Well, we were up super early at 1:30am to be prepared for a 3am home pick up with our driver. He was right on time, and we were ready. There was virtually little to no traffic, even on the Bay Bridge. A few hours later, it would be bumper to bumper, so we did not object to getting out early.
We arrived to the San Francisco airport by 4am, expecting little activity. We were wrong as Air Alaska was buzzing with activity with many travelers like us. Our attempt at logging the info into the kiosk failed. No problem….the agent did it all at the desk. It was nice that each piece of luggage weighed under 50 pounds, because many people were removing articles to get it under the 50 pound limit. It does help to own one of those hand-held scales. We got our boarding passes and headed towards the security checkpoint. In the past, we sometimes lucked out and got the TSA free symbol on the passes, but no more. These days you can pay for that perk. If we flew more often, we think it would be worth the price.
At the security line, there were no signs dictating the rules such as take shoes and jackets off, show small liquids in a baggie, or take computer devices out of their case. One warning sign we did see was not to pack your gun going through security. We were OK there. We have been told that those who are 75 and older do not have to remove their shoes. That applied to us more or less, so we left them on. No one questioned that. Of course, the new knee did set off the alarms, and one of us had to go through the super xray. Piece of cake….no wanding or pat-down.
We stopped at Lark Creek for some breakfast and hot coffee. They actually opened up at 4:30am, and the food was good. There was no pressure to leave after eating, so we lingered over several cups of coffee.
Our flight to Vancouver was on time at 6:45am. It was totally full. It took both of us 20 minutes to figure out how the TV screen worked, but then, one of them had no sound. We landed before the movie "65" ended at 8:36am. There were no snacks…only juice, water, or coffee unless you paid for some food items.
We had a long hike to the customs kiosks, where we scanned our passports, answered some questions, and had our photos taken. Leaving this area, we showed an agent the slip of paper we got, then we went to collect our four bags. We loaded them on the free carts near the carousel. Before leaving this area, we handed the slips to another agent, then proceeded to the desk area where another agent was holding a sign for HAL, Princess, and Regent. Taking our names, they took all of the luggage, and promised we would see it in our room later. Fine with us.
The last set of doors brought us outside where we sat or stood with a group of Princess and HAL guests. Regent guests had their own line. We had all purchased the ship's transfers instead of taking a taxi or Uber. The bus left the airport by 10am for a pleasant 40 minute ride to the pier at Canada Place. We were among the first coach to arrive for this sailing. With our boarding passes and passports in hand, we went up an escalator to HAL's check-in counter. We had expected to fill out a health form, since we never did get the request to fill out one online 3 days prior to sailing. There were signs on the countertop saying that if you felt ill, please let them know. In addition, we were never asked to show our Covid booster cards like we did last year and also on the 2023 world cruise. By the way, we saw very few people wearing masks.
Back down the escalator, we proceeded to the security checkpoint, which was getting pretty busy now. Our bus driver had mentioned that with three ships in port, there were between 8 to 9 thousand guests going and new ones coming. Besides the Volendam, the other vessels were the Sapphire Princess and Regent's Explorer. Even though it was crowded, the line moved quickly. We had been handed a different color slip to show the reps along the way to the next stop. They identified us a President's Club members. From there on, we were given the royal treatment. Seeing us coming, one of the agents took two chairs and set them aside and away from the other guests. We felt like we were in the "naughty" chairs. Shortly after, the assistant guest relations manager came to greet us, and escorted us onboard. Using our boarding passes with the code printed on them, the security gal scanned it and we were on our way to another set of greeters at the entrance on deck two. The Hotel General Manager, Francois Birarda, welcomed us back. We had met him on the N. Statendam in 2022 and he did remember us. One of the guest relations gals, Jennifer, led us to our room, leaving her direct phone number if we needed anything. We remembered her from the 2020 world cruise, and were glad to see her back on another "Dam " ship.
Gifts of flowers, sodas, champagne on ice and more shipboard credit greeted us, as well as a pile of mail and a daily newsletter called The Daily. One of our room stewards came and introduced himself. He is Imam and Subri is his assistant. One of the nicest housekeeping staff officers came to see us, and actually assisted us in logging onto the internet, using our credit. We think it will be a combined package for the entire 77 days.
Since there was no luggage yet , and it was already noontime, we headed for the dining room. Even though it was labeled a Mariner lunch, everyone was invited to attend. Much to our surprise, Komang, a favorite head waiter we have known from past cruises greeted us. He is now the maitre'd of the dining room…well deserved. We last saw him on a world voyage in 2011. My gosh, the time has gone by fast. Enjoying the view from a window-side table, we ordered spring rolls and a club sandwich. All of it was delicious. A nice couple from Canada sat near us and kept us deep in conversation for an hour.
Then it was time to get our cards scanned for the muster drill, which doesn't happen as a group event outside anymore. By luck, we were the first ones there. Later in the afternoon, the Captain was begging for folks to attend this mandatory drill. Without 100% compliance, we would not be allowed to leave. Back to the room, we played the drill on the TV to the end, and then regular programming was restored. That is, until we lost power at least three times. We were "plugged" in with the shoreside power source, and testing was taking place according to Captain Ryan Whitaker. The interruptions were short-lived, and provided a good reason to head for the Crow's Nest for an exclusive reception for 3, 4, and 5 star and President's Club members. Jennifer from guest relations greeted us, then we took seats at the bar. Sparkling and red wines were offered and became bottomless. A jar of honey roasted peanuts were given. There were no more than 40 people present.
Sail away was at 4pm, and being that we do not have a veranda room on these Alaska cruises, we went to the Seaview Pool to watch the activity. It was well-attended with both young and older folks who liked the piped-in music and line dancing led by the explorations staffers. Wildlife expert, Kainoa, was present, although he is half the size he used to be. He will become the South Pacific expert once the Tales cruise begins out of San Diego in three weeks.
One by one, our luggage began arriving. We had most all of it stashed well before dinnertime. There were wooden hangers in the closet, but we switched many of those for wire hangers. There are no felt hangers, at least on this deck. It is worth mentioning that this class of ships offers much more closet space, compared to the Zuiderdam for instance. They were built with longer cruises in mind. And our empty suitcases fit easily under the bed.
Dinnertime has been moved up to 7:30pm, which is fine with us. Greeting us on deck five, was Pande, another familiar face from numerous grand voyages. Our requested table # 81 was ready for us. Our waiter will be Mario and Risman as his assistant. The first thing we noticed had to be the rolls in the basket. They were fresh and tender, unlike what we were served on the Zuiderdam. Obviously, they have a baker who knows his job well. Our meal did not disappoint us with Caesar salads, and mains of roasted chicken and pork tenderloin. The portion size was conservative, but that is really a good thing. The desserts were tempting, but we have decided not to indulge. The best surprise was seeing both Komang and Pande, who checked on us frequently. The head sommelier also invited us to a wine tasting tomorrow, even though he recalled we did not drink wine. Sure made us feel at home.
The one and only show at 8:30pm in the World Stage was Origin Story, a look at HAL's 150 years of sailing. We have seen it, but since today was such a whirlwind day, we called it a day. There were two pillow chocolates waiting for us on the bed, even though Imam said that they only hand them out on dressy nights. He promised them daily. Slept like babies.
Bill & Mary Ann
