Dave’s Live from Amsterdam 14-day Alaska, August 24 – September 7, 2014

[RetiredMustang]

Nice pics of Tracy arm. Love that place.

 

It is an impressive fjord; it reminded me and DW of Prins Christian Sund in Greenland (only with more trees :D)

 

BTW, we've been watching, and most of the time eating, the hors d'ouvres in the bars at night: no bitterballen yet, but it is early in the cruise. Will post a photo if we ever get some, and don't miss the night they have them.

 

Dave

[Lizzie68]

Really enjoying your photos and daily reports, Dave. Thanks!:)

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau

 

Today, we are in Juneau from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. We have booked the Mendenhall River Float Trip, an excursion that takes us to the lake by the Mendenhall Glacier, where we board rubber rafts to float down the river, including some rapids. They reportedly will take our photos at one point on the trip, probably the roughest rapids. If we are not in the expected pose (eyes shut, mouth open, screaming) we might even buy this one. I’ve seen YouTube video of this trip, and the rapids are not nearly Colorado River level, but we are in our 60s and taking our first rapids rafting trip -- Sounds like great fun!

 

Afterwards, we are thinking of wandering a bit and seeing a bit of the city, and maybe get some lunch before heading back to the ship. I will report later, and if I manage to get photos of the rafting, I’ll post some.

 

Here are today’s On Location pages:

 

 

 

 

And the Juneau pages from the Explorer:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[Lovely other]

Wednesday, August 27, Tracy Arm (cont.)

 

Here is the dinner menu (with all the adjectives and adverbs, so extra fattening):

 

 

 

 

 

Entrees

- Rustic Home-Made Lasagna (Oven-baked layers of tender pasta, meat, cheese and a chunky tomato sauce)

- Angry Sea Bass with Garlicky Clams (Poached with pepper flakes, chili powder and basil, served on wilted spinach and topped by zesty garlic clams with seasoned spaghetti)

- Braised Beef Roulade with Creamed Potatoes (In a rich red wine gravy, served over braised vegetables and sautéed greens)

- Calf’s Liver with Apples and Pancetta (Thinly-sliced and sautéed, topped with caramelized onion, served on a bed of sautéed spinach and served with a crispy potato pancake)

- Vietnamese-Style Lamb with Mint (Thinly-sliced marinated lamb, suateed with bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms, spinach leaves, minced garlic and scallions)

- Vegetarian Jambalaya (Creole rice with a spectrum of roasted spiced vegetables in a light tomato sauce)

 

 

Had the sea bass had a bad day ? maybe he didn't get any apple pie ;)

[kittercat85]

I saw the "Friends of Bill W. Meet" thing on our program last week as well. Always wondering what exactly that was, do you happen to know?

[RetiredMustang]

I saw the "Friends of Bill W. Meet" thing on our program last week as well. Always wondering what exactly that was, do you happen to know?

 

It's a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau (more)

 

Another post with photos from around the ship, this time the Lido Pool, and a cute sculpture near the Lido Bar:

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[1of4]

Oh so beautiful. Love Tracy Arm! Thanks for the pictures.

[RetiredMustang]

Rumor has always been there's wine tasting going on in those restrooms! Kinda 'splains why it takes the ladies just a bit longer to return from said rooms with lots of men waiting for that event in the corridor outside ;)

 

Keep up the great work Dave!

 

John,

 

DW read your comments and said that, now that you have learned the secret, the ladies will have to silence you … :D

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau (more)

 

Another post with photos from around the ship, this time the Ocean Bar:

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[VermeulT]

Love the pix Dave.

 

Mine isn't as nice... just Amsterdam's butt in Juneau taken minutes ago.

The Oosterdam is in the middle of the pix.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your "live" review. I am enjoying the pics.

 

I was on Westerdam when I cruised through Tracey Arm. The icebergs were amazing. Thank you for bringing back great memories. The day I was at TA we were suppose to be at Sitka, but high winds prevented us from going to Sitka. I was glad to see Tracey Arm.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Susie51

[Cornishpastyman1]

I'm loving this review, thanks for taking the time to keep us updated !

[Copper10-8]

John,

 

DW read your comments and said that, now that you have learned the secret, the ladies will have to silence you … :D

 

Dave

 

Looking forward to that! ;)

[cruz chic]

It is an impressive fjord; it reminded me and DW of Prins Christian Sund in Greenland (only with more trees :D)

 

BTW, we've been watching, and most of the time eating, the hors d'ouvres in the bars at night: no bitterballen yet, but it is early in the cruise. Will post a photo if we ever get some, and don't miss the night they have them.

 

Dave

 

Thx for the bitterballen update. They seem to be in short supply on my cruises. On my Panama cruise I made a special request for them and they did it:D. I was very happy.

[POA1]

Thanks again for the great reports and photos, Dave.

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau (cont.)

 

We pulled into port behind the Norwegian Sun, with Oosterdam following us. We pushed against the pier right downtown, next to the Juneau public library (and parking garage). Oosterdam turned in the basin:

 

 

 

 

And then parallel parked between us and the Norwegian Sun; we were stern to stern with Oosterdam:

 

 

 

 

We walked ashore, and found that, had we not booked our own excursion through the ship, there were plenty of people willing to sell us a tour to pretty much anywhere we wanted:

 

 

 

 

I also took a picture of the statue of Patsy Ann, a dog who for years greeted the cruise ships:

 

 

 

 

I also got a shot of Juneau’s main street, where we did a bit of shopping and had a beer after our shore excursion:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau (cont.)

 

Our excursion was, as I wrote earlier, a river raft float. Four of us from Amsterdam joined five from Oosterdam and took a van to the launch site. A bust of about 20 from the Norwegian Sun arrived shortly after us.

 

The launch site was on the shore of Lake Mendenhall, formed by Mendenhall Glacier. The weather was mostly cloudy, but we got some sun during the trip, and it did not rain at all on us the whole time.

 

After signing the disclaimer in which we agreed that if anything bad happened, it served us right and we would not sue, we dressed in waterproof overalls and rubber boots, and life vests at the shore, within sight of the lake, the glacier and the mountain behind:

 

 

 

 

We then walked a short way to the rafts:

 

 

 

 

We split up into three groups; ours was first and had nine people. Because we were first, our guide was able to row us to the center of the lake, closer to the glacier, where we had great views:

 

 

 

 

We then set off on a float down the river, taking about 1.5 hours to get there, at times passing by houses on one bank; the other is National Forest land and undeveloped. The river was mostly calm, but there were rough spots:

 

 

 

 

 

I did not take shots of actually going through the rapids areas, as our guide recommended we put our cameras away to keep them from getting wet. It was good advice, as we took on water several times and I would have drenched mine had I not stowed it away.

 

We landed and had some snacks (caribou sausage, salmon dip with crackers and veggies, and hot apple cider). They did not take our photos this trip, so were not able to buy one of us in the rapids. The rapids weren’t really large or dangerous, but were enough to be a great deal of fun. It was, in sum, an awesome trip!

 

We then took a bus back to the ship, arriving shortly after noon, and we did the afore-mentioned shopping and beer enjoying.

 

More later,

Dave

[cruz chic]

Beautiful pics.

[Himself]

Love the pictures. I have a question. Have they renamed the Wijang Theatre the "Queen's Lounge. That Lounge was peculiar to the Vista and The Eurodam class ships.

[RetiredMustang]

Love the pictures. I have a question. Have they renamed the Wijang Theatre the "Queen's Lounge. That Lounge was peculiar to the Vista and The Eurodam class ships.

 

Hi Father, glad you enjoy my thread.

 

To answer your question, we had to consult the little map that comes with our room keys, for the first time in many years. We had heard of "Queens Lounge" on the Vista and Signature ships, which referred to the room on deck 2 where they held cooking demos and showed the movies. Amsterdam doesn't have that room, but our tour tomorrow morning meets in "The Queens Lounge, starboard side, deck 4". So, we looked at the map -- on Amsterdam, the "Queens Lounge" is the show lounge.

 

Dave

Edited August 29, 2014 by RetiredMustang

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, Aug. 28, Juneau (cont.)

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

Appetizers

- Citrus Compote with Honey and Raisins (Kiwi, orange, grapefruit segments, diced melon and raisins flavored with Gewurtraminer wine and drizzled with honey)

- Crab and Shrimp Tower with Avocado Salsa (The sweet meat of Alaskan crab and tender bay shrimp with diced rip avocado and fresh tomato, gently combined with olive oil, lime and cilantro)

- Captain’s Antipasto Plate (Country pate, thinly sliced Bresaola beef, dry-cured Coppa and paper-thin Prosciutto served with Sicilian-style roasted vegetable salad)

- Corn Pancakes with Dill-Orange Cured Salmon (Cilantro, dill and ginger-spiced salmon complemented by a golden griddle cake of scallion and cornmeal)

 

Soups and Salad

- Tomato and Fennel Soup (A cream-based soup of fennel and yellow tomato, topped with a dollop of crème fraiche)

- Italian Wedding Soup (Hearty broth rich with colorful vegetables, tender pasta and tiny meatballs)

- Chilled Strawberry Bisque (Sweet, cool and smooth, garnished with a slightly sharp green peppercorn cream)

- Garden Bounty (Gourmet greens, finely shredded cabbage, radish, red bell pepper and sourdough croutons)

 

Entrees

- Ziti Pesto (Tender ziti and pesto sauce tossed with sautéed mixture of green onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes, asparagus tips and olive oil, topped with Parmesan cheese )

- Cedar-Baked Red Curry-Coconut Salmon (with cilantro, asparagus, green zucchnini and scallions, jasmine rice and Thai sweet chili sauce)

- Sauerbraten (Beef braised in a Pinot Noir wine sauce, served with cinnamon-spiced red apple cabbage, roasted root vegetables and homemade spaetzle))

- Pork Piccata (Spaghetti with chunky tomato sauce and broccoli)

- Turkey Roast with Giblet Gravy and Cranberry (Golden roasted and juicy, complete with harvest apple pecan stuffing, giblet gravy, zingy cranberry relish, glazed dilled carrots and turnips, Brussels sprouts and candied sweet potato)

- Chile Rellenos (Oven-roasted poblano peppers stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese, coated and pan-fried, served with green chili sauce and Mexican-style rice)

 

 

Here is the dessert menu:

 

Desserts

- Chocolate Cake with Blueberry Cream (Moist, bittersweet chocolate cake, served with blueberries in bourbon-flavored, sweet whipped cream)

- Strawberry Sensation Cake (A moist and tender sponge cake layered with cloudlike strawberry mousse, topped with white chocolate shavings)

- Esterel Cake (Thin, tender cake layers sandwiching chocolate and sweet raspberry preserves accented with white chocolate and raspberry sauce)

- Tiramisu no sugar added (Clouds of light mascarpone cream on coffee and rum-soaked ladyfingers)

 

Frozen Treats

- Vanilla Ice Cream

- Butter Pecan Ice Cream

- Strawberry Sorbet

- Pineapple Frozen Yogurt

- No sugar added Vanilla Ice Cream

- No sugar added Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

- Brownie Hot Fudge Sundae (Vanilla ice cream covered with brownie crumbles, rich fudge, whipped cream and toasted nuts)

 

Espresso Drinks

- Espresso $1.25

- Cappuccino $1.75

- Extra shot $0.50

 

Recommended Cordial of the Day: Violet Beauregard (Chambord and Crème de Cacao White), $5.95

 

Available Daily

- The Gold Rush Baked Alaska (Cookies and Cream ice cream surrounded by vanilla sponge cake and coated in meringue dusted with gold, served with your choice of topping)

- Fruit Crisp of the Day: Pineapple Crisp (Fresh out of the oven, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream)

- Sliced Fruit Plate

- North American Cheese Plate (Maytag Blue, Brie de Nage, Aged Gouda, Leiden)

 

 

More later,

Dave

[kittercat85]

Oh gosh, that strawberry bisque soup was one of my absolute favorite appetizer/soups I ate on the entire trip. Delicious.

[hpf]

Dave what great pictures, all of them and especially those of your river rafting. I have found that if I turn my flash off when taking pictures of my dinner that they turn out much nicer. Just an idea for you to try.

I remember going to the glacier's and on the ice flow's there were some seals, I believe. From up on our deck they just looked like little tadpoles. Of all the beautiful scenery and that is what I remember. LOL. I guess I had better book another cruise to Alaska.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thanks for keeping us posted.

 

Helen

[PathfinderEss]

Awesome photo's, thanks for posting them.:):):)