Statendam Special Occasions

The two most prominent special occasions "aboard the beautiful and elegant Statendam" were the Master Chef dinner with its special menu and great performance by the dining room stewards, and the Dessert Extravaganza. Of these I was able to take photos. The other two prominent special occasions were the Indonesian Crew Show and the Filipino Crew Show.

Some of the dining room stewards have said that they feel silly putting on the show for the Master Chef dinner, which I understand completely. However, at the same time, I'm glad they are willing to do it because it adds an element of fun to an already special dinner. Their antics are far better than the traditional baked Alaska parade. The photos of the stewards in their chef costumes are Budi and his assistant, Eggi, both of whom made our dining experience very special and enjoyable.

The dessert extravaganza was held in the afternoon on this cruise, which I found unusual. As always, the display was spectacular. There were the usual ice sculptures, carved watermelons and vegetable flowers, in addition to a myriad of pastries of different kinds, and fruit kabobs for dipping in the chocolate fountain. That is our dining room steward Budi at the chocolate fountain. I think my favorite were the bread animals - alligator, frog and turtle. Amazingly enough, I was able to take dozens of pictures and not be tempted to eat anything.

It was special every evening to return to the cabin because Farid, our room steward always left us a cute towel animal. Of all the ones he did, the cobra was my favorite.

Although we were encouraged to take photos at the crew shows, I chose not to do so this time, because I could not get a seat that gave me a good photographic vantage point. The shows were wonderful. The crew spends such long hours working, and then some take extra time to rehearse and put on a show for the passengers. They do a great job, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about their culture. One of the dining room stewards wrote out some Indonesian phrases for me, and I really enjoyed being able to greet them in their native language.

The most fun part of the crew shows was that Michael, our wine steward, was in the Filipino crew show, in the rice planting dance. All the dancers are men but half are dressed as women. Michael was one of the very buxom women (thank you, balloons!), and was wearing a blond wig that mostly covered his face. However, it was not enough to keep me from figuring out that he was the one in that wig. The next evening at dinner, we teased him a little about it, which was fun. He is also easily the nicest and best wine steward we've ever had.

Vancouver to Home

Even though we were on the ship for eighteen days, which seems like a long time, docking in Vancouver came all too soon. The atmosphere on the "beautiful and elegant Statendam" was so nice that we really did not want to have to leave. The crew was the most outgoing we've ever met, and we also made some great friends from among the passengers.

We chose to take the Holland America bus to the airport, because it was reasonably priced and easy. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our flight, even with the long lines at the airport, and in addition got a guided tour of the city.

We boarded a flight to Los Angeles, where we were planning to visit my mother and sisters, and Tina's childhood friend, Linda. I had not been back to Los Angeles since I left more than 18 years ago, so this was going to be interesting.

When we got to Los Angeles, all the street names were familiar, but I didn't recognize much of anything until we got to my old neighborhood, the one I grew up in. The street was very familiar, but due to changes at the next door neighbors' house, I did not recognize my mother's house. That was a shock! And I had to have directions to get to my sister's houses - they live next door to each other. Fortunately, I still retained enough familiarity with the freeway system and the area where they live to be able to get us there. The visit went very well, and a good time was had by all. I enjoyed meeting my brother-in-law of thirteen years for the first time. We drove by my first house and I was pleased to see that my garden appeared to be intact.

The day after visiting with my family, Tina's friend Linda came into town to visit with us, and took us all over Orange County, including a drive on my favorite ocean side street in Corona Del Mar. That visit also went well. We had a great time and I gained a new friend.

I must say that I was impressed with the efficiency we encountered at LAX; even security was a breeze. The flight home from Los Angeles was uneventful, except for the pleasure of having my special friend, Buddy, meet our flight. That made me glad to finally be home once again.

Sitka, Alaska

In Septermber, 1988 I went on an Inside Passage cruise, which was my introduction to Alaska. On that cruise I spent most of my time on deck, photographing the scenery. Prior to this trip I had never seen anything on a scale this big. It was obvious to me from the start that Alaska was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The ports of call for that cruise were Haines, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Tracy Arms Fjord; we also cruised through the Misty Fjords, where we spent some time following whales. It was a unique experience to look at the ship's wake & discover that we were going in circles following the whales. Much of the beauty of Alaska lies in its pristine nature. I also like it better than the beauty tropical places because Alaska is so much cleaner and more orderly.

The course between Hubbard Glacier and Sitka was full of whale-watching opportunities. The whales were seemingly everywhere. It was fun to see the team trivia game and an exercise class interrupted for whale watching. We saw so many whales that it seemed as if they came out to play and perform specially for the benefit of the cruise ship passengers.

Given the progression I had seen in the ports previously visited, going from desolate to pretty, I expected that Sitka would be nice. However, I was not prepared for the amazing beauty and perfection of that area. Spruce and snow-covered mountains were everywhere, but the dominant sight was Mt. Edgecumbe, an ancient, long dormant, snow-capped volcano on nearby Kruzof Island. From what I understand, the very next peak is also a volcano.

Here, as at every other Alaskan port we saw this time, the bald eagles were everywhere. While we were there the tide was out, and the tidal flats were littered with eagles, both adult and immature. There were also many flying about, soaring with the mountains as backdrop. The dandelions were also everywhere and very healthy; I took that photo for my friend, Buddy.

This time we actually went on a shore excursion. Our tour guide, Jolene, is from the Tlingit tribe. She took us first to the Sitka National Historical Park Visitor Center, which featured Tlingit totem poles outside and a video presentation along with wonderful exhibits inside. The Tlingits do gorgeous beadwork and wood carving. We got to talk to a wood carver and see several of his works in process. Outside, we went for a walk in the woods, where we saw a beautiful salmon stream and learned about native plants and their medicinal uses. Following that we stopped at the Sheldon Jackson museum, which had an amazing amount and variety of items displayed, especially given the small space it occupies. We had a chance to talk to a woman who does incredibly beautiful beadwork, who was from the Athabascan tribe. After that we went to a spot where we could take photos of Mt. Edgecumbe without obstructio. That is where we saw the eagles on the tidal flats and also a family picnicking on the beach. The air temperature was in the 50's and quite pleasant; it just seemed out of place to have a picnic on the beach in Alaska. Kind of like the Tropic Lanes & Lounge in Kodiak.

Our final stop on the tour was to see the New Archangel Russian Dancers. The show was almost half over by the time we arrived, and we only stayed for three dances because they did not do anything to pique our interest. We were interested in finding a few remaining souvenirs we needed so we went shopping instead of touring St. Michael's Cathedral. Unfortunately, due to the tides, our stay in Sitka was very short; I think the last tender back to the ship was at 11:30 AM.

The place I would go see were I to return to Sitka, is the Raptor Center. A wildlife tour would also be great, for the opportunity to see creatures we don't encounter in our normal life.

Long after we left Sitka, as we were on deck walking a mile for "dam dollars" we could see the peak of Mt. Edgecumbe above the horizon. We also had more wonderful times of whale watching. I don't know if the time of year is the reason why we saw so many eagles and whales, and possibly a sea otter, but I would certainly go to Alaska in May again. I'm looking forward to a return trip to our most beautiful state.

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

One of the great pleasures of an Alaska cruise is seeing the glaciers. They are magnificent due to their vast size and the beautiful blue color of the ice. At the Hubbard Glacier there is the added attraction of the Turner Glacier just across the bay. The day we visited the ice floes were so thick we could not get to the location the captain had planned for. Then we had to change position so the Volendam could make a brief visit on its way to Seward. The position change was a real blessing, because we got a much better view of both glaciers than we would have from our original position.

Having been to the Tracy Arms fjord and seen the calving glacier there, I was a little disappointed in the ice color visible on both the Hubbard and Turner Glaciers. What I saw now was maybe a medium aqua color, whereas at Tracy Arms the color, including some of the icebergs, the color was a deep, intense sapphire blue. The range of ice color was reminiscent of an indigo bunting, but on an off-the-map scale. At Tracy Arms I had also seen hundreds of harbor seals littering the icebergs. No seals were visible at Hubbard Glacier. However, despite the disappointment in the color of the ice, both the Hubbard and Turner Glaciers were still spectacular. Their vast size is mind-boggling. I appreciated that we were able to sit there and just absorb the beauty of the glaciers for several hours, because it takes time to truly register their vastness in your mind and absorb the wonder of the sight. Both Hubbard and Turner Glaciers are more impressive than the non-calving compound glacier in the other arm of the Tracy Arms Fjord. For me the greatest attraction of that one was the waterfall cascading into the ocean just a few yards from the immobile glacier.

Since returning home I've been looking at Holland America's Alaska & Yukon cruise book and am ready to head out to see other glaciers, especially Glacier Bay.

Kodiak Island, Alaska

Kodiak was a nice port. The town is very small and there is not much to do there, but the harbors are beautiful, and the backdrop of island mountains is spectacular. When we were there in mid-May, spring had yet to arrive, but it was close. We could see that the deciduous trees had leaf buds that were ready to burst. Of course the ever-present Sitka spruces were covering the mountains, which added to the ambiance of the place. As usual, we took a shuttle into town and just walked around, seeing what was there. Shuttles are very helpful when you don't know how far it is in to town. In this case we discovered it wasn't far and decided to walk back to the ship when we were ready. We found a couple of nice gift shops, but the main attraction for us was the harbor.

While there we saw a Steller sea lion swimming, saw a starfish in the water, which was pointed out to us by a young boy, and we had fun watching bald eagles and seagulls. There was one eagle who would sit on one lamppost for a while, watching the people and then fly to another one to do the same. Those two lampposts are apparently his habitual hangouts. It was also interesting watching the gulls pull fish from the net on a fishing boat. The last of the wildlife we saw was a pair of magpies, another new bird for me. We saw quite a few bald eagles in addition to the one mentioned before, both mature and immature.

I was interested to see the packing/processing plant for the salmon cakes I buy at Costco, and also enjoyed seeing the Tropic Lanes and Lounge with Alaska license plates on the cars parked in the lot. On the way home we saw a sea-life mural painted on a wall, which added a colorful note to the town. Even though Kodiak is at a similar latitude to Petropavlovsk (can you say it yet?) and Dutch Harbor, the atmosphere is very, very different. Although rather plain, there is none of the depressing atmosphere of the other two places.

On our way home we ended up talking to a pair of young men in a pickup truck who stopped to talk to us. That was a lot of fun. We also appreciated the security guard who had been handing out maps outside the ship. He was the one who identified the magpies for us & told us what the deciduous trees were - aspens, if I recall correctly.

For those who want to do shore excursions, Kodiak is an excellent place to do so. They have museums, and best of all, tours of the large wildlife preserve. If I were to return to Kodiak I would make sure to see the wildlife preserve.