Cold and clammy Kalama

by | Oct 13, 2025 | Uncategorized

Our first stop on this seven-night cruise is the Washington port of Kalama, billed as the “gateway to Mt. St. Helens.” 98% of the people on board were scheduled to take an afternoon trip by “luxury motor coach” to see St. Helens’ crater and stop by the visitor center. When Kathleen and I saw the weather (having visited Mt. St. Helens numerous times before), we decided to stay on board, and I could finish yesterday’s post. The other four members of our group decided to go ahead and go, as they had never seen the mountain before.

Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal. In fact, for most of the morning, it had been pouring. When they headed out just after lunch, they had high hopes that the clouds would be below them at the summit, but instead, they found themselves in the clouds rather than above them. As my brother Steve said (in a text from the “luxury motor coach”), “We got a nice bus ride.”

But later in the afternoon, while the buses were up in the clouds, the sky cleared for a little bit here in the port city of Kalama, so I got a chance to get off the ship and walk to the new Marketplace building, the port’s Interpretive Center and all the way into town without getting very wet from the passing showers.

This means I took some great photos (at least I think they are), especially one that showcases a very unique feature of our ship. When we sailed up to the Kalama dock, for some reason, we did not stop there. Instead, the captain went a ways down the bank and shoved the nose of the ship directly into the side of the river bank. Then, the front of the bow lifts up, and that’s how we got off and on the ship yesterday. I know it sounds strange, but here’s what it looks like in a photo I took after exiting the ship myself.

After exiting out of Harmony’s bow and getting up to the bank, there was a very nice walkway that took me all the way down to the entrance to the Mountain Timber Market. Think of this as a kind of mini-mall full of cool little shops and other attractions to entice travelers like me to spend some cash. I took a few pictures of this part of the walk that I can share.

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If you are ever driving south on I-5 and need a break, this would not be a bad place to stop. Really, a super building with lots of great shops, not to mention that totem pole.

After visiting the Market and listening to the great music, I headed further towards downtown. I shot a few more photos of the very nice park-like riverbank. There was an outdoor totem pole, a very nice hotel, and, of course, the river itself.

From the hotel, you can stroll past the marina, climb up three rickety, swayin’ metal stairs, cross a bridge over the railroad tracks, then come down even more rickety stairs to reach downtown Kalama. The town—more of a highway-side village—was mighty quiet on a Sunday afternoon. I was looking for a birthday card to send to a close friend, and honestly, the only option available was the local supermarket, which, it turned out, had a surprisingly fine selection of birthday cards. As I mentioned, downtown is really charming and quaint, so I’ve included some photos to give you a sense of the place.

After finding that birthday card, a funny magnet to act as a gift and some cool Christmas ornaments, it was back to the ship for me. On the way, what else? A few more photos to share.

One mystery I would like solved is that the last photo in that group was taken from a very nice pier that would have fit our ship perfectly. We know that because we drove by this pier on Monday on our way to Portland, and one of Harmony’s sister ships was attached to that pier. It would have made it a lot easier for all of us to access that Marketplace as well as the port’s Interpretive Center. No ships were docked there all day, so I have no clue why we didn’t use it.

That about covers Kalama. We had a great day with some very nice food and drink, which I will cover in another post.

There’s nothing greener than Washington state. They have the most beautiful vegetation on the planet. And the water is so clean.   —Fabio Lanzoni

 

Expectations Exceeded!

by | Oct 12, 2025 | Uncategorized

We have never sailed on American Cruise Lines (ACL) before. When speaking with people who have experienced it or reading reviews online, the results are typically mixed. Some love it, others not so much. One member of our Trilogy Travel Club really dislikes them, while another has taken three cruises with them and loved two of them and is going again. So, expectations were not high, but I came into this with an open mind.

As I write this, we are moored in Kalama, Washington, where 99% of the passengers will disembark to see Mt. St. Helens. Kathleen and I have decided to skip the three- to four-hour ride on the “luxury motor coach” and stay on board. We have been to the Mount St. Helens visitor center several times, and the weather is VERY rainy and cloudy (typical Pacific Northwest weather), so photos would look pretty dull. This led us to stay on the ship.

By the way, since I have been on board for almost a full day, I have decided this is a ship. It’s much too big to be a boat. We are on board the American Harmony. That’s her photo above that I stole from their website because I don’t feel like getting off and getting too soaked to take one myself. Hope that’s OK. I promise to get one myself later on the cruise, maybe when the weather improves in Eastern Washington.

Now, back to the trip. When you sail with ACL, you get an extra night at the hotel included before your cruise. At the hotel, everyone was informed of the departure time on Saturday morning and that their luggage should be ready to go by 7:00 am. Strangely enough, we were told to leave our luggage in the room, and they would come to pick it up—not outside in the hallway like on other cruises we’ve been on. There were then two options for departure. Some of the people taking the cruise would do a free pre-boarding excursion to Multnomah Falls. Since the six of us had visited the falls earlier in the week, we left the hotel at 11:00 am. We’re very glad we did because the ship carried more than 135 people; when we visited earlier, there was hardly anyone there. My photos from that day clearly show how great we had it. I think that other than the six of us, there were fewer than 20 people there.

Since most people were taking the falls tour, when it was time for the rest of us to head to the ship, there were only six of us and one other couple left. So, we got a really nice Mercedes Sprinter van for our 45-minute drive to where the ship was moored in Stevenson, Washington. We had originally been told we would board much further downriver, in the northern part of Vancouver, Washington, but the river levels at the edges were low, which meant we had to go further upriver, where dams controlled the water levels.

Once we arrived at the dock, it was a quick (but wet) walk to the gangplank, and we were on board. Since they had picked up our luggage at 7:00 am, it was already in our room (which was nice), so we could unpack and head to lunch. Here’s a quick look at our stateroom. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. Feel free to look at them on your phone. These aren’t meant to be art, just informational photos.

One of the benefits of being on Deck 4 is that both the River Lounge at the front of the ship and the Sky Lounge at the back of the ship are on our floor. The River Lounge is where performances, lectures, and other fun activities take place. Last night, our entertainment was a very funny guy named Kevin Neil. His performance was called “Cowboys and Curmudgeons” and, as I said, was hilarious in a dad-joke kind of way.

Here’s a merged panoramic photo of the River Lounge. Unlike the ship photo at the top of the page, you can click on the panoramas, and they will enlarge to fill your screen, allowing you to see the details if you want.

The Sky Lounge is a really nice space that combines a mini buffet, living room, game room, and snack bar all in one. It offers chairs, couches, and snacks available around the clock, along with complimentary drinks, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. I am currently sitting on a very comfortable couch, enjoying a large glass of lemonade while writing this post. Here’s another panoramic shot of the Sky Lounge. On the far right in the back, you can see a bar that serves drinks throughout the day and evening, and it also serves as an alternative breakfast spot if you prefer to skip the dining room for that meal. We dined there this morning, and I had some really good lox and bagels with all the toppings, plus an excellent blueberry scone. By the way, the coffee on this ship is excellent, which is saying a lot because I am very picky about my coffee ?.

Behind the Sky Lounge is an open deck area with a few places to hang out when it’s not raining, as well as an alternative food option if you are not feeling like what’s being served in the dining room for breakfast or lunch that day. It does burgers, hot dogs, wraps for lunch and oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich in the morning. There is also a large deck for outdoor seating when the weather is better. Much of it is covered, but so far it has been empty due to the cold. Here’s a shot of the Sun Deck and the Back Porch Cafe.

That’s about it for Deck 4. Deck five above us only has staterooms and a little-used sun deck. But it is a great place to go and take photos when it’s not raining. For instance, I took this merged panoramic from up there as we headed west. It’s the “Bridge of the Gods.” We had seen it near Hood River last Wednesday when we drove out this way.

Deck three consists solely of staterooms and the pilot house/bridge, although decks 2, 3, and 4 feature a special alcove that we will discuss in a minute. On deck two aft is the gym. It’s a somewhat unusual gym/exercise area because, while one side features a variety of workout equipment, the other is equipped with tables and chairs that can be used for playing cards or enjoying drinks. Not sure I want to do that while I smell the sweaty folks working out, but you do your thing, I’ll do mine ?. Here’s a pano of that interesting room.

Deck two also has the laundry. Essentially, this consists of three stacked washers below three dryers in a small room, roughly the size of our closet at home. It is nice to be able to do some laundry, especially when we have already been on the road for six days and are trying to limit our luggage so it fits in the fan. It has been really busy until this afternoon. Strangely enough, the washer/dryer units are exactly the same ones Viking Ocean ships have. And since there is one laundry room on every deck on Viking Ocean ships with 950 guests and just one room on this ship with fewer than 200 guests, it’s really not that bad.

Another thing I really appreciate about this ship is the elevator that stops at every floor. Not for me, since I usually take the stairs on a cruise, but for Kathleen, who has knee and hip issues. I also like that around the elevator on decks 2, 3, and 4, there is a small, cozy room with couches, chairs, and tables. These are great spots to play games (with many options available), assemble a jigsaw puzzle (many are provided), or simply read a book (they have a small library). Here are pictures of each one.

I think that about does it for today. I just wanted to give you an idea of what the ship looks like. YIKES! I just realized I don’t have a shot of the dining room. A room that truly exceeded our expectations. It’s big, there is a very large amount of space between tables, and our waiter (and others) only have two tables to deal with each, so the service is amazing. More about that and the food tomorrow. Here’s a photo I took with my iPhone from just before lunch yesterday.

To sum up and conclude the headline…so far, American Cruise Line is far exceeding what I thought I would get. Except for a few small glitches (to be detailed later), I am totally impressed.

Exceeding expectations is where satisfaction ends and loyalty begins.  —Ron Kaufman