Life and live from Nieuw Amsterdam up north to Alaska

[Copper10-8]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I take it you believe the Club Level is worth the price?  I've heard the 23rd floor breakfast is good. 

We signed up for the Club Level and the Cruise Package.  I just learned this week that our son and his wife are joining us on this cruise.  He's arriving around midnight.  He did get the Cruise Package but didn't get the Club Level.  At least we can join him for breakfast in Oceans.  

 

 

We think it's worth the price, yes! You know about the hotel's "cruise package" where hotel staff takes your luggage from your room to the longshoremen inside the Canada Place subterranean parking lot, yes? We found out about it too late this time

[RocketMan275]

19 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

We think it's worth the price, yes! You know about the hotel's "cruise package" where hotel staff takes your luggage from your room to the longshoremen inside the Canada Place subterranean parking lot, yes? We found out about it too late this time

There are three advantages to the Cruise Package which is available even to those not in the Club Level.  

1.  Luggage transfer.

2.  Complementary breakfast in Oceans.  Probably a slight duplication of the breakfast in the Lounge.

3.  Late check out of 2 PM.

We've heard so much discussion of the long lines and delays in check in that we're seriously considering staying in the Lounge until 1300 or so.  I spend so much time playing "hurry up and wait" in the military that I just as soon wait in a comfortable area like the lounge.  It's not our first cruise so we really don't feel the need to rush. 

[Copper10-8]

3 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

There are three advantages to the Cruise Package which is available even to those not in the Club Level.  

1.  Luggage transfer.

2.  Complementary breakfast in Oceans.  Probably a slight duplication of the breakfast in the Lounge.

3.  Late check out of 2 PM.

We've heard so much discussion of the long lines and delays in check in that we're seriously considering staying in the Lounge until 1300 or so.  I spend so much time playing "hurry up and wait" in the military that I just as soon wait in a comfortable area like the lounge.  It's not our first cruise so we really don't feel the need to rush. 

 

 

We wound up leaving the hotel at 12 Noon. The check-in process for the Neptunes (the cabins, not the former HAL musical trio ) went fast but, then there was about a 30 min queue for shore-side security and U.S. CBP screening, just be aware of that. Thanks for your service! Did four years in the Corps a year after arriving in this country/made me grow up fast! 

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, Copper10-8 said:

We wound up leaving the hotel at 12 Noon. The check-in process for the Neptunes (the cabins, not the former HAL musical trio ) went fast but, then there was about a 30 min queue for shore-side security and U.S. CBP screening, just be aware of that. Thanks for your service! Did four years in the Corps a year after arriving in this country/made me grow up fast! 

And, thank you for your service as well.  I did eight years Active Army and another fourteen in the Guard.  Glad I did both.  Perhaps we'll meet on a cruise someday.  I truly appreciate your answers to my questions.  

[Himself]

I have always wanted to run into you on a cruise!

[rostbp]

Did you book the Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer with Allen Marine through Holland?  Thanks for the review.  We are looking at the Holland 14 Day Explorer cruise.  We have done a land and sea before to the Yukon and really enjoyed that.

[3kidsplayingball]

Thank you for the wonderful photos and so much information. We are thoroughly enjoying your trip!

[Copper10-8]

6 hours ago, rostbp said:

Did you book the Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer with Allen Marine through Holland?  Thanks for the review.  We are looking at the Holland 14 Day Explorer cruise.  We have done a land and sea before to the Yukon and really enjoyed that.

 

Yes, that's how we purchased that shorex (on-line and prior to leaving home). In Skagway, we had several pax leave the ship to start the land portion, essentially only being onboard for less than three days. They were replaced by a likewise number who had just completed the land portion first however, now only had a four-day cruise left. We also have done the land portion (Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks) and caught the ship in Seward for a full seven-day cruise southbound to Vancouver. Wouldn't want to do a three or four-day Alaskan cruise only

[Copper10-8]

Nieuw Amsterdam's Neptune Lounge, The Retreat on Deck 11, and the 36-seat Tasman Room which used to be known as the Screening Room where movies were shown. That is no longer the case on Nieuw A. It is now used for meetings and religious services

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Copper10-8

[Himself]

Welcome Home John.

[rostbp]

13 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Yes, that's how we purchased that shorex (on-line and prior to leaving home). In Skagway, we had several pax leave the ship to start the land portion, essentially only being onboard for less than three days. They were replaced by a likewise number who had just completed the land portion first however, now only had a four-day cruise left. We also have done the land portion (Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks) and caught the ship in Seward for a full seven-day cruise southbound to Vancouver. Wouldn't want to do a three or four-day Alaskan cruise only

We did land first starting in Anchorage, 3 days Denali, 1 Fairbanks, 3 days Dawson City (my favorite) 1 day Whitehorse, 3 days Skagway and then cruise 4 days.

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, Himself said:

Welcome Home John.

 

Thank you Father Mac!

[Copper10-8]

Nieuw Amsterdam's official meeting rooms; Hudson, Half Moon and Stuyvesant, as well as her Fitness Center/Gym, a very nice one, part of the Greenhouse Spa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Entry, via southbound Tongass Narrows, and arrival in Ketchikan, America's 1st City and the Salmon Capital of the World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

HAL's CLAA Ketchikan port agents, with the young lady in communication with the bridge, counting down (in meters) the distance to the final gangway position (the bridge can't see the gangway due to the overhang so (in Alaska) the port agent does it and, generally everywhere else, the ship's security officer (SECO) standing in the open gangway break door will do it; where Santa can be found in the off-season working as Ketchikan harbor master; and what longshoremen do (with the assistance of their forklift which will take some of the weight out of the heavy/wet mooring lines)

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Adjacent Berth #2 in Ketchikan, the bronze "The Rock" monument can be found. It features seven life-size figures from Ketchikan's past: A Tlingit woman sits with her drum singing her song of Ketchikan. She sings of how the loggers came and harvested the trees, the miners mined the gold, the fishermen dared the sea for the salmon and the halibut, and the pilots braved the sky, carrying people out beyond the reach of any ship or road. The pioneer woman arrives on her own, looking out over the horizon of opportunity that awaits her here in this new land.

 

Atop The Rock stands Chief Johnson who, in the early days of Ketchikan, would be waiting on the dock to greet travelers arriving on the ships sailing from San Francisco and Seattle. He offered them trinkets for sale and in this way began a cultural exchange that continues today. He stands as a visionary as he now welcomes the world. Ketchikan was founded by the vision and heroic efforts of these pioneers.

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Twin stacks from two sisters; Eurodam at Berth #1 and Nieuw Amsterdam at Beth #2 in Ketchikan, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Sailing Allen Marine's water-jet powered 150-passenger catamaran St. Aquilina around Misty Fjords National Monument for 4.5 hrs, seeing New Eddystone Rock, a volcanic spire rising from the water, forested mountain slopes, rocky shores, steep cliff walls a sea lion colony taking a nap, majestic waterfalls, a Tlingit pictograph and consuming a complimentary cup of vegetarian chili

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Outbound Tongass Narrows, passing U.S. Coast Guard Base Ketchikan, AK, with visiting Juneau-based 110-feet Island-class cutter USCGC Liberty (WPB-1334), the 2016 New Zealand-built super yacht/sloop Cygnus Montanus (Swan Mountain in Latin) owned by Carl-Henric Svanberg, the chairman of Volvo and British Petroleum. Lastly, new signage observed onboard Nieuw A during her three Alaska stops; you might be able to toke up/be in possession of Mary Jane in your home state but not on HAL ships

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Thursday evening dinner in the Canaletto

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

The “Orange Party,” now apparently a regular event on all dam ships. It is basically an onboard celebration inspired by King’s Day, the Netherland’s national holiday. Orange is the color most associated with the Netherlands and the House of Orange, Holland’s royal family. The event took place in the BB King’s Blues Club with the band of the same name providing dance music and there were Dutch-inspired appetizers, beer, cocktails, plus a festive display of national pride with a sea of orange!

 

 

 

 

[Ineke]

Hi John, 

Thanks for the great report, and all your other posts, they are appreciated!  I am interested in your note about the Orange Party - does that happen on all cruises now?  We will be on the Incan Empires cruise next month.  If yes, I’d better pack something orange for DH and me, wouldn’t want to not be dressed appropriately if we’re celebrating  our heritage.

 

[sevenseasnomad]

John, why did HAL close the movie theaters?  We missed watching the movies on the larger screen on our April cruise aboard Oosterdam.  Do they have any plans to remove the seats and turn the theater into another venue?  Not sure what kind of venue, but have you heard anything?

[Copper10-8]

4 hours ago, Ineke said:

Hi John, 

Thanks for the great report, and all your other posts, they are appreciated!  I am interested in your note about the Orange Party - does that happen on all cruises now?  We will be on the Incan Empires cruise next month.  If yes, I’d better pack something orange for DH and me, wouldn’t want to not be dressed appropriately if we’re celebrating  our heritage.

 

 

Hoi Ineke; my understanding is, yes, it is (or if not, it's going to be) a regular thing on all the cruises, so you better bring something orange to wear, or wear your life vest 

[Copper10-8]

17 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

John, why did HAL close the movie theaters?  We missed watching the movies on the larger screen on our April cruise aboard Oosterdam.  Do they have any plans to remove the seats and turn the theater into another venue?  Not sure what kind of venue, but have you heard anything?

 

That's a good question SSN, Why! I believe they are still showing movies in the six "S" & "R" ships inside the Wajang, but on Nieuw A, the nice (yes, only 36 seats, but still nice) former "Screening Room" is now renamed "Tasman Room" and no longer used for movies. There were non advertised movies in the "When & Where" last week (apart from the three in the Main Stage), and the room was used for Bill W meetings, a class on "the art of towel folding," and a religious service despite Nieuw A having three dedicated meeting rooms (Half Moon, Stuyvesant and Hudson). It, the Tasman, stood vacant for multiple days