Cruising towards Seward in Alaska on MS Oosterdam a Holland America Line cruise ship.

At sea cruising towards Seward

Cruise Day 7 – At Sea

Day 90 – May 31st, 2014.

At sea sailing toward Seward in Alaska the 12 noon position was 58 degrees 53.0 north 143 degrees 04.0 west with a strong breeze and 3-4 metre swell.

The Oosterdam was rocking slightly and a few guests were not feeling to good, we are loving it as it adds to the excitement of the cruise from Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve.

We had a special lunch today, it was the Mariner Society Lunch.

Invitation to the Mariners Society Lunch

This is a lunch for those who are returning cruise line passengers that the Captain & hotel director wish to say a thank you to for being a loyal guest to HAL. For us not having actually sailed with HAL before it was an added bonus. Through cruising with a sister cruise line which could have been either Carnival Cruise Lines or Cunard Line in our case we were entitled to the lunch as returning guests.

The Captain and some of the crew welcome returning HAL guests back to the Mariner Society lunch

After a short speech we had a toast then we could enjoy the lunch. Around 300 people I thought attended and we each received a gift of a drink coaster with the image of the ship on.

Mariner Society lunch on MS Oosterdam

At 2pm those that wanted to gathered for the HAL “On Deck For a Cause” program. This is an event that takes place on every cruise where you can donate and walk 5km for cancer research, by doing so HAL support a variety of countries in their contributions that we as passengers donate.

You also receive a T-shirt and wrist bands which we proudly wore as we completed the 5km walk around the open deck which is 9 laps. About 60 people participated that actually walked, however it was not compulsory to walk and it was not competitive only for charity.

On Deck For A Cause

Around 10 cancer survivors led the way and others were walking for those that they knew or have been in some way affected by cancer. We dedicated this walk to Rowena’s Mum who lost her fight with cancer whilst we are on this cruise, so very sad and gone too soon.

Next we made our way to the dining room for afternoon cupcake tea. A variety of ten cupcakes along with sandwiches and other pastries were available and tea of course. I enjoyed the savoury items more than the cupcakes.

Afternoon cup cake tea

After that we headed to the Queen’s Lounge for a talk for those that are staying onboard to do the return trip back to Vancouver. Apparently about 90 passengers are doing the back to back voyage. We had more complimentary champagne and some nibbles.

Tonight’s dinner was compliments of the Captain as a result of doing the back to back cruise. In a way of saying that he thanks us for sailing with HAL and while doing a back to back cruise some options and entertainment will be repeated and as a result he wishes to invite us to the Pinnacle Grill for a complimentary dinner.

At 8.30pm we entered the Pinnacle restaurant for our dinner. This restaurant has a cover charge of $29 per person and a separate menu.

The Pinnacle Grill on MS Oosterdam

The food was very nice indeed. I had Lobster bisque which was one of the best, if not the best. Moni had crab cakes which were also great.

For main course I had rib eye on the bone and Moni had the tenderloin, these came with a choice of sauces and a mixed plate of vegetables & fries.

Pinnacle Grill Dinner dish selection

Very tender huge steaks which we struggled to finish and so had a shared dessert of creme brûlée of coffee, vanilla and chocolate again very nice and well presented.

A walk around the ship to allow our meals to go down before heading back to the cabin. Many bags line the corridors for those disembarking in the morning. We will gather our belongings in the morning and move across the deck to the other side and our new cabin for the trip back to Vancouver.