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

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, zgscl said:

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. 

 

Good for you!  You received a very special perk!  

[zgscl]

Well I guess this will be a bit more of a review than a live thread given how busy we have been, but I will now photo dump the last week. 

 

Sunday we had our second Sail with Seth activity which was a morning coffee chat with him in the Crow's Nest (Explorations Central to be technically accurate, but it will always be the Crow's Nest to me). It was a lovely get together and Seth went over the excursions that he was doing if people wanted to join & he had held some spaces for last minute additions. Also he had previously sent out the list so you could pre-book to be on the same tour as him. He also did a giveaway which included a spot in the Icy Strait Point zip line, Tamarind dinner, PG dinner, pizza lunch, a stuffed moose, a journal or luggage tags. 

 

For our first Gala Night menu there were a few changes from the last one I recall most notably the chocolate soufflé has been moved to the second gala night. Also the crab and salmon dip was incredible. Forgot to take a picture but it was one of the best HAL dishes I have ever had.  It was also dangerously hot so check the temperature before eating. Both the lamb and stuffed shells were very good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Juneau was a full house. Eurodam & Koningsdam, plus Crown Princess, Celebrity Solstice all docked and Oceania's Regatta tendering from out in the harbor. We same did the luxury whale watching tour that we did last year and had an absolute blast. They take you out in an 8 passenger, 40 foot yacht to go searching for whales. When there is any activity they spin the boat so you can look from the back deck. There is always room for everyone to get a good view.While the excursion is on the high end of the price spectrum (~$350-400/person) it is well worth it. We had incredible luck and saw a whale breach and blow water from its spout about 40 feet from the boat. About the same distance we saw a sea lion come up and eat a salmon that was slightly too big for it so he had to struggle a bit to get it down. Absolutely amazing to watch the wildlife in their natural habitat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

When & Where for Monday

 

 

 

 

Lunch in the dining room is an express lunch due to the early arrival into Juneau. 

 

For dinner we wen to the Pinnacle Grill and had a wonderful meal. The lobster mac & cheese is not as good as the one on Koningsdam this spring, but miles ahead of the one on Zuiderdam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[syesmar]

@zgsclThanks so much for taking your time to share your reports and wonderful photos! Sounds like a fabulous cruise. 

[zgscl]

Tuesday/Glacier Bay we had a nice breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill before heading up to view from our balcony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

At 10:30 we headed up to deck 4 forward with our stickers and were escorted through a crew bar (formerly the officer's bar but now open to all team members) and on to the bow. Some very high steps over the watertight doors to get out there but absolutely the best place to view the glacier. They had several officers to meet with us as well as security to keep an eye on us. They had servers serving hot chocolate, selling drinks as well as serving cookies and Dutch Pea Soup. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

For dinner we had a very nice meal in the MDR with great service from our waiters. The Chicken Cordon Bleu was excellent. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

We arrived on time in Icy Strait Point and decided to take the Gondola up and back. If you are planning to do this, do not buy tickets on the ship - they tell you that you need a ticket and will sell you an excursion that includes a dance, but you do not need a ticket if you just want to ride the gondola, you just walk up and get on to both. . The gondola is a free ride all the way to the top. 

 

If you are riding the zip line there are two gondolas you have to take (it makes a big triangle with the zip line as the third leg). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Wednesday

The weather took a turn for the better and we decided to spend the day in our Cabana. Lots of fun watching the Queen Victoria sail into port to join us. Sitka is also drill day and we got to watch the crew lower some of the life boats and drive them around the area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

 

 

 

 

 

Delmonico steak was delicious! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

For a late night snack I decided to give Canaletto a try. The Crab Risotto was good but nothing compared to the one I had on Nieuw Amsterdam last year. The lamb was also quite good. 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

In Ketchikan we joined Seth on the Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman Tour which goes out on the Aleutian Ballad (as featured in Deadliest Catch) which has been retrofitted to take tourists out to watch crab fishing. The tour was very interesting and an absolute must for anyone who has watched any of the crab fishing shows and wanted to know more. You get to see them haul and launch pots and see some of their catch up close (virtually everything is catch and release). 

Important pro tip. The seats upstairs look really enticing and they do have a nice view. The downstairs seats have heaters on which keep you warm and are more enclosed which protects you from the wind. While they were very thoughtful and brought out multiple jackets/blankets and hot chocolate for everyone, it is a cold ride upstairs and I would not sit up there unless it was a very warm day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Although the ship departed Ketchikan at noon we were happy to see that they open the MDR for lunch on this day (Pinnacle Grill is closed). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

For dinner Seth had arranged a group of tables in the MDR for our group (second formal night). Standard menu but they provided complimentary wine and a special garnish on the desert along with some Sail with Seth toothpick holders (read shot glass). 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

All too quickly we find ourselves on the last day. 

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the Lido Cabana. While smaller then the family cabana, I think I would go this route on or next Alaska trip. The weather is just too unpredictable. The two weeks before our cruise the weather was sunny and beautiful the entire trip. On our cruise the retreat area was only usable two days out of seven. 

[zgscl]

A Pinnacle Grill lunch is a nice way to close out the cruise. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our final dinner onboard and docking in Victoria next to the much larger Norwegian Bliss. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

Disembarkation was extremely smooth, one of the best we have ever had. If you rented a wheelchair they had you return it to them in the Pinnacle Bar which was right next to the gangway and also the meeting point for assistance off of the ship. 

 

Overall this was a fabulous cruise. Entertainment was typical HAL. Unfortunately the BBK group got Covid so they performed the first two and last three nights only with shorter sets and fewer members most times. The Orange Party was done with the Dancing to the Hits mix and the cruise staff hosting. Not at all a typical HAL Orange Party, but they did a good job to keep everyone entertained. I still do not like the Step One Dance Company and have had far too much of the BBC Earth documentaries to last me a life time. Losing the live entertainment several nights definitely put a damper on things (though the Billboard Onboard group was available 2 of the 3 nights BB Kings took off). If this was a less port intensive cruise it probably would have been a bigger issue, but at least two of the evenings are late port calls. 

 

Lots of night life on this trip. Quite a few teens & twenty somethings onboard and the Dancing to the Hits was popular and lots up past midnight every night at one of the bars. The one thing I don't understand - you have BB Kings playing Dancing to the Hits. But you close the BB Kings bar early and make everyone go to Billboard Onboard & the Gallery Bar to get drinks when there is absolutely nothing happening in the Billboard location late at night, and the Casino was closed several nights when in port. 

 

Service was excellent across the board. Crew really made an effort to learn your name throughout the ship. I also found that having the HIA printed on your key card made a big difference. We had zero issues with them charging drinks separately to each card. Also, they seem to have dropped some of the restrictions on how many drinks you can get at once. We got 1 alcoholic and 1 nonalcoholic each at the same time routinely and had no issue. Also got 2 or 3 sodas from one bar and then walked to another to get 3 more and had no issue either. During last call they rang in and made 2 alcoholic drinks for everyone who was staying up and we didn't have an issue with getting charged for that either. So they really seem to have cleaned up the accounting on this (at least for Eurodam). 

[zgscl]

Also, one final note - 5 cruises since the restart it finally has caught up with me. I woke up Sunday with congestion, a sore throat and totally exhausted. I immediately took an at home antigen test and sure enough there were two lines. Can't believe the timing, but I am thankful that it did not impact our trip at all. I know there were cases onboard with the BB King's group and no doubt others - I have gotten multiple iphone Exposure notifications in the past few days since getting back. Part of the risk of traveling these days, but not exactly the way we would have chosen to end the trip. Thankfully my symptoms have been relatively minor and I was able to get a prescription for the anti-virals. 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for all the pictures and info.  Loved the food porn.

Too bad about the covid, hope you feel better soon.

 

[idiebabe]

Enjoyed your Review and will be doing a Sail with Seth early September.  We also took Covid home with us when we were on Eurodam at the end of May.  

 

Hope your symptoms are mild and feel better! 

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you for another excellent thread.  Sorry you have covid.  Hopefully you'll feel better soon!

[*Miss G*]

Thank you for the thread, pictures, and commentary.  Apparently you are of the lucky few who got to sail with Seth.  I’m guessing he made no mention of his departure while you were with him.

 

Sorry to hear you have COVID.  I hope you are feeling well soon.