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Hopefully, Live From the MS Amsterdam May 17 - June 1, 2014

Alberta Quilter
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AlohaPride

AlohaPride

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Yes, well better late than never, right!

 

Hey, you'll be able to eat the crab at the PG!!!! It's all crab!! Not a speck of gluten.

**sob** I developed a shellfish allergy wish my second pregnancy. Funny story, my first anaphylactic attack happened on a DAM ship. :(

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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**sob** I developed a shellfish allergy wish my second pregnancy. Funny story, my first anaphylactic attack happened on a DAM ship. :(

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Okay, well, the crab was just okay. Does that make you feel better? Oh, all right. I lied. It was really good. Much better than the crab in the MDR which I hear is what the Alaskan locals refer to as snow crab.

 

And I don't think that's a very funny story... Happy that you obviously recovered from the anaphylactic attack, though!

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Watson's aunt

Watson's aunt

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Here is a picture of the Amsterdam arriving in Vancouver. She is turning around in the harbour. This was taken from our room at the Pan Pacific so it give you an idea of the view from there. The Zuiderdam is the ship in the front.

 

Isn't she beautiful

 

Mary

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RuthC

RuthC

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Here are some pictures of Abkhazi Garden in Victoria. It is a very nice garden. Small, with a teahouse, and much closer to the port than Butchart Gardens.

That garden is so very pretty. Seeing the pictures make me want to go even more now! Thank you so much for posting them.

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liketraveling

liketraveling

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An update on the cruise win:

 

I spoke with HAL yesterday and a very nice man gave me the details on the cruise win.

  • Yes, it can be used for any itinerary, any length of cruise, not just a 7 day Caribbean or Mexico as stated on the certificate.
  • No, it cannot be used for a Holiday cruise (Christmas & New Year's). That is stated right on the form but I had to ask anyway. Christmas is a good time for me to take vacation.
  • The value of the certificate is $450/person or $900/stateroom. I assume that is in US$. I forgot to mention that I was Canadian.
  • Taxes, port fees and non-commissionable fares are not included. These total approx. $600 on a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean/Mexico in a minimum category interior stateroom.
  • There are other terms & conditions that may apply. That means that no other OBC/amenity offer, such as a free beverage card or Explore4 promo, will be allowed if using the cruise certificate. One cannot use an FCD to apply to the tax portion, either, because the FCD has an OBC component to it. One can, however, still get their shareholder benefit.
  • One last thing is that if one was to book a certain category, the certificate would be applied only if the same promotion of the cabin was the same in all cabin levels within that category. One, for example, couldn't use it on a flash sale pricing because that is typically available to only one or two levels within a category.
  • One could still get upgraded to another category. I did not specifically ask about upsells but I assume that those would still be options, if available.
  • A TA would not get any commission on the certificate portion of the cruise fare. If one takes a longer cruise or a higher category, or both, then the TA receives a commission on the price differential.

We have not yet decided where we will go. We couldn't really agree on a future cruise before the win, other than a European river cruise. Good thing there is no expiry date on this cruise certificate! Maybe we'll go back to Alaska in a couple of years since it's a nice easy flight to Vancouver for us.

 

I won the cruise lottery and used it towards a credit on a Canada New England Cruise. They had a flash sale and balconies went down below what I had paid for an ocean view. Five days out I got an upsell offer. If I were do do it again I would stick to what the certificate is for. Since mine was for the lottery I got a 1099 form. The bingo cruise, I do not think you have to pay taxes on it.

 

Congrats and enjoy!

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lcand1923

lcand1923

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Hi Alberta Quilter,

 

I'm busy laying out my little schedule for the cruise leaving June 22. I've made notes about the Salmon Chowder and the Gold Rush Dinner, because I love salmon.

 

Did they serve Escargot any night on the Amsterdam during your 14 day cruise? I've read so many good reports about it so want to make certain I don't eat a big lunch that day.

 

Thank you again for your Live From thread. My little schedule has grown and grown because of your detailed reporting.

 

I hope your Mother has recovered from her sinus difficulties.

 

Thanks.

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LVSue

LVSue

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Congrats on your cruise win! And I'm sure your tips on the "free" trip, will help others.

 

We saw you and DM leaving the ship, but you didn't hear our cries of goodbye!

 

I'm delighted on all the advice about tea rooms. SIL and I fell in love with clotted cream in St Peter's Port and have been searching for it ever since. I think we'll try James Bay Tearoom next time we're in Victoria (because, yes, we have booked the Statendam next year for the same itinerary)!

 

Can anyone suggest any places on the Canada/New England itinerary for clotted cream? Halifax, PEI? And we are still looking for fish and chips.

 

Icand1923, there is an escargot night. I'm not sure which one.

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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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Hi Alberta Quilter,

 

I'm busy laying out my little schedule for the cruise leaving June 22. I've made notes about the Salmon Chowder and the Gold Rush Dinner, because I love salmon.

 

Did they serve Escargot any night on the Amsterdam during your 14 day cruise? I've read so many good reports about it so want to make certain I don't eat a big lunch that day.

 

Thank you again for your Live From thread. My little schedule has grown and grown because of your detailed reporting.

 

I hope your Mother has recovered from her sinus difficulties.

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, there was definitely escargot on the menu for one formal dinner. I can't remember which formal night but but DM and I think it was the third. For sure, it wasn't the first or last. I wouldn't eat a big lunch on any formal day, if I were you.

 

Speaking of food, I didn't speak much about the food other than to tell you what we ate at night, or talk about the Dive In. There were a couple of stand out meals that I mentioned too. One thing that I didn't mention was the temperature of the food. It was almost never hot. MDR, or lido. The only times I had hot food was when having an omelet in the lido. Don't get me wrong, the hot food wasn't cold, it was warm. Just not hot. There were a few complaints about it.

 

I don't think it cooled off while sitting at the steward station, either. The food was served promptly upon arrival at the station. I think it came from the kitchen in a lukewarm state. Hopefully they get that worked out for the subsequent cruises.

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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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Congrats on your cruise win! And I'm sure your tips on the "free" trip, will help others.

 

We saw you and DM leaving the ship, but you didn't hear our cries of goodbye!

 

I'm delighted on all the advice about tea rooms. SIL and I fell in love with clotted cream in St Peter's Port and have been searching for it ever since. I think we'll try James Bay Tearoom next time we're in Victoria (because, yes, we have booked the Statendam next year for the same itinerary)!

 

Can anyone suggest any places on the Canada/New England itinerary for clotted cream? Halifax, PEI? And we are still looking for fish and chips.

 

Icand1923, there is an escargot night. I'm not sure which one.

 

Thanks, Sue. I'm sorry we didn't hear you calling out to us! I'm happy you're doing the same itinerary again. I think we,ll take a year or two off from Alaska. It's DM's turn to choose where we go next. After all, it's her bucket list...

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

Posted
Posted
My first time uploading pictures from my phone...

 

The first picture is the Alaska King Crab for an extra $20. It was very good, and yes, you need two gravy boats of melted butter. Yes, you do!

 

The second picture is the after picture. I think it is self explanatory!:D

 

 

They look wonderful.

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Seabreez

Seabreez

Posted
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Hi Catherine

It was a pleasure meeting you and your mom. Remember us watching the snow capped mountains and we started chatting near the enclosed pool area??

I have enjoyed reading your review and wish I would have known about the puzzle.

I would have been there too at midnight trying to find pieces.

Alaska is now in our blood and we want to return and do what we missed. Now that may take at least 4 more cruises - just too much beauty!!!!!!!!

And I thought I was lucky - I won a nice bracelet (value $95) that last Friday morning and then $40 in the casino. But you - a cruise!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, it was a pleasure to meet you and your mom.

Pat - Seabreez and hubby Jim

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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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Hi Catherine

It was a pleasure meeting you and your mom. Remember us watching the snow capped mountains and we started chatting near the enclosed pool area??

I have enjoyed reading your review and wish I would have known about the puzzle.

I would have been there too at midnight trying to find pieces.

Alaska is now in our blood and we want to return and do what we missed. Now that may take at least 4 more cruises - just too much beauty!!!!!!!!

And I thought I was lucky - I won a nice bracelet (value $95) that last Friday morning and then $40 in the casino. But you - a cruise!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, it was a pleasure to meet you and your mom.

Pat - Seabreez and hubby Jim

 

Thanks, Pat! And, congratulations to you on winning a bracelet! I'm so glad that you enjoyed your first cruise to Alaska. Do you have a favourite port from our cruise? Our afternoon in Tracy Arm was pretty spectacular!

 

So, have you decided when you're going back? There's still time for this year! Try going from Vancouver next time. The scenery in the Canadian inside passage is amazing!

 

Whatever you decide, I know you'll love it!

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lcand1923

lcand1923

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Alberta Quilter,

 

This will be a final Thank You for all of your hard work. My "little schedule" has been updated with information from the On Locations that you provided to halfacts.com. I'm a planner to the nth degree, but have never been so well prepared for a cruise as I am for this one thanks to you. NOW, if I can just get that packing done!

 

Thanks, again.

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  • 10 months later...
Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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I just wanted to thank you for your review. I just discovered it today and read it page by page. We are thinking of taking the 14 day Alaska cruise roundtrip out of Seattle next year (2016) on the Maasdam, so your review was very helpful and gave us lots of ideas.

 

Glad you found it helpful. There are other reviews, ones with pictures, from subsequent sailings. Just do a search for them.

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SilverLining4Me

SilverLining4Me

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Posted
Here is a picture of the pollen in Alaska. Yes, that is pollen that is dusting (coating) the green leaf! When I get my camera pictures downloaded, I'll attach pictures of the pollen slicks (think oil slicks but yellow) on the ocean.

 

WOW ... the pollen seems excessive. A bit concerned that it could trigger my asthma. We have gone to Alaska before but roundtrip out of Seattle and out of San Francisco. Never seen the pollen like this.

 

Glad you found it helpful. There are other reviews, ones with pictures, from subsequent sailings. Just do a search for them.

 

Just starting my research now. Yours was the first day by day review I found.

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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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Posted (edited)
WOW ... the pollen seems excessive. A bit concerned that it could trigger my asthma. We have gone to Alaska before but roundtrip out of Seattle and out of San Francisco. Never seen the pollen like this.

 

 

Just starting my research now. Yours was the first day by day review I found.

 

I understood that the pollen was quite unusual in 2014. At any rate, I didn't hear it to be an issue on subsequent cruises. It could be that I missed it or no one posted about it, though.

 

Here's another review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2069385&highlight=14+day+alaska

 

And another: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2091549

Edited by Alberta Quilter
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