PORT ANGELES — The gangway of the Holland America Line cruise ship ms Oosterdam is expected to be out at noon today, a two-hour delay from the originally scheduled time.
Erik Elvejord, spokesman for Holland America, speaking from the company’s Seattle office, confirmed that the ship would be delayed today but said he didn’t know the reason.
“It’s probably the weather,” he said, noting that the ship is traveling to Port Angeles from San Diego.
Whenever passengers are able to disembark from the 950-foot-long ship — which has a capacity of 1,848 passengers — after it docks at the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 1 North adjacent to Westport Shipyard, Port Angeles volunteers will be awaiting them with shuttles, music and tradition.
Lower Elwha Klallam tribal members will present a welcoming ceremony with native drums, songs and garb, said Mary Brelsford, communications manager for the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau.
Immediately following the ceremony, crooner Charlie Ferris will entertain passengers as they get off the ship and head for shuttles ready to take them downtown for the day before the ship pulls out for Vancouver, B.C., at 11 p.m.
Shopping shuttles will be waiting at noon to take passengers to a balloon-festooned downtown where many shops plan extended hours, according to Barb Frederick, director of the Port Angeles Downtown Association.
A guide to downtown businesses and coupons for passengers that was prepared by the Peninsula Daily News will be handed out to passengers.
The shopping shuttles will take passengers from the Port of Port Angeles’ dock to the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain at Laurel and First streets and the Port Angeles Visitor Center at 121 E. Railroad Ave. — the latter being the departure point for Heritage Tours of the Port Angeles Underground at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The Gateway transit center will be a focus for activity, with music by Twisted Roots and Sarah Shea and special presentations by the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center at 1 p.m. and a representative of Olympic National Park at 3 p.m.
A special wine and beer garden — for cruise ship passengers and crew only — also is planned at The Gateway and is the only activity not open to the general public.
Cruise ship passengers also will be given a map, created by Cabled Fiber Studio and printed by the visitor bureau, for a self-guided tour of local brew pubs.
On nearby City Pier, the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center will be open until 8 p.m.
Cultural tour shuttles will leave the dock at 1:30 p.m., instead of the originally scheduled noon, Brelsford said.
They will take passengers and crew members to the Lower Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center — including a guided tour through Webster’s Woods — as well as the Museum at the Carnegie and the Port Angeles Library.
The Lower Elwha will operate a shuttle from the dock to its casino, Brelsford said.
At 1 p.m., the Heritage Center at 401 E. First St. will host First People of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, “an in-depth tour of the history, culture and traditions of the Elwha Klallam people.”
The afternoon of storytelling oral history and demonstrations will cost $40, with tickets available at the dock and at the door.
At 8 p.m., the Heritage Center will host Voice of the Peninsula, a free open reading by members of the community, including members of the Indian Voice Group.
The cruise line has scheduled several excursions so passengers can visit Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls or take a tour of the Olympic Cellars, Camaraderie Cellars and Harbinger wineries.
The Port Angeles stop is on the ship’s “turn-around cruise” as it relocates for its summer schedule of cruises to British Columbia and Alaska.
Brelsford thanked corporate sponsors Red Lion Hotel, Black Ball Ferry Line, Port of Port Angeles, Aramark and Sunset Do it Best Hardware.
For more information, visit www.portangelescruiseinfo.com.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Arwyn Rice contributed to this report.
