In April 2023, we took a Holland America Line (HAL) cruise from Yokohama, Japan to Seattle, Washington, USA.

We were assigned a 5 PM check in time and we had to double-check to make sure it was correct. That’s practically dinner time!!

So we waltzed into the terminal a few minutes before 5 PM and it was a breeze. One of the nice things about a late check in time is that there’s a whole lot less chaos and people to deal with. We had checked in online and completed the health info on VeriFLY in advance so we were processed and sitting in our cabin in under 15 minutes. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and our luggage had arrived.

We had booked a guaranteed inside cabin and HAL upgraded us to a cabin with a view on deck 1. Thanks HAL! We don’t typically book a window cabin but it’s nice because the room is larger! We book guaranteed rooms and let the company decide which cabin we should get. It’s worked out well for us in the past and we save money.

A short while after we were enjoying the spaciousness of our cabin, the captain ding-donged in on the PA and let us know that our first port of call, Kushiro, Japan, was cancelled due to weather. Eek!

We were really looking forward to having a day in Hokkaido before the crossing. Kushiro seems like a quaint and quiet city in the north and we would have liked to experience that after almost a week in bustling Tokyo.

The captain stated that they tried to find an alternative port but was not able to. Instead we got an overnight stay in Yokohama, with the sail away moving to 5 PM the following day.

So we got an extra day in Yokohama. We enjoyed the onboard hot tubs at night and breakfast onboard the next morning before checking out different neighborhoods in Yokohama. We also stocked up on various soft drinks, bubbly water, and whiskey.

Did you know Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan (behind Tokyo)? We didn’t know that until we were looking for things to do for the extra day. We walked for a few hours and covered about six miles just exploring. To be honest we didn’t find anything else interesting with our bonus day. Although we did enjoy walking along the waterfront park and admiring the garden displays.

Once back onboard I joined fellow cruisers to learn all about pickleball. I’ve been really interested to learn but intimidated by the quickness of the game. There’s also quite an enthusiasm around this game and a lot of people hopping on and off courts.

HAL has set up an inclusive way to share the one sport-court on the Westerdam. They now offer beginner introductory courses, plus tournaments, and reserved time slots throughout the day. This ensures folks at all levels can enjoy. (And allows for basketball and other sports at different times.)

Sail Away

On the way out of Tokyo Bay, we went under the Yokohama Bay Bridge. We’ve sailed under a few bridges over the past year. Each time has been fun to be out on the upper decks to witness the small clearance!

As we watched the sun set over Japan, we knew that this would be the last land we would see for another week, and that our next stop would be back to our home country, the United States.

Sea Days!

I woke up early on day two to learn more about pickleball and was the only person that showed up. It was quite windy. Even Corey didn’t want to play with me.

Later in the day, I sat in our window sill and watched as the waves rose and fell next to the ship. I love that sound of the sea foam hissing and swooshing as the different wave peaks gnashed into each other. This would become my major activity for the day as we crossed the Pacific Ocean.

The next few sea days were quite rough with waves coming as high as 21 feet. Neither of us got sick but we were thankful to have a cabin on a lower deck and midship. That’s where folks feel the least amount of motion of the ocean. Check out these videos on Insta and YouTube to see what the waves were really like.

When I was not perched in my window book nook, we walked around indoors, played in the casino just a little, and met up with friends.

Friends??!!

Yeah! There were about a dozen folks from the Go With Less travel community onboard. We had not booked the cruise for that reason, but we found out after we booked. It was great because we would meet during the sea days and exchange travel knowledge, tips and tricks, gadgets and gear, etc.

Kal and Mary, the couple that joined us at Tokyo Disney, were also on the cruise and part of this group. So it was great to spend more time with them, plus making other new friends who embrace a nomadic lifestyle.

More Sea Days!

The weather continued to be wet, windy, and rough, so I didn’t get to play pickleball again until April 28th. Well, the first April 28th, that is. When we crossed the International Date Line we had a second April 28th! Let’s call them A and B.

The outside decks had been closed because of the high seas and wind. But the sun came out on April 28 (A) and we were able to go outside and walk again. We walked around Deck 10 and then basked in the sunlight on the lido deck in lounge chairs. Then I joined the group on the sport court to play pickleball. It was perfect weather and the wind was blowing just right that it did not impede the game too much. I ended up playing for like three hours. I even got a sunburn!

April 28 (B) rolled in with clouds and slight seas. It was another lazy day sleeping in until lunchtime.

We hurled across the sea at about 20 knots per hour. The days sped by as well and each night we set the clocks forward one hour. It made the days shorter and after seven sea days back-to-back that’s not such a bad thing.

Kodiak, Alaska, USA

Our first port of call was Kodiak, the main town on Kodiak Island. It is the second largest island in the United States, slightly smaller than the Big Island of Hawaii. Neither of us had visited Kodiak before.

We did not book any excursions. It’s just not our style. So we went ashore just after disembarkation was available.

The town provided a shuttle bus for those unable to walk the mile into town from the port. The shuttles were repurposed school buses that had delivered kids that morning, as Kodiak has no commercial buses. The sun was shining but the wind nipped at our gloveless fingers and cheeks.

The path to town passed by Ocean Beauty and other fishing company names familiar to us from the Pacific Northwest. Eventually we got to “town” and beelined for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

It was a beautiful center with loads of information about Kodiak bears, salmon, and whales. There’s even a 36-foot gray whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling.

It was an impressive collection that provided a nice overview of the area.

Just down the road the Alutiiq Museum was also open. Admission was $7 USD per adult. The museum teaches about the local tribe’s history, language, art, customs, and their relationships with the Russians and westerners who explored and colonized south-central Alaska.

It was a small museum and took about an hour to walk through, including the gift shop filled with handiworks from local Alaska artists. I was tempted to purchases a pair of seal-fur puff earrings but Corey told me they were not practical for traveling.

From there we ambled about town for the next few hours. We discovered not one, not two, but three Filipino food trucks! We dined at one, which had good fare, but we were shocked at the price of food in the US!

We eventually came to a nice park with trails on Near Island. The bear-aware signs scared us since we had just learned that Kodiak has a very high concentration of bears, and the spring is when they wake up and emerge to eat. We followed a trail for about five minutes, saw a pile of scat (probably a dog), and decided to turn around. We simply weren’t mentally or physically ready for a bear encounter. Corey felt more confident about it than me and that’s because he can run faster than me! (As demonstrated in Whistler about five years ago when we saw a black bear.)

We saw a handful of bald eagles roaming the skies and perched on high. Though we have a ton in the Seattle area, it is still exhilarating to catch a view of these amazing animals!

So we walked through town again stopping to admire the Russian and American history in Kodiak since Kodiak was the second Russian settlement in what is now known as Alaska.

There was also a large earthquake and tsunami in 1964. In fact, the 9.2 rumbler was the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America. The subsequent 30-foot tsunami waves pounded Kodiak and the area for 10 hours.

Multiple waves destroyed the large boat marina, many homes, and there was even a marker on the street signifying how high the water reached on that fateful day.

Our day in Kodiak ended with a gorgeous sail away! The sun continued to shine brightly and all the snowy mountain peaks, that were fogged in and cloudy in the morning, were standing tall and showing off as we slowly maneuvered around the island and headed down south.

We sat in our favorite sail away location: lido deck aft! We chatted with some friendly Australians and other friends we had made already onboard.

Sitka, Alaska, USA

It is loved by so many cruisers, but I often refer to Sitka as my least favorite Alaska port. It does not have the same charm as Ketchikan or offer the breadth of activities that Juneau does. The new cruise ship pier is also outside of town, so passengers have to take a shuttle to actually get in to town, too. The shuttle is free but that means you have less time to enjoy your time ashore since you have to factor in the shuttle times.

The town itself is fine but the best way to enjoy Sitka is to get out of the main core to view and enjoy wildlife. Sitka is teeming with all kinds of beautiful and fascinating animals!

Fortress of the Bear

From downtown Sitka, we took the public bus to the Fortress of the Bear which is about five miles east. This sanctuary was established in 2003 in an industrial park on the grounds of a former paper pulp mill.

It took a number of years to get the place up and running, and it currently houses eight bears. There are two large circular sections which house the brown bears and the outside section houses the black bears.

There is a natural creek that runs through the sanctuary and the owners keep the environment as similar to real life as possible. For example, they add live salmon in the summer so the bears can hunt like they would in the outside world.

Why are the bears there?

They are rescues from all over Alaska with some kind of disadvantage like a missing mother or having survived a gunshot wound. In short, these are all bears that are not suited for life in the wild, and would likely have been euthanized.

We stayed for hours and enjoyed watching them play, fight, swim, eat, and lounge. Here’s a collection of videos to see on Youtube. There are multiple indoor and outdoor viewing areas so admirers of all ages can enjoy watching no matter what the weather is like.

Alaska Raptor Center

The Raptor Center has a large campus with a creek running through the middle. There is an abundance of birds-of-prey: eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls.

Outside there are habitat areas, both small and large. The larger areas allow for the eagles to socialize with each other, and allowed for us to hear the comical sounds of eagle chatter. It does not sound fierce!

Inside is an demonstration area where birds are shown and described. There is also the Bald Eagle Flight Training Center, where injured eagles are allowed to rehabilitate without fear: they cannot see into the darkened viewing areas.

Sitka National Historic Park

Just outside of downtown is an open-air park, the site of a battle between Russian traders and the indigenous Tlingit people. Throughout the park are totem poles, and there is a resident totem pole carver who was hard at work when we visited.

We walked through here from the Raptor Center as we strolled back to town. The sun was shining brightly and it was a beautiful day to explore!

Transportation

A day pass on the public bus is $5 USD. Adding the entrance fees we paid, our cost for the day was about one-third of the cost of a similar shore excursion, either provided by the cruise line or purchased privately. And some tour operators have exclusive arrangements with the cruise lines and will refuse to book you directly if you are coming from a cruise ship. Figure out your own way and you can save money and not be stuck on a tour’s schedule!

Ketchikan, Alaska, USA

One of my favorite cruise ports from around the world! The town is charming, walkable, and very easy to get to: the ships dock right downtown!

The highlight of visiting Ketchikan this time was that we got to see our friend, Stefani! She was working with Holland America Line on the MS Nieuw Amsterdam, and our ships were docked at the same time!

We did some of the usual (and for me, nostalgic) things about town while we waited for Stefani to finish her morning shift.

Eventually we all met up for lunch. We had a great time catching up and talking about ships! It was okay that we were not out touring around more as we were already booked for an Alaska cruise just a week after we got back to Seattle.

Seattle, Washington, USA

Seattle was the end of the itinerary, and the reason we booked this transpacific cruise. It’s more fun than flying home! Once we were cleared to leave, we walked off with our luggage and took an Uber to a friends house. Danielle and Mark Perry have been so kind to let us stay in their guest room on-and-off all summer! We’ve loved all the time we’ve gotten to spend with them and their little boys.