Radiance of the Seas NB Alaska August 8-15, 2014

[rafinmd]

Note: All menus and compasses should be posted on the appropriate tabs at http://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com

 

I was up again at 5 and walked around the deck 5/6 bow to find (guess what) rain. I had planned on walking 90 minutes but in addition to the rain a gale force wind developed after about an hour and I gave up the walk.

 

We made our initial approach to Hubbard Glacier about 8 and stopped perhaps half a mile from the glacier about 8:30A heavy drizzle was falling and a lot of people hung out under various overhangs. Captain Sindre rotated the ship around a couple of times so everybody could get a look at the glacier. It was a bit foggy with a raw, damp, cold, but standing on deck was rewarded by a lovely glacier calving quite regularly.

 

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The rescue boat went out to the ice field and brought back some chunks of glacial ice for people to see. After about an hour Captain Sindre announced that the ice was getting a bit too close to the ship and we were making our way out,

 

Beyond Hubbard Glacier it was quite a busy day with one disappointment. The Walk For Wishes was scheduled for 11:45. Staff was out selling shirts at the appointed hour but the walk itself was cancelled due to the weather. It’s a shame to miss the event but it wouldn’t have been much fun today.

 

A Captain’s Corner was held in the Aurora Theater at 1:30. Captain Sindre started things off with a behind the scenes video of the operation of the ship, and then answered questions. I had to leave the session in progress to get to the All Access Tour meeting at 2:20. There were 17 of us including one boy of perhaps 10 years. We started with a tour of the galleys. There are several but the one on deck 4 handles most of the heavy work. We saw carving specialists, very sophisticated and efficient dishwashers (4 @ $250,000 each), and boards where recipes for each of the ship’s dishes were posted.

 

We went down the stairs (steep and rustic) to the crew mess hall (deck 3 aft) and saw how the crew eats and met with the human relations manager who explained how hiring and employment works. We did not actually enter crew quarters but did see the corridors where the cabins are located. Except for senior staff, the crew have 2-person cabins with bunk beds, and there is a regular schedule of crew activities.

 

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We did not enter but passed the medical center where 2 doctors and 3 nurses care for passengers and crew. There is one medical center with separate entrances from the passenger and crew areas.

 

In the engine control room we saw how the engines were monitored and how the 2 gas turbine engines, 1 steam turbine, and a diesel generator supply electricity to power the azipods. We then saw the trash room where all trash is sorted and mostly recycled in ports. Gray water is treated by bacterial action and released offshore as virtually clean water.

 

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We stopped at the trash room and saw how all our garbage was sorted with most being crushed and sold ashore (proceeds go to the crew welfare fund), and the remainder incinerated. Down on deck 0 we visited the laundry where huge batches of sheets and tablecloths were placed on a bin and automatically processed. A steam pressing machine pressed flat items almost automatically while 4 manual pressing stations handled more complex pressing.

 

In the Aurora Theater we got a dancer’s view from the stage and saw the small backstage rooms where all the costumes are stored and the performers do their quick changes. The singers and dancers have an 8-month contract where they come and leave as a team.

 

Our final stop was the bridge, where we looked at the wing station used for docking maneuver, and the center “cockpit” where the helmsman sits. Most of the time the ship is on auto pilot but corrections are made from there and there are always about 4 sets of eyes watching the sea ahead. Navigation is based on paper charts, although in the very near future it will all be done with electronic charts, and the paper charts will be gone. The main advantage is that the electronic charts are automatically updated while the paper charts often had to be updated and corrected by hand. There will be 2 independent chart systems in case one fails. The end of the tour was at the bridge about 5:30, not leaving a lot of time for pre-dinner packing.

 

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Table 464 was full for one final dinner and sad farewells to each other and to Edison and Anak. With a farewell celebration by the dining room staff dinner continued until about 8 and I missed the 7:45 farewell show.

 

The evening was spent mostly packing, with a little bit of time organizing photos on the computer. As today’s parting shot, a good leader gives credit to his team, and Captain Sindre is very good about that. I’ll echo one of his comments today. As we approached Hubbard Glacier he thanked the pilots who got us close enough for a very powerful experience of the Glacier today under somewhat challenging ice conditions. Thank you pilots, and good luck in your future endeavors, Captain Sindre.

 

Roy

Edited August 15, 2014 by rafinmd

[CRUISEBOY305]

can't wait to hear more about your trip. I'm book on a 11 night cruise tour next year on radiance.

[Dunfer]

I looked at your menus, but I didn't see escargot on any of them. Were they ever available?

[rafinmd]

I looked at your menus, but I didn't see escargot on any of them. Were they ever available?

 

That's probably a question for a general thread. I wasn't interested and I asked a few people but they didn't see it. Nobody said "I asked and it was not .

available

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

When the alarm went off at 5 we were sitting at the Seward dock in the rain with the Seven Seas Navigator on the opposite side of the pier. The display on the navigation screen said 1626 nautical miles sailed to date. There was time for a leisurely breakfast in the WJ before leaving the ship.

 

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On my last Enchantment cruise the electronic signs gave an up to the minute account of the groups that had been called to disembark. At about 8:30 on the Radiance the display was showing groups through about 7:50 as “Already called”. Roger and Adrienne were in a group leaving at 9:40 while my tags were due to be called at 9AM. I asked the attendants at the Aurora Theater if disembarkation was really that far behind they said they were actually ahead. They also said it was fine if I waited for Rogers group to be called. He actually said my number had been called, and about a minute later Roger’s group was called. We were all in the terminal at 8:50.

 

When we got outside the terminal the taxi lane was empty, but the free shuttle was loading up. They said they went close to our hotel (Best Western Edgewater) so we loaded up. The shuttle was crowded for the short trip to the train station but there was lots of room the rest of the way to the Sea Life Center, where it was a 1 ½ block walk to the hotel.

 

Our rooms were not ready so they took our bags and when I asked where to find a Laundromat they said “downstairs”. I spent about an hour downstairs and then sent my laundry bags to the baggage room. Another ride on the shuttle took me to the hardware store and the shuttle, and then I got lunch at “Zudi’s place”, a small restaurant in the original train station. The tracks into downtown Seward were destroyed beyond repair in the 1964 earthquake, and the active station was relocated to the area of the cruise terminal.

 

The Seward Library/Museum had a 2PM film on the massive Good Friday earthquake of 1964 with incredible devastation. After the movie it was time to get settled into our rooms. We met again for dinner at Ray’s, a waterfront near the small boat harbor. We returned to the hotel about 7:30 and I walked down to the waterfront just after 8 to catch the Radiance on it’s way out of the harbor, passing below a glacier high up on a mountain. My last look at the passing Radiance came about 8:30.

 

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Today’s parting shot will go back to the days when Enchantment of the Seas was based in Baltimore and my favorite RCI Captain was Gus Andersson. Captain Gus always closed his daily updates with “Words of Wisdom”. I brought along a little RCI nametag holder and notepad that is given out at Cruise Critic Meet and Mingles and found one of these sayings on the notepad: “The only people you should try to get even with are those who have helped you”. This will be my last regular update on the RCI forum; I will be continuing the journey on the HAL forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2082107

 

I will still try to answer any questions I can here.

 

Roy