Sabin’s on the Sea 2023 - Day # 10 - Sea Day (Prince Christian Sound)

by Nina Sabin - Travel Blog

Today was truly amazing. We were up about 6 AM and for the next eight hours we were tantalized with beautiful sights at every blink of the eye. 

The Zuiderdam cruised through the Prince Christian Sound in Greenland at about five to eight knots. Which is pretty slow for the vessel. 

The fog started in the morning but as  we continued to journey through the passage the fog lifted showing a fascinating sites. 

This was an incredible opportunity as the previous trip the captain had to turn around as there was too much floating ice to be able to maneuver such a large ship around.  Even the crew and the senior staff were taking pictures and very excited about getting into in through the passage.

The passage is about 50 miles in a very remote area of the world. 

John saw a whale (finally) and we saw icebergs and glaciers. Every view was breathtaking and picturesque. Each picture was better than the next. 

The captain opened the bow so as we rode through the majestic mountains we could see it from all asides.

The challenge was it was freezing, especially for us Floridians. Everyone was bundled up. With the wind chill factor, the temperature was in the mid 30s. 

The saving grace is we were able to go in and out as we wanted and that help gets us warmed up. We are fairly close to the bow and we can go out on the front directly at the end of all our floor.

The hot chocolate was plentiful and at 10:30 am on several decks; the wait staff was also passing our split pea soup. 

Along the passage, there were two very small remote towns that we saw on the way. One only had 100 inhabitants. I could not imagine living in such a remote are among the mountains. 

From early in the morning to mid afternoon we cruised through Prince Christian Sound. 

As we were exiting the passage way and admiring the unbelievable icebergs when the captain made an announcement that there was a medical emergency and the patient had to be evacuated via helicopter. 

We have been on the Zuiderdam twice and this is the second time we have seen this form of medical evacuation. Last time we were miles off the cost of San Diego, California. They had two helicopters and two refueling planes. 

This time it is miles from Greenland and one helicopter came for the patient. We don’t know exactly what happened but all the passengers watched in concern and anticipation as they viewed this event. It was crazy watching the medical team descend and hoist up the patient in a basket.

Hopefully, that will be the only airlift medical evacuation on this voyage. 

Tonight is Gala night celebrating 150 years for Holland America. Everyone enjoys dressing up and the special menu. They offer 12oz for $20. That used to be included but I guess times change. I have decided to save the lobster for another dressy night. We still have three to four more dressy nights to go. 

Tonight we had an extra special treat when we to our cabin. Besides our nightly chocolates on our bed with the next day’s program; there was our first towel animal from the cruise holding one of our chocolates. 

During the last cruise we had a towel animal every night. We are not sure how many we will get on the cruise but after ten days it was exciting to see this adorable creature. 

There are still twenty-five days of our Viking Voyage left. 

We have another day at sea tomorrow before getting to Isafjordur, Iceland. It won’t be as magnificent as today’s journey but still enjoying every moment. 

There we plan to upload all our blogs and can catch up with our adventures.