LAFFNVEGAS LIVE from Zuiderdam first week to Alaska

[sail7seas]

I've done it a handful of times and it's alays been rough. The roughest cruise I've had was in that area (30 foot waves)

 

 

Yes, that is for sure rough. :eek: - 30 foot waves.

 

[cruisin'girl]

Rough seas out in the Pacific going up to AK from Seattle is another reason many people prefer doing the Inside Passage out of Vancouver BC.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Yes, the California coast seas are often rough. We have experienced rough seas three times going north and twice going south.

[MilliesMom]

Rough seas out in the Pacific going up to AK from Seattle is another reason many people prefer doing the Inside Passage out of Vancouver BC.

 

It's funny ... the one cruise we took where we stopped in Vancouver then went on to Alaska (it was a cruise from Seattle), the worst seas were when we left Vancouver. I remember feeling like the stairs came up to meet our feet. We had to hold the side rails to walk down the halls too. Luckily we didn't get seasick, but is sure was rough.

 

We have cruised out of Seattle twice. Never felt it was rough seas there, but I know many have talked about it/experienced it.

[Himself]

It's funny ... the one cruise we took where we stopped in Vancouver then went on to Alaska (it was a cruise from Seattle), the worst seas were when we left Vancouver. I remember feeling like the stairs came up to meet our feet. We had to hold the side rails to walk down the halls too. Luckily we didn't get seasick, but is sure was rough.

 

We have cruised out of Seattle twice. Never felt it was rough seas there, but I know many have talked about it/experienced it.

 

I also have gone out of Seattle on the outside passage. I have usually found it smooth.

However, two years ago I was there on the Rotterdam and that cruise was bumpy on the way up. It affected my sleep and as soon as we turned into "Stephens Passage" wow, what a difference. Then sleep became easy and soooo good.

[Copper10-8]

Is that West Coast ride from San Diego often rough?

 

 

Spring and Fall? Most of the time;) Kinda like the Cape Hatteras area on the east coast

[sail7seas]

:eek: We'll hope for smooth'ish' seas. :D

 

When we've sailed past Hatteras, we got lucky..... hope it's the same for us out of Seattle. :)

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

:eek: We'll hope for smooth'ish' seas. :D

 

When we've sailed past Hatteras, we got lucky..... hope it's the same for us out of Seattle. :)

 

 

 

 

It'll smooth out as the weather gets warmer;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thursday May 10, 2012

 

Good Evening from the MS Zuiderdam where there is still motion in the Ocean but not nearly as bad as last night. Actually at least for Tom and I it has not been bad at all. I guess maybe because we have cruised quite frequently we just do not feel it that much.But I also do not think it was as bad as they expected but because of the winds and the seas we lost too much time. It is unfortunate for those that this is the only port stop. Tom joked he was upset because he wanted to go have dinner where Edward and Bella went to dinner. ;) You need to be a Twilight fan to understand.

 

While we are missing a port those on the Westerdam who were with us in San Diego have a real mess. They were to get into Vancouver tomorrow morning and disembark passengers and embark new ones before going to Seattle on Saturday, unfortunately as hard as they are pushing it they will not get into Vancouver till 8pm tomorrow evening which is a good 12 hours behind, disembark then embark those that were doing the one night at approx. 11pm then head to Seattle.That will be a real mess and unfortunately for those that had plans in Vancouver once they arrived.

 

Tomorrow evening between 7:15 and 8 up in the Crow's Nest is a Cocktail Party for those in the Collector's Voyage. Then afterwards we are doing something different but I will tell you about that tomorrow evening.

 

OK going back to today we had our Indonesian Rijsttafel Lunch. This was the first time in all of our HAL cruises that we attended this and I have to say I was very impressed. Below is the menu

Starters

Gado-Gado

Mixed blanched vegetables with peanut sauce

 

Soto Ayam "Madura"

Madura chickent soup with Vegetables and shredded coconut

 

Main Dish

Masi Goreng

Fried Rice (which is actually got a kick to it)

 

Pisang Goreng

Fried Banana Fritter

 

Sate'

Marinated Chicken from the barbeque with peanut sauce

 

Udang Goreng

Shrimp in Butter

 

Ayam Goreng Ketjap

Fried Chicken in ketjap marination

 

Beef Sumatra

Beef Cooked with Sumatra spices

 

Side Dishes

Kacang Panjang

Sauteed green beans with sambal

 

Achar

Indonesian style pickled vegetables

 

Krupuk Udang

Chrimp crackers

 

Dessert

Puding Gula Jawa

Rice Pudding with brown sugar sauce

 

Of course the wine was also flowing freely. It was quite nice. I actually loved everything that was served to us, of course as many of you know from previous reports Tom is just a bit picky but he did try several items but did go to the Lido afterwards. :)

 

Then at 3 in the Culinary Arts Center aka Queens Lounge was the Wine Tasting for Champagne and Sparklings. Unfortunately I did not bring back with me the list of the 5 that we sampled. I love my sparklings but am a bit picky and hate those that have a nasty bite to them. I actually thought a few of these were not great but they did improve when trying things like fruit such as strawberries, melon and even sushi.

 

After dinner this evening we went to the show called Kimika. I had never heard of them but it was quite different. It is a husband and wife that he plays guitar and she sings but she is also a comedian but has a fantastic voice. They are from England so their humor is quite funny. They did a great Hotel California but the whole time I could just see Joel Mason up there on the Vista Show Lounge stage. I guess we are missing Joel our last 4 times to Alaska Joel was on the ship performing but we are just on the wrong ship this year. Or is it he is on the wrong ship :D

 

I mentioned the Cocktail party tomorrow night, well also at 3 tomorrow afternoon we have to go to a meeting telling us about turnaround day and what will happen. So should be interesting.

 

I guess that is about all I have to report for now.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Zuiderdam.

 

[Copper10-8]

Did you try some Sambal with all that enak sekali Indo eats?:)

[TheCalicoCat]

The above is today's drink of the day so I will try it, Thanks;)

 

Strawberry Basil Bellini - I'll be trying that on my cruise!

[TheCalicoCat]

At the bottom right corner of the message to which you are replying, there are three icons. If you hover over them, they say:

'reply with quote' -

quotes only the message you're replying to

'multi-quote' -

quotes multiple posts

'quick reply' - quotes nothing

Like Peaches, I use the first icon and delete the text that does not apply.

 

HTH

Candy

 

In the past 2 days (Yes, in the month prior to my cruise I am reading a lot of CC) I've learned 2 distinctly different things that you can do on these boards! I always wondered how people had more than one quote in their reply...

[TheCalicoCat]

Rough seas out in the Pacific going up to AK from Seattle is another reason many people prefer doing the Inside Passage out of Vancouver BC.

 

Me included!:) I keep reading about people who chose the Seattle RT & wonder if they are aware... I wasn't 100% aware of just how rough those seas are, but I was aware of missing the scenery...

[Himself]

Thanks for the update Lisa. On another thread I had heard about the Westerdam and how many were sick. Sorry about the rough weather. Glad you and Tom are surviving well and enjoying your cruise. Thank You for keeping the reports coming.

Himself

[Boytjie]

While we are missing a port those on the Westerdam who were with us in San Diego have a real mess. They were to get into Vancouver tomorrow morning and disembark passengers and embark new ones before going to Seattle on Saturday, unfortunately as hard as they are pushing it they will not get into Vancouver till 8pm tomorrow evening which is a good 12 hours behind, disembark then embark those that were doing the one night at approx. 11pm then head to Seattle.That will be a real mess and unfortunately for those that had plans in Vancouver once they arrived.

 

Oh that is horrible for the one-night cruisers! They will get bed and breakfast, basically. :(

[Boytjie]

Pisang Goreng

Fried Banana Fritter

 

It tickles me when I see words in Indonesian that are also used in Afrikaans! :) In Afrikaans a banana is a "piesang". I have come across a few others while on the DAM ships.

[Copper10-8]

It tickles me when I see words in Indonesian that are also used in Afrikaans! :) In Afrikaans a banana is a "piesang". I have come across a few others while on the DAM ships.

 

Think there is a Dutch connection somewhere?:cool:

[Boytjie]

Think there is a Dutch connection somewhere?:cool:

 

There is a connection but isn't it banaan in Dutch? :)

 

The Dutch East India company brought Indonesian slaves to the Cape so there is actually a direct link too.

[Mary Ellen]

Rough seas out in the Pacific going up to AK from Seattle is another reason many people prefer doing the Inside Passage out of Vancouver BC.

That is indeed part of the reason we greatly prefer the Vancouver sailing. Several years ago we were talking to the captain over lunch as we were sailing through perfectly calm waters amongst beautiful' date=' mist dopled islands on the way back to Vancouver. We'd mentioned that the previous year we'd sailed the Amsterdam out of Seattle. He said it was a good thing we hadn't done so again that year. The Amsterdam was also on her way back, but they were REALLY bouncing around out in the Pacific. Fantastic scenery and calm seas - can't be beat. :D [/size']

[kazu]

Did you try some Sambal with all that enak sekali Indo eats?:)

dh orders it with every meal and the crew always oblige:) He absolutely loves it:D:D It's not for everyone - but if you like spicey things - it can be pretty incredible - most ships have more than one kind - the crew actually gets a kick out of offering different samplings as they know dh can handle it:)

 

Highly recommended for the right people!

[Copper10-8]

There is a connection but isn't it banaan in Dutch? :)

 

The Dutch East India company brought Indonesian slaves to the Cape so there is actually a direct link too.

 

Yeah, it's banaan allright, but I'm thinking Piesang had to make it to Zuid Afrika via a Dutch East Indies connect

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Friday May 11th, 2012

 

Good Afternoon from the Pacific Northwest where we are still a bit over 200 nautical miles to Vancouver.

 

It has actually turned out to be a brisk cool sunny day that is actually quite nice. The winds and the seas have calmed down considerably. It is unfortunately that we were not able to make it to Port Angeles but then I think we still would have needed to be back on board for the 3 PM meeting of what those of us will do that are staying on to the next voyage.

 

This morning I decided would be a great morning to finally use the Spa/Thermal Suite. Now those that have read by previous Live Froms know I usually comment on the Spa. What is interesting. The Zuiderdam as I mentioned was our first ever HAL ships and back 9 years ago I was not into Spa stuff like I am now. So I actually did not use the Spa facilities in that first HAL cruise. It was not till our 2nd HAL cruise on the Oosterdam that I started making the spa part of my normal cruise routine. Since out second HAL cruise I have frequented every Spa on all the HAL ships. I really just assumed the Zuiderdam was identical to the rest of the Vista's since they were all almost identical. To my surprise there are just a few slight differences that actually stood out to me. First off the Hydrotherapy Pool area is much brighter. One due tot he fact they have the glass dome above the pool open with no curtains/cloth coverings. The first big difference that stood out for me was the water depth of the pool is a bit more shallow but the good one is the metal reclined bench is about 4 to 6 inches shorter than all the other Vista Class and Signature Class. As many of my Spa buddies (Sher or Paula if you are reading this ;) ) can tell you being the 4'11'' that I am I have a really hard time climbing up into those benches. I have gotten to the point that I just stand in the water talking with them while they lay there because it is just too difficult for me to climb up into the benches and especially to climb out. To my surprise with these being so much lower it was very easy.

Then in the Thermal Suite itself, the fountains and steam rooms were slightly different as well as there is an actually real sauna with redwood benches and the hot rocks. The other Vista's and Signature Class do not have those. There are many slight differences through out the ship. Where the other Vista's are far more similar. There were so few people using the Thermal Suite this morning that I almost felt I had it to myself. While I was a bit disappointed that none of aroma therapy features were working I was impressed with checking out the other differences.

 

Around 11:30 I came back to the cabin to shower and got changed because we decided today would be a great day to have lunch in the Pinnacle. No surprise at all in what we ordered. Tom and I both had the Blue Cheese Encrusted Sirloin, of course I had my NW 5 Onion Soup I nice cold glass of Riesling Wine and topped it all off with the Orange Lime Panacotta. I still say that the Pinnacle Lunch is the best deal on the ship and even better now that we are Four Star.

 

This morning while walking down the hall to go to the Spa I saw most cabins had their Debarkation envelopes, it is so good to know we have the next 7 days to look forward to. We did stop at the Front Desk because I wanted to make sure that Tom's soda card would carry over and they assured me it would because they show us continuing on till the 19th.

 

I am sitting at the desk looking out the window as I write this hoping to catch a whale spouting. I would think we might start to see them. Last year in may the Orca's were so plentiful but we have found it changes year to year so it will be interesting to see what we find for this year.

 

Signing off till this evening from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Zuiderdam

[kazu]

Thanks Lisa - I had forgotten that lunch in the Pinnacle gets the 4* discount too - a good thing to keep in mind.

 

I'm really looking forward to that feeling when I see everyone else's disembarkation forms and we are staying on at our next collectors' cruise:)

 

Glad things are smoothing out for your - smooth seas and thanks for sharing:)

[thecook]

I'm enjoying your posts...thanks for taking the time to keep me entertained!!!

[Watson's aunt]

I was on Amsterdam last june (Alaska) The ship sailed up the inside passage and returned outside. We never had rough weather So it hit or miss

 

 

Mary