Review: To Denali and Back, July 22 - Aug. 12, 2018

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 10 (Cont.)

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s When and Where:

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 10 (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the When and Where:

 

 

 

 

And, here is the MDR gala dinner menu:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 11, Scenic Cruising Inside Passage

 

Our sunny weather did not hold, and the cruise south on the Inside Passage was overcast with some showers and mist. I did take a couple of photos to show what the scenery is like in the area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I don’t have many scenic photos, I will post some more from Noordam. One of the things I was interested in was seeing the Retreat on Noordam; the last time we sailed on her several years ago, there was no Retreat. I went up there after we went back aboard in Ketchikan since it was sunny. I was surprised not to find the cabana-like things I've seen on other ships, but rather an open area with loungers, and tables and chairs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 11 (Cont.)

 

I also went aft to take photos of the Seaview pool and bar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 11 (Cont.)

 

Here is a photo of the Explorations Café library area on deck 3:

 

 

 

 

And to finish off, photos of the Ocean Bar, where we were delighted to run across an old friend, bartender Dora, with who we had sailed on two previous cruises. We also were very happy to run across bartender Chris in the Crow’s Nest, with whom we had also sailed before. We were taken well care of in the bars :D.

 

The Ocean Bar was different than the one on Westerdam, in that the bar area was on the port side, in the larger area of the bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 11 (Cont.)

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s When and Where:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 11 (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the When and Where:

 

 

 

 

And, here is the MDR dinner menu:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Aug. 12, debarkation

 

We approached Vancouver early morning on Sunday. We went out on the Lido deck aft to watch the passage under the Lion’s Gate Bridge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We pulled into Canada Place a short time after that. Here is the Voyage Log for the Noordam cruise.

 

 

 

 

We had arranged with our PCC before the cruise to take the direct bus transfer from the ship to SeaTac airport in Seattle. Early in the cruise on Noordam, we confirmed we were going to do that and filled out the Canadian landing card and returned it to the front desk. Our disembarkation package had brown luggage tags and directions to report to the show lounge where we would be called separately from other passengers. Those with buses to Vancouver airport also reported to the show lounge.

 

We learned the bus to SeaTac was available only to U.S. citizens. We waited until our bags had been loaded on our bus, and then were led ashore to the bus. We did not show passports to Canadian officials. We were the second of two buses headed to SeaTac. Our bus driver told us that we were now in a sealed bus and could not stop until we reached the U.S. border at Blaine.

 

So, we drove through Vancouver and suburbs and some countryside until we got to Blaine, where we got in the line for buses. It turns out we spent an hour at Blaine, because several regular public transport buses and vans had arrived ahead of us and the passengers had had to get out and take their luggage inside for customs and passport inspection. Eventually, border agents came to the HAL buses, and checked our passport photos against our faces. They then collected the passports, went inside the building to process them, and brought them back out to us. We did not have to get off the bus; in fact, we were not allowed to do so. Luckily, the bus was equipped with a toilet.

 

After clearing Blaine, we headed directly to SeaTac, encountering some construction delays going though Seattle downtown area. But, we arrived at Seatac about five hours after we left Vancouver. Our bags were unloaded from the bus, and we claimed them on the pavement in the bus parking area and walked into the terminal. Most of the passengers were headed to flights. DW and I were almost home, and instead we headed for the Link light rail station to catch a train to downtown Seattle.

 

So, basically, what the deal with the bus is that HAL has worked out with the Canadian government to treat the bus as almost an elongated tunnel direct to the U.S., since before arriving in Vancouver we had spent all the time in U.S. ports. We thought that was very accommodating of Canada, and appreciated the direct transfer availability, without having to clear customs, get a cab to the train station and catch a public bus or late afternoon train. Most of the other passengers on the buses took the option because they could make better flight connections from Seattle than from Vancouver to wherever in the U.S. they were going.

 

In any case, unless someone has questions I might be able to answer, this concludes my review of our adventure of going to Denali and back. I hope you found it enjoyable and/or useful.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

I definitely found your reports enjoyable and accompanied by great pictures.

Many, many years ago when we were on the Ryndam, HAL had a promotion from Salmon, Etc. we took advantage of it and bought smoked salmon from them. To this day we are still buying smoked salmon from them.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Dave, I really, really enjoyed this excellent, comprehensive review of your trip. You included a lot of information that should be very useful for future Alaska cruisers. And, your photos are beautiful. Thank you.

[fatcat04]

Thanks again Dave. Great job. I so enjoyed it. :)

The info on the bus transfer from ship to SeaTac is especially valuable. (y)

[kftw]

Thank you for your review.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Dave

The last couple of times we were in Ketchikan, we were also assigned the new Pier 4. There were free shuttles to take us into town -- not just for the crew but for everyone. One time we took the shuttles -- really great. The second time it was raining hard and we stayed on the ship.

The last time we were on the Noordam, there were cabanas on the ship. I remember people mentioning about a year or so ago that winds damaged the cabanas and they were removed.

SO -- is HAL still charging people just to sit in that area?

[rajkr74]

Dave, again another great and informative review of your cruise. We always enjoy your reviews and the information they provide, thanks. Hope life in the Northwest is going good for you and Cathy?

Rick & Joyce

[RetiredMustang]

Hi Dave

The last couple of times we were in Ketchikan, we were also assigned the new Pier 4. There were free shuttles to take us into town -- not just for the crew but for everyone. One time we took the shuttles -- really great. The second time it was raining hard and we stayed on the ship.

The last time we were on the Noordam, there were cabanas on the ship. I remember people mentioning about a year or so ago that winds damaged the cabanas and they were removed.

SO -- is HAL still charging people just to sit in that area?

 

Yes, the shuttles were free for everyone, it's just that I noticed that a lot of the crew took advantage of the opportunity to stock up at Walmart.

 

So far as the Retreat, nobody asked me to pay to go there and there were no signs to make myself scarce - it's apparently now just an outside deck where you could take food or drink or just sit and enjoy the scenery, much like the Lido aft or Seaview decks.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Dave, again another great and informative review of your cruise. We always enjoy your reviews and the information they provide, thanks. Hope life in the Northwest is going good for you and Cathy?

Rick & Joyce

 

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. We are enjoying retirement in the Seattle area very much, and also getting together with our sons often. We have been doing more cruising, now that I am retired. Hope all is well with you two.

 

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes, the shuttles were free for everyone, it's just that I noticed that a lot of the crew took advantage of the opportunity to stock up at Walmart.

 

So far as the Retreat, nobody asked me to pay to go there and there were no signs to make myself scarce - it's apparently now just an outside deck where you could take food or drink or just sit and enjoy the scenery, much like the Lido aft or Seaview decks.

 

Dave

 

 

Thank you. I figured when HAL didn't replace the cabanas that the area could be used by anyone.

[ellbelle]

Thank you for your comprehensive review, enjoyed it very much. I apologize if you covered this already as I had not looked at the menus until your last post....

 

The $25 dining room surcharge for the special seafood menu, is that eligible for the Mariners discount as the specialty restaurants are?

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[RetiredMustang]

...The $25 dining room surcharge for the special seafood menu, is that eligible for the Mariners discount as the specialty restaurants are?

 

…

 

I don't know the answer to that, sorry. I was never interested in it, so I never thought to ask.

 

Dave

[erewhon]

Really enjoy your cruise reviews and photos, thank you again.

[Lido deck main]

Thank you very much for sharing. Great information and photos.