Alaska

Alaska and I’m back

27 Comments

Dear readers, it’s been a while and my apologies for my lack of posts. You are, no doubt, wondering where on earth I’ve been.  The answer is ‘busy’; I wondered if you would be at all interested in my antics these past few weeks of leave, my reasoning being that you probably wouldn’t be and best kept to myself.

It has been disjointed’; England and my wonderful daughters, their husbands and of course, Olly, Emily and Violet. Both the girls are talking now, (of sorts 😉 ); Olly starts school in September, having gained entry into a prestigious school nearby, another chapter in his young life starting.

Sam is in full swing with her “House of English’ language school, both she and Ant are fluent in languages and Sam has a house full of young students from late in the Spring through to the Autumn, many of them returning for the 2nd or 3rd time.  Liz has gone back to work, she missed it terribly and Violet loves her nursery school, so it has worked out nicely.

Karen and I?  Well, lots of tidying up around the house, landscaping the garden, planning a new kitchen. Like ‘topsy’ this is growing out of proportion, originally it was just new cabinets, then new appliances and when I left, it was new tiles as well.  Any man reading this knows about this exponential wish-list, I’m sure.  I also attended our Senior Management Conference in Coral Gables this year and then flew to Seattle to relieve the Captain of the Amsterdam while he attended the 2nd SMC; this is why my time off seemed ‘disjointed’

I write from a dull, wet, North Pacific, making our way back towards Victoria, British Columbia before arriving in Seattle for tomorrow morning.

We are on a 7-day itinerary, Seattle on Sunday, Tracy Arm on Tuesday, Juneau Wednesday, Sitka Thursday, Ketchikan Friday and then Victoria Saturday evening before Seattle again.

This will be around my 16th season in Alaska, (the others being spent in the Mediterranean or Baltic).  I know Alaska like the back of my hand by now; its beauty and its challenges for me as a Captain; the strange working hours, (one becomes almost nocturnal, going from A to B so that guests can enjoy another port when they wake up).

My first week and it never changes, the vista of the scenery, the wildlife, (Chatham Straits and Frederic Sound have, again, super-pods of humpback whales, one can’t be anything but amazed at these beautiful creatures).  The fog of course; in the summer there seems to be preponderance of it and, as a result, additional hours spent on the Bridge.

This post is by way of an “I’m back” and will endeavor to write of our experiences during the forthcoming weeks.  The camera has a permanent place of the Bridge, ever ready for the unusual or the beautiful.

 

27 thoughts on “Alaska and I’m back”

  1. Wonderful to see you back. You’ve taken my wife and I safely around the world twice so far (2013 and 2015) and we are hopeful that we will do it again in 2017. Hopefully you will be at the helm.

  3. Nice to hear from you again Captain. always a pleasure//
    Luis and Doris Amat..world cruisers on the Amsterdam.
    Best Regards

  6. Nice hearing you are still piloting. Being born n raised in Ak, it is a special place. Thinking of the 2017 world cruise n hope you are piloting again on it. The best to you n Karen.

  7. Have missed your posts, glad you got a lot done on your mission home!
    Welcome back!

  8. It’s nice to see you back. We really enjoy Alaska Cruises. We took our last one through the Inside Passage in July 2013 on the Zuiderdam round trip from Vancouver.

    We also recently returned from a 12 day Copenhagen to Copenhagen via Norway and the British Isles on the Eurodam. Stavanger was the most picturesque port as far as I was concerned. Captain John Scott was the Master. He said Stavanger is one of his favourite spots.

    It was nice to see some of the wonderful staff in the Tamarind that were still on the ship from our New England Cruise in October 2014.

    We’ve been sailing with HAL since 1985.

    I look forward to your next post.

  10. So glad you heard us calling. Have you not captained the ship since the world cruise ended?? Seems like a long furlough.
    So welcome to your blog again. I think we are all glad

  11. What pleasent surprise to recieve word from the bridge. Are you going to be captain on the Hawaii and South Pacific 45 day voyage in October and November on the Amsterdam? My wife and I are booked in part as a result of following your World Cruise posts for earlier this year. db

  12. Thank you for your blog, I always find it so interesting. Good luck in your home renovations. Ida

  13. So happy your back. Good that you had a vacation but we did miss your posts. And one would think its more fun to be the Captain and the tile setter.

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