Follow Bill & Mary Ann’s Story Live On The Zaandam From Alaska To The South Pacific For 77 Days 9-4-24 To 11-20-24

[WCB]

Report #1  Wednesday  September 4, 2024.......Embarkation Day In Vancouver, British Columbia At Canada Place On The Zaandam  Sunny And Warm 78 Degrees  Part #1 Of 2........59  Pictures

 

Well, here we are again…….starting another adventure which will take us to Alaska on three back-to-back seven day cruises, followed by a legendary trek through the South Pacific for 56 days.  We have been lucky to have done this same itinerary for the past five or six years now.   We’ll enjoy the cooler weather of the Pacific Northwest, then bake in the humid heat for several weeks as we head southwest for Hawaii and the many islands of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga below the Equator, then onto  French Polynesia.   San Diego will be our last stop before flying home in November. 

 

It certainly was a challenge packing for both types of weather.  We managed to take the basics with four pieces of luggage plus carry-ons.  Over the years, we have compiled a list of things to take in the “lotions and potions” department.  That way we seldom forget anything.   We are sticking to mostly casual to dressy clothing this trip because it seems to be appropriate.  We do not believe there are any formal evenings.  We will discover how fancy people will get tomorrow night since it will be the first dressy evening.

 

Leaving home at 4am, we were off to SFO for a flight at 8:41am.  Lucky for us, there was little to no traffic all the way despite the fact that today was a Wednesday and a commute day.  It was just the opposite at the airport with crowds of folks traveling today.  All went smoothly with check-in and the TSA checkpoint. 

 

Being that we had some time to relax, we waited until 6:30am to have a shared breakfast in one of the restaurants that offered full service.  Their coffee sure tasted good.  Our plane was full and it went quickly as we headed to Vancouver.  For a change, both of our TV screens worked with one of us watching a movie and the other old sitcoms.   Although the plane did arrive ahead of time, we had to wait for an available gate. 

 

It seemed as if the terminal was miles away from the baggage area.  And it was the busiest we have ever seen it.  Going through the customs banks of kiosks was slow although the directions were excellent.  Gathering the luggage was easy, and we were actually met by an HAL rep.  Holland America has a counter set up where the luggage can be dropped off.  They promised we would see it in our room.  Then we sat outside and waited for a bus for the transfer to the pier.  There were only four of us on this huge bus, but the driver picked up about eight more folks before heading through town.    As luck would have it, it turned out to be a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s.  We had been told by some locals that it has been raining quite a bit this summer, so we appreciated the sunny clear day.  Hope it lasts…….

 

We arrived at Canada Place  after noontime where we saw a Regent ship, the Explorer,  as well as the Zaandam.     Once we went through the entrance for HAL, we were greeted by the local team who knew our names.  They escorted us to a separate desk where we showed our passports and boarding passes and had our photos taken.   One more time through the customs kiosks, but at the xray check, one of our bags had to be checked for several batteries.   They were well-buried, so the checker let us go after spotting the back brace.   The batteries were mostly for a tens unit for back pain. 

 

From there, we had two VIP escorts….the food and beverage manager as well as the Mariner concierge who took us to our room.  Good thing Vini was there to see that our room keys did not work.  He went back to the front desk, coming back with new keys.   Guess what?  Those did not work either.  This is not our first experience with faulty room keys.  Since we were in need of lunch, he advised us to go ahead and he would leave new keys in the mail slot, testing them to make sure they were good.  The third time was a charm.

 

We had some nice surprises upon entering our room.  Some of our amenities had arrived such as a bouquet of flowers, some Cokes, and sparkling wine on ice.  Two trays of canapies and sweets were on the table as well.  Our bed was full of cards and the daily newsletter.  We did ask our room stewards for some extra felt hangers and they found us some.  We always request extra toweling, and they came with more later on. 

 

The Lido was over-flowing with hungry guests, but we did manage to find a table to enjoy salads and a slice of pizza.  We ran into Presty who happens to be the Lido manager.  He made sure that we had our requested table in the dining room for main seating dinner.  Of course, our room keys said open seating, which we ignored.  We had an invite to a Mariner party in the Crow’s Nest at 2pm where we met with a couple who seem to enjoy this trip as much as we do every year.   They have been on the ship for three weeks already and will do one more week.  And they informed us there will be a dinner invite with the four of us with some of the officers before the week is over.  Should be fun.

 

It was time to attend the muster drill, which is so easy these days.  Going back to our room, we found the room keys and they worked this time.  At life boat #6, our cards were scanned and we listened to a brief talk by one of the staff members.  From there we went back to the room until we noticed we were sailing out of the harbor.  All four pieces of luggage had arrived, and we got busy stashing it away.  Deciding that could wait, we went to deck six forward and aft to watch the scenic cruising.  It did not disappoint us either as we spotted some feeding whales in the distance as they blew their spouts.  As many times as we have done this route, we don’t believe we ever saw whales here.   First time for everything we say.  One last stop at the aft pool deck to watch the sail away activities (drinking and dancing), we went back to finish the unpacking.  We can say for a fact that we have plenty of space to stash it all, even in our outside cabin.  These remaining smaller ships (Zaandam and Volendam) were built with longer itineraries in mind.   We will stay here for the Alaska runs, then move to a veranda room for the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

Our room stewards, Den and Irfan, took care of our requests, some of which had not been done.  One was the request for a refrigerator.  When they brought it to the room, it did not work.  It was the most beat-up fridge we have ever seen….no wonder it didn’t work.    Leaving a note on it, we found it had been replaced with a much nicer one that actually got cold.   Now the surprise was that we are going to be charged $2 a day for the use of it.  Consider us spoiled, but we have not paid for a spare fridge for years.  We shall inquire about this tomorrow as well as many other questions.

 

About the same time as we finished unpacking, it was time for dinner.   At first the upper dining room was spotty with customers, but as the evening went on, the whole place filled with the over-flow from anytime diners.  Our waiters Arim and Arya were very attentive and we also had visitors the entire time.  The maître-d, sommelier, head water, and several waiters came to say hi.  Even though they may not have been our personal waiters, they remembered us from previous cruises.   And that’s about the best aspect of returning to HAL trips.  The staff is excellent.

 

The food choices were nice tonight and the menu seemed newer and revised from what we remembered from last year.  The Club Orange menu had Peruvian chicken, which one of us ordered, and a very tasty pork medallion plate with lingonberries.  We shared a no sugar added lemon torte.  One cup of coffee ended our pleasant meal, and we were to bed early.  We plan on sleeping like babies tonight.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[seagarsmoker]

I am looking forward to reading your daily log on this journey. 🙂 

[Ellencruise]

17 minutes ago, WCB said:

Report #1  Wednesday  September 4, 2024.......Embarkation Day In Vancouver, British Columbia At Canada Place On The Zaandam  Sunny And Warm 78 Degrees  Part #1 Of 2........59  Pictures

 

Well, here we are again…….starting another adventure which will take us to Alaska on three back-to-back seven day cruises, followed by a legendary trek through the South Pacific for 56 days.  We have been lucky to have done this same itinerary for the past five or six years now.   We’ll enjoy the cooler weather of the Pacific Northwest, then bake in the humid heat for several weeks as we head southwest for Hawaii and the many islands of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga below the Equator, then onto  French Polynesia.   San Diego will be our last stop before flying home in November. 

 

It certainly was a challenge packing for both types of weather.  We managed to take the basics with four pieces of luggage plus carry-ons.  Over the years, we have compiled a list of things to take in the “lotions and potions” department.  That way we seldom forget anything.   We are sticking to mostly casual to dressy clothing this trip because it seems to be appropriate.  We do not believe there are any formal evenings.  We will discover how fancy people will get tomorrow night since it will be the first dressy evening.

 

Leaving home at 4am, we were off to SFO for a flight at 8:41am.  Lucky for us, there was little to no traffic all the way despite the fact that today was a Wednesday and a commute day.  It was just the opposite at the airport with crowds of folks traveling today.  All went smoothly with check-in and the TSA checkpoint. 

 

Being that we had some time to relax, we waited until 6:30am to have a shared breakfast in one of the restaurants that offered full service.  Their coffee sure tasted good.  Our plane was full and it went quickly as we headed to Vancouver.  For a change, both of our TV screens worked with one of us watching a movie and the other old sitcoms.   Although the plane did arrive ahead of time, we had to wait for an available gate. 

 

It seemed as if the terminal was miles away from the baggage area.  And it was the busiest we have ever seen it.  Going through the customs banks of kiosks was slow although the directions were excellent.  Gathering the luggage was easy, and we were actually met by an HAL rep.  Holland America has a counter set up where the luggage can be dropped off.  They promised we would see it in our room.  Then we sat outside and waited for a bus for the transfer to the pier.  There were only four of us on this huge bus, but the driver picked up about eight more folks before heading through town.    As luck would have it, it turned out to be a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s.  We had been told by some locals that it has been raining quite a bit this summer, so we appreciated the sunny clear day.  Hope it lasts…….

 

We arrived at Canada Place  after noontime where we saw a Regent ship, the Explorer,  as well as the Zaandam.     Once we went through the entrance for HAL, we were greeted by the local team who knew our names.  They escorted us to a separate desk where we showed our passports and boarding passes and had our photos taken.   One more time through the customs kiosks, but at the xray check, one of our bags had to be checked for several batteries.   They were well-buried, so the checker let us go after spotting the back brace.   The batteries were mostly for a tens unit for back pain. 

 

From there, we had two VIP escorts….the food and beverage manager as well as the Mariner concierge who took us to our room.  Good thing Vini was there to see that our room keys did not work.  He went back to the front desk, coming back with new keys.   Guess what?  Those did not work either.  This is not our first experience with faulty room keys.  Since we were in need of lunch, he advised us to go ahead and he would leave new keys in the mail slot, testing them to make sure they were good.  The third time was a charm.

 

We had some nice surprises upon entering our room.  Some of our amenities had arrived such as a bouquet of flowers, some Cokes, and sparkling wine on ice.  Two trays of canapies and sweets were on the table as well.  Our bed was full of cards and the daily newsletter.  We did ask our room stewards for some extra felt hangers and they found us some.  We always request extra toweling, and they came with more later on. 

 

The Lido was over-flowing with hungry guests, but we did manage to find a table to enjoy salads and a slice of pizza.  We ran into Presty who happens to be the Lido manager.  He made sure that we had our requested table in the dining room for main seating dinner.  Of course, our room keys said open seating, which we ignored.  We had an invite to a Mariner party in the Crow’s Nest at 2pm where we met with a couple who seem to enjoy this trip as much as we do every year.   They have been on the ship for three weeks already and will do one more week.  And they informed us there will be a dinner invite with the four of us with some of the officers before the week is over.  Should be fun.

 

It was time to attend the muster drill, which is so easy these days.  Going back to our room, we found the room keys and they worked this time.  At life boat #6, our cards were scanned and we listened to a brief talk by one of the staff members.  From there we went back to the room until we noticed we were sailing out of the harbor.  All four pieces of luggage had arrived, and we got busy stashing it away.  Deciding that could wait, we went to deck six forward and aft to watch the scenic cruising.  It did not disappoint us either as we spotted some feeding whales in the distance as they blew their spouts.  As many times as we have done this route, we don’t believe we ever saw whales here.   First time for everything we say.  One last stop at the aft pool deck to watch the sail away activities (drinking and dancing), we went back to finish the unpacking.  We can say for a fact that we have plenty of space to stash it all, even in our outside cabin.  These remaining smaller ships (Zaandam and Volendam) were built with longer itineraries in mind.   We will stay here for the Alaska runs, then move to a veranda room for the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

Our room stewards, Den and Irfan, took care of our requests, some of which had not been done.  One was the request for a refrigerator.  When they brought it to the room, it did not work.  It was the most beat-up fridge we have ever seen….no wonder it didn’t work.    Leaving a note on it, we found it had been replaced with a much nicer one that actually got cold.   Now the surprise was that we are going to be charged $2 a day for the use of it.  Consider us spoiled, but we have not paid for a spare fridge for years.  We shall inquire about this tomorrow as well as many other questions.

 

About the same time as we finished unpacking, it was time for dinner.   At first the upper dining room was spotty with customers, but as the evening went on, the whole place filled with the over-flow from anytime diners.  Our waiters Arim and Arya were very attentive and we also had visitors the entire time.  The maître-d, sommelier, head water, and several waiters came to say hi.  Even though they may not have been our personal waiters, they remembered us from previous cruises.   And that’s about the best aspect of returning to HAL trips.  The staff is excellent.

 

The food choices were nice tonight and the menu seemed newer and revised from what we remembered from last year.  The Club Orange menu had Peruvian chicken, which one of us ordered, and a very tasty pork medallion plate with lingonberries.  We shared a no sugar added lemon torte.  One cup of coffee ended our pleasant meal, and we were to bed early.  We plan on sleeping like babies tonight.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

Welcome back to CC. I enjoy reading your posts.

 

 

[Huskerchick]

Safe travels. Thanks for taking us along. Love reading your blog. 

[Sea Viewer]

Looking forward to "sailing" with you.

[sunviking90]

Looking forward to following along once again!

[travelnap]

Look forward to following along with your voyage.

[cunnorl]

Thanks for taking us along once again. Have a great trip.

[albi]

Glad to be following along again!  

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks for including us, again!

[boards]

20 hours ago, WCB said:

Report #1  Wednesday  September 4, 2024.......Embarkation Day In Vancouver, British Columbia At Canada Place On The Zaandam  Sunny And Warm 78 Degrees  Part #1 Of 2........59  Pictures

 

Well, here we are again…….starting another adventure which will take us to Alaska on three back-to-back seven day cruises, followed by a legendary trek through the South Pacific for 56 days.  We have been lucky to have done this same itinerary for the past five or six years now.   We’ll enjoy the cooler weather of the Pacific Northwest, then bake in the humid heat for several weeks as we head southwest for Hawaii and the many islands of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga below the Equator, then onto  French Polynesia.   San Diego will be our last stop before flying home in November. 

 

It certainly was a challenge packing for both types of weather.  We managed to take the basics with four pieces of luggage plus carry-ons.  Over the years, we have compiled a list of things to take in the “lotions and potions” department.  That way we seldom forget anything.   We are sticking to mostly casual to dressy clothing this trip because it seems to be appropriate.  We do not believe there are any formal evenings.  We will discover how fancy people will get tomorrow night since it will be the first dressy evening.

 

Leaving home at 4am, we were off to SFO for a flight at 8:41am.  Lucky for us, there was little to no traffic all the way despite the fact that today was a Wednesday and a commute day.  It was just the opposite at the airport with crowds of folks traveling today.  All went smoothly with check-in and the TSA checkpoint. 

 

Being that we had some time to relax, we waited until 6:30am to have a shared breakfast in one of the restaurants that offered full service.  Their coffee sure tasted good.  Our plane was full and it went quickly as we headed to Vancouver.  For a change, both of our TV screens worked with one of us watching a movie and the other old sitcoms.   Although the plane did arrive ahead of time, we had to wait for an available gate. 

 

It seemed as if the terminal was miles away from the baggage area.  And it was the busiest we have ever seen it.  Going through the customs banks of kiosks was slow although the directions were excellent.  Gathering the luggage was easy, and we were actually met by an HAL rep.  Holland America has a counter set up where the luggage can be dropped off.  They promised we would see it in our room.  Then we sat outside and waited for a bus for the transfer to the pier.  There were only four of us on this huge bus, but the driver picked up about eight more folks before heading through town.    As luck would have it, it turned out to be a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s.  We had been told by some locals that it has been raining quite a bit this summer, so we appreciated the sunny clear day.  Hope it lasts…….

 

We arrived at Canada Place  after noontime where we saw a Regent ship, the Explorer,  as well as the Zaandam.     Once we went through the entrance for HAL, we were greeted by the local team who knew our names.  They escorted us to a separate desk where we showed our passports and boarding passes and had our photos taken.   One more time through the customs kiosks, but at the xray check, one of our bags had to be checked for several batteries.   They were well-buried, so the checker let us go after spotting the back brace.   The batteries were mostly for a tens unit for back pain. 

 

From there, we had two VIP escorts….the food and beverage manager as well as the Mariner concierge who took us to our room.  Good thing Vini was there to see that our room keys did not work.  He went back to the front desk, coming back with new keys.   Guess what?  Those did not work either.  This is not our first experience with faulty room keys.  Since we were in need of lunch, he advised us to go ahead and he would leave new keys in the mail slot, testing them to make sure they were good.  The third time was a charm.

 

We had some nice surprises upon entering our room.  Some of our amenities had arrived such as a bouquet of flowers, some Cokes, and sparkling wine on ice.  Two trays of canapies and sweets were on the table as well.  Our bed was full of cards and the daily newsletter.  We did ask our room stewards for some extra felt hangers and they found us some.  We always request extra toweling, and they came with more later on. 

 

The Lido was over-flowing with hungry guests, but we did manage to find a table to enjoy salads and a slice of pizza.  We ran into Presty who happens to be the Lido manager.  He made sure that we had our requested table in the dining room for main seating dinner.  Of course, our room keys said open seating, which we ignored.  We had an invite to a Mariner party in the Crow’s Nest at 2pm where we met with a couple who seem to enjoy this trip as much as we do every year.   They have been on the ship for three weeks already and will do one more week.  And they informed us there will be a dinner invite with the four of us with some of the officers before the week is over.  Should be fun.

 

It was time to attend the muster drill, which is so easy these days.  Going back to our room, we found the room keys and they worked this time.  At life boat #6, our cards were scanned and we listened to a brief talk by one of the staff members.  From there we went back to the room until we noticed we were sailing out of the harbor.  All four pieces of luggage had arrived, and we got busy stashing it away.  Deciding that could wait, we went to deck six forward and aft to watch the scenic cruising.  It did not disappoint us either as we spotted some feeding whales in the distance as they blew their spouts.  As many times as we have done this route, we don’t believe we ever saw whales here.   First time for everything we say.  One last stop at the aft pool deck to watch the sail away activities (drinking and dancing), we went back to finish the unpacking.  We can say for a fact that we have plenty of space to stash it all, even in our outside cabin.  These remaining smaller ships (Zaandam and Volendam) were built with longer itineraries in mind.   We will stay here for the Alaska runs, then move to a veranda room for the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

Our room stewards, Den and Irfan, took care of our requests, some of which had not been done.  One was the request for a refrigerator.  When they brought it to the room, it did not work.  It was the most beat-up fridge we have ever seen….no wonder it didn’t work.    Leaving a note on it, we found it had been replaced with a much nicer one that actually got cold.   Now the surprise was that we are going to be charged $2 a day for the use of it.  Consider us spoiled, but we have not paid for a spare fridge for years.  We shall inquire about this tomorrow as well as many other questions.

 

About the same time as we finished unpacking, it was time for dinner.   At first the upper dining room was spotty with customers, but as the evening went on, the whole place filled with the over-flow from anytime diners.  Our waiters Arim and Arya were very attentive and we also had visitors the entire time.  The maître-d, sommelier, head water, and several waiters came to say hi.  Even though they may not have been our personal waiters, they remembered us from previous cruises.   And that’s about the best aspect of returning to HAL trips.  The staff is excellent.

 

The food choices were nice tonight and the menu seemed newer and revised from what we remembered from last year.  The Club Orange menu had Peruvian chicken, which one of us ordered, and a very tasty pork medallion plate with lingonberries.  We shared a no sugar added lemon torte.  One cup of coffee ended our pleasant meal, and we were to bed early.  We plan on sleeping like babies tonight.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

Looking forward to another cruise you both.  Thank you.

[WCB]

Report #2  Thursday  September 5, 2024  Sea Day  Enroute To Juneau, Alaska Via Tracy Arm Inlet  Sunny With Clouds 75 Degrees   Sea State: Rough  Part #1 Of 1........0 Pictures---Dressy Night

 

We woke up to a foggy morning, but it soon changed to sunny skies with some clouds later in the day.  No rain.  The seas had become rougher overnight due to residual swells from the waters in the Gulf of Alaska, according to Captain Michiel Willems.  Hmmm, sure brings memories back from 22 years ago when we hit seriously rough waters near Dutch Harbor.  We are well aware of how nasty these waters can be.

 

With the rolling of the sea, we slept soundly last night.  We were ready for our first breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant at 8am.  To our surprise, Tina from the world cruise is the manager here until November 9^th.  Knowing that we were arriving, she saved a space for us every evening for dinner in the Pinnacle Grill if we wish to dine there.  How thoughtful that she was thinking ahead, since the ship is sold out and reservations are limited.  By the way, new Pinnacle menus appeared last night with  revised choices.  One item missing was the halibut. The lunch menu has also changed and no longer offers the well-liked hamburger.  We do appreciate that the time has come for changes in this venue. 

 

Our orders took a while this morning because the restaurant filled with guests….all from the Neptune suites.  Tina admitted that this morning was the busiest yet this summer.  The breakfast menu was updated a bit, and we still get the complimentary mimosas, fresh-squeezed orange juice, cappuccino and espresso coffee.  

 

One of us went to the front desk with a list of questions regarding our shipboard account.  There were at least one dozen people in line doing the same thing.  On both sides of the counter were signs announcing there were no rooms available for upsells.  The staff member who helped me was patient and spent 20 minutes getting most of the questions answered.  If she was not sure, she went to the back and asked someone in charge.  When we do linked back-to-back voyages, we always make sure that we can carry over the credits from trip to trip.  I was advised they had to make an exception in our case, and would let us know tomorrow. 

 

I did learn that the room tips have gone up.  For the inside and outside cabins, the gratuities are $17 per person per day.  Vista rooms and Neptune suites are now $19 per person per day.  So having a contract that includes the tips is a good deal these days.  The charge for the refrigerator recently re-appeared on all of the HAL ships and is $2 a day.  We will only need it for three weeks, then we will be moving to a Vista suite that already has one.  Hope it works….

 

After our refreshing morning walk, we came back to the room to do the fine tuning.  That included setting up plug strips for numerous things like clocks, camera battery chargers, Sonicare toothbrushes, a razor kit and our new little USB tower.  With the Zaandam being an older ship, there are no extra plugs or USB ports on the nightstands.  So one needs to be creative.

 

There was an invite in our mailslot for a complimentary Regional Wine Tasting at 2pm in the main dining room.  Of course, we would have the chance to buy a wine package for 50% off.  However, since we do not drink wine, we did not attend.

 

We had a light lunch at 2:30pm in the Lido with salads and shared sandwich and thin crust pizza.  We had considered attending the Dutch high tea, but decided salads were a better choice. By this time there were fewer diners, but some of our favorite items were gone and not replaced.  A chicken Caesar salad was a turkey Caesar salad.  It worked.

 

There was a notice in the daily newsletter saying there may be wildlife spotting between 5 and 7pm at the Sea View Pool.  Of course out here in the open waters, our best sighting had to be humpback whales.  It took maybe ½ hour of watching before we started seeing those spouts in the distance.  Very few were breaching or diving, but they were surface feeding.  One large whale actually appeared right down where we were standing and blew its spout.  We heard the noise before we saw him ski the surface.  We guess it was as close as 20 feet to the aft of the ship.    Doing 19 knots, we put some distance between us and the whale in a short time.  We must have cut through a large pod since they were spotted on both sides of the ship.  We do have Canadian pilots onboard and we are certain they are well aware of where these pods hang out.  Other than the whales, we also saw some cargo ships and later on an NCL cruise ship.  

 

This evening was the first “dressy” night and the Captain’s welcome at 7:15pm in the Main Stage.  Since that is in the middle of dinner service, we do not know how many would attend this brief welcome.  We are still keeping away from large gatherings, so we missed this one.  “Dressy” turned out to be a bit above casual.  No tuxes, few suits, and mostly collared shirts.  There are still fellows that arrive with baseball caps on their heads.  What’s with that?  Oh well, each to their own we say.  The menu had some nice choices with shrimp cocktails, French onion soup, Caesar salad, and fresh rolls.  Mains for us were rack of lamb and the surf and turf…..tenderloin steak and shrimp (no lobster and filet mignon).   Still tasty, we ended the meal with a shared strawberry sundae and a cup of coffee.   We had several visitors that made certain our meal was perfect.  The wait staff has been most gracious. 

 

There was supposed to be The Step One Dance Company performing Humanity, but it had been cancelled due to rough seas.  There was a substitute comedian instead.  Also performing in the lounges were Cat Paz on the piano and The Band in the Ocean Bar.  In the Mix, Josie Oliva played her guitar and Eli Moore played the piano later on.  At 11pm, you could dance to the hits in the Crow’s Nest.  From what we saw on our way back to our room, all of the lounges were full of guests.

 

Finally, the clocks were set back one hour to be on Juneau time.  We will give this hour back on our return to Vancouver.  We are headed to Juneau tomorrow by 1:30pm with an early morning service stop for a tour in Tracy Arm.  

 

Bill & Mary Ann 

 

PS

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"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise..

[atexsix]

How wonderful, I was thinking about you recently since it had been awhile, looking forward to hearing about your cruise!  

[luvteaching]

Good morning Bill and Mary Ann, 

 

So glad to see you back onboard a BHB. I followed you on the world cruise and must admit I got a bit worried when I didn't see the "wrap up" to the cruise. I was hoping you were busy and all was ok. I enjoy following your adventures. Have a great cruise! 

Karen

 

 

[Fred321]

Hey guys, Glad to see you on the move again. Have a great trip.

 

Rich and Peg

[NextOne]

Thank you for taking us along again on your adventure!

[LouChamp]

Aloha. So happy to see you’re back to posting. As another poster noted I too was concerned because you never filed a wrap up.  Anyway hope all is well with you and your family and as always looking forward to your reports. We have put our voyages and dividing our time between NY and Honolulu as we are blessed to be grandparents!  We are now based in Manhattan for a bit and have some long voyages planned down the road as long as our daughter and family permit lol!  All our blessings for a safe and healthy and fun time!!!

[AV8rix]

6 hours ago, WCB said:

We were ready for our first breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant at 8am.  

 

 

Following your thread, as always.  But a question...I know that you're staying in an inside for the first few legs.  Do you have PG breakfast access because you're PC?  Do all PC folk have PG (or CO dining room on the humungoudams) breakfast access?  That's a COOL perk!!!

[Broon]

We will be boarding the NOORDAM in Vancouver on Sept 15, en route to Anchorage and return. Your details about experiences on board are helpful and enjoyable to read. 

[RobTheGob]

Looking forward to following along - until we join the ship on the 25th!

[albingirl]

Thanks for having us follow along! Bon voyage!

[WCB]

Report #3  Friday September 6, 2024  Tracy Arm Drop Off At 10 am And Juneau, Alaska Arrival At 1:30 pm  Docked Starboard Side To Pier  Cloudy With Steady Rain In The Afternoon  Part #1 Of 3.......46  Pictures----Casual Dress

 

This morning greeted us with heavily-overcast skies with passing showers as we headed towards Tracy Arm for a tour drop-off.  We would get to see some scenic cruising and be on the lookout for wildlife, but this is simply a service call..  Our actual destination is the capital city of Juneau later in the day.

 

But first, it was time for breakfast and some hot coffee to get the day going.  On port days, the restaurants open at 7:30am….the Lido at 6:30am.   While waiting for our orders, shore excursion manager Nyron appeared at our table.  He had spotted us sitting in the “window” seats and came to say hi.  It’s always nice to be greeted by familiar and happy crew members.  Nyron has a very special voice that can be heard above any crowd.  He has been the shore excursion manager for several world cruises, so we were surprised to see him on this ship.  We asked if he will be on the 2025 grand voyage, but he said no, he will be joining the Zuiderdam for the Voyage of the Vikings next summer.

 

Speaking of tours, there were a bunch of them offered here today.  The Tracy Arm and glaciers was 6 hours for $290 and must have sold out before the voyage began.  There were several options to see whales and wildlife, some priced more reasonable than others.   A small boat with a few guests ran $480 for 4 hours.  The Mendenhall Glacier is th biggest attraction here and there also many ways to see it.  Some by bus, and some by helicopters.  The most extravagant tour was by helicopter for a trek on the glacier for $570 and 4 ¼ hours.  For the foodies, there was a flight to Taku Lodge for a feast for $475 and 3 ½ hours.   A salmon bake for 1 ½ hours was a mere $80 (no flight).   Bike the rainforest and bike and brew were $155 for 3 – 4 hours.  Easy gold panning was 2 ¼ hours for $90.  We have done some of these tours in the past, but never took the chance to go by float plane or helicopter.  Probably never will…..  

 

So the Tracy Arm tour went off by 10:20am…just about the same time it began to rain.  Many folks went to the bow, while we went to deck six forward.  We watched as the tour boat loaded their passengers.  We guess there were over 100 people doing this trip.  The plan was for them to view glaciers from the boat, have a short hike along the channel, then boat to Juneau where the ship would be docked.

 

While some of the guests were on the bow, some of them began to ring the ship’s bell in the very front.  Then we heard an announcement asking people not to do this….please.   Eventually the light rain drove the folks back inside the ship, including us.  It was downright chilly outside and we were glad we had brought our Arctic-rated jackets once again.

 

The Zaandam arrived to the Gastineau Channel by 12:30pm where we watched hordes of fishermen (ladies too) trying to catch salmon on the banks.  We have never seen so many folks fishing here before.  As the ship sailed past the Douglas area, opposite the downtown part of Juneau, several bald eagles could be seen hidden in the tall trees along the banks of the channel.  Many took flight as the Zaandam passed by, but one bird in particular stood out.  He was a youngster who was proudly perched on the very tip of an evergreen tree.  However, he was not alone as several black ravens were taunting him by attacking him one at a time.  Standing his ground, he fended them off and held his perch for quite some time.  There is a possibility the eagle was trespassing on the raven’s favorite spot.  Several other eagles were flying in this same area, and they were also attacked by the bold crows.  Sure is interesting watching nature in action, even if it is the bird’s behavior.

 

The ship docked starboard by 1:15pm.  There were four other ships in port.  The Disney Wonder, Crown Princess, Quantum of the Seas (RCI), and finally the Silver Muse (Silverseas).   The Muse was anchored with two tenders running their guests to a landing pier.   That was a whole lot of people.   We bet the population of Juneau, which is about 32,000 was doubled with the arrival of five cruise ships.  They boast that Juneau has one million visitors every summer season.  Land of the Tlinket people, what we see today are old historic buildings, saloons, pubs, and shops.  Most offer fine jewelry, gifts, canned salmon and native art to name a few.  The capital has come a long way from the gold rush days and the fishermen, hunters, trappers, and traders of the past. And one interesting fact about this capital is that it is only accessible by sea or air.

 

We left the ship after the thundering herd had gotten off.  That was about 1:45pm.  It was drizzling, but our jacket kept us dry and warm.  The wind was not blowing so that was a good thing.  It was time for lunch, so we headed straight for the Hangar on the Wharf.  Crowded, we were handed a beeper and told to come back in ½ hour.  We did take a walk towards the bridge, but when the rain began falling steadily, we turned and headed back.  It was a total of 40 minutes before we were seated, but it was worth the wait.  We had refreshing Amber draft beers, a Jack Daniels burger, and finished with a shared slice of mud pie, of course.  We have never seen this restaurant so busy, but then there were five ships here.  

 

Taking our time walking back, we were in our room by 4:30pm.  No sense going through the stores in the rain, as we will be back here two more times.   Maybe the weather will be better.

 

This evening we had reservations in the Pinnacle Grill.  Much to our surprise, the entire place was full of guests even at this later hour of 7:30pm.   These 7 day cruises are a different animal compared to a grand voyage.  There is such a short time to try to do everything, so most all of the activities are crowded every day.  In our opinion, it is a vacation that you need to take another vacation when you get home to recover. 

 

So tonight we had the chance to try some new entrees.  The wedge salad was still on the menu as was the clothesline bacon.   The rolls were fresh, warm, and tasted great served with only garlic-infused butter.  One of us ordered the Alaskan special of Chilean sea bass served with a puree of dill/butter dip…..very green.  The second entrée was the braised short rib (no bones) with fun noodles, not the exact description, but oh so good with thinly-sliced snow peas and mushrooms.  This will be a winner for sure.  One shared dessert was also new, the stroop waffle cobbler with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  It appeared to look more like a brownie, but when Tina came by, she said it brought back memories of the chocolate volcano, which has been gone like forever.  She was pleased we were happy with the new choices.  Lastly, we had a tray of four petite macaroons, which replaced the gormandizes we used to get and seldom eat. 

 

The ship left the port of Juneau about the same time we got back to our room, 9:40pm.  It had been a very long day, and we were most happy to call it a day.  Skagway tomorrow….

 

Bill & Mary Ann    

 

[dchip]

Hi you two!!

 

Thanks for the info on the Pinnacle Grill menu changes. I was never too fond of the halibut, so the short ribs sound fabulous. 

 

Also, thanks for  taking the time to post photos and commentary. We know how very time consuming an undertaking it is. Especially daily. We do appreciate you both. 
 

As always,

Denise and Howie, too
 

Edited September 8 by dchip

[WCB]

Report #4  Saturday September 7, 2024  Skagway, Alaska  Docked Starboard Side To Pier  6:30AM-9PM  Overcast With Sun And Rain Cool Wind 52 Degrees  Part #1 Of 4.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress

 

By the time we woke up, we were already on our way to docking in Skagway.  It appeared that the weather was going to be OK today, although it was chilly with drippy skies, we also had periods of sun here and there.   We were not alone today as there were two Princess ships here…..the Crown and the Grand.    A whole lot of people for sure, but we suspect many of them would take the tours on the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. 

 

Luckily we were docked in the center at Broadway Dock.   Last year, one time we were near the side of the rock slide, and we had to tender 200 yards to the small boat marina as we were not allowed to walk in that danger zone at all.  Bizarre.  Today we left the ship around 10am, right in the middle of a crew drill.  Looking outside after breakfast, we almost went out with just sweatshirts.  Even though the sun was out, the chill was in the wind.  In fact, the name Skagway loosely translates to windy place in the Tlingit language.  We know that the winds can be fierce enough to prevent docking.  That occurred last year when this port had to be cancelled with Haines being substituted.  That was fine and dandy for us since we have only been to Haines once in the past.   It was a tender port and a rainy one at that, but we really enjoyed it.

 

Hoping to see some spawning salmon coming up Pullen Creek, we were disappointed to see none.  From the info we read later on, the pink salmon run here is later in September.    We will be back the next two Saturdays, so there is still a chance to see the fish.  If not, the run in Ketchikan seems to be always good.

 

We took our usual path following the creek to the Pullen Pond, reading the signage along the way.   The well-done signs are all about the flora and fauna of this area of Alaska.  Making our way up Spring Street, the crowd of tourists had thinned out because we had left the shopping area.  We would do that on the way back.  There were some historical areas in this area that are worthwhile touring starting with the Mollie Walsh Park.  Created for the little ones, there is also a very nice restroom stop which is used by the bus tours.    This is a very people-friendly town as far as amenities go.   

 

The Moore house and cabin are located here.  The oldest structure in Skagway, this homestead was built by Captain William Moore in 1887 just prior to the gold boom that happened here.  He prospered with building a dock, warehouse, and a sawmill.  He and his family watched this area become a major port and railroad hub.  Even though the gold rush did not last for long, he still made his fortune.  It is always a pleasure to tour the cozy house and try to imagine what life was like back then.  It was not all rosy however, since his wife often traveled back home and eventually left for good at one point.  We see this part of Alaska during the summer/fall season.  Being here in the darkness of the harsh winters must have been something else.

 

Continuing on, we spotted an old train engine that you can explore.  It was located right next to the nicest building in town….McCabe College 1899.  Built with native granite stones imported on the railroad, it was a short-lived college-prep school.  For the following 55 years, it served as a US Courthouse, the Marshall’s office and a jail.  These days, it is a museum as well as the City Hall.

 

From here, we headed to the Klondike Highway, passing the railroad work yards as well as the trail that leads to the famous Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls.  We decided to save that hike for the next two stops here.  Crossing over the Skagway River on the Pat Moore Bridge was dicey.  The brisk wind was quite strong blowing up the canyon, living up to its reputation.  A nice spacious park called Seven Pastures is located on the left with Dedman Stage right in the center.  Since there were few people there today, we took advantage of the stage to rest up for a bit.  A pair of husky cross-bred dogs came along to check us out.   Lucky for us they were friendly.  Their owner appeared and the dogs ran off to his vehicle.  This was a good turn-around point.

 

According to the weather report, there was supposed to be heavy showers by 1 or 2pm.  If we headed back to town, we might miss the showers.  It was constantly sprinkling, but when we reached the homes that were surrounded with large trees, we were sheltered somewhat.  Taking Alaska Street back, we watched as planes landed at their small airport that paralleled the Skagway River.  Directly across from this halfway point of the road was the settlement of Dyea, which was once larger than Skagway.  It was also the start of the Chilkoot Trail and the way to the gold fields.  Lots of history there, although most of the town is gone now we read.

 

The best part of the day was looking forward to lunch at the Station Bar and Grill on 4^th Street.  Located off the main streets, this restaurant is usually not crowded.  Today was a different story.  We arrived by 1pm and learned we would have a 20 to 30 minute wait for a table.   Not a problem…it would be worth the wait for the best pizza in town.  Eventually we were seated at a nice table where we ordered a Hawaiian pizza and two Amber gold draft beers.  The pizza was every bit as large and tasty as we remembered…glad we waited.  An hour went by quickly, and we still wanted to explore some of the stores before heading back to the ship. 

 

One of those stores was the place that sold Alaskan Fry Bread.  The best way to describe this sweet treat is that it’s like a large round flat donut, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Too bad we were so filled with our pizza lunch, we decided to pass this time.  It was interesting to see the jars of jams and pickled things such as pickled kelp.  Really?  We also located the spruce tip jam and jelly.  Now that’s a different twist with jams.  Huckleberry looked the best.

 

The shops were over-loaded with shoppers looking for sales.  We saw little in the sales department this time and we swear all of the prices have gone up since last year.  Not that we really need anything, but one of us likes the Lazy One sleep T’s.   We saw very few of them today, but we still have Ketchikan to shop as well as two more trips this way.  We arrived at the gangway by 3pm where we were greeted with an official using a facial recognition device.  One of the trains had just let people off, so the line was long and s-l-o-w.   We were well-chilled by the time we entered the ship as the winds seemed to have increased during the afternoon.   By the way, the afternoon rains never happened.

 

The remainder of the day was spent working on photos and the report.  At the visitor’s center located in the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, we had found a treasure trove of brochures for not only Skagway, but for all of the ports we visit on these back-to-back cruises.   We both agree that the history in this part of Alaska is most intriguing with really infamous characters and events.

 

Dinnertime arrived by 7:30pm with some good choices for appetizers and mains.  For a while we were about the only ones in the upper dining room, but eventually, the tables filled with folks from the open seating group.  And the all aboard time was 8:30pm, so there may be some guests that went to town for dinner.   Anyway, we both enjoyed shrimp tacos (tasty, but messy) and Caesar salads for starters.  Our mains were rigatoni with chicken meatballs and a turkey dinner…..both excellent.  We shared one of the new desserts – a stroopwafel cheesecake (without the wafel).  For a change it wasn’t overly-sweet.   

 

The entertainment in the Main Stage was a performance with the Step One Dance Company.  We have seen the show several times on past trips, so it was off to bed for us.  It had been an invigorating day with about 8 miles of walking in the fresh brisk wind.   Needless to say, we looked forward to a good night’s rest.

 

The ship left the dock after 11pm, after the Crown Princess pulled out.  Tomorrow’s itinerary includes a trek into Glacier Bay, which is always a treat for both of us.

 

Bill & Mary Ann