What a difference a day makes, as the song suggested. Yesterday while in Glacier Bay, we were graced with fair weather when the low fog left the scene. Although we had a few drizzles, the rain stayed away. Today was a whole different story.
During the evening hours, the winds and swell became noticeable, and the ride suggested we were in for a storm. The Captain said as much when he warned of heavy rain and unsafe conditions on all outside decks. We hoped that Ketchikan would not be cancelled.
It was breakfast as usual, but only the two of us were present at 7:30am. It was well after 8am when more customers arrived so we figured that last night's activities turned the Neptune guests party-hardy. Good for them.
The weather was dismal outside with lots of fog, rough seas, and plenty of wind. It did not appear to be as bad as Captain Smit had suggested. But that turned out to be wrong.
We had some questions for the front desk staff to clarify some charges as well as turn in our filled-out Canada declarations card. Then the Captain came on with an announcement we sort of expected - the stop at Ketchikan might be cancelled due to docking difficulties and high winds. He added that the Coral Princess and one other cruise ship were turned away already this morning. Checking the weather station, we saw that heavy rains were happening with temps in the 54 degree area. The winds were 25 mph and more and the sea state was 10 feet. This was at 10:30am, the time we were scheduled to dock.
The Zaandam sailed slowly in the Tongass Narrows, and for a time, it looked like the Captain would attempt docking. In fact, the dock workers were on the pier getting ready for our ropes. The final decision was that today's visit was a "no-go". We continued sailing south snapping some photos of the city being drowned with rain. Had we gone there, we would have been drowned too.
At 11am, the Captain said that the winds were way too strong to attempt a landing. It could also be dangerous for the gangway and the ropes, which could snap. We have seen that happen more than once with sudden broken ropes, and that is really dangerous. All tours would be refunded to the shipboard accounts. He also suggested for the folks not to storm the excursion desk…please. Now we will have a slow day at sea instead. This is the first time that we have sailed in Alaska waters that a port had to be cancelled. Arsa, the Pinnacle Grill manager said the Zaandam did not miss any ports in Alaska since he has been on since May of this year.
It was the best decision to skip this port, but we felt sorry for the guests who have traveled from as far as Australia or Europe and missed seeing this unique Alaskan city. It was raining so hard by now, that we could not even see the mountains above the town. Every site-seeing floatplane was grounded and it appeared that many stores and eateries were closed in downtown. We were glad that we had bought two large bags of kettle corn last week and we still have one left.
An apology letter arrived with the explanation of why we skipped this port. In addition to the refunded tours, we can expect to see a credit of $48.01 per person on our shipboard accounts. Disappointing, but better to be safe than sorry. Another flyer was delivered with additional activities and promotions for the rest of the day. The dining room was opened for an express lunch at noon, favorite games were added like trivia, and the shops that are limited right now opened up. The casino opened from 11am to closing and the future cruise consultant was available for longer hours. Just another day at sea….except rough riding and wet.
We took advantage of the time to catch up on computer work and researching info. At least our TV feed was working again, and we caught up with the news and watched some shows while we worked and read. Sure doesn't hurt to have a relaxing day. Lunch was sandwiches made in the Lido, but we kept it light. We have dinner reservations in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm and wanted to make sure we would enjoy every bite.
Two ships passed us going north. They were Celebrity Solstice and one of the HAL ships, probably the Westerdam. Our guess is that they are headed to Juneau. Hope they find better weather there.
Tonight's attire was "dressy", the second one on this 7-day run. It was surprising to see that only half of the Pinnacle guests dressed up as we saw jeans, sweatshirts, and very casual clothing. The basic rule for dressy is a collared shirt. Our meal was excellent with wonderful service. Being that we are daily breakfast diners, the staff knows us well by now. Starters were wedge salads and one shared order of the clothesline bacon. That is a meal in itself. But we added steaks – one New York strip and a ribeye steak. They were cooked to perfection. One of us had the French fries and the other a baked potato with toppings. It arrived as ½ of a potato, which is fine. It was large and a whole one would have been way too much. I did not order it that way, in case anyone is interested. But it was the right call due to its size. Both of us managed to finish our steaks they were so tasty and tender.
Dessert was a shared Baked Alaska which was ample. We also finished the little macaroons which were also good. The chocolate tray was not served, so that may have been eliminated. Did we need them? Nope. By the time we finished our meal it was 10am, due to the fact the restaurant was at full capacity. And the clocks had to be set one hour ahead tonight. So the real time was 11pm. With tomorrow being a sea day, we can sleep in a little later.
The entertainment was supposed to be the singers and dancers with Feel The Beat, but that had to be switched with something else not involving the dancing.
We expect rough seas tonight until we reach the Inside Passage tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
