Copper10-8

Day 4 – Saturday 29 APR 23 – Victoria, BC, Canada (con't) Off I went down the gangway to board the mv Orca Mist, tied up within walking distance near the Ogden Point heliport. Orca Mist, run by Orca Spirit Adventures. is a 55’ all metal passenger vessel with an enclosed, heated cabin below and a large, open air viewing deck with bench seats top side. Seating capacity is for 45 pax, a captain and two deckhands; we had roughly 25 pax onboard today. After departing Ogden point and reentering the strait of Juan de Fuca, we rounded Victoria proper and travelled northbound up the Haro Strait, one of the main channels connecting the Strait of Georgia to the aforementioned Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada from the San Juan Islands of Washington State. It took roughly 50-55 minutes to reach the Chain Islets and Great Chain Island which lie between Trial Island, Discovery Island and the Chatham Islands where we got a look at a colony of Brandt Cormorants. We saw harbor seals and sea lions however, some rascal had tipped off the Orcas and whales that we were coming so no sightings at all of those species. The ride back to Ogden point took us past the Uplands neighborhood of Greater Victoria where the well to do folks reside. Worca Mist returned to ger berth around 4:15 PM after having to allow both the Canadian Coast Goard (CCG) 47’ Cape-class motor lifeboat Cape Calvert, as well as the big Discovery Princess to slip from their respective berths, and depart for sea (Cape Calvert) and Vancouver (Discovery Princess) where we would see her again on Sunday. Maria had a great time on her shorex at Butchart Gardens, took lots of pics, and had her gelato. She returned around 5:45 PM afterwards we both got ready for our eagerly anticipated meet with local residents Pat and Ann. At about 6:05 PM, both of us departed Nieuw A for second time via the Deck 1 port side gangway (in between guest services and the security officer’s office) and walked the long B Pier to the terminal building and outside where we saw Pat and Ann standing. I first met the nice couple while working some years ago, I believe on Oosterdam, when she was calling at Victoria. I gave them a private tour of the ship and had dinner with them in the Lido. This past December, I met them again, and Maria got to meet them, when the four of us were passengers on the Koningsdam for her New Years cruise. Today in Victoria, they were nice enough to offer to come pick us up at Ogden Point, show us their home, and go to dinner with us. With Pat driving, they first drove us around the Victoria, Oak Bay, and Willows Beach area. We then arrived at their home for a quick drink, followed by a drive to the Broadmead Village Shopping Center and Romeos Restaurant & Lounge for a great dinner and a time to catch up. Pat and Ann drove us back to Ogden Point Cruise Terminal via downtown Victoria where we said our goodbyes, but not before Ann handed us two Holland America Line / Royal Goedewagen Delft’s Blue tiles issued on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of HAL, from their just completed trans-Atlantic on the new Rotterdam VII. One of them was the ”sailing 150 years” tile, while the other was the “150 year historic transatlantic voyage” tile. Both really nice gifts for someone who has been collecting Royal Goedewagen tiles for a while. I even got a bag of Dutch "drop" (licorice) that they had picked up in Holland. It was really nice to see Pat and Ann again; genuinely nice people!! All aboard in Victoria was at 10:30 PM. Captain Jeroen soon had her backed out past the breakwater and back out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where the pilot was transferred to his amazingly fast and powerful bright yellow pilot boat called ‘Scout’ at the Victoria pilot station. Nieuw A then entered the Haro Strait which took her to the Strait of Georgia. The Vancouver pilot was picked up at the Brochie pilot station in the Strait of Georgia at 0045 hrs., after which Vancouver harbor proper was entered via Burard Inlet after passing underneath the Lion’s Gate Bridge at 0600 hrs. She then proceeded to her assigned berth of Canada Place North. Nieuw Amsterdam went starboard side alongside, using one of two “jet-way-type” CP gangways attached to Decks 1 and 2. See ya manana in Vancouver!

So, as stated, it was pretty much a zoo inside Canada Place yesterday and it didn't help that there were three ships in port for the first time of the 2023 Alaska season. Two of those ships were Brilliance of the Seas, with plus minus 2,400 pax, Discovery Princess, with 3,660 pax and the smallest of the three, Nieuw A, with 2,102 pax. For May 7, when we're going home and you're coming on, the situation will hopefully be a little bit better since the "biggie", Discovery Princess will not be there, and her place will be taken by HAL's own Noordam (1,916 pax). On HAL, the Pinnacle Grill staff is responsible for disembarking pax wheelchair assistance, while the dining room staff takes over for embarking pax who need / have requested wheelchair assistance. So, you will be dealing with dining room staff. HAL wheelchair assistance usually end/begins in the terminal building! Assistance from/to your drop-off/pickup for wheelchair-bound pax is usually provided by shoreside staff. Yesterday at Canada Place, there apparently was no shoreside wheelchair assistance and/or they were fully committed to the pax of the two bigger ships. This forced the Nieuw A PG staff to escort/push the disembarking Nieuw A not just to inside the terminal, but via the CP parking garage (the bus drop-off point) to Howe Street, since ride hailing vehicles are not permitted to pick-up cruise guests at/inside Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal. Make sure you let HAL know that your require wheelchair assistance this coming Sunday however, it should be Canada Place (contracted/hired) staff who are the ones who should be assisting you to a designated place inside the terminal where HAL staff (from the dining room) take over and get you onboard

Day 4 – Saturday 29 APR 23 – Victoria, BC, Canada When we woke up at around 0700 hours, this seems to be our assigned time slot, Nieuw Amsterdam was still sailing north along the Washington State coast. We were experiencing temps of about 59 degrees Fahrenheit. It was nice and clear but crisp. The Olympic Mountains, a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest, and part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, were clearly visible. We had our breakfast in the PG and were served by Pablo who hails from the Republica Dominicana, so there is one non Indonesian crew member inside the PG. That PG is actually open today for lunch at 12:00 Noon, even though we are alongside in Victoria by then, kinda surprising but fine! We passed Cape Flattery, the furthest northwest tip of the contiguous United States, and entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca. At approx. 11:30 AM, we slowed down to pick up the Victoria pilot at the Brotchie pilot station, made a bee line for Fiscard Lighthouse near Esquimalt on the south side of Vancouver Island, and then made a slow turn to starboard for the final approach into Victoria’s Ogden Point Cruise Terminal and one of its four cruise ship berths. We had been allocated the south side of Pier B, while Princess Cruises’ Discovery Princess was already tied off on the north side of the same pier. We were berthed at 12:15 pm. Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, overlooking the Strait of San Juan de Fuca off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 91,867, while the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria has a population of 397,237, making it the 7th most densely populated area in Canada. Victoria is located about 62 miles from BC's largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. Named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and, at the time, British North America, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1843. Retaining a distinctly British atmosphere, the city is full of tea rooms, pubs and Double Decker and has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings (finished in 1897 and home of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) and the Empress Hotel (opened in 1908). Outside of the downtown area, including the Inner Harbor, the Butchart Gardens boast 55 acres of immaculately landscaped grounds. With over 700 varieties of flowers divided into separate garden areas this garden is even a great nighttime destination, when it’s illuminated with thousands of lights. Poet Rudyard Kipling once wrote that Victoria was “worth a very long journey” a sentiment that is still felt today in this unique port. So, the plan today was for Maria and I to go our separate ways when it came to shore excursions; she is big time into flowers and located in Brentwood Bay, some 13,5 miles northwest of Victoria is the Walhalla of all flower lovers; Butchart Gardens, a group of exquisite floral display gardens. I’ve been to Butchart Gardens, at least three times; very nice but I’d rather see Orcas hunting down prey, to board so I chose a shorex by the name of Ocean Wildlife & Whales Exploration Cruise. Mine was up first at 12:30. To be con’t

I will ask the PG Mngr. tomorrow for you. He is usually in charge of the wheelchair brigade

Of course! Mr. Bear was VPD, not Port Authority

Thanks a bunch for the pic!! Yes, we were seen by U.S. CBP inside Canada Place this morning, rather than by CBSA. If I remember correctly since we have not flown out of there for a while, CBP also hangs out at YVR to clear/screen U.S.-bound pax by air. It was all rather chaotic on the return to CP at 3:00 PM which surprised me because it was so close to all aboard time having to screen that many pax, that late. But, like you said, I'm sure they'll figure ity out in time since they do it every Alaska season

We had a great time in your beautiful city, as always; wound up taking the Hop on Hop off bus and had lunch in a place called The Keg on Granville Island. Your DH's former colleagues just saw us off from Burrard Inlet to the Strait of Georgia

Brilliance, not Radiance OTS ☺️

Hope you got on board OK! It was an absolute zoo down at Canada Place at 3:00 PM with at least 2,000 pax for three ships (Nieuw A, Discovery Princess, and Radiance OTS) in looooooong slinky lines waiting to go through shoreside security. The situation was so bad, it is delaying our (plus the other two ships') departure this afternoon. Canada Place needs to very much get its act together and make improvements in the passenger boarding process or there will continue to be lots of angry cruise ships pax, as well as captains who are forced to depart late! But we did see cruise ship crew throwing lobster pods into Vancouver Harbor, no doubt trolling for the elusive hard shell British Colombia rock lobster 😐

She's a hoot, isn't she? Thanks for the pic! We'll show it to her when we see her again and tell her you said hi!

My 2 cents; there is no excuse for these erroneous charges to keep appearing, especially after 2-3 weeks onboard! Having said that, I'm really surprised that will all your cruise know how, your travel experience, and your take charge attitude, you haven't made it down to Westie's hotel gm's office yet and knocked on his door/curtain! You do know where it's located, don't you?

It was a very smooth ride north all the way, just a little motion, enough to make you fell you are on a ship 😉

Day 3 – Friday 28 APR 23 – At Sea (Con't) So today was the only “non-casual” night on this 4-day Pacific Coastal, HAL called it “Dressy” in the daily program. We had a seven thirty reservation in the Tamarind, HAL’s Asian Fusion restaurant up on Deck 11 mid-ships, one of our favorite feeding establishments onboard. Upon arrival, were duly escorted by the restaurant’s manager from Indonesia, to a nice table for two adjacent one of the starboard side windows. The place was pretty popular tonight! We received primary service from a Thai young lady who called herself Ing-Ing and to reemphasize that name, she added “like a motorcycle Vring, Vring” (as opposed to the Vroom, Vroom sound of a car). Ing Ing turned out to be the Energizer Bunny personified! Very quick to respond, and just a fun individual to be around, no doubt the leader of the Tamarind ladies! We enjoyed her service very much! So in the Tamarind, the main dishes are categorized into the elements of water, fire, wood, and earth. We started out with a really nice bowl of Krupuk (Indonesian shrimp crackers) with four assorted dips (Soy sauce, Sambal (a lot of heat! Tarzan would not like this amount of heat, but I do}, a sweet & sour plus a green contraption). The appetizer we both chose was the Satay sampler (Thai chicken, Malaysian lamb, Chinese Beef, Indonesian pork, and Vietnamese shrimp that comes with green mango, yuzu kosho and black bean powder). For our main entrée, Maria wound up having the Chinese Five Spice Baby Back Ribs with Jasmin rice on the side, while I had the wasabi and soy crusted beef tenderloin with brown rice. For dessert, Maria chose the mango cloud while I had the cheesecake. To wash it away, Maria had a glass of wine named after her, while I had the and cold (not warm) Sake. Overall, we had an excellent dinner as well as professional service from Ing Ing and her colleagues. Unfortunately, the incredible “growing napkin in liquid” trick, the Pan-Asian hot tea, and the Miso soup, all taken away post Covis, have not made a return to the Tamarind as of yet. On the way out, we ran into Nieuw A’s executive chief housekeeper Michiel who was obviously enjoying a similar nice dinner along with three of his colleagues. Post dinner, off we went to the Main Stage for the second show of Uruguayan guitarist Nestor Santurio. Different songs and genres than his show on opening night but still good. Followed that up by the last two sets of the B.B. King’s All-Stars at 9:45 and 10:45 PM who were excellent as always. Especially the 2nd set was standing room only and a full dance floor to great music. The female vocalist – don’t have her name as of yet – has an awesome range, while her male counterpart – Cole – is no slouch either. After their final set, the band leader and keyboard player made it a point to come down the stage to thanks us for being there! Pretty cool! We called it a night at 11:50 PM. Tomorrow (Sat) is our first port of call, Victoria, BC on big Vancouver Island! See ya then!

Thanks as always Brian! Just found your email from a week ago! Apologies for the lack of response so far! 🙃 Don't know what happened!

You're still my hero Brian! 😉

The only fer sure way to located Mary Jane is through the use of dope detection dogs at the screening process!

Thank you kindly Mr. Lawdog, Sir, counselor! Prob is connected to all those "just the facts Ma'am" arrest reports! 🙃

For a second, definitely short of a minute, I thought this thread was about the nitty gritty/day-to-day details of cannabis on HAL, but then I came to my senses................👮‍♂️

HAL has had Build a Bread Pudding in the Lido and, according to some, Build a place to go to sleep at 7 PM, but never a Build a Bear workshop

Day 3 – Friday 28 APR 23 – At Sea We awakened to overcast gray skies around 7:00 AM as Nieuw Amsterdam passed the California-Oregon border still on her way south. We haven’t deviated for Honolulu yet! The ride has been surprisingly smooth while headed in the direction that points directly towards the geographic North Pole, especially at this time of year still. According to Nieuw A’s master, we might get some rain in Victoria and Vancouver over the weekend but that is to be suspected so we shall see! We have so far seen three California gray whales on our starboard side from our cabin and from Lido deck mid-ships, so between the ship and California shore, as they also head northbound after spending the winter breeding and calving off the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. Always very cool to see them breath out, or even breech. Breakfast was in our usual spot inside the Pinnacle Grill. They have a pretty good crowd in there, at least between 0900-0930 hrs. however, service has been good by the six or so Indonesian stewards. Manager Carlos takes the time to come by each and every table to inquire how things are going, the sign of a good manager. We reversed selections with Maria taking the French Toast and moi choosing the All-American Breakfast. When this was consumed, we checked into the Neptune Lounge while Reza and Abdul took care of our cabin. That coffee machine in the Neptune is always goo, It gives you six selections plus hot chocolate however, it has had some issues with the temp. since we boarded. Today was the second morning in a row that one of Nieuw A’s white overall-clad technicians was working on it. He was able to rise the temp when he was done. At 1000 hrs., this morning was the Mariners reception, now known as the Mariner Recognition Event inside the Explorer’s Loung on Deck 2 aft. We chose not to attend since we’re staying on for another week. Upon returning to the cabin however, we found the two Royal Goede Wagen / Delft’s Blue “tegels” / tiles on our bed, as well as a HAL 150 Years at sea shopping bag. The tiles are the current (2021-2022) version, arranged by ship’s class (in our case the two Signature class sisters Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam), which depict a sea monster on the bottom of the tile. The corner ornamentations refer to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York. The crown consists of seven points symbolizing the seven continents and oceans. By around 11:00 AM, the marine layer/cloudy conditions disappeared, and the sun made an appearance, which was unexpected and nice! We wound up basically and shamelessly doing a lot of jelling & vegging for pretty much the entire afternoon. That is what vacation is for, right? Maria found Fisherman's Friends on the cabin TV selection, a 2019 British comedy-drama film and true story about a group of Cornish gam hens, sorry, fishermen from Port Isaac who were signed by Universal Records and achieved a top 10 hit with their debut album of traditional sea shanties. Lunch was at the Lido Market where we chose pasta (she) and a couple of tacos (me). Those tacos used to be a self-serv option at the, you guessed it, Taco Bar, outside the Dive-In but disappeared after the restart post-Covid. They have now made a reappearance at the pasta station in the Lido Market, along with chips & salsa, however, are no longer self-service. They will be prepared for you on request and placed upright on your plate with the help of a little silver mini stand. Since this Pacific Coastal/Panama Canal transit extension is ending for the majority of a fellow pax (some are staying for the first Alaska voyage), the “On Deck for a Cause” 5K walk to support Ukrainian refugees was scheduled for 2:30 PM. 30 minutes prior to that, magician Scott Pepper had a magic “workshop” going. At 3:00 PM, they were showing “A Man called Otto,” a really good flick with the super talented Tom Hanks. We saw it in the theaters when if first came out. Third Avenue West played dance music in the Ocean Bar at 5”00 and 6:00 PM.

Really nice Ann! No pressure! Romano's sounds good! Maybe Ray will be there 😉 and so does the Penny Farthing! Maria remembers the gelato place in Butcharts. See ya tonite at 6:30! 🙂

Awesome news, thanks! See ya onboard starting Sunday! Having a great time here so far

Neither does my lovely wife 😉 She's into flowers and plants big time and Butchart's is one of her favorites. Still gotta get her to the "Keukenhof" in Lisse, Holland in April to see that flower wonderland. I'm really good and well-trained in holding her purse as she takes pics 🥸 Tulips in the Keukenhof in Lisse, the Netherlands

See ya in the Neptune Lounge where Aiko and Aley will take good care of you! 😉

Evening Ann; just came out of the B.B. King's Blues Club with an outstanding band inside. Thanks for the info! I would like to leave it up to you and Pat. It's a Sat night so the city will no doubt be hopping, plus game 6 of the Oilers-Kings series and I know everyone will be rooting for the Kings to win! The pub in Oak Bay sounds good also, and/or whatever else you two think will work, McDonalds and Burger King included 🤣 Just happy to see y'all again after Koningsdam at New Years! No pressure, we're easy! Maria keeps talking about that Oh Gelato place on Government Street 😍