LIVE (hopefully) from the Nieuw Amsterdam's 2nd Alsakan Sailing

[Brentt_M]

Got off and walked around ISP a little bit, bought a few souvenirs and headed back to a ship. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening!

 

[julia]

Hi Brentt:

Wonderful thread to date, thank you (and your two sidekicks) for taking us along.  The rainbow pics were beautiful!  Have you used your thermal suite pass at all?  Would love to hear details... is it busy? crowded? quiet? relaxing? worth it?

[Brentt_M]

4 minutes ago, julia said:

Hi Brentt:

Wonderful thread to date, thank you (and your two sidekicks) for taking us along.  The rainbow pics were beautiful!  Have you used your thermal suite pass at all?  Would love to hear details... is it busy? crowded? quiet? relaxing? worth it?

I love the thermal suite! Definitely worth it to me.  The 1st day I went it was a little crowded but cleared out quickly.  The 2nd day it was not busy at all.  I think it really depends on when during the day you go. This trip it has been very quiet, but last trip there were 3 ladies that were there it seemed like all the time on the ceramic loungers and they chatted and laughed constantly. That was extremely annoying.

[BrownieCruises]

Are you able to hear any of the rangers talk from your balcony?

 

[Brentt_M]

27 minutes ago, Wjpenterpriese said:

Are you able to hear any of the rangers talk from your balcony?

 

Kind of, but it was a challenge sometimes.  However, you can have it broadcast on your tv if you want.

[dobiemom]

1 hour ago, Brentt_M said:

Here is what it looked like getting off the ship in ISP.

Were ship shore excursions let off the ship first or did they meet on the pier?

[Brentt_M]

7 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

Were ship shore excursions let off the ship first or did they meet on the pier?

Met on the pier 

[Copper10-8]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:20 PM, canadianbear said:

I heard they were building a new “shelter” for the eagle.  Wonder where they’re keeping her until it’s done.  

 

You're talking about Lady Baltimore! She was shot by a #$%&%& poacher on Douglas Island in 2006 which ultimately caused her blindness in her left eye. They built a new mew for her atop Mount Roberts in 2019, replacing the old one, but there were some issues with permits and having her live in there during the summer. Unable to find recent info. When not at Mount Roberts she lives at the Juneau Raptor Center

 

 

 

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[dobiemom]

3 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Were ship shore excursions let off the ship first or did they meet on the pier?

 

3 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

Met on the pier 

Thanks. 😊

[puppycanducruise]

Loving this thread.

Thanks for sharing your cruise.  Keep up the good work.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

Got off and walked around ISP a little bit, bought a few souvenirs and headed back to a ship. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening!

 

Nice pic.

[Tridentnyc]

Has anyone had any experience with the “Premium” internet package? Wondering if it makes sense given how spotty the onboard internet seems to be, wonder if the faster speeds would ever be realized. Also, I assume the “Social” (cheapest) package works just fine for email, although it seems HAL wants us to upgrade at least to the “Surf” package for email. We don’t have the “Have It All Package” as it really didn’t make sense for us. Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[St. Louis Sal]

8 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

Here is what it looked like getting off the ship in ISP.

I hated this even pre-Covid, being packed in a line on the staircases. Yuck. Always glad I wasn’t claustrophobic, but even so, I never felt comfortable. 
 

St Louis Sal

[Tridentnyc]

1 minute ago, St. Louis Sal said:

I hated this even pre-Covid, being packed in a line on the staircases. Yuck. Always glad I wasn’t claustrophobic, but even so, I never felt comfortable. 
 

St Louis Sal

I agree completely, assuming one can wait it out a bit, even with scheduled shore excursions?

[richwmn]

2 minutes ago, Tridentnyc said:

Also, I assume the “Social” (cheapest) package works just fine for email, although it seems HAL wants us to upgrade at least to the “Surf” package for email.

Social is limited to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and the like. I don't think Cruise Critic is included, but I've never had that package so I'm not sure exactly what is included. Email is pretty much blocked unless you get the surf package

 

[Sir PMP]

19 minutes ago, St. Louis Sal said:

I hated this even pre-Covid, being packed in a line on the staircases. Yuck. Always glad I wasn’t claustrophobic, but even so, I never felt comfortable. 
 

St Louis Sal

Big ships..

[kazu]

32 minutes ago, Tridentnyc said:

Also, I assume the “Social” (cheapest) package works just fine for email, although it seems HAL wants us to upgrade at least to the “Surf” package for email.

 

No, Social does NOT work for email.  Nor for internet.  Only for a very few social sites like FB.

 

If you want email or internet, you need the Surf package.

[Boytjie]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

No, Social does NOT work for email.  Nor for internet.  Only for a very few social sites like FB.

 

If you want email or internet, you need the Surf package.

 

I assume it is possible to upgrade; anyone know how much that would be?

[zelker]

8 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

Here is what it looked like getting off the ship in ISP.

 

And of course there HAD to be someone who wasn't wearing a mask!!!  🤬 

[Tridentnyc]

23 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

 

I assume it is possible to upgrade; anyone know how much that would be?

Plans are: “Social” $14.99, “Surf” $24.99, “Premium” $29.99 all per day, one device only at a time. 😱

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, Tridentnyc said:

Plans are: “Social” $14.99, “Surf” $24.99, “Premium” $29.99 all per day, one device only at a time. 😱

 

 

29 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

 

I assume it is possible to upgrade; anyone know how much that would be?

 

It depends on the length of the voyage.  Shorter cruises are more costly per day than longer ones.

 

This is B.C. (Before Covid) but gives you an idea.

 

[RGEDad]

On 8/3/2021 at 1:00 AM, OhioLair said:

trying to get a peak at Cabin 4045 or 4046 layouts.  Can you see if you can get a photo for me?

Hmmmm 4046 looks like a normal cabin to me, Listed as as 2 lower beds, 1 sofa

I use CruiseDeckPlans.com for my room data/position, and some cabin photos/videos

Edit: But I see now that someone has postulated you may have been thinking of a different HAL ship - in any case - now you have at least two resources for cabin info. 

I also have at least one open when booking cabins

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by RGEDad

[ctobie]

On 8/2/2021 at 10:28 PM, Brentt_M said:

$5 minimum - $500 max

Thanks.  Good to know the higher table minimums haven't affected the cruise casinos.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Sir PMP said:

Big ships..

? It’s clear you don’t like the larger ships but I have seen this on smaller ships too.  Are there no people on the smaller ships or do people not get off the ship?

[Sir PMP]

1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

? It’s clear you don’t like the larger ships but I have seen this on smaller ships too.  Are there no people on the smaller ships or do people not get off the ship?

On smaller ships all is ten times more organized..