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Hello from the Nieuw Amsterdam to Alaska 9/25-10/2

Thorswife59

By Thorswife59,
in Holland America Line

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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We’re on our way! Embarkation was very smooth. Lunch at the Lido was outstanding.  We haven’t sailed HAL in about six years and weren’t quite sure what to expect based on mixed reviews. But the food was fabulous. Very fresh, lots of selections and great service. Dinner in the main dining room last night was also superb. Beautiful presentation, great food and service. 


Shortly after boarding the captain announced  that due to a storm we would be skipping Sitka and go to Skagway instead. We were pleasantly surprised to wake to fairly calm seas this morning. Just gentle motion. After hearing about all the storms and rough seas out in the open ocean the last few weeks, we were a bit nervous.  But it’s been great!

 

We’ve heard that ships are being kept around 60% capacity and that’s about what it feels like. It doesn’t feel too crowded at all and lots of places to find a secluded nook to read and people watch. Most people remove masks when seated away from others in these areas so that’s been nice not to be masked up constantly. 

 

So great to be sailing again! 

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cal56girl

cal56girl

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4 hours ago, Thorswife59 said:

We’re on our way! Embarkation was very smooth. Lunch at the Lido was outstanding.  We haven’t sailed HAL in about six years and weren’t quite sure what to expect based on mixed reviews. But the food was fabulous. Very fresh, lots of selections and great service. Dinner in the main dining room last night was also superb. Beautiful presentation, great food and service. 


Shortly after boarding the captain announced  that due to a storm we would be skipping Sitka and go to Skagway instead. We were pleasantly surprised to wake to fairly calm seas this morning. Just gentle motion. After hearing about all the storms and rough seas out in the open ocean the last few weeks, we were a bit nervous.  But it’s been great!

 

We’ve heard that ships are being kept around 60% capacity and that’s about what it feels like. It doesn’t feel too crowded at all and lots of places to find a secluded nook to read and people watch. Most people remove masks when seated away from others in these areas so that’s been nice not to be masked up constantly. 

 

So great to be sailing again! 

Last Sunday was a wild ride for us, but we had blue skies! Enjoy!

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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It’s been a smooth sailing so far, folks! We got into Stevens passage this morning and it was foggy and a bit drizzly so unfortunately not much to see. We’ve been in Juneau since 1:00 and it’s been raining steadily all day. We talked to a couple who ventured out and they said not much was open. No surprise but it’s fine, we really enjoying just being on a ship again!  We had breakfast in the main dining room this morning and it was very good as well as lunch in the Lido. So many great options.
 

We’ve been hanging out a lot in the Crow’s Nest or Ocean Bar, playing games and reading and just now enjoying the hot tub a bit before dinner. 
 

Skagway tomorrow, more rain expected but it’s raining at home too! 😂

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san diego spartan

san diego spartan

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Hi - glad you are enjoying your cruise and I'm jealous you are back on board! Anyway you can post photos of the menus in the MDR for dinner?  Would love to get an idea of what the offerings are.   I've been looking at my Navigator App but it keeps showing the same sample menu for our upcoming cruise (and I have logged in and out of the app). 

 

Thanks and enjoy. 

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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40 minutes ago, san diego spartan said:

Hi - glad you are enjoying your cruise and I'm jealous you are back on board! Anyway you can post photos of the menus in the MDR for dinner?  Would love to get an idea of what the offerings are.   I've been looking at my Navigator App but it keeps showing the same sample menu for our upcoming cruise (and I have logged in and out of the app). 

 

Thanks and enjoy. 

Sure! 
 

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10D4F388-71E7-4B90-9392-700FD6A2099C.jpeg

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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23 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

Thank you for posting the menus!

You’re welcome! Here’s tonight’s. We opted for the Lido  again. They had a lot of the same things including the prime rib.

 

 

71259C5B-D5EB-44A9-887B-16FEF4DDEF4E.png

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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Our day in Skagway was awesome! The forecast was rain off and on but it ended up not raining all day!
 

We left the ship about 11 am with no excursions planned because the weather had seemed uncertain.. But the sun came out and we decided to try to get on the White Pass and Yukon railway. They had seats available on the 1 o’clock train so we went for it. So glad we did! It was a beautiful trip, so much amazing scenery. I highly recommend it!  

When we got off the train an icy wind had come up and by the time we got back to the ship I was chilled to the bone! So I grabbed some hot chocolate and we went straight to the hot tub! 
 

Another fabulous dinner tonight in the Lido. We looked at the MDR menu and it just wasn’t that appealing and they had the same herb crusted prime rib in the Lido so here we are. We have really been enjoying the food!  
 

Glacier Bay tomorrow and we’re really looking forward to that and the split pea soup!
 

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Thorswife59

Thorswife59

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We had a great day yesterday in Glacier Bay! The forecast was wrong again and we enjoyed a day free of rain and with some peeks of the sun! The split pea soup was great, the scenery glorious and saw lots of sea otters, a mountain goat high on the slopes and of course lots of birds. All in all a wonderful day! 

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