Live and life from Nieuw Amsterdam's third Alaska sailing

[Dismomx5]

16 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

So does that mean the contract with Microsoft is over with?

I'm sad about this because I spent many an hour doing the Microsoft lessons on various ships on sea days. I'm quite competent on the computer, but I always learned something! I do, however, realize that using shared computers at sea during a pandemic is probably not the wisest of things to do. 😉

[Brentt_M]

28 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Copper, great inside reporting and thanks for the beautiful descriptions of the route. 

 

Question re:  Juneau.  You mentioned that many crew members had been released from Covid restrictions and went ashore in Juneau.  The Juneau webcam showed some great close-ups  of a variety of people disembarking.  There seemed to be two gangways.  Lots of touristy cruisers getting off on the main gangway but the other gangway further forward showed what looked like crew, others with suitcases, and some older couples who looked like HAL regulars going ashore.  In order to promote distancing, does the ship have a process to keep people from bunching up in the ship walkways and stairways as they rush to go ashore?  

On last weeks cruise the answer is no. I posted some pictures of the stairwells as we were waiting to get off in a port in last weeks live thread. Just as crowded and packed as precovid.

 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

On 8/9/2021 at 7:44 PM, aliaschief said:

We ate lunch at Tracy’s Crab and stuffed ourselves on their Crab legs and rode the tram up atop Mt. Roberts.

 

Today when talking to our great concierge Hector he told us he is the first one to be assigned permanent Neptune Lounge concierge. There will be no more rotation between Front Desk and Neptune. Hector is from Columbia and is a keeper.

 

 

 

I agree about Hector.  He was very helpful.  Also we had cruised with him on the Veendam in 2019.

[jhsocal]

Cooper, is there still a printed copy of schedule for the next on bed each evening?

Is Catholic Mass still offered? Thank you for answering all our questions.

[NavArch64]

From last week's onboard experience .... yes, When and Where every evening on the bed .... and yes, Mass everyday onboard, typically at 5:00 pm in the Hudson room deck 3 fwd port side.

[atexsix]

1 hour ago, Brentt_M said:

On last weeks cruise the answer is no. I posted some pictures of the stairwells as we were waiting to get off in a port in last weeks live thread. Just as crowded and packed as precovid.

 

 

I'm so glad somebody asked this, I wondered who the old couples were getting off at the crew gangway as well.  Maybe they showed up in the wrong place?

[aliaschief]

57 minutes ago, jhsocal said:

Cooper, is there still a printed copy of schedule for the next on bed each evening?

Is Catholic Mass still offered? Thank you for answering all our questions.

Not Copper . Yes along with chocolates. No towel animals but we may have told our outstanding cabin stewards they didn’t need to.

[rwmiller]

1 hour ago, Brentt_M said:

On last weeks cruise the answer is no. I posted some pictures of the stairwells as we were waiting to get off in a port in last weeks live thread. Just as crowded and packed as precovid.

 

 

On the 7/24 cruise there were a couple of ports where they disembarked passengers from both gangways. I remember specifically them opening the forward gangway in Ketchikan as we were waiting to head down the stairs and several people headed forward. Reboarding was a different story; they clearly only allowed crew on the forward gangway.

 

Bob

[Traveling Dot]

12 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Not Copper . Yes along with chocolates. No towel animals but we may have told our outstanding cabin stewards they didn’t need to.

On the July 31st cruise they gave us the Where and When but no chocolates.  Maybe because we weren't in a Neptune Suite?

[jhsocal]

Thank  you for the answers .Happy to learn both are still available. 

[boze9999]

Copper - who is Hector's Neptune Lounge colleague? Is that person "permanent" too?

[Coffeeluvr05]

Being a new HAL cruiser, it seems that there have been a lot of inconsistent things since the startup.  I imagine that is true for all of the cruise lines.  I do hope that things start to improve.  

 

I have been looking at the Dining Room menu each day on the navigator app to get a feel for what we can expect and it seems to change each day for dinner, but not for breakfast and lunch.  Is that normal for lunch to be the same menu every day?  Breakfast I get.  It's kind of hard to change that up much.  Just wondering.  

 

Also, does anyone know what the difference is between a large ocean view room and a non large or standard ocean view room is?  Ours is the large version, but I mean how big can it be?

 

Just waiting for my test results and Saturday to come now...

[Cruizer Bill]

On 8/9/2021 at 5:30 PM, aliaschief said:

Presently 80% and it may remain at that level for awhile is what we have heard here onboard.

I would not be surprised if a noticeable number of people cancelled and the rate fell to 70% or less.  We are not canceling.....

[Cruizer Bill]

How is the masking going?  Is it impacting your cruise experience?

[aliaschief]

35 minutes ago, Cruizer Bill said:

How is the masking going?  Is it impacting your cruise experience?

Absolutely not. Other than having to wear the mask we are having a normal cruise with outstanding  service. We have not eaten in MDR and in only specialty restaurants. I believe they have their A-team on- board.

 

Internet has improved but we have not had live TV stations entire cruise. Said it’s hard to get a signal up here in Alaska.

 

Favorite watering hole is Tamarind Lounge. Quiet, not crowded and great views.

 

Average temp has been 58 F and grey skies and misty.

[Torquer]

42 minutes ago, Cruizer Bill said:

How is the masking going?  Is it impacting your cruise experience?

In a bunch of the photos from the cruise, I see a significant number of people not wearing masks.  Please tell us how much it is being enforced.

[aliaschief]

57 minutes ago, Torquer said:

In a bunch of the photos from the cruise, I see a significant number of people not wearing masks.  Please tell us how much it is being enforced.

The first two cruises did not require mask once inside the ship. This cruise, the one I’m on does require mask inside the ship when moving around. Once at dinner table or at lounge folks remove their mask. There is a sign as one enters the Showroom that mask are required. Majority do but there are some who don’t comply. I have not witnessed any “mask” police going around confronting offenders.

 

Like today in Sitka we have had two ramps for disembark and I would have to say the vast majority mask upon exiting and embarking ship.

 

The state of Alaska has requested that we mask up while inside businesses and mask  is required while using public transportation. On the shuttle bus today I saw one person not complying.

 

Then there are those who failed 101 course on how to wear a mask.

[Coffeeluvr05]

According to HAL, masks are not a hard requirement everywhere, all the time:

 

MASKS & PHYSICAL DISTANCING
We strongly encourage guests wear face masks when in public spaces indoors. ALL guests will be required to wear a face mask – with no exceptions – in elevators and in designated indoor entertainment areas, all retail shops, and in the casino except when eating or drinking. Guests will also be required to wear face masks prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the buffet area, and occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate. As a reminder, masks are required during embark and debark in the terminal, and masks should also be worn during the debarkation process on board.

[kam-ky]

For Pinnacle Grill, has anyone been able to order off-menu ?    I'm really bummed that the 18 oz ribeye has been removed, and wondered if it could still be available...

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Being a new HAL cruiser, it seems that there have been a lot of inconsistent things since the startup.  I imagine that is true for all of the cruise lines.  I do hope that things start to improve.  

 

I have been looking at the Dining Room menu each day on the navigator app to get a feel for what we can expect and it seems to change each day for dinner, but not for breakfast and lunch.  Is that normal for lunch to be the same menu every day?  Breakfast I get.  It's kind of hard to change that up much.  Just wondering.  

 

Also, does anyone know what the difference is between a large ocean view room and a non large or standard ocean view room is?  Ours is the large version, but I mean how big can it be?

 

Just waiting for my test results and Saturday to come now...

Pre-COVID the breakfast menu was always static (and did not have the indulge items). Lunch changed daily. The new lunch menu looks a bit larger then the pre-COVID menu but stays the same every day. I can definitely understand with the current food sourcing issues. Hope as things resume more they go back to changing daily. 

[taxmantoo]

2 hours ago, aliaschief said:

The first two cruises did not require mask once inside the ship. This cruise, the one I’m on does require mask inside the ship when moving around...

 

1 hour ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

According to HAL, masks are not a hard requirement everywhere, all the time:

 

MASKS & PHYSICAL DISTANCING
We strongly encourage guests wear face masks when in public spaces indoors. ALL guests will be required to wear a face mask – with no exceptions – in elevators and in designated indoor entertainment areas, all retail shops, and in the casino except when eating or drinking. Guests will also be required to wear face masks prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the buffet area, and occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate. As a reminder, masks are required during embark and debark in the terminal, and masks should also be worn during the debarkation process on board.

This definitely does not seem to be headed in the right direction  😒 

[idiebabe]

5 hours ago, Traveling Dot said:

On the July 31st cruise they gave us the Where and When but no chocolates.  Maybe because we weren't in a Neptune Suite?

We had the chocolates in a Verandah Room on July 24th.  We didn’t have Towel Animals.  

[aliaschief]

5 hours ago, boze9999 said:

Copper - who is Hector's Neptune Lounge colleague? Is that person "permanent" too?

Just saw her and asked her whether the assistant is also permanent? Answer no they will still rotate from Front Desk. Didn’t get a good look at her name tag.

[boze9999]

8 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Just saw her and asked her whether the assistant is also permanent? Answer no they will still rotate from Front Desk. Didn’t get a good look at her name tag.

Thanks for asking - that makes sense - it allows the front desk personnel to trains and to aspire to be the next "Hector"!

 

[aliaschief]

Okay this is my big tip for the cruise. If you wear glasses/sunglasses purchase some eyeware anti fog wipes. When wearing a mask this has been a irritating occurrence.

 

Special thanks to Harry’s Pharmacy in Sitka for having some spray in stock.