Tis Himself, Once More

I'd imagine it's "standing room only" for you masses!

It was not a Mass on Christmas Eve.

It was not a Mass on Christmas Eve.

I loved the smell of all the new wallets ( Christmas gifts)

and peppermint candy at Midnight mass when I was a kid!

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We have found that Mass on a cruise is often SRO, until the ship figures out which room is the right size to put us in,:)

On the Oosterdam we were using the Queens lounge for all except the crew Mass. I find the lighting in the Queen's Lounge to be a bit difficult.

First of all I must reflect on the whole experience. For me it began on July 2nd when I headed to Union Station in Chicago to take the Empire Builder to Seattle. When I consider the tardiness and what I missed seeing, one would think I would be disappointed. However all things considered I found the time on the train to be relaxing and I might consider doing it again another year.

I took the Cascades to Vancouver from Seattle and went business class. Again I enjoyed the train ride up very much.

The Ship itself is a Vista Class ship and I have gotten used to this bigger ship and I actually like them. We were Blessed to have Pieter Bos as Master of the Vessel and in my opinion he is the "model" Captain for Alaska. he keeps the ship inside during a large part of the journey to and from Alaska and in this way we get to see beautiful scenery and wildlife.

He also announces wild life and where you can see it.

The ship herself was immaculate and we had good weather at most stops--save Glacier Bay.

It poured all day which made the ranger happy but not Himself. The return trip to Glacier Bay it was foggy--real foggy--until almost noon and then the weather cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I had never been to Haines before and so this was an interesting stop. I enjoyed our time there very much. I had been to all the other ports.

Would I do this cruise again? Definitely YES!

Returning home, I took the Quick Shuttle which leaves From Canada Place and heads right to the border. It took us a half an hour to clear the border and we were all Americans.

There were a lot of Canadian tourists we were pushed ahead of, It probably toil them three hours to get through. So, it is not easy to get through the boarder coming in from Canada

and tougher still for Canadian citizens. The southern boarder could learn a few lessons.

I took the Quick Shuttle South to Sea-Tac and stayed at the Holiday Inn at Sea-Tac. I got up early and arrived at the Southwest Terminal at 4:55 AM and found a long line which moved along rather well and I as at the counter by 5:25 AM. Got my luggage checked and went through security and was in the main part of the terminal by 5:40 AM. Boarded the plane at 6:20 and we rolled away at 6:40 and taxied to the end of a runway and were in the air by 6:55 AM. We landed at Chicago midway at 12:25 and my luggage was one of the first to come down . That never happened before. The flight was a great flight with a great Southwest Crew. They are delightful.

I am back home. I would give my whole experience a "Thumbs Up!"

Tis Himself, signing off for now!

First of all I must reflect on the whole experience. For me it began on July 2nd when I headed to Union Station in Chicago to take the Empire Builder to Seattle. When I consider the tardiness and what I missed seeing, one would think I would be disappointed. However all things considered I found the time on the train to be relaxing and I might consider doing it again another year.

 

I took the Cascades to Vancouver from Seattle and went business class. Again I enjoyed the train ride up very much.

 

The Ship itself is a Vista Class ship and I have gotten used to this bigger ship and I actually like them. We were Blessed to have Pieter Bos as Master of the Vessel and in my opinion he is the "model" Captain for Alaska. he keeps the ship inside during a large part of the journey to and from Alaska and in this way we get to see beautiful scenery and wildlife.

He also announces wild life and where you can see it.

 

The ship herself was immaculate and we had good weather at most stops--save Glacier Bay.

It poured all day which made the ranger happy but not Himself. The return trip to Glacier Bay it was foggy--real foggy--until almost noon and then the weather cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I had never been to Haines before and so this was an interesting stop. I enjoyed our time there very much. I had been to all the other ports.

 

Would I do this cruise again? Definitely YES!

 

Returning home, I took the Quick Shuttle which leaves From Canada Place and heads right to the border. It took us a half an hour to clear the border and we were all Americans.

There were a lot of Canadian tourists we were pushed ahead of, It probably toil them three hours to get through. So, it is not easy to get through the boarder coming in from Canada

and tougher still for Canadian citizens. The southern boarder could learn a few lessons.

 

I took the Quick Shuttle South to Sea-Tac and stayed at the Holiday Inn at Sea-Tac. I got up early and arrived at the Southwest Terminal at 4:55 AM and found a long line which moved along rather well and I as at the counter by 5:25 AM. Got my luggage checked and went through security and was in the main part of the terminal by 5:40 AM. Boarded the plane at 6:20 and we rolled away at 6:40 and taxied to the end of a runway and were in the air by 6:55 AM. We landed at Chicago midway at 12:25 and my luggage was one of the first to come down . That never happened before. The flight was a great flight with a great Southwest Crew. They are delightful.

 

I am back home. I would give my whole experience a "Thumbs Up!"

 

 

Tis Himself, signing off for now!

Dear Father,

Happy to hear that you enjoyed your cruise and are home safe.

Thanks for your post cruise reflections.

When is your next cruise?

Thanks for your post cruise reflections.

 

When is your next cruise?

Thank you for your reports Father, and welcome home. erewhon, Himself is listed on the future cruise thread for November 3 on the Noordam.

Roy

Thank you Reverand for your reports. Looking forward to our 36 days on the MS Oosterdam next April.

Question. It always seems your cruises are around two weeks long. Can a priest have longer contracts?

First of all I must reflect on the whole experience. For me it began on July 2nd when I headed to Union Station in Chicago to take the Empire Builder to Seattle. When I consider the tardiness and what I missed seeing, one would think I would be disappointed. However all things considered I found the time on the train to be relaxing and I might consider doing it again another year.

 

I took the Cascades to Vancouver from Seattle and went business class. Again I enjoyed the train ride up very much.

 

The Ship itself is a Vista Class ship and I have gotten used to this bigger ship and I actually like them. We were Blessed to have Pieter Bos as Master of the Vessel and in my opinion he is the "model" Captain for Alaska. he keeps the ship inside during a large part of the journey to and from Alaska and in this way we get to see beautiful scenery and wildlife.

He also announces wild life and where you can see it.

 

The ship herself was immaculate and we had good weather at most stops--save Glacier Bay.

It poured all day which made the ranger happy but not Himself. The return trip to Glacier Bay it was foggy--real foggy--until almost noon and then the weather cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I had never been to Haines before and so this was an interesting stop. I enjoyed our time there very much. I had been to all the other ports.

 

Would I do this cruise again? Definitely YES!

 

Returning home, I took the Quick Shuttle which leaves From Canada Place and heads right to the border. It took us a half an hour to clear the border and we were all Americans.

There were a lot of Canadian tourists we were pushed ahead of, It probably toil them three hours to get through. So, it is not easy to get through the boarder coming in from Canada

and tougher still for Canadian citizens. The southern boarder could learn a few lessons.

 

I took the Quick Shuttle South to Sea-Tac and stayed at the Holiday Inn at Sea-Tac. I got up early and arrived at the Southwest Terminal at 4:55 AM and found a long line which moved along rather well and I as at the counter by 5:25 AM. Got my luggage checked and went through security and was in the main part of the terminal by 5:40 AM. Boarded the plane at 6:20 and we rolled away at 6:40 and taxied to the end of a runway and were in the air by 6:55 AM. We landed at Chicago midway at 12:25 and my luggage was one of the first to come down . That never happened before. The flight was a great flight with a great Southwest Crew. They are delightful.

 

I am back home. I would give my whole experience a "Thumbs Up!"

 

 

Tis Himself, signing off for now!

Thank you for the update.

Glad you are home safe.

Thank you for your reports Father, and welcome home. erewhon, Himself is listed on the future cruise thread for November 3 on the Noordam.

 

Roy

Thank you Roy.

Thanks for checking back in with a final report. Welcome back, and hope it's not too long till your next cruise.:)

Yes, the trains in the "corridor" (Windsor-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec) tend to run on time or close to it. Unfortunately, the on-time operation of the "Canadian" (the Toronto-Vancouver train) is very poor. In almost all cases it is the fault of Canadian National, the owner of most of the tracks over which VIA Rail operates. I have been on a train more than once that has sat in a siding for two hours, seemingly just in case a freight train might be nearby.:mad: My last trip on this train was from Vancouver to Toronto in late March. It arrived 15 hours late. For me this was no problem as I was (barely) able to catch the last commuter train of the night at 12:45 a.m. Others were not so lucky. I was travelling on VIA Preference points and because the delay was over 12 hours they gave me back all my points. The Canadian is a splendid train with comfortable beds, excellent food and service and I ride it every year. Arrival in both Toronto and Vancouver is scheduled as 9:30 a.m. and 9:42 a.m. respectively, but I would strongly suggest that no plans of any sort be booked for the day of arrival.

 

Next May we are taking a HAL cruise to Alaska, departing Vancouver on a Saturday. The "Canadian" is due in that morning but there is no way I would chance it. At that time of year the train runs three times a week, so to go by train we would have to depart Toronto a week before the cruise and arrive in Vancouver three days (in theory) before the cruise. So we will fly this time. We may take the train back to Toronto as it doesn't matter what day we arrive.

 

Our first cruise to Alaska was in 1972. We took the train to Vancouver - it was only a three night trip then, as opposed to four nights now - and made a same-day connection with the ship. Both the train and the ship were Canadian Pacific operations, so it didn't seem risky.

Hi

my friend always travels Amtrac. frieght trains always have right a way in US. she is always late comeing from San Fran to chicago or Boston. she has to sit hour waiting for a friehht train to pass.

Mary

It rained a lot early in the day. The cloud cover was so quick that one could not even see the top of the Mt. Roberts Tramway. Righ now it is 7:40PM and the sun is out in all its glory. Stopped to see my friends at the Alaskan Fudge Compay and got fudge for some people at home. (Really!) Had a nice visit with Blue and Scott. Blue and Deb were not in today. I think I have been stopping in there since 1997.

I also walked up to the Cathedral of the Naitivity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is just east of the Orthodox Cathedral. It is a good walk and I need the exercise. I also purchased a couple of shirts at the Alaskan Shirt Store across from the ship. The shops on board now have liscense plate holders that say "My other car is a DAM ship." I am thinking of buying one but I have a lot of time to do it.

 

I wish you all were up here. Life is good!

Father are you saying you did not buy amy fudge for your self?? How much of that fudge fudge is left thay you bought.4

Tis a nice sunny day as we sail from Seward to Glacier Bay. I wish all of you were here with me on the Oosterdam.

Oh How I wish I was with you on this ship never been on her

Mary

Hi

Thank you father I loved your report

Mmary

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Thanks for your post cruise reflections.

 

When is your next cruise?

Noordam to South Caribbean in early November.

Father,

When you were on your most recent assignment with HAL, did you get a regular passenger cabin or were you in 'crew' or 'entertainer/staff' cabins?

On my recent (in the last several years) assignments with HAL, I was assigned cabins in a special section of the ship (up by the disco, for example) where there were 8 or 9 cabins in a small hallway with mostly the spa staff or the other personnel. The cabins were 'inside cabins' but were clearly staff. There was no cabin service, no room service, no perks or amenities that the general passengers received.

Of course I knew this before the cruise...I just wondered if HAL had changed their policy recently....

Given that many cruise lines have dropped priests altogether, if I was given a choice of going on a cruise as a chaplain, meeting people, celebrating mass, getting to know the crew and celebrating the crew mass (which I have found to be so very enjoyable and personal (e.g. I said a crew mass at midnight out of the deck in the glacier bay in Alaska in June with a whole contingent of musical instruments by the Filipino staff--it brought tears to my eyes)), or not going on a cruise, I'd take the staff cabin and fend for myself.

I was just curious since its been a while since I was a Chaplain on HAL (a couple of years).

I leave for my passenger status cruise in a couple of weeks with friends out of Venice. I will be sure to look up the assigned chaplain on that cruise and, of course, attend Mass (we don't get a Sunday off you know!)). Or as they told us in seminary: "There's no vacation from your vocation!!"

God Bless!!

Noordam to South Caribbean in early November.

Thank you for your reply.

Will be interested to read your comments about the Noordam.

Or as they told us in seminary: "There's no vacation from your vocation!!"

 

God Bless!!

Hello Father! I seriously LOVE this quote!!! Thank you for sharing it.