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Sept 17th – My Return to Unalaska Island and Dutch Harbour

September 17, 2026October 2, 2026Lmnei

I never thought I would have the ability to return to this lovely, but remote, destination! What a luxury this time to be able to dock on a cruise ship and visit for the day and check out some of the places that I previously visited when working for the week in February, 1995! It has taken me over 2 weeks to write this – it has been a very hard post to do, however really fun looking back! Enjoy!

The Preparation

Knowing 30 years ago that there were not that many taxis and no busses on the Island of Unalaska, where Dutch Harbour is located, I started looking in about April, for someone to drive Andrew and I around to see the places on Unalaska Island that I remember being taken or walking in the evening. I ran into the new (to me) Museum of the Aleutians which was built near the Grand Aleutian Hotel where I stayed, which offered tours! I corresponded with Thomas (awesome name) and let him know that I had been to Unalaska previously and had a list of places that I wanted to see such as the Airport, Grand Aleutian Hotel, Community Centre, Greek Orthodox Church, Elbow Room bar and a couple of other places too. He said they were all on his tour so we signed up!

It was interesting on the Cruise Critic group that people were AMAZED that Holland America did not offer any excursions for Unalaska! In a community of 4,000 there is no infrastructure provide this – especially for a ship that stops only twice a year. We were obviously on our own! Word of Thomas’s tour through the Museum of the Aleutians got out and the two vans quickly filled with a total of 20 people!

It was like deja vu being back on the Island of Unalaska and also going back through time! I was amazed at how time has stood still on these islands for 30 years except for some minor updates and one “attraction” no longer (more on that later)! We got off the Noordam and met Thomas as planned. As the vans do not have head rests for most of the seats, I had reserved the front seat! I knew another person (Amy) had reserved the front seat in the other van. We were set to go and explore!

Panorama View of Unimak Island and Unalaska Island – commercial dock with Noordam above and to the right is the town and Dutch Harbour docks.

Tour of Unalaska and Dutch Harbour

While I took this picture later on in our tour, it gives you a bit of a lay of the land. We came in on the Noordam which you can see above. Thomas picked up the people from the cruise in 2 x 10 passenger vans. Then we started on our tour, which meant we drove past the end of the runway, which I remember having a hard landing on, past the now Safeway and Grand Aleutian Hotel, narrating as we past the sights.

We then drove down the road towards Dutch Harbour and the city buildings, however before we got there we turned off to the right to visit the harbour where the Deadliest Catch boats are tied up when not out fishing or crabbing. It was interesting to see some of the boats that we have seen on TV! None of this was here when I worked in Dutch in 1995!

Next we drove though Dutch Harbour (most people did not know that but I did based on the buildings I saw were the SAME as 30 years ago) and out to the beach area where there also are some old former military installations such as gun turrets and ammunition storage.

“Downtown” Unalaska and Dutch Harbour

Next we drove into the town of Unalaska and past the Dutch Harbour dock to the Russian Orthodox Church. I was keenly watching out for the Elbow room, which was a light blue house when I was last here. The Elbow Room had a reputation as one of the roughest bars in North America as the guys would get off the fishing boats and “let loose”. However Thomas, who has only been living on Unalaska for 6 years has actually never seen the Elbow Room I found out! I noticed we were coming up on the church and we should have past the Elbow room when all of a sudden Thomas announced “there used to be a bar in Dutch named the Elbow Room. It closed in 2007 and was eventually bought by the Mennonite Church. They renovated it and it is now a b&b! I thought this was pretty ironic! More down below.

Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension

The Church of the Holy Ascension was built, starting 1825, and remains one of the oldest cruciform-style churches in the United States. The collection of icons inside dates back to the 16th century. On the back wall of the church there are a set of 12 calendar icons. Apparently there are only three full sets of these icons from the 1800’s in the whole world, and one of them is here.

Driving up to the Russian Orthodox Church

Here is a panorama view of the church, graveyard and mini-church area. The church was consencrated in 1826 – 200 years ago!

The Elbow Room

The one thing that I wanted to see, which I was aware was closed before we got to Dutch, was The Elbow Room. When I was here in 1995 it had a reputation as one of the rowdiest and most dangerous bars in America, if you visited during the Bering Sea crab fishing season. I was lucky — it was pollock season when I was in Dutch! However the boys, when they got off the boats that week still partied quite a bit! Note: There are two types of pollock fish in the world – I am talking about the Alaska Pollock not the Atlantic Pollock.

When Thomas indicated that the Mennonites bought the building and renovated it, really intrigued me for two reasons –
1 – the Elbow Room was a raucous drinking establishment when I looked in on it one day about noon. It smelled rank, of booze and sweat. It had no windows and was pretty dark! There was also lots of broken glass crunchy on the floor!
2 – why would someone want to renovate the building with that stench in its bones?

I found that in 2007, after 50 years of destroying lives, the Elbow Room, at 28 N. 2nd St. off West Broadway (sounds exotic) was sold for around $140,000.00 USD. It was then renovated and renamed to Latitudes Bar. As the fishing business in Alaska had become more regulated and modernized, the “drinking culture” that used to happen when the deck hand get off the boats had ended, and Latitudes did not survive.

In 2009, the Unalaska Christian Fellowship church, decided to renovate and re-purpose the former bar from a symbolic “hole to hell” for many families during the wild crab years and turn it into a temporary emergency shelter. While the project faced opposition from local residents due to memories associated with the bar’s past patrons wandering wild, the renovation did take place and Alexandria House was born! It was a local shelter providing housing and resources for the needy, as well as temporary workers arriving in town hoping to secure a spot on the Alaskan crabbing fleets.

In the years since the Elbow Room closed, it is said that Dutch Harbour on the Island of Unalaska is now known for its fishing production as the largest port by volume in North America. Stability is also on the rise: churches are full on Sundays, new houses are being built overlooking the ships in Dutch Harbor, and for me, the amazing thing to see was the streets have real asphalt! It seems though that the Alexandria House ran its time and Thomas is correct – it is now a B&B! I found it on Air B&B of all places! Here are some before and after pictures!

This is a picture of the Elbow Room in 1995

Now, fully remodeled – you would not believe it was a dank, windowless hole in the wall! I would love to stay here other than the accommodation is upstairs! The lower floor is sometimes rented out for events, and if not, the the Air B&B renters can use the whole house!

Unalaska Island Information

While Unalaska Island still has about 4,000 people, which is the same as when I was there, it is still isolated in the Aleutian Islands AND at the mercy of the sea! Ounalashka Corporation, a native-owned business controls most of land on the island.

Known to airlines and Deadliest Catch viewers as Dutch Harbor, Unalaska is the most populated port in the Aleutian Islands. Bigger than Maui and Molokai combined, the 4,000-inhabitant isle offers beautiful lodging, some restaurants, an anthropological museum, nine city parks, three national historic landmarks, a national wildlife refuge and a national historic area. There are more churches in the area today than bars, the schools rank among the state’s best, and it is located closer to Russia than Juneau!

The Island does not have many trees, no bears or moose and has minimal snow fall as it is on the same latitude as Prince Rupert. Dutch, as the locals say, is a real working Alaskan town that’s kind of on the fringes in the middle of the Bering Sea. The island’s un-name comes from the native “Ounalashka” meaning “near the peninsula,” and the harbor’s Dutch moniker reflects a time when a ship from the Netherlands anchored there. While “Dutch Harbor” remains commonly used, the official name for both the island and its town is “Unalaska.” Calling us Dutch Harbor is kind of like calling Seattle – Elliott Bay,” It’s only the name of the body of water.”

Unalaska Airport (DUT)

Getting to Unalaska takes a bit of effort. A few cruise ships call, and Alaska Marine Highway ferries serve the island twice monthly from April through September. Instead of the 737 Combi planes flying like when I visited in the 90’s which took 2 hours, now Saab turboprops fly from Anchorage that take 3 hours! I laughed when I saw this comment on a website – “Landing in Unalaska is like dropping onto an aircraft carrier. Water borders the runway on three sides, and a sawed-off hill rims the fourth. A pilot error here results in either a splash or splat.” I cannot agree more! I will never forget sitting on the left side of the plane, thinking we were going to hit a cliff and then getting bruises from my lap belt from when the pilot suddenly slammed brakes when we touched down! When we went into the Airport, we found that while The Elbow Room may be closed, but the airport bar, is still going strong after 30+ years!

Outside of Unalaska Airport – as I remember!

I will never forget my little Samsonite suitcase arriving on this non-carosel along with HUGE bags (hockey bag size) of the workers coming to join the boat crews or work in the processing plants on the island. The sign and welcome has not changed either!

Next we looked out onto the runway from the gate area in the airport and saw some derelect planes that are too costly to remove!

Grand Aleutian Hotel

When I visited for work, I stayed at the Grand Aleutian Hotel, which is an ADA accessible, 112-room, three-story hotel. Its restaurant, has the only Sunday brunch in town and primarily serves MEAT not seafood I found out! It had a great gift shop with crafts from Unalaska’s sister city of Petropavlovsk, Russia! I remember getting an Unalaska hoodie which I promptly lost a few weeks later!

The town wraps around Iliuliuk Bay with the “Bridge to the Other Side.” Downtown Unalaska has a public library, community center, aquatic center and a staffed visitor center. Most homes are modest with trailers, prefabs and refurbished World War II cabanas, many built with coloured sheet metal that have not aged in 30 years!

Fish Processing!

The biggest land-based employer in Unalaska is UniSea, which runs a highly automated pollack processing plant. Fillet from the white fish becomes sandwiches while the rest is ground into surimi that is used in imitation crab and fish sticks. If it’s Alaskan pollack, it came from this plant – it is said that McDonalds and Burger King both use UniSea pollack in their fish sandwiches! In addition to the commercial catch, sport fishing lures anglers to Unalaska. A replica of a 459-pound Pacific halibut hangs inside City Hall. Celebrities who have baited hooks here include Jimmy Buffet, who once performed an impromptu concert at the Elbow Room, allegedly without margarita belly slides. There are a couple of other processing plants too for the other types of crab and fish obtained from the Bering Sea.

Museum of the Aleutians

Museum of the Aleutians is a newer museum which was not present when I visited! The collection is diverse with items such as:
– finely woven baskets
– 1778 drawing of an Unangan woman done by crew member of Captain James Cook
– waterproof parka called a kamleika made from sea lion esophagus tissue
– 1940’s vintage ski
– a model of the Coast Guard’s USS Bear
– numerous World War II artifacts

Aleutian World War II Museum

The Visitor Center of the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area displays information about the conflict and provides a mock up of a communications center with mannequins manning equipment. Six months after Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft dropped their loads on Dutch Harbor. Days after the attack, the Japanese invaded Kiska and Attu Islands further down the Aleutian chain. To stifle possible advances, allied forces stationed nearly 50,000 solders in Unalaska. Abandoned bunkers, pillboxes, ammo depots and gun mounts still surround town. We did not go into the museum as it was listed as not accessible, other than I bought a tshirt in the gift shop!

We are now almost done our tour and are driving back towards the ship now along a part of Unalaska I have never seen! After going past the fish processing area, including the housing for the workers, we ended up in the power plant area of Unalaska. The original power plant that was built by the army is still there, however there is a more modern one now due to the electrical consumption needed at times on the Island. Other than the fish processing plants and the community – what could that be? Keeping all that fish that has been caught and now filleted frozen for transport! I did not realize about this! At the yards where the containers are located for the fish packers it is just like when you live in cold parts of North America like Calgary – there are electical posts of outlets to “plug” the containers in!

Next we drove to the “underground” hospital which was a hospital that was built, you guessed it, underground, during the war time. Thomas told us how for many years after that it was used for different things such as training for fire fighters and parties. However it is now condemed and sealed off due to asbestos contamination. After that Thomas pointed out a few more sights, one of which I said – is that still the Mexican place? He was surprised! Apparently it had only changed from a Mexican Restaurant in the last few months. I had several dinners of chicken and cheese enchiladas there – gluten free of course! Shortly, we were back at the Noordam!

The tour ended back at the Noordam, however the lady in the other van from the Museum was told that there were some Canadians on board so she drove us to the dock area in front of the Noordam and in front of the various ships and barges tied up was a Canadian Submarine who is in town! Thought they would fly the Canadian flag, but I guess in the USA you fly their flag….

With a bit of poking around I found out the following – it was the Royal Canadian Navy Victoria-class submarine HMCS Corner Brook that was in Dutch Harbor to take part in a joint U.S.–Canadian military exercise! It seems like the allied forces were testing a rapid Arctic response with subsurface vessels like the HMCS Corner Brook, surface ships like the HMCS Ottawa, RCAF CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft, and some U.S. Air Force F-35A fighters. The HMCS Corner Brook and the aircraft tracked a simulated maritime threat (the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Aspen) in the simulated strike. We then walked back to the ship!

Departing Unalaska and Dutch Harbour

ow it is time to depart and head straight south to Hawaii! It was not light out when we arrived at the dock, however we are going to have a great view leaving Unalaska and Dutch Harbour! I am not sure what was going on with the azi-pods or stabilizers or bow thrusters but something was not working and there was an issue getting away from the dock. It took forever! It seems the Captain was wanting to “pull out” side ways like we have seen at other ports, however it was not working. Perhaps the tide or currents were pushing us back? It was sort of like the Noordam was rocking back and forth to get her nose out. All of a sudden a 2nd tug boat appeared going backwards! No idea why driving backwards was going to help us however the Noordam started swinging away from the dock at that point. Then the tug turned around and followed us out of the bay into 5 days at sea to Hawaii!

We had a beautiful cruise past Unalaska and Amaknak Islands which are part of the Fox Island group in the Aleutian Island Chain.

Now, 5 days at sea – what kind of trouble can I get up to? Art, art and more art!

Sept 14th – Nippy Anchorage & Alaska Air Museum

September 14, 2026September 29, 2026Lmnei

Northern Light Show!

Secretly I got up in the middle of the night and look what I saw! It is a good thing I cannot sleep through the night sometimes…

Anchorage Port

We have had a VERY lucky experience! Very rarely do cruise ships DOCK in Anchorage! For the Don Young Port of Alaska, which is just north of downtown Anchorage, due to the extreme tidal fluctuations and heavy commercial freight traffic, only specialized ships (some Holland America and exploration vessels) can dock at the port. The mega-cruise ships stop instead at the deep water ports of Seward or Whittier and then bus or use the train to transfer passengers to Anchorage. These mega-cruise ship ports are also easier for the cruise ships to get to from the glacier areas of Alaska as they are on the east side of the peninsula where Anchorage is at the end on the other side. Also, cruise ships offer “land” components when the cruise ends in Alaska such as to the Denali National Park.

At the Don Young Port of Alaska, we were able to get off at Anchorage and either be bussed into the city (on Princess busses!) or to get onto an Excursion bus. We were on the Anchorage Highlights and Alaskan Air Museum tour.

Alaska Aviation History Overview

I was really interested in this tour as it included the Alaskan Air Museum and I have watched some shows on the history of aviation in Alaska along with spending A LOT of time in airports to get from Vancouver to Dutch Harbour, which took 2 days each way, via Seattle and Anchorage. In Alaska, there are communities that are fairly remote and frozen a good percentage of the year! For most of these places, the only way to reach them is by air – similar to northern Canada. Food, medical supplies, people, basically EVERYTHING need to be flown in. Most have a gravel runway or in the winter, ice packed runways where planes can land on wheels. For towns near the water, there are float planes that can fly in which land on their pontoons (or skis depending on the season) to deliver goods too. The “bush” pilots who fly these routes are a rare bunch but they know Alaska well and the challenges that come with flying up here.

The next interesting fact about Anchorage Airport, which I did not know about until my trip to Dutch Harbour in February, 1995, is the sheer number of cargo planes that land in Anchorage for a fuel stop. Flights from Asia to New York carrying cargo – such as a 747 freighter, cannot make the trip without touching down for fuel. If you look at the great circle mapper, the flight patch from Asia to Toronto/Chicago and the eastern USA makes an arch over Alaska and down over Canada to the destination. Guess what airport is on the way? Anchorage! Great stop to pick up some fuel! Only issue – the airport can have some very “interesting” conditions when it comes to snow! I have been to a lot of airports around the world, however back in 1995 I do not think I had been at any airport, including Frankfurt and Heathrow, that had more 747’s (aka Queen of the Skies) taxiing around than I saw in Anchorage the days I spent at ANC airport!

I am not going to bore you with stats or anything – you can look them up yourself…. LOTS of 747’s! In fact we saw one land and taxi in while we were on the bus heading to the Alaska Air Museum!

The bus did drive quickly through downtown Anchorage on the way to the Anchorage Airport. The Anchorage Airport looks to have grown up in the last 30 years since I was last hear as that seems to be a new control tower! Needless to say, we did not end up at the airport (sad) but instead at the Alaska Air Museum, which funny enough was accessed from an active “taxiway” which I thought the bus driver was kidding when he said that (security is a bit different in the USA than in Canada it seems) but no, we were crossing the taxiway for all the float planes at Lake Hood which is right next to the Anchorage Airport!

Lake Hood Float Plane Aerodrome

We arrived safely the Alaska Air Museum which is on the edge of Lake Hood. The Lake Hood Float Plane Base has the largest number of Sea Planes in North America at over 1500 registered to this base. They THINK they are the busiest float plane base, however knowing Vancouver and the Coal Harbour Aerodrome along with Harbour Air being the largest seaplane operation in the world, I can confirm that Vancouver, with 200-300 seaplane flights a day on average, is a bit busier than Lake Hood at 190 flights on average.

We were dropped off at the Alaska Aviation Museum where the majority of the bus tour was able to enter and to hear the docent talk about the history of Alaskan Aviation. Unfortunately, the slow people like myself getting off the bus and needing our mobility devices too a bit more time to get into the building and we missed half the presentation! That was frustrating – someone even asked him to start over and he would not as he said the “tour was all there”.

Now we are outside of the museum, however still in museum grounds and they have one of the Alaska Airlines 737-200 Combi cargo and passenger planes that used to fly around Alaska and what I took from Anchorage to Dutch Harbour on a flight I will never forget! Unfortunately, it was not accessible, so Andrew went up and took pictures for me while I sat on my walker and explained to another lady in a wheelchair what was inside as I remember it and what it was like to fly in the plane. Too bad for a tour that Holland America sold as Accessible, it was not fully accessible! So easy to do!

Here are Andrew’s pictures from my phone of the interior! In the first picture, where the docent is talking on the left and people are standing at the back, that is where the cargo flew on the plane (behind the pilots). It was secured to the floor and then there was a net covering the cargo and then the seats you see in the picture on the right (ignore the tables and lights – no idea why they are there!) were secured to the floor, depending on the cargo/passenger ratio.

Test

Nose shot! Pointed instead of stubby nose…

This plane is similar to the flying water bombers (but much smaller) that used to live on Sproat Lake!

Now we have walked around the compound of planes, and can see the Lake Hood Control Tower which is staffed during summer, we entered into the “workshop” for the volunteers at the Aviation Museum.

After hanging out in the Alaska Air Museum store to acquire a shirt, we were back on the bus to be dropped in downtown Anchorage! Lynda was on a mission – Walmart – for a couple of items that she needs for the cruise! We went into an office building and were given a number for Yellow Cabs in Anchorage, however after 2 calls no one showed up so we switched to Uber! Arriving at Walmart, I was able to pick up my online order and then for a couple of items that were “not in stock” I was able to purchase similar items that were suitable. I had wanted some pens, however they were in a locked case and after calling for customer service three times for assistance and waiting for a total of 30 minutes, we gave up – no purple pens for Lynda today! Back in the Uber we asked the gentleman to take us to the port where the Noordam was docked. I saw no need to go back into downtown to get on one of the busses (they did have wheelchair lifts) just to be driven to the port. I was wrong. The only people allowed to drop passengers from the Noordam were the Princess busses! The Uber then took us back to downtown (which we had already passed) and to the waiting busses! Shortly soon after we were at the Don Young Port and getting ready to board the Noordam… but wait!

We were back at the ship in good time so we could get ready for dinner as tonight we were going to the Pinnacle Grill which had been turned into Morimoto’s Restaurant for the evening. I LOVE Morimoto’s Restaurant as it has my favourite dish Angry Lobster!

As we got to the Pinnacle Grill, there was a bit of a commotion as we were lead to our table by the window and we soon found out why…

Celiac Saga ends with a Surprise Visit!

The waiter whispered to me that Chef Willem wants to meet with me. I thought oh no, what have I done now! I know I sent in the feedback a few days earlier and Patricia told me that it made her job easier, so I thought the goal was accomplished. The ship had also delivered a bag of Tate’s GF Chocolate Chip cookies to my room already which was really nice. Perhaps Chef Willem does not like how I order my gluten free food? I am sure Andrew had some thoughts of what had I gotten up to also, but I will leave his thoughts to him! Chef Willem appeared and he was SO EXCITED to tell me that he had gone shopping at Walmart in Anchorage! I thought that was interesting as I had seen some HAL staff in the store, but thought they were just there on personal shopping missions… Then the truth came out…

He thanked me for writing what I did and apologized as he got onto the Noordam in Vancouver and found that the stock of gluten free food was almost non-existent! He said that is why I was having so many problems finding gluten free snacks (cookies) on the ship along with GF muffins in the morning. We talked about the following points:

The “vegan” issue from the Seattle to Sydney cruise last year (so many vegans on board that the Chef had to buy all the milk alternatives he could find in Honolulu and Kahului, Maui!
There are “just under 20 Celiac” on the ship (makes sense with 2000 passengers) however only 5 preregistered in advance (including me)
The whole “gluten free lifestyle” vs people who need gluten free food for medical reasons such as Celiac Disease and predicting what a diverse group of passengers are going to request on a cruise.
How his daughter is gluten free and he knows what she likes and he hopes I like the same snack foods!

Fascinating discussion! He was still pretty excited and he then got out his cell phone and started showing me what he had bought which were all gluten free – Chips Ahoy, Oreo, muffin mixes, cookie mixes etc. He then said that if I did like any of this food, he could send it to his daughter! I told them that we did not have Chips Ahoy in Canada – either version but we do have the Oreo’s! I thanked him for helping me out and going shopping however it did not completely register until we got back to our room after dinner and we saw this on our bed! The cookies that he showed me on his phone! I am impressed!

As both of us were full from the dinner, we just put the care packages aside and went to bed! I have 3 more weeks to delve into these lovely packages! We are now off to sea for the day and will be in Dutch Harbour on Sept 17th!

Sept 13th – Kodiak, Alaska – Bear Country!

September 13, 2026September 22, 2026Lmnei

Coming into Kodiak, we were scheduled to tender as another ship was at the dock. The port is not large! Tendering once on a cruise is not that bad! I have had lots of fun tendering on Holland America in the past, however now they have a little elevator to go from the A deck to the B deck where you board the tender it is simple! WAY easier going up and down stairs like on previous voyages…

It was a beautiful short tender ride into the Kodiak harbour where lets say the gang plank UP to the dock was a BIT steep! Also, if I did not stay in a very narrow lane going up the right side, there were inverted triangle bars (for safety purposes in winter) going across the gang plank beside me, for people going down to prevent sliding!

Panorama picture of Kodiak on left and fishing marina on the right.

We met our tour (A Walk Through Kodiak Harbour) at the end of the dock. It was being led by a long time fisherman who has now retired, named Toby. He knew so much about the fishing industry he was bursting with information! Our first stop was the plaque for the Good Friday Earthquake on March 27th, 1964 which was 9.2 magnitude and lasted 4 minutes. One of the strongest quakes that has hit North America.

We then moved along to the restored boat, Thelma C, which was a typical wooden boat built for fishing out of Kodiak. Toby told us a story about when the earthquake hit, a lot of fishing boats were destroyed, so the Alaska government gave the owner of every fishing boat money to get a new one! All of a sudden, the boat builders, primarily located in the Seattle area, had a LOT of work on their hands to build boats! Many boats similar to the Thelma C were built and then sailed up the BC and Alaska Coasts to Kodiak so that fishing could resume. While visiting the Thelma C, there were some sea lions playing in the bay – well really not playing – looking dead! Most people thought they were statues! Yeah right! Seen these blubber boys before – they are just conserving energy and they will sing and move!

Next we moved to the docks behind us – which was very interesting if you have spent time on docks like I have! First there was a concrete (see Dad got it right!) ramp to launch a boat which I thought was fascinating as most boats I would have thought are too big to tow and thus launch! Then next to it, Toby explained, was a boat tied up for “dry dock”. For most people in the tour – this went right over their heads and their eyes glassed over! Basically, the fishing boat ties up beside the dock at high tide and wraps its lines around specific poles that while attached to the dock, allow the boat to be secure yet “ride” the tide down until it is sitting on the clay bottom.

Just before the boat is on the clay bottom they do put some supporting logs under the hull so they can do the planned maintenance. Pretty interesting process instead of having to lift a boat out of water into a dry dock! He said it can be a challenge to book times for emergency repairs in dry dock! I fully understood what Toby was talking about… again, others were confused!

We then went down to the docks to look at the different fishing boats and Toby explained what each one was (seiner vs troller) and the types of fish they catch at different times of the year. Lots of fishermen passed us while we were on the docks who knew Toby and they were making some funny comments to him! Toby then took us back up to the main Kodiak dock and to the Kodiak Fisherman’s’ Memorial which has plaques for boats/souls lost at sea. It was interesting to hear Toby talk about it as a life long Kodiak resident, as he knew most of these people and this must be a hard part of the tour for him! To conclude the tour, he showed us the lifesaving suits that the fishermen have on board which allow them to survive some time in the sea if they do not make it into the survival boat.

After that, Andrew and I walked around Kodiak for a bit. It was Sunday and some stores were closed. The front part of the town was NOT very accessible (stairs) however when there is a store I want to get to, I generally can find a way to get there! We went around a building and down a lane and the store appeared along with a craft fair! Needless to say Andrew was patient while I did some “browsing” and poking around. Eventually we started walking back to where the tenders were located, and as I knew the tide was going down, I was SURE LOOKING FORWARD to going down the gangplank to the tender dock with bumpy right side! On our way to the tenders, there were a bunch of people gathered by the shore, so I 4 wheel drove over to check out what was happening! Look at the performance I saw!

This Alaskan fresh air is really tiring! Holy smokes! Once back on the ship we had a short SNAPPY NAP as Neil Dirom used to say and then we got going to dinner where again, we had a delicious meal, however something unexpected arrived for me for dessert, which looking back now makes sense! I had ordered vanilla ice cream… This is what showed up!

Vanilla Ice Cream and Flour-less Lava Cake!

Hmm. I had not asked for the Flour-less Lava Cake… It looks like the chef sent me a gluten free item! Things are looking up! Perhaps tomorrow I should go get some cookies and see if they are now “in stock” once we get back from our tour in Anchorage!

Sept 12 – College Fjord Cruise and the Celiac mystery

September 12, 2026September 28, 2026Lmnei

Cruising College Fjord

Yesterday we were at the Hubbard Glacier. Today, we are heading up College Fjord, located in Prince William Sound in North East Alaska. While the Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord are two of Alaska’s most stunning marine ice destinations, they are vastly different in their geography and viewing. We saw the gigantic wall of ice of the Hubbard Glacier yesterday. Today, in College Fjord, there are five large tidewater glaciers that empty to the sea. In addition, there are five valley glaciers and many smaller glaciers in the area. The researchers who discovered the glaciers in 1899 and named most of them after East Coast colleges in the USA, except Princeton!

Cruising College Fjord offers instead a view of many glaciers all at once rather than one single wall of a glacier such as the Hubbard. Here are some panorama pictures that I took as we cruised up and down the fjord.

One of the glaciers up close with the “growlers” in the sea

Fairly far north, the sun did start setting about 6pm

Celiac Saga Day 2…

One thing that Andrew and I do when on Holland America, is order room service each day. Generally on the first day I put in a standing order for what I would like to be delivered each day, as I have already explained. Also, Patricia, who was on the Seattle to Sydney Cruise last year on the Noordam, is back in Room Service this year. Every day about 10 minutes after Room Service is delivered, Patricia calls us to ensure that everything is okay with our meal, which is very nice! She also has something pleasant to say each morning like the sun is out or the sea is calm.

Today, when Patricia called at 8am, (keep in mind, at 9pm last night was when I sent in my Feedback to Chef Willem) the first thing she said to me is “Thank-you Miss Lynda for your feedback last night!” I was a bit shocked as my feedback was about GF chocolate chip cookies and GF snacks and NOT Room Service! I guess I sounded surprised on the phone (and also not fully awake) and she said that what I said has made her job EASIER as she no longer has to beg for my GF muffins each morning! Okay, I thought, that is good! I said to her that I was glad I could help and everything was awesome this morning.

Andrew and I had a good lunch – I had salmon tacos and they were excellent! Yes, that is Cilantro that did not last long adorning my plate!

We ended up having dinner in our stateroom – unlike our cruise from Seattle to Sydney where there were playoffs happening – on this cruise they are broadcasting NFL season games! You can guess what Andrew wanted to watch! Seattle Seahawks! I had another delightful conversation with Patricia who was able to get my pre-ordered dinner from the Dining Room sent up to our stateroom and Andrew was able to get a sandwich.

This also gave me some time to spend playing with my technology and getting it whipped into shape so I could get back to blogging on my website! I also received a very nice card from Guest Services acknowledging my feedback on Celiac and Gluten Free and they were “looking into it”. To end the evening, we commuted down to Deck 1 and watched an interesting entertainment duo – a woman playing the cello and a man playing an electric guitar!

These two artists, decided to make a show together and called themselves the “Shredders”. It was a VERY interesting show and they played all types of music – from a rock piece (great for guitar and interesting on the cello) to a Spanish piece that kept on getting faster and faster and wow – the lady could play the cello! We almost saw smoke come off her bow! They were also accompanied by the “Dam” band of a pianist, electric base and drums. Quite the eclectic show!

T0morrow we are arriving in Kodiak and then our next port is Anchorage! It has been 30 years since I have been to Anchorage, and I am VERY aware that the Nordstroms’, just like in Vancouver, has moved out. This time, we are going on a tour around of Anchorage so Andrew can see the area and then to the Alaska Aviation Museum (click for link). Alaska has a really deep aviation history that I am aware of. I am kind of sad that my dad is no longer alive to share it with me, however I press on! In my mind there are two parts to “flying” in Alaska – one that people might be aware of and one that they might not be!

See you tomorrow in Kodiak!

The 9/11 Moment: World-Changing Day and Hubbard Glacier

September 11, 2026September 20, 2026Lmnei

Today I want to start honoring the people impacted by 9/11.

On September 11th, 2001 I was at home on disability after my accident and for some unknown reason up really early in the morning. I sat on my sofa watching TV when the first building was hit in New York. I was shocked because I regularly flew United Airlines. Then the second plane hit the World Trade Center. The Pentagon was struck, and one was forced to the ground in Pennsylvania.

I grabbed my laptop. As it was early in the morning on the west coast, I checked to see if any of my co-workers were online. Tammy was—she was on Long Island in New York. She did not really know what had happened, so I told her. She began plans to drive back to Canada, which she ended up doing. I cannot remember if she drove to Toronto or Montreal. Nevertheless, she was able to get back to Canada and fly home to Vancouver.

Next I watched what was happening in New York, and with fascination, the ATC directed planes to land without explanation. Imagine flying from Tokyo to Chicago, arc over Alaska, then being rerouted for an emergency you cannot learn about. Moreover, over 8,500 passengers ended up in Vancouver on September 11, causing a ground response that had never been planned for.

Ultimately, here is the memorial that was built in New York City, which I am yet to see!

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier (Tlingít: Sít’ Tlein) is a glacier in eastern Alaska. It lies in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and in Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Canada. It is named after Gardiner Hubbard. This tidewater glacier is North America’s largest.

It stretches 76 miles long and has a face about 7 miles wide. From the bow of the ship, you can see it as in the photo below. It rises about 350 to 400 feet above the water. Hundreds of feet stay hidden below the surface. Unlike most glaciers, it continues to thicken and advance. That is why some call it the Galloping Glacier.

Getting closer to the glacier now – this is the right side (east) of the Hubbard Glacier.

Now for some more information about what we are seeing! First, the crowd on the bow – right now I am on the 6th deck (where our stateroom is) where they have opened up out front. Then moved down to the 4th where I could access the bow again (still wearing shorts and a tshirt) to take some more pictures! Lastly, I joined Andrew on our balcony to view the BLUE icebergs floating by!

We sat on the balcony for a while, and I did put a jacket on. We heard the loud cracking sounds the glacier made. We watched chunks of ice crash into the sea below. Unfortunately none of those photos worked out! I asked the naturalist on board what causes the blue in the ice that we saw floating. She said the deep blue color is caused by the weight of the ice, which pushes the air out. The ice then absorbs red and yellow light and displays the deep teal blue. Here is a video of the Hubbard Glacier calving that I found which was pretty similar to what we saw – https://youtu.be/l1hpp-ZwU5c

Do you know what a growler is? No it is not a dog making a noise! A growler is a chunk of ice smaller than an iceberg! Learned something new today! However they can still damage ships and they need to stay away from them.

After all that excitement and fresh air, I was looking for a snack. Gluten free cookies on the Lido deck were my target! I was told that the cookies are in the Stores department and they would order some and come back later. Not impressed, as this was about the third time this has happened to me over the last 3 days, I pressed onwards to our room to keep winding my wool.

Two hours later I sent Andrew to acquire some GF Tates cookies. No go. They said the same thing to Andrew! They need to be ordered from the Stores and will be brought up. Okay, I get the message. No cookies for moi but strange, only four days into a journey!

We dined at the Canteletto Restaurant this evening. The Canteletto was created on HAL ships, but it is part of the Lido Restaurant and private. There are about ten tables and it serves Italian food. The dinner was very good and I enjoyed it! I had a beet salad, a shrimp skewer, and Alaska halibut with artichokes. I finished with sorbet. However, as were were in the Lido area, I was not surprised when the waitress whispered they have no GF chocolate cookies! I just smiled and said it was okay.

Andrew had his normal meat dinner, and he enjoyed affogato al caffè for dessert!

Leaving the Canteletto, I walked past the gluten free area of the Lido and asked for 2 GF chocolate chip cookies. Guess what the answer was? “We need to get more from the Stores”. I said thanks and we retired to our stateroom.

Holland America has a lovely app named Navigator. It shows where we should be and what is offered on the ship each day. It also has an excellent feature called Feedback. Unknown to Andrew, I provided feedback to the Chef on gluten-free offerings and snacks. The meals, other than the muffin mix-up the first day, have been phenomenal! However, getting a snack when hungry has been like pulling teeth! Also, there was a problem with gluten free muffins this morning. I wrote to Chef Willem, who is the same chef on the Noordam as was on our sailing from Seattle to Sydney. As a person with Celiac Disease, I pre-register with the Special Services form so they know I will be on board. We used to have to list what our favourite foods were, but that has not been done in the last 2 decades. Basically, this tells HAL in advance of my dietary needs and they will need to provide Celiac Safe food.

I kept my feedback light and helpful however it also acknowledged safety and cross-contact concerns. For example, making gluten-free items in a pastry shop the size of a stateroom due to gluten flour being used, is not safe. The gluten flour would be everywhere!

I had no idea what would happen, but I thought HAL should know there is someone aboard who sails regularly and I am experiencing a different level of service than on prior cruises. I also noted there is a difference between the “lifestyle” gluten-free diners and those diagnosed with a medical condition.

Then I went to bed, really expecting a note in the morning saying thanks for your feedback, we will take it under advisement or something like that. Lets see what happened! Stay tuned!

Sept 10 – Visit to Sitka and walk in Port

September 10, 2026September 20, 2026Lmnei

Our next port is Sitka, Alaska (Tlingit: Sheetʼká) where we docked outside of town, which required a 15 minute shuttle ride to”downtown”. The Noordam looked pretty great port and we got off in good time as we had a walking tour booked in Sitka today.

Once we went down the gangplank onto the dock, it is obvious that Sitka now really likes the Cruise Ship industry! Compared to the last time we were here – there is a new building at the port to welcome visitors and be a transportation hub for the tour departures! Very nice!

There were busses ready to take people to town and also a shuttle that could take 3 scooters (and me) at a time which was aweseome!

View of Sitka Harbour with the Ritz Carlton ship at anchor

We soon found our tour at the bus drop off area downtown and off we went walking along the shore and talking about living in Alaska, how workers come up to Sitka from April to Septebmer (cruise season) and are put up in apartments (there is couples accommodation and then singles accommodation) for the season as part of their wage. They work when cruise ships are in town – doing tours, driving busses, working in stores etc. The population is about 8,000 people on average, with it increasing by about 2,000 people during the tourist season. Again, like many Alaskan communities, it was originally settled by the Russians and you can see their influence during our tour. There is a fairly big US Coast Guard Service (along with ships) based in Sitka that provide emergency sea rescues if needed. The other interesting fact we learned is that the Alaskan State Trooper Acadamy is located in Sitka! Here is more information on that training and what they do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_State_Trooper_Academy

It was recommended to Andrew that we go to the “Sitka Burgers and Crab Shack” for a good meal. Now I do not do burgers but I can do crab if cooked properly! Holy SMOKES! Tourist pricing times 5! ONE King Crab leg is $42 USD! No thanks! Andrew and I settled on some gluten free chips instead for $5 plus some drinks…. Check out the pictures below!

After that lovely break, we decided to walk back to where the shuttle was to the Noordam. Along the way though Lynda had seen a store that she wanted to visit as it had stickers in it! Wow – what a beautiful display! A few stickers and a shirt later, we were back at the shuttle stop and loading up to head back to the Noordam! Again, tried to shop at the pier where the Noordam was located – stores were either closed for the season or almost out of stock! There were some really good sales on however I really did not need any neon coloured shirts so we passed and just walked back and got on the Noordam to enjoy the evening!

Tomorrow is a day at sea and also September 11th and the 25th Anniversary of 9-11. I will have to dig up some pictures that I have from back when Vancouver International Airport (YVR) hosted a ton of people (more than any other Canadian Airport, including Gander) when the flights flying from Asia, over the Pacific, towards Canada and the USA were suddently told to land at YVR – with no explanation!

Sept 9th, 2026 – Day in Ketchikan and Mystic Fjord Excursion

September 9, 2026September 18, 2026Lmnei

Today we get to get off the ship! Yahoo! We have lots of days at sea with some port days thrown in for fun! Today is a port day in Ketchikan where we are taking an “accessible” boat excursion to Mystic Fjord. Let’s go!

Mystic Fjord

Andrew and I have been to Ketchikan previously and I thoroughly enjoyed this port previously. This time, as there is an accessible boat tour, we are going to do that first. Not many tour boats are accessible so I was a bit apprehensive about this one, however pleasantly surprised to find that there was a huge ramp up to the boat, and while there was not any wheelchair parking per se, there was a very narrow accessible washroom too that my walker, in semi collapsed position, fit into. Additionally, the seats were comfortable, and cloths were provided to de-fog the windows for our voyage up the fjord.

MS St. Helaina, Sitka, AK an accessible boat!

We finished the excursion and found the ramp back to the top dock much easier, as the tide had receded while we were away. Then, Andrew headed to the Noordam to rest, leaving Lynda to wander and see what she could discover.

Let’s Explore Ketchikan

Knowing a bit about Ketchikan history, including its underground liquor trade during Prohibition, I headed to the boardwalk. As I moved along, I passed the Fire Hall with its ready equipment and a historic fire engine on display. I was taking some pictures of the boardwalk area when I started getting pelted by rain – HUGE rain drops! Then, I sheltered under a store awning and called my mother to report we had arrived in Ketchikan.

I had a nice stroll along Creek Street and saw the various stores winding down for the Cruise Ship season. We are one of the last boats visiting the port this month. One thing that is great when it rains is the smell of rain makes things seem “fresh” until I got to the bridge you can see above in the “More of Creek Street” photo on bottom right. When I crossed that bridge there was a very specific smell that I have encountered a couple of times in my life – dead salmon in the creek after they have spawned! Lovely! That said, the smell-a-thon memory was VERY QUICKLY in the past when I saw a certain sign on the building across the bridge to the left…

Does that actually say “Alaskan Fabrics”???

Needless to say, I ended up in a WONDERFUL yarn and fabric store named Fabulous Fiber Arts! Oh my goodness I was in heaven and so giddy the lady in the store I think was concerned about my sanity as I was so excited to see REAL wool! I am going to try and keep my gushing to a minimum however I did find some FABULOUS blue/purple/green sock weight wool (unfortunately not from Alaska but Turkey) and I am now set for my cruise! I even had a bag to carry my stash of 7 skeins of wool back to the ship in which was awesome!

Typical Andrew – he was not too impressed with my shopping adventure – it just does not register! The good thing for Andrew is that as we are in the USA or close to shore is they are playing American Football games on TV so he has been able to watch some good games including the Seattle one to start the season and then the one played in Melbourne, Australia!

Now back in our stateroom, it is time to wind some wool! The Knitting Group is at 10am each morning and I got to be ready to stitch and bitch! Tomorrow we relocate from the bar area outside Pinnacle Grill to a conference room due to ceiling leaks! Oh wait, no Knitting Group tomorrow – we are in Sitka! See you tomorrow!

Sept 8th – Relaxing cruise up BC Coast to Ketchikan, Alaska

September 8, 2026September 18, 2026Lmnei

We got up to a beautiful morning cruising between Vancouver Island and the BC Coast up past Haida Gwaii. We had breakfast in the room, which I had ordered the night before. I generally have the same breakfast everyday to make it easy on the staff to keep my gluten free dining safe. SOMETHING happened in the translation though and again I was served muffins that were not gluten free. Been there and done this before and I can “feel” when the muffins are not gluten free. Also they do not have paper cups on them which is indicative of the brand that Holland America now carries (Bio). Unfortunately they no longer stock Kinnikinnick brand products since the company was sold.

I proceeded to phone Room Service to see if I could get some gluten free muffins and Patricia answered the phone! I know Patricia from our cruise from Seattle to Sydney – she was the lady who took Room Service orders on that cruise too and helped me with my gluten free dining when I needed something I had not already pre-ordered. What a lovely surprise! She was very tentative on the phone – “are you the Miss Lynda who went to Sydney last year?” she said to me? I remember this order and the gluten free muffins! I will send some to you right away! And so they arrived with apologies from Tama, who is her manager. Problem solved!

Next on the list – relax and get my nails done! I now have fire engine red toenails and french manicure finger nails – however I ditched the usual baby pink for baby purple/mauve instead! Very cool!

Now, as my mother will attest, I often volunteer to run the Cruise Critic group’s Meet and Greet on the ship on the first day. Again, that is what I am doing at 2pm today! I have a secret though – this group has been VERY talkative during the year leading up to the cruise and one of the points of discussion have been Nanaimo Bars! One lady, lets call her Tutu was really intrigued by them so I posted a video of Todd Maffin, who is an ex-CBC personality and now decent Canadian (along with his wife Jocelyn who I know through the Spinal Cord Injury of BC Association) talking about Nanaimo Bars which is kind of funny… Here it is for your amusement!

Having Celiac Disease I am NOT someone to bring gluten snacks to a group when I cannot enjoy them too! So I acquired some Wendels GF Nanaimo Bars (2 boxes) from Save on Foods and brought them to the ship for the meeting! Everything was going great – I delivered them to the dining room in their sealed box so they could be cut up (following the Health and Safety laws which I did not bring in home made products) and served half way through the meeting. Only fly in the ointment – Andrew was still not feeling well so he was not at the meeting to “assist” me!

The meeting went really well – about 45 people showed up which was a fair crowd in the Rolling Stone Lounge and we all introduced ourselves and we played some fun games. At the end I gave out some Canadian themed prizes and announced we all had Nanaimo Bars to share at the back – however they were not there! Oh no! They never arrived! I had to apologize and tell people I had brought everyone Nanaimo bars but they had not been delivered…

Needless to say, an hour later the Noordam staff found the Nanaimo Bars in the kitchen, untouched and there was a HUGE miss-communication issue where they were not delivered to the meeting. They then offered to cut them up and deliver the Nanaimo Bars to the rooms of the guests that had attended the meeting – if I could put one together! That I did and they were supposed to deliver the GF Nanaimo Bars to the staterooms that night with a card apologizing for missing the meeting.

Here are some photos I took during the day cruising up the coast of BC!

Sept 7, 2026 – Beginning an Unforgettable “Ice and Volcanoes” Cruise Aboard Noordam

September 7, 2026September 18, 2026Lmnei

Oh where do I begin! This has been a challenging year since I left you in Singapore last December!

We (I!) had booked a couple of cruises after we returned from Australia. ADA cabins on ships were getting hard to find. The first cruise we booked was a 28-day round trip from Seattle on the Noordam. We sailed on the Noordam last year to Sydney. This cruise is called the Ice and Volcanoes Grand Voyage which takes us to Alaska and then to the Hawaiian Islands. Luckily, they allowed us to board in Vancouver! We must disembark in Seattle when the cruise ends though and take the train home – no staying on until Sydney this year! This plan is perfect because we can visit my aunt and uncle who live near Seattle.

After booking this cruise, I had surgery planned for January, where the water tap in my right eye was going to be turned off! It has gone from an excessive waterfall back to a normal drainage system, so now it does not look like I am permanently crying! It was to occur in the first week of January but moved to late January due to an issue with my medications. At the first office visit after the surgery, the eye surgeon was a BIT TOO excited to see me – he wanted to show me the picture of the 7mm dager looking, calcium stone from the drainage duct in my eye! It was the largest he has ever seen and removed. Andrew was NOT impressed and left the exam room at that point.

I had just recovered from the ‘panda eye’ look when my father fell and broke the neck of his left hip (between the ball and the femur) at the end of February. He had an excellent surgeon at Richmond General Hospital who put him back together. The regular ‘dad’ and ‘husband’ returned pretty fast. He started making lists of things for us to do, such as buying a watch for my mum. Soon he stood up and gave the physio and OT staff heck during their visits several times a day as he wanted to progress faster! After about a month at the hospital, my dad became congested with fluid on his lungs and passed away fairly fast and peacefully on April 3rd, Good Friday, with my mum, sister and I at his side.

Choosing whether to pay the final deposit on the cruise was very hard for Andrew and me to do – while it was late April at this time, and the cruise was not until September, there was a lot on our plates. In talking with my mum and sister, we decided to proceed and pay for our cruise as it has one very special port – Dutch Harbour, where I was lucky enough to work in 1995. Not many cruise ships stop at the Island of Unalaska where Dutch Harbour is located. It is primarily a fishing community closer to Russia than continental USA! Holland America does not even offer any excursions at this stop due to a lack of infastructure. More on this exciting port later!

Between my volunteering on the Media Team at FIFA, we also planned and held a wonderful Celebration of Memories for our father in June where a lot of my dad’s old workmates from BCIT were able to join us. Also, we moved our mum to a new living environment that is more supportive in July. Then, just as things were looking up, in August my laptop overheated!

I rely on my laptop quite heavily, thank goodness it got me through tax season this year where I was able to submit more than 400 tax returns for the non profits that I volunteer for! Out Dell came to repair it yet again. This time, it only took five hours for the keyboard to get to over 50 degrees Celsius again! There is nothing like an infrared thermometer to tell you that it is HOT!

I was concerned about needing a laptop when on vacation for the various volunteering that I do. Also, there was a bit of déjà vu involved, as last time I traveled to Dutch Harbour, the internal power supply in the Dell laptop that my work provided, ceased to work in the Anchorage Airport on the way to Dutch Harbour! As my current Dell laptop support contract ends in a couple of months, I ordered a new laptop as backup for my trip, in case Dell could not fix my current one on time. The new laptop was supposed to arrive on August 27, but it arrived on September 4! Needless to say, getting my new laptop going has been a bit of a challenge when at sea due to SLOW internet! That said, I have now been successful after a week, so here we go!

To start, I would like to dedicate this “Ice and Fire” cruise to my parents. My dad taught me so much about the sea, tides, ships (vs. boats) and how to appreciate the community where you live. Both my parents taught us to travel and enjoy other cultures – my sister and I have traveled to different parts of the world for both work and vacation. I am constantly learning, absorbing and respecting the different things that make up the great fabric of the world in which we live.

Instead of wearing my Canada hat this trip, I am wearing my dad’s Steveston Maritime Modelers hat. The SMM are a group that my dad belonged to in Steveston. They love to create and display model boats. Some of their creations even float! We are off to discover parts of Alaska that Andrew has not visited previously and I am going to see again after a couple of decades! I hope you enjoy the adventure with us!

Allons-y!

November 8, 2025 – Day at Sea – Relaxation, Wool Mischief and Beaufort Scale 8 Achieved!

November 8, 2025November 13, 2025Lmnei

Today is our last day at sea and on the Noordam – boy these 4 weeks have gone fast! Well, other than skipping a day for the date change overnight, the remaining 27 days have seemed to go fast!

Again, I watched a wonderful sunrise on our veranda while someone else was snoring away!

Today we are just going to relax on the ship and take it all in. We had our last breakfast in the stateroom this morning – served with a smile as always by the Room Service attendants! Soon after, our load of laundry from yesterday was returned and Andrew went out for his daily walk around the decks. I sat on the veranda for some time and then came in and relaxed my eyelids for a while.

At noon, just before we departed for lunch the Captain came on the overhead speakers with his usual noon announcement, followed by the Cruise Director with what was going on. The Captain mentioned that we were going to possibly run into some “tough” weather later today and this evening, so would people please make sure they took care walking around the ship. He also mentioned that the Beaufort Scale, where we had been cruising along at between a 4 and a 5 for the last few days was going up to 8! Yikes! On top of that we were being PUSHED from the stern of the ship, which made the use of the stabilizers less than optimum (I guess they work better when facing waves head on). Now that seems we were going to be in for some fun later today and tonight! I will remind you that the Beaufort Scale of 8 means 18–25 ft (5.5–7.5 m) waves and winds of 39–46 mph or 62–74 km/h. Good thing we are on a BIG SHIP and not a 28 foot Tollycraft named the JoLyn II!

For lunch we went to the Main Dining Room – which funny enough I was looking forward to as I had ordered the calamari strips on the appetizer menu to made gluten free and we shall see what happens! Sure enough, they showed up looking just like regular (but slightly paler due to the corn starch I believe) calamari strips as Andrew had the same appetizer for lunch as me – however his was fully of gluten! I included a picture below with our dinner entertainment pictures!

After lunch I promised Bonolo, one of the Arts and Crafts staff that I would join her at the last crochet class that was being offered in case anyone needed help finishing their duck. I had started a duck, however had no interest in finishing it but happy to help people who wanted to finish theirs! I got there early, and it was Adult colouring that was on at that time, with Franklin leading the session. However, Bonolo was there and she pulled out all the partly crocheted things that she had that she wanted to wind up into balls again. Then she pulled out a ball winder! Holy smokes! Now if I had known she had a ball winder 4 weeks ago that would have been excellent! She was totally surprised when I was shocked that she pulled the ball winder out of its box and asked me why – which I replied that I had been winding wool skeins by hand since we left Seattle and not having a good time of it and would have LOVED to have a ball winder 4 weeks ago! She then said she could wind balls at anytime and why don’t I go get my yarn that I was yet to wind and use the winder? I was off in a flash – down to the 5^th Deck to get my left over skeins of wool that I had given up on and back to the Art Studio on Deck 10 in a FLASH!

During this time the seas were starting to swell and Bonolo was not looking, despite being of African decent, that well. So she faced me and did not look out the windows from our perch on the port side of the 10th deck!

Then I started winding…. Now, the skeins I had bought at the yarn store at the Pike Place Market were not being very cooperative when I was hand winding them, I had not completely been able to wind one skein yet into a ball as a tangled mess had occurred! I was determined for the last few skeins this would not happen! Sure enough, the first skein I tried to wind ended up in a pile of knots. Now I know it is NOT ME! I had the skein on the back of a chair and was hand feeding the wool to the ball roller and it still knotted up! That is not nice! I then tried a different version of wool to wind from the same company and guess what? It ended up in a knot too! Bonolo, as no one had shown up for Crochet class, had left to run an errand (I think it was to get some Gravol) and saw the pile of knots and offered to help me with the last skein I had left that was intact, to wind. So we started together to wind it and guess what? AGAIN the thing ended up with knots! We worked at untangling it for about 30 minutes and then I said to Bonolo that I was fine and had wound enough and would deal with the knotted wool later! It was so frustrating to purchase 6 skeins of wool in Pikes Place Market in Seattle and not be able to knit anything with them on the cruise! Oh well, now that I could not hand or use a winder or have Bonolo help me wind a skein, it definitely is in the way that the skein was put together which is not conducive to forming a ball to knit from (which one does for tension purposes).

Also at about 4 pm the Captain came back on the intercom and asked again for people to take care walking around the ship – it was time for me to go back downstairs and leave Bonolo to get some relief down in her cabin below the A deck!

Now of the 6 skeins of one colour I bought, I have one wound cake, which is comprised of 1/2 of 1 skein which I hand wound and 1/4 skeins of 2 others. The rest are in a pile of knots to be sorted out later! I also have 4 skeins of another colour that I bought however as it is thin yard (called lace weight) when the 1st ball did not work, I stopped there! They are all in jail in my suitcase at this moment in time.

Back downstairs, Andrew has already mostly packed and we are off to our last dinner on the ship! Well, what an entertaining night it would be! Andrew and I were surprised that based on previous cruises, where the ship served Baked Alaska and they were paraded around the Dining Room, that we had not seen any of that already – last night had been the Surf and Turf night and generally that is also the Baked Alaska night and nothing happened. This time we chalked it up to the changes due to COVID. Now, some of you might think we might have MISSED the parade I am talking about, however nope. As I read the menus the night before, I get a sneak peek into what is happening the next night! We actually had reservations for the Pinnacle Grill which was turned into the Tamarind Restaurant, which is a new restaurant offering on the newer Holland America ships, however when I saw Surf and Turf on the menu (well mainly the SURF), we canceled the Tamarind reservations and went to the Main Dining Room instead! I just could not miss the free Lobster Tails! If we went to Tamarind, I would have had to pay $20 for 1 Lobster Tail dinner. Hmm. Just did not calculate in my brain….

Anyways, dinner was very good – I had Halibut again with tomato sauce, rice and veggies and it was excellent. However I noticed that Ade, was all alone waiting on us and that April Joy, his Assistant was no where to be found. We had finished dinner and were waiting for our dessert and I saw that she had already delivered them and she was gone! Well, we soon heard from her! This quite but very friendly with an awesome smile, Philippine waitress all of a sudden was addressing the whole dining room and thanking us for sailing with Holland America for the last 4 weeks and that the Dining Room staff had a song that they wanted to sing for us! Then she started singing which was fabulous! She was accompanied by one of the Maitre’d on a ukulele – singing an Indonesian song – as all the wait staff except April Joy and one other female waitress, are Indonesian! Then the parade happened – all the waitstaff and then the kitchen staff came out and walked around the upper Dining Room with the Chef at the end. It was quite a thing to see! Here are my pictures (lunch included) and video of part of the song.

After dinner it was a fun sway walking back to our stateroom at the pointy end of the ship, as it moved through the high waves and wind! Our veranda door was also singing tonight as it had done before when the wind had come up. Time for bed as tomorrow it is going to be an early morning! The Captain announced at the same time he was telling us to hold on at 4pm today, that the bow of the Noordam was going to be open at 5:30 am as we cruised into Sydney Harbour! You know who normally watches sunrises is planning on being there AND the weather is looking good for tomorrow morning!

November 7, 2025 – Day at Sea – Wahoo! Tour of the ship day! Or NOT! Communicate people!

November 7, 2025November 13, 2025Lmnei

I was fed, dressed and ready to go and in the Pinnacle Bar, the designated meeting place for the Noordam Ship tour at 9:20 am! This was going to be exciting! I have been on a kitchen tour previously – funny enough on the Noordam when it was brand new – however this was going to go to places in the ship that I was really looking forward to seeing! There were 10 other people – 5 couples – gathered in the area too, plus Brendan, the Assistant Cruise Director and Agatha, who also instructs some of the Art Classes. Brendan asked people to gather round and so we did. I sat down on my walker as I thought he was going to talk to us for a bit prior to the tour as he collected our “I am not sick” forms. He had given out lanyards with a little cute orange model of the Noordam on them which actually is a USB stick with photos on it to everyone and then when he got to me, in front of everyone, he asked me why I was there. I saw Agatha’s face fall as it was pretty rude. I told him I was registered for the tour and I believe I am going to take the ADA version of the tour. Brendan was VERY confused at this point. He then left us all and told us to wait while he went to use the phone behind the bar. Soon enough he was back – gave me a lanyard with the Noordam on it and said that I was supposed to be on the tour, however Agatha and I have to wait for someone from Reception to come speak with me. He then took the other tour people to the Deck 2 Galley which is across the hall.

At that point I said to Agatha, why can I not go on the tour? I have been on a kitchen tour on this boat previously and it is accessible. I know there is an escalator to go up, however all I need to do is go out into the hall, up the elevator and back into the dining room and into the kitchen to re-join the tour. She agreed and said that these tours are VERY new – they just started doing them at the end of the Alaska sailings on the last day so perhaps Brendan did not know about that option. At that time a supervisor from Reception showed up and told me that I could watch a video however the only place I could go was the Bridge. I was really frustrated at this point as I knew what was read to me the night prior and that is not what she was telling me. On top of that, the galley tour had just ended as the Chef had just walked past us – so I definitely missed out on that portion!

Sometimes you just have to advocate for yourself. I told the lady from Reception that I wanted to see the galley and I knew that it was accessible and I am pretty sure that other parts of the tour are accessible also – at this point in time she said they were assuming that I was not going to use my walker for the tour! I pointed out what my first message to them said – is this tour accessible for someone who uses a walker and the answer was YES. It was then agreed that I would go with Agatha to visit the galley and that the Sous Chef would give us a tour – it was only 1/2 of the tour as it was only the Deck 2 Galley, which is where the “Al la Carte” Dining is served from (people who make reservations for different times in the evening). I must admit though, when walking through the Galley, which was spotlessly clean, ALL the kitchen staff looked up and said hi to Agatha and I as we walked by with the Sous Chef! They all had such lovely smiles too! As this is the Galley where the lunch is served from, they were already starting to set the garnishes on the plates for the lunch service.

After that quick tour, Agatha and I went back down to Deck 1 to Reception as I said that perhaps saying I was missing the balance of the tour except the Bridge, I could see the video instead? Agatha then talked to the lady who previously met with us and it was agreed that Agatha would be back at 11 am to take me to meet the tour of the Bridge. I then people watched in the lobby of the Noordam for the next 40 minutes as I was traveling light for the tour – no crocheting with me!

At 11 am I met up with Agatha and we then met the rest of the tour on the Navigation Deck (8) where we got to visit the Bridge! We each got to have our picture taken with the Captain and then the Staff Captain (who is next in charge) gave us a tour of the Bridge. It is so quiet and serene up there! I was impressed also – they have quite the stock of coffee and tea products along with a couch and sitting area too! Not sure about the couch – sleeping on the job would not be good! We were not told we could take pictures at that point so I did not take a picture of that area. Once the Captain left, we were able to take pictures if we did not include any of the bridge staff who were working. Here is my tour of the bridge which was fascinating!

After our pictures were taken, we then stood at the middle of the Bridge looking out. Many of the things mentioned in the Captains talk – the small wheel with a piece missing, the joysticks etc were pointed out. Basically a LOT of redundancy on the Bridge in case something goes wrong. As we were in the middle of the ocean it was a bit hard for the Staff Captain to show us the overlay of the chart display and the radar display – my picture did not work out of this either due to the flickering of the displays. I did ask at this point, when in the middle of the ocean if there are certain “routes” they have to follow, especially at night – where I correlated this to airplanes flying at certain heights depending on direction or in the Vancouver, BC Harbour (where the Noordam sails) there definitely is a “shipping” lane. The Staff Captain said no, not really out in the open ocean – maritime rules apply smaller has to give way basically and most ships/freighters and other craft can pass using radar with plenty of distance. On that note though, he did point out that there are at least 2 people on the Bridge at all times when at sea – there was what I would call a “seaman” who was at the front just watching with binoculars and gazing the horizon and then a uniformed person who was at the helm, when we were not standing there – watching the instruments.

The other really interesting thing that happened when we were at the helm was a demonstration of the “Alexa” of the seas. The Staff Captain, when standing in a certain spot announced “Noordam alter course to 244 degrees” (I do not remember the actual number he said but it had 4’s in it!) and slowly the ship moved 5 degrees to the port! Very cool! This is a brand new “feature” for the ship. Not sure how much it is used – I personally would just use the joystick in front of me!

Then we moved to the Port Wing of the ship – I tried to see our cabin veranda but could not! Nothing like standing above the sea with a very thick Plexiglas floor tile looking down! At that point the Captain appeared again and warned us all about being good visitors to the Bridge as they do have an escape trigger for the floor tile! Funny – NOT! The other cool new toy the Staff Captain pointed out is the device that measures how close to the dock the ship is getting – previously this was done by radio between a guy down below on the ship radioing up the position – however now this display shows them exactly the ships position in relation to the dock – down to the foot!

We then walked back towards the main part of the bridge and then into a room behind it called the “Command Centre” where there is a huge long board with lots of red and green lights on it. Basically it shows every fire and water door on the ship – so if there is a fire – they can control the doors open and closing features from the Bridge! Very interesting! What I found more fascinating though was a set of buttons nearer to me which were to empty the pools! The Staff Captain indicated that there are situations where they sometimes need to empty the pools really quickly – such as rough weather – so all they do is press a button and each or one of the 2 pools are drained in a few minutes out to the sea!

Then the tour came to an end! I really enjoyed the Bridge tour, however I was really frustrated with the Noordam staff on the lack of communication and expectation setting on what I was going to be able to do – especially when the night before what I was read from their manual indicated I was to be ASKED and OFFERED options. I never saw the video of the portions of the tour that I missed. I ended up writing some feedback to the ship, again through the app, regarding the tour and what had happened and lack of communication. As the tour cost people $189 to go to 7 parts of the ship – that was basically $27 per area. Not that I am a numbers person at all – I wrote them that as I did not see the video, was not offered the option to watch the video and only saw 1/2 of the Galley, had to spend 40 minutes waiting in the middle of the tour and then was able to visit the Bridge – I suggested that $54 was a better charge for my portion of the tour. Then I waited for a reply….

In the meantime – off to lunch we went and we got to sit at the VERY back of the ship! The only way to get farther back is to walk around the stern! I had ordered macaroni and cheese for lunch and I was quite happy to see that comfort food show up! Then it was off to the Art area to get my creative side of me working again! Time to paint another picture! This time it was a Dunes at Sunset painting!

Today we sent in a TON of laundry so we get it back tomorrow which is our last day at sea! However tonight is the last formal night of the cruise and the night I have been WAITING for and looking forward to for the last 26 days! Surf and turf! However for me it will just be surf, surf and more surf!

That said, I was to have the most interesting start to my dinner! On the menu was a “Pina Colada” soup which was marked naturally gluten free! As I love coconut and pineapple and virgin Pina Colada’s in general, I decided to order it! Wow – what a surprise! Yes, it is a cold soup with 2 strawberries in it! It was bizarre having a Pina Colada soup…. I could not finish it – it was just too sweet for me! Next time – I will stick with the drink!

The main course was awesome though – not only did it come with veggies (veggies have been lacking on this cruise) but the lobster tails were just perfectly steamed! Ooh la la! Went down without the need for butter! Then same the piece de resistance! Andrew gave me his lobster tail too! Mmmm good!

The only thing not pictured as I was in a seafood daze, was the small chocolate lava cake that came for dessert…. Okay – this was a good dinner and end to a kind of stressful day!

Tomorrow is relax and pack time!

November 6, 2025 – Day at Sea – Booking a “Ship Tour” and a relaxing day at sea…

November 6, 2025November 12, 2025Lmnei

What a beautiful beginning to the day! I am so lucky that I am able to get up early and see these sun rises each morning!

Well, last night I had seen a message on the Holland America Navigator app that indicated there was going to be a tour of the ship offered today! I was quite excited as I had heard through the grapevine (actually at the Captains talk) they were going to start offering these tours again on longer voyages – guess what we are on??? I called Reception at about 9 am today, however they were busy like normal, so instead I sent them a message asking them if the tour was accessible as I use a walker. Eventually I received a call back indicating they would get back to me. At the same time, they were also confused as they told me that the tour, which is starting in 30 minutes is full! I pointed out it was showing in the Navigator app for tomorrow, not today so perhaps it was a different tour? A lady then called me back and told me that yes, the tour on November 7th is accessible and could I please come by the Reception area today to sign the form for the tour? She signed me up (only 12 people are allowed), however as the tour costs $189, I had to sign that I acknowledged the charge.

I spent a good portion of the day relaxing my body in bed and on the veranda doing various fun things like updating my blog, downloading pictures, colouring, knitting and of course taking a nap! Dinner time rolled around and we went by the Reception area so that I could sign the tour receipt prior to dinner. At that point I had a niggling feeling that something might be wrong. The man on duty could not find anything about me wanting to take the tour and seeing me sitting on my walker, he was quite confused! He first said it was too late to sign up, and then when I told him I already did and just needed to sign the receipt, he gave me a receipt to sign for $156, however I knew something was not right by his behavior as he kept going into the back office to check on things. I was told that some information was going to be sent to our cabin while we were at dinner. I was going to go on the tour alone as the tour was going to happen when Andrew normally is taking a walk around the ship.

Here are the pictures from the sunset tonight – again another wonderful one!

Dinner was fabulous, yet again! I cannot remember what I had (my phone I had left in our stateroom charging by mistake) however I was hungry as I had skipped lunch after a late breakfast. Sometimes there is TOO much to eat on cruise ships!

When we got back to the room, sure enough there was a note under our door about the ship tour the next day. It had a form that I had to fill out that I had to declare that I was not sick and then on the back was the really interesting part – it said that they offer an ADA compliant tour of the ship. (ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act and as Holland America is based in Seattle, Washington, they have to follow this Act on the ship). That was the first time that I had heard about that option so I phoned reception and spoke to the man who I had dealt with earlier in the evening. He said that they only charged me $156 for the tour as I was taking the ADA tour instead (news to me). He then read to me what the ADA tour description was which basically said “the person with the disability should be able to take part on as much of the tour as they can possibly accomplish – as some portions are down some stairs we will provide a video for them to watch instead”. I distinctly remember him reading this to me and thinking that was interesting – this is the first time I was being told about this – however my receipt did say $156 so it seemed right and things much have been arranged…. time for bed!

Tomorrow is going to be an early start as the Noordam Ship tour which includes the Dining Room Kitchens on Deck 2 and 3, Stores, Laundry, Recycling, Composting, Engine Control Room and finally the Bridge meets at 9:30 am! I got to get my body in gear early!

November 4, 2025 – Day at Sea – Culinary Presentation, visit to Deck “A” and then up to the SPA for a massage and manicure!

November 4, 2025November 11, 2025Lmnei

WELL, someone overexerted herself yesterday! Despite being “rocked” to sleep all night long, my muscles and back are very sore! Time for some TLC today! I have a plan! In fact I foresaw this plan so many months ago I actually booked the massage appointment in advance – I am just SO SMART! Actually, not that smart – just lucky!

So Room Service showed up at 8 am as normal. Lynda had a very nice breakfast in bed, courtesy of Room Service and then her personal waiter, Andrew. More time on the heating pad was needed! At 9:45 am I rolled out of bed, way later than normal, and made my way down to the World Stage, as the Executive Chef Willem Waltheer was speaking about everything Culinary on the DAM ships! I was very interested in hearing this presentation. However, prior to going down to it, I had made an appointment with a certain clinic on the A deck – to see the doctor as the muscle spasms were a bit much! They could not see me until 11:30 am so it was perfect! Listen to the chef and then see the doctor!

Chef Willem did an excellent presentation on how a ship is provisioned, especially for a longer voyage like we are on. He was formally the Executive Chef on the Oosterdam and the pictures were from when they were taking on a heavy load of supplies in Brazil prior to a long cruise to South America. I took pictures of the whole presentation, however I will only include the pertinent ones here. Here we go!

Obviously, the Executive Chef will do some meal planning and put in the order for food through Holland America suppliers and the goods arrive at the dock. However he started with the goods arriving at the dock and then went into menu planning – sort of a chicken and an egg sort of thing I guess – which comes first! Anyway, when the goods arrive at the dock, they are first inspected by the local customs and security officers and dogs. Once that is done, EVERY pallet is put on the ground and the Executive chef and the sous chefs inspect every box on every pallet for freshness, quality and temperature. He later said that some inspections though are done within refrigerated trucks to keep the goods at temperature.

Next, once a pallet is inspected, it can be brought onto the ship. A stevedore is the name of the person who controls the forklift. There are actually 2 forklifts – one outside of the ship which puts the pallet down on the ships landing platform and then the ship has its own forklift driver who picks up the pallet and places it where it needs to go. Once the ship’s crew member has picked up the pallet – nothing on it can then be returned as it is considered International Cargo.

For a longer voyage, such as ours, they will take on more than 100 pallets of food – dry, vegetables, fruit, meats etc. It all needs to be stored somewhere and as the chef indicated, it is a good thing that the master storeroom clerk is skinny as the storerooms get VERY full! He then told a funny story about just after departing one day from port and missing his saffron seasoning and it took 5 chefs to find it in the storeroom – a little bottle as there were so many things that were piled high in boxes waiting to be inventoried. I could commiserate with this story as when we got on board, I was hungry and went to the Lido deck for something to eat as the Main Dining Room was not open. Confused as to where to get gluten free food (I missed the sign on the first go round of the Buffet) I asked the Chef standing nearby. He informed me that all the gluten free items are housed at the Italian station and I should go there. However there is currently not much in stock due to the load taken on in Seattle which included inventory of gluten free items and they would not make it up to the Lido for 24 hours! I ended up just having some roasted chicken and cheese instead as he was right – not much of a selection in the gluten free area!

The chef then talked about the different “storage” areas on the ship. As I mentioned earlier, some items come in at temperature – such as produce and fruit, which is really important that they arrive refrigerated and remain in that state going into the refrigerators on the ships so spoilage does not occur. It is amazing how many days at sea we were and the ship was still offering Caesar salads at dinner! They have lots of different walk in refrigerators on board the ship too in the storage area as he also talked about ingredients that cannot be stored together due to spoilage concerns from off gasses. He was a fund of information – in some ways I wish I had recorded the presentation!

All the meats which arrive at the ship are processed in the butcher department and then they are put into the fridges based on the menu plans. The picture below of the butcher area on B deck shows a man cutting up a beef tenderloin. Chef really liked this butcher as his nickname was “Tofu” which was quite funny considering is profession! Then you can see the meat bins in the meat refrigerator ready for cooking. Similar to meats, there also are fish and veggie prep areas on the ship too! He mentioned how busy the fish prep area has been due to all the fresh fish that they were able to buy in the Hawaiian Islands and in Fiji.

Next, we get into the gluten section aka Bakery! That is located on A deck and runs 24 hours a day! They bake bread and pastries 4 times a day – breakfast, lunch and then twice for dinner service! Apparently the area is quite small and the ovens are fairly hot so it is a pretty warm area to be working in – however the bakery section is very creative as I later found out they won the Pumpkin carving contest on board the ship which the different staff from the various departments participated in.

Next the chef talked about serving and menu planning – for serving, the plating of the dishes is done about an hour in advance of the meals and then they are stored in refrigerators with a kind of dumb waiter that rise as the trays of plates come out to be given to the servers. There also is a line for the hot food where the waiters line up and with the pre-garnished plate, the food selection is placed onto the plate – whether it be chicken, fish, roast beef, etc. I knew he was glossing over some key details here as I have worked as a waitress in a banquet kitchen, however for 80% of the people eating on the ship, this is how their food would be obtained. Lastly, came menu planning – which for me I would be doing first!

For a cruise like ours, they basically set out 28 days of menus and then have the “standard” items on each menu which are Caesar salads for appetizers, chicken for dinner and ice cream for dessert. Then they add either a “chefs plate or port plate” depending on the day, to the menu – one appetizer and one main meal. The chefs plate is something the chef decides to feature, where the port plate is a local cuisine. White the chef indicated they do not repeat any meals, I disagree! I saw a lot of repeated meals (outside of chicken) on this cruise – which was both good and negative – good as I could have something I liked previously however the negative meant it limited the types of dishes that I could select from as often the repeated dishes contained red meat or some type of gluten item that could not be separated out.

Lastly, in his presentation was a slide on serving the 35 nationalities of staff on board the ships – they have 3 different buffet lines of meals that they serve – Asian/Indonesian, European and North American. He said that keeping both the guests and staff happy is his ultimate goal however he finds that the cooking for the Asian/Indonesian population of crew. They like their spices and their food HOT which he is not used to as a chef! As he said, that is why he has Sous Chefs to specialize in those areas of cuisine.

After Chef Willem finished speaking, he then took questions from the audience. Franklin, one of the art studio crew was one of the people with mics walking around to help people with their questions so the Chef and others could hear them. Franklin knew I had a questions and guess who was up first! Me! Yikes! I mentioned that I have Celiac Disease and then thanked him for all the wonderful meals that I have been served on the ship that have been made gluten free for me. My question was though about the gluten free products on board – I was finding that they are just not available and are hard to get such as bread with dinner (I mentioned I was served the first piece of bread after 21 days last night) and other items like muffins and cookies that just round out a meal. He thanked me for the feedback, however he was surprised by my question as he said they had taken on a lot of GF food in Seattle. He then asked for my suite number and said he would follow up with me. I thought Franklin knew where I was staying however I guess not – apparently Franklin had to search for me for the next 3 days to find what cabin I was in as the Chef wanted to know! Anyway, my feedback was provided and he heard it.

Another lady followed up with similar feedback – she is wheat allergic and she said her meals were fabulous however she was not aware that she could order in advance or that she could have her meals customized as I had mentioned! The Chef said anything is possible and that please write down what she wishes to eat and try and order the gluten free food! At least one person benefited from my question albeit 3 weeks into the sailing!

Next I went upstairs to Deck 9 – the Spa to meet Patricia – the lady who had previously given me a Swedish Massage to give me yet another massage! She was NOT impressed when she saw me hobble into the spa in pain though! She was so sweet and said that she would help me and focused on my spasms and worked away at them for 50 minutes and I was in HEAVEN! What a luxurious experience having a massage is! This was a Deep Tissue/Swedish Massage combo she said she did. I had told her about my experience in Thailand with the lady walking on me and she laughed! She is from the Philippines and she said that she just massages people – she does not walk on them – too dangerous on a cruise ship!

Now with my massage done, it was time to relax for an hour until I went back to the Spa for another pre-booked procedure – a manicure! I said this was going to be a day of relaxation and it was! Kristina did my nails again – this time only my hands and she is a perfectionist! My nails looked so beautiful once she was done! They are shellac nail colour and pretty red to match my toes – I just hope that the sea water when snorkeling tomorrow will not affect them!

While I am still sore, I promised Ben that I would pay him a visit in the Shore Excursions department to let him know how the “Jewel of Fiji” tour went the previous day. I had done a stupid thing which I later regretted – I had downloaded my pictures onto my laptop last night like I normally do so they were no long on my phone! Here I was and I had nothing to show him! I had him again tell me what his impression from the tour operator was of what I was to expect on the tour (flat to get into boat, about 18 steps to waterfall and could swim instead nearby, and 24 steps up to the community hut) and then I explained what reality was and he was quite surprised! I think he thought I wanted a refund, however I did not as I did enjoy myself and so did Andrew, it was a great experience, however the expectation setting by the tour operator was a problem. He said that I was so polite (funny having a fellow Canadian say that to you) and that most people would have been really angry etc. I told him that it was an excursion that I really wanted to do and I am a determined person at times and while I was not impressed with Holland America and their accessibility and tour information, it was a positive experience in the end. I then promised to bring pictures when I was next up to do some art (the Excursions desk is on the other side of the ship from the Art area).

Then down I went to our stateroom to relax! While I was there we went through a VERY black cloud and there was no balcony sitting for me! Yet another rain monsoon! We decided to watch a movie on TV and have dinner in our stateroom – there was no going out for me! Thank goodness, as I order my meals the night before, it is not really an issue to do this – Andrew just had to order off the regular Room Service menu!

Tomorrow we will solve the Mystery of what Mystery Island entails!

November 3, 2025 – Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji – The “Jewel” of Fiji” Excursion – liquid sunshine and MANY stairs to get to waterfall!

November 3, 2025November 11, 2025Lmnei

NOTE: Andrew and I are doing great! Having some internet connectivity issues which have precluded me from uploading pictures from our current location in Australia… Out for pizza dinner right now and found that the wifi is working here! This is a longer blog post I have been waiting to get out! More coming really soon!

Today I was up early for a beautiful cruise into the port of Suva! There was only one issue – there was a cargo ship in the way which caused us not to dock on time! No wonder I had extra time on the veranda to take pictures this morning!

Other than the ship docking late, it was an early start for us as we were taking the “Jewel of Fiji” excursion which was to last 6-7 hours. I THOUGH I had prepared well for this excursion. Prior to signing up for all the excursions that we have/are taking, our Holland America agent talked to the Accessibility Department at Holland America and they read what I could physically do and what the tour entailed and guided me on what would be suitable – other than the minor issue of having to get onto various types of busses that we were aware of.

Back when we first boarded the Noordam, I met Benoit (Ben), the Assistant Excursions Manager, who contacted me regarding two of the tours that we had signed up for and he wanted to know some more information from me regarding accessibility. So I paid him a visit and we discussed all the excursions that we had signed up for, specifically the Jewel of Fiji in Suva and the Snorkeling and Village Tours on Mystery Island. We talked about what I can do from an accessibility standpoint such as walking and swimming is not a problem and where I am weak, such as stairs, especially going down them. He knew I traveled with a walker and wanted to take my walker on the tours, however I am aware than for the Jewel and Mystery Island tours I might need to use my cane. We decided the Mystery Island Tours would be fine, however he needed to find out some more information about the “Jewel of Fiji” based on a better understanding of what I could accomplish and he would get back to me.

After we left Ben got back to me with some information that the tour provider had provided with regards to the “Jewel of Fiji” excursion. He was quite encouraging with the information that he had received – the fact that we got into the long boats to go up the river from the river bank, after the 45 minute ride we would get out and walk along a path, where I could swim and Andrew could climb about 18 stairs up to see the waterfall. He had a picture of the stairs and a small waterfall next to it that I said that I would pass on climbing and let Andrew take pictures of the waterfall instead. Then we would return in the long boats to the village, I would need to climb 24 stairs up to the house where the food and ceremony was going to be held and the busses would be picking us up out the back. For me, it sounded like something I could accomplish! I was really looking forward to this excursion at last! Off we go!

We first got onto the bus – what an accomplishment! Now, on this trip we have been on some tall busses however this one took the cake! The stairs up were taller than me! Also they were not very big! That was the first challenge of the day :). The driver actually sat in a well which was about 3 feet lower than everyone else who was sitting on seats on the bus! After about 45 minutes we arrived at the village were we got off the bus (carefully) and went into a house where we were fitted for life jackets – good move! Also we were given plastic bags for our stuff so they would not get wet in the boat. Andrew and I had left one of our bags on the bus and only took the essentials with us which was one towel and a shirt for Andrew. We were both wearing our bathing suits (me under my dress).

The lady who was next to me in the line could not swim and was VERY nervous – it was her husband who convinced her that this excursion would be a great idea! Now, remember how we were supposed to just walk out to the riverbank? Nope, down 23 steps we went, which were both a bit slippery and uneven, with the last 8 or so with no railing. Finally into the long boat, we were off! The lady who was nervous about this trip was actually sitting in front of me so Andrew and I had to keep our comments about the water and the little rapids to ourselves as she was REALLY NERVOUS!

We saw lots going up the river – lots of free roaming cattle, kids playing in the water, a woman with her horse and then some river construction thrown in too! I could tell that the river was low – there were “high tide” marks on the banks which as this is a fresh water river going out to sea means that the river was running low. Sure enough, we hit some rapids that the boats ahead of us could not get up, so we all had to get out of our flat bottom boats and walk for about 10 minutes along a path next to the river while each boat and its driver went up the little narrow rapids. I was looking forward to coming down them though! I did not say that out loud…

Then we motored on for about 20 minutes and the driver of the boat actually hit a rock – which the husband of the wife in front of me told me put a 2 inch hole in the bottom of the boat! Apparently he covered it with his foot so she would not see it. We were taking on water however the water was also splashing over the sides so it was not that noticeable. Finally we arrived at the stopping point to get to the swimming and waterfall area which Ben had showed me a picture of – I was really excited to get swimming as the river water was so warm! Just like a bathtub!

We walked along the path next to the bank where the boats stopped and there was a stream next to us and the stairs which I recognized from the picture that Ben had showed me where Andrew could go up to see the waterfall and the stream was where I was to go swimming. I asked the guides and they told me that no, that was not where the swimming area was, that I had to go up the stairs a little way. Well, that was an understatement!

So up the stairs I went with my cane, along a path with 50 pound wheat flour bags filled with rocks to lead the way, and then MORE stairs – up and down! It was a total of 103 by the time we got to the waterfall and the swimming area, which I might add was beautiful however it was a lot of hard work to get there and I knew I had to go back! The most scary part for me were about 15 stairs going up the side of a rock wall with nothing to hold onto other than the side of the rock as on the other side there was a drop down into the stream, now turned into fast moving narrow river!

It was very luxurious when I was able to get into the swimming area – they had made it a bit easier to get into the “pool” by flattening out some of the steps going down with cement which was helpful. Also Mr. Cool had let the company know (it was the same umbrella tour company who did all of HAL’s excursions) that I was going to be on this excursion and there was a younger man assigned to assist me with walking and getting into the swimming area. That also really helped! It also allowed Andrew to take some pictures!

After taking a quick dip in the wonderful clean water with the waterfall behind me, it was time to go back down to the boats. I wanted to go last as I knew I was going to be slow, however some people were talking too much while I waited so we (that was Andrew, myself and our guide/helper) struck out on our own. Needless to say there was a long line of people walking back from the waterfall while I carefully managed the route and pulled over to take breaks and let people by.

Back at the boat launch area, we were switched to a different long boat to go back to the village where we started as that little hole in the boat that happened coming up was becoming a concern. I was looking forward to the trip down the river and going through all the little rapids that we sometimes struggled (or walked past) going up! Only one issue – it started raining. Oh, not just light or medium or hard rain. Monsoon rain! It was raining so hard (and most of us were just wearing bathing suits with life jackets on top) that the rain hurt our skin – it was like being in hail the rain drops were so big and hard! It was a surreal experience having the rain come down for about 30 minutes which was colder than the water, if I put my hand over the side of the boat, felt like! To ensure that I was protected from the sun, I had elected to wear a beach towel that Holland America had given us for our excursions over my back and arms, however with the sheet of rain coming down, it was getting VERY heavy!

We all just hunkered down on the boat – most of us, Andrew and I included, were wearing baseball caps or sun hats so we were protected from the pelting rain, however there were no pictures to be taken as I did not want my phone to get wet – it takes forever to dry that thing out!

Finally we arrived at the bank of the river below the house, where we had boarded the boats originally! A bunch of drowned rats we all looked like and all the boatmen were frantically trying to bail water out of the boats as most of us were ankle deep from both the rain and the “wash” that came aboard while we were coming down the river. Successfully out of the boat, now came the stair climb which my able assistant helped me with the first portion which did not have any railing.

Back in the house we divulged ourselves of our life jackets and for me, I wrung out the towel around my neck and I was VERY surprised with the amount of water that was trapped in it! Now I felt a 100 pounds lighter walking around! Despite the continuing torrential downpour, we made our way to the ceremonial hut for some lunch and entertainment.

I am always amazed at people, and I try to observe the customs of the people whose homes I am visiting. Once we climbed the 6 or so stairs to get to the ceremonial hut or community centre all the Fijians took off their shoes to walk on the mats. Most of the people on the excursion did too and a lady suggested that I sit on a cooler that contained drinks so I could take off my sandals. Yet there were quite a few people of a certain nationality of which Canada shares a continent, who just walked right on by and did not even bother. That makes me sad. It takes so much work to make the reed mats or like in Japan, the Tatami mats, and it is disrespectful not to be appreciative and follow the customs of others when in their homes.

They provided 2 different lunches – a “subway” lunch and a “traditional Fijian” lunch. Both Andrew and I had the traditional lunch as for me, that is where the gluten free food was and Andrew I guess that was easiest for him as I had to sit down and he had to get the food for me. I had rice, some eggplant mixed with spices, taro root which is like a potato and apple slices! It was AWESOME and DELICIOUS! It all went down better with an Orange Fanta too – which seems to be a popular drink in Fiji – no sugar free drinks available and my blood sugar was low so why not partake in a luxury sugar item?

Then we were presented with a Kava ceremony. I appreciated this Kava ceremony as the person who was MC’ing it had found out all the countries that people were from on the 2 busses that were on this excursion and had mentioned them all when presenting us to the chief for the Kava ceremony – that was a nice touch! The other funny thing I though which I think most people missed, was the two men who were participating, were asked what size of Kava cup they wanted – tsunami or a wave. Tsunami being LARGE gulp and wave being a small amount. The man who selected the Tsunami was actually the husband of the wife who was so scared in our long boat going up to the waterfall and he had asked me how it tasted as her had remembered I had participated in the ceremony previously. I told him not bad so that is why he said “tsunami”! He had a numb tongue too!

After that, it was back onto the skyscraper of the bus and back to the ship. We were sitting next to one of the tour leaders at the front of the bus so of course we started chatting as he saw my Canada hat and wanted to proudly say that his grandmother had flown to Vancouver on the new Fiji Airlines flight! I mentioned that I was aware of the flight as I volunteer at YVR and that lead us into the discussion of Mr. Cool and how, as it was a Monday, he was at work today at the airport. It was at this point in time I found out some very interesting information though!

After the “Leisurely Nadi” tour on Sunday that we participated on in Lautoka, all the tour guides who work for Tiki Tours went to Mr. Cool’s house for kava. Then at 2am, the busses arrived to pick them up, then go to Nadi to pick up some more guides and they all drove to Suva which was 4 hours away, to be ready for when the ship arrived at 8am to put on all the scheduled HAL tours of that day, including the one that we were on! I was amazed! Zack, the tour guide then told us that at this time of the year, there are not enough ships stopping so this is really a “one off” type thing that they do – there are usually 2 ships that stop with similar itineraries on their way from North America to Australia and then 5 months later, the reverse happens. They do get some smaller ships stopping on Fiji Island cruises however these “larger” ships (which the Noordam is NOT large) they do have to do the commute due to the amount of staff needed for the excursions.

All the time we were having this discussion with Zack, it was raining outside and also inside the bus – the water was running down in a stream in front of him from the overhead bin area! I am not sure if that was a function of a hole in the roof or the fact that we were driving with the front door open YET again for air conditioning purposes – however it was funny! Zack continued to talk about traveling to the Suva “side” of the island and that at the Kava ceremony which he also participated in, he actually did not understand the Fijian dialect that was being spoken at the village. Zack grew up on a different island and came to the main island of Fiji, Viti Levu for post secondary schooling in Hospitality and Tourism. I then told him that was the same education that I had – I then found out that he was a Sales Manager at a local Wyndam Resort. He loves working in the hotel industry! I think that is what made him such a comfortable tour guide too!

Soon we were back at the ship and for the 3rd day in a row, we found the Noordam being painted! This time I caught the painters in action – those are some really tall painting rollers that they use! Once on board, we soon sailed out of Suva, after 3 memorial days in Fiji and ready for a day at sea! My body was starting to show signs of frustration in terms of muscle control so I was REALLY looking forward to a relaxing day! However before we left, I did manage to get out onto the balcony to take some pictures of our departure and all the ships in the harbour around the port of Suva.

November 2, 2025 – Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji – Leisurely Nadi and a Coconut has a Face!

November 2, 2025November 7, 2025Lmnei

Welcome to day two in Lautoka, Fiji! Today, as originally planned we are taking a bus tour called “Leisurely Nadi”. It was my intention to take something lower paced to get to see some of the area, as tomorrow is an excursion I am really looking forward to, however it is going to be a challenging one for me. What an awesome tour we were in for!

First of all, it is Sunday, where Fiji is generally closed. Due to that, we had an EXCELLENT tour guide named Coolio or as he preferred to be called “Mr. Cool”. There also was a driver and a 2nd guide on board at the back of the bus. All three of them were excellent ambassadors for Fiji. To start with we drove out of the port and past the sugar cane factory which we also saw yesterday, however today Mr. Cool talked more about the sugar history on Fiji and industry in general and how it has massively changed over the years. Sort of reminded me of the changes that Maui went through too.

There used to be about 34 sugar mills in Fiji as sugar was the primary export. Now there are only 3 left, one of which is next to the port in Lautoka. Originally the Fijians used the leaves from the canes to thatch their roofs after harvesting the canes for crushing into sugar. Now the fields, like we found in Maui, are set a fire (not environmentally friendly) to burn them down and then the canes are left and harvested to take to the mills. There are a variety of reasons why there was a decline in the mills since the mid 1800’s – economy, weather, changing in soil acidity for growing (climate change) – however the 3 existing mills are able to still supply sugar economically to primarily Europe. One thing that is no longer used are the sugar rail lines which are narrow gauge rail lines that were used to transport the sugar to the various mills – they still exist however the trains no longer run the lines – heavy laden trucks (which I am surprised do not dump their loads) bring the canes to the mills instead.

Here are some pictures of the Lautoka sugar mill as we passed by:

Now we continued to drive into Nadi where we eventually would make a stop to shop. Along the way, I took the following photos which I describe in the pictures:

Next we passed by the Nadi airport, which really took me by surprise! I am aware of this airport for various reasons – back in the 80’s and 90’s it was often used as a “transfer point” or “refueling point” when people traveled from North America to Australia or New Zealand. I always figured it was a BIG airport as I was aware that 747’s landed here on the transpacific flights of that time period. Well, the airport is NOT that large! I know that any airport can be called “International” if they have a customs facility and have flights from a neighbouring country, however only certain long range planes could get to Nadi at that time! I just figured I would see a terminal like Honolulu, open air, yes, however it was about 1/4 of the size!

Here are my pictures of the Nadi airport and area – we actually drove past it to get to the city of Nadi and then on our way back drove around the airport instead of taking the Queens Highway back, in order to get to our next stop. I have combined all the pictures into one set for convenience purposes. Also, Mr. Cool works at the airport which made it more fun for me! He lives in the airport housing compound and is in charge of any emergency operations if a flight needs to make an emergency landing.

Now we have patronized the selected store to shop at and I am pleased as Andrew has finally bought something – a T-shirt – we are on our way to a local marina for some “lunch” and a demonstration, which ended up being a new take on a coconut shucking! On the way, we were hit with a huge downpour, however that is just how the cookie crumbles in Fiji – to be green it has to rain said Mr. Cool! He also told us that we were lucky we were on the “dry” side of the island – Suva, where we were heading tomorrow is the “wet” side! Here are my pictures of the trip to the marina, greeting at the marina, and the man undressing the coconut, its face and cracking it open!

Now it was time to get back to the ship! This was one of the most interesting tour guides we have had so far – Mr. Cool sure made the day go by fast with his laid back and funny humour! Here are some pictures from the dock and from our balcony as we departed Lautoka on our way to Suva, which is the capital city – on the other side of Viti Levu!

The tug which will help us out of the dock

We are expecting a SLOW and smooth cruise around to the other side of the island to check out Suva tomorrow! Come join us on our adventure called the “Jewel of Fiji”!