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

[RetiredMustang]

Stone said the fog should lift later, but about 10 a.m. here in Seward, it was a case of Westerdam in the mist:

 

 

Dave

[jljcruise]

Hi Independents -- Today in Seward it's very  foggy, but we got occasional views of Mt. Marathon and there are sunny skies up above the fog.

 

The city has 2 free shuttle busses that run every 15 minutes or so and make 14 stops around town. It appears this is a daily shuttle service, cruise ships or not. HAL has supplemented this with free busses that make 3 of the main stops. It is also possible to walk into town on paved and gravel paths.

 

We shuttled thru town to the Sea Life Center. From there we walked back toward the ship on the paved walking trail along the waterfront. We passed the historic Iditerod Milepost 0, and there were frequent other historic boards to read and sculptures. The trail section we walked was about a mile -- there were plenty of benches along the walk to enjoy the view or rest.

 

At the shuttle stop just after the Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center, we got back on the shuttle and looped back to the Sea Life Center and crossed the street, walking up and back 4th Ave about 4-5 blocks. The town has about 20 murals and this section has gift shops, restaurants,  and a brewery.

 

Apparently whale watching from shore is possible, but it was so foggy we could hardly see the water at times!

 

Readers - The Seward Library had a cart of books at the cruise terminal (near the exit)  to peruse and take for free.

 

There are independent tour shops just a short walk into town (across the marina from the ship).

 

I need to note that all the towns so far seem to have hikes taking off from town, some you can walk to, others by public bus.

 

(Sigh) Thick fog is rolling in again....

Edited June 16 by jljcruise

[RetiredMustang]

On 6/14/2024 at 9:29 AM, Seasick Sailor said:

@RetiredMustang Thank you very much for the pictures. 

 

You are welcome.  Also, while I was about the ship yesterday taking photos from various locations of College Fjord, I remembered to take some of the Lido pool area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 6/8/2024 at 10:45 AM, Hogladyrider said:

I am curious to learn what type of cabins fellow cruisers have selected for this cruise.  Knowing the daylight schedule I might consider an inside cabin whereas we almost always book balconies.

 

This itinerary sounds simply amazing!

It has been wonderful, I’m so glad we didn’t cancel this year even though

I’m hobbling with a cane and will have both knees replaced this fall.  You really don’t need to switch to an inside. We’re in a deck 10 balcony cabin and the curtains are very heavy material that blocks all light. I brought binder clips in case the curtains needed help staying overlapped and didn’t need them. We’re booked for the same 7x28x7x7 for 2025.

Yesterday for hours we were basically parked in one spot out in the middle of water surrounded by glorious scenery in all directions. Several times this cruise our progress could be been measured in feet per hour resulting in truly amazing extended views.

 

(posting from the Westerdam Crow’s Nest)

[Cruising Is Bliss]

We’ve been parked this afternoon too. If this works the photo I just took is the  current view from where I’m sitting in the Crow’s Nest

 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

1 hour ago, RetiredMustang said:

 

You are welcome.  Also, while I was about the ship yesterday taking photos from various locations of College Fjord, I remembered to take some of the Lido pool area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

 

Dave thank you so much for the pictures! I appreciate you taking the time to post them!!

 

Joy

[Bookited]

On 6/13/2024 at 4:32 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

People in Suites, President's Club and Club Orange - don't need a tender ticket but simply show their keycard and board the next available tender.   There isn't any order or priority inside those groups.  

 

4/5 stars went to the Rolling Stone Lounge and got orange tender tickets; everyone else went to the Ocean Bar and got grey tickets.   

 

As the day progresses, they will call a certain number from each line—I don't know the exact ratio, but if there is an 80-person tender, it may be something like 60 orange numbers followed by 20 grey numbers - and everyone will go on the same tender. 

 

If a suite person/PC or CO wants to go, they will go directly to deck A and hang out there until the next tender.   So if 15 suite people appear on deck A then they will call down 65 numbers etc...

 

On a cruise with very few 4/5 stars then they don't need a tender ticket either.   On the 2024 world cruise there were so many 4/5 stars they didn't bother with 2 lines - everyone went to the Rolling Stone Room.

 

I am 90% sure that Club Orange gets the same status as suite people - but I am not sure.   

Were you notified the night before that as a ***** you would not be given priority boarding?  If not, how would you know ahead of time? Normally, we get a note the night before our first tendering that we don't need to get a tender ticket and to just head to the tender when we want. I'm asking as we're on a private tour out of Bar Harbor on the VOV which just happens to be the first port of call.  We arrive @8 and our meet time on shore is 9:30. The vendor said to allow 30       min. for tendering. I thought this would give us ample time with our 5 star mariner status, but DH has me questioning the reservation. Thanks for any insight.

[WriterOnDeck]

9 minutes ago, Bookited said:

Were you notified the night before that as a ***** you would not be given priority boarding?  If not, how would you know ahead of time? Normally, we get a note the night before our first tendering that we don't need to get a tender ticket and to just head to the tender when we want. I'm asking as we're on a private tour out of Bar Harbor on the VOV which just happens to be the first port of call.  We arrive @8 and our meet time on shore is 9:30. The vendor said to allow 30       min. for tendering. I thought this would give us ample time with our 5 star mariner status, but DH has me questioning the reservation. Thanks for any insight.

Typically if you have any kind of priority tender boarding you will get a letter early in the cruise in your cabin with the procedure. On the VoV, there are usually many 4* and 5*, and in those cases they might not even offer priority. (On world cruises sometimes yes, sometimes no. If 85% have priority, it's really not priority....)

 

I suggest getting to your tender ticket pickup spot an hour before docking. On our current 28-day Alaska cruise, at least one 5* couple waited almost 2 hours to tender off in Sitka.

[Bookited]

59 minutes ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Typically if you have any kind of priority tender boarding you will get a letter early in the cruise in your cabin with the procedure. On the VoV, there are usually many 4* and 5*, and in those cases they might not even offer priority. (On world cruises sometimes yes, sometimes no. If 85% have priority, it's really not priority....)

 

I suggest getting to your tender ticket pickup spot an hour before docking. On our current 28-day Alaska cruise, at least one 5* couple waited almost 2 hours to tender off in Sitka.

Thanks for the quick response. I will make sure to be there early!

 

[RetiredMustang]

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Dave thank you so much for the pictures! I appreciate you taking the time to post them!!

 

Joy

 

Joy,

 

Hei aha (basically, Maori for "no worries, mate").  Anything else you would like photos of? 

 

(Yes, I know that ends in a preposition, but I am over 70 and no longer care about that, or frankly a multitude of other things.)

 

Dave

[Seasick Sailor]

9 hours ago, RetiredMustang said:

 

Joy,

 

Hei aha (basically, Maori for "no worries, mate").  Anything else you would like photos of? 

 

(Yes, I know that ends in a preposition, but I am over 70 and no longer care about that, or frankly a multitude of other things.)

 

Dave

 

Thank you. I don't want to wear out your kindness.. 

[RetiredMustang]

It turned out that the CD was correct when she said the fog would lift in Seward.  By early afternoon yesterday, we were able to enjoy views of the town and mountains from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

Dave

Edited June 17 by RetiredMustang

[DonnyD-JJ]

Have fun in Dutch Harbor tomorrow.

[DonnyD-JJ]

I also have a question about gratuities for your tour guides. How do people normally tip for a good excursion?  A percentage of total cost of the excursion?  A set dollars amount?  What if there are multiple people to help on your tour, is there a general tip jar?
 

Of what I hear most of these tours are great so tipping for me is a given. Since we haven’t been on a cruise since 2012 and I cannot remember how we figured tips then i would like some guidance so I do not under tip.

 

Lastly do you tip more for a smaller size excursion 6-12 cruisers vs larger HAL tours of 100 or more?

 

Thanks

 

[oaktreerb]

We are now sailing in the smooth Bering Sea.  One whale siting,  Thousands of birds flying over and riding on the water.  Little Diomede Island scenic cruising cancelled for June 20 due to concerns of the indigenous community.   2025 will probably not have the viewing either.  Itinerary changes are an issue on any cruise, especially a new and unique itinerary.  I think the people of Nome are looking forward to our arrival on June 21.  The daylight viewing hours are practically endless but foggy!

Edited June 19 by oaktreerb

[RetiredMustang]

On 6/18/2024 at 4:15 AM, DonnyD-JJ said:

I also have a question about gratuities for your tour guides. How do people normally tip for a good excursion?  A percentage of total cost of the excursion?  A set dollars amount?  What if there are multiple people to help on your tour, is there a general tip jar?
 

 

 

Tipping is pretty much an individual choice, and you can get a lot of discussion going about it.  I think the presumption for a HAL-arranged excursion is that the price includes transport, guides, etc. and all gratuities.  We generally tip additional amounts.  We have not arranged independent excursions, but I would think more tips would be expected/appropriate than on a HAL tour.

 

Most tours we take have a format of bus driver and tour guide.  We now generally give the driver $5 and the guide $20 as a general range.  If the driver was stowing and retrieving a walker for me at each stop, I would tip him/her more, but thankfully I can still get about without one (you may have to wait a little longer for me than in previous years).

 

On long, complicated trips, like the Golden Circle in Iceland, we may tip double that or more. If the tour includes a meal, we will tip the wait staff a few dollars.  If it includes a museum or wildlife refuge, we will drop usually a 20 into the donation box.  We have been on several boat trips, some which had a tip jar and others which had a "buh-bye" person by the exit, and we tip him/her -- presumably the crew has a way to split the tips.  Basically, if someone has done something specifically for us or otherwise made our trip more enjoyable, we like to tip them.

 

Based on reactions we have gotten from some of those we've tipped, we suspect that we give at the upper end of what they usually receive.

 

 A lot of other people with us on excursions also tip, and some don't.  But, the bottom line is, you have to go with what works for you.

 

Dave

 

[RetiredMustang]

We sailed through heavy fog approaching Dutch Harbor yesterday, but it cleared a bit as we got closer.  In fact, we were able to see porpoises dancing off the starboard side and expecially in the bow wake.

 

We docked at the commercial port, which was several miles from town.  The city had arranged shuttles to town, but were charging $50 per person.  A lot of passengers walked to town and back.  There were a few things, mostly related to World War II, that we might have liked to see, but not worth to us the $100 or a long hike to see them, so we stayed on the ship.

 

But, I did get some photos of the port area, which has its own charm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

Edited June 19 by RetiredMustang

[cruzingnut]

Did you actually dock?  For some reason I thought you tendered ashore.  I think I know where you docked then and with my main purpose of birding, that location should work well for me. 

 

Linda R.

[VacationCharlene]

We did actually dock. 
 

We walked to the museum and back. Two flat miles each way. Lots of people walked. Museum of the AleutionsDutch is very nice and I recommend booking, for only $30, a walk behind the scenes sort of thing. Saw lots of archived things…was cool!

[RetiredMustang]

1 hour ago, cruzingnut said:

Did you actually dock?  For some reason I thought you tendered ashore.  I think I know where you docked then and with my main purpose of birding, that location should work well for me. 

 

Linda R.

 

We were docked at the main Port of Dutch Harbor, just north of the airport.  There was a bald eagle nesting up the large hill nearby.

 

Dave

Edited June 19 by RetiredMustang
add info

[Alberta Quilter]

5 hours ago, RetiredMustang said:

We sailed through heavy fog approaching Dutch Harbor yesterday, but it cleared a bit as we got closer.  In fact, we were able to see porpoises dancing off the starboard side and expecially in the bow wake.

 

We docked at the commercial port, which was several miles from town.  The city had arranged shuttles to town, but were charging $50 per person.  A lot of passengers walked to town and back.  There were a few things, mostly related to World War II, that we might have liked to see, but not worth to us the $100 or a long hike to see them, so we stayed on the ship.

 

But, I did get some photos of the port area, which has its own charm

 

Dave

Wow, $50/person for a shuttle?  That's a very steep price!  I don't blame you for staying onboard but it's too bad you didn't get to see Dutch Harbor.

 

Thanks very much for your (and the others) Live From reporting, and the pictures, too.  Wonderful to cruise vicariously through you.

[DonnyD-JJ]

@RetiredMustang  Dave, Thank you for your honest opinion regarding tipping.  I really appreciate it.  I just want to be prepared with enough cash especially if the tour is a real good one. Even if it's not great I would tip because this is their livelihood.  Also sorry transportation wasn't better for you to be able to enjoy Dutch Harbor but the pictures you got are beautiful.

[RetiredMustang]

At 6 a.m., we are southwest of Nome, heading towards the strait.  We are in a light fog, with a pretty calm sea ... which is full of sea ice:

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

Edited June 20 by RetiredMustang

[WriterOnDeck]

21 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Wow, $50/person for a shuttle?  That's a very steep price!  I don't blame you for staying onboard but it's too bad you didn't get to see Dutch Harbor.

As it turned out, it was $50 for a "hop on-hop off" van. They may several stops in town. Sometimes we saw a dozen or so people waiting for the van.

 

What we didn't know until we got there was that several taxi/vans were picking people up just outside the gate and taking them to the Safeway or hotel (almost 2 miles per my watch app) one-way. Someone said that if you wanted to go a couple of miles further to the church it might be another $5. After our exploration in town and excellent lunch/beer at the Norwegian Rat Tavern (you can't make this stuff up), we flagged down one of the taxis for the $5 ride back to town.

 

The advance communication about the port options was lacking imho.

[TableGirl]

2 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

The advance communication about the port options was lacking imho

I agree it was sorely lacking.  Would you consider sending a message through the Let Us Know portal and addressing it to Stone and Shore Excursion staff just in case they didn’t get off the ship and ask?