Amsterdam

[richwmn]

Good afternoon from Seattle and ms Amsterdam.

lll haAs I have on my last few cruises, I will attempt to give a blow by blow account of this wonderful 14 day cruise to Alaska.

Pre-Cruise Stay in Seattle

I actually arrived in Seattle on Saturday afternoon. Our group had a limo to take us to the hotels and he was on time and did a fine job of transporting us. Saturday evening was relaxing and trying to get used to the time change. Sunday was a nice long lunch at Anthony's at Pier 66. This is a very nice place to sit and eat while watching those who are embarking on various cruise ships. The Bliss was right outside and it was interesting to watch embarkation from the outside.

Embarkation

This morning was a limo ride from the hotels to Pier 91. It was a short ride and handled well by the limo driver. Because the limo driver arrived early and we were ready, we arrived at Pier 91 about 10:20, and didn't get to enter the building for quite a while. Once the doors opened the process was quick and easy as we are all 4*.  The ship looks very nice.

Today

There is a Captain's Welcome Party going on right now. Due to the number of high star Mariners aboard it was split into 2 sessions of about an hour each. It is being held in the Crows Nest. The muster drill is at 3:15 followed by sail away at 4:00.

The Cabin

I have my normal outside cabin, it is 3371 and pictures were sent to HALfacts earlier. The only thing to really note is that Amsterdam has not received the large TV upgrades, at least not in this cabin, and still has the smallish TV and DVD player, along with the Ship Flicks booklet of movies to check out from the front desk. As expected, no cooler and just a Coke and water setup for the Mini Bar.

Tonight's MDR menu is included, have a great day!

 

 

03JuneDinner.pdf

[Sir PMP]

Looking forward to hear your story, picked the right ship..

[FlorenceItaly]

Fabulous!  Thank you.  We will be on the 51 day Tales of the South Pacific later this year in an obstructed OV (3426).  It will be our first time on the Amsterdam.   We are disappointed to hear about the TV's.  Since the Amsterdam is the flagship for the World Cruise you would think the rooms would be updated.  Looking forward to hearing ALL about the ship and this great cruise you are on.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and thank you for taking us along!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looking forward to your reports.

 

Glad you have arrived safely in Seattle and now safely on the ship.

[echoshipmate]

Thank for taking us with you. Will will be doing b2b on Amsterdam starting July 29. We have done this trip before and you are really getting me excited to go again. Btw, the menu for tonite looks great!

[kazu]

Thanks for the report and the menu Rich.

 

Definitely  some differences on it from my cruise just a month ago.

 

Looking forward to hearing more when you have time.

 

Have a great time 😄 

[highland cruiser]

Thank you.  Looking forward to your report on the Amsterdam.  We board in September for a 14 day trip.  

 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

As I will be doing this same itinerary on less than 2 months I will be following your posts intensely :)  Many Thanks for posting the menus.  Hopefully the rotation will not change as it will help us plan specialty dining in advance!  If you can post the "When & Where's" as well that would be awesome!

[lindaler]

We should be on the same cruise later this season. Glad to see your report to get us ready for the trip.

[BermudaBound2014]

Following 

[lindaler]

1 hour ago, echoshipmate said:

Thank for taking us with you. Will will be doing b2b on Amsterdam starting July 29. We have done this trip before and you are really getting me excited to go again. Btw, the menu for tonite looks great!

We will be on the July 29th sailing for 14 days. I am not sure what a b2b means. I went to the roll call and there are very few so I'm really glad for your reports on the trip. Thanks Rich.

 

 

I am very interested in the menus, daylight( is it ever dark) any new additions to the ship? It has been years since we sailed so I am very excited to be back on the first ship I ever cruised on. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by lindaler
clarity

[JudithLynne]

Thank you so much for sharing, we will be this cruise on 6-17, the day you disembark.  I will be reading your posts with great interest.  Could you tell me what time is early fixed dining?

 

[richwmn]

For our enjoyment tonight:

In the Wajang Theater - Creed II (Rocky Series)

On the Main Stage: EXC Talk: Discovering Ketchikan, Juneau, and Icy Strait Point with Jeanette.

Ocean Bar: The Ocean Trio with sets at 6:00, 7:45, and 8:45

Ocean Bar: Singles and Solos meet 8:30

Piano Bar: Wally B from 8:45 till close

Explorers Lounge: Adagio returns tomorrow.

Crows Nest: Dance to the hits with Isolda 10:30 til ???

 

[richwmn]

3 minutes ago, JudithLynne said:

Thank you so much for sharing, we will be this cruise on 6-17, the day you disembark.  I will be reading your posts with great interest.  Could you tell me what time is early fixed dining?

 

Fixed Dining is 5:00 pm & 7:30 pm according to today's When & Where

 

[sppunk]

Have a great trip! Those shrimp tots are pretty good - try them. 

[Moriah]

So excited to follow along with your cruise! Thank you for doing this! I will be on this same ship and itinerary in August, so this is getting me very excited.  Enjoy every minute!

 

[echoshipmate]

43 minutes ago, lindaler said:

We will be on the July 29th sailing for 14 days. I am not sure what a b2b means. I went to the roll call and there are very few so I'm really glad for your reports on the trip. Thanks Rich.

 

 

I am very interested in the menus, daylight( is it ever dark) any new additions to the ship? It has been years since we sailed so I am very excited to be back on the first ship I ever cruised on. 

b2b is a back to back, in other words, we are doing the 14 days twice, back to back. Our roll call is soooooo slow, these reports from Rich will be such fun to follow along.

Edited June 4, 2019 by echoshipmate
Spelling

[lindaler]

Wow hadn’t thought about 28 days in Alaska. That sounds incredible. 

[echoshipmate]

3 minutes ago, lindaler said:

Wow hadn’t thought about 28 days in Alaska. That sounds incredible. 

Yes wonderful way to be in such beautiful country, and we can do something different in the ports, or the same, 2nd time around. Plus, no matter the weather in Alaska, it gets us out of the heat in Texas!

[zelker]

We're also boarding on July 29th for our third time doing this awesome 14 night itinerary!  Thanks for doing this, Rich.  Will be following along with everyone else … and meeting you on Noordam in October.  😄  

[cruises42]

Thanks for doing a review! We will be doing the same itinerary in August (our first HAL) cruise. What did you have for dinner and how was it? Will you be posting pictures?

Edited June 4, 2019 by cruises42

[erewhon]

Thank you for your "live" review.

5pm seems very early for the first dinner.

[highland cruiser]

On the last several cruises we had anytime dining.  We found a table for 4 that we liked.  Asked to have it every night between 5:30 and 5:45 and was given that option.  We sometimes ate alone or had others join us.  We enjoyed eating early so we could then enjoy the entertainment onboard.  We aren't fans of late seating as we are early morning people even when we cruise!!  We have found HAL easy to work with for dining options.  

 

[richwmn]

A couple of quick notes around the ship tonight.

 

Ocean Trio -- I watched a majority of two sets so far. The trio is very good and was playing a variety of songs. During the end of the first set two couples took to the dance floor and looked like they were having a good time. I didn't see anyone dance during the second set, but that can change later in the evening.

 

Piano Bar -- Wally B on the Piano. He is a pretty good pianist with a reasonable voice. For the short time I listened so far he played a nice mix of songs. He didn't have much of an audience, but again that might change later.

 

As of 9:00 pm the Casino was not yet able to open, so I don't know what luck I will have there.

 

Here is tonight's towel animal, along with the What & Where for today.

 

2 hours ago, cruises42 said:

What did you have for dinner and how was it? Will you be posting pictures?

Since I travel alone I generally eat in the Lido, where presentation is not a consideration so pictures are unlikely of the food. Sorry foodies. Tonight I had the always available steak and potatoes and it was very good - always is.

As far as other pictures, yes there will be some.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the review