Live from Holland Oosterdam May 25, Vancouver-Anchorage-Denali 21night Alaska trip

[aerospace]

Good port spot for coffee for morning; Smoothies & Espresso. About 3min from ship on 3rd ave, Had Tanner special smoothie with chia seed added(raspberries, mango, banana) 6

 

^State St 2 blocks from Broadway is Fairway Market general store if you need anything and don't want to pay $6 for chapstick on the ship. In front was a food truck serving Bison Dog($6) or Reindeer Dog($7.50) stuffed with jalapeno and cheese. Lots of topping options I choose mustard and onion on both. Bison is mild not what I expected, no deep earth or grassy notes; 6. Reindeer is good, peppery and not to spicy don't worry; 8.

 

 

^7th Av one block from Broadway is Skagway Museum, 30mins to see and well worth $2 entry fee. Also a video on when the army took over Skagway to prepare for the Japanese invasion. Did you know they the Japanese took over the Aleutian islands for over a year?

 

Sculpture garden is next door sounds interesting but didn't go ($7.50)

 

For the trail head look for Dewey Lake Trail System sign if you follow the train tracks you will pass by. Nine trail options listed from 0.9miles and 1 hour, to 33miles rated to take 3-5days...not recommended for cruise passengers lol. Recommend the hike to the upper lake and down the other side to the ocean. Port-a-potties and picnic tables available so bring a lunch...just remember you have to come back the same way about 4-5 hours round trip plus 30mins to stop at upper lake and an hour for lunch.

 

 

 

^hide the children so risque!

 

^lower dewey lake

[aerospace]

^Oosterdam day 5, captain had to many margaritas... :p

 

 

^then a bear came on board

 

^ I gave the bear a mountain goat and he was happy for awhile

 

 

^when he wanted seconds I smacked him with a Woolly Mammoth tusk

 

^he didn't like that so I gave him my cheese plate. No review since the bear ate it o.o

[aerospace]

^Disney wonder is in port today

 

^my weather was better than yours will be nana lol

 

 

 

^was late for dinner so I skipped to the entree course to not hold my table. Sole dish; very tender not at all dry. Served with pasta sauce that is watery 7.5

 

^Baked Alaska; only ok, cherry(?) topping was very sweet, not sure if I like this dish 6

 

^brownie sundae; topped with nuts 6.5

 

Casino auction I won a pack containing a t-shirt, bogo tournament ticket, two $5 match play coupons, a deck of cards, and a dice on keychain for $11...and when I went to pay they said it's free the auction is just for fun. Neat!

 

Magician tonight was just ok. They said he won an award only given out to 3 magicians in history for tricks he showed us. Seems like tricks you would do at a kids birthday party...dunno.

[chrismch]

Love the pics... keep them coming

 

Details on the bike rental? How much? Where did you ride & what the terrain like?

 

Was the king crab an appetizer at the MDR?

[aerospace]

Holland needs to work on their naming of things; Vista class ship, vista lounge, vista dining room, seriously guys? Lower promenade deck(3), promenade deck (4), upper promenade deck (5) X____X

 

Sports bar is running a special on selected beers $3.95. Seems like there is always 3 or 4 drink specials, tastings, etc to save some money. Plus happy hour daily and a couple free drinks here and there. My bill shocked me how little I spent at the end of the cruise. I ate in Pinnacle and even after I told them I didn't get charged it never got added. Ok Holland no problem...

 

Deck chairs look tacky, like the kind you buy at Walmart for $39(and I worked for walmart, but on a ship worth 500million they can do better) Also the lido tables are the kind you buy in a flat pack for your balcony, table and 4 chair set for $99 :p

 

 

Next post will be Holland Art tour. I think I'll make a separate thread and link to it here as it may be of interest to more than just Alaska cruisers.

 

I did visit Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage today at the recommendation of you guys, OMG WAS IT GOOD !!! Stay tuned I will upload pics and rating when we get to Anchorage in the thread.

 

Happy travels, sweet dreams of Creme Brulee and Husky Puppies!

[aerospace]

Love the pics... keep them coming

 

Details on the bike rental? How much? Where did you ride & what the terrain like?

 

Was the king crab an appetizer at the MDR?

 

I got it from my lodging($20) they have rentals but you can get them in town, I believe its $32/day. If you are staying awhile just go to Walmart and buy one for $60 ;) Anchorage is a bit hilly but the mountains are quite a ways. I just used it in lue of taking the bus or taxi to get around today. To Anchorage museum and down the coastal trail, prob 20miles total nothing extreme. Tomorrow I'm hiking flat top mountain it's been recommended to me about 5 times since I arrived lol.

 

Yes King crab was in MDR :)

Edited June 4, 2014 by aerospace

[Susie51]

Part of my morning routine. is checking your thread. Thank you for continuing to post.

[RuthC]

Do you remember if Skagway has ramps to get up on the boardwalks? Or was it always a step?

Thanks for the info.

[johnsea]

Thanks , keep posting whatever you can , it`s all good :)

[mhurdle127]

Can you find out what the piano bar entertainer Larry's last name is? Putting together a list of piano bar entertainers on all the HAL cruises and would love to find out what his future schedule is, and any review would be great too!

[aerospace]

Do you remember if Skagway has ramps to get up on the boardwalks? Or was it always a step?

Thanks for the info.

 

Can you find out what the piano bar entertainer Larry's last name is? Putting together a list of piano bar entertainers on all the HAL cruises and would love to find out what his future schedule is, and any review would be great too!

 

Unfortunately I don't know the answers to either of these. Maybe a reader of this thread can answer?

 

I would assume there are ramps but don't really remember any. :confused:

 

As far as Larry's last name I can't ask him as I'm off the ship, currently doing the Anchorage portion of my trip and to Denali tomorrow. The lack of internet speed in port put us a few days behind live. Uploading to my website can be done in bulk, 200 photos~10mins but posting 6 at a time here with commentary takes a lot longer. I am investing about 2hrs a day to this thread can't do anymore :p

 

Going to start my Holland "Art Tour" now, will post thread link here when it's up.

[aerospace]

deleted, mispost

Edited June 5, 2014 by aerospace

[pv girl]

Appreciate the time you have taken from your trip to do this - and the internet costs. Enjoy the rest of your trip. We don't care if it is "live". We will enjoy reading it and looking at your pictures, even if it is a few days late.

 

Really appreciate your info on some of the little museums and other "less touristy" spots. For those of us on repeat trips, there are other options than the same ol', same ol'.

[aerospace]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2052559

^^Check out the Holland Oosterdam "Art Tour" thread I posted :)

 

Tomorrow I'm in Denali for 6nights, hopefully see some more critters to photograph!

 

Missed two moose on the trip Seward to Anchorage. Lady I hiked with today saw a Mom and Baby moose on the Coastal Trail that I did twice and saw nothing. Did the Anchorage trolly and driver said 3 of her tours today saw moose, me nada :(

 

I am considering lengthening my AK trip due to having such a blast. I know it's only a $79 fee to change flights but it depends on if my new flight is more expensive and then have to pay the difference.

 

Weather is stunning :eek:

[solocanadian]

Mhurdle127, the last name of the piano man on the Oosterdam is Steele.

[RuthC]

Unfortunately I don't know the answers to either of these. Maybe a reader of this thread can answer?

 

I would assume there are ramps but don't really remember any. :confused:

Thanks for answering, anyway. It's not normally the kind of thing a person notices unless they, or someone they are with, needs.

Since the town is in the US, I thought it possible there are amenities for the disabled, but I also thought that since it's an historic town, there may not be.

 

I'll find out soon enough, I guess. Unless someone else knows the answer???

[Se4deb]

Yes there are ramps, several along the main street and a few near the train station. The boardwalks are rough, narrow, uneven, and "sloopy" is spots but it still doable with a electric scooter or manual wheelchair, walker, etc. We found most people would step off the boardwalk and let us pass. There is also a very nice little park not far from the post office that is just a nice place to just sit for a few. Hope this helps.

[RuthC]

Yes there are ramps, several along the main street and a few near the train station. The boardwalks are rough, narrow, uneven, and "sloopy" is spots but it still doable with a electric scooter or manual wheelchair, walker, etc. We found most people would step off the boardwalk and let us pass. There is also a very nice little park not far from the post office that is just a nice place to just sit for a few. Hope this helps.

It most certainly does help! Thank you so much for the scouting report.

So long as I know I can zip into town on the scooter, and maneuver once I get there, I can do a couple of things I've never gotten to do there.

[aerospace]

Glacier Bay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aerospace]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aerospace]

^odd formation

 

^Pea soup! Bit blurry, maybe my hands were shaking from the cold?

 

^photographing calving takes patience and reflexes

 

^snack break; don't I make a good looking waffle?

 

^there were a couple of seagulls, couple hundred...

 

[aerospace]

 

 

^salmon!

 

^that one belongs on the cover of a food magazine

 

 

[aerospace]

^chocolate 7.5, mango 7

 

^Neptunes lounge

 

^Neptunes lounge

 

^love the texture

 

^lots of carpets being replaced

[KroozFoolz]

Oh WOW!

Amazing!

[aerospace]

Thanks! Glacier Bay was the reason I went on the cruise. I had considered just flying to Anchorage and staying 2-3 weeks around Alaska but then I would have missed so much :)

 

Update: Saw a moose about 10mins ago on the drive in to Denali. Not 2 feet from the road just having breakfast munching on some grasses. Most people seem to agree if you want to see wildlife (the big 5), you need to get up early or stay way late in the evening.

 

Yesterday was shorts weather, 71F can you believe it? It's 7:11am here and I'm sitting in the WAC (free wifi) waiting on my shuttle into Eielson visitor center at mile marker 66 in the park. Hope to take many photos and do some more hiking(yesterday was 18miles)

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Edited June 7, 2014 by aerospace