Day 8 - Disembarkation

Well, how about that!  We're home already!

We got up at around 7:35 am to eat our final breakfast of this cruise aboard the MS Volendam.  We'd picked up red luggage tags and left our luggage by our door last night.  That meant we were late departure and were scheduled for 9:50.  Yet, things must've gone smoothly at the port and we were called to disembark at 9:00.  We'd already gone to the back pool for these few photos.  So, we headed down to the room to brush our teeth and make sure all our remaining items were in our backpacks.

We disembarked with Tim and Jiwan and quickly found our luggage in the terminal.  They took a taxi home, but we, although we live much further away, just rolled to the nearby SkyTrain and rode back to New Westminster.  Before 10:30 we had already washed several loads of laundry.

Damn.  We easily get spoiled by having someone take care of all of our needs even when we cruise for just one week.  What?  No one is going to cook and clean for us now?  Reality can be a harsh bitch.

Day 7 - Inside Passage

The last day of a cruise is always somewhat sad although we are heading through one of the most interesting sections of the entire week. We missed BC's Inside Passage when coming north as we were travelling at night.

On the last full day, passengers realize this lifestyle is going to end abruptly.  Tomorrow will be the final time that a delicious breakfast will be prepared and offered.  All the other little privileges provided are soon to disappear too.

This has been a nice break.  We're lucky to be able to take an Alaskan cruise with such little effort.  I'm sure that this will not be the final one.  Even though the itineraries in 2019, and 2022 were similar, each cruise is unique and engaging.  We can also choose from an expanding local selection of ports.  I'm keen to see Prince Rupert, BC added to future lists.

It was rather overcast for much of the day.  This, however, is typical for the journey.  Most of the region is coastal rainforest.  While others are baking in high temperatures, we enjoyed the coolness.

We have to get up a bit earlier tomorrow.  We have the latest possible disembarkation.  That means, most likely, we'll be doing errands at home at around 10:30 am.  Another adventure will soon be nothing more than a memory!

Day 6 - Ketchikan, Alaska

 

We got up and were eating breakfast in the Lido Market at around 8:15. That is pretty normal. However, our ship pulled into Ketchikan a bit early and we were off before 10:30 am.

 

Jay and I were delighted with the weather as we'd seen early reports that it'd be overcast.  It's easy to note that it wasn't.

 

We walked over to Creek Street just a few streets to the other side of downtown. It was an infamous brothel area in years past. Now souvenirs are about the only things for sale. We walked up to the city's salmon hatchery and through the park along the river. We came down around the hill and back to the ship area. It was probably a total of seven kilometers.

 

We returned to the ship for lunch. I had a chicken hamburger and cold Alaskan beer. We returned outside for a tiny walk and some quality bench time. I love just being in the moment in other places.  I try to suck in the environment as it seems like a privilege to be visiting another location on our earth.  

Our ship has just sailed away at 6:30 pm. Another great day in Ketchikan! We're heading back towards Vancouver now and will spend most of tomorrow in the stretch of the Inside Passage of British Columbia.

 

Day 5 - Glacier Bay National Park (And My 64th Birthday)

How nice to celebrate my birthday by entering the Glacier Bay US National Park.

Perhaps because my birthday arrives in the middle of summer, I have found myself in cooler places during recent years.  In 2022, I was in Reykjavík, Iceland.  Further back, on the day I turned 60, we were also in Alaska and took a helicopter to the top of a glacier near Skagway.

Glacier Bay is always both fascinating and beautiful.  Just as on previous trips, we picked up a park ranger at the visitor center on the way in.  That occurred at around 6:30 am.  He or she stays and periodically narrates throughout the day.  As we leave, we do a drop-off.  Only two cruise ships are allowed per day but visitors on smaller vessels and even kayaks are allowed to enter the unique and special location.

 

This cruise was unique because our friends were aboard as well. We've been eating in the main dining room for dinners. Both our anniversary and my birthday happened to coincide with Holland America Lines gala nights. We brought along suits so we could totally participate in dressy evening attire. On HAL cruises, it is a tradition that working staff come to celebrate birthdays. As many staff have customarily come from Indonesia, they clap and sing a unique song. Tonight I was one of several who received this honour.

    

Day 4 - Skagway, Alaska

This town is always interesting because it is representative of the people on a quest for Yukon gold.  Holland America ships always dock in a position that lines right up with Broadway Street.  The US Parks Service has a fair presence here and we watched a bit of a documentary presentation in a theatre in a section of the original train station.    I cannot suggest that you ought to be interested in the gold rush of this area.  However, the Klondike Gold Rush was an amazing historical event.  Even today, the train track that tourists take to White Pass was built during that time.  I should add that boom had gone bust by the time the line was inaugurated in 1900.

We also noted that some businesses we knew, including the Alaska T-Shirt Company, have gone belly up.  I assume this was because of the lack of visitors during COVID.  The town of 1,000 people has hosted visitors for over 100 years.  Today, we were one ship of three docked.

In 2019, this is the town where Jay and I took a helicopter tour that landed on top of a glacier.  Today, our friends walked to see some waterfalls, while we stuck to walking the tourist street in town.   It was nice to stop in Skagway again.

 

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Day 3 - Juneau, Alaska

Welcome to Alaska!  Waking up on a ship is an excellent way to start the day.  We watched as a few guests left to board a smaller vessel to explore Tracy Arm.  They caught up with us later in the day.  We docked in Alaska's capital at around 1:00 pm.  We stayed in town until after 9:30 pm.

It was easy to walk into town.  We are familiar with this city from our previous visits.  Of course we came by ship in the past as this is the only North American US State capital without road access.  Of our three main cities, this is probably my favourite.  I could see living in Juneau during summertimes.

We were pretty chill as our other friends hiked on some local trails.  We stayed and watched as the town was temporarily overrun with tourists from our ship and the other three visiting on a Friday.  We stopped inside the salmon processing facility for the first time.  We didn't buy fish nor the $26 baseball hat that Jay liked.

It was an easy place to relax.  We stopped a number of times at benches along our route to drink in the environment.  As usual, I imagined what it'd be like to live here for a while.  I do that in nearly every location we visit.

The sun was finally setting as we pushed off from the dock.  It will not be far to Skagway, AK.  We'll be there for the whole day tomorrow.

Day 2 - At Sea

On this cruise schedule, we spent the whole day headed north.  A sea day is perfect for the first of seven days.  Even for those of us who didn't have far to get to the ship. a nothing day is perfect.  We learned the ship and relaxed.

Of course, it was the first gala night and this gave an excuse to dress up.  We enjoy dinners with the four other friends.  We have a set table and time.  As Ed noted, "We all clean up well."

Day 1 - Boarding at Canada Place

We caught a SkyTrain at about 10:20 and we onboard the MS Volendam before lunch.

It didn't take long to board even though our 'official' time was supposed to be 1:40 pm.  We saw our friends while waiting to board as they'd arrived a few minutes before us.  Jay and I scoped out the ship right from the start.  We are used to larger ships and this one seems intimate with just 1400 guest passengers.

It was a prime weather day in Vancouver.  This is the July kind of weather that impresses even jaded residents.  We were happy just because there was so much blue.  Blue is a nice colour.  After lunch, we met up with friends.  It was a great sail away.  Going under the Lions Gate Bridge is always an event worthy of remembering.

We spent the evening rounding the corner and starting to head up the Inside Passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island.  Amazing views from our dinner table in the main dining hall.  We were tired and in bed by 11:00.

Yes, Suits and Ties. We are on Holland America!

This morning, we were able to pack with wild abandon.  

Jay and I literally do not have to lift our bags off the ground tomorrow. First, we'll roll into our elevator, across the parkade, and into the SkyTrain Station. After that, we'll push them to an escalator to the platform and onto a train going downtown. Then, we'll roll towards the escalators to Canada Place. We'll hold tightly as we continue down the slope under the building and present to the terminal staff. Finally, and somewhat magically, by the time we check in and meet our friends for lunch, the ship staff will have put our luggage next to our door on the MS Volendam.

Because our trip includes no flying, we were sure to cart along formal attire for the ship's two gala nights.  One of the dress-up nights will be my birthday!  The ease of boarding is one more advantage of catching an Alaskan cruise for us.

 

Our Planned 2023 Birthday Locations

I've always been a big fan of Google Maps. Street View provides a few visual clues before we travel to a new location. In this case, I wanted to share two, 360-degree locations contributed by others. 

My birthday is coming up soon and Jay's is in early September. During recent years we try to get to interesting locations. We'd rather pay for experiences than own more stuff. In 2023, we'll be revisiting known locations. They make for a nice contrast.  For a better look around, please explore these photo spheres: 

Dennis's Birthday -- July 23rd

Jay's Birthday -- September 8th

70 Days from Today

June 22, 2005

These fine fellows will be coming to visit us in New Westminster on Saturday.  We are hosting dinner.  We have been sharing meals for years and years.

Obviously, we've known these guys for quite a long time.  And actually, our friendship predates the photo.  This was taken on our first and, up to now, only extended trip together. We went to the Okanagan nearly eighteen years ago in a rented van.  The picture is easily accessible as I started uploading images to the Flickr photo-sharing site because of our time visiting vineyards and BC's semi-desert.

As fate would have it, we do, finally, have another trip planned!

During the week of my birthday in July, we'll all be on the same cruise.  Jay and I have been on Alaskan cruises a few times.  However, cruising is easy and nearly as cheap as a road trip.  Jay and I have never been aboard Holland America with friends or family, so we are really looking forward to it.