Crown Princess Travelogue #2 - Boston - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England cruise on Crown Princess
Day 2 – Newport Rhode Island


We arrived at our first port-of-call, Newport, Rhode Island at around 7:00 a.m. The sun was just beginning to rise in the east as the Captain anchored the Crown Princess in Newport Harbor. The tender boats were lowered and began transporting passengers to shore. We went ashore about 9:00 a.m. and found the group for our tour of a drive through Newport along Ocean Drive out to The Elms and then back to town around noon.

After boarding our motor coach, our tour guide Steve began his narration and off we went traveling through the small town of Newport. Steve pointed out Saint Mary’s church steeple where John and Jacqueline Kennedy were married. We passed many of the pre-colonial houses along Thames Street. As we traveled further along, we passed the boat harbor and on the far side of the boat harbor is the Ida Lewis Boat Club. She was the lighthouse keeper there and was credited rescuing 18 people during her service. Just past that was the summer home of the New York Yacht Club. They are the club who used to conduct the America’s Cup race here in Newport.

From there we went over to Fort Adams which is where Jim and his family used to live back in 1958-1959. Where his home used to be has now been turned into a large grassy knoll. Since Newport was captured by the British in the Revolutionary War, Fort Adams was built in the early 1800’s from further British Conquest. There was never a shot fired from the Fort in anger. It is now the home of the Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival.

Next we drove down towards Hammersmith Farm, the childhood home of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. It is on a sprawling, meticulously manicured numerous acres of land with stone fences facing Newport Harbor. It is a large, two-story grey colored home. On the grounds we saw a black and white striped cow. We were told that the current owners raise exotic animals such as this. The Kennedy’s had their wedding reception here.

Next door is a large yellow, two-story home that President Dwight D. Eisenhower frequented during his presidency. It is called the Eisenhower House now, but once used to be the home of the Navy Admiral.

Off in the distance across the bay was the Beavertail Lighthouse. After Castle Park we began entering the homes of “the Guilded Age” and we began to pass the summer “cottages” of the Vanderbilt’s, Morgan’s and Astor’s. We passed one mansion that was the home of Klaus von Bulow who was accused of murdering his wife, Sunny. Then came the Marble House that was estimated to be worth $17.9 million. We passed the Beachwood Mansion that was owned by Larry Ellison, of Oracle Software – the third richest man in America. We passed Rosecliff Mansion and eventually came to The Elms.

The Elms Mansion was owned by Edward Berwin, a coal magnate from Pittsburgh. His coal fueled all of the Navy ships of the day. As we entered the off-white granite mansion, we were given headphones and a recorder with a pre-recorded self-guided tour of the mansion. It is hard to believe that the wealthy only lived in these homes six weeks out of the year. Their servants would arrive prior to them and would set the house up. At this particular mansion, there were 43 servants. It is said that the women changed clothes approximately 7 times a day. Can you imagine? The bedrooms were smaller than what you would imagine for this size of a home; but the living areas were quite large and ornately decorated. There were paintings on the ceilings surrounded by crown molding. Each room had its own fireplace. Every room was wallpapered. Marble tables were a centerpiece in several rooms. The outside grounds were manicured perfectly. One of the things I enjoyed most of all was a huge tree in the backyard that would have been perfect for climbing.

After The Elms, we traveled back into Newport where we hailed a taxi that took us to the Newport Casino (Tennis Hall of Fame) where we enjoyed a lobster roll for lunch overlooking the grass tennis courts. We walked back through town and down to the pier where we eventually stood in line to get our tender back to the ship.

The ship left port about 4:30ish. It was very windy out on deck, but we were out there trying to take pictures of the Rose Island Lighthouse and Beavertail Lighthouse. It was beautiful. We enjoyed dinner in Michaelangelo Dining Room. Nola and I had Cornish Game Hens served with snow peas and baby corn and Jim enjoyed his Tornedos of Beef.
Till Boston tomorrow…

DAY FOUR - TRAVELOGUES NORTH TO ALASKA - SKAGWAY

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

Our day began early again with our breakfast being delivered to our cabin at 6:30 a.m. because we had to be in the Frans HAL lounge (showroom) no later than 7:45 a.m. to disembark the Volendam in Skagway. This was the end of our cruise. We enjoyed our time on the ship, but were anxious to start the land portion of our tour. All of the cruise/tour groups gathered together to start their land tours this morning. Once we were directed off the ship, we boarded our motor coach and met our tour director, Gabriel. He is a young man in his 30’s, I would guess. He has a fair skin complexion which compliments his short red hair and neatly trimmed and groomed red beard. He is very pleasant and seems to genuinely enjoy his job.

Our coach left the dock and traveled through the small town of Skagway for a short tour out to the Gold Rush Cemetery where we saw the grave stones of several of the infamous gold rush characters from the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. The cemetery is small and nestled back on the side of a hill facing the Skagway River about half a mile out of town. After that, we continued on across the Skagway River to a viewpoint where we had a gorgeous view of the city of Skagway and the Lyn Canal. The Lyn Canal ends in Skagway – so there is only one way in and one way out.

After our short tour of the city, we were dropped off at our hotel, the Westmark of Skagway; and we took off to explore downtown and enjoy lunch in the Red Onion Saloon where one of the “ladies” from the upstairs brothel served us. The ladies will also give you a guided tour of the infamous brothel for a small fee – but we did not opt for that.

The weather outside was quite brisk and a fine, misty rain began to fall. Our only regret was that we left our umbrella in the main suitcase that was sent directly to the hotel and we did not have access to. But, we were fine. After lunch, we ventured over to Starbucks – yes, they even have a Starbucks in Skagway, Alaska! And then we walked back towards the cruise dock where we met the group for our Haines Eagle Preserve float ride.

Once everyone was checked-in and accounted for, we boarded our catamaran, the Fairweather Express with Captain Molly at the helm. Molly appeared to be in her late 60’s with a round face full of wrinkles that gave her the appearance that each wrinkle could tell a fabulous story. Her eyes sparkled and you could see her smile as she steered the catamaran away from the dock and headed down the Lyn Canal to Haines. She maneuvered the catamaran so smoothly that you could barely feel any motion.

Haines is a small town 14 nautical miles from Skagway. It has a population of about 2500. As soon as Molly pulled into the dock, we were escorted off the boat to meet our tour guide, Tom Lang. Tom was quite a character. He had a vibrant personality and in addition to being a tour guide on the river in Haines, during the winter months he travels to Bali and writes books and gives talks and lectures on communication.

We were driven through the small town of Haines up to a flat area in the Tsirku River where there was a large opening and flat area to “put in” on the river. Our rafts were there along with the other tour guides. There were three rafts for the 23 of us. Jim and I were with Dan in the last raft or “safety” raft. Our raft was the one that had the communication to base camp and some first aid supplies that the other rafts did not carry. We were asked to exchange our shoes for tall rubber boots, a green rubber rain poncho and our life jackets. Once everyone was snug in their new found fashions, we each sat on the edge of our respective rafts and swiveled into the raft where we took our places. Jim and I were in the front of our raft.

The Haines Eagle Preserve encompasses several miles along the Tsirku and Chilkat Rivers. This is where the bald eagles come in the winter to mate and to feed on the salmon left over from the salmon run of the late summer. All in all we counted 43 bald eagles on our trip. Some were soaring above us with their 7 foot wing spans and gliding effortlessly through the air. Others were sitting on branches in trees along the river watching with their eagle eyes for the perfect fish to dive down on and have for their next meal. And others were perched majestically on pieces of driftwood as we floated by. I think they were all laughing at us when our rafts became stuck on the glacial silt and we had to get out of the raft and walk through the water a bit until deeper water could be found.

From the Tsirku River, we traveled to the Chilkat River - both glacial rivers that were that indescribably grayish aquamarine color that is so spectacular. The rapids we floated through were no more than a Class I and very mild. There was never any white water at all. As we came to the intersection of the two rivers, we saw a small Tlinket Indian Village called Kwaklu (?). Their homes were log cabins along the river and their smoke houses were right on the rivers’ edge and appeared to look more like dilapidated and abandoned shacks than anything with a real purpose like smoking fish.

All along the rivers’ edge you could see the accumulation of large amounts of driftwood that was twisted and knurly. Several of the ladies picked up small pieces and are taking it back home for souvenirs.

The misty rain continued for most of our trip down the river, but was never heavy enough to be a problem. Captain Dan skillfully paddled our raft down river and eventually pulled us out in a small opening 7 miles from where we began our day. We were greeted by the pick-up team for the rafts who had brought us sandwiches, Sun chips, fresh fruit and homemade chocolate chip cookies along with hot chocolate to drink. We took off our gear and put back on our regular shoes and made our way back to the transport bus where we were driven back down the mountain and through the small town of Haines.

Captain Molly was happily greeting everyone as they re-boarded the Fairweather Express and off we went to return back to Skagway through the Lyn Canal. The mist had stopped by now, and it was nice to go out onto the back deck of the catamaran and take a few more pictures of this glorious country.

Once we returned back to Skagway, we finally checked into our hotel and changed into some dryer clothes and took off to find a little dinner. We found the Bonanza Bar & Grill right around the corner from the hotel and one of the only places open at that time of night and so we ducked in there and enjoyed a cup of seafood chowder and a burger. It was about 8:00 p.m. and the Volendam had departed for Glacier Bay with a new group of passengers who had just finished their land tour. The street was deserted with only a few people out enjoying the evening. The campgrounds here in Skagway appeared to be full of campers who had driven in and were staying for the 4th of July.

Skagway celebrates the 4th of July at 11:00 p.m. on the 3rd of July by having a fireworks show over the harbor. We were so tired from all of the day’s events, that we decided to just go relax back at the hotel and try to get a little shut eye as our day tomorrow will begin by everyone meeting in the lobby of our hotel at 7:45 a.m. We need to find coffee before we leave on the train tomorrow – and Starbucks had a sign on its’ door that it would be closed on 4th of July – so we need to find a local alternative. Tomorrow will be another early morning for us. We are off on the White Pass & Yukon Railway tomorrow headed for Whitehorse. Till next time...

Day Two - Cruising North to Alaska

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

Even though you would think that because we are “on vacation” we would have slept in and taken advantage of one of our days at sea, that was not the case. Nor was it the case for many of the passengers on board the Volendam as we all seemed to appear up in the Lido for breakfast around 7:00 a.m. I don’t know about the reasons why any of them were out and about so early, but for us, we didn’t want to miss a chance to see anything – whatever it was.

We spent most of the daily sailing up the east side of Vancouver Island and out into the Pacific Ocean and Queen Charlotte Sound. Sailing along with barely a ripple on the water was incredible. The waters were not still like a mirror, but they were close. Up above us was brilliant blue sky with what I think was every type of cloud formation there is. Whether it was stratus, cumulous or whatever – it seemed to be there. Some of the clouds appeared as if to have been painted in the sky with a swooping brush stroke and then curled at the end. Others appeared to be more thunder type clouds (those were over the mountains) and yet others appeared to be cotton balls that had fallen out of a bag and were sprinkling the skies. It was a glorious day and actually quite pleasant outside – about 65 degrees or maybe more.

Our “official” day began with a get-together with the group of travel agents we are with. We were both amazed that there were agents from as far away as Malasia and Italy. Unless everyone was not there for that meeting, it will be a rather small group of only about 35 people. After the meeting, we were told to go enjoy ourselves and explore the ship. That was the only official gathering we will have on board the ship until we disembark in Skagway where our “tour director” will meet us and escort us on the rest of our trip.

During the day we enjoyed a wide variety of activities from two cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center on how to cook a fresh salmon in a white wine marinade and another recipe for crab cakes (yes, I have the recipe). We joined in on a couple of games of trivia – but most of the time we were up in the Crow’s Nest the furthest point forward and the highest where there is a great room with comfy chairs all around huge floor to ceiling picture windows. This is where we could sit and visit with other passengers and watch the world go by.

Off to our West is the Cascade Mountains which stretch from Canada all the way down to Northern California. The lower, front range had no snow capped peaks; but the range directly behind it was covered thick with snow. The jagged peaks of the Cascades up here and have no trees because of the cold weather conditions in the winter. They are stunning to see and very different to the rolling hills we have in California.

Eventually, much later in the day, we maneuvered in closer to land and begin our journey through the Inside Passage where we will also be tomorrow.

The Inside Passage is a narrow passageway that the ships can sail through along with a “pilot”. The pilot is a trained navigator for these specific waters, and guides the Captain where to sail the vessel without any difficulties. There are several lighthouses that are dotted along the coast. Most of them appear to have home quarters on the bottom with the tall spire of the lighthouse on top of that. The settings are stunning – some out on the edge of rocky cliffs on the shore with others set back in meadow like areas and the buildings are spread out. Most of the lighthouses now are all electronically regulated and maintained. What I find fascinating are the stories of the real lighthouse keepers – those men and women who literally risked their lives to keep the light burning under the worst of weather conditions. Though most of the lighthouses are in remote locations and not easily accessible to a town, these men and women had their entire families with them and the children were home schooled by their mothers.

The Captain announced today that because of the tides, we will miss going into Tracy Arm Fjord and the Twin Sawyer Glaciers tomorrow. They are offering an extra shore excursion for those who really wanted to see the glaciers; and so the boat will stop at the mouth of Tracy Arm; and those passengers will transfer to their excursion boat and will meet up with us in Juneau. We did not opt to take that excursion but chose, instead, to remain on board the ship and enjoy sailing the Inside Passage.

Our daylight begins at about 2-2:30 a.m. and it remains light well after 10:30 p.m. This definitely enables us to see much more of the scenery along our route. We have met people from all over the world – Australia, South Africa, Germany, Canada and from all over the U.S.

Tomorrow we will continue through the Inside Passage and into Juneau. Till then…

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!

Less than 24 hours and a new adventure begins!

So, the time has actually arrived. The suitcases are almost packed - just a few finishing touches (like an umbrella) and I'll check my list over and over again today to try not to forget anything.

Tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. the shuttle will come and pick us up and off we'll go in the dark to the airport! Then, at 6:30 we'll be whisked off up in the air to Vancouver. We will keep you updated all along our way.

We are traveling to the "land of the midnight sun" and to the "northern lights". We could experience anywhere from 18-20 hours of daylight while we are there with an "average" temperature of 66 degrees and a low of 52 degrees. Now, that being said, keep your mind on "average". We've been in Juneau when it's been 90 degrees - so we are packing for the layered look to be ready for anything.


One thing I haven't mentioned is that we would love to see the aurora borealis. It would be an incredible thing for us to be able to see the "northern lights" while we are up in Dawson - which would be our best chance for seeing something; but with so much daylight during the summer months, our chances are slim to none.. The aurora borealis is named after the Roman Goddess of Dawn "Aurora" and the Greek name for the north wind "Boreas". Auroras are the result of the emissions of photons in the Earth's upper atmosphere, above 50 miles from ionized nitrogen atoms regaining an electron, and oxygen and nitrogen atoms returning from an excited state to ground state. They are ionized or excited by the collision of solar wind particles being funneled down and accelerated along the Earth's magnetic field lines; excitation energy is lost by the emission of a photon of light, or by collision with another atom or molecule. And so we will concentrate on the scenery and the wildlife instead.

And so - tomorrow our adventure starts - and I will leave you with this from the great poet bard, Robert Service:

"It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace."
Robert Service - "The Spell of the Yukon"