Today's theme was Bound for the Great Land. We know it better by the last frontier which is loaded with soaring snow-laden mountains, glaciers, rainforests, massive national parks, and best of all – wildlife. Marine life includes whales, orcas, seals, sea otters and salmon. Land animals include bears, moose, and wolves to name a few. The birds that can be seen are puffins, ravens, and arctic terns and we saved the best for last – bald eagles. There are a reported 30,000 of them in Juneau alone.
We have begun our second 7 day voyage and with that, we have more credits added to our shipboard account. These days, the credits are not all itemized, but listed in a lump amount. And they are not necessarily posted on the same day. So that sent us to our go-to rep, Vini, who has been most helpful explaining how it works. He helped us figure out the math and it all added up correctly. You would think with over 3000 sea days under our belts, we would have this figured out by now. But every ship does things differently. We were also missing some of the gifts we get for each cruise. Vini took care of that with phone calls to each appropriate department. Lo and behold, everything was delivered before the end of the day.
While at the desk, we inquired if they still handed out sea sick pills. Remember when we could get these complimentary? Well, no more. The 2 pill packet has a $2 charge now. Gosh, the bean counters in Seattle have successfully discovered every nook and cranny where some money can be saved. One way we can look at this, it that if it helps keep Holland America in business, then more power to them.
The ship sailed on the outside of the Inland Passage but would be in an area where wildlife might be viewed. The estimated time for that was 5pm to 7pm. The weather wasn't the best as it was heavily overcast and cool. The Captain had mentioned we may hit some rougher seas, but we did not see any problems. Maybe a little rock and rolling, but that was it. Eating a lite lunch at 2pm, we ventured outside where we did see some spouting whales in the distance. It was a good time to go to deck six and view the seas from there. We did spot a pod of blowing whales, perhaps 5 of them, then one whale appeared directly in the path of the ship. Way too close for comfort, the whale drifted to the side, avoiding a collision with the bow. It did escape without injury because we saw it in the wake on the portside of the ship. There was one last whale that breached then dove deep exposing that tail. About the same time as the sightings, the rain began to fall, so we went back inside.
Tonight's suggested attire for the evening was dressy. The group of guests that joined yesterday were dressed for the occasion. There were no jeans, t-shirts, or baseball caps seen in the dining room tonight. The menu was the same as last week, but we tried different items. Starters were the same like Caesar salad, shrimp cocktails, and French onion soup. Mains were rack of lamb and bucatini (pasta) with shredded oxtail (no bones). Very nice for a change. We shared a dessert of flourless chocolate cake. We asked our head waiter if we could get a list of the Club Orange dinner specials, and he came through with a printed version. It was a 10 day rotation, but more importantly, we know when the veal cutlet (veal chop) will be served. It is one of our favorite dishes, not to be missed. And we can plan our Pinnacle Grill dinners a little better.
We had a visitor before dinner was served. It was the Cellar Master who wanted to extend an invitation to us for a special wine tasting event towards the end of the cruise. We were invited to another tasting this afternoon, but it was during our lunchtime. Since we are not dedicated wine drinkers, we usually go to these tastings to learn about the pairing of wine with food. We mentioned to the Cellar Master that ever since the pandemic in 2020, the plates of food for the wine tastings had been eliminated on the world voyage. She was shocked and said you cannot have a tasting without the food, especially the cheese. We agreed. She had been sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam during that period that followed after Covid, and the plates of food were always offered. So, that proves that each and every ship does their own thing.
Once again, we put the clocks back one hour, which works well for the entire population of the ship. Tomorrow we will be venturing into Tracy Arm to drop off a tour group, then onto Juneau in the early afternoon.
Bill & Mary Ann
