Our 25th Anniversary Cruise

No, we haven't been on 25 cruises (yet); the title of this post refers to the fact that the cruise we took this year was in celebration of 25 years of marriage for Pat and me. We went back to Alaska, in great part because the three of us (including our son Ben) liked it so much when we went there for our 20th anniversary in 2002. We sailed on the ms Amsterdam of the Holland America Line, and it was just as nice a ship as the Volendam that we sailed on the first time.

This trip, we wanted to see at least a few different ports from the previous one, but the best we could come up with given our finances and scheduling was another Inside Passage trip that visited two ports which we didn't see last time: Sitka, AK and Victoria, BC. We did not stop in Skagway, AK this year, and the trip started and ended in Seattle, WA instead of Vancouver, BC. Our repeat ports were Juneau and Ketchikan, AK, and we saw Glacier Bay again. All of the places we visited offered us interesting and scenic things to see and do.

We left Seattle on Friday afternoon, June 29. The first port stop, after a day at sea, was Juneau. We wanted to have a better chance to see some humpback whales this time, because we barely got to see any at all five years ago. To accomplish this, we booked a whale-watching excursion out of Juneau through the cruise line. The excursion company has a money-back guarantee: if you don't see any whales or some other wildlife when they take you out on their boat, you get a refund of your ticket price. No worries for them; we saw plenty of humpbacks, along with orcas and a sea lion or two as a bonus. It was pretty exciting when someone on the boat would shout, "Three o'clock!" to tell everyone which direction to look to find one of the magnificent creatures swimming nearby. The whale-watching excursion was probably the highlight of the cruise for me.

We went to Glacier Bay the next day. It is just as spectacular now as it was in 2002, although some things have changed, of course. Mother Nature doesn't stand still, especially in glacier country. The majesty of this part of the world cannot be done justice in photos; it has to be seen in person. (That's a hint: if you ever get a chance to go up to Alaska, do it.)

Tuesday, we visited Sitka, a former Russian settlement with a lot of history and a very nice historical park on the edge of town, where there are several totem poles to see and hiking trails through a small patch of rainforest. We saw lots of bald eagles in the park, fairly close up. What gorgeous birds they are.

Wednesday, July 4, the Amsterdam docked in Ketchikan. We booked an excursion through Holland America for this stop: the Ketchikan Duck Tour. This little jaunt took us on an amphibious vehicle through some of the interesting parts of the town, and then out into the harbor to get a look at the city from the water. We had our rainiest weather of the trip in Ketchikan but we came prepared with ponchos and an umbrella, and the "liquid sunshine" as the natives call it did not hamper our enjoyment of walking around the historic, if shop-infested, downtown area after the Duck ride. The city had a parade in honor of Independence Day, but we had to watch it from the ship as we sailed away around 2:00 PM.

After we left Ketchikan, we had our Renewal of Vows ceremony on the ship. The ship's captain, Dirk van den Berg, presided over the ceremony for us and another couple, Vicki and Rick, who were also celebrating their 25th. Also in attendance were the Hotel Manager, Stan Kuppens; our son, Ben; and a couple of the cruise staff. We had champagne, cake, and photos, plus some time to just sit and chat with the captain and other guests, and it was a nice little celebration.

Our final port stop was Victoria BC; we arrived there about 6:00 PM on Thursday. We had made arrangements ahead of time to meet our Cruise Trek friend Gordon, who lives in Victoria and offered to drive us on a mini-tour of the city and out to Butchart Gardens. The Gardens are an incredibly beautiful place, with thousands, if not millions, of different species and varieties of flowers, plants, and trees, all gorgeously landscaped in what was once a rock quarry. It was well worth the drive there and the admission price.

Friday morning, we docked in Seattle. We picked up our rental car, drove to Seattle Center to walk around and go up in the Space Needle, and later met our Seattle-resident friends Sue and Phil for dinner. The next morning, we boarded our flight home to Texas.

But wait, you say. You must have spent some time on the ship; tell us about that.

The ship was quite nice, and our stateroom was very comfortable for its size. When we sailed in 2002, we booked through Cruise Trek, and I spent a lot of my ship time attending the Trek activities with the group. This year, we went on our own, so we enjoyed the shipboard activities offered by the cruise line. We went to a couple of the showroom performances, which included two very funny comedians. Ben and I participated in some of the "athletic" things such as ping-pong and basketball, and Ben went to a few of the Club Hal teen activities, although he said they were poorly organized and in some cases were never held. Pat attended several cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center (being the Food Network junkie that she is). The meals in the main dining room, the Lido buffet, and the upscale Pinnacle Grill (where we had our "anniversary" dinner) were all very good. The staff were always friendly and helpful. Overall, our shipboard experience was extremely pleasant.

We are trying now to decide where to go for our vacation next year. A Mediterranean cruise is at the top of our list, if we can find one that fits our budget and schedule. We also might try a cruise of the Hawaiian islands, or a land vacation in British Columbia. But I think Pat had a great idea for future vacations while we were on this year's cruise. She said, "Maybe we should come back to Alaska for every fifth wedding anniversary." You know, I like that idea a whole lot.