In celebration of our tenth anniversary, Melissa and I went on a fourteen-day Alaska cruise. On Monday, May 18, we flew from Washington Dulles International Airport to SeaTac Airport near Seattle, Washington, where we embarked upon Holland America Line’s m.s. Statendam. My long time readers may recognize the ship name; we sailed on the Statendam for our honeymoon just about ten years ago. We have always loved the Statendam and other smaller cruise ships, and of course there was great sentimental value in coming back to the same ship.
Statendam has seen some upgrades in the last decade, but most of it remains very familiar. Sadly though, its days are numbered. Statendam will be going into dry-dock later this year to be refitted and transferred to P&O Australia, where it will be called the Pacific Eden.
Our cruise left Seattle on the afternoon of May 18, and returned there on the morning June 1. The ports of call along the way were Ketchikan, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak, and Sitka, Alaska, and then Victoria, British Columbia. In addition there were several days at sea or cruising scenic fjords and inlets, which took us to Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glacier, as well as the Hubbard Glacier. We stayed for a couple extra days in Seattle at the end, and returned home the evening of June 3.
We had a wonderful time—it was incredibly relaxing, and the service (and food) on Holland America Line is just as wonderful as we remembered. We have cruised on a number of different lines, and Holland America remains our distant favorite. Anyway, I could write a novel about our trip, but instead of that I’ll just post over seven-hundred photos. Enjoy!
Settling In
Just a few photos from embarkation day and from around the ship.
First View Seattle
Rutan Voyager Replica
First View Statendam
Seattle
Mast
Fishing
On Deck
1992
Foggy
Whiskey Sour
Tilework
Kitty Glitter
Meow
Strange Batteries
Deformed Hand
Stats
Ketchikan, Alaska
Our first port of call after embarking was in Ketchikan, Alaska. We rented a car—an aging maroon Ford Taurus—and basically drove down every road that the town had available to us, including a long drive down a gravel road that ended at Harriet Hunt Lake.
Statues
Statendam
Name
Seaplane
Warning
Pigeon
Taurus
Ward Lake
Ward Lake
Tongass
Nature Trail Sign
Nature Trail
Rust
Flower Thing
Nature?
Fog
Sea Snot
Rocks
Clam
Trees
Nature?
Football
Star
End
Fogbirds
Fogtree
Shrine
Seaplane
Another End
Road to Somewhere
Harriet Hunt Lake
Sun
Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier
After Ketchikan, we spent a day at sea, including a scenic cruise up the Tracy Arm to the Sawyer Glacier. Really beautiful place.
Room View
Perch
Snowcapped
Prohibited
Churn
Weight
Into the Arm
Lumpy
Why Not?
Path
Pretty
Going
The Bend
Approaching
More Fjord
Towering
Cascade
Striation
Waterfall
Across
Mist
Cascade
Ice
Across Again
Valley
Tall
Dolphins
Crew
Sawyer Glacier
Seals
Many Seals
Some Seals
Patterns
Down the Arm
Tumbly
Churny
Cliffs
Ice Cube
Cracked
Looking Back
Bushy
Waterfall
Island
Crossed Paths
Pointing
Juneau, Alaska
In Juneau, the capital city of Alaska, we went on an excursion to a dog mushing camp where sled dogs are bred and trained. We got to ride around in a wheeled sled thing and meet a bunch of cool dogs and hold some cute puppies. Afterwards we visited a Salmon Bake where there was a cool waterfall and some old machinery . . . and some delicious salmon . . . and a red squirrel.
Juneau
Seaplane
Welcome
Cascade
Cute
Nosy
Dogs
Looking Back
Dog
Dog
Dog
Dogs
Many Dogs
Dogs
Dogs
Sniffy
Iditarod
Running
Hanging
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Suck
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy
Puppy Kiss
Smaller Puppies
Sled
Bib
Puppy
Volendam
Our Two Ships
Not Creepy
Discount
Tram
Docked
Free Shuttle
Fish
Pizza
Robot
Spider
DND Sign
Falls
Wheel
Rust
More Rust
Even More Rust
Okay
Crow
Red Squirrel
Cute
Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Icy Strait Point is a native-Alaskan owned cruise port built at the site of a former cannery, surrounded by beautiful scenery and wildlife . . . and one of the world’s longest zip-lines.
Tender
Crab Station
Statendam
Dandelion
Selfie
Sea Lions
Tender
Bald Eagle
Bee
Boat
Chain
Beauty
Boat
Shoots
Cute
Boat
Pretty
Eagle
Boat
Eagle
3
Nature?
Tidepools
Fishy
Crusty
Twisty
Okay
Marker
Rusty
Photographer
Zip Brake
Zip Line
Zip Liners
Good Advice
Harness Return
Anchorage and Whittier, Alaska
The Statendam docked in Anchorage, Alaska, which is fairly unusual . . . most cruise ships go to Seward and require bus or train rides to Anchorage. We rented a car—a Chevrolet Impala—and visited the Alaska Aviation Museum and the Alaska Botanical Gardens. Then we drove south on the Seward Highway and, on a whim, went to Whittier—where much of the town is all in one building. Good times.
Port
Urinal Sign
Broken
Big Wheel
Wing
Whoops
Supporters
Spruce
Flight Suit
Classic
No Problem!
Broken
Model T
Rudder
No Accident!
Franklin
Wollam
Engine
No Touching
Alaskan Airways
Fairchild
Grease
Thing
Wright
Stopped Working
727 Cockpit
Red Plane
Wheel
Front End
Red Tail
Experimental
Flaps
Super Cub
Alaska Airlines
F-15
Nosey
Emblems
Parking Space
AK
Engines
Jeep
Close Jeep
Weighted
Honor
Flat
Branding
Tail
Stairs
Emergency Exit
Covered
Undercarriage
Controls
Good Advice
Emptied
More Good Advice
Bayonets
Horns
Familiar
737 Cockpit
Huey
Serial Number
Ugly
Banana
Orb
Float
P-40 WWII Damage
P-40 WWII Damage
P-40 WWII Damage
P-40 Warning
P-40 WWII Damage
Midge
Alaska Airlines
Japan
Army Trainer
Controls
Grumman Goose
Underwing
Emblem
Flat
Retractable
Names
Broken
Engine
Interior Airways
Engine
Covered
Landing
On Floats
Broken
Broken
Tower
State Bird
Broken
Government Motors
Important
Compost
Wreckage
Rock Farm
Control Valve
L-100
Seward Highway
Railroad
Whales
Obedience
All American
Pretty
State Trooper
Ice
Abandoned
Whittier
The Building
Rushing
Cascades
Downward
Rapids
Concrete
Scenery
Glacial
Okay
Beauty
Homer, Alaska
In Homer, we went on a wildlife excursion where we saw lots and lots of birds, including a few puffins, some sea lions, and some typically gorgeous Alaska scenery . . . and the Time Bandit from Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch . . . and an Air Force C-130.
Birds
Birds
Crooked
Restricted
Jayhawk
USCG
Alba ro s
Leaving Homer
USCG
Statendam
Mountains
Boat
Clouds
Scenery
Boat
Rock
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Birds
Blue Too
Dive!
Puffin
Birds
Birds
Birds
Poop
Puffins
Birds
Birdfight
4
Birds
Birds
Statendam
Other Birds
Birds
Birdrock
Mountains
Cute
Boat
Boat
Little Island
Boat
Valley
Elephant 1
Elephant 2
Porter’s
Kayaks
Boat
Rocky
Eagle
Big
Red Rock
Archway
Angular
Fishing
Hugs!
Mom and Baby
Towering
Boat
Tustumena
Resolve
Tustumena
Statendam
Only Sleep
Crooked
Time Bandit
Bird
C-130
Deep Water
Happy Face
‘Lighthouse’
Homer Sapiens
Sewer
Seafarer’s Memorial
Memorial
Statue
The Sea
Push Button
Cargo
State Troopers
Bear
Kodiak, Alaska
When I was between fourth and fifth grade, my father—an officer in the United States Coast Guard—was ordered to Kodiak. I have loved Alaska all of my life, and was very excited about the move, but then the orders changed and we ended up going back to the D.C. metro area instead. Until this cruise, I had never been to Kodiak. It was good to finally make a visit.
Greta Day!
Kodiak
Director
Eagles
Bear
USCG
Scenery
What Kid?
Regional
Orthodox
Gravestone
Cross
Cross
Dome
Windmills
Fake Owl
Legislative
Orpheum
Rust
Welcome
Another Welcome
Photographer
Octopus
Sanitation
Pickled Willy’s
Trailers
Buried R2-D2
Super Heavy
Hubbard Glacier
From Kodiak, the Statendam made its way across the Gulf of Alaska. After a day at sea, we arrived at the beautiful Hubbard Glacier.
Hubbard
The Glacier
Towering
Icy
Crew
Mountains
Much Ice
Very Dirty
Phonetograher
Icy
Escaping
Valley
Glacial Ice
Lots of Ice
Cute
Wet
Pollen Globs
Dirty
Dirty
Clouds
Stripey
Textured
Cracky
More Stripey
Slushy
Dirty
Stripey
Lumpy
Uneven
Rocky
Rusty
Birdy
Grunge
Ice
Icerocks
Reflecting
Haze
Ice and Snow
Plunk
Dirt Runoff
Mudbath
Iceberg
Pitted
Big Hunk
Mudslosh
Kaplunk
Glacier
Patterny
Valley
Photo
Cave
Blue
Sailboat
Splash
Glaciery
Curvy
Mountainy
Slushy
Watery
Birdy
Kaplunk
Kaplunk Again
Swany
Ew
Plunk
Lookout
Dirt Glacier
Mudstripes
Cute
Seal
Seals
Nenalike
Seal
Taily
No Seal
Plop
Sitka, Alaska
From the Hubbard Glacier we proceeded to the town of Sitka, Alaska, which is the location of Saint Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the location where the signing of the Alaska purchase took place (when Alaska was transferred from Russia to the United States).
Sitka
Everyone Gets…
Statendam
Cathedral
Lighthouse
Poop
Jayhawk
Nature
Castle
Plugged
Flower
Half Face
Dandelion
Jayhawk
USCG x2
Jayhawk
Statendam
Alaska Flag
Pollen Cannon
Plaque
Pioneer Home
Eagle
Big Bird
Turning
Reflection
Totem
Pioneer
Flags
Orthodox
Block House
Fog
State Car
Legion
Cathedral
Back of Cathedral
Good Advice
Pedestrian Trash
Whale
Boats
Catholic
Tender
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
We had another day at sea, and then arrived in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We walked to the center of town, then took a bus out to the Butterfly Gardens, made an obligatory trip through Chinatown, and got a cute picture of a little girl trying to pet two cats at once.
Pilot
Cargo
Forky
Statendam
Canada
Prohibitions
Chopper
Statendam
Canadian Coast Guard
Big Seagulls
Little Car
Parliament
Falun Gong
Empress
Little Car
Plant Whales
Bus
Focused
Pun
Nice World
Butterfly
Butterfly
Butterfly
Turtle
Butterfly
Macaw
Butterfly
Big Moth Thing
Butterfly
Butterfly
Butterfly
Butterfly
Flower
Parrot
Flower
Flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingo
Butterfly
Butterfly
Sexy Time
Butterfly
Turtles
Firetruck Hat
Firetruck?
Comic Sans
Dragons
Welcome
Focused
Dragon
Brokenfoot
Cute
Gate
Broken
Hydrant
Beeholder
Tea
Dog?
Victoria
No Fun
Crowd
Totem
Horse Thing
Bird Thrower
In Circle
Marker
Bird
Monitored
Bird
Doublepet
Seattle, Washington
We stayed in Seattle for a couple of days after the end of the cruise. During the trip we visited Chinatown, the Columbia Center’s ‘Sky View’ observation deck (tallest building in the state of Washington), the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum, and the Space Needle. And we saw Melissa’s digital artwork at the Wing Luke Museum.
Seattle
Bye Statendam
Chinatown
Gate
Dragon
Columbia Center
Bye Bye Statendam
Pointy
Round
Cruise Port
Stadiums
Plane
Boeing Field
Plane
Peninsula
Highway
Downtown
Plot
Bike Disgorgement
DoubleDeck
North Town
Boat
Seaplane
Domed
Construct
Tunnel
Church
Funky
H’s
Plane
Place
Another Place
Antennas
Recycle
Rail
Cessna
Icebreakers
Big Gull
Monorail
Pointy
Art?
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Needle
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass Hair
Glass Hair
Glass
Glass
Glass
Glass Plant
Glass Plant
Purple
Airliner
Needle View
Globey
Harbor
City
McD’s
Towers
Soccer
Duck
Spiders
Spiral
Mystery Object
Modern Fireproof Bush
Melissa Art
737-900
Rainer
Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.
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