Random Notes, Navigator, SF-Vancouver LIVE

[purpleally]

I'm sure she can. She is enthusiastic and says coming up new martinis is fun.

[Mr Rumor]

Yep, as pupleally noted, the glorious weather did hold, which made for a great White Pass Scenic Railroad experience. Even our narrator, Ellie, was surprised at the great look we had of the Sawtooth Peaks, explaining they're almost always shrouded in clouds. So we really lucked out!

[tallship]

Rich - so happy you are having a great time. Can't wait.....

[Mr Rumor]

Well, Tiny (tallship) your wait is almost over--you're next! I think you'll be pleased with the internet connection, the fastest we've experienced on our half dozen Regent cruises. (Not that you would confuse it with your speedy connection back home.)

 

We are anchored in Icy Strait at the small Tlingit community of Hoonah, where the views are 360 degrees gorgeous. And we don't have to share those views with the Grand Princess or Norwegian Pearl, as we are here by our lonesome. Weather is partly sunny and mild, for which we are grateful!

 

There are upwards of twenty excursions being offered today. Ginny zeroed in on the Forest Tram and Tribal Dance early on, not only because we enjoy native dances (we have attended many in the Land of Enchantment), but also because she senses today will be her best opportunity to buy a piece of Tlingit jewelry or other Tlingit-made item. Although our tour doesn't leave from the pier until 12:20 (it's 8:45 now) we will be tendering to Hoonah soon so she can begin her search.

 

Rich

[RachelG]

Very jealous. Hoonah and Astoria are the two towns on this trip that I haven't been to, and they both sound great.

[xrvlcruiser]

Rich,

 

So glad to hear that the internet has improved!

 

Tina,

 

Looking forward to hearing about your trip too.

 

Peggy

[purpleally]

We were on the paid railroad excursion in Skagway. So much space. There were 30 of us and we were assigned two cars which can hold 44 people each. It was a longer journey by train and then we went to Yukon swinging bridge. Beautiful sunshine and jaw dropping scenary sp? The guide/bus driver was lots of fun and he said most of the time you cannot see the mountain peaks we saw.

 

Compass Rose last night again excellent. We were going to seti maria but fresh mussels were on the menu for appetizers. Best ever! One of the head waiters noticed how much I was enjoying them and brought a second order.

Prime rib and chicken scappolini off the Canyon Ranch menu very good.

 

Cirque was good of course along with the now famous purple martinis, purple rain.

 

A wonderful sunshine day in hoonah. Took a paid whale watching trip; again, lots of space on the boat. And we saw whales! Lots of whales. When the people who have lived here forever say "oh wow!" you know you have a good thing going. One of them said "sunshine, glassy water and Orcas-that never happens" they were as excited as we were.

 

The silver up party is tonight at 6 and we are invited to a host table with the Chief Purser. I don't think I've ever dined with a chief purser so we'll see what that's about.

 

Loving this Regent cruise. So different than just three months ago in February.

[Mudhen]

I'm enjoying all of the cruise reports. Love that you're having such nice weather, great wildlife spotting and a good time shipboard. Please continue to keep us posted.

[Mr Rumor]

Now I know why we had Icy Strait to ourselves this morning--only one ship is allowed to anchor at Hoonah at a time. The Norwegian Pearl is arriving, while we are about an hour from setting sail.

 

The very friendly locals were as happy to see the sunshine today as we were. Several thanked us for bringing the sun with us.

 

Thanks to a helpful port staffer, we knew even before we left the pier where Ginny could score some Tlingit-made jewelry, Lisa's Art Store, just a few hundred feet away. The store is one of a number of businesses, plus a museum, occupying the former Hoonah Packing Company, a salmon cannery from 1912-1953.

 

Lisa, the proprieter (plus one of the artists--she is from the Tlingit Raven group/moiety, Sea Pigeon Clan), was a delight, and Ginny was in shopping heaven. She found a handful of jewelry pieces, and also bought several salves that the Tlingit use as traditional remedies, including cottonwood (soothes/heals skin conditions), devil's club (relieves pain and aching muscles) and spruce (antiseptic).

 

Our tram ride through a sliver of the Tongass National Forest was enjoyable. At the turnaround point we got off to do a little beachcombing. Our guide, Annette, had just gotten through telling us that the bald eagle nest about a couple of hundred yards away had not been inhabited for at least a few days, when--whoosh--a certain creature appeared out of nowhere. "The eagle has landed!" she exclaimed.

 

After the tram ride it was a short walk to the Tribal Dance and Cultural Legends performance, featuring three female and three male performers. There were a couple of opportunities in the performance for audience members to participate, and Ginny got to wear a Tlingkit blanket during the last dance. I found the Tlingkit masks to be striking, especially the raven mask. The legend of the raven--critically imporant in Tlingit culture--was the theme, in fact, of one of the three dances.

 

All in all, a great day in Hoonah!

[Mr Rumor]

A steady rain has been has been falling in Yakutat Bay this morning, so visibility is not the best, significantly impacting our views of Hubbard Glacier.

[Mr Rumor]

Wound up not being able to get a good view of the world's largest tidewater glacier in the world, due to weather conditions. By 9:30 we were headed out of the bay. We're only mildly disappointed we didn't get to appreciate the vastness of Hubbard--we're all still having a great time.

 

Learned at the Seven Seas Society gathering last night that we have 9 Titanium-rated passengers onboard, followed by 24 Platinums, 59 Golds, 162 Silvers and 15 Bronzes. Tonight is the Titanium, Platinum and Gold event in the Stars Lounge. We're promised an "exclusive taste of Alaska." Then it's dinner in Compass Rose with two of the Jean Ann Ryan performers.

 

We're sailing with 358 crew members. I wasn't able to get a count on the number of crew from each of the top ten countries this time, but I did get a list of the countries. The Philippines, no surprise, is No. 1, followed by:

 

India

Indonesia

Romania

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

United States

Mauritius

Bulgaria

[RachelG]

Sounds par for the course on Hubbard Glacier. I have been there 3 times, but have only seen the glacier clearly once. One time was in a huge blizzard like storm with high winds and heavy sleet. We got out of there fast. Another, it was so rainy and cloudy we really couldn't see much at all. The third was a picture perfect day.

So you will just have to return to give it another shot.

[purpleally]

Do you think she can make a "belini tini"? That would sell me in a heart beat!

 

What would be in a belini tini?

[purpleally]

We are rocking and rolling big time right now plus rain.

Looking forward to taste of Alaska gold plus party tonight

Our butler has ordered a special Indian dinner tonight for room service

[Mudhen]

What would be in a belini tini?

I'm not much of a mixed cocktail kinda gal, but when I tasted this, it had my name all over it. It's my highwater cocktail. I had it on a Regent's competitor and dare not say what one. I believe one of their bartenders came up with this and won some sort of award with it.

Try one and you'll be addicted as well, however, like so many special things, it doesn't taste the same when done at home.......

 

Bellinitini

1 oz vodka

1/2 oz peach schnapps

dash chamboard

2 1/2 oz prosecco

1 tsp white peach puree

 

add all ingredients to a shaker except the Prosecco. Strain into a glass and top with Prosecco.

 

Maybe Roxanna in the Stars Lounge can practice on this and have it ready for the May 29th sailing!!!

[room010]

I'd be interested to know the percentage of times people do get a clear view of the Hubbard Glacier. Last year (late June) the bay was so foggy and murky with a lot of ice "chips" in the water the captain more or less turned around straight away and headed off again. I know Alaskan weather is always a lottery but it was very disappointing. Instead we had to rely on Terry Breen's excellent photos of the glacier taken in glorious sunshine and blue skies so I know it happens sometimes! The upside was that our day in Sitka was perfect (it often isn't) and even the locals commented how unusually calm the sea was with exceptional wildlife sightings.

[TrainBonds]

I must be very lucky, but have sailed to Alaska 4 times and had a perfect up-close view of Hubbard Glacier each time. I love Alaska cruises and am eager to book my fifth next year. If you get away from the tourist shops at the ports and venture a little inland, the countryside takes your breath away.

[tallship]

We missed out on Hubbard Glacier in 2011 but had a great, up close view last year.

[Mr Rumor]

Ginny has been sleeping off her seasickness, with company from our daughter and me. With a sea force of six it has been a wild ride in the Gulf of Alaska today! The captain said the seas would calm down by late afternoon. Promise, captain?

 

Cruise consultant Bruce flagged me down as I was doing the Navigator Tango down the hallway earlier this afternoon. He did a great job of predicting the new Mariner and Voyager itineraries to me several days before the Tuesday announcement and we looked at them together on his huge world map. He enthusiastically added that 100 suites have already been sold on Mariner L.A.-Papeete. We would have been very interested in that one if we hadn't already booked our first river cruise for fall, 2014.

[Travelcat2]

We've been to Hubbard Glacier once and saw and heard it quite clearly. Were you able to hear the thunder of the falling ice?

 

Sorry to hear about seasickness. The Navigator is the only ship my DH has been seasick on. To those of you that will be sailing this summer -- this is a good time to remind you to pack seasickness meds.

[tallship]

Hi Rich -

 

Sorry to hear about the seasickness. I use ReliefBand Watches - they are terrific. The recent version will not allow you to switch out the battery but I have the old style purchased 6 years ago and they still work great. Interesting about the Mariner cruise. I realized after our Spring crossing that my cruise limit is about 10 days. DH cannot last past that either. We would love to try a river cruise but am concerned the cabins are on the smallish side. Saw that Viking Ocean cruises opened for bookings today. Nice to have so many choices.

 

Tina

[purpleally]

I'm not much of a mixed cocktail kinda gal, but when I tasted this, it had my name all over it. It's my highwater cocktail. I had it on a Regent's competitor and dare not say what one. I believe one of their bartenders came up with this and won some sort of award with it.

Try one and you'll be addicted as well, however, like so many special things, it doesn't taste the same when done at home.......

 

Bellinitini

1 oz vodka

1/2 oz peach schnapps

dash chamboard

2 1/2 oz prosecco

1 tsp white peach puree

 

add all ingredients to a shaker except the Prosecco. Strain into a glass and top

with Prosecco.

 

 

 

Maybe Roxanna in the Stars Lounge can practice on this and have it ready for the May 29th sailing!!!

 

I will let her know!

[purpleally]

I will let her know!

 

Can I let her know your suite number?

[Mr Rumor]

Tina, Ginny appreciates your suggestion on the ReliefBand watches and will look into. She's finally feeling better and. should be fine for our Juneau excursion in the morning. Needless to say, seas are calmer, but the rocking lasted into the evening.

 

Regarding a river cruise, we decided on Tauck's Blue Danube, in part, because of the larger suites on its new-for-2014 Ms Savor. The one we booked is 300 square feet.

 

Had to quickly check out Viking Ocean Cruise's site, and am impressed (among other items, free Internet). Viking seems to be channeling Royal Viking Line by naming its first ocean-cruising vessel the Viking Star. Of course the Viking CEO, Torstein Hagen, was RVL's last CEO. Am wondering who Viking will be in most direct competition with, Oceania or Regent. I predict a Viking vs. Regent thread in the near future!

[Travelcat2]

Tina, Ginny appreciates your suggestion on the ReliefBand watches and will look into. She's finally feeling better and. should be fine for our Juneau excursion in the morning. Needless to say, seas are calmer, but the rocking lasted into the evening.

 

Regarding a river cruise, we decided on Tauck's Blue Danube, in part, because of the larger suites on its new-for-2014 Ms Savor. The one we booked is 300 square feet.

 

Had to quickly check out Viking Ocean Cruise's site, and am impressed (among other items, free Internet). Viking seems to be channeling Royal Viking Line by naming its first ocean-cruising vessel the Viking Star. Of course the Viking CEO, Torstein Hagen, was RVL's last CEO. Am wondering who Viking will be in most direct competition with, Oceania or Regent. I predict a Viking vs. Regent thread in the near future!

 

Good to hear that the seas have calmed down. Hope the weather in Juneau is nice. We really enjoyed Juneau when we were there in a sunny day (also in May).

 

Looked at the Viking Ocean Cruise site -- it looks more like it would be in competition with Azamara (wine and beer with meals, etc.) I didn't read anything that sounded "luxury" to me - more in line with a premium cruise line. Guess we'll see how it is advertised. If passengers truly will not be nickeled and dimed, it be quite a draw to a large segment of the cruising population.