Maybe live from the Nieuw Amsterdam's fourth Alaska cruise, 2021

[Boytjie]

And the sun is out!

 

[jhsocal]

Add our best wishes for a wonderful cruise. will be interesting to see if there are any changes from the previous cruises. Any idea what capacity percentage is on this cruise? Believe Cooper indicated 80 percent on his cruise.

[0bnxshs]

Looks like a great start Peter!  Be safe and enjoy. 🙂

[Copper10-8]

37 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

And the sun is out!

 

 

 

Good to see you are able to post this, pic et all! Enjoy!

[TrulyLoveCruising]

2 hours ago, Boytjie said:

So we just tried the 

Mariners Cocktail and I kinda like it!

St-Germain liqueur

Soda water 

Sparkling wine

My Mariners cocktail was whatever I wanted from the bar. 

[TrulyLoveCruising]

Thank you for your posting. Already miss being on board. 341 days until I cruise again. 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, kmacisaac said:

My Mariners cocktail was whatever I wanted from the bar. 

 

That is what it ought to be.  A "freebie" that one does not want is not worth much to me.  

[Boytjie]

12 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That is what it ought to be.  A "freebie" that one does not want is not worth much to me.  

Since we have the beverage packages anyway and can get almost whatever we want, I decided to try the special concoction,  I mean cocktail! Research… for my CC friends! 😆

[njsonja]

Can someone tell me about the mask situation?  Is it all over the ship constantly?  Thank you in advance.

[Boytjie]

I noticed the “fire door” near our cabin was closed and did not think much about it but upon investigation, both sides forward on deck 4 are off limits to passengers, so about 40 cabins are not used. 
 

I am assuming it might be set aside for any quarantining that may be needed. (Everything from 4039/4040 forward is unaccessible.)

Edited August 15, 2021 by Boytjie

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

I decided to try the special concoction,  I mean cocktail! Research… for my CC friends! 😆

 

Enjoy your research!  😁

[Boytjie]

1 minute ago, njsonja said:

Can someone tell me about the mask situation?  Is it all over the ship constantly?  Thank you in advance.

We are supposed to wear masks when indoors, obviously not while eating or drinking. 
 

For the most part people are adhering to that but there are some not wearing it. That varies from one location to another and can be different at various times of the day. 

[NextOne]

16 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

Since we have the beverage packages anyway and can get almost whatever we want, I decided to try the special concoction,  I mean cocktail! Research… for my CC friends! 😆

We appreciate your dedication !!😁😁

[idiebabe]

8 hours ago, Boytjie said:

Looking at the boarding photosI see a few others brought them onboard too!

 

A few of the stems got bent in our dash to drop the rental off at the airport but they were repurposed in the bathroom. 
 

 

I see the Elemis bottles.  We were in a Verandah on Deck 7 and instead of Elemis bottles we had an Elemis Dispenser next to a Hand Soap Dispenser.  Does your Room have the Elemis Dispenser?   I thought the Elemis Dispenser was something that may have been added during the Pause.   Thanks!

[idiebabe]

4 hours ago, Boytjie said:

I noticed the “fire door” near our cabin was closed and did not think much about it but upon investigation, both sides forward on deck 4 are off limits to passengers, so about 40 cabins are not used. 
 

I am assuming it might be set aside for any quarantining that may be needed. (Everything from 4039/4040 forward is unaccessible.)

Another Poster posted that Deck 4 FWD  is  where the Crew is Quarantined when they join the Ship.  The Passengers are Quarantined Deck 6 FWD if suspected of or have Covid.  

[Boytjie]

41 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

Another Poster posted that Deck 4 FWD  is  where the Crew is Quarantined when they join the Ship.  The Passengers are Quarantined Deck 6 FWD if suspected of or have Covid.  

Thanks for the explanation! I did not see that post. 

 

46 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

I see the Elemis bottles.  We were in a Verandah on Deck 7 and instead of Elemis bottles we had an Elemis Dispenser next to a Hand Soap Dispenser.  Does your Room have the Elemis Dispenser?   I thought the Elemis Dispenser was something that may have been added during the Pause.   Thanks!

Yes, there is a soap dispenser, which I am OK with. The bar soap always get mushy!

 

What is interesting is that there is a dispenser for lotion, but also two small bottles of it. 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Boytjie

[HAL4NOW]

5 hours ago, Boytjie said:

We are supposed to wear masks when indoors, obviously not while eating or drinking. 

Last time I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam I had the quench beverage package and most of the time (even while walking around the ship) I had a strawberry smoothie or some other concoction with me. Does that count as eating and drinking time without a need for masks;) ?

[Boytjie]

9 minutes ago, HAL4NOW said:

Last time I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam I had the quench beverage package and most of the time (even while walking around the ship) I had a strawberry smoothie or some other concoction with me. Does that count as eating and drinking time without a need for masks;) ?

It will be very difficult to enjoy that through a mask!

 

At home in New York I have seen people enjoy a cup of coffee on the subway for many stops, mask off. I would not do that; I would wait to drink anything until I was in a less enclosed area or if I needed to, take it off, take a sip and put it right back. 

[Boytjie]

Day 2 on the NADM. 

 

After a good night’s sleep onboard the dam ship, we had a leisurely day  

 

Started the day with coffee from the Explorations Cafe then breakfast in the Lido. 
 

We attended the Coffee with the  Cruise and Travel Director and then saw Valerie again at the EXC session about whales. She is amazing!:

Soon it was time for lunch and we stayed with the Asian selection which today featured Indonesian dishes. It was amazing. We spent some time chatting with Akbar, working in our section. We talked about the experience for the crew to not be working during the pandemic and not earning anything and about the experience of coming back to the ships. Such different perspectives between crew and passengers: for us it is the first vacation in two years and for us a year and a half of working from home. We ate grateful to be away from home and the work from home and they are grateful for being able to work. 
 

in the afternoon we attended the CC Meet and Greet arranged by Karen @luvteaching  Spoke with a few people but did not meet everyone. 
 

Soon after the LGBTs met again in the Gallery Bar and we got to meet a few new people. 
 

Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill. Appetizers of the candied bacon and steak tartare were delicious. both were excellent.
 

As main course Richard ordered the braised short ribs and I ordered the beef tenderloin with lobster dumplings. The pasta with the short ribs were al dente and they made us a new batch. The sides of beets and of asparagus were yum! 

 

Richard opted out of dessert and I had the creme brûlée which had an amazing crust!

 

After dinner we walked around a bit before having a nightcap in the Gallery Bar. 
 

The sun came out this afternoon  and the forecast  for Juneau looks better for tomorrow.
 

Well, looking forward to bear watching in Juneau!
 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Boytjie

[puppycanducruise]

Yum.  That Pinnacle Grill dinner sounds, and looks, great.

Thanks for sharing.

[Lido deck main]

Nice treat for Pinnacle Dinner.  Hope you have a good day in Juneau.

[idiebabe]

9 hours ago, Boytjie said:

Thanks for the explanation! I did not see that post. 

 

Yes, there is a soap dispenser, which I am OK with. The bar soap always get mushy!

 

What is interesting is that there is a dispenser for lotion, but also two small bottles of it. 

 

Thanks, Peter!  We liked it, too, and agree those little bars of soap gets mushy!  

 

Love your "Live" and can't wait to read more!  😀

[Sharon in AZ]

I’m really enjoying your reports and pictures!  Thank you!

[Viklynn]

I am more excited to be aboard this ship come Sept 11th after reading all the post and seeing the great pictures. We are also booked at the Mediterranean Inn the night before. Our first cruise to Alaska and with Holland.  Beyond ready to be cruising again 😁

[Boytjie]

Day 3 on the NADM. 

 

This will be a short report: the wifi is horrible today, I am tired and tomorrow is an early morning heading into Glacier Bay.  

 

I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up and looked outside: no rain, some low clouds and flat waters.  

 

After breakfast we grabbed some blankets and lounged on the Promenade deck. (We were the only ones to do so). At times the sun even broke through and there were patches of blue skies. Better than the 50% chance of rain predicted a few days. ago.

Once docked in Juneau we had lunch in the Lido, which before docking was the busiest I have seen it. Our excursion meet-up wasn’t till 2 pm.  

 

We booked with Alaska Humpback Adventures and there were six of us on the boat: the two of us, two from the Millennium and two visiting a friend in Juneau. Captain Steve was amazing! Knowledgable and out to make our day the best it can be. He guaranteed three hours on the water.  We saw a good number of whales and even a mom and her calf.  We also saw sea lions playing with a calf.

 

The two people from the Millie asked if he thought there would be enough time after our excursion to go to Mendenhall Glacier. He offered to drop them off there and to ensure they had transportation arranged fir their return to the ship. In the end they opted to just do a look and we did not mind so Steve let us walk around for 15 minutes before taking us back to our ships.

 

I was shocked at how far the glacier had retreated in the 14 years since we saw it.   

 

Before getting back on the boat we popped into Devil City Brewery and each had a flight of three beers to taste.

 

Back on board we opted for dinner in the Lido and then an early night to get up early for Glacier Bay.

 

I bid you goodnight!