May 3rd - MS Volendam Special Crew

As another voyage comes to an end, it is time to thank everyone on the MS
Volendam for making this such a wonderful experience.
As they say "it takes a village", and this community of 600+ provides
perfect service, keeps the ship maintained and running, and gets everyone
safely to each port of call. There are so many one never gets to see - or
personally thank - to those I want to make sure you know I appreciate all
your efforts on my and the other passengers behalf.
I also want to recognize those individuals that have made me feel like I am
the only passenger they have to attend to.


Anto - Dining Room Steward - Anto was my dining steward on a previous
voyage. I ran into him the first day I boarded the ship and immediately
asked if I could have him assigned to my table. He is so good that he even
remembered some of my personal preferences. He has so much potential, I am
sure that someday he will be running the dining room. He deals with any
hick-up with a smile and good humor. I was very pleased to find out that he
is now the proud papa to a darling baby boy.

Rim - Assistant Dining Room Steward - Rim was a delight, he seemed to be
having fun doing his job - lucky young man. He left us in Kobe to go spend
some time with his family for a couple of months before resuming his duties
on the next ship and great adventure exploring the world.

Made - He was promoted and had the opportunity to replace Rim. He is doing
great and is progressing quite nicely. Lucky him, that he got to start
working under the proficient and easy going Anto.

Mike Bunn - Beverage Steward - It is amazing to watch these people work.
From serving drinks (all over the ship) to brewing lattes, he always gets it
right.

Kadek Sudarsana - Assistant Dining Room Manager - He is there at every meal
to welcome one to the dining room. Somehow, between managing the ebb and
flow of the dining room he still has time to stop and talk with each guest.
He has a great management style, he is always watching, but never
micro-managing, only providing help and assistance as needed. And when he
noticed that I love the crew chef made sambal, he got the recipe for me and
explained how to prepare and make variations to the recipe.

Munir and Ryan - Room Stewards - These are some of the hardest working
people on the ship. Twice a day, they come in and clean your room - not sure
how they manage to tidy up so many rooms while also accommodating each
individual guest's sleeping, waking and dining schedules - but, everything
is always perfect. They really know how to pamper the guests - makes one
never want to leave the ship.

May 2nd - Ketchikan, Alaska

Thankfully, Ketchikan did not live up to its' reputation as the rain capital
of Alaska. A little misty in the morning, but for the rest of the day the
clouds decided to move on down the valley.

This is another city/island that is only accessible by boat or plane. Most
of the downtown area is built on pilings and sits above the water, no
basements here.

Took a great hike in the woods, the things growing there were amazing. Saw
some bear prints and evidence of a bear eating on a skunk plant, but no
bears. There were walkways built so one could watch the bears feast on the
salmon - too early -I would love to see it! The Alaska Raptor Center was
located at the end of the trail and I got to see an eagle up close.

The eagle was injured and would not have survived if allowed to go free. He
has led a good life though, he has been at the center for more than 30
years, having daily room service of choice fish and rabbits.

Walked around town until it was time to board the ship and waved goodbye to
Alaska.

May 1st - Juneau, Alaska

Spent most of the Saturday cruising through the Glacier Bay Inside Passage. This was the last day that a cruise ship of our size will be allowed to sail in these waters until October 1^st. Rangers from the 3.3 million acre Glacier Bay National Park boarded the ship and provided narration  throughout the ship about the glaciers, wildlife and history of the area. The weather was quite gray and cloudy, but the scenery was still breathtaking – and, I got to see and hear a large tidewater glacier calving.

 

Today’s stop was in Juneau. Yesterday marked the arrival of the first cruise ship of the season, and today, ours was the second. I am told that during the high season it is not unusual for up to 5-6 ships to be in port on any given day, so lucky us, we had the parks and town to ourselves.

 

Juneau, the capital of Alaska,  is nestled between Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts, and is only accessible by boat or plane. It rains or snows 300+ days a year, and today was no exception. Luckily, the only time it really poured I was inside the Mendenhall Glacier Park Visitor’s Center.

 

In spite of the weather, I visited a Rainforest Garden, took the Mount Roberts Tram up 1800 feet to take in the views of the city and valley, and walked around the town before deciding I was wet enough and headed back to the ship to dry out and get warm.

 

Crossing my fingers for the tomorrow’s weather – supposedly, Ketchikan is the rain capital of Alaska.