Gulf of Alaska, June 30.

We were at sea all day today so we tried to do things we hadn't done yet since it was our last day on-board.

As Deluxe Suite Guests, there is a special dining room for breakfast. So we tried that. It was table service and very, very nice. There were only about six tables in the King's Room and we had our special wait-staff. It had a much more extensive menu than room service.

We then headed to our disembarkation briefing and also the crew good-bye. There had all of the crew at least represented, from the vacuum cleaner guys, room stewards, cooks, entertainers up to the captain. So that was fun.

The we went to the demonstration kitchen and watched how to cook Steak Diane and chilled raspberry soup. It was entertaining...and smelled good. We then hit the casino and actually won some money.

We had a quick bite to eat on the Lido deck. We hadn't eaten in an hour or so, so we had to keep up our strength. It was a pretty grey day, about 50 degrees, but there was a lot of rocking, since we were in open water.

We then went to a towel folding demonstration, which was cute. Between the four room stewards they could do something like 40 different kinds of animals. There was a standing room only.



We then attended Mass. That was a unique experience, but there were a lot of people there. The priest gave a decent homily, at least it was prepared. We even sang.

We then went back to our suite to figure out packing. We had several options, to carry bags on the train, send some bags on the Anchorage and send others to Fairbanks. We decided to send most of our stuff onto Fairbanks, so we wouldn't have to mess with them.

We had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, which was the up-scale restaurant on-board. It was Lois' retirement celebration. Wow, it was awesome. First, the chef sent out an amuse bouche of smoked duck breast wrapped around a little slaw. We also had a variety of freshly backed rolls, three kinds of butter: garlic, lemon and tomato, and three kinds of salt, a black smoked Hawaiian sea salt, a spicey red sea salt and finally a pink sea salt. This was followed by our appetizer which was smoked salmon, cooked salmon and scallops served with wasabe cream. We both had the steak Diane, whcih was flamed table side. It was a great presentation and a really, really tasty dish. Lois had a baked potatoe and mushrooms with her steak and I had scalloped potatoes and creamed spinach. There were lots of tough choices for dessert. I settled on a chocolate volcano cake, Lois had the cream brulee which was presented in three different flavors, chocolate, vanilla and expresso. Again, wow. We went to the casino to give them back their money and finished the evening at the stage show.

 

 

It was still light out at eleven. We closed our suitcases and put them out in the hallway to get picked up. I don't know when or if it ever got dark. At midnight you could have still read a book.

 



 

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June 29th, Glacier Bay

We entered Glacier Bay at about 6:30 this morning. The water is very still and the skies are grey. Before breakfast we spotted a few seals in the water.

The morning has gotten increasingly foggy. The ship is blowing its fog horn every few minutes. With the increasing amount of glacier ice in the water, it is becoming a little Titanicesque. Every once and a while you can see the shore line through the fog. Hopefully, it will clear a bit by the time we get to the glacier about 11:00. We are having mid-morning coffee on our verandah. We are pretty wrapped up, but in is very serene. They said there were a couple of whales this morning, but we haven't seen them yet. There is hope, it is getting brighter.

We were very cllose to several glaciers. We sailed past the Lamplugh Glacier. We spent about an hour in front of the Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers The captain kept turning the ship so the view was always changing. You could hear the cracking of the glaciers.

The bad parents were feeding the gulls, so of course, the bad child was screaming, but evidently not loud enough to cause a large chunk to fall off. She was too big for a gull to carry her away. There were rangers from the national park service to help explain the history of the area and what was going on. We spent some time in the crows nest, but could actually see better from our verandah, so we bundled up and spent most of our time there.

As we were leaving the glaciers, we ate lunch in the Rotterdam dining room. There is table service. I had a greaty lamb curry. Loise had the salmon, again.

We spent the after noon looking for whales and bear and saw seals and eagles. Love the verandah.

Dinner was good, as usual. Lois started with the Escargots Bourguignon and I had the Duck Pate, Caviar and Smoked Salmon. For the next course I had the Cream of Four Mushroom soup and Lois had the Baby Spinachand Button Mushrrom.

 

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Skagway, June 28th

The floor mats on the floors of the elevators remind us that it is Thursday. We docked in Skagway about 7:00 this morning. The town is at the end of a fairly narrow channel. There are snow covered mountain everywhere you look. The sun was shining and the temperature pretty mild.

We had breakfast in our room, in no hurry to disembark as we had no excursions schedules, although we probably should have taken the train ride.

We finally got our act together and took the short walk into town. It isn't much of a town. It looks like the model of Frontier Town from Disney World. It has wooden sidewalks and lots of small shops, the same ones we saw in Ketchikan and Juneau. With four cruise ships in port it over quadrupled the population of the town. It was so crowded you could hardly walk.

I was out in my shirt sleeves and it wan't raining. Both good things. We were back on the ship for a late lunch, having walked from one end of the town to the other. We stopped in a number of shops, but didn't buy much. The jewelry is really pretty, if that is what you are shopping for, there were some nice weavings and rugs, but most of the stuff was just overpriced tourist stuff. It reminded both Lois and I of the tourist towns of the Black Hills.

By the time we were heading back to the ship, the wind picked up and it got quite chilly. The blue sky we were enjoying turned overcast. The people coming of the next ship over are really bundled up. Both the Princess Lines and the Disney Line have shuttles for their passengers, which further have clogged the streets. We have notices that in every port, our ship has the best berth at the dock.

 

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Juneau

We docked at Juneau about 9:00 this morning. Breakfast was delivered to our room about 7:45. We disembarked at 9:30 for our excursion to the Mendenhall gardens and glacier tour. We are one of five cruise ships currently at port, increasing the population by 50%. We are also the tallest structures in town. Juneau is only accessible by sea or air, a dubious distinction for a state capital. It probably also has the ugliest state capital in the most beautiful setting.

We had breakfast delivered to our suite, which I could get used to. We had booked an excursion for today: Mendenhall Gardens and Glacier. It left the pier at 9:45. We toured the Gardens for about 90 minutes. The guides were very good. The Gardens were apparently the work of one man who desired to clean up the area after a mud-slide in the early '80's . They were unusual as well as beautiful. The top of the mountain afforded a nice view of Juneau, but it was loud as it was directly over the airport. This it had in common with the port. A popular way to see the ice field is by air, so there is a constant sound of either sea-planes or helicopters taking off and landing.

There are eagles everywhere, so the eagle sighting tour would have been a real waste. . We returned through part of the Tongass national park. The concept of a temperate rain forest is interesting. This is the second largest rain forest in the world after the Amazon. Snow and rainforest doesn't seem to go together, but this one runs from South of Ketchikan to North of Skagway. The variety of flowers is amazing.

The Mendenhall Glacier was no less intriguing. The National Park Service has a visitor center and it is very informative. We didn't have too much time there. We were on the geriatric tour, so most people didn't explore much. Lois and I were the last ones back on the bus.

It started to sprinkle as we returned to the dock at about 2:00. We hit a couple of stores, but they were just a carbon copy of those in Ketchikan. It seems that if you want to invest in jewelry, this is a good place to come, since it is duty free. However, if you don't it is just a tourist trap. But all of the store people are friendly and there is not hard sell.

We grabed a burger in the snack bar for a late lunch then grabbed a nap. Afgter our nap we went to the crows nest, the bar top deck forward. Great view of the town, comfy chairs and snack brought to your table. We tried the Alaskan Amber Ale, which was very good.

We are opting for a late, late dinner tonight because we want to se the Filipino show which starts at 11:00 pm. The staff here doesn't seem to get to rest, even though they say they do. You often see the same people both at lunch and dinner. The restarant host did say he did go into Ketchikan to send e-mail.

The featured chef for tonight is Charlie Trotter. I started with the Captain's Antipasto Plate and Lois with the Glacier Bay Seafood Cake. I followed this will a Chilled Apricot Soup with a meringue "snow egg". Lois thad the salad. For the entrée Lois had the Crispy Sweet and Sour Shrimp and I had the Veal Chop. Lois had the Schokolade Tasche for dessert and I just had the cheese plate. All was good as usual.

As luck would have it we were seated next to the beasty child and her ignore "if looks could kill stares of fellow passengers" parents. After the first several screams and pounding on the table and hitting the plates with her plates, we asked to move. There was a barrier of empty tables surrounding her. The offending parents and their child from hell have the suite several doors down. We no longer look for our room number, we just listen for the screaming.

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Straits

It has remained cloudy all day. the clouds touch the water and the wooded shorelines are like ghostly images rising through the mists. It really is quite and serene. It was great for resting this afternoon.

We had a light lunch in the Lido, only because we had a mid-morning snack, so we weren't too hungry.

The peacefulness of the day was interrupted by an unruly bi-polar brat at the next table during dinner. Her parents pretty much ignored her moments of screaming with glee or crying. No less than 5 waiters took there turns trying to shush her, while her parents or the biological creatures who spawned her sat by idly. My only consolation is knowing the grief they will have to endure for many years to come!

But dinner was tasty, if not quiet. We started with a crab and artichoke en bouchée. Lois had the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and I had the venison sausage and vegetable soup. We both had soup for lunch. I had the pepper pot and Lois had the cream of pumpkin. The coolness of the day made soup sound really good. Lois had the entrée from the culinary council chef, Jonnie Boer: olive oil poached halibut with chorizo cream. I chose the bay scallops and Manila clams over egg noodles. I had the chocolate soufflé and Lois the Banoffee pie.

We will arrive early in Juneau tomorrow where we have a tour of the Mendenhall glacier.

We are in one of two straits, which is the roughest water we have encountered so far. At one point we will be in open water. There are white capes and a healthy breeze blowing. I think the rain will continue tomorrow. It doesn't seem to slow anything down.

 

Ketchikan, Tuesday, June 26th

We awoke this to land. It is very overcast and with a slight drizzle. Within an hour we had docked at Ketchikan along side two Princess ships. We are having breakfast before we disembark. We aren't that interested in shopping and have no excursions scheduled, so there is no hurry. Spotted several eagles this morning.

 

 

We left the ship in the cold drizzle, the no rain dance failed. It really isn't that cold, probably around 60, but it is wet. We had an umbrella in our room, so it was tolerable. All we really wanted to do is ride the funicular railroad to Cape Fox Lodge to take a picture of our ship. Mission accomplished we rode back down. We took photos of a couple of totem poles, which abound and walked along creek street, just to see Dolly's house, went in a couple of stores that were offering free stuff and back to the ship within two hours. We decided the food on board is just as good or better than we could get in town. A couple people who were buying expensive stuff said the prices were good, as everything is duty free.

June 25th, a day at sea.

It was about 6:30 when I first opened my eyes. It was completely light outside. There is something really nice about lying in bed and watching the landscape roll by. The water is very still and as the morning progresses it is getting clearer. We are a little further from the shoreline, which has remained unchanged during the night...lots of trees with the mountains in the background. It is unbroken except for the occasional cluster of building. There are also small islands with rocky outcroppings. There is another ship right ahead of us. It is probably the Celebrity which left Vancouver before us and has been in sight most of the time.

We had breakfast delivered to our room, which we ate on the verandah. It was a bit chilly, but where else do you get to do that. Since this is a full day at sea, there is a plethora of on-board activities, which actually require I get dressed.

At some point, trees turned to water, lots of water. The remainder of the day there was nothing but water. We had traveled 250 nautical miles since Vancouver, with about 250 more until we reach Ketchekan sometime tommorrow morning.

We get papered to death. There is the daily Explorer, outlining the activities for the day. Then there is a little shipboard newspaper, which synopsises the New York Times is about 12 eight and a half by eleven inch pages. And then there are the flyers, piles of them, from the shops advertizing about everything.

There were activities all day, We went to the "must attend" shopping talk. All it was, was really a should miss. It was an overly long narration from the shopping director on her 25 years of shopping, what to buy, read: expensive jewelry and more jewelry. She ran overtime, partly because of crew only fire drill, but we missed the reception with the captain for the people in the deluxe verandah suites and penthouse.

Learning from out "open seating" experience the night before, we headed to the Neptune Lounge, which is just for the people on our deck. It has magazines and newspapers, a television and coffee and other refeshments. There is always food there appropriate for the time of day: Continental breakfast, midday snaks, afternoon tea and canapés starting at 5:00. Better yet, we have Shirley, the Neptune Lounge concierge. The scary thing is she knew our name when we walked in. We made reservations for dinner and had a snack while we decided what we wanted to eat for lunch.

We opted for the Liddo buffet. It was a zoo, even though we waited until after 1:00. With everyone on-board it was pretty crowded. We had a little sushi and I tried the Swiss Steak. It was really good, The sushi was just ok. The sushi line was entertaining, the guy in front of us, who was holding up the line, wanted sushi without nori.

We walked around the ship, just to see what was on the other side...but it was just more water. So we returned to our room for an afternoon nap. Tonight is the first formal night, so that will take some getting ready for.

After drinks in our room and some Canapes from the lounge we were ready to face the rest of the evening.

At 7:00, we went to the champagne toast with the captain, where he introduced the ship's officers. We were with the commoners, but not many people showed up. Julie, our personnal concierge managed a table for two for an eight o'clock dinner. It just takes too much energy to constantly meet new people and have to talk to them. Last night's featured culinary council chef was David Burke, tonight it is Marcus Samuelsson. So they have a couple of the recipes on the menu.

We had a nice bottle of Malbec, recommended by the wine steward with our dinner. The appetizer was and incredible carpaccio of beef tenderloin. I am sure how you slice meat that thin, but as described it was literally razor-thin. It was drizzled with olive oil, topped with shaved Reggiano-Parmigiano and accompanied with a whole grain mustard sauce. For our salad course we had thesmoed salmon, pear and fennel salad. For the entrée, we chose Chef Samuelsson's roasted rack oflambwith smoked-paprika crust. It came with a cheesy potatogratin, sautéed green beans and roasted sweet peppers. Wow! I wanted to chew on the bones. I should have brought my camera, but I didn't want to look like a geek. For dessert I had the other Chef Samuelsoon dish: coconut rice pudding. It had ginger and lemon grass, which gave it a very delicate and unusual flavor. It was really creamy. Lois had the baked Alaska.

After dinner, we went to the 10:00 stage show, "Love Songs of Broadway." It was love songs sung by people who wouldn't make it on Broadway. It was a nice way to finish off the evening with an after dinner drink. It was over by 11:00 and it was still light outside. We change time zones tonight, so we get another hourto sleep in. We arrive in Ketchikan early in the morning.

Sunday, June 24th, Vancouver

We went to the top deck for our departure from Vancouver. It was partly cloudy, but clearing. By the time we cleared the dock, the sun was shining brightly and it was so warm, Lois even took off her shawl. I kept forgetting that it was Sunday afternoon, which accounted for the vast number of sailboats and other pleasure craft on the water.

Before we set off we had the mandatory emergency drill. It was like herding cats. Although there are a few families onboard, most passengers are down-right old. By nine o'clock the dining room was pretty deserted. Since I have no idea what time it is most of the time, I think that would be 11 or 12, which explained my tiredness, since we had been up and moving since 5:00 am.

The scenery is beautiful. Tree-lined shores with snow-capped mountains in the background. The water is very smooth, lake-like in many respects since we are so close to land. You can feel the vibration of the engines, but that is rather soothing.

We opted for a late dinner, missing Bingo, but what the heck. Lois started with a Fresh Fruit Medley for an appetizer, I had the Parfait of Salmon and Tuna Tartars. Both were very good. I could have had six more of mine. Following was a nice salad of mixed greens with caramelized apple, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and a cranberry-ginger vinaigrette. Lois had the Salmon with basil, tomatoes and capers and I had the Parmesan coated veal loin for the entrée. It came with the creamiest polenta I have every had. The sauce was so good it would have been drinkable. Lois had the Passion Fruit Mousse Torte for dessert and I had to try the backed Alaska, not only did is seem appropriate, but it was chocolate.

By the time we finished dinner, we were too tired to do much else than go back to our room and unpack, which we hadn't started yet. We spent most of the afternoon on our varanda as it was sunny and warm. Some of the homes along the water were incredible.

It was still pretty light when we finished dinner, which was about 10:00 p.m. It remained light for at least another hour or so. We went out to look at the moon and stars about midnight and there was still light on the horizen. The sky was beautiful.

 

 

The Zaandam

We are all aboard, had our first buffet and haven't left the dock yet.

It was just an hour and a half flight from Salt Lake City to Vancouver. Seats were a little more comfortable, but it was still a regional jet. Immigration and customs was easy. The immigration officer said we fix the profile of cruise ship passengers: in Canada for one day. Reps from the ship met us. We had 45 minute guided bus tour of Vancouver.

At the dock we had to pass through U.S. immigration and security. Everything was fast,

Our room is very spacious and fully stocked.

 

Did I mention fully stocked

 

 

To Salt Lake City

When did airplane seats become so dang uncomfortable. We are on a Delta flight to Salt lake. It is a two hour and seven minute flight from Dallas. We are scheduled to arrive at 10:00 with our next flight boarding at 10:10. It should be interesting. The stewardess has been up and down the aisle with drinks and even had peanuts. So Delta is one up on American. The only problem is the bathroom traffic it has generated, which begs the question, "don't skinny people fly?" or maybe the aisles have gotten narrower, but I feel a little jostled sitting on the aisle seat.

We are over the Rockies, so we are starting our descent already. It is 83 degrees there. Makes me happy.

We landed early, but had to wait for a new gate. Still made it early, despite the wait on the run-way. And thanks to two moving sidewalks, we made it tour gate with time to spare.

 

 

Dallas

Yesterday, Lois and I met in Dallas. It was hot. I arrived first, so I told Lois that I would meet her at her baggage claim. In doing so, I discovered a fatal flaw in the design of DFW. If you check your 48.5 pound bag you have to retrieve it upon landing if you don't continue you journey within four hours. You then are relegated to ground transportation rather than the tram between terminals. It is not the most efficient system ever developed. I landed at 4:00 and it took me nearly to 5:00 to get to the next terminal. And did I mention it was hot?

We then had to wait for the hotel shuttle. To make a long story short, it was 6:30 when we got to our hotel. The hotels was clustered in a group of hotels and parking spots, but sans restaurants. Our only choice without a car was the restaurant in the Sheraton, which was just down the street. So we had dinner and in true Texas style, the was a beauty pageant. I have never seen so many tiaras in one place.

The room was nice, not that we spent much time there. With our early morning flight to Vancouver, we left the hotel with the flight crew at 5:30 am. We decided we could always eat breakfast at the airport. Now we are just waiting for our flight to Salt Lake City.