Cruise Animals

One of the things to look forward to on a cruise are the towel animals you get each night. I'm pretty sure we got a lobster, bear (dog), manatee, and the last night was an elephant.

The cruise that mom and dad booked for us included gratuities, however we all agreed our cabin stewards deserved something more. They did an awesome job taking care of us. So we did something more for them. Mom and Dad's cabin had already been done for the night and they were working on ours (we were side by side). We cleared out Keno (one of our cabin stewards was terrified of dogs and once we realize it we tried to be conscious of it as much as we could. Keno is a family fixture so we messed up sometimes when he was in the other cabin), and Mom and Dad came over to give them something extra. Then I did the same for Nichole and I. And then we all cleared out.....


Nichole and I got an elephant    Our room stewards were Indonesian, and in their culture an elephant is good luck. It's the only one that didn't follow the sea/Alaska creature theme.

Handa and Hakim on Holland America ms Amsterdam are amazing! They asked at the beginning how to address Nichole and I, and I said by our first names. And they did. They would see us in the hallway at any time and know us by name. They would say good morning or welcome us home in the afternoon and ask how things went.

I asked one if I could asked where he was from, which he answered Indonesian and immediately asked where I was from. That's always a trick question for me. Most people only hear Vancouver and then think Canada. Explaining Vancouver, WA to someone who speaks English as a second language is fun.....but it really was fun this time.

Keno

I went on my first cruise last week, and I have more post/pictures to follow.  But one thing to note:  I was traveling with my family, which included my sister and her service dog Keno.  Keno is a yellow lab who is amazing.  He's the sweetest thing ever and he loves my sister.




Keno's selfie.




The selfie outtake.



Getting a picture on the deck.



Keno and happy hour  :)



We were able to open the veranda between the two suites.    Keno couldn't quite open the stateroom door though ....  but he's ready to go!



Kudos to Holland America.  They were very accommodating to having a service dog on board.  He had is own 'litter box' at the end of our deck, with real grass.  Having two adults in the stateroom left him little space to sleep so we asked for a sheet that we covered the sofa bed with and it worked out perfectly.  He could go between our room and Mom & Dad's next door after the veranda door was opened.  The ship made a note that all four of us were family so any of us could take him off the ship in port and not have an issue, which helped in Juneau when Nichole had an excursion she couldn't take Keno on, Grandma was dog sitting and my excursion was cancelled.  Keno and I hung out a on bench while Grandma shopped in a quilt store.

Traditions

When the grandpas traveled, they tried to get pictures of each of them sleeping.  This was the best I could do to uphold the tradition.