Day 3, Juneau

 

Our plan today was to find the city bus for $2 and go to see Mendenhall Glacier.  We found the bus but then learned with the unusual heat and excessive rain the lake is flooded and the park is closed.  The lady at the information booth suggested we ride the tram and say some blessings at the top.  The lake is expected to crest tonight and people will lose homes. 

We did the tram.  We said some blessings.  It was quite hot and the air is heavy so we hiked enough to get some views, take some pictures then headed back down. We hung out in the shops before going back to the ship.  5 ships in the port today!  Back on ship we had a late dinner, caught a comedy show and escaped to have an early night.

I can't get photos to load.  Sucky wifi. Will try later or when we're home.  

Skagway tomorrow.

Comedy on HAL. He was funny.

Learning about the Tlinket way.

Day 2, cruise day

 

We didn't spot wildlife with breakfast but we did see a Princess ship heading back.

Flower arranging.

Discussion on whales.  Interesting but I napped for half ;)

Eric getting schooled.

So I could play.  Haha.  $20 lasted about 10 minutes.

We're too cheap to pay for photos with a Husky furry.

Brunch.  The dinning room is stunning.

Art show and auction.

Another show.  Interesting enough that I stayed awake. This cruise is definitely Alaska centric.

It's cold today.  I got quite chilled at brunch so next stop was the hot tub.  

Looks like Lili had fun at Sunfest.

Day One

The roof was open and it was nice and warm on the lido.  

Eric spotted dolphins.  A lot of them.  They were loving the waves off the ship. I didn't get any great pics but we really enjoyed watching them play. 

They followed along.

None on the other side.

Eric was busy telling me where we were, towns, communities, mountains. 

Piano bar.

Rock.

A talk/show on the Holland America Origin story. Very interesting.

Blues.

It was a long first day.  We're tired.

I sat in a hot tub to end my evening. Not as hot as at home.  Kids allowed in so it was a bit more exuberant than I prefer ;)  I did meet some nice people.  Interesting on Alaska cruises.  People come from all over the world to cruise Alaska!  I did meet another lady who was also standby.  She is also in an inside but says her room is tiny. 

I think I knew this when I booked but didn't really believe we'd get on so let it go.  The ship is 8 years old but was refurbished 2023.  That explains why it's so pretty.  It's a bigger ship than our previous HAL Alaska cruises.  

We ended our night with snacks in the room and watched a movie.

It's a bit weird just us for sure.

My daily planner on the app is glitchy so I was happy to find a paper version for tomorrow in our room.

 

Koningsdam

 

Hullo was a breeze. Clean, comfy and we had fun chatting with everyone around us.

The ride was smooth, the views were great.

It was shocking how close the ship was to where Hullo comes in.

Seriously the easiest travel day ever.  We dawdled and still walked into the port in 10 minutes.

Check in was a breeze.  Easiest and smoothest we've ever experienced. We basically marched right on.  We were on the ship by 10:30.  

Our view while enjoying lunch.

So nice.  The food was good too.  I sat with our backpacks while Eric scavanged, then we just shared ;)

This is our first time in an inside room.  So far so good.

The room is more specious than we're used to.  The colors are calm, it's pretty, it smells nice and it is spotlessly clean.  Aside from lacking daylight I cautiously think we'll be just fine in here.

He emptied the mini fridge so we can use it.

We ate lunch, unpacked, explored, did the muster station check in, wandered some more, had a snack and now we're having a lay down until dinner.

Haha, a total food theme going on.

I took this as we were leaving with Lili today.  Operation downsize is all in one picture. So, we didn't quite get it done as planned but it is all 'smaller'.

Small funny/not funny/panic.

I was definitely worried about actually being in an inside room.  Then it seemed so lovely so I was reaching a nice relaxed state and was optimistic about the week.  When we got back to the room there was a letter.  Uh, oh no.  Maintenance on water lines, no toilets, water, showers etc from 11 tonight until 8am.  Seriously.

No toilet.

For a WHOLE night.

Colectomy...I can't make it.

This is not ok.

I was thinking earlier that there are MANY comparisons to be made between HAL and Carnival and HAL was leading for me earlier today, now, I'm not so sure.

Sunfest

 

Someone is ready for Sunfest ;)