LIVE - Legendary Alaska - 28 days with The Inside Cabin - Westerdam

[DonnyD-JJ]

@The-Inside-Cabin  Thank you for the link to the 2024 excursions.  That is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Donna

[hummingbird_206]

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

14 people. 
 

we drove to Chilkoot Lake State Recreation site and back.  Stopped about 3-4 times each way. 
 

my photos was taken with a 500 mm lens.  Bring a big telephoto.   Phones not ideal.  
 

here was our bus

 

every seat filled 

 

 

Thank you for the info and links to your excursion options.  Looks like this is the one you did?  Looks nice, but isn't an option on our cruise.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, hummingbird_206 said:

Thank you for the info and links to your excursion options.  Looks like this is the one you did?  Looks nice, but isn't an option on our cruise.

This was our Haines tour 

[hummingbird_206]

48 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

This was our Haines tour 

 

Thanks for clarifying.  Looks like we're going to be on the same tour in September.  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Tonight's Menu

 

 

we are eating ashore in Juneau at one of the best pizza places in the USA per the NYT

 

https://www.inboccaallupoak.com/menu

 

 

 

 

[SUESEABE]

13 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

we are eating ashore in Juneau at one of the best pizza places in the USA per the NYT

I'm sure that you will enjoy it much more than another salmon bowl 😉

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Great day on the water, Salmon Fishing.   Susan caught a Coho Salmon we will enjoy on the ship using the "Savor the Catch" program.   They bring the fish back to the ship, and they will prepare for dinner tomorrow.

 

 

Judy caught a Chum Salmon and we will have it frozen and shipped home.

Judy's Fish in the net

 

 

Judy with her Chum Salmon

 

 

I caught a King Salmon but it was too small - 24 inches - need to be 28 inches to keep

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 02:19 AM by The-Inside-Cabin

[cccole]

I love this post of salmon fishing.  Fabulous. And so nice you can have it cooked on board.  We always found shipping fish home was crazy expensive so just gave them to the crew. When in Mexico we had them cooked at the hotel though and that was fun.  Thanks for letting us cruise with you, always entertaining and informative.  Cherie

[hummingbird_206]

@The-Inside-CabinThank you so much for adding the Excursion detail to your post.  That's very helpful in case I have the opportunity to book the same excursion.  Really appreciate it.

[Alberta Quilter]

What is the cost of freezing/shipping the fish home?

 

Thanks very much for your reports!  They're most enjoyable!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

45 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

What is the cost of freezing/shipping the fish home?

 

Thanks very much for your reports!  They're most enjoyable!

I think it's going to be $140.    No charge for the filet/prep.  I think I just pay for shipping.    We'll see.    They hold it in Juneau till you get home.   

[Alberta Quilter]

That is one expensive fish, at US$440, including the cost of the excursion!!!  I hope you savour every morsel.  But you did have an experience, gain a story to tell and a fish to eat later.  Hope Susan's fish was good.  I think I would have the chefs prepare it, too, if I took this excursion.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

4 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

That is one expensive fish, at US$440, including the cost of the excursion!!!  I hope you savour every morsel.  But you did have an experience, gain a story to tell and a fish to eat later.  Hope Susan's fish was good.  I think I would have the chefs prepare it, too, if I took this excursion.

 

We are going to share Susan's salmon tonight.    

 

Apparently Chum Salmon has a bad reputation

https://skipperotto.com/we-love-chum-salmon/

 

"But when chum salmon is caught in the open-ocean, far from their spawning location (the ‘silverbrite’ phase), the flesh is of high a quality and it’s outward appearance is often indistinguishable from its better known sibling, sockeye."

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Tonight is our final dressy night

 

Menu

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Captain canceled our scenic Tracy Arm cruising due to low visibility.

 

Here was our location when they canceled

 

 

Here is the view of the entrance to Tracy Arm

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Our Mariner's Recognition ceremony was held today on the World Stage.   This was the third time it had been held over several days.   It started at 11 AM.   Drinks were provided, and the only entrance was through deck 1.  

 

They called up everyone getting a medal—our ceremony was for Gold and Platinum. Afterward, the president club members were also called up.    5 stars were recognized en masse.   

 

Don had the most sea days - over 3000!

 

We enjoyed lunch in the MDR afterward.

Prawn and Arugula Salad

 

Filet

Chocolate Trio

Captain Vincent Smit

 

We always wear our medals to the ceremonies - a few other people also did.   Most don't

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We received our tiles tonight.   Much larger than previous tiles.   Branded as Legendary Voyages vice the name of the ship.   My cruise card in the picture for scale.  6 in by 6 in 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Leaving Ketchikan after an unscheduled stop for medical disembarkation.  Stopped from about 7:15 to 7:45 am or so 

 

  No announcement so far if there will be any impact to today's Misty Fjord scenic cruising.  
 

 

Edited Thursday at 04:26 PM by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Tonight's Dinner

 

 

 

we received two more tiles.  The 150th

anniversary ones.  

 

Great day cruising Misty Fjord. 
 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:22 AM by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A few highlights from the last 2 days -

 

We had the Westerdam Ball yesterday on our last Dressy Night.

 

We enjoyed the salmon Susan caught the day before during our salmon fishing excursion using the Savor our Catch Program. One of the HAL chefs met Susan at the gangway, took possession of the fish, and prepared it for us this evening.  

 

The Ball was held in the Rolling Stone Lounge.   Most of the ship's officers were on the dance floor for the first 3 dances and they danced with guests.   At the end of each dance, one of the officers was chosen at random and the officers dance partner got a bottle of sparkling wine.

 

 

Afterward, they had a chocolate surprise on deck two, with waiters roaming the halls with chocolate treats

 

 

We cruised Misty Fjord on the 4th of July and spent the day at the Retreat. The price was $85 for a sea day, and plenty of space was available.

Mark was our Cabana host.  

 

Afternoon Snacks

 

 

July 4th Party in the Rolling Stone Lounge

 

 

Step One Dance Company performed "Humanity" on the World Stage.  This is one of my favorite shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hummingbird_206]

On 7/3/2024 at 11:11 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We received our tiles tonight.   Much larger than previous tiles.   Branded as Legendary Voyages vice the name of the ship.   My cruise card in the picture for scale.  6 in by 6 in 

 

What's the story with the tiles?  Who gets them, when and why?

[NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope]

On 7/3/2024 at 1:32 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 

We are going to share Susan's salmon tonight.    

 

Apparently Chum Salmon has a bad reputation

https://skipperotto.com/we-love-chum-salmon/

 

"But when chum salmon is caught in the open-ocean, far from their spawning location (the ‘silverbrite’ phase), the flesh is of high a quality and it’s outward appearance is often indistinguishable from its better known sibling, sockeye."

The Chum salmon we shipped home a few year's ago; we used to make salmon cakes. We  used Ina Garten's recipe. Since you cook the fish before forming the cakes anyway, you can decide at the last minute to go with the cakes. In any event, you're eating Alaskan salmon that you caught!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Went on the Prince Rupert Adventure Tour - Grizzly Bear Edition

 

Great Tour - Highly recommended.

 

Price $340 CAD  ($250 USD)

 

The tour is 7-8 hours. - We left at 8:16 AM and returned at 3:50 PM

 

The dock is about a 5 minute walk from the ship.  You check in at the tour office where they check your name off a list - then give you a boarding pass with a lunch ticket and postcard.

 

Everyone got a voucher for a sandwich Wrap and a soft drink.   Three choices for wraps: beef, chicken, or donair.  Other snacks were available for purchase.   

 

Here are the time hacks of what we saw:

 

8:16 am leave the dock

9:40 am saw whale spouts (Humpbacks)

9:48 am spotted some Orcas

10:04 am continued on to look for bears

11:20 am spotted the first bear eating grass

11:50 am-ish second bear

12:16 pm third bear

12:50 pm-ish heading back

1:32 pm Orca sighting

- all the bears we saw were Grizzly Bears

1:56 am another whale sighting

2:00 pm more whale sightings

3:12 pm saw large number of eagles flying around the boat

3.50 pm off boat

 

Here is a picture of our route as captured on my GPS.    Here is a link to the Google map of our route if you want to zoom in.

 

 

Here are a few of my pictures.    The tour folks will airdrop you some of their pictures at the end.

 

Orca

 

 

Grizzly Bear

 

 

Humpback whale tail

 

Eagles

 

Bring Binoculars and your long lens.   The ship has about a dozen binoculars you can use.  

 

The animals are all pretty far away - you need binoculars.

 

Here are some photos of the tour boat

The boat holds 100 people.   There are 3 decks.   Once the ship clears the channel you can move about freely to any of the viewing decks.  

 

Here is the back of deck 1 - there are two restrooms

 

These are the seats on deck 2 aft

 

These are the interior seats of deck 2 - the Captain's chair is seen here forward.

This is the main deck - taken from the front looking aft

 

This is deck 3 - no seating.

 

This shows the forward viewing areas of deck 1 and deck 2.   I was always able to find a clear view.

 

Here is the sandwich wrap included with your ticket. If you want to heat it up, there is a microwave available.

Edited 11 hours ago by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

3 hours ago, hummingbird_206 said:

What's the story with the tiles?  Who gets them, when and why?

Everyone gets a tile. They used to have the name of the ship, but now they seem more generic. I think they are trying to get rid of the 150-anniversary tile. You normally only get one tile per cruise.

 

They are souvenirs of your cruise.  That's why they give them out.

[marco2111]

3 hours ago, hummingbird_206 said:

What's the story with the tiles?  Who gets them, when and why?

We have 4 anniversary tiles and two legendary tiles if anyone is interested in taking them home. My bags are full and so is the apartment we downsized to!

Leave me a message,  cabin 5171, I can deliver!

Karen