Black Tot Day | Thebeerchaser

In 2014, Janet and I took a Holland America cruise down the Inside Passage from Anchorage to Vancouver, BC with her sister, Linda Nelson and husband, Dick. The nine-day trip commenced with a train ride from Anchorage to Denali National Park.

After one and one-half days at the Park, we returned by bus to Whittier where we boarded the SS Statendam for the remaining seven and one-half days. The trip was wonderful as might be evidenced by the photos below:

When our good friends, Jeff and Susan Nopper, with whom we’ve done several previous cruises, asked us if we would repeat our Alaska trip with them (they had never been) we readily agreed. The itinerary was pretty much identical to our 2014 voyage only this time on the Nieuw Amsterdam – a slightly smaller ship, albeit still a very large vessel.

It accommodates just over 2,000 passengers and 900 crew members with a length of 936 feet and width of 106 feet. Launched in Venice in 2009, it had all of the amenities of the larger ship.

Although it was not mentioned in the Holland America material, I was not overly concerned about the ship’s grounding incident in 2017 when strong winds blew her from her mooring and snapped her lines in Mexico and the collision with another vessel in 2019 while docking in Vancouver, BC. (Wikipedia)

I have to give Janet credit for this vacation because although I love cruising, she’s not totally enamored with the experience even though she has enjoyed the three we’d taken. Part of that may be because she is prone to seasickness. She only experienced that to a limited extent, however, on our cruise to the Panama Canal.

So, she checked with our wonderful primary-care physician who prescribed an anti-nausea skin patch for motion sickness. The physician isn’t a fan because they can have some side effects, but due to the limited duration and that Janet might not even need it, she wasn’t overly concerned.

Janet went to fill it and the pharmacist stated, “You should not use this while drinking alcohol,” which caused my wonderful spouse of forty-five years to do a double-take and respond, “Well that may be a challenge.”

That’s because of the somewhat ridiculous marketing ploy by Holland America. The “benefit” below was not one we requested but just added as part of the basic cost.

For each day of the nine-day cruise, each passenger on our package receives fifteen drinks. Now basic coffee and soft drinks don’t count although my daily Americano and Janet’s latte did, but we laughed and figured given the circumstances, she would just avoid the patch.

The daily drink quota seemed absurd and if one consumed even a good part of that amount, he or she might need the patch to keep from throwing up ingested alcohol rather than vomiting from seasickness. (#1)

Here’s today’s allotment Mr. Williams

Not to get overly involved in a discussion about alcohol, but I had to laugh at a blog doing a cost-benefit analysis on the issue which stated, “Unlike some cruise lines that offer truly unlimited beverage packages, Holland America line has a cap of 15 drinks per day.” (emphasis added) Really!? Perhaps the blogger should further explain that distinction.

I might add that the beer selection was really poor, so I was more than comfortable deferring to my drink-of-choice when it’s not an IPA or Miller High Life (in a bottle) – a gin martini, up and with olives.

Janet also pointed out that notwithstanding those from the gin and given the outstanding cuisine each day, fifteen martinis with three olives (an absolute requirement) would be forty-five additional calories.

Each olive is about five to seven calories. In addition, one health-related website advised that more than 10 to 15 olives daily presents some sodium concerns…..(#2 – #3)

Not to belabor the point, but the only other concern with the drink package was resolved with my due diligence before the cruise. Given the aforementioned collision and grounding, I wanted to make sure that the ship’s officers and the bridge crew were not also eligible for the fifteen-drink daily allotment.

For those interested in naval history, the traditional daily grog (rum) ration on ships – known as the “daily tot” was essentially ended in 1970 (at least in the British Navy) on what became known as “Black Tot Day.”) (#4)

No more daily “tot” for these guys.

It should be noted, notwithstanding my attempt at humor above, that the crew of Holland American (HA) ships are exceptional mariners. Take the captain of our ship – one Bas van Dremel.

He was born in The Netherlands and attended the prestigious Willem Barentsz Maritime Institute. van Dremel first worked for HA when he was still in school as a cadet in 1995 and then after graduation for the next twenty-eight years rising from navigator to the rank of Master (Captain) of several different HA vessels.

Those who had contact with the Captain on the ship said that he was both articulate and personable. (#5)

Personable and Articulate

Why Cruise Alaska?

There are those who scoff at cruises as a way to expand one’s travel horizons. To really see the western coast of Alaska and sights such as Glacier Bay, I would suggest it’s the most effective from a standpoint of cost and time. Some prefer booking on smaller vessels, but exploring by car presents some real challenges.

Below is the itinerary showing the three ports we visited after our two-day visit to Denali National Park. The days without a port call and just “scenic cruising” such as on Glacier Bay were my favorite.

While many of the passengers took part in activities such as origami folding, coloring for adults, a Sjoelen (table shuffleboard) tournament, a ladies pamper party (?) or creating designs from doodles, I just went out on our veranda with a book (and sometimes a martini -one of the fifteen…) and reveled in the panoramic surroundings.

Oregon is a beautiful state; however, Alaska is almost unbelievable for the ongoing 360-degree scenic vistas – I mean sensory overload!

Before leaving for the morning train trip to Denali National Park, we had an afternoon and evening in Anchorage. Of course, I prevailed on our party to have pre-dinner beers at one of my favorite (in the top five) bars of the 400+ I’ve reviewed since starting Thebeerchaser in 2011.

In the next post, I’ll tell you in detail why if you are ever in Anchorage, you have to experience the dive bar ambiance and character of Darwin’s Theory. Stay tuned! (#6)