28-day Westerdam Arctic Summer Solstice Live from the ship June 9-July 7

[Seasick Sailor]

@TableGirl would love to see ship pictures! Lido pool area, lido, MDR, thanks!!

[jljcruise]

In sunny Sitka today, from the tender dock we turned right and followed the harbor around (path through city park). It's very picturesque and a flat walk.  By the end of the harbor there is a wonderful large children's playground (kids with you? grandkids?). After the playground is the fish hatchery/science center, a short path through trees that are covered with eagles when the fish are running (not today), which brings you to the National Park Visitor Center and totem pole trails. There are also access points to the rocky beach along here. We then returned to town as we hadn't left the ship until about 1 p.m.. Lincoln Street is closed to traffic whenever cruise ships are in. Along Lincoln are the Russian Church and other historic sites ... and all the souvenir shops.

Edited June 12 by jljcruise
Clarification

[DonnyD-JJ]

How did the tendering work in SItka?  Did it take a long time to get to shore?

[scluvsrain]

Tendering was pretty well organized. If you were not on an excursion then you needed to visit a lounge for a tender ticket. If 4 or 5 star mariner we had priority tendering but I think the open call for anyone happened fairly quickly. They were running several tenders. The tender time to the dock was about 5-8 minutes once we got under way. 

[RetiredMustang]

As mentioned above, it was a very sunny day in Sitka.  We spotted several whales off our starboard side balcony on the way in, and I took a photo as we neared port:

 

 

We booked the HAL shore excursion called Sea Otter Quest and Fortress of the Bear.  We met in the World Stage and got our stickers, so I can't speak to the process of getting tickets for tenders on your own, but the actual tender ride was not that long and we arrived at the pier right downtown.  We were quickly chivvied onto a bus, which took us on a ride of about 20 minutes to the Fortress of the Bear.  

 

The place is a refuge for orphaned bear cubs.  We were told that Alaska law requires that orphaned cubs be euthanized because they either die by disease or hit by traffic or other misfortune, or because they were too young for their mothers to teach them survival skills, they survive by becoming dependent on and inured to humans ... which can lead to big problems as the bears mature.  The Fortress of the Bear has rescued several such cubs, and keep them safe.  Although these bears are safe, they cannot be returned to the wild; the center hopes to open other locations which can rescue cubs and perhaps teach them skills to allow them to be returned to the wild.  We think the numbers are against them, but if they can pull it off, we think it would be a good thing to save at least a few cubs, so we made a deposit in their donation box.  At any rate, the center has several Stika brown bears and three black bears.  Here are photos:

 

 

 

We then went back to the pier, which was adjacent to the tender landing, and we boarded a boat to go look for otters and other wildlife.  The boat was quite comfortable and did not seem crowded even though it carried our busload and a busload of people who had taken the otter and raptor HAL tour.  Here is a photo of us cruising the islands in glorious weather:

 

 

We did see some wildlife.  First, there were Stellar sea lions basking in the sun on the metal channel markers.  I got a shot with a volcanic mountain in the background:

 

 

Then we puttered about and ended up at a kelp bed, where two sea otters had anchored themselves with kelp and were lolling about on their backs.  I took a photo of the kelp bed, but since the best camera I had was on my cell phone, you will have to take my word for it that they were there:

 

 

Then we encountered some gray whales off another island.  I managed to get a semi-reasonably decent shot of one:

 

 

We returned to port and got a tender back to the ship.  The weather was starting to cloud up, but was still pretty nice.  Here is a shot of the Westerdam at anchor I took as we waited our turn for the tender:

 

 

The bottom line of all this is that I think this was a pretty good shore excursion.  If you take it, here are some suggestions:

1.  Bring binoculars if you have them.  They make spotting the wildlife easier, especially since the boat captain was scrupulous in not getting too close and spooking said wildlife (of which we wholeheartedly approve).

2.  If you want to take photos to show what you saw, you probably should have a better camera than I did, and perhaps better skills at wildlife photography (buildings and totem poles are easier to get close to, and don't move or skitter away while you are trying to change from selfie to photo mode).  I bet this guy got some great shots:

 

 

and, 3.  If you can somehow manage to arrange glorious weather for the trip, rejoice.

 

Dave

Edited June 13 by RetiredMustang

[DonnyD-JJ]

@scluvsrain  Thank you for the info on tendering.  I have never done this before and I have some independent tours and I just want to make sure I have enough time to get ashore because I am not a 4 or 5 start mariner/

 

@RetiredMustang Thank you for the tender information along with the excursion review.  That one is a popular excursion so it is nice to know its a good one especially in good weather 🙂 

[scluvsrain]

Tendering does not always run as smoothly as it did yesterday in Sitka. I would strongly recommend to anyone, especially if you have an independent tour planned ashore with a specific meeting time, to get a tender ticket as early as possible. Follow the instructions as to where to meet to get a ticket and get there early! Don’t wait for an announcement-just head to the location on the ship where the tickets will be handed out. “The early bird gets the worm.”

[edmonton2]

12 hours ago, scluvsrain said:

Tendering was pretty well organized. If you were not on an excursion then you needed to visit a lounge for a tender ticket. If 4 or 5 star mariner we had priority tendering but I think the open call for anyone happened fairly quickly. They were running several tenders. The tender time to the dock was about 5-8 minutes once we got under way. 

Actually, tendering wasn’t so smooth for those that were not on an excursion! We got to the Ocean Bar to get a ticket and were number 15. They announced that tendering was delayed and by the time we got off the ship it was at least 2 hours later. Still had a great time in Sitka but my advice is to go straight to the Ocean Bar and get a tender ticket as soon as you can if you don’t have an excursion planned.

[SCANVCruiser]

26 minutes ago, edmonton2 said:

Actually, tendering wasn’t so smooth for those that were not on an excursion! We got to the Ocean Bar to get a ticket and were number 15. They announced that tendering was delayed and by the time we got off the ship it was at least 2 hours later. Still had a great time in Sitka but my advice is to go straight to the Ocean Bar and get a tender ticket as soon as you can if you don’t have an excursion planned.

 

[SCANVCruiser]

Just now, SCANVCruiser said:

 

How is tendering for someone in a wheelchair? How does one get from the ship to the tender?

[RetiredMustang]

We are just turning into Yakutat Bay en route to the Hubbard Glacier.  We passed through cloudy skies this morning, but we sailed out of them and the air is clear and the sky is blue -- good signs I hope for glacier viewing.  Here is a photo I took just before we turned:

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

31 minutes ago, SCANVCruiser said:

How is tendering for someone in a wheelchair? How does one get from the ship to the tender?

 

There are elevators that go down as close to the tender platforms as possible, and the crew does all it can to help people, but I think you must be able to walk enough to deal with some steps and actually getting onto/out of the tender itself.  

 

Dave

Edited June 13 by RetiredMustang
typo

[RetiredMustang]

Also, regarding tendering, we spoke this morning with Rick and Joyce, who had an independent tour yesterday and are 5-star Mariners.  They said they had to wait about 45 minutes after getting their tender tickets to be called to board a tender.  This cruise has a large number of 4 and 5-star Mariners on board.  

 

Dave

[The-Inside-Cabin]

14 hours ago, scluvsrain said:

Tendering was pretty well organized. If you were not on an excursion then you needed to visit a lounge for a tender ticket. If 4 or 5 star mariner we had priority tendering but I think the open call for anyone happened fairly quickly. They were running several tenders. The tender time to the dock was about 5-8 minutes once we got under way. 

We are 5-star, and the wait for priority tendering from the Rolling Stone Lounge was about 1 hour until 1 pm.  Not sure when they called open tendering.   We arrived in the lounge at 10:30 and our tender was called at 11:30.   Another 5 star went to the lounge at 12:45 PM and got a tender at 1:45 PM

[TableGirl]

20 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

ship pictures

Will do!

[SCANVCruiser]

42 minutes ago, RetiredMustang said:

 

There are elevators that go down as close to the tender platforms as possible, and the crew does all it can to help people, but I think you must be able to walk enough to deal with some steps and actually getting onto/out of the tender itself.  

 

Dave

 

18 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We are 5-star, and the wait for priority tendering from the Rolling Stone Lounge was about 1 hour until 1 pm.  Not sure when they called open tendering.   We arrived in the lounge at 10:30 and our tender was called at 11:30.   Another 5 star went to the lounge at 12:45 PM and got a tender at 1:45 PM

Thank you. That is helpful. This is a portable wheelchair and the person can navigate some steps. Want to be able to use the wheelchair while in port. 

[TableGirl]

The views coming into Yakutat Bay (did I spell that right?) are breathtakingly beautiful - snow covered mountains and blue skies with wispy white clouds.  Two of our party are taking the excursion today that can only be booked through HAL.  You go from the ship directly onto a smaller boat to get up close to the Hubbard Glacier.  You can see and hear the calving and it is just incredible.  I did it in 2019.  It is pricey as I recall but well worth it.

 

I had a wonderful excursion in Sitka yesterday and let me just say I’m spoiled for the rest of the trip.  I was helping a friend deal with a consular emergency as soon as I got back so I didn’t have time to post about it but will do so later today.

 

I’m up in the Retreat and out of the wind, but also out of the sun.  I’m thankful for the hand warmers I have stuck in the back waistband of my leggings to help keep me toasty!  So don’t forget to pack the “Hot Hands!”  Search for them on Amazon if you don’t know what they are.  Worth every cent!

Edited June 13 by TableGirl

[The-Inside-Cabin]

38 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We are 5-star, and the wait for priority tendering from the Rolling Stone Lounge was about 1 hour until 1 pm.  Not sure when they called open tendering.   We arrived in the lounge at 10:30 and our tender was called at 11:30.   Another 5 star went to the lounge at 12:45 PM and got a tender at 1:45 PM

Here is the tendering priority

HAL Tours - probably 400 people

Suites - 140 

Presidents Club 25 or so 

Club Orange - Unk number

Then 4-5 star - unk number - but I think this is a big number

Then everyone else....

 

80 people per tender

 

Do the math

 

 

[scluvsrain]

25 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Here is the tendering priority

HAL Tours - probably 400 people

Suites - 140 

Presidents Club 25 or so 

Club Orange - Unk number

Then 4-5 star - unk number - but I think this is a big number

Then everyone else....

 

80 people per tender

 

Do the math

 

 

My point in my earlier post was to point out that if you want to be on a tender in time to meet up for an independent excursion, that you should get a ticket earlier rather than later. We went to the lounge at 9:25, picked up tender ticket #1, and at about 10:15-10:20 were called to board our tender. Arrival time at Sitka was just before 10:00 and then it took a short time to get the tender operation set up. So we spent about the same amount of time waiting as others who started later but we had plenty of time to make our meeting time onshore. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

3 minutes ago, scluvsrain said:

My point in my earlier post was to point out that if you want to be on a tender in time to meet up for an independent excursion, that you should get a ticket earlier rather than later. We went to the lounge at 9:25, picked up tender ticket #1, and at about 10:15-10:20 were called to board our tender. Arrival time at Sitka was just before 10:00 and then it took a short time to get the tender operation set up. So we spent about the same amount of time waiting as others who started later but we had plenty of time to make our meeting time onshore. 

Good advice - I incorrectly assumed that the process would move much faster with smooth seas, no wind, and a short tender ride.   Wrong - Follow this advice!  get your ticket at least 30 minutes before the ship arrives if you have a hard meeting time ashore.

[DonnyD-JJ]

So if I read all this right, the people with Independent tours already booked are the last group since I am not a 4 or 5 start mariner - Correct?

[RetiredMustang]

Here are a couple of photos from Hubbard Glacier, one showing the whole glacier and mountains behind it:

 

 

And another showing the excursion boat getting closer to the glacier face:

 

 

 

I'm sure others have better photos  ,,,  especially Rick and Joyce and the two people from TableGirl's party, who were on the excursion boat.

 

Dave

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I was extremely surprised to read you tendered in Sitka, my last several Alaska cruises, all on HAL we docked in Sitka and then took the bus that was offered into town. To be honest I actually preferred when we tendered, it was far more scenic and easier to get into town and walk around.

Was there a reason they did not dock or were there already two ships there?

[Ken the cruiser]

57 minutes ago, RetiredMustang said:

Here are a couple of photos from Hubbard Glacier, one showing the whole glacier and mountains behind it:

 

 

And another showing the excursion boat getting closer to the glacier face:

 

 

 

I'm sure others have better photos  ,,,  especially Rick and Joyce and the two people from TableGirl's party, who were on the excursion boat.

 

Dave

Wow!! What a beautiful day and such great photos. We were there in late May on the Grand Princess when it was overcast. It's amazing how different the view is when there is blue sky above! 😀

[RetiredMustang]

32 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I was extremely surprised to read you tendered in Sitka, my last several Alaska cruises, all on HAL we docked in Sitka and then took the bus that was offered into town. To be honest I actually preferred when we tendered, it was far more scenic and easier to get into town and walk around.

Was there a reason they did not dock or were there already two ships there?

 

Lisa,

 

Yes, Eurodam and the Quantum (or similar sized) of the Seas were at the pier.  I agree that, in Sitka, it is generally better to tender, but based on above comments maybe not so much this time, with so many long-time Mariners on this first-time legendary voyage. 

 

I don't know if it is accurate, but we heard from usually reliable sources (the bartenders 😁) that there are more than 800 five-star Mariners on board.

 

Dave