LAFFNVEGAS "LIVE" from the Nieuw Amsterdam, First HAL Ship to Sail!!

[canadianbear]

@LAFFNVEGAS Courtesy of the webcam a good night to you and your husband. Sure looks like a nice night outside in Juneau. 

[leerathje]

Looks to be a beautiful evening in Juneau!  Sounds like you had a great day, Lisa and Tom.

 

L.

 

[Crew News]

49 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

.....The Fortune Cookie dessert is definitely gone.......
 

Tamarind Menu Changes from last season:

·        Deleted – appetizer - Crispy Duck w/Steamed Bao Bun

·        Deleted – entrée – Braised Eggplant Massaman

·        Deleted – entrée – Caramelized Hamachi Clay Pot

·        Deleted – entrée – Wok Seared Lobster & Shrimp

·        Deleted – entrée – Roasted Pork Belly Siu

·        Deleted – entrée – Fire Prawns, Thai-Chili Jam

·        Added – entrée – Thai Basil Szechuan Shrimp

·        Deleted – dessert – Fortune Cookie

·        Added – dessert – Japanese Mochi Ice Cream

Edited July 27, 2021 by Crew News

[leerathje]

5 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

@LAFFNVEGAS Courtesy of the webcam a good night to you and your husband. Sure looks like a nice night outside in Juneau. 

 

lol @canadianbear!  Great minds think alike!

 

L.

 

[USN59-79]

4 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Yes it was a total shock to me that the Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is included in the Regular Signature package. In November 2019 it was not so instead of upgrading I bought bottles and then it was under Cellar 2. It is now listed under Cellar 1. But last I looked on line Hal was selling it pre order for something like $74 a bottle but the Chateau Ste Michelle Chardonnay was 50 something, lol I think they are using the dart board method of pricing.

The Riesling is our regular at home white wine.  It sells for about $6. at our local Costco.  I can't believe that I have bought a case of 12 for less than what HAL wants for a bottle.  

[canadianbear]

23 minutes ago, leerathje said:

 

lol @canadianbear!  Great minds think alike!

 

L.

 

Ha ha!!! I agree, lol. 

[julia]

Lisa:  Please refresh my memory on the $ limit on the Signature Bev Package and the cost to upgrade onboard?  Thx!

[Alphen]

2 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

More pictures from this evening 

 

Thank you for all your reports, it feels like being there and it is a great feeling.

 

About the evenings entertainment, I noticed shows are at 7 and 9 PM, is that the new time now? I remember it slowly changing form 8 and 10 PM to the new times.

[daisybertie]

Thank you for all the reports of the first cruise to Alaska. Just watching the webcam from Juneau, what a wonderful sight to see the NA leaving. The rays of light coming off the ship are magical.  We should have been to Alaska last year, but Covid put an end to that! Will have to live on the memories of our two previous trips and enjoy the cruise with all the posters on board. Bon Voyage!

[Charlies Aunt]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

Tamarind Menu Changes from last season:

·        Deleted – appetizer - Crispy Duck w/Steamed Bao Bun

·        Deleted – entrée – Braised Eggplant Massaman

·        Deleted – entrée – Caramelized Hamachi Clay Pot

·        Deleted – entrée – Wok Seared Lobster & Shrimp

·        Deleted – entrée – Roasted Pork Belly Siu

·        Deleted – entrée – Fire Prawns, Thai-Chili Jam

·        Added – entrée – Thai Basil Szechuan Shrimp

·        Deleted – dessert – Fortune Cookie

·        Added – dessert – Japanese Mochi Ice Cream

The Mochi icecream is delicious. I have them in my freezer with the star flavour being mango.

[oakridger]

I see the poor towel animals are still "blind". (No eyes)  For some reason the eyeless animals make me sad.  I don't really understand the reason behind not letting them have paper eyes.  Oh well......

 

I love all the Tamarind pictures!

 

`Nancy

Edited July 27, 2021 by oakridger
fixed

[Crew News]

I noticed that Alaska early dining has moved up from 5:30 PM in 2019 to 5:00 PM now in 2021. 

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, Alphen said:

Thank you for all your reports, it feels like being there and it is a great feeling.

 

About the evenings entertainment, I noticed shows are at 7 and 9 PM, is that the new time now? I remember it slowly changing form 8 and 10 PM to the new times.

 

Also BB Kings are playing a later set @ 11 PM which means finishing at 11:45 or so 🙂

[Cruising Is Bliss]

14 hours ago, RGEDad said:

This "Free Service" is clearly an attempt to get you hooked on baggage transfer service for every cruise henceforth.  If you think you will go back to the days of being a pack mule and hauling your luggage bags through the ports and trains, and cab, and airports after this "Free Service" think again. 

Just like when they "Gave me a really low cost upgrade to a suite" on one cruise. I had no idea how much that Low Cost Upgrade would cost in all the following years of cruising. You can never go back...

 

 

Nope. I used in 2018 on the Eurodam and 2019 on the Amsterdam.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

13 hours ago, 2inSETexas said:

Love their dark chocolates 😋

 

You can tell your room steward you prefer to always get dark chocolate.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

8 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Good Afternoon, it really is a nice day here in Juneau. I had a 75 minute massage at 1:30 that I pre-booked and paid for. The cost was $151.00 but there were select times for the lower price. Then on board they showed the $151 as credit then the spa charged me the $151 plus 18% gratuity after the treatment.

since I had not had lunch I treated myself to a bowl of warm bread pudding to take back to our stateroom.

 

Really enjoying your posts. Thank you for doing this!

 

[PSR]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

I noticed that Alaska early dining has moved up from 5:30 PM in 2019 to 5:00 PM now in 2021. 

 

I didn't notice that posting. Did you see what time the main dining begins?

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you for your always prompt posts Lisa.  I love reading about the cruise in real time instead of days or weeks later 🙂.  Odd about supplies being loaded on in Juneau.  I’m trying to remember if the fortune cookie was there on my cruise in November 2019 and I don’t remember it being there but I could be wrong.  For sure the lobster didn’t have a supplemental charge.  It’s not worth it it me.  

[kazu]

4 hours ago, julia said:

Lisa:  Please refresh my memory on the $ limit on the Signature Bev Package and the cost to upgrade onboard?  Thx!

 

Not Lisa, but she posted that the cost to upgrade to Elite was $5 per person plus gratuity.

 

The limit for the SBP is $11

[kazu]

Fabulous food porn, Lisa.  Looks delicious.  Thanks for the pics, menus and excellent reports 👍 

[puppycanducruise]

Love those pictures of the food in the Tamarind.

Thanks.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 hours ago, canadianbear said:

@LAFFNVEGAS Courtesy of the webcam a good night to you and your husband. Sure looks like a nice night outside in Juneau. 

Nice Pic..

[woodworker&knitter]

4 hours ago, oakridger said:

I see the poor towel animals are still "blind". (No eyes)  For some reason the eyeless animals make me sad.  I don't really understand the reason behind not letting them have paper eyes.  Oh well......

 

I love all the Tamarind pictures!

 

`Nancy

Apparently they were getting lost in the towels then clogging the washers

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 hours ago, Crew News said:

Tamarind Menu Changes from last season:

·        Deleted – appetizer - Crispy Duck w/Steamed Bao Bun

·        Deleted – entrée – Braised Eggplant Massaman

·        Deleted – entrée – Caramelized Hamachi Clay Pot

·        Deleted – entrée – Wok Seared Lobster & Shrimp

·        Deleted – entrée – Roasted Pork Belly Siu

·        Deleted – entrée – Fire Prawns, Thai-Chili Jam

·        Added – entrée – Thai Basil Szechuan Shrimp

·        Deleted – dessert – Fortune Cookie

·        Added – dessert – Japanese Mochi Ice Cream

– Japanese Mochi Ice Cream       sounds good 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

8 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

You didn't know? They are aware when you go to powder room inside your stateroom at night! They know this by sensors placed in strategic locations. Extremely carefully selected/hand picked HAL room stewards in a team known as R.E.A.C.T. are faster than a speeding bullet! The REACT boys (+ some very fast girls) sit as a group in the "ready room" of each pax/guest deck of the vessel (you know, those blank/white spaces you see on each deck on the deck plans) during evening hours on a nightly basis, kinda sorta like a Formula Uno pit crew, waiting for the status board with room numbers on that particular deck to light up which is their "Go" signal.

 

The sensor goes off (again, meaning the occupant is utilizing the facilities inside his/her stateroom) and the designated team sprints to your cabin at a speed the likes of Usain Bolt would be jealous. They then do a "turn down" of your billet at that same lightning speed (if the other occupant happens to be in the cradle, they are specially trained to go to "super silent" mode, known as "Condition One," to perform the turndown with him/her inside the devonport dreaming of the next glorious day on a blue hulled beaut, without awakening said individual from their slumber), leave a premade towel animal (nice minke!) and a pair of refrigerated pillow chocolates (refrigerated, so they don't melt inside your ear when you, not expecting such confectionary, wind up sleeping on them) and, when they hear the commode flush (the sign to, as Los Lonely Boys sing in their only hit "Heaven,"  vamonos, but picture that command in the Bahasa-Indonesia language, something like "ayo pergi, orang gila"), exit the stateroom stage left (or stage right whatever the case might be) and sprint back to the ready room where the next designated team is already in the starting blocks, awaiting their turn.

 

Now you know! It's a thing of beauty, I tell ya! 

You are a very FUNNY guy thanks for your post