We spent the first day and a half aboard the Oosterdam at sea, traversing across the Puget Sound and into the Pacific Ocean en route to Glacier Bay National Park. At Puget Sound the seas were still calm and relaxing. But the further out from land we cruised the choppier the waters got. We left Seattle at 4 p.m. on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but by nightfall the ship was already beginning to toss and turn. Monday was even rougher – a steady roll sent the Deck 9 pools sloshing back and forth. By the time evening approached, the barf bags had made their debut by the staircases. It was a little rocky, but those first two days at sea gave us time to get to get to know our wonderful ship.
The first surprise was our stateroom. We’d booked an interior room, the most-budget friendly of the lot. Interior rooms are often a great selection for some because they tend to cut down on the motion sickness since they’re generally located as mid-ship as you can get, and the lack of windows provides a darker night’s sleep, especially in Alaska where the sun rises very early. But I secretly hoped we’d be upgraded to an ocean view room since this was a celebratory cruise and I’d been sure to note the occasions – two birthdays and a honeymoon – when we booked. When we opened our stateroom door we were excited to see that we had indeed been upgraded to an ocean view room!…with a breathtaking view of a lifeboat and all its mechanics. Yup, we got our ocean view room, just with a minimal view of the actual ocean and the occasional surprise appearance of a mechanic directly outside our window, serving the lifeboats. But the window provided the room with some natural light, which was a welcome upgrade and Ted appreciated observing the mechanics of the lifeboats.
Travel Tip # 3: With eleven floors on the cruise ship it can be temping to take the elevators. Take the stairs. With all the eating you’re going to be doing, running up and down those stairs fourteen times a day and exercising your ever-expanding rear end is likely a good idea.
We used the stairs almost exclusively, as I did with my last cruise to the Caribbean. This action is highly recommended! We toured the ship from top to bottom discovering the spa, pools and hot tubs, restaurants, library, coffee shop, bars, casino, dance club, piano bar, art gallery, movie theatre, computer room, photo gallery, lounges, gym, entertainment halls, basketball court, on board shops, decks, and more.
We discovered that Happy Hour occurred daily from 4-5 pm in the Crow’s Nest on deck 10 and the Ocean Bar on deck 3. Happy Hour consisted of a plate of tasty hor’dourves delivered to your window-view table and a buy one drink and get the second for $1 deal. All food aboard the cruise ship, including room service, is covered in the cost of the cruise but alcoholic beverages are an additional charge. What we didn’t realize is that instead of bringing you out your first drink and then waiting for you to order your second drink (perhaps of a different flavor), they bring you two of the exact same drink at the same time. It was a little weird, but mostly funny. We eventually wised up, ordered one happy hour special of a drink we both wanted to try, and split it.
Entertainment wise we enjoyed a funny late night adult comic, a really entertaining illusionist (who was also a great comedian!), ice carving, a string quartet, the marriage and battle of the sexes gameshows, a creme brulee cooking classes with one of the chefs, a kitchen tour, a backstage tour of the theatre with the actors and teach crew, a free-throw basketball contest, a few movies in the movie theatre, and the fun Indonesian crew’s show. We did watch a few of the shows featuring the actors and actresses, but sadly their scenes & songs were so cheesy and so poorly written that the talent of these wonderful dancers (and they were pretty good!) was wasted on sub-par material. We ate in the Vista dining room a few times, had delicious breakfasts with amazing waffles and some lunches in the lido, stocked up on the taco bar (Ted’s dream come true!), and really enjoyed dinner at the Canaletto – the butler served four-course Italian meal with a pre-dessert surprise of a giant plate of fresh cotton candy! I relaxed in the deck 10 hot tub with a serene view of the pine trees and snow-topped mountains, and steamed myself toasty in the sauna. We whipped out our monoculars, wrapped ourselves in wool blankets, and stood on deck to spy on nature, wildlife, and distant islands. And while enjoying a happy hour drink outside on deck we even got an impromptu whale show!
Up next: Glacier Bay!! (and some pretty phenomenal pictures)
