Cruising Alaska May 2008

Barbi and I had a blast crusing to Alaska on Holland America's Amsterdam. We also had the pleasure of sharing the journey with my parents and my aunt and uncle. This was our third cruise and first with Holland America Line (Those "dam" ships). And we really have nothing bad to say. Holland is well known in the industry as catering to the more mature crowd, which is why the ship passenger capacity is 1,300.

Our cabin Steward, Mario, was fantastic, and remembered our names from the first day. Our cabin, and inside one, was clean and worked perfectly. Hani was one of our waiters for dinner. He was efficient and friendly.

Since the ship departed out of Seattle, we left a little early to visit my cousin Bev in Olympia, Wa. It was fun to see her place and the surrounding area. The kids would get lost trekking through the forest on her road. At least sasquach would keep an eye on them, though ; )

We boarded the ship on Friday at about noon and was treated immediately to a buffet lunch! Sweet! OH...I should say at this point that Barbi and I have been working really hard on losing some weight. As of the day of the cruise, I had shed 17lbs and Barbi had lost 14. As we were preparing to board, we met up with my Aunt Vi and Uncle Rollin. I went to help Rollin with checking bags, as the staff took Vi right to the check in window, since she was in a wheel chair. Somehow, during all that, uncle Rollin lost track of his bag, with a new suit and a bunch of new clothes in it, and it never made it on the ship. Kudos to HAL. They did their best to make sure the trip was still worth it. They gave him a shirt and pants, some onboard ship credit, and free tux for the 2 formal nights. Luckily, he had, in one of the other bags that made it, some underwear and other personal needs.

We sailed at 4pm and headed out through the puget sound toward the pacific. It was fantastic wathcing the coast of Washington on one side (port) and British Columbia on the other (Starboard) pass by. We got into open water around midnight, and boy could we feel it. I don't know why, but it was a little rough for the next 24 hours. We spent the next day checking out the ship. My mom had acupuncture for her shoulder. Barbi and I worked out in the fitness area. We had Breakfast and lunch in the Lido restaurant (Buffet) and dinner in the La Fontaine Restaurant. We tracked our progress and ships position on the room TV or on upper promenade deck near the library. Barbi shopped in the shops for jewelry. We took in our first show in the Queen's Lounge with headline comedian act, Elliot Maxx. WOW! Was he funny. Check him out on you tube.

Sunday, we woke to calm water and the most beautiful scenery to that point. During the night, we had entered the inside passage and now we were passing through a watery passage with snowcapped mountains on either side, on a sunny, cloudless morning. After breakfast in the Lido, we went outside into the brisk morning air. Occasionally seeing Dall's Porpoises swimming around the ship chasing breakfast.

Mendenhall Glacier >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We docked in Juneau, Alaska at 11am. Vi and Rollin were headed for a white water trip. Mom and Norman were out for a tour of the city. Barbi and I had an appointment with a KAYAK!

You will notice in the picture that there are now clouds. Shortly after this picture was taken by our guide, Julie, the wind started blowing in one direction, while the tide was going out in the opposite direction. We were challenged in getting back to shore. 3 months after double carpel tunnel surgery, barbi's hands were hurting. But it was a fun experience. Later, we met up with my cousing Troy, who lives in Juneau, and we had dinner with him and his wife Cristabel, and they showed us places we would have never had the opportunity to see without them. Thank you, Thank You!!!! OH! And the smoked salmon dip was AWESOME!

Monday we spent cruising through Glacier Bay National Park. It was the sunniest of all the days of the cruise. We spent most of the day outside in the sun and watching the glaciers and hearing a park ranger's narrative. At Margerie Glacier, we had the opportunity to record the "calving" of the glacier. Watching a huge chunk of ice break off and fall into the ocean. The sound is incredible. The rest of the day we rested and whale watched from the bow of the ship and from all the open decks. That night, we saw the other headline entertainment act of Joel Mason and his tribute to Elton John. Another Fantastic show.

Tuesday was Sika, Alaska. What a beautiful town. We walked and shopped. We also were leant the car of the daughter of one of Barbi's co-workers. We visited a totem park and visited the Raptor Center. LOTS and LOTS of bald eagles in this part of the world.

Wednesday we were in port at Ketchikan, Alaska. The most "tourist" of all the ports and for once, we were not the only ship. We were one of 4. Here you will see from our ship, the Celebrity Infinity and a Princess ship. In front of us was another Princess ship. Barbi and I went touring through the rain forest on a little island away from here. It was the most thrilling ride to get there. A rigid hull inflatable with twin 200HP Mercury's that had a top speed of 50knots. And the captain put it to the stops! We were almost flying across the water.

The coolest part of that adventure was the Nurse Tree. When a tree falls down, other trees and plants start growing on it, providing nourishment as they grow.

Ketchikan is a place to shop for jewelry, if you like that. They have more stores per block than enywhere else in the US, I believe. We finished up our souvenier shopping for the family here. We had a short stay here, relatively speaking. 7am to 1pm. The stores were all open that early to cater to the cruise ships. Honestly, I would not look to visit Ketchikan again. Way too busy.

The rest of the day Wednesday and most of Thursday was back out to sea heading back. We spent time shopping, playing cards, eating, and going to shows. Beside the headline acts, the Holland America Singers and Dancers were awesome. They put on 3 shows that were spectacular. That last day at sea, we were treated to Joel Mason and Friends, an encore performance of all the entertainers, except the juggling comedian, who we missed, because that was in Juneau, and we did not have to be back on the ship until 9:30pm. Seeing Elliot Maxx and Joel again, insured that I bought their CD and DVD respectively. Check them out at http://www.eltonjohntribute.com/ and http://www.elliotmaxx.com/. Thank you for a great time.

Elloit Maxx on the left and Joel Mason on the right.

Thursday night, we docked in Victoria, British Columbia. We were going to do a Haunted Tour, as Victoria is known as one of the most haunted cities in the world. But instead, we just walked through downtown and enjoyed the sights of street calypso bands playing, shopping, and handing Quarters to beggars. They were everywhere. One lady asked us 3 times for a dollar. We were here from 6pm to Midnight. We boarded the ship again around 10, as we were exhausted and wanted to prepare our luggage for dis-embarkation the next morning. The cedar sentinals in front of the Empress Hotel bid us a farewell.

Friday, after dis-embarkation, we rented a van, which was funny in itself (Picture 6 adults, with all our luggage, in a Grand Caravan) and went to the Space needle and the Seattle temple. After a week of beautiful weather, it started to rain as soon as we got off the ship in Seattle. How lucky were we? I also got to visit with some of my co-workers in the Qwest offices in Seattle. It was good to see old friends and meet new ones. Thanks Vicki for making that happen!

All in all, it was a wonderful cruise. One we will not forget for a long time. I guess it was good to get back home, as the kids did miss us. Holli and Steve made possible for us to have this experience. Thank you to them. Thank you Krista for helping out and Mina for being a support to Holli.

So what is next, you ask? Nov 8, 2009 on the Caribbean Princess, to the Southern Caribbean, porting out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Barbi and I will be celebrating 25 years together and we want to invite everyone we know. If you want to join us (AND THE RATES ARE FANTASTIC), send an email and we'll get the info to you. Imagine if you will, 80 degree tropical weather on a beautiful ship, in crystal clear Caribbean waters, scuba diving, snorkling, horseback riding on the beach, great food, great friends, great entertainment, shopping, walking hand in hand on a beach during sunset...you dream it, it could happen! Come along with us. We'll have a blast.