Live from the Maasdam-14 night Alaska

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Thank you for doing this. I'm going on my own Alaskan journey in two weeks.

Enjoy your adventure!

[nw gardener]

Was on this cruise in June, had one of our best cruises ever, you will love the ship, the crew, and the itinerary. Thank you for doing this blog, have been looking forward to it since your fantastic MSC Divina blog [trying Divina in Feb and your blog was a great help]. Have a wonderful time, enjoy the happy hours in the Crow's Nest! :)

[welly world]

We are also doing this cruise in a few yesrs. Love reading everything that we can look forward to.

[RuthC]

I'm very much enjoying your narrative so far. Thanks for posting it. Also loving the pictures.

 

I don't suppose you found a solution to your broken "moose"? It couldn't be something as simple as needing a new battery, could it? Or the little "thingie" that pops into the computer got loose?

Hope you solve the problem.

[Cruizer Bill]

Great job with the pictures! She is on board and has set sail 2 days ago so she should be in Ketchikan today.

 

Say hi to Old as Dirt Mom and The Second Sister for us!!!

[maureencruiser]

Dinner that night was at an Indian place called Saffrons.

 

We had grape leaves.

 

 

Pesto Naan.

 

 

And, I had the Coconut Curry with chicken.

 

 

After that, the plan was to go to the Chihuly Exhibit and the Space Needle.

 

 

Chihuly's work is extraordinary glass installations.

 

[maureencruiser]

The colors were amazing.

 

 

Pictures do not do the colors justice, not even close.

 

 

This is the ceiling of one room, called the Persian ceiling.

 

 

It is stunning.

 

 

If you go to Seattle, do yourself a favor and go see this. It's right at the base of the space Needle.

[maureencruiser]

Now, off to the Needle.

 

 

 

 

The Needle has an app where you can see the Needle in 4-D, with things like fireworks, rain, etc. The spots to do it are on the ground outside and on the observation deck itself. We had a lot of fun playing with the app.

 

 

 

Here's the view of Seattle from the Needle, note the blue Ferris Wheel.

 

 

And, on the way home, they took me to a park with a great view of the Needle.

 

[lazey1]

I certainly wish I had gone to the Chihuly exhibit. Is that a good enough reason to do another Alaska cruise?:confused:

[maureencruiser]

Monday

 

Monday, Cody had to work, so, Heather and I got brunch at Portage Bay.

 

 

She had a veggie frittatta.

 

 

 

And, I had my all time trusty favorite, Eggs Benedict.

 

 

These had a splash of Paprika, I think? It gave them a wonderful kick, whatever it was.

 

 

 

From there, we walked down to the Ballard Locks.

 

Boats waiting in the locks.

 

 

Salmon, also waiting in the locks, adjusting to going from being in the salt water to the fresh water, per Heather.

 

[maureencruiser]

My first wildlife sighting of the trip, a sea lion at the locks. Remember, what happened at the Boxcar doesn't count as actual, reported wild life.

 

 

 

Me, posing like a normal person and also showing off my Raylene and the Winos t-shirt.

 

 

 

Raylene is a service dog who will be on the ship, doing her 5th cruise, actually. The Winos need no introduction! That is what our Roll Call has named itself. I'm not sure why. :eek:

And, me, showcasing my usual tomfoolery, pretending to ride the salmon.

 

 

Finally, it was time to head to the ship!

 

First look!

 

 

I got there around 1:30, there was no wait at all.

 

The lady at check-in said she didn't need to take my picture, she already had it from my previous cruise. Score! I was probably a few pounds lighter then, too. :D

 

I like to get on later, so, I can drop my bags off immediately. As I headed down the hallway, a steward approached me and asked, "Maureen?" What kind of sorcery is this?

[RMLincoln]

Ah, Maureen! It's a memorable name!! ;) m-- tee, hee

[maureencruiser]

Here is my room, 421 on the Lower Promenade Aft. Several people from the roll call are on this deck, as is Raylene's "relief area", so we named it the Poop Deck. :D

 

 

 

I had originally booked an inside, then upgraded to an outside. I just couldn't afford a balcony on this cruise, though. So, I have decided the promenade is "my balcony".

 

 

Here is my door and the door outside to the promenade, easy access if a whale or something shows up. Since I'm aft, I can run between port and starboard easily, if I have to.

 

Here is "my balcony". That is my window. What are those fools doing on "my balcony"?

 

[maureencruiser]

Here is another view of "my balcony".

 

 

Since I can't swim, I'm glad "my balcony" has the life ring on it. It also makes it easy to know which way to head when I'm stumbling around out on the promenade.

 

This is "my bench".

 

 

I asked a man walking by on "my balcony" if he would take a picture of me on "my bench".

 

 

No jogging?! :mad: What is he, some kind of comedian? :mad: No jogging! As if! :D

[maureencruiser]

Here is the view from "my balcony".

 

 

If you look closely, you can see Mt Ranier.

 

 

This is a good time to mention, internet on HAL is crazy expensive. I spent $250 for 1,000 minutes. We'll see how long that lasts. I'll try to find free wifi in port and work on my review there. But, limiting minutes like that allows no time for spell checking, so words like Ranier, frittatta and Chihuly get my best guess and then I move on.

 

Is that an accident or just normal Seattle business?

 

 

When I zoom in, people just seem to be driving through it, so, I guess it's normal.

 

 

The famous Seattle ferry Dr McDreamy (RIP) liked to ride.

 

[maureencruiser]

Even the view from inside my cabin is pretty good.

 

 

 

Again, why do fools just think they can come and stand on "my balcony"?

 

 

That's right! You better leave! :D:D

 

[maureencruiser]

Up on the Lido Deck, it was a real happening scene.

 

 

This is a good time to mention, I will have to try and act like an adult on this cruise, this is HAL, after all. This is not MSC, where I spend my days bathing in pizza and wine. :eek: These are respectable people and they will require appropriate behavior from the likes of me. :D I'll do my best. ;)

 

I love dolphins.

 

 

Oh no, a dolphin in danger due to the negligence of human beings.

 

Notice how he is struggling to breathe, while his three friends laugh at him.

 

[maureencruiser]

Luckily, there was a marine biologist on board.

 

 

She knew how to save him.

 

 

I salute you, animal lover! Or, fish lover! Or, mammal lover, whatever he is, you risked life and limb to save him!

 

Lunch at the Lido Buffet.

 

 

There were some nice looking things.

 

 

 

 

I had to remember to act like an adult and not jam my face full of food.

 

[maureencruiser]

An adult would have just a little fruit for lunch.

 

 

Oh, and maybe a little ice cream.

 

 

Muster was at 3:00, right after lunch.

 

They kept calling one cabin repeatedly, they finally showed up 15 minutes late. The lady next to me said, "Congratulations, we all just drowned, waiting for you". BAM! Drop the mic! You just won the muster! I've seen her several times since, I make sure to stay on her good side.

 

After muster, Raylene and the Winos met up by the Seaview Bar.

 

 

It was another happening place, they really know how to party on HAL.

 

Raylene!

 

 

Oh, yeah, the people were nice, too.

 

I had a Tropical Cable Car, with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. It was pulpy and delicious.

 

 

Another view of Raylene or, a child has dropped a chocolate ice cream cone and it has melted into the deck, I'm not sure which.

 

[cynt]

Hey Maureen!!!! Have an AWESOME cruise!! I'm already loving your review. :D

[scluvsrain]

Enjoy! I was just on the cruise 2 weeks ago and wrote a live thread too. But we didn't have Raylene. Bummer.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[erewhon]

Are you talking about the white "stuff" poking out from under the Hollandaise sauce - that's the cooked egg white of the poached egg. If you are talking about the white "stuff" on the side that's hash browns :D

 

Thanks for your reply.

Must be hash browns.

[maureencruiser]

Soon, it was dinner time. I was scheduled for open seating and I didn't want to go to that. I've been burned by that before, been told that nobody wants to share a table and sat by myself. I don't mind eating alone, but, not at a fancy, hours long dinner.

 

So, I just hit the buffet instead.

 

 

They had plenty of fresh fruit.

 

 

Some nice looking food.

 

 

 

 

 

I kept it simple tonight and headed to bed early.

 

[maureencruiser]

Tuesday

 

Tuesday was a sea day and I was up early, so, I went to breakfast in the Dining Room.

 

I had a blueberry muffin.

 

 

Cottage Cheese with blueberries.

 

 

And, the Dutch Breakfast, it was fabulous!

 

 

Since I have never been to Alaska before, I attended all the talks. At the shopping talk, I caught a bamboo necklace from Cariloha and won a prize pack from Del Sol. I felt like I was in the Caribbean.

 

The last talk was a promotion for the Alaskan Lumberjack Show.

 

Corey had been hard to miss since we boarded.

 

 

He ran an axe throwing competition and the winner won two tickets to the show, it was a good time.

[maureencruiser]

Tuesday was also my first chance to start working on this review. I ended up skipping lunch and just ordering a sandwich from room service when I went back to my cabin to charge my laptop.

 

 

 

The following picture is a cautionary tale for all you kids out there who say, "I want to write reviews on Cruise Critic when I grow up".

 

If you do, this is what you will look like on Formal night. When all the adults are going to dinner in tuxedos and ball gowns, this will be you.

 

 

Dirty shirt, sweatpants, scurrying about in the bowels of the ship like a rat, clutching your laptop and your notebook. Camera jammed in one pocket, broken moose jammed in the other. A wreck, really. :D