Live from the Eurodam - July 9 Alaska - Sail with Seth

[zgscl]

Well we are all packed and ready to head off to Alaska! Can't wait to being back on the Eurodam for another trip to Alaska. Itinerary was adjusted a bit with less time in port and an earlier departure from Seattle. During the pandemic I really enjoyed living vicariously through Seth Wayne's live videos while we were all waiting for things to restart. Through a happy coincidence we switched to this sailing and discovered that it was a Sail with Seth. Very much looking forward to meeting Seth in person and seeing what the experience is like. 

 

We were able to complete VeriFLY without any issues. For anyone who did the Binax Now test, you cannot scan the QR code - you must take a picture of the test result report and upload it. They will review and approve it. Both my mom and I got ours back within 5 minutes or so. We have boarding group A and will head over to the port around 11 (12 boarding time). 

 

Pre-cruise Seth sent us several emails and there was a Zoom call that we were not able to attend. There was supposed to be a pre-cruise gathering at a restaurant but that was cancelled. Our first event will be a sail away party at 3 PM located at The Retreat.

 

Looking forward to another great HAL cruise! 

 

Sail with Seth: $50 per person 

 

About the Excursion

Holland America Line’s Brand Ambassador, Seth Wayne will be onboard Eurodam for the 7 Day Alaskan Explorer. Be part of the fun and participate in the exclusive events!

Join Seth on this unique, one time a year event!

• Virtual Events leading up to the cruise

• Pre-Cruise Event at one of Ethan Stowell’s Seattle Restaurants

• A Welcome Aboard Lanyard

• Two Complimentary Drink Parties

• Private Glacier Bay Viewing Party with Hot Chocolate, Cookies, and Dutch Pea Soup

• Photo during Glacier Bay visit taken by Onboard Photographers (one per stateroom)

• Chance to win dinner for two at Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, Canaletto and Rudi’s Sel de Mer “Pop-up” with Seth. (Raffle at Welcome Cocktail Party)

• Turndown Gifts                                                             

• More Surprises!

Notes: Space is limited. Registration for this event is on a first come, first serve basis, so please book quickly. Events pre-cruise and onboard are subject to change or cancellation.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise..

[Florida_gal_50]

Turndown gifts?  Maybe you’ll get chocolates every day 😛🤣🤪.  Have a wonderful time.  Looking forward to the excellent detail you always provide. 

[syesmar]

What a wonderful itinerary! Hope you have a great cruise, thanks for taking your time to do a “Live!”

[canadianbear]

Sounds like another fun cruise for you!  It’s a shame they are spending such short hours in Victoria.

 

Have fun with Seth!

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Turndown gifts?  Maybe you’ll get chocolates every day 😛🤣🤪.  Have a wonderful time.  Looking forward to the excellent detail you always provide. 

Ha! Perhaps that is the secret to daily chocolates 🤣

[rkacruiser]

14 hours ago, zgscl said:

Private Glacier Bay Viewing Party with Hot Chocolate, Cookies, and Dutch Pea Soup

 

This intrigues me.  Where on the ship might that be?  Maybe forward on Deck 5 which is an open deck that is open only on the Master's discretion.  It's the best open deck on the ships that have it and is very, very underused.  

 

Have a good cruise!  I will be following.  

[tundra1]

Have a great time!  Looking forward to following along on your adventure!

[*Miss G*]

Thank you for doing a live thread!  Have a wonderful time!

[Ferry_Watcher]

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Maybe forward on Deck 5 which is an open deck that is open only on the Master's discretion.  It's the best open deck on the ships that have it and is very, very underused.  

Isn't that deck reserved for ship crew?  It's designed to be hidden from general/passenger view, allowing the crew to get out and about away from passengers.  The forward deck is occasionally open to a limited class of invited passengers for special viewing opportunities.

[zgscl]

Good Evening from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Vancouver Island!

 

Embarkation was a breeze, thank goodness for VeriFLY. Seems they have learned from previous weeks and they had someone at the front of the line checking that you had received your green ready to board screen before they let you in the line at all. If you did not have it or if you had a red/orange needs verification they sent you to the general screening line. A bit of a clog to get in the line but once you were there it moved extremely quickly. At the front they verified the photo matched the traveler, and that we had our Arrive CAN. There were 15 or 20 people ahead of us and we moved through in less than 5 minutes. Very efficient. The general line for health screening was much longer. I highly recommend using VeriFLY!! 

 

After health screening we went up an escalator to security where there was absolutely no wait, and then the facial recognition check in kiosks which were again operated by someone. All we had to do was smile and show our passport. Again there was no line here. 

 

We arrived at the port around 11:10 and were through everything by 11:20. After check in we went to a large seating area to wait for boarding to start. Around 11:30 or 40 they brought through wheelchairs and then allowed all of us with group A on. Fantastic boarding altogether and extremely painless. 

 

We had a nice lunch in the Lido and then headed up to our cabana to settle in. Muster drill was very easy, same three steps - watch the video in your cabin, check in at your station & listen to the Captain's announcement. 

 

Welcome letter for the Sail with Seth - appears glacier bay viewing may very well be on the bow as it indicates it is a restricted crew only area and we are meeting deck 4 forward. 

[zgscl]

We are staying in 8162, same cabin we had last year on Nieuw Amsterdam. Absolutely fabulous aft wrap. The only downside is there is some lost closet space due to the connecting rooms. 

 

 

 

 

 

One update I noticed is that if you have the have it all, they now indicate it on your room card. Great idea as this should help a lot with the billing issues couples have when everyone's drinks go onto one card. We have handed over two cards and they have always taken/swiped both. 

 

When & Where for Seattle with yet another new format. 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Lido lunch was great. Beef/London Broil was not as good as it has been on previous embarkation days. Salmon tacos were surprisingly good. Shrimp chips were fantastic. Bread pudding exactly as I remember it. Pad Thai noodles were very good as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way up to the cabana as we had perfect cabana weather. Around 75 degrees and sunny. The family cabana is huge and I love that you have both an open air part and the plexiglass wall. Since there are only 2 of us we will have to see about rearranging the furniture a bit. 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Our first Sail with Seth event was a sail away party on deck 10 aft overlooking the Sea View Pool. Lots of fun meeting Seth and a good chance to meet some of our fellow travelers. Sparkling wine was served and Seth was great about meeting and chatting with everyone. 

 

 

MDR menu for tonight 

 

 

Our dinner tonight is in Tamarind, but we decided to stop by the MDR to see our table and meet our waiters. As it always is, our table is in a corner with absolutely no view of anything interesting. We have been upgraded from our last cruise with the view of the bus station to a view of a large pole. Will probably ask about switching tables tomorrow night. 

 

Club Orange main dish - Lemon Shrimp Fettuccini 

Excellent dish, shrimp were flavorful and the Alfredo sauce was good. Pasta served al dente. 

 

[zgscl]

Tamarind 

Not at all crowded, we had one side of the restaurant all to ourselves except for one other couple that came in towards the end of our meal. Everything was very good. Wok Seared Lobster was not as crispy as it is on other ships but still very flavorful. 

 

After dinner we went to BB Kings. They did 3 sets that were 30 minutes long. Lounge was busy but there were still seats available. Have been advised there are 1,500 passengers so roughly 70% full. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navigator app is working for NY pizza. 

[zgscl]

Well I am off to bed, lots on the agenda for tomorrow.

 

One final note and extremely privileged complaint - I absolutely hate the new W&W. 

My biggest issue is not everything is listed in the list of activities by time. All the major shows do not appear at all and you have to look on both the front and section on the third page to see when they all are. It was so much easier when there was just a list of times so if it was 2:30 you could go to 2:30 and see what was happening now and what was happening at 3. 

Another thing is that like 75% of what they list in the agenda are promoted events like the gift shop and spa stuff. They even say it is promoted. 

Also on the times for the major shows on the 3rd page the times are a bit unclear what goes with which topic. 

On the bright side I do like that it gives you an indication of how long the activity is and whether or not it is a hosted event or if they are just providing the space. 

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, zgscl said:

Bread pudding exactly as I remember it

You take it naked?? No custard sauce??  (or is it creme anglaise? 😉) 

I couldn't do that!

Enjoy your cruise! 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

We are staying in 8162, same cabin we had last year on Nieuw Amsterdam. Absolutely fabulous aft wrap. The only downside is there is some lost closet space due to the connecting rooms. 

 

 

 

 

 

One update I noticed is that if you have the have it all, they now indicate it on your room card. Great idea as this should help a lot with the billing issues couples have when everyone's drinks go onto one card. We have handed over two cards and they have always taken/swiped both. 

 

When & Where for Seattle with yet another new format. 

 

 

 

Well look at that.  They have the dining room opening at lunch on the daily program.  I remember mentioning that it’s on there and got told it’s never on there 😛.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

You take it naked?? No custard sauce??  (or is it creme anglaise? 😉) 

I couldn't do that!

Enjoy your cruise! 

 

I could . 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.  It looks like you are off to a great start!

[quilty964]

Enjoy, and thanks for taking me along!

[Brentt_M]

Thanks for sharing! Have a great trip and I will be following right behind you next week!

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, zgscl said:

- I absolutely hate the new W&W. 

 

That has been my opinion for some time.  When one compares it with Princess Patters, it is woefully lacking.

 

20 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Isn't that deck reserved for ship crew?  It's designed to be hidden from general/passenger view, allowing the crew to get out and about away from passengers.  The forward deck is occasionally open to a limited class of invited passengers for special viewing opportunities.

 

Not in my experience on the Eurodam.  There are hatches forward on Deck 5, starboard and port, that lead to this broad expanse of deck.  The port hatch seemed to be opened more regularly than the other one when we sailed in scenic areas.  The crew only area is on the lower deck and there were crew there while there were guests on the open deck space on Deck 5 above them.  

 

 

[zgscl]

On 7/10/2022 at 4:15 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

That has been my opinion for some time.  When one compares it with Princess Patters, it is woefully lacking.

 

 

Not in my experience on the Eurodam.  There are hatches forward on Deck 5, starboard and port, that lead to this broad expanse of deck.  The port hatch seemed to be opened more regularly than the other one when we sailed in scenic areas.  The crew only area is on the lower deck and there were crew there while there were guests on the open deck space on Deck 5 above them.  

 

 

It appears we will be going to a crew only area on the bow of deck 4. General viewing is the bow area on deck 5. Should be up there in a couple hours. 

 

[zgscl]

Sunday 

For breakfast we had a crab Benedict which was delicious and the pancakes. Happy to report no signs of the McDonalds hash browns. 

 

 

 

For lunch we dined in the Pinnacle Grill where everything was excellent and the service was great. The Pinnacle Burger is always a good choice.