Westerdam Alaska 5/30 Review...the balcony of paradise!

[Alberta Quilter]

Thanks for your review; I'm enjoying it.

 

Since no one else has asked, I'm curious to know why you needed pickle juice.

[jbhcw]

Thanks for your review; I'm enjoying it.

 

Since no one else has asked, I'm curious to know why you needed pickle juice.

 

I'm guessing a dirty martini...or you may need olive juice for that:eek: Am also curious!

[Assateague Island Princes]

Regarding the request for pickle juice, my sweet Dad's home remedy for leg cramps was drinking pickle juice. He swore by it. Go figure...:rolleyes:

Edited June 9, 2015 by Assateague Island Princes

[callmebetty]

Housekeeping-

We did leave a note regarding the issues. It was not in our room when we returned that night.

Pickle juice- I make pickle martinis at home with the garlic refrigerated pickles. One time I tried to make a caper martini. Never again!

 

Day 3- We did not book any excursions as we like to fly by the seat of our pants. We wandered around Juneau, saw the sights, and had a wonderful discussion with a local cop about the trash cans. Apparently bears sometimes venture into town so they have special trash cans to keep them from foraging. We picked up some trinkets to take home and held off on purchasing salt from Sitka because we figured it would be cheaper if we bought it in the namesake town. We stopped at a bar (which had a metal bucket of condoms on each side of the bar and in the bathrooms...safety first in Alaska!), saw a street brawl, and met an honest to goodness stoner that kept trying to get us to partake in his greens. We stopped by Tracy's Crab Shack, but the wait was a bit long at 55 minutes from time of placing order. I did snag a root beer float, which was amusing to watch being made with root beer on tap. There was foam everywhere, but well worth the $5! We called it a day, headed back to the ship and putzed around. I think this is the first port we have ever been to that we didn't see any pier runners (you know the ones that can't walk a straight line and barely make the boat, mostly found in the Caribbean).

A little casino time after sail away, some ship wandering, and bed since tomorrow was the Glacier day!

[callmebetty]

Day 4- Glacier Bay

DH was up before 4 to watch for wildlife. He saw some Orcas and rousted me out of my cocoon. We saw a couple of sea otters and made our way up to the Lido. Since it was 11:50 East Coast time, I figured shots were in order! DH was resistant, but I got him to see the light :)

Before we knew it, it was pea soup time! Well worth waiting for! I enjoyed 1,2,3 cups. We didn't want to miss any sights so we skipped breakfast and the warm soup was so darn yummy.

We ran from one side of the ship to the other, snapping pictures and oohing and ahhing. And then....the Polar Bear Plunge. It was silly and fun. Getting into the water is not the issue. Standing on the deck after getting out to complete the ceremony was very brisk. I did get a nifty certificate though.

we watched the glaciers from our balcony and some a few pictures of one of them calving. The sound is amazing and the visuals are indescribable. Spa time, which was not at all crowded and was as relaxing as ever.

We roamed the ship and grabbed some drinks and collapsed fairly early.

[Ricktan]

Thank you for your review!!! Sounds like you had a blast!!!!

[Alberta Quilter]

Housekeeping-

 

Pickle juice- I make pickle martinis at home with the garlic refrigerated pickles. One time I tried to make a caper martini. Never again!

 

 

Thanks for responding to the query. I don't drink martinis so didn't know that some like pickle juice in their martinis. We use pickle juice in our potato salad. I didn't think you'd be making potato salad on a cruise!:D

[callmebetty]

Today's "you're not on vacation but I still am" afternoon snack from my hubby was

Pasta Salad

An Absolut Martini made with kelp pickles we bought in Sitka. It is quite delicious and I am sad I bought the small jay. Time to scour the internet for more!

Day 5-

Happy 10th anniversary to us! We were greeted by some otters splashing about behind and next to the ship. We tendered into Sitka and it was low tide. We walked through the center of town and stopped in a few shops. Passing by a church with a tall steeple, we saw a bald eagle decided to perch up there and keep watch over the tourists that had invaded. We stopped and gawked and took pictures, hoping he would take flight. Good thing we didn't stick around too long because he was still up there hours later. Hubby git a cup of coffee from a bicycle vendor set up in an alley. He said it was a good cup, but I don't know that it was worth the 15 minutes it took to grind the beans, weigh them, heated the water, weigh it...you get the idea... We walked through the town and down the rocks to the shelly shore. Thousands of mussel shells that we tried not to crunch too much. We walked down the beach, trying not to slip on the yellow seaweed (this the air filled sacks that pop when you step on them). We saw tour groups peeking out of the forest, but we forged on. We kept going until we couldn't go any further. We saw 2 bald eagles on our way and took some nice shots of them. We learned they kind of chatter to communicated. And the ravens are like the party crashes, squawking to beat all. We wound our way into the forest and ventured the opposite direction of the totems. Very interesting trees- some majestic and others broken and splintered into fascinating shapes. We ran into a ranger that was shooing a bicycling teen out of the area. We had a nice discussion and we discovered Hubby knew lots of stuff (those darn Alaska shows rubbed off!)

We headed back to town and went by an artist owned gallery. We were lured in the the very docile, obedient black lab hanging next door with a neat collar. I mentioned Sitka salt and the kind artist directed us to the store where they package it. We headed that way and when we arrived, I was surprised to see the same size package (from Sitka mind you) was 2.95 more than it was in Juneau. What gives?

WE stopped by a place called "The Pub" for a snack and a beverage. Cute place, but too busy for the one bartender and few servers that were working. We got our drinks (Baranof Hefewiezen and a Woodchuck Amber). Hubby got the big one, I got the little one respectively. The tab came to 9.75. We looked at the food menu, but they were out of lots of things, including...fried pickles...(do you see a theme here?). DH enjoyed the stray from Alaskan Amber and my little beer did me well.

Wandered around a bit and grabbed some moose poop souveniers to bring home. Back to the boat to watch the seaplanes and ships.

[callmebetty]

Day 5 continued-

We stopped at the concierge to confirm our dinner arrangements and to inquire whether they had the always available menu. This causes a great deal of confusion. There is not paper listing steak, chicken, and french onion soup as choices. Instead, the concierge tried to give my the room service menu and ask if I wanted a steak sandwich. I ventured down to the dining room and learned the items I asked about are offered nightly, but they are not printed anywhere. I must have missed something when I was following reviews and looking at menu pics (it ended well)We got back to the room and I prepared to spa myself. When I got back from the spa, Hubby was snoozing and a lovely plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a card from the captain and concierge wishing us a happy anniversary was waiting. We had arranged ahead of time to have our anniversary dinner on our balcony. I would have loved to go to the Pinnacle, but this was the night it morphed into Le Cirque...we passed. I am somewhat of a picky eater. I don't like seafood (though I keep trying it in hopes something will change). Not a veal fan, nor do I like eggs or mushroooms...I had a hard time justifying pasta in such a diverse setting so we opted for a less is more attitude. I called the concierge to place our order and again specified we would be having our special dinner served on the balcony. Our dinner arrived via room service on a standard rectangular tray. It was placed on the coffee table and away he went.

Here's the breakdown

NY Strip- ordered rare, arrived pink and slightly warm. Came with some funky mashed potatoes that stayed on the plate and some cauliflower.

Onion Soup- not bad, not great

Chilled Peach Soup- confusing.

Roasted Quail- Hubby ate it, but there was definitely room for something more (especially after our hike!) The pearl onions were divine!

Wild Mushroom Soup=- great taste, not mushrooms...must have been pureed.

We did visit the Lido later.

I ventured into the bathtub this evening. I am not an overly large person (pending these cocktail hours this week, I may grow a bit. mu mom says I have big bones....). When I was done jacuzziing- I told hubby it was like putting a whale into a teacup. It was enjoyable for a ship tub is what I mean.

Drinks, a wander about the ship, and bed.

It was a hell of a day at port!

[kftw]

Enjoying your review. Looking forward to Day 6.

[phabric]

Enjoyed reading your reviews.

[callmebetty]

Today's cocktail hour- truffle cheese and vodka with blueberry pomegranate juice

 

Day 6- Ketchikan

We docked among the Crown Princess and an Oceana ship. THE NCL Jewel may have been there as well. We head off the boat (there were never any lines to get on or off!) and wandered through town. We came upon an old brothel where they were giving tours for $7.50. We declined and said we were hunting for pictures. They lady directed us towards to Married Man's trail. On the way, we stopped in some shops where we purchased the diving Kelp pickles and some dill mustard (its a really mustard seedy variety, very poppy when you eat it :) We could have paid @2 per person to take a tram to the top, but we opted to walk. Holy stairs! We climbed and climbed and climbed...and then climbed some more. We reached the top where there were some totems and headed back down. Wandered around a bit more and around 10:30 we came across a hole in the wall bar. Much to our delight, there were ashtrays on the bar (the condoms were located in the bathroom). We sidled up and grabbed a few beers. They also had Jameson Black label so of course a shot was in order. After all, it was 2:30 in our hometown. We chatted with the bartenders, one who was from PA and really missed thunderstorms. She slept through the one they had in 5 years last year.

We met a lovely man from England and made arrangements to mail our cigarette packs to him. I wish I had known there would not be a pack of Light Green American Spirits anywhere in Alaska. He needed them for his collection so we agreed to send them on.We had a few beverages and our new friend was a bit "pissed" as he put it. he told us he was on the Noordam. I told him he means the Westerdam...he knew it was HAL. Anyway, back to the boat. We get to our balcony and much to my surprise, the Noordam was parked behind us. Here I was in a panic, thinking about the poor man I convinced that he couldn't be on the Noordam! We watched the sea planes come and go and set sail. Tonight was the Pinnacle Grill!!!

A little spa time and I got dressed and ready to go while Hubby snoozed. He told me to go on and he would meet me. I get to the Pinnacle and they tell me I have reservations at Cannaletto tonight. I told them it was impossible, because I had cancelled our Canaletto on Tuesday when we were supposed to go. No worries...it being formal night, the place was pretty empty.

Hubby arrives and quickly slips into his seat. He couldn't find the shoes we rented (I should have taken them out of the bag) so he wore his black sandals with black socks. I am sure the formal Gods were groaning and readying the lightening rods.

I had the heirloom tomato salad and the steak tartare. Jim (easier than hubby) had some sort of seafood bisque and crab cakes . The seafood bisque was again more or a puree with no bits of seafood. I enjoyed my items. Jim got the cedar planked halibut with shrimp scampi and I opted for the Porterhouse, rare. We split brussell sprouts and truffle aoili fries. They also brought some green beans and some mushrooms. Everything was delicious and I wish I could have taken a doggy bag with me. The steak was perfect and the sprouts were cooked just right. There was absolutely no room for dessert. We hit the casino for a bit and were too full to even have a few drinks.

I am going to do a whole post reviewing the drink menu since I can't remember what I had which night!

[LBM]

Please hurry with the next excerpt of your trip! This is the most excited I have been about our first cruise (Westerdam, June 20.) Thanks for your insights!

[LovetheSea]

Loving your review, so far. I like that it is so detailed. I will be on the Westerdam this Saturday. I have been to Alaska a few times on cruises. But never on Holland. Did you ever win at the casino? I never hear of anyone winning.

[bjarrett7]

I am really enjoying your review! Thanks. For taking the time to write it.

[clogaltocruise]

Last month I won a $900 jackpot and my b-i-l won 3 jackpots. One was large enough that he had to sign an IRS form.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[phabric]

Last month I won a $900 jackpot and my b-i-l won 3 jackpots. One was large enough that he had to sign an IRS form.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

was it the slots?

[clogaltocruise]

Yes, all were slots. :-)

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[Tiffany18]

When are formal nights?

[clogaltocruise]

I haven't seen any information yet. On my past 7-day Alaska itineraries, formal nights were Sunday & Thursday.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[callmebetty]

We just got back from a tractor trailer tournament so my review went on hiatus.

Formal nights were Sunday (Sea Day) and Thursday (Ketchikan Day).

We did not win anything major in the casino, other than a few decent bonus games on More Chiliis and the USpin machine (2-3 hundred each time). Most of it went back to Let It Ride.

We did have a blast, but to me, cruising is all about who you cruise with. Jim and I have a good time (or try to) wherever we go so a cruise pretty much guarantees a good time in my book!

I will do the last days review and the drink reviews tomorrow. Have to tend to my sunburn!

[callmebetty]

Drink review- I tried to get through the whole drink menu, but excluded drinks with gin or spiced rum as a star ingredient. I will go in menu order

Drink of the day

Twilight Zone -typical cruise drink. It is a pinkish orange color and reminds me of St. Josephs's aspirin.

Alaskan Ice Tea- A typical Long Island Iced Tea with curacao instead of coke on sour.

Ice Cool Aid- sweet. A little more fruity than a midori sour.

Glacier Blue Martini- didn't finish it. Not a fan, probably because it was a bit warm.

Arctic Kiss- house vodka with champagne...really what could go wrong? You take some warm vodka and dump champagne over the top. I had them add OJ to it and still struggled.

Tat-Hattan- didn't try it, ran out of time.

Klondike cooler- whiskey and bubbles with a bit of sweetness.

Signature Cocktails

Hand Shaken Cuban Mojito- your average Mojito. The mint was not muddled so much as shaken. I had 1.

Fresh Lime Margarita- It was on par with your typical Mexican restaurant chain (at least here in CT).

Epic Spiced Daiquiris- Capt. Morgan and I are not friends- pass.

Tropical Cable Car- another cruise ship staple. Similar to the taste of the Twilight zone with a hint of coconut.

Champagne dreams- I had it classic. It was a mimosa.

Tropical Specialties

Sexy Citrus Cosmopolitan- It was a cosmo. Not much else to write about

Fresh Lemon Drop- Again, a typical lemon vodka drink.

Tuscan Lemon Drop- a lemony martini with sprigs of rosemary that poked you in the nose when you took a sip. The rosemary did not influence the drink at all.

Fashionista- This became my go to drink. It was not too sweet, slightly tart, and it made me say "oh crap" when I got down to my last sip since it was gone. On our last night, the bartender in Northern Lights actually shook it with fresh raspberries which made it even more delicious.

Pomegranate Ginger Drop- I loved it. I could have done without the 1 inch granulated sugar rim, but the easy way around it was to sip from the same location each time. It wasn't very sweet and had a slight ginger flavor. It was very enjoyable to drink.

Fresh Tropa Mango Mojito- sounded too sweet. Skip.

Frosty Chocolate Mint Buss- an adult chocolate milkshake. Consume one in place of a meal. It was delicious, but very filling and quite pleasing to the eye.

Sophisticated Retro Favorites

Tanqueray Martini- Skipped

Mediterranean Martini- ouch. blew our my taste buds. Didn't finish...too grainy

Sparkling Bellini Manhattan- bar ran out of red vermouth so it was a no go.

Royal Manhattan-See above post (I was crunched for time)

Skinny Berry Citrus Rita- where do I being? The description is "Fresh raspberries with premium Cabo Wabo Silver tequila and our special skinny lime sour fruity and sugar free take on our classic margarita". I ordered this at 2 different bars. They did not use Cabo Wabo, they did not use fresh raspberries, and by no stretch would it ever be sugar free, It was overly syrupy and sweet and I did not enjoy it.

Strawberry Basil Belisimo- again the same strawberry blend from a carton (like what they use for Oasis machines). No detectable basil except for the leaf the placed on top of the beverage.

Poolside Delights

We didn't spend much time by the pool...but I tried some drinks!

Sunsicle- Again tasted like the Twiliight Zone....St. Joseph's aspirin...that vanilla orange flavor...not terrible, but not worth a second drink

Skip the next few...

Cucumber Lime Smash- Depended on who you got it from. Sometimes it was great, other times, it was cucumber slices floating on the top. I really enjoyed it when they actually smashed the cucumbers.

Signature Cocktail List

Cosmo Cuban- A bit more interesting than the Sexy Cosmo.

Ultra Strawberry Lemonade- Sour mix with strawberry syrup and house vodka. Why hype it up?

Blue Coco Mojito- a slightly blue, slightly tropical mojito. I again missed the muddles limes.

Luxury Espresso Martini- This was a quality beverage. Come to think of it, every beverage I had in the Crow's Nest was. It was shaken within an inch of its life and perfect.

Red Stag Derby- A mint julep with a slight cherry flavor. Nice and clean!

Wine Country Collins- The fresh grapes make this drink! The first one I had prompted 2 others at the bar to order it. When I ordered it again and the bar was out of grapes, it tasted like cardboard.

Gin's Cup- Skipped it.

Strawberries and Bubbles- The description "Fresh strawberries and vodka with champagne top..." substitute fresh strawberries with strawberry syrup from a carton and you have this drink. Much better than the Arctic Kiss, but I barely finished one.

Bengal Banshee- Not a fan of nutmeg- skipped.

 

That is my take on the drink menu. There were good, bad, and downright ugly. It is all subject to the drinker. I hate those corn-syrupy drinks. but you might like them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I can only speak for myself.

[margaretlb]

Thanks so much for your review. I'll be taking the same cruise on August 15th with my daughter and looking forward to a great cruise. My first on HAL and her first cruise. She was ecstatic to see the Campari on the bar menu... she's a Negroni gal :)

The Canaletto menu that I've seen doesn't impress but we'll decide on ship if we'll take the free dinner. We're looking forward to PG - we have a compted dinner and I also reserved for dinner on the night we've cruised Glacier Bay.