait Point. The same weather persisted throughout the day.

With a late-morning whale watching excursion, I took the opportunity to sleep a bit later and thus missed the breakfast rush in the Lido Market. Parting my curtains at 9:00 AM, I was greeted by two bald eagles perched on the pier within easy camera range. Definitely a good omen for the rest of the day.

My whale watching excursion was scheduled to depart from the Pilot House. This was about a 15-minute walk over a gravel path from the pier. There were umbrellas to be borrowed at a small house near the start of the path to stay dry until boarding the whale watching boat. Along the path was a smokehouse restaurant, crab shack, museum, etc. to be visited on the way to the Pilot House.

The whale watching experience was the most productive in my ten years of photographing whales. I stopped counting after 10 bubble-feeding events and lots of fluke pictures. The wind, rain, and cold temps did not dissuade most folks from taking lots of pictures of the whales. The excursion guides were shocked at the amount of bubble feeding during our short two hours of whale watching. While returning to the harbor, we paused for more bubble-feeding only a half mile from docking. More than 1200 high-speed photographs were captured during the short two-hours on the water.

Dinner at Sol de Mer was memorable for both the food and dinner conversation. We were offered the seafood tower but opted for a photograph instead of an appetizer for a lot of folks. The entrée choices were amazing and my duck dish was enough for two guests. The desserts were quite good. I will be enjoying another So de Mer next week. One of my table mates discovered that we were both military draftees and both served within a few miles of each other in Korea. Lots of war stories were exchanged and the similarity of our experiences was incredible. I discovered a plate of chocolate truffles when I returned to my stateroom as well as a recipe card.

As I write this, the Captain’s prediction of 12-foot swells are indeed in progress. A seat belt might be necessary if the rolling gets any worse.

I have scanned the Sol de Mer Beverage list as well as the Crow’s Nest Bar menu for posting when I have a good internet connection. My dining menus are beginning to accumulate and will be posted soon.

Laundry service continues to be “same day”.

Tomorrow is a sea day and a chance to sleep later. America; Test Kitchen will be demoing “Blue Ribbon Breakfast” at 11:00 AM. I am hoping the TV will broadcast the Indianapolis 500. Tomorrow is also the second Gala Night with Filet Mignon Oscar, rack of lamb, duck breast, etc.

I have not had my 5* discount applied yet so will ask tomorrow. Cigarette prices are $39/carton Marlboro

More tomorrow.

Hi, Roger! I've been devouring your thread because Rhodi and I are on the 7/2 sailing. So glad to hear that the laundry has stopped using those sticky labels. I can't tell you how many broken seams and holes I have made trying to get them off.

 

Thanks so much for all the info. We'll look forward to checking out the MDR menus.

 

Sue

I hope to be able to post the menus that i have collected so far when I get to Anchorage.

Suggest you bring a staple remover or you will be breaking fingernails trying to remove staples from the new laundry marking system. I think that I prefer the old laundry labels.

Day 05: My “Discover Whales” excursion gathered on the pier at 8:30 AM. A couple from the former East Germany were lost and could not understand where they were supposed to meet their different excursion. Resurrecting my knowledge of, but not used in many years, German language skills, I was able to put them on the right path to their gathering point. 19 Zaandam passengers joined me on the airport shuttle-type bus for the ride to Auke Bay. We counted more than 50 bald eagles on the ground near the Mendenhall Glacier turn-off. ...Gastineau Guiding performs research projects in addition to whale watching and our guide, Rachael, was eager to complete the science data gathering operations with our help. The first whale was spotted five minutes outside of the harbor. Our next stop was to retrieve a crab pot experiment and evaluate the contents. Rachael was amazed to find 54 sea urchins who had checked-in during the last 24 hours. After recording required data, Rachael returned the creatures to their water home. It was also recorded that no dreaded green crabs were found.

Roger, is this an independent tour??? Where to find it???

Roger, is this an independent tour??? Where to find it???

It was a HAL excursion, "Whale Watch & Marine Mammal Safari" on a large well-heated boat similar to Allen Marine craft in Juneau.

FWIW one of the bubble feeding events took place so close to the boat that the five whales would not fit into the frame of my camera.

Great report on Icy Straight.

We have been there several times and did the whale watching excursion a couple of times. We were never disappointed by the number of whales we saw there. It is nice that the ship does dock there now instead of having to tender.

I'm enjoying reading all about your cruise.

That whale watching excursion sounds wonderful.

Thanks for taking us along.

Roger Amazing detail! Did you do the helicopter? Thoughts on best excursion if you only took one?

Amazing photos thank you!!

Jo[

quote=scrappytraveler;56156034]Thanks for all your post. I went to look at the New Canaletto and the updated When and Where and they are not available. Hope it is just a quick fix for you as I am really enjoying the info. The Beverage post does work.

I hope this doesn't come across as nit-picky because I appreciate, and enjoy, all your posts. The spelling is Sel de Mer (meaning sea salt or salt of the sea). Sol de Mer roughly translates to floor salt.

Thanks for the info

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

It was a HAL excursion, "Whale Watch & Marine Mammal Safari" on a large well-heated boat similar to Allen Marine craft in Juneau.

 

FWIW one of the bubble feeding events took place so close to the boat that the five whales would not fit into the frame of my camera.

Did you find the boat to be crowded?

Is there anywhere to sit down and view out?

Thanks!

Really enjoying your cruise reports. I appreciate your time and efforts in posting it, especially considering that the internet connection is iffy at times. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Question for you. When I was on the Zaandam a few years ago, if we requested a table for just the 3 of us and one wasn't quickly available, they would give us a pager. We would walk down to the Mix area and have a pre-dinner drink while we waited. Do they still have this option?

We are doing this cruise in July. Do you think a wheelchair could negotiate the gravel path or did they have some toe of transportation available to the pilot house? If there was transportation did you notice if there was a long line?

Thanks for posting the daily schedule. It looks like there are plenty of activities and since we have open dining it will help me plan a few days ahead. I have never figured out how to make the dining room reservation system work for me but I will try! Do you know how the reservation system works on this ship?

Do you have a nightlite in the bathroom and how bright is it?

I hope the weather improves. You will be going up the Cook Inlet soon and should be able to identify some of the volcanoes off in the distance if it isn’t too dark or dreary.