Sexy Nerd and I love cruising. Here is a recap and review of our Sea of Cortez cruise on one of our favorite ships, the Holland America Veendam. It was actually two cruise itineraries back-to-back, taking us all the way from northwestern Canada through Mexico.
Visiting the Sea of Cortez is a bucket list item we've already checked off...but would love to do again!
Holland America Veendam
Holland America Veendam, Day #1 - Seattle
After flying to Seattle from Albuquerque, we took the light rail to the Amtrak station, where we were able to check our luggage. Next, it was time to explore the waterfront. Who can resist having their photo taken with a giant penguin? Not me.
We walked to the mall. Sexy Nerd found a more manly penguin for his photo.
Downtown Seattle seemed a bit rough so we made sure to be back at the Amtrak station before dark. The station was undergoing a huge restoration project.
The Amtrak station started with a beautiful, intricate ceiling. Some time during the 60s, someone had the "brilliant" idea to modernize the building - by installing a drop ceiling! I can't believe Amtrak has waited this long to start uncovering the original ceiling.
We arrived in Vancouver shortly before midnight. It wasn't the best initial impression of Canada. We're old fuddy duddys and on Saturday night, Vancouver is a party town!
Holland America Veendam, Day 2 - Vancouver
We had breakfast at the hotel, walked to Starbucks, and took a stroll through the city.
After the party animals go to sleep, Vancouver is quite nice!
This is one of my all-time favorite photos of Sexy Nerd. Perhaps we can move to Canada one day.
These photos were taken near the Canada Place cruise ship terminal.
"Gimme that camera!"
We walked through Stanley Park. Nothing in Albuquerque can compete with it.
Ooh, Canadian geese in Canada!
While strolling through the park, we came across many raccoons, including this mom & baby:
We walked back to the cruise ship terminal, checked in, then continued sightseeing.
The steam clock in Gas Town, which could benefit from a name change:
Next, it was time for some lunch. Holland America Veendam, here we come!
Coolest thing on the ship? Touch-screen game tables in the Mix Lounge.
Weirdest thing on the ship? Every day, they change the rugs in the elevators so that the passengers will know what day of the week it is.
Holland America Veendam, Day 3 - Victoria
Captions coming soon
(yeah, sure!)
Ooooh, houseboats!
(Okay, just 1 caption)
Holland America Veendam, Day 4 - Astoria, Oregon
The day started out so chilly that we didn't plan to leave the Veendam.
Luckily, the sun came out and we went ashore.
Where we had the best fish and chips ever, made with tuna, at Bowpicker Fish and Chips. One whole order was plenty to share.
Bonus: they gave us 6 pieces instead of 5! Woo hoo!
We were surprised to see a New Mexico plate in Oregon. This guy must have really been craving some Bowpicker fish and chips!
We returned to our room to find this cute elephant. As this was only our third-ever cruise and our first on Holland America (the other two were on NCL - both cruise lines are tied as our favorite), we were still easily impressed by towel animals.
Holland America Veendam, Day 5 - At Sea
Our 1st formal night:
And, even better, ping pong!
No running - this is my kind of sport.
Holland America Veendam, Day 6 - At Sea Again
In the "Sassy Sangrias" cooking demonstration at the HAL Culinary Arts Center, the ship's party planner, Bekka, made a LOT of alcohol. (Not Sangria - just a mixture of lots & lots of liquor.) She actually sent a guest to the kitchen to request more bottles of assorted liquors.
How do you become a cruise ship party planner anyway? Is there a way for us to find out which cruises Bekka will be sailing on?
Cruising is exhausting!
You know it's a fancy cruise when they serve unicorn!
After lunch, there was a cute, towel-animal dog waiting for us.
But the room steward forgot to refill our fruit bowl. We needed a way to get his attention so he wouldn't forget again.
We really like fruit.
Holland America Veendam, Day 7 - San Diego
The San Diego stop was sad. It marked the end of the 1st portion of our repositioning cruise - all the polite, classy Canadians left and all the loud, vulgar Americans arrived. The atmosphere on board went downhill quickly after that. Still, we tried to enjoy San Diego.
We love our Starbucks!
The Gaslamp quarter seemed promising, but it was too touristy for us.
We had planned to visit the USS Midway Museum, but the price scared us away.
$17.00 each? No thank you.
Cruising past Cabo San Lucas, which we would be returning to in a few days:
Holland America Veendam, Day 8 - Mazatlan
Una mas cerveza, por favor?
Holland America Veendam, Day 9 - Topolobampo & Los Mochis
Holland America tried to get everyone to sign up for their Copper Canyon excursion. It was described as a 16-18 hour train ride that left at 5 am. The cost? $400 per person. Our entire 2 week cruise was only about $600 per person and we rode on a train to get there. Needless to say, the Copper Canyon tour didn't appeal to us at all.
But there was nothing to do in the industrial town of Topolobampo. Luckily, the city of Los Mochis provided a free shuttle to take cruise ship passengers to their city.
When traveling, I like to try to blend in with the locals as much as possible. To me, this seems like a safe move against thieves who target tourists. It also makes for a more authentic way to experience a different culture.
As for Sexy Nerd, he insisted on bringing the CamelBak backpack instead of water bottles.
And, of course, his safari hat.
Since blending in with the locals had gone out the window, Starbucks seemed like as good a dining option as any in Los Mochis.
The city has a lovely botanical garden with free admission. It's known as the JardÃn Botánico Benjamin Francis Johnston botanic gardens or the Sinaloa Gardens.
I'm a proud tree hugger.
The highlight of our trip was a bakery near the bus stop. Everything was $0.50. We bought 2 pastries that were shaped like ice cream cones, filled with custard, and topped with cherries. They were so good that we went back for 4 more pastries! Our original plan was to bring them back to our room on the ship to enjoy later, but we ended up eating them all on the bus ride back.
I've seriously considered planning another trip to Los Mochis specifically so we can eat at this bakery again. It was just this hole-in-the-wall, run down place, just like so many businesses in Los Mochis, and neither of us remembers the name. Walking near the bus station, we'd probably stumble upon it again, right?
I've seriously considered planning another trip to Los Mochis specifically so we can eat at this bakery again. It was just this hole-in-the-wall, run down place, just like so many businesses in Los Mochis, and neither of us remembers the name. Walking near the bus station, we'd probably stumble upon it again, right?
As for this photo, you are looking at Topolobampo at 1 am. The $400, 16-18 hour train ride returned to the Veendam about 3 hours behind schedule. It turns out that Holland America omitted the little detail about the train derailing whenever there is a flood, which is often.
So glad we skipped the Copper Canyon excursion!
Holland America Veendam, Day 10 - Loreto
This was our favorite destination on our Sea of Cortez cruise.
It's funny how different things can seem when you get home and look at your vacation photos. When we were in Loreto, I could have sworn that the L was there!
Loreto is the way Santa Fe thinks they are.
I would love to paint our house just like this. It's probably a good thing we have a homeowner's association.
There was a cage with 2 birds at one of the shops. I insisted to Sexy Nerd that 1 of the birds was out to get me. He thought I was being ridiculous, but I have the photo to prove it!
On a side note, I thought the flash was turned off. It wasn't. Sorry, little murderous bird.
Of all the beaches we saw on our Holland America Veendam cruise, this one was the ugliest.
It was also the only one we stopped at. Funny enough, the beach was actually much nicer than it looked, especially because its appearance kept other tourists away. We had it entirely to ourselves.
Here is one of the nicer-looking beaches. Forget the sun and sand - we loved the trash cans!
Let's end this recap of our Sea of Cortez cruise with our footprints in the sand photo.
Taking this photo is a non-negotiable requirement for all beach vacations.
Let's end this recap of our Sea of Cortez cruise with our footprints in the sand photo.
Taking this photo is a non-negotiable requirement for all beach vacations.