From San Diego to Alaska...2024 Cruise #2

 Last August, several months before booking our recent Hawaii cruise, I was looking through some of the "deals" in a promotional email from Holland America. I saw that an Alaska cruise on the Zaandam was priced really low AND that oceanview cabin #7086 (which opens up onto the rear public deck) was available. I've always preached that you MUST have a balcony cabin when sailing to Alaska, but since we had already done three Alaskan cruises, I could be content with this ocean view cabin. Even without a private verandah we would have easy access to some outside space while saving a bundle of money. But wait...cabin #7083, the other oceanview cabin by the rear deck was also available. This was the cabin we had on a 2023 Panama Canal cruise and loved the location. Good friends, Jon and Michelle, had never been to Alaska. Maybe they would want to join us?

The arrows show the obstructed ocean view cabins that we booked.

Before I even called HAL I realized that the 11-day Pacific Coastal cruise just prior was an even better bargain. The two cabins on deck 7 weren't available for that cruise but there were nearby inside cabins that would be suitable. We checked with Jon and Michelle and the next thing I knew, the four of us were booked on back to back cruises on the Zaandam for 18 days!

April 20 to May 1.
We booked an 11-day cruise but the same itinerary was also offered as a 7-day and 4-day cruise

May 1 to 8

I continued to check prices and in October noticed that #7086 was available for the 11-day portion of our cruise. It raised our price just a bit but I called and got our cabin switched so we would be in the same room for the entire 18 days. Jon and Michelle remained in the inside (#6215) for the first 11 days and then moved to the outside cabin (#7083) for the Alaska part of the itinerary. 

Once the cruise bookings were made then I went into planning mode. I made sure that we (and Jon and Michelle) got the various onboard credits (OBC) that we were eligible for...shareholder credits, military credit (Jon), educator credit (me) and AARP credits. For the two cruises combined, we each had $675 in OBC to use. I figured that would go towards our ship gratuities but then when HAL offered free gratuities during a Black Friday sale we were each able to get that added to our booking as well.

This would not be the first time we had cruised with Jon and Michelle. Right before the pandemic, in fall of 2019, we sailed with them on back to back cruises on the Veendam. 

The four of us in Key West in 2019.

Our friendship goes back a VERY long way. Jon was a student in my 10th grade geometry class during my first full time teaching position after college. He and several other guys from that class were involved in a Christian youth group that Bob and I worked with and he also attended the camp where I cooked in the summers. I like to tease Jon now because although he was one of the brightest kids in my class he was also one of the more mischievous! (And although Jon now has eleven grandchildren, the mischievous description still fits!) 

Back to the 80's! Jon giving me a ride on his motorcycle. 

Jon met Michelle when he was in the military. They have lived in many different locations over the years, including half a dozen years in Europe. And although we don't see them often, our friendship has remained constant. What a blessing to have such friends!

I do want to start this series of blog posts with a disclaimer. When we travel my usual practice is to write detailed notes at the end of each day and then publish the narrative together with photos when we return home. This time I did not take ANY notes. None. Hopefully my pictures will spur my memory (and Bob's) enough that we can recall the highlights of each day. 

My emotional health was not the best as this cruise began. We had just gone through the death of my sister which had taken a toll. My physical health wasn't any better.  About three weeks before we left, I caught the nastiest of colds which really knocked me off my feet. My cough got so bad that I finally gave in a few days before the cruise and went to the doctor. I don't really think I was contagious at that point, but I was definitely obnoxious when I had one of my coughing fits. I left the appointment with several prescriptions which might have helped a little, but it just took time for me to shake the cough. After being concerned that I would get sick on the Hawaii cruise I thought it was ironic that I picked up something at home where I am rarely around many people.

And lastly, it had been nearly three months since my knee "popped" right before our Hawaii cruise and it was still very painful to walk. My initial diagnosis was "patellar subluxation"...a partial dislocation of the knee cap. My neighbor is a former NFL trainer and that was his opinion after a brief look at my leg. The orthopedic doctor also made the same diagnosis after a thorough exam and x-rays.

I had just started to do some physical therapy when we had to leave for St. Louis when my sister was ill and our extended stay prevented me from following through on any productive PT. The doctor hadn’t placed any restrictions on my activity so I took along my hiking poles to use for support in the ports and just decided I would do as much (or as little) as I felt like. 

Yes…I was a mess, but I’ve seen people in far worse shape on cruises. In fact, what better place to be…no cooking or cleaning for almost 3 weeks!