Living on the Seattle Waterfront made getting to the cruise terminal very easy. Without airline baggage/weight restrictions to worry about, Ray and Traci packed a lot of stuff. After being dropped off at the Pier 91 terminal, they brought their 2 big suitcases and a large duffel bag to the baggage desk for x-ray & loading. Then passengers head upstairs with passports and tickets for a medical questionnaire (don't check the boxes about being sick if you want to go). You get your picture taken and get on the ship. Ray and Traci found their 197 square foot lanai room quite well designed – 3 closets easily stored their large collection of clothes for a 7 day journey with much room to spare. The suitcases fit underneath the bed – people bringing more than 2 suitcases should make the additional bags "soft" so they can fit inside the suitcases. Together, Ray and Traci brought 2 iphones, 2 Kindles, 1 ipad, a laptop and a Nintendo Wii. Their luggage arrived about 45 minutes after boarding. Upon arriving, Ray hooked up his Wii to the flat screen TV in the room which only showed a few channels including CNN. Rooms have DVD players, so the travelers brought some DVDs – Holland has their own library of DVDs that you can borrow as well. The first meal was a welcoming buffet at the Lido Restaurant – Ray's family met their four California relatives for a nice variety of food including sandwiches, sushi, Thai selections, fried chicken, salads, fruits, and lots of other goodies. After the mandatory safety drill which was really easy to get to since it is right outside their Lanai rooms, Ray and Traci wandered around the ship – there are 4 major restaurants for meals, a hamburger grill stand, a pizza stand, 5 bars, a large library/internet room, a medium sized gym, a spa, a basketball and miniature tennis court, a casino, a theatre, a "showroom" and 2 "pools." The main pool has a retractable roof like Safeco field but is really small. The rear pool is a wading pool with lounge chairs placed in the pool. Next to the main pool is the obligatory Jacuzzi. In general, if you want a fancy pool, you will be disappointed with the Rotterdam. While wandering around the Lido (Pool) deck, Ray and Traci ran into some rather fancy fruit scuptures.
Dinner was at the main dining room and consisted of a delicious menu and great service – Ray's Dad had the crab legs, Traci had the so-so pasta primavera, Ray and his mother had prime rib. Ray especially loved his baked Alaska dessert. After dinner, the travelers went to the showroom for an "introductory" entertainment show previewing many of the musical acts for the week. Ray spent a few hours playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on his Wii before Traci and Ray went to the late night Lido buffet – Filipino cuisine. There is a different late night buffet theme each night. Traci sampled a few of the desserts but Ray was still full from dinner. Ray and Traci retired to their room which was pretty well soundproofed at least to voices, the ocean, and the engines. Fortunately, their first night was calm and sea sickness free.
Some notes about shipboard life – the ship is quite organized with your room card key being used for all charges including casino play. The Lanai doors have electric locks but unfortunately you have to use a separate card key to open it. Most food is included in your ticket. The Rotterdam has a "premium" restaurant – a steak house called the Pinnacle Grill which charges $20 per person. You have to pay for most beverages – Ray bought a $20 soda card so he could get 20 glasses of soda during meals while Ray's Mom bought a bottle of fine $19 wine which she can drink during her meals (and take home if any is left). Travelers are given an option when they book for early, late or open seating at dinner for meals in the main dining room. Ray picked open seating which seems to be a great choice – you show up for dinner whenever you want. Supposedly, if you reserve a consistent dinner time when you book your cruise, you get the same table and the same wait staff for dinner every night. Of course some nights you may want to eat at the Pinnacle Grill or the Lido buffet and your table will be empty. The problem with set dinner time comes up if you are not hungry at 5:30 or too hungry to wait to 8pm – the main dining room may send you away until your reserved time. In addition, the ship has 24 hour room service (all free) so those so inclined can eat round the clock. Sometimes Ray and Traci would get an early dinner snack at the Lido Grill followed by a proper dinner in the main dining room. Nobody except your scale keeps track of how many dinners you eat. The main dining room will keep giving you food if you are hungry.
Day 2 started with Ray visiting the gym. The Holland gym is fairly small but well equipped. It drove Ray crazy to wait for the many walkers to get off the treadmills since they could walk around the main promenade deck which is 1/3 mile around. Running is forbidden from the main promenade deck for noise and probably safety. Fortunately, Ray found a very small track on the top deck of the boat where you can run – because it is so windy and cold, the few early morning visitors didn't stay very long. Ray found the view gorgeous and sea air refreshing. Traci followed Ray to the gym and then both enjoyed a buffet lunch at the Lido which is the big buffet on the Rotterdam. Ray actually got 3 slices of very good pizza from "Slice" the pizza joint outside the Lido, while Ray's cousin got a hot dog and fries from the grill next to the swimming pool – both brought their food into the Lido buffet with rest of the party who enjoyed the wide variety of foods available. The afternoon at sea was occupied with a slot machine tournament in the casino, and bingo in the penthouse bar called The Crow's Nest. Bingo is played almost everyday. Bingo cards cost $25 for 4 separate games. The 4th game is blackout bingo and the payout is between $25,000 to $100,000 if someone gets blackout within 45 numbers called. For dinner, Ray's family went to the Pinnacle Grill. Traci had rack of lamb, Ray and his parents all had rib eye steaks after tableside Caesar salads and crab cake/seafood platter appetizers. While the food was really good, you can get much of the same food in the main dining room and save yourself the $20 surcharge – Ray's cousins who ate in the main dining room also enjoyed rack of lamb, steaks, and the chocolate soufflé dessert that Ray had at the Pinnacle Grill. The dining room would give you more than one entree while the Pinnacle Grill would charge you extra. The Pinnacle Grill has 4 standard steaks (rib eye, filet, porterhouse, and New York) while the specials rotate and are often the same as the main dining room. The portions are bigger in the Pinnacle but big deal, nobody in Ray's family finished their entree. After dinner, the group listened to an excellent piano player perform a mix of classical and popular music in the main showroom, demonstrating how difficult it is for talented musicians to get gigs on Broadway. Ray spent a little time after the show winning money at the $5 blackjack table, and then he and Traci met his cousins for late night dining with French themed food in the Lido. While closing down the Lido at midnight, the cruisers noted that the sea was noticeably rougher and the weather foggy but all slept well thru the night despite the muffled sounds of a fog horn which blared all night. Alaska does not have daylight savings time so everybody on board the ship gained an extra hour of sleep by turning their clocks back.
Monday brought clear weather and beautiful scenery. Ray and Traci skipped the gym and enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the Lido – the variety of food was great and the quality was good, but not spectacular. Around noon, the ship docked in Juneau – sunny skies and amazing geography met the vessel (along with many other cruise ships!) Ray's family got off the ship and rode the 5 minute Mount Roberts Tram to the visitors center complete with two gift shops, a cinema and a wounded bald eagle being rehabilitated back to health. Ray and Traci decided to hike to the Mt. Roberts Cross which was half way to the summit. Snow was seen in patches on the mountain and the views from platforms along the trails were incredible.
After riding the tram down back to Juneau, Ray and Traci wandered around downtown Juneau which was filled with various tourist traps selling the expected variety of souvenirs. Ray spent much time before the cruise contemplating taking a helicopter to the Mendenhall glacier but eventually decided against it mainly due to the questionable safety record of Alaskan aviation. In fact, a recent newspaper article reported 17 recent deaths from aviation accidents in three months -http://www.adn.com/2010/08/14/1410392/crashes-give-alaska-aviators-pause.html. Ray's cousins took a bus tour of Mendenhall Glacier and Gardens, something they recommend to future travelers. If you book tours thru the cruise line, they are often more expensive but also can be of higher quality – in Juneau, you find a bunch of tourist booths selling everything from bus tours to helicopter/dog sledding adventures at discount prices. Holland charged $56 for the Mendenhall tour while you could find discounted $7 tours, but there appeared to be quite a difference in quality of the bus (e.g. old converted school bus vs air conditioned tour bus) and places toured. After their day in Juneau, Ray had an excellent meal in the main dining room. His "Ketchikan" chowder, Caesar salad, Manila clams & scallops with noodles and baked Alaska dessert was outstanding. Traci's fruit & berry appetizer followed by hen with almond and brown rice stuffing and apple walnut tart dessert was also quite good. After dinner, they attended an excellent show featuring 6 of the Holland performers singing and dancing to Broadway show tunes. The late night dinner featured a "California" theme but both Ray and Traci were only able to nibble on some fruits and desserts.
Tuesday was glacier day. The seas were rougher than in the past. Ray actually got a bit seasick for the first time while running on the treadmill. He felt better after walking around the ship so he was able to finish his run on the treadmill. Ray's Dad fell off an elliptical trainer due to the rough seas. Traci joined Ray during the walk and they saw a whale flapping around 50 yards from the ship. Spotting active whales were a definite treat for the morning exercise crowd. 
Both Ray and Traci enjoyed breakfast and lunch buffets at the Lido restaurant. The captain warned that the ship may not get to see the Hubbard glacier which borders Disenchantment Bay due to poor weather and visibility. Fortunately, the skies cleared enough to get the boat to within a half mile from the glacier although rain, fog and cold temperatures made the best viewing areas on the ship's bow less than pleasant. A glacier is a collection of compressed snow which becomes dense ice, and gravity forces the ice down to the sea often taking parts of the land with the ice flows. At the sea, chunks of ice form avalanches which make thunderous roars during the journey into the sea.
Since Tuesday was spent entirely on the boat, Holland had many other activities going on including a trivia contest, a name that tune contest, and a Bingo game – sadly, Ray and Traci did not win anything. After leaving the glacier, the seas became rougher and Traci's appetite for her Italian wedding soup and bream fish sauté dinner waned. However, after taking 25mg of meclizine, she quickly felt better and was able to enjoy her meal. Ray enjoyed his tasty turkey dinner and another baked Alaska dessert. The evening finished with a show by a world champion juggler who did an amazing feat – juggled 3 sharp machetes while riding a tall unicycle. Afterwards, they took a trip to the late night dinner buffet with a taste of Asia theme.
The trip south continued on Wednesday with a stop at Sitka. The weather was cold and rainy, so Ray and Traci never left the boat. To get to Sitka, you need to "tender" – get on one of the Rotterdam's life boats to shuttle you to shore as cruise ships do not have a place to dock. While the tender process went smoothly, there wasn't much desire on Ray or Traci's part to ride a small boat 15 minutes just to get to another tourist trap on a cold and rainy day. Both travelers used the largely vacated ship to exercise – Traci in the gym, Ray on the top deck running track where he figured out that 11 laps around was approximately 1 mile. Ray and Traci spent the rest of the day eating at a mostly empty Lido buffet, reading, playing Nintendo and napping. Before dinner, the family got together and won their first Holland America Trivia contest – chocolate trivia, scoring neat traveling coffee mugs. The seas became noticeably more violent as they left Sitka with 15-20 foot swells, and Ray began getting sick during dinner. While he was green during the soup course, he took some over the counter meclizine and enjoyed the rest of his dinner – salmon and strawberry ice cream. Traci did not get sick and enjoyed her third lamb dinner of the trip. After dinner in the showroom, two singers Melody & Irwin, headlined a musical treat – duets thru the ages. Both were quite talented and after Melody successfully completed the challenge of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," many wondered why she wasn't on American Idol. Late dinner in the Lido had a Dutch theme.
Ray and Traci awoke Thursday to the PA announcement of the cruise director that the ship arrived at Ketchikan and the tourist shops beckoned. Ray and Traci again enjoyed the Lido breakfast; Ray tried the omelet bar for the first time. Next, they wandered around Ketchikan, the rainiest place in the United States. Most of the shops were geared toward the tourists. A few shore excursions were available but given the limited time (7am-Noon) and the drizzly weather, Ray and Traci explored on foot. After an hour or two of experiencing Ketchikan and finding again that their iphone 3g connections didn't work, they returned to the boat and Ray enjoyed salad from the Lido buffet and pizza from "Slice" while Traci had oxtail soup and rice. During the afternoon, more unrewarding trivia and bingo contests took place. Ray did discover that the Crow's nest bar on the top of the ship made some really good strawberry smoothies. Thursday's dinner was a formal occasion – On Monday and Thursday patrons were asked to dress nicely (jackets & ties) for the main dining room and the Pinnacle grill – although the Lido buffet always is casual. At the Lido people wear everything from t-shirts and shorts to swimsuits and even the Holland bathrobes. The Lido usually has many of the same entrees as the formal dining room, in addition to a regular salad bar, dessert bar, pasta bar and a few other items. Note that the dining room's dress code even on "Formal" night is not rigidly enforced – some male diners had neither coats nor ties. For Thursday's formal dining, Ray had the classic surf and turf (lobster/filet mignot) which was quite good – even in the dining room, patrons can order additional entrees at no additional charge but one was enough tonite. Traci enjoyed the chef's special salmon dish. After dinner, a comedian Jeff Burghart took the stage in the showroom. Comedy is really difficult with an audience of mixed ages and ethnic backgrounds. Traci enjoyed his impersonations and humor – Ray, not so much. To top it off, the late dining theme was "Dessert Extravaganza" and the crew lined the pool deck with many types of treats including ice cream, fondue, cakes, pies and cookies.
Friday was the final full day of the cruise with a planned nighttime stop in Victoria, B.C. The weather was nice and the seas calm. Both cruisers skipped breakfast but after morning workouts, Ray enjoyed a grilled BLT and Traci had Thai chicken curry and Singapore vermicelli noodles. The afternoon was packed with several activities including a class on how to make the cute towel animals found on passengers' bed each night (Ray bought a copy of Holland's how to guide),
the finals of Holland America's "Idol" competition, and a final game of Bingo. Predictably, a few of the "Idol" performers demonstrated real talent, but surprisingly, 3 showed no musical talent (Must have been a very slow week at the Karaoke events.) Ray and Traci's final dinner was in the main dining room – Ray had a New York steak while Traci had ling cod. The food continued to be excellent to the very end, although the "free" and unlimited dishes were depressing the enthusiasm for this food free for all. The ship docked at Victoria where Ray and Traci took the shuttle bus to downtown, and explored Chinatown as well as the waterfront. The after dinner arrival and limited time on shore discouraged Ray and Traci from touring the famous Butchart Gardens. The final event of the cruise was a great musical show showcasing the talents of three female performers singing the songs of 1950s groups such as the Supremes. The final late night dinner at the Lido had a variety of foods.
The ship returned to Seattle during the early morning hours. Ray and Traci awoke, had a quick breakfast at the Lido Grill and they disembarked the ship at 7:45 AM for the very short taxi ride home. Ray enjoyed the cruise very much, really liked the ability to turn off your brain for a week, but was concerned that the constant supply of really good food could become a health hazard. Alaska was beautiful and the glaciers quite amazing.
There is so much more to write about but this is a blog not a novel. If you have any comments or questions, please let Ray and Traci know!
Ray and Traci's Tips for Holland America Cruisers
1. The lanai rooms are great. You don't have a private balcony, but your balcony is the whole teak deck that surrounds the ship – very handy for viewing things like whales and glaciers. If people outside your window spot whales, you can rush out thru the sliding door directly to the main deck. Note: If you plan to take this cruise next year, the Holland America ship will be the Westerdam or Oosterdam which do not have lanai staterooms.
2. The Pinnacle Grill had nice dishes, but unless you are dying for a specific steak preparation, you are better off eating in the main dining room where they will feed you multiple entrees and not charge you $20 for each one.
3. While listening to the Park Ranger talk about the Hubbard Glacier while you watch the ship's approach on the crowded bow, it is not necessary to stand and suffer bad weather. Once arriving, the captain parks the boat for a good photo break, rotating half way thru so both sides of the ship can take pictures.
4. Go to the Crow's Nest for Happy Hour from 4-5pm when drinks are 50% off
5. Don't worry about packing too much as there is plenty of closet space and large suitcases can be stored underneath the bed
6. At the first sign of seasickness, take 25mg of meclizine. It's effective and works fast! You can get some at the front desk if you don't buy it beforehand (over the counter motion sickness pills available at places like Rite-Aid)
7. If you like a particular type of wine, buy a bottle. They will tag the bottle with your name and pour from it every time you dine until you drink it all. Alcohol is not particularily expensive, at least compared to similar resorts. Ray's $20 Soda Card was good for 20 glasses of soda at any restaurant or bar (tip included!) but he didn't use all of his glasses, especially after he discovered strawberry smoothies in the Crow's Nest bar.
