Live from Rotterdam--7-10-10 through 7-17-10

[retiredkid]

Glad you found your zip drive and your computer or we might not be enjoying this rollicking sea tale. One of the best I've read. Thank you! Try peppermint tea if you've OD'd on ginger. You can get some really good TAZO peppermint/tarragon tea at the Explorations Cafe on deck 5 (Upper Promenade deck).:)

 

Absolutely.... peppermint tea does wonders for me too, so please give it a try.

 

I also agree that this is one of the best reviews... I LOVE your writing style. Very entertaining, indeed.

 

More, please.

[happy cruzer]

Love this review. Your DH is very like mine. So warning, get prepared for the hair product, it's coming!

 

hee hee....

 

Thanks for posting.

[kazu]

excellent again.:) thank you.:D I do hope you are feeling better though and you adapt to the seas (or the seas adapt to you!!)

 

Have a good time zip lining.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your "Live" -- but -- I hate to tell you -- the Wajang Theater came before the Culinary Art Center. The Rotterdam was built with the Wajang Theater and then in 2005 when she underwent her SOE the Culinary Arts Center was built into the Wajang Theater.

[Vic The Parrot]

Hey Tracie! :)

 

 

Lovin your on-board reports!

Hope you and DH continue to enjoy ms Rotterdam.

 

 

 

;)

[Lesinindy]

Loved the review so far, but one thing struck a cord with me and now I don't feel so bad. I live in a household of "death marchers". They would not know a cab if it hit them in the crosswalk. I have seen every town in Europe we have visited from the ground up or cobble stone as the case may be. Try hauling all your luggage from Heathrow to London via the tube, not a happy camper on that trip.

Looking forward to the next installment.

[Love Cruises]

I am enjoying your summary so much... you have quite a sense of humor.

 

Can you tell us who the Cruise Director is now on the msROTTERDAM?

[TracieABD]

Monday, July 12, 2010

Juneau

Wow! Last night was really, really bumpy. I cannot believe that we survived it in our cabin. Others did not seem quite as fortunate, as evidenced by the copious amount of carpet steam-cleaning that seemed to in continuous occurrence throughout the ship today. Yikes!

But after all of that rocking, I awoke this morning to flat and calm waters. We ordered room service for breakfast, and guess what? This morning I had a poached egg! Actually I had 2 poached eggs, even though I only ordered one. Maybe on Holland America, eggs only travel in pairs. Sort of like a really, really fancy version of the Ark! Alas, there was no durian. My husband was disappointed yet again.

We snacked around for lunch and then left the ship to walk around Juneau. I may not have mentioned this earlier, but while most of us have descended from primates, my husband is a direct descendant of mountain goats. Needless to say, we marched up and down some pretty steep hills. Do my gluts look smaller yet? Really, be honest! Can you see the change???

We then met on the dock to go zip lining! Best shore-ex EVER!!!! You take a jet boat across the sound to Douglas Island, go through an orientation, don some really uncomfortable gear, take a big stinky truck up the side of a mountain, climb some stairs, hook into a line, and FLY! I loved it. I would do it a million more times. As a matter of fact, I think this is how I will commute to work in the future! It is so much “funner” than a whale watch. JMO. I never worried about safety. They have you wear so many strappy things (known by civilized folk as harnesses) and they check and adjust your strappy things a lot. I had to remind the young guide that typically I require a man buy me dinner and take me to a movie prior to adjusting straps in those particular regions of my body and he just laughed, and gave the strap a good yank. No way that I was going to fall out of a tree. We had people in our group of 8 from the ages of 12 to ~it would be impolite to guess~. Everyone did really great except for one person who took like 9 out of 10 zip lines to get the hang of it. You really have to keep your hands away from the moving apparatus and ropes. Did you know that fleece can get hot enough to melt from the rope friction? That is the lesson we all learned today! Seriously, if you get a chance to try this, do! It was really fun!

My husband and I separated after our zip lining excursion. I will miss him and hope that I will prevail in the pending divorce--- Just kidding. I was checking to see if you were awake! The truth is I went back to the ship and he went to climb Mt. Roberts (see, I told you about that mountain goat thing). I had dinner in the MDR with an extremely nice couple. The food was good tonight. I had a salad, potato soup, pork chop, and chocolate cake. We sat and talked for a long time. Asep, the asst. manager of the dining room, spent quite a while talking with us about his views on the recent Thai political upheaval; a topic I am immensely interested in!

It was about 7 pm, and I began to worry about Richard, so I left the ship to go and find him in Juneau. Just proving that we really do know each other well after 19 years of marriage, I found him in the very first place that I looked: Tracy’s Crab Shack. There he was, my handsome husband, sitting on a bar stool, eating some really big crab legs and drinking a beer. He looked so content; I don’t think he missed me at all! We walked around Juneau a bit more and he told me all about his climb and his close encounter with the marmots. We returned to the ship and he promptly fell asleep.

I went to the thermal suite to relax (as if I had such a stressful day!) and to watch the ship leave Juneau. I could not help but feel grateful as I alternated my gaze between my book and the mountains while rapped in fluffy towels, and perched on my heated, ergonomically correct lounger. I may never come home!

More tomorrow, as we cruise Hubbard Glacier!:):)

Tracie-Lynn

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks -- but I think I will stick with whale watching -- ziplining is just not for me.

[Coolcruise02]

Love your review......can't wait for more!

[swalm22]

Thank's for the nice review, good work.

[Himself]

Have you seen HIMSELF? He is not too hard to find.

[canadianbear]

Tracie-Lynn: I am so glad you are having a wonderful time! I can remember just recently when I told you my son and his girlfriend were doing this exact cruise a bit before you and you kept wondering when his review would be posted. By the way, they enjoyed the surprise Pinnacle dinner I bought for them...have you tried dinner there yet?

[clyde55]

Really enjoying your review................has had me laughing out loud several times.The story about the sticker on your sweater had me roaring with laughter.................been there,done that.Can't wait for the next instalment.It's giving me something to look forward to when I come home from work.:p

[Himself]

Nice meeting you this morning on the EMPTY SEA! Enjoy the Rotterdam

J T M

aka: HIMSELF

[elycelynne]

Tracie, I'm thoroughly enjoying your review -- very witty!

 

Do let us know at the end of your cruise whether the customer satisfaction survey includes the additional "durian questionnaire".

[Texiowan]

Love your review. Our family had a great time on the Rotterdam in Alaska. Wish it lasted longer.

 

JD

[TracieABD]

Hi-

It is half price minute time on the Rotterdam, so I can actually spend a bit of time looking at CC.

 

I did find "Himself", dressed in black! He is doing well and having a wonderful cruise. I do believe that man has the true "luck of the Irish" when it comes to the coolest vacation job EVER!

 

I forgot to mention that we had our Meet and Mingle. About 20 very nice CC folk showed up for a bit of coffee and a little cruise fellowship. Bonus: They served cookies the size of a toddler's head! We had a wonderful time getting to know each other!

 

I also need to mention that I have finally realized a dream-- thanks to our lovely cabin stewards, Jabbar and Roby, we were the receipiants of our first towel animal ever! There has been a great deal of debate what kind of animal is was... polar bear, sea ray, walrus... wallabee??? Who knows, but it was made of a towel and it had little paper googly eyes. I have now decided in my next life, I want to be the person on a cruise ship who cuts out the little googly-eyes for the towel animals. Would that not be an awesome job? (I think I hear a Budweiser commercial in there... "Real American Heroes, Mr. Cruiseline Googly-Eye Cutter Outer Guy..." Come on, don't be shy--- hum along with me!)

 

Well I have to make a really important and dire choice-- shower or trivia??? Not sure which way I am going to go--- play games or travel or the path of hygene-- I will have to let you know how that works out later!

 

Talk to you tonight-

Questions welcomed!

Tracie-Lynn

 

BTW- The Cruise Director is Anthony!

[50cruiser]

Hi Tracie. How much wave action on your cruise . We get on the Rotterdam next sat One of group gets sick with little wave action . Iv heard coming out of Seattle the waves get rough . Is the weather cold enough we need some winter clothing CARL

[Idahomom4]

I also need to mention that I have finally realized a dream-- thanks to our lovely cabin stewards, Jabbar and Roby, we were the receipiants of our first towel animal ever! There has been a great deal of debate what kind of animal is was... polar bear, sea ray, walrus... wallabee??? Who knows, but it was made of a towel and it had little paper googly eyes. I have now decided in my next life, I want to be the person on a cruise ship who cuts out the little googly-eyes for the towel animals. Would that not be an awesome job? (I think I hear a Budweiser commercial in there... "Real American Heroes, Mr. Cruiseline Googly-Eye Cutter Outer Guy..." Come on, don't be shy--- hum along with me!)

 

Leave a pair of sunglasses out in the open in your cabin and they will surely make it onto the next towel animal.;)

My husband thought I was the biggest dork for taking pictures every night of our towel animal of the day, then a picture of the "two of us" (ya know, me and the towel animal) then a group photo at the end of the week.

Loving your review!:)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Love it, love it, laugh out loud love it! Keep it up. As a survivor of a Bataan Death March in San Francisco one time, I can really relate to that.

[Himself]

Tracie:

The CD is Anthony Choice and I think he is doing a teriffic job. I was wearing a red hooded sweat shirt with chief BlackHawk on it. Someone in a Philadelphia Phillies shirt started to boo me (in jest.)

[TracieABD]

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hubbard Glacier

For those of you who have been sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to find out exactly what I chose to do… here it is…

I decided to forgo basic personal hygiene and attend trivia! We joined a team of 4 and did our best to answer as many questions as our brain cells would allow. Guess what??? We won!!! Not only that, we won by a really respectable margin! Our prize was a self-storing HAL tote bag! And the best part is that we don’t have to share one bag… we each got our own. Whew!

After trivia, we decided to go to the MDR for lunch. We were seated at a table for 8 and I am pretty sure that we were the only experienced cruisers. I shall disguise all distinguishing elements to protect the clueless, but I swear this is true. A certain table mate declared that he thought it was unreasonable to have to pay $50 to use the robe. The rest of us at the table let him know that you only have to pay $50 if you decide to keep the robe, but he said he would refrain from its comfort, just in case. Still scratching my head from that one (and no, it is not because my hair is still pretty dirty at that point).

Upon returning to the cabin, I fell asleep. Well, really it was more than sleep. I fell into a coma, meaning I missed the majority of the glacier. I heard that there was major calving. I will have to trust those who could manage to stay awake at 2:30 in the afternoon. Maybe my limited brain cells were still tired from our recent triumph at trivia.

I finally took a shower. I think my husband was really relieved that I managed to shed my yoga clothes (yep! I was that tacky girl who wore them to trivia AND the MDR—so you know someone is blogging about how “Sticker Woman” can now only fit into stretchy clothes…). We decided that on the back of our recent win, we would return for music trivia. We joined our new friends, and guess what? We lost. We came in 2nd place, so it was not a devastating loss—but second place will NOT get you a prize on HAL. However, I was able to answer a bonus question and won a coffee mug. Best prize EVER! I collect coffee mugs.

We had a reservation at the Pinnacle Grill. I know that there has been a great deal of posting about disappointing PG experiences, but we had a great meal. It was truly one of the best steaks I have ever had. I also enjoyed the coconut soup, Caesar salad, and chocolate soufflé. Service was consistently on point. We liked it so much, I think we will try to eat there again before this cruise is over.

We attended the comedian show after dinner. Jeff Burghart was very funny and pretty good at impressions, but I prefer a more subtle humor. I will say, he had my respect and admiration, because he did not play it safe. I am certain that he offended someone, which made it so much funnier. Richard and I are getting ready to turn in a bit early as we will see otters early in the morning.

Sitka and my first tender experience! I hope it is smooth sailing!:):)

Take care,

Tracie-Lynn

[TracieABD]

To those of you who have asked:

50cruiser- It is really rocky. I have found sea-legs! No more seabands, no more ginger! I have heard of this happening, and am so grateful that it happened for me. I am seeing lots of those little ear patches and I guess they are doing their job! Folk look like they are enjoying the cruise! Good luck to your travel mate...

 

Himself- Next time we are on a cruise together, I will bring you some Red Sox wear. That should really garner some comments! Are you headed into Sitka tomorrow? It was great meeting you today.:)

[realent]

Tracie,,, I just found your review on my way to bed and stayed up until midnight to read it all even though I just did this same cruise a couple of weeks ago!! You are doing a fantastic job and make it fun to read!

 

Glad you got the thermal suite package. I spent my spa $$ on the accupuncturist, Scott, who by the way can assist you with motion sickness. If you see him tell him Nancy said HI..

 

Enjoy Sitka and I hope you can find some Otters... Look for *2 chicks and a stick* for fresh salmon and halibut skewers behind the Brenners Store in the parking lot.. FABULOUS !!

 

Can't wait for more of your adventures !!