LIVE from the Diamond Princess - 35 days Singapore to Vancouver

[svetas74]

Is there a retractible roof on this ship?

 

thanks!

[ccrain]

Is there a retractible roof on this ship?

 

thanks!

 

There is the conservatory area, with a pool and bar area and a glass top. Not sure if it opens like the Island or Coral. I kind of doubt it considering the construction. But it hasn't been opened during anytime in the past 30+ days.

 

There are three really good pool areas you can use. Inside the conservatory, the outdoor pool and the adult's only swim against the current pool in the lotus spa area under the Sanctuary.

 

Believe it or not, in 30+ days, we have not yet gotten to a pool. That's how busy we've been with other stuff.

 

Back to the ship from Juneau. Did not do any excursions and could not make it out to Nugget falls in time given the short time in port. Will update with a more complete review tomorrow prior to ketchikan and do an overall summary on Friday.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

 

You can just see the aft of Diamond as the HAL ship is blocking the view from the port cam.

Do HAL ships get all the best berths in Alaska?:D

[IECalCruiser]

 

 

You can just see the aft of Diamond as the HAL ship is blocking the view from the port cam.

Do HAL ships get all the best berths in Alaska?:D

Princess uses the South Franklin Street Dock in Juneau because they can connect to shore power at that dock. Princess' shore power program first began operations in the Alaska capital in the summer of 2001.

[Orangefan]

Thank you for all your posts and detailed information. I have enjoyed the journey !

Sali

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Got you again folks....

From Sea Princess due in Juneau from 1 till 9 pm.

She must have been coming to get this shot.

 

 

[Pia1913]

There were two HAL ships with us; Oosterdam and Zaandam. Sea was just arriving when we were ready to depart.

[marwood]

We went upstairs to a local restaurant that clearly didn’t get many (any) western customers – no forks – and with our guide’s assistance ordered lunch. Service was a little odd, as main dishes kept coming to the table one by one, and, in spite of multiple requests, no rice – finally the rice arrived as the last or next to last dish – evidently rather than ‘regular’ steamed rice, which was delivered to the adjacent tables along with the food, we got fried rice which counted as a separate entrée. Oh well, it was still very good and one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip – great kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, fried pork, some kind of vaguely spinach-ish vegetable with black bean sauce, cashew chicken and a local beer – and our tardy but tasty fried rice, of course.

 

This is a Chinese meal served banquet style.

[ccrain]

Love Juneau. So much to do, but we are only in port for 6 hours. Not really enough time to do our favorite things (walk out to Nugget Falls from the Mendenhall Visitors center and go to the top of the tram). Cloudy, a little rainy, with clouds covering the top of the mountain for most of the day, and its now 1400 with no break in sight. We reverted to plan B and sought a couple of specific items. An assorted box of Alaskan fudge Company slices as gifts to the Cruise Staff, a Juneau specific magnet and a replacement Alaska hoodie for Judy’s old one that finally gave up the ghost last year.

 

We wandered through town and the shops. A lot has changed since 2006, our last trip here. The new boardwalk along the waterfront is new, no more walking on the roads, and of course a lot of shops have changed hands or names. The major ones are still there. The T-shirt factory, the knife factory (nice swords in there for sure), the fudge shop, various other familiar shops. A new parking structure next to the police/bus station has a great view of the harbor from the top, and a little park and walking path up to the top. ATMs are everywhere as are the dozens of booths, on both sides of the pier, touting various independent excursions. If we were here for the full day, I would not have hesitated to go whale watching, but flight seeing would have been hampered by the cloud cover, although the glacier may have been clear while the town was socked in.

 

Two Holland America ‘dam’ ships were in with us. Lots of tourists all over the place. Lots of crew getting a few hours off as well since our crew could not get off in Seward due to the Coast Guard inspection.

 

Twisted Fish is still there. Our favorite stop in Juneau, and right next to the ship, to sample the Taku smoked salmon, get some clams, some great on tap Alaskan Pale Ale. The Taku smoked salmon is the best, besides homemade, I’ve ever had, but it is VERY expensive. They will ship it home for you if you’re at your luggage limit.

 

Funny, when we first started cruising I refused to eat off the ship – I paid for it, we’re going to eat it all. But now, especially after 30+ days, it’s good to get some different food than what’s available on the ship. Fresh steamed clams is one of those things you just can’t get on the ship and Pacific Northwest clams are some of the best in the world.

 

After getting all of our loot back to the ship we went up to Skywalker’s to watch sailaway and whale watch for the trip down the channel. It was formal night and we did not bring formal wear on this cruise. The port wing of Skywalker’s on the Diamond is a great place to watch from. (They still allow smoking on the starboard wing.) We sat for hours watching for whales, having a quick sushi snack from the Elite bar, but no whales. Lots of birds, eagles, gulls, ducks, but no whales or seals.

 

The Sea Princess was docked just south of us. Rumor had it that she had engine trouble and got in late. If true, not a good start for her Alaska season for sure.

 

We then made our way to Tim Wakoe’s show. As an American comedian he did make contact with the American passengers, but we sat with an Australian couple and some of the stuff was too American for them. Especially his references to the south, Swamp People, Hillbilly hand fishing, no teeth and lack of DNA differentiation. But it was much better than his first show.

 

After that it was lights out. Did not make it to the various parties or the production show.

[Pia1913]

Good Morning from “almost” arrival into Ketchikan, which is estimated to be at 10 AM. Skies are clear and we anticipate it to reach a high of 50. Our day in Juneau yesterday was chilly, but nice. New jacket kept me toasty as we walked around town doing nothing of any importance. Major purchase - wine, and good hot coffee at a Starbucks type café.

　

Last night the whole lot of us (10) decided not to go formal and eat at HC. We went to Skywalkers right after trivia, went to dinner shortly after six and ended up staying there until 9:00. Lots of laughs and camaraderie among friends.

　

We expect to do much of the same today; walk the town and poke around the various shops. The only thing of value on board today is at 1:30, when there will be a Forest Service presentation: Skins and Skulls. Rangers will present a program highlighting the habitat, ecosystem, skins and skulls that are represented by the healthy animal population of the Tongass National Forest.

　

Following the above, there will be a second presentation by the Rangers from the Ketchikan-Misty Fjord district entitled: The Tongass - A Forest of Islands.

　

Evening brings us The Adventures of Tintin on MUTS and the jugglers with another show in the theater. Nothing in Explorer’s. And tonight we get to push our clocks forward again; the last time.

Internet screwy again. Hope this posts.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

From the cams in Ketchican...

 

 

 

 

 

[Pia1913]

Oosterdam and Westerdam here with us. Weather has warmed up a bit. Still cold, but dry.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thank you for your posts ....

[curiouscat]

Oosterdam and Westerdam here with us. Weather has warmed up a bit. Still cold, but dry.

 

Fantastic... we'll be there in a few weeks... what is cold? thanks...

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Fantastic... we'll be there in a few weeks... what is cold? thanks...

 

Heres the current forecast..

 

[trikeman]

David,

 

You never cease to amaze me. I don't know how you find all of these port cams and post some of the info you do. Great job.

[sunvalley cruisers]

I agree! David is the master at finding and posting the best ship and port photos to go along with the postings. I've really enjoyed them.

 

Anne

[Bowie MeMe]

Thanks to all who have allowed us to go along and dream along. Doing Asia on the Diamond Princess in Oct. and this just makes it even more fun to look at excursions and plan and WAIT. I have really enjoyed this thread.

[Donyb]

Thank you to all who took us along on this cruise...a special thanks to ccrain, pia and Donna. I wish you all a safe journey home and I look forward to hearing about your next cruise adventures. I hope to meet some of you on the seas sometime soon.

 

Nancy

[xavier]

ccrain: Thank you so much for your posts. They were so positive and descriptive I felt like I was sailing with you! Thank you for taking the time to share a portion of your cruise, it was quite thoughtful.

[bcnvcanada]

Thank you so much for your posts, I have enjoyed reading about the Diamond and your cruise exp. It has been wonderful. It has been my daily fix of cruising for the last month. Again thanks.

[Pia1913]

Friday, May 18th. Last day at sea and last day of the cruise. At the beginning, 5 weeks seemed like such a long time. And it was. And then it flew. We’ve had a great time on board with friends and also made better with your participation on this LIVE. As always, you can’t do it without the CC audience. I hope some of you will join me on the CB when we sail from Southampton on June 19th. David, as always, has been a major part of these LIVES too. You know I appreciate your inputs. :)

　

Our day in Ketchikan yesterday was fine, especially since the weather turned out to be partly sunny (at times), which made the cold feel not so cold. In fact, around 5:30, the sun was shining brightly and we were able to spend some time on our balcony. We didn’t do much in town other than buy a cheapie suitcase ($9.99; 20” wheelie) and a scarf, hat and gloves for me, to take along on the fjord cruise next month. One of our friends made a major purchase; an emerald, which as set for her as a pendant on a gold chain.

　

Lots of activities on board today, though I suspect the major one will be packing. We are done. This morning you can listen to Hutch doing a port lecture on Vancouver, make a fridge magnet in Arts and Crafts, attend the culinary show or see the movie War Horse. Afternoon brings vegetable carving, a backstage tour, navigational lecture and chart auction and the afternoon movie; Underworld Awakening. Very sparse offering for night entertainment; passenger talent show in the theater and “In Time” on MUTS.

　

Breakfast awaits. Will check in again prior to departure.

[dsawyer]

You have had a wonderful trip and have done an outstanding job reporting here. Now you have come to the end of your journey and I'm sure you will agree - "there is no place like home".

 

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. We look forward to having you back on the roll call for The Royal. :cool:

[KYteach]

I have so enjoyed these "live froms". This cruise (or actually these cruises) are now on our bucket list. As my husband is now retired, we have the time to do the things on our list! Now what will I read until June 19?

[ccrain]

Judy’s sore throat has developed into a cold now. But she wasn’t down enough to skip Ketchikan. We scooted up to the starboard wing of Skywalker’s to watch the approach into Ketchikan. No whales, only a ton of eagles. Westerdam was in dock already as we approached, and another one followed in behind us.

 

The lumberjack show was all we had on the formal schedule, that and some lunch, so we wandered over to the show venue from the dock. Slightly misting when we arrived, it quit soon afterwards, the sun tried to break through, but the wind was cold.

 

The show was pretty much as I remembered it. We were on the Canadian side cheering – the crowd is broken up into US and Canadian cheering sections. Not as high energy as the show we went to in 2006. (Maybe because all of the people watching were either in day 33 of a cruise or from a Holland American ship.) Fresh Alaskan bear bait, I mean newbies, from the lower 48 are so much more enthusiastic. I really recommend this show. Its not fake, the stunts are real, the axes sharp and it’s a lot of fun if you get into the mood and just go for it. You have axe throwing, standing log chop, vertical log chop, spring board chop, cross cut saw race, unlimited chain saw race, pole climb race, log racing, log rolling and a lot of other stuff.

 

After the show we wandered around town for a while and ended up in Annabelle’s, a café that serves CLAMS! We had a lunch of clam chowder, fried calamari in a spicy oriental sweet and sour sauce, and steamed clams. The chowder was really good, no crackers needed, but not quite as good as Twisted Fish’s in Juneau. The clams were ok, but not as good as at the waterfront in Seward. The calamari was really tasty, but I preferred the calamari in Seward.

 

So the perfect Alaskan meal? Chowder and Taku smoked salmon from Twisted Fish in Juneau, clams and calamari from the marina side restaurant in Seward.

 

After the mandatory shopping stop in a lot of stores, and there seems to be a lot more carvings in Ketchikan, I took Judy back to the ship and put her to bed with some Nyquil.

 

I went up to Skywalker’s and stayed through sailaway and down through the Tongass channel. Only saw one pod of whales blowing several miles away with the binoculars. Nothing up close. I did see a bait fish boil in front of the ship with no less than 8 eagles and about two dozen gulls wheeling, turning and diving for dinner. But that was about it for several hours.

 

I went to see RootBerry’s alternative show while Judy stayed in bed. (She wanted to go, but I didn’t let her. She needed her rest and people sitting around us didn’t need to get exposed to her hacking and coughing.) Disappointing show to say the least. The best thing in a 45 minute show was the last routine in which they juggled 6 or 7 clubs between them, demonstrating different throws to each other. That was enjoyable. Had they done more of those routines, rather than the attempts at comedy, it would have been much better. I hope they evolve the show. It has potential, but can’t last too long in its current state.

 

After the show, It was just time to go to bed. Thought about attending a trivia, but we would lose another hour and tomorrow would be packing day.