Cruising - On a Ship!

I knew that cruise ships were large (even huge), but to walk around inside one is like being in a horizontal skyscraper (or, for you Trekkies out there, imagine being on the U.S.S. Starship Enterprise) (and no, you won't have Ferengi bartenders ... but they may be from the Philippines and your cooks and servers may be from Indonesia and you may also have crewmembers from all countries of the world -- you can be assured that there will be many onboard who speak your language and know your culture).

The ship we chose to take for our cruise was the Holland America Lines MS Westerdam.

The ship had multiple lounges with bars and music. The music included pianists sometimes with singers and accompanying instruments, string quartets, solo guitarists, and, disk-jockied night-clubs. The ship had a lively casino. It had two to three theaters with tiered seating that provided not only recent released films but also live entertainment. And multiple places to get food -- from informal coffee shops with pastries and hot drinks such as tea, cocoa, and special coffees to the seemingly always open Lido Deck (Deck 9) buffet, to the barbeque and hotdog or hamburger stand, to the formal dining rooms with the uniquely prepared gourmet food. The ship had an art gallery with a wide selection of contemporary art (and the rest of the ship was festooned with sculptures and paintings and other types of art as well). The ship also had a photography gallery and studio for not only the tourist-type souvenir photos but also for high-quality professional portraiture. On the Promenade Deck, the ship had a collection of gift shops that had everything from the tourist-type souvenirs such as T-shirts, hats, and other peraphernalia that had the ships name and/or the ports of call on them as well as general sundries and then the specialty stores for fashion, jewellery, and liquors -- Duty Free, of course. The ship had a very nice library with comfortable seating and lighting. And the ship had numerous observation areas on each level/deck from the Main Deck (Deck 1) all the way to the Crow's Nest on the Observation Deck (Deck 10).

We sort of knew where we were going when we booked our cruise -- we wanted to go to Alaska, and we chose the 7-day cruise leaving on a Saturday around noon and coming back the following Saturday morning from Seattle, Washington. We (my wife, my daughter, daughter's best buddy, and I) had never been to Alaska before--and my wife and I had never been on a cruise before. So this trip was going to be an adventure.

One thing to be aware of was that the check-in process for the cruise was almost as complex, time-consuming, and somewhat frustrating as the check-in process for getting on commercial airlines. For first time travelers, this might be a clincher in getting them to sign off from ever traveling again. But for our trip, we were at least all very experienced air travelers, so the routine wasn't all that different. Rather than having porters take our luggage to our room, we chose to haul our stuff onboard the ship ourselves (next time, we may decide to let the porters take 'em and spare our backs and arms for going up the ramps to the ship). We managed to lug our bags (maybe that's why it's called "luggage"?) to our room.

While we were starting to sort through the luggage and get into more comfortable clothes, the captain announced on the public address system that before the ship left the Seattle terminal, that all passengers were requested to assemble on the Promenade Deck to our assigned "muster stations" and "assigned life-boat stations" -- we were going to have a safety and survival drill even before getting underway. We left our bags in our room and rode the elevator down to the Promenade Deck. The crew members were helpful in guiding us to our proper assembly areas. Once there, the captain announced over the PA system again the proper use of the life-vests (demonstrated by the crew-members standing in front of us) and how we would procede to board the life-boats if there were an emergency that required evacuation. The captain reassured us and said that this drill was just a precautionary exercise and that he expected no emergencies that would cause any harm to the ship, passengers, or crew.

At the end of the drill, the captain and crew thanked us for our participation in the drill and then released us to return to our rooms and the rest of the ship. The end of the drill was signalled by a blast of the ship's horn and the deck rumbling as the engines started to back the ship into the harbor.

As we headed out of Seattle's Puget Sound into the Pacific, a light rain had started. We watched as two other cruise ships maneuvered out of the harbor before we set out. And now, as we were heading into the somewhat calm, grey sea almost merging with the grey sky, we leaned over the rail on the outer Promenade Deck and let the chilled salty air refresh us. The skies darkened quickly with the gathering clouds and we headed back to our room to get ready for a buffet dinner on the Lido Deck.

The food was delicious -- maybe it was that fresh sea air that made us so hungry! We enjoyed our meal while watching the lights of Puget Sound and the surrounding islands retreated in the distance. I was enjoying the subtle movements of the ship as we made our way through the continuing storm. However, my cruise group (my wife, my daughter, and her buddy -- and seemingly most of the rest of the passengers) were not doing too well. The women excused themselves and said they were tired and would be returning to the room for bed. I was still wired, and I chose to stay on the Lido Deck a bit longer.

The ship was rocking occasionally and we could hear the hull creaking and groaning as it sliced through the swells and waves. Out of curiosity, I wandered back outside on the open observation deck (Deck 10), and was surprised at the roaring wind and driving rain that pummeled me as soon as I left the enclosed part of the deck. I wasn't the only one outside on the deck, however. A few other brave souls were out there probably experiencing the same awe at the power of the wind and waves and how small we seemed in the open Pacific. After getting sufficiently drenched, I wandered back down to the Lido Deck and had a hot lemon tea to soothe my tummy a bit and to warm up. Then, around 10pm I decided to go back down to the room and see how the women were doing. The women were definitely not doing well--they were seasick.

Squid graphic courtesy of Squidoo Squid Graphics For Your Lenses! by GreekGeek.