Since it's our 49th anniversary and one of our travel agents offered a last minute good deal on a 7 day Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam, we decided to take it even though we were in Alaska in May on the Volendam. This will be my blog of the trip. We were last on the Oosterdam 3 years ago on a Australia/New Zealand cruise and we're excited to see the changes. I'll report on those changes that we observe.
Boarding was smooth and efficient, but being a 4 star Mariner really helped by shortening the lines to almost nothing. For the first time cruising we have a veranda stateroom and while it is compact, it's going to work out just fine.
Seeing 2 USB charging ports in the bed headboard plus two at the desk was a great improvement for us.
While the Lido was crowded for a late lunch, our first meals were delicious. The look and feel of the Lido is much more luxurious than the Volendam that we were recently aboard. We also met Marlon who has been our wine steward on several prior cruises. It's always good to see familiar faces.
Before the mandatory passenger drill we were invited to a Mariner reception in the Crow's Nest where we enjoyed some of the new Coke Zero Sugar which we found to be quite good although not as zingy as the old Coke Zero. The Cruise director is Erin but we've only heard her voice on the PA system.
At the mandatory passenger emergency drill, our key cards were scanned and the drill proceeded smoothly in a light shower. Just before 4pm the Oosterdam backed away from its berth and the captain got us headed north up the Puget Sound into deteriorating weather conditions. We were just ahead of a Norwegian Cruise Lines Vessel. The cloud levels were quite low and rain or drizzle was not in short supply.
Captain MacBeath advised us that we can expect some weather starting at around 3am Monday morning and most of the day on Monday. 20 foot seas are expected, and he expects to power through them at top speed to reduce the motion of the ship. We'll even have a course alteration to sail inside an island north of Vancouver Island.
At 6pm there was scheduled an interdenominational Sunday service and n the Hudson Room led by the congregation. Since I've led these before, I volunteered to lead it using some devotional readings from a book I carry with me on my phone. The theme today centered around 'Love' and we had some good sharing from the 20 or so folks who showed up. I also went to the front office to leave a message for the events manager to see if we could use the Hudson Room for a daily interdenominational devotional time. They were to call me back.
Dinner was in the Lido and it was prime rib night which I really enjoyed.
After dinner we listened to a bit of Soul music in the BB King lounge. It was quite good, and the audio level wasn't overpowering like we experienced on the Koningsdam last year. At 9:30 there was a cast show at the Main Stage called 'Listen to the Music' in which Erin introduced the entertainment members of singers and dancers. For this cruise there are only 3 singers and the normal 6 dancers (3 guys and 3 gals). There were two new songs in their repertoire. But more surprising was that the show was led off by the hotel director introducing his key staff PLUS he gave his personal stateroom telephone number for anyone who wanted to contact him.
Our final event of the evening was to listen to the dualing pianos (Rachel & Jordan) in the Billboard Onboard venue. They performed British Invasion tunes during the set we watched. The lady singer was in the same role on the Koningsdam last year and we chatted with her after the set was over. The volume levels were perfect for this venue.
In any event, stay tuned. I'll next post in a couple days from Juneau where we next have internet service (we don't use the ship's internet). If you have specific questions about the ship, don't hesitate to ask.
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