2022 Off the Beaten Path Princess Cruise Tour

 May 21, 2022  - Anchorage 

We tested at the Fairmont WatefrWaterfrontont and then flew first class on Air Canada to Anchorage. We had clear skies and incredible views. It was so cool to see Ketchikan and Glacier Bay National Park from the air. 

2022 May Holland America Koningsdam

 On May 14th, we boarded the Holland America Koningsdam with my parents. We booked Neptune Suites to enjoy the large balconies and Club Orange dining. 

This summer Holland America is celebrating 75 years of sailing to Alaska. It's so fun being onboard during an anniversary year to experience all the special touches. Pike Brewery in Seattle created a Holland Hazy IPA.

At dinner each night, there's a special Alaska selection. Last night, I had delicious smoked salmon chowder. I'm excited to experience all the other anniversary surprises Holland America has in store.

May 15, 2022 - Sea Day

We had a great Sea Day sailing from Vancouver to the Inside Passage. We really enjoyed the Spa Pass we purchased.

 Juneau, Alaska 

This time we booked a luxury tour with Alaska Luxury Tours. It was eight guests, Andy, the naturalist, and Captain Sergio.

The sun was shining. It was a small miracle. This is the fourth time I've been to Juneau. It rained every other time. I felt like I was visiting a new place. I had never had this view of the Mendenhall Glacier before as we left the marina. We had about twelve whale sightings. It was quickly discovered that if I put my camera away, the whales would appear. Once again, I have no photos of whales. We also saw sea lions.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay National Park allows two large cruise ships entrance per day. During the summer, the Park has a team of about 40 rangers to support the Park and the cruise programming.

At around 5 am, three National Park Rangers boarded a small boat that met our ship near the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park. They boarded and spent the day onboard offering different programs including narration, a formal presentation, and a table for informal questions.

We had incredible weather for Glacier Bay - clear skies and sunny. The ship opened the bow so we could have better views sailing into Glacier Bay. It did get very windy at one point and only my Dad and Glenn stayed out.

Skagway 

Skagway is my favorite Alaska cruise port. I love Klondike Brewing and Skagway Fish Company has the best soups. 

We also took my parents to Skagway Brewing Company. This time I really paid attention to sailing out of Skagway. It's a gorgeous fjord. 

Ketchikan

We visited the Bar Harbor Ale House. They changed the menu since our August 2021 visit and we didn't enjoy it as much. A visit to Arctic bar is always fun.

Inside Passage

We got permission to sail a different way back to Vancouver due to fog. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Glenn's Review of the Holland America Koningsdam

 As we have just finished most of our packing, time for some final thoughts on the cruise.  

Wonderful staff. Some of the best I have encountered on over 60 cruises and all the major lines.  Great service in Club Orange and the Crow's Nest. The concierge in Neptune Lounge was so helpful.  

Some very good food, especially at the Pinnacle Grill.  We ate all other dinners at Club Orange.  While the food was generally good, I was hoping for a slightly more elevated experience in that venue. The Gala night menus didn't "wow" me.  Neither had a lobster starter or main which I thought was odd.

The entertainment is a mixture of good and bad.  Some very good live music with the BB King band and the dueling pianos.   Didn't spend any time in Rolling Stone Rock Room but I heard the band and they sounded very good.

The shows on World Stage were almost all interpretive dance shows from a single dance company.  Perhaps that is what the key demographic on this cruise wants to see, but it wasn't for me.  Would have been nice to mix in some other types of musical shows.  They did have a great BBC Planet Earth show which was amazing.  

The ship is in great shape for being six years old.  It looked the same as I remember when I sailed in the inaugural season in July 2016.

We upgraded to the Elite beverage package.  It was worth it to me since there were several wines I

 liked that weren't in the $11 price range.  I also liked having unlimited canned waters.  I probably drank at least five a day and usually brought one back to the cabin each night. The cocktail program is strong and each bar has a unique menu of special cocktails to try.  Makes it fun to put together your own bar crawl.  

Having the Neptune Suite was definitely worth it for this sailing. We spent a lot of the scenic cruising time out on the large balcony.  On Glacier Bay day, the concierge arranged an afternoon tea which we enjoyed there.  I don't think I would need that suite for all sailings but it really enhanced this Alaska sailing.  

The Navigator app could be frustrating at times but I found myself using it more as the cruise went on.  And the ability to mobile order from NY Pizza and Dive In was so helpful and a great timesaver.  We would order while having cocktails at Crow's Nest then run down to pick up and being back to the bar to eat.  

Overall a great cruise.  Definitely will consider this ship class for our next Alaska sailing.

2022 MAY Celebrity Millennium Pacific Coast Sailing

May 2, 2022  - Arrive in San Diego 

We got up early to catch our Southwest flight to San Diego. We connected through Dallas and everything went well. We took a taxi from the airport to the Intercontinental. It was a short ride. We booked Club Level rooms to have a place to all hangout and it worked well. My parents arrived about 40 minutes after us and my Aunt and her partner about an hour after that. We found a comfy couch outside the Club Lounge and enjoyed the amenities. We ordered a charcuterie plate and chips and guacamole. We had dinner at Vistol right at the resort outside overlooking the marina. Dinner was delicious. The tuna poke was outstanding. 

May 3, 2022 - Embarkation 

We had breakfast in the Club Lounge. I worked for a couple hours. We headed over to the port around 11 am. We could easily walk there. We had a 12:30 pm check in time so they did make us wait. We didn't have to wait until 12:30 pm though. We were onboard by noon. We went to the buffet for lunch. I loved the make your own pasta station. We headed to Sunset Bar, but didn't vibe with the bartender so we went down to Cellar Masters. I think that's going to be our bar. We took a break to see if our luggage arrived. We went back to Cellar Masters to listen to the guitar player and the violin duo. Dinner was in the main restaurant: Metropolitan. I had the carrot salad, mushroom soup, and salmon. I think the highlight was the beet salad my Dad ordered. He also had really good ravioli. Glenn's spaghetti was a little salty. I was exhausted so we headed to bed early. 

May 4, 2022 Santa Barbara 

We were up bright and early to get the first water shuttle to shore. I woke up to see the sunrise. 

We were on Shuttle #1. We booked a wine tour with Surf's Up Limo. I did not tell my family anything about the tour so I loved their reaction when they saw the Surf Limo. Jeff was a terrific guide and picked a wonderful itinerary. 

We drove about an hour out into Santa Inez Valley to McKinney Winery. It's a small boutique winery started by Matt McKinney. He planted wines in his parents' backyard. It's only open for private tastings. We met with Justice. He's worked with Matt for about 4 years. They do everything at the vineyard - all the planting, grooming, aging, bottling, and managing the sales and wine club. The wine was incredible. Favorites were the Rose of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir and Blood of Jove Sangiovese. Justice spent about two hours with us.

 We headed to a local olive oil grove to taste some olive oil. The owners have 800 acres of olive trees. It takes the owner 2 1/2 months to prune them each year. Jeff picked up lunch for us.  We found a great picnic table along a beautiful winery for lunch. We were all delighted when Jeff pulled out a table cloth and place mats. We also visited Brick Barn vineyard. This is a much larger winery geared toward sessionable bright and accessible wines. We enjoyed the comfy patio furniture. My favorite was the Viognier. We headed back to the ship. Just a wonderful tour. We all took a little rest and then headed to Cellar Masters to hear Sean play the guitar. Dinner was delicious. I loved the Grilled Sirloin Steak. The rigatoni was delicious. 

May 5, 2022 - Catalina Island 

We had an easy morning. We went to Elite breakfast Tuscan Grill. We set up camp Cafe al Bacio where Jenny kept us caffeinated. We met up with everyone else around 11 am to take the water shuttles over to land. We had a great lunch on the water at Bluewater Avalaon. We did a little souvenir shopping. We hit up the local dive bar - the Blue Marlin -  and then went to a nano brewery that was also a bakery. Very fun. We headed back to the ship for a nice evening with dinner. 

May 6, 2022  - Sea Day 

The morning started with a very boring lecture that put all six of us to sleep. The weather wasn't great so we played a little bean bag toss. The evening was fun. We went to The Company Men show and had a great time. Then, Glenn sang some live band karaoke. 

May 7, 2022  - San Francisco 

We were excited for today. We booked a wine tour to Hook and Ladder. It was terrific. My Dad was so excited to see Hook and Ladder. We met the wine club representative Glenn and my Dad always email and it was like meeting a rockstar. We got a behind the scenes tour and to try so many great wines. 

The next stop was Martinelli where we had a stand up wine tasting. We had lunch at Russian River Brewing's new pub location. Then, a very overpriced food and wine tasting at Flowers Vineyard. Overall, the weather was gorgeous and it was a terrific day. 

May 8, 2022 San Francisco 

This morning we took the Hop On Hop Off bus around the city. It started to rain just as we were going over the Golden Gate bridge so that was quite the adventure. 

Glenn and I decided to skip the included coastal cruise to go to the baseball game. It was so fun to check another ballpark off the list. We had standing room tickets, but found a great set of bar stools facing the field to watch the first four innings.

 It was really hard getting an Uber so we walked along the waterfront back to the ship. 

May 9, 2022 Sea Day 

Another rainy, lazy sea day. We actually sat at the bar outside for a while. 

May 10, 2022 Astoria, Oregon 

We had a cruise ship excursion along the coast. The scenery was great. We visited the Tillamook Air Museum and Cheese Factory. Plus a stop at the beach where part of the Goonies was filmed. 

We also finally stopped at the Martini Bar. We were laughing so hard when the bartended did a "sexy" dance with the bottle when he made a dirty martini. 

May 11, 2022 Seattle, Washington 

We took a cruise ship excursion and it was not good. The driver had no idea what he was doing. He drove us in a circle with no information. Then, we boarded coastal cruise that was actually great. We sailed along the skyline and then through a lock to Lake Union. The narration was terrific and we really enjoyed it. 

The next stop was the Space Needle so we decided to bail on the tour. Glenn and I went to the Chulily Glass Museum and the Outdoor Sculpture Garden while my parents, Aunt and Fred went back to the martini bar. 

May 12, 2022 Victoria, BC

My parents, Aunt, and Fred took a tour. Glenn and I decided to stay on the ship. We were originally going to explore Victoria, but my work took until noon so we decided to stay onboard. We went to the production show that night. 

May 13, 2022 Vancouver 

We did self assist disembarkation. We walked across the street to the Fairmont Waterfront to check in. Then, we had to walk down to the Fairmont Vancouver to get COVID tested. We stopped at a nice bakery for coffees and breakfast. Testing was seamless. We all tested negative so we headed back to the Fairmont since our rooms were ready. We had lunch at Cactus Cafe in the Harbor. It was delicious.

After lunch, Aunt and Fred headed out to explore. The four of us went back to the hotel. I worked for a few hours. We had dinner in the Club Lounge and went to bed early. 

May 14, 2022 

My Aunt and Fred flew out early in the morning. We had a leisurely morning with breakfast in the Club Level and then headed across the street to check in for the Holland America Koningdsam Alaska cruise.