Day One - North to Alaska on MS Volendam

TRAVELOGUES – DAY ONE
HOLLAND AMERICA MS VOLENDAM
13 DAY CRUISE/TOUR
“NORTH TO ALASKA”


Just between you and me – 3:30 in the morning is VERY early! But, that is when we had to set our alarm for to be ready for the shuttle to pick us up and whisk us off to the airport in San Diego to begin our cruise tour “North to Alaska”. We couldn’t get coffee soon enough once we got to the airport. But once we did, all was well and we gave a big sigh of relief that we had arrived on time, made it through the security check point and had our Starbucks coffee in hand - all with 30 minutes to spare before boarding our plane at 6:30 a.m.

Our flight was uneventful from San Diego to Portland and again from Portland ultimately to Vancouver. The skies were clear with only a few clouds here and there adding a little color and dimension to the view out my airplane window. From San Diego, we flew directly up the middle of California flying right over Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe. The views were stunning – we could even see Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. As we continued north, we flew past Mt. Shasta, which was completely covered in snow and definitely stood out in the landscape below. When we arrived in Portland, Mt. Hood could be seen in the distance and when we flew past Seattle, Mt. Rainier greeted us as well.

I never tire of seeing the beautiful landscape below me when I fly up north. The mountain ranges are all dotted with alpine lakes that look like mirrors from my window; and being able to see the islands in the Puget Sound is always a treat. I love seeing the Washington State Ferries on the waters as they are transporting their passengers from here to there and fondly remember when we have been passengers on those ferries and how much fun it is to ride on them.

Once we arrived in Vancouver, we were directed to a motor coach that took us directly to Canada Place¸ the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver. It is about a 45 minute ride. Our check-in for the ship was extremely smooth and I think the easiest of all the cruises we’ve been on.

MS Volendam is a beautiful Holland America ship well-known for its artwork and décor. She carries 1,450 passengers. The Atrium has a beautiful spiral glass staircase with a multi-colored and lighted spire that goes from the bottom of the Atrium on Deck 3 and up to Deck 6. Around the Atrium are several alcoves on the different decks where you can sit in comfy, padded armchairs and watch the world go by through the large picture windows that seem to be everywhere on both sides of the ship on several decks.

After we found our stateroom, a very nice ocean view cabin mid-ship on Deck 1, we took off to explore the ship. The Lido Buffet is on Deck 8 and encompasses both sides of the ship. There are different stations for pastries and breads, salads, Italian, Asian, and main dishes as well as an entire space between the two sides where they have a beautiful offering of desserts.

There is only one main pool with a retractable roof which is the main activity area on the ship; and there is also a small children’s pool at the back of the ship. The library is actually three rooms all open and continuous where they have one wall full of books for you to enjoy, one room where there are jigsaw puzzles set up and then another room with computers and tables for games. Along the huge picture windows are several massage chairs and reclining chairs where we’ve seen several people doing what they love to do on vacation – “nap”.

All of the Holland America ships have now been retrofitted with beautiful, state-of-the-art million dollar culinary centers where they offer cooking classes and demonstrations. This area also serves as a small theater when the culinary department is not having an event.

We listened to a lecture on the first explorers to Alaska in the early afternoon and heard many of the stories that we all learned in history class many years ago. But, even though we had heard the stories long ago, it was nice to get a little refresher as we began our journey up north. The native tribes of the Tlingit and Haida were the very first inhabitants and the trailblazers who introduced us to Alaska some 10,000 years before the first “white” man came here. Vitus Bering was commissioned by Peter the Great of Russian to find out if Siberia was connected to North America back in 1725. Even though he died, his journals and charts were saved, but not published until many years later when one of his fellow shipmates, George Stellar published them. The Bering Sea was named after Vitus Bering. George Stellar was the first naturalist in the area. The Stellar Blue Jay and the Stellar Sea Lion were named after him. After that, there were many more explorers to visit this great land including James Cook, George Vancouver and William Seward. John Muir, the Scottish immigrant who was the crusader for Yosemite National Park, came to Alaska in 1879 and founded the Sierra Club in 1892.

So much for our history lesson today! At 5:00 p.m. on the dot, MS Volendam was underway from Canada Place and quickly began her journey past Stanley Park and under the Lions Gate Bridge out into the calm waters of the Strait of Georgia where we headed north. The ship glided smoothly through the waters that had barely a ripple on them it was so calm. The skies above us seemed to be dotted with cotton balls of clouds against the clear blue skies above. We stayed out on deck for several hours because it was so pleasant and so serene. Inside around the Lido deck pool, the crew began barbequing at 5:00 p.m. and offered the passengers a fabulous array of Alaska salmon, cooked over the smokey coals of the barbeques, along with chicken, ribs, and steak. There were several different salads from mixed green salad to a corn and kidney bean salad to coleslaw. They offered rice pilaf or baked potatoes and baked beans as well. In another corner of the pool area, there were tables set up with white table cloths covered with delectable delights for dessert – among which were small custard fruit tarts, a huge bowl of fresh fruit, a banana cream pie in a Phyllo dough crust and several other things. The table was decorated with carvings made out of white chocolate – one of a bald eagle and one of a prospector.

We ventured up to the “Crow’s Nest” which is a large cocktail lounge/viewing area up on Deck 9 in the very front of the ship that is surrounded by floor to ceiling picture windows, nice comfy chairs and sitting areas where you can watch as the world passes by. I went out on deck several times to take pictures – how odd – and during the time we were in the Crow’s Nest I went out once only to be greeted by a phenomenal view of Mt. Baker as the sun hit its snow white covered peaks giving it a bright pink glow through the hazy foreground. Because it was “behind” the ship, I doubt that many of the passengers even realized that this gorgeous sight was there if they had only gone out onto deck.

It had been a long day for us, and we finally went back to our room about 10:00 last night. It was still twilight outside. But, we were both tired and had no problems falling asleep quickly.

Tomorrow we’ll be sailing through the Inside Passage. I’ll talk to you then!