North! To Alaska – Oh the FOOD!

One of the fun benefits of a cruise vacation is the FOOD! So many choices, so many new experiences and tastes. The last cruise Russ and I were on was a Disney Cruise for our honeymoon – 3 decades ago. I remember ice sculptures and scads of food buffet style, but also themed dinners and impeccable table service.

The Holland America dining experience was different than our honeymoon cruise, but not in a bad way. We ate the majority of our breakfasts and lunches on Deck 9 (Lido Market) where a buffet was served cafeteria style. Breakfast choices included made-to-order pancakes, waffles, French toast, ham, sausage, bacon, cereals, fruit, eggs, salmon, bagels, and crepes. Lunch offered freshly made sushi, noodle dishes, sandwiches, pizza, and some of the best shrimp curry I’ve had (I had seconds). Meals were also available in the room, and on other decks at a higher rate (and not covered by all-inclusive).

As we didn’t purchase a premium meal & drink package, we didn’t have an assigned table for evening meals. Most nights we ate with our friends at a table for four, although one night one of our party was suffering from motion sickness, and the remaining three joined a table of 7. Each night we made our way down to the third deck and gave the host our name and # in our party. We were seated – most nights by the window there were several tables with a view that were not directly by the window.

Some nights were ‘dressy nights’, others were casual dress. Holland America, sails of course, under the Dutch flag, and as the royal family is of the House of Orange, we were encouraged to wear orange one night. I don’t usually wear orange as it’s not a great color for me, but we had fun finding orange scarves and shirts to fit in with the theme.

The menu was broken down into Drinks, Starters, Mains, and Desserts. Most items were included in our package; those that weren’t were clearly marked. Dietary restrictions were available, and the serving staff were very knowledgeable about meals and what they contained. My favorite starter was the salmon chowder, and my favorite mains were the veal scallopine and Alaskan Rockfish; the desserts were to.die.for. Everything was beautifully plated and served on pretty dishes with linen napkins and silverware.

Our last evening on board, Clynton was the most personable of all our waiters. He spent a lot of time answering our questions about life in the cruise industry, his family, his vacations; and agreed to take a photo of all of us for posterity!

No ice sculptures or buffet meals in sight, we ate like royalty and although I expected to gain 20+ pounds over the course of the month, I watched what I ate the rest of the trip and came back with only 3 extra pounds of body weight (I didn’t weigh my suitcases)!

You can continue following our adventures on Facebook at Normads (Norman Adventures), or here on the blog.

North! To Alaska – Seattle to ???

After months of planning, it’s time to head to Alaska. Of course, there are always ‘last minute’ things to take care of like re-packing the suitcase (remember we’ve been on the road two weeks by this point), checking in, printing out luggage tags, and boarding passes.

We met our friends and set off by Uber to Pier 91 on Saturday morning so we could make our boarding time. Holland America had everything clearly marked and several attendants pointing the way to the various checkpoints, from luggage, passport, ID Photo, and boarding the ship. Of course, I took my own photos, but there are cruise photographers on hand at various points during the cruise to help memorialize the trip. There’s a cost for the professional photos, so you’ll have to decide if you’re going to buy all of them, select a few, or stick with your own.

The first task was to find our room, get our life vests on, and meet at our emergency stations for a drill. Our room was nicely laid out with quite a bit of closet space, a large bed with drawers underneath, and a pullout couch. The bathroom is small and requires a bit of maneuvering (and is definitely NOT made for two people at a time).

Then it was time to meet at the Lido Deck (9) to plan the rest of the day. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a great view as we left port. After we were underway, we moved to the Observation Deck (10) to wave goodbye to Seattle and head out to sea! We spent a bit of time walking around the decks before getting dressed for dinner.

After dinner, we explored some more and found the game room (which also has an espresso cafe & bar!). Several tables were scattered around; a huge storage cabinet housed a large selection of board and card games, and puzzles available for use. We played Sorry! and turned in for the night.

Our next two days were at sea. As Saturday turned to Sunday, the seas became pretty rough. I’ve cruised before, and have rarely, if ever been seasick, but the seas were so rough the guys were the only ones up for breakfast. The Captain hosted a talk with graphs, charts, and some of the most colorful weather maps I’ve seen showing A MASSIVE storm calling for a complete re-route in our itinerary. The advanced warnings allowed our ship to skim along the outskirts of the storm, even though missed Juneau entirely to avoid all that scary red and pink in the weather system. The Captain’s presentation was fascinating; his experience at sea was evident and it was clear that not only did he know the size of his ship, but trusted his crew, maps, and the tools used to predict the weather.

Monday was still a bit rough, but as we continued to cruise along the outer rim of the storm and made our way north, the seas calmed and we were able to see some whales, seals, and a bit of blue sky on our way to Glacier Bay.

Our first stop is Glacier Bay, John Hopkins Glacier, and Icy Strait Point. Safe Travels and God’s blessings!

You can continue following our adventures on Facebook at Normads (Norman Adventures), or here on the blog.

North! To Alaska – Booking our Cruise

Planning for The Great September Road trip started after we sold the house in Redmond, Washington in June of 2022, moved to Edmonds, and began the checklist for the move to Mesa, AZ in June of 2023. As we packed up the house, I had several conversations with one of my best friends (and former neighbor) about what we would do when we moved. We talked about traveling, and she mentioned she ‘had always wanted to go to Alaska.’ Let’s forget about the fact that in the 20+ years we lived next to each other she never mentioned this once; it put a bee in my bonnet, and I began researching cruise lines, sailings, destinations, prices, and excursions the four of us could take.

I’m by no means a travel agent and have respect for those who are, as booking a cruise for two couples, with health challenges, pandemic restrictions, geographic diversities, and economic considerations, was no small feat. The cruise industry is mostly web-based now, so it was necessary to research pricing comparisons through email and I’m still getting ‘junk’ mail from cruise lines trying to sell me their wares. (And yes, we’ll probably go on another cruise in the future, but it’s not going to be an annual thing).

The first thing to decide was where and when. We wanted glaciers plus Juneau and Ketchikan – didn’t narrow the choices much; but deciding on 7 days vs 10 based on cost checked off the destination box and also narrowed the dates we could choose. Part of the booking process is choosing the stateroom: Inside, Ocean View, Balcony, or Suite. Prices were similar between all the major cruise lines, Priceline and Costco; we ultimately chose Holland America and booked Ocean View rooms across the hallway from each other (our neighbor’s daughter upgraded them to a balcony room a few weeks before the cruise), paid the deposit, and then dug into the ‘paperwork’ which is all online, but required information like full legal names, birthdates, passport or driver’s license information AND photos, medical needs, and packages for meals and excursions. We booked both the cruise and excursions through Priceline, not directly through Holland America. Priceline made the initial transaction pretty easy, however, we experienced issues later when we wanted to upgrade our room plus delays with refunds for excursions canceled due to weather. We’ll cover my thoughts on Priceline vs. Holland America in a later posting.

A basic cruise package includes meals (not ‘specialty dining’), and beverages like coffee, tea, water, and juices. We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches on the Lido Deck (Deck 9), which was buffet-style dining and included beverages like coffee, tea, juices, and water just like the main dining areas. Espressos, carbonated, and alcoholic beverages are not included and are charged to the room if ordered. We took our dinners in the ‘main’ dining room, except for 3 nights when they seated us in the ‘upper’ dining room. Our menu options varied each evening with starters, mains, and desserts included in the basic package, with options for 3 or 4 premium main courses, espresso, cappuccino, and specialty drinks at an additional charge.

We did NOT purchase the ‘have it all’ package from Holland America; packages ranged from US $55 – $60 per person per day. After calculating what we spent on the cruise for Wi-Fi, daily espressos, and the occasional alcoholic beverage with dinner, we would have saved about $100 overall. The savings would have been greater if we had chosen ‘specialty dining’ or premium main courses for our meals.

Anything not included in your package is charged to your room at the various locations (including the 18% gratuity PER GUEST PER DAY), so you’ll need to remember your room number. You can visit guest services and get a printout of your charges at any time during the cruise; I got one just before departing the ship so I had an idea of additional charges to expect. Our final bill for the cruise, excluding excursions, souvenirs, and transportation to and from Redmond, was $3k for the two of us.

Next time I’ll talk about setting off, and our first few days of the cruise. Safe Travels and God’s blessings!

You can continue following our adventures on Facebook at Normads (Norman Adventures), or here on the blog.

Kobe’s Weekend Adventure

It looks like all we did was drink this weekend, but believe me, there was also a LOT of laughter, talking, walking, eating, shopping, and hanging out. Oh, and dogs.

Kobe experienced his first ferry boat ride. I’m not sure he was overly impressed; he spent most of the car and ferry ride shaking and panting, even though he had his bed and his humans with him. We didn’t even get out of the car as it was only a 30-minute trip!

**How many deer can you count in this photo?**

After meeting at our friends’ house, we let the dogs get to know each other. There was of course a lot of sniffing, but no snarling or growling so we jumped in their car with all three dogs and drove to Port Townsend. There were a number of deer grazing in an empty lot – I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many in daylight! After a light snack at the Farmer’s Market of mini donuts, sampling and purchasing of wine and cider, plus purchasing cheese (I think it’s an unwritten rule you MUST purchase cheese at a Farmer’s Market), we did some sightseeing and then stopped off for lunch.

My grandson loves turtles, but the mermaid had no shells on her “girly parts”, so I had to strategically aim the camera in order to keep the photo rated PG.

**Freeze Dried ICE CREAM? IT was FANTASTIC!**

Then it was home for dinner and homemade stew with ‘simple buns’ (stop laughing, Julie). Kobe thought he’d sample some of the host dogs’ food, deemed it delicious, then settled down for a nap on the center of the rug in the walkway. The humans headed back out, leaving the dogs behind this time. We were the only patrons at the Kingston Firehouse Theater, a privately owned theater with two feature films, and an upcoming “Dean-athon” (almost worth the drive back over to see James Dean!). The theater also hires out for private showings and events. They offer a large selection of candies, drinks (alcoholic and non- ), and popcorn. We were still full after the delicious dinner, so we sat in the theater and just enjoyed “Mafia Mamma”. So many laughs, odd Godfather references, cringy moments, and even some romance. Worth seeing if you’re not afraid of some mafia humor and violence.

Sunday morning we had breakfast, mimosas, and reviewed the news on the grounded ferry Walla Walla, then headed out to see Chief Seattle’s gravesite in Suquamish.

From there we had lunch, then drove to Bainbridge Island and toured Highside, a gin distillery. They had a wide selection of gins and although not my thing, they were tasty. The mixed drinks were delicious too and they recommended Kelnero, a restaurant in Edmonds that serves their gin. They recently completed their first batch of whiskey and will be making more as it’s already sold out! It was interesting to hear how they share their waste products from the process with other farms; their used grain goes to feed hogs on the island and the methanol is used by a local woodworker to soften the wood.

There were a few artists’ studios near the distillery, so we had the opportunity to meet one that does iron sculptures. He begins by crafting a draft using foam, then creates a mold before pouring and casting the sculpture. Some of them are well over 6 feet!

A few miles down the road we visited the Bainbridge Organic Distillers and did a whiskey tasting before heading back to the house!

We loaded up Kobe and drove to the Kingston Ale House near the ferry terminal. The Salmon chowder was DELICIOUS! After hugging our friends and thanking them for the FANTASTIC weekend, we made it on the 8:20 ferry, and were home by 9:30. Kobe was so happy he immediately took a nap after all the excitement.