Veronicat

Cigars Under The Stars, HALcats, Passport To Fitness and goofy stuff like Chipping A Plastic Golf Ball Into A Life Preserver Floating In The Swimming Pool and quoits, shuffleboard and putting competitions.

In addition to Dutch Night, the crew shows, Indonesian lunch, Filipino lunch, Chocolate Extravaganza, etc, etc which have been previously mentioned.

Seattle Pacific Science Center had the

(Space Needle and Pike Place Market were included with the transfer from ship to airport / city tour on the way home.)

Too many times a travelling companion's travel agent booked a multi—segment flight on the day of the cruise. Missed flight connection; missed ship. I can attend a museum exhibition on my own perfectly well. But I am without the company of a friend at dinner.

For Alaska cruises, I wear men's oxford button down shirts with sweaters and tweed jackets or rain jacket. So. I am ready for anything. Except Gala Night dress.

Confession: Instead for letting the airlines wrinkle my shirts, I brought dirty laundry aboard the Eurodam in August.

I turned them in to the steward as soon as my luggage arrived in the cabin just before the lifeboat drill AND THEY WERE RETURNED BEFORE EARLY—SEATING DINNER! Turnaround time a little over two hours. Light starch; front placket and collars were perfectly smooth, no puckering along the seams.

The one comment is that I don't bring the "first string" shirts (rare stripes, superheavyweight fabric) because commercial laundries can use temperatures which "cook" cotton fibers. I save those for the hand laundry.

And because checked airline luggage may become lost.

I rank Holland America above my favorite commercial laundry / dry cleaner.

In January aboard the Rotterdam, during a VIP party in the Crows Nest, someone asked the Captain if he liked driving. The Captain grinned and said: "Love it ... especially when using my new Callaway XR 16 Driver." The passenger who asked the question never got the joke.

"Driving? I shouldn't even be putting." — Dean Martin.

Agree... the last thing I want on a cruise is some celebrity

For the millennium cruise aboard the Maasdam, we had star of stage and screen Red Buttons, most famous for being one of the few survivors of The Poseidon Adventure in which A CRUISE SHIP IS STRUCK BY A TSUNAMI.

No tenders in Sitka, Alaska. Moored at dock; ten minute bus ride to town.

I enjoy tendering with the exception of one windy afternoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Encountered rough seas enroute to Hawaii. As the attendants worked to close the Lido pool, a woman attempted to climb the ladder. One moment her feet were visible on the lowest rung, as the ship pitched, her head was submerged.

A woman behind me: "Oh, look! They turned on the wave machine!"

On the millennium cruise (actually 1999 — 2000), passengers were issued Holland America flashlights at dinner. (Remember the Y2K scares?) Also received a crystal Holland America champagne flute by Waterford.

Before midnight, everyone gathered on the Lido and on the surrounding upper deck. A large purple sparkly styrofoam "2000" floated in the pool. Champagne flowed freely. The captain did the countdown followed by kissing and a fireworks display.

I snuck down to the pool early in the morning and scavenged remnants of the 2000 for my entry in the boat building contest. Earned fourth place (out of four entries): a six pack of beer which my mother had to accept for me.

I did much better at the Chipping A Golf Ball Into The Life Preserver (youngest contestant, only female) winning first place.

And on Dutch Night, my cap (decorated by crew members as a keepsake) had a millennium theme.

Is this what you're looking for?

I wasn't able to pre—order because it was too close to sailing (or something like that) which is just as well as the travel agent had a bottle of champagne and a bottle of gin waiting for me in the cabin.

Thank you for the links, bUU.

This information is in the In—Room Dining menu section of the orange booklet in the cabin but not listed in the previously linked material:

Gin (Bombay London dry) and (Seagram's) tonic water (three cans): $37.

Scotch (Cutty Sark) and soda: $39.

Vodka (Smirnoff or Stolichnaya) and tonic: $37.

Bourbon (Jim Beam) and coke: $45.

Rum (Bacardi) and coke: $43.

So. I am winding up my day in Juneau by going to the Alaskan Fudge Company to send gifts to friends and family and stopped at the liquor store further down Franklin Street for a bottle of sour mix.

1. The store shelves were re—organized since I'd last been there. I asked where the sour mix was AND THE CLERK LEFT THE CASH REGISTER, WALKED DOWN AN AISLE AND GOT IT FOR ME!

Very friendly customer service.

2. Moments later, a passenger from the Ruby Princess asked the same clerk if the store accepted American money.

I do not buy the Signature beverage package card, preferring to pay—as—I—go. Even trying to attain break—even point and I would be beyond legally drunk to three sheets to the wind.

Not seeing set ups (1 liter Beefeaters and three cans tonic water, 1 liter of Bacardi rum and three cans Coca—Cola, etc.) on last page of In—Room Dining menu.

Have already packed olives, Noilly Prat extra dry, bitters, maraschino cherries, sugar cubes, lemon squeezer, citrus zester, Bloody Mary mix, gomme syrup, etc.for cabin crawls or inviting people over for viewing Glacier Bay from verandah.

The taxi will be here in about two hours. I hope you guys are right about ordering bottles from room service.

Q: What are the five layers of the atmosphere?

A: Troposphere, stratosphere, exosphere, rich dark chocolate and a creamy nougat center.

My team may not have won but I received a round of applause and we were awarded refrigerator magnets.

My DH never smoked a cigar until a Maasdam cruise in 2000 -- they had cigars under the stars. He only smokes them occaisonally outside... will not do it in a 'smoking room'. He always goes to the designated area on the aft deck. I think once in over 200 days onboard he smoked one on the balcony -- it was raining and the balcony was on the side of the ship that was lea of the wind. He has no problem being in the aft after 10pm.

At the Mariners Society luncheon during our last vacation (Alaska, 2015 August), my mother and I were seated with two couples.

Conversation turned to things which have been discontinued: the Chocolate Extravaganza, shaking hands with the officers before the champagne party, Dutch Night with the bonnets and caps and eating hutspot, the Baked Alaska with the sparklers and the waiters parading through the dining room, caviar and crudité as nightly appetizers, the cigar room and humidor starboard off the Crow's Nest, a canopied section of the deck for smoking just aft of what became the former cigar room, and Cigars Under The Stars by the Lido pool and bar.

I particularly miss Cigars Under The Stars.

Wonder what they do there? Sit around talking about big game hunting?

No. Mainly we talk about sports, cars, current events. Recount interesting things that happened during the day. Very pleasant evenings.