mk-ultra

Did a quick 2.5 hours ashore in Victoria. Not enough time to really explore, but fine for a nice walk to the wharf and a crab fight.
Came back to a Genie gift. Carved wood salad serving set with Tligit style eagles 🦅 on the handles.  Awesome!  It's really is a personalized gift -- Yen knew I loved cooking.  Her two other cabins got different, equally well thought out gifts.  I spent some time looking for some sort of a Tligit raven to take home that piqued my fancy (no joy -- eagles everywhere).
In Tligit mythology, the raven is the one who releases mankind from a clam shell.  The raven is also a notorious trickster.  I like the raven.  Eagle is beautiful, but raven is me.  A lot of Tligit art has raven, man and clam on one side... and all the other animal spirits on the other having a, "WTF did you do, raven?" moment of stern stares.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

Day 7 - Victoria BC
Brief update since I’m still doing it, but ship docked at 1700 and hit the gangway at 1730.
Immediately got on the path that follows the harbor counter-clockwise. Er, Canada. ANTI-clockwise.  About 8 or 9 minutes into walkies hit Fisherman’s Wharf, which was bustling. OK… must check out.
Oh, seafood shack with local beer flights?  I’m in. 


Unfortunately, there was a very obnoxious 2lb Dungeness crab 🦀 in a tank talking smack. FOB kinda attitude.
So we had it out.  Armed with the mallet of goodness, taught the miscreant a lesson.

And I swear, the deadly goose from Vancouver found me again. Just creepily staring me down

If you want to brutalize a Dungee, don’t dally.  The Fish Store (aka the place with crab) starts rolling up the carpet around 1830. Glad I did it first thing off the ship.

Here is someone on board now in Alaska:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/40727-quantum-of-the-seas-ak-out-of-vancouver-may-8-may-15/
They posted speed test summaries in their thread.
 

The thing about satellite internet on board ships is... it isn't perfect and it's not always consistent. 
Even with Starlink now being used there can be bad times and wifi coverage in cabins can be weak. 
In public areas you can't use laptop speakers but with a good pair of headphones it might be okay.  There will be music in the background, announcements over the PA and in some public areas like Two70 there can be shows or rehearsals blasting out music. 

On Quantum now, heading for Victoria today.  Last brief stop before disembarking in Seattle tomorrow.
Happy to report that Starlink has been very usable for 99% of the cruise — almost everywhere on the ship. One or two minor blips here and there, but no real issues. 😄👍
I was able to do work stuff (ugh) including both SSL and IPSEC VPN and a couple of Webex video meetings. 

Couldn't be ChatGPT. It's actually articulate.
Edit: Le ChatGPT Rant. Not providing the prompt, though it's rather simple. From GPT-3.5 (the free-to-use model).
Hey fellow cruisers,
I need to vent about the absolutely infuriating experience I recently had with Royal Caribbean. Brace yourselves because this is one rant you won't want to miss! So, here's the deal: I had been eagerly anticipating a dream vacation to the Greek Isles on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I meticulously planned, saved up, and counted down the days, only to have my dreams crushed when the company decided to cancel our cruise to charter the ship to a private group. Can you believe the audacity?!
Let me start by saying that I understand chartering happens occasionally. However, it's how Royal Caribbean handled the situation that has left me fuming. They couldn't have cared less about their loyal customers who had booked and paid for this cruise months in advance. It's like they waved a dismissive hand, saying, "Sorry, but we've got bigger fish to fry."
First and foremost, communication was abysmal. I received a generic email, buried in my inbox, informing me of the cancellation. No personalized apology, no explanation, nothing! I was expected to accept their decision and move on as if my vacation plans were insignificant. Well, let me tell you, they were anything but insignificant to me!
What really irks me is that Royal Caribbean clearly prioritized profit over customer satisfaction. Instead of valuing us, the ones who have been loyal to them, they sold out to this private group. I understand that money talks, but what about the people who have supported the company all these years? Do we not matter anymore?
It's not just the cancellation that angered me; it's the lack of compensation or alternatives. Sure, they offered a refund, but that doesn't make up for the countless hours I spent planning and researching this trip. And what about the emotional toll this has taken? The disappointment and frustration of having your long-awaited vacation yanked away without any meaningful explanation? It's simply unacceptable!
To add salt to the wound, Royal Caribbean had the audacity to suggest that we book another cruise at a discounted rate. Are they serious? They expect me to trust them again after this colossal letdown? They think a few dollars off will miraculously heal the wounds they inflicted? No, thank you! I'll take my business elsewhere.
I used to be a staunch advocate for Royal Caribbean, always recommending them to friends and family. But after this experience, they have lost a customer for life. There are plenty of other cruise lines out there that value their patrons and wouldn't dare pull such a stunt.
So, fellow cruisers, beware of Royal Caribbean's lack of respect for their customers. They may seem enticing with their glossy brochures and tempting itineraries, but when push comes to shove, they'll ditch you in a heartbeat for a private group. Let's use our voices and make it clear that we deserve better treatment and transparency from the companies we choose to support.
Thanks for listening to my rant. Together, let's hold Royal Caribbean accountable and ensure they learn from this disgraceful act.

I was bitting my tongue to not address this kind of comments but couldn't do it. 
Calling Costa Maya a slums and a Junk port seems harsh and uninformed. The dock could be called "Costa Maya" but really is the town of Mahahual what you're visiting when you're there. It's a shame you didn't gave yourself the chance to know the place.

Smitha didn't get that memo a couple weeks ago on Allure. She called them snacks, but it was really a second lunch around 2pm everyday.

This is rough.  Anyone who has read my drivel has probably noticed I don't feel a need to be exactly linear on timelines.  So, here goes:
Day 5 - Juneau
Did the "Last Frontier Food Tour"
Because I'm a lazy douchebag, here's the rain-soaked itinerary I've cobbled together:
Started at Taku Smokeries, and nibbled on what are called smoked salmon wings.  Near as I can tell, it's belly salmon meat.  Small, tasty bites.  Be prepared to smell like smoked salmon from that point on.
Next up, Tracy's King Crab Shack.  This is the one of the two places you want to go to be fed if you do Juneau on your own.  Had king crab bisque, a world-class mini crab cake and a salted roll.
I'll abbreviate and mostly ignore the rest.  The stop that competed with Tracy's was Deckhand Dave's for rockfish tacos.  It's a food truck atmosphere and the beer and rockfish tacos there pleased everyone.
As always, I mostly eat food... rather than photograph it.
Also visited Harbor Spice & Tea, Crystal Saloon for a blueberry mojito, and got a half pound of fudge.
2.5 hours of assorted food and drink, but doesn't equal a meal.  Worth doing, but if you only have time to do one thing: make it Tracy's King Crab Shack.  🙂
 

This is rough.  Anyone who has read my drivel has probably noticed I don't feel a need to be exactly linear on timelines.  So, here goes:
Day 5 - Juneau
Did the "Last Frontier Food Tour"
Because I'm a lazy douchebag, here's the rain-soaked itinerary I've cobbled together:
Started at Taku Smokeries, and nibbled on what are called smoked salmon wings.  Near as I can tell, it's belly salmon meat.  Small, tasty bites.  Be prepared to smell like smoked salmon from that point on.
Next up, Tracy's King Crab Shack.  This is the one of the two places you want to go to be fed if you do Juneau on your own.  Had king crab bisque, a world-class mini crab cake and a salted roll.
I'll abbreviate and mostly ignore the rest.  The stop that competed with Tracy's was Deckhand Dave's for rockfish tacos.  It's a food truck atmosphere and the beer and rockfish tacos there pleased everyone.
As always, I mostly eat food... rather than photograph it.
Also visited Harbor Spice & Tea, Crystal Saloon for a blueberry mojito, and got a half pound of fudge.
2.5 hours of assorted food and drink, but doesn't equal a meal.  Worth doing, but if you only have time to do one thing: make it Tracy's King Crab Shack.  🙂
 

My best absorbent party buddies found the still-wrapped RFID enabled soda cup I didn’t even notice.  Booze doesn’t go into it.

This is rough.  Anyone who has read my drivel has probably noticed I don't feel a need to be exactly linear on timelines.  So, here goes:
Day 5 - Juneau
Did the "Last Frontier Food Tour"
Because I'm a lazy douchebag, here's the rain-soaked itinerary I've cobbled together:
Started at Taku Smokeries, and nibbled on what are called smoked salmon wings.  Near as I can tell, it's belly salmon meat.  Small, tasty bites.  Be prepared to smell like smoked salmon from that point on.
Next up, Tracy's King Crab Shack.  This is the one of the two places you want to go to be fed if you do Juneau on your own.  Had king crab bisque, a world-class mini crab cake and a salted roll.
I'll abbreviate and mostly ignore the rest.  The stop that competed with Tracy's was Deckhand Dave's for rockfish tacos.  It's a food truck atmosphere and the beer and rockfish tacos there pleased everyone.
As always, I mostly eat food... rather than photograph it.
Also visited Harbor Spice & Tea, Crystal Saloon for a blueberry mojito, and got a half pound of fudge.
2.5 hours of assorted food and drink, but doesn't equal a meal.  Worth doing, but if you only have time to do one thing: make it Tracy's King Crab Shack.  🙂
 

Didn’t order. Just a Genie surprise since I mentioned food I’m fond of. 
 

This is rough.  Anyone who has read my drivel has probably noticed I don't feel a need to be exactly linear on timelines.  So, here goes:
Day 5 - Juneau
Did the "Last Frontier Food Tour"
Because I'm a lazy douchebag, here's the rain-soaked itinerary I've cobbled together:
Started at Taku Smokeries, and nibbled on what are called smoked salmon wings.  Near as I can tell, it's belly salmon meat.  Small, tasty bites.  Be prepared to smell like smoked salmon from that point on.
Next up, Tracy's King Crab Shack.  This is the one of the two places you want to go to be fed if you do Juneau on your own.  Had king crab bisque, a world-class mini crab cake and a salted roll.
I'll abbreviate and mostly ignore the rest.  The stop that competed with Tracy's was Deckhand Dave's for rockfish tacos.  It's a food truck atmosphere and the beer and rockfish tacos there pleased everyone.
As always, I mostly eat food... rather than photograph it.
Also visited Harbor Spice & Tea, Crystal Saloon for a blueberry mojito, and got a half pound of fudge.
2.5 hours of assorted food and drink, but doesn't equal a meal.  Worth doing, but if you only have time to do one thing: make it Tracy's King Crab Shack.  🙂
 

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.

Okay, where the hell did I leave off?  I've been deliberately doing all the things -- especially ignoring my work laptop and phone.  Conscious decision to be a bit more disconnected on this cruise, because, well, 3 years of not enough vacation time.  😛
So, armed with a Corona in the cabin, picking back up from yesterday:
Day 4 - Sitka
1000 arrival in Sitka.  1145 Tongass Forest Nature Hike.
The hike is billed as "moderate" with +-300' elevation changes, mostly over trail stairs.  Some other non-stepped inclines/declines.  The hike begins from the "Mosquito Cove" trailhead, about a 5 minute van ride north from the port.  Promising name.  Almost foreshadowing (but not really).
I'll start with the track I recorded using the GaiaGPS app.  It's the one I use for serious bizzness hiking or off-roading.  It may help picture what we hiked:

The trailhead is at the south end of that almost totally north/south bit starting where the road crosses it SW to NE.  The Mosquito Cove trail is actually a "loop" trail, but we only did about 1/2 of it... heading north along the water for maybe .75 mile with frequent stops to have some history / nature explained to us.  One naturalist specializing it botany in front, one college student doing a work/study program bringing up the tail end to make sure someone didn't get eaten by a bear or something.
Naturalist guide was very good (and kinda saucily funny).  Student had a bit of a moose-in-the-headlights thing, but warmed up when everyone engaged her.  Learned a lot about the flora and fauna, and the, "volcanic top soil that has a pH which means we don't have mosquitos here."  It took everything I had in me to not raise the hand (I was using to slap a mosquito off of my neck) and ask how the loop trail got its name.
After the N/S out-and-back we hoofed it about 1/2 mile back west down the road and then joined another trail (the squiggly bit at the bottom of the track).  This one did a half loop through a slightly different ecosystem, climbing up to a marshy/bog area very different from anything else we'd seen.  Lots of varying spruce, hemlock (the tree kind, not the poison your emperor or philosopher kind) and some very pretty yellow flowers (skunk something -- I'll dig the name up).  The older ones live up to the name... not in a gross way, but a vaguely "I think I smell a skunk" way.  Came across two of my favorite AK plants: A really big Devil’s Club and some Cow Parsnip  Go ahead and touch ‘em.  Free entertainment for the rest of us  😈
I think GaiaGPS was very accurate on GPS track, distance and time for this hike.  Don't let the 113' foot ascent number throw you off.  Every foot you go up, you come down (hopefully).  Make sure you have shoes that don't jam your toes going downhill.  That gets old, fast.  Glad I brought all my usual hiking duds and not just the around town stuff.
Weather was good to excellent.  Rain didn't really start until we'd pulled away from the dock.  🙂
Photo dump:








Din-din was at Wonderland.  Slightly hit-and-miss.  Mostly hit.
Miss: tomato water served in a test tube with some oddball sodium alginate molecular gastronomy "sphere" in it.  That stuff was done to death by Grant Achatz a decade ago and needs to be sent to wherever things like that go to die.
Miss: vegetable garden thing served on the weirdest deformed bean shaped "plate" ever -- guaranteed to dump your silverware in your lap at least twice.  Water-logged veg allegedly blanched, served on some tasteless "soil" -- with (god help me) bear scat looking chunks of freeze-dried foie gras.  Absolutely nothing about it worked.  Except the one, lonely, slightly pickled beet.  The beet should just be served on it's own shining dish where it can be properly admired.  Don't F with the beet.
Hit: crispy crab cone.  Top layer is a gauc-like avocado puree, with crab below, and at the very bottom of the cone a little wasabi land mine to clear your sinuses.  I love wasabi.
Hit: crispy wrapped (and sadly only one) shrimp with a habanero foam to dip it in.  Win.  WIN.  WIN.  More shrimp, please.  Foam had some heat to it, but nothing that will send you running to put your mouth (or other end) out.
Hit: tuna tartare, served in a scooped out lime, with a citrus granita and some tobico eggs on top.  Bonus when you sneak some of the leftover habanero foam over to that plate.
Hit: entree was the branzino with a kinda fake skin on top made from finely crushed panko, some jasmine rice underneath, surrounded by a sweet/sour tamarind sauce.   Win.  I don't know what it is with RCI and branzino, but it's always been one of my faves no matter how they prepare it.
Mostly miss: dessert was that massive chocolate "world" globe they melt down with some hot caramel sauce.  It's got some peanut butter ice cream inside sitting on top of a chocolate ganache.  Meh.  That's dessert overkill -- like fire-hosing the room with sugar syrup.  Too much going on for it to really taste like anything.  I dare you to let your kid have one and chase it with a double-espresso.
Tomorrow is a sea day.  Bridge tour, custom Filipino lunch served in my cabin (go Yen -- Genies pull off some cool stuff even without explicitly asking)!  First time I've ever had room service / in-room dining on a ship.  I'm usually low-touch.  Then a bridge tour.  Then Escape Room.  Then Jamie's.  Then totally face-plant.
I'll try to backtrack and write-up Day 5 tomorrow.  Last Frontier Food Tour.
 
 
 
 

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.

Bah. Cafe270 has a “Kummelweck” roast beef sandwich. One of my RC favorites. 

Served on a rock-hard, dried-out cumin seed (not caraway) roll: fail. 

Served with industrial brown gravy, not au jus: fail.
Just call it a shitty roast beef sandwich and stop maligning the mighty Kummelweck  
At least they were playing some Tom Waits in 270. Unexpected nice surprise 😄

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.

Bah. Cafe270 has a “Kummelweck” roast beef sandwich. One of my RC favorites. 

Served on a rock-hard, dried-out cumin seed (not caraway) roll: fail. 

Served with industrial brown gravy, not au jus: fail.
Just call it a shitty roast beef sandwich and stop maligning the mighty Kummelweck  
At least they were playing some Tom Waits in 270. Unexpected nice surprise 😄

The “surprise” in-cabin lunch was both fantastic and overwhelming.  3 level cart shows up. OK. They put 3 covered dishes on the cabin dining table. Smells awesome!  Cool 👍
Then they unload the second level of the cart. My eyebrow goes up. More?
Then they unload the 3rd level.  Dear god.  Table is totally covered with food. Then the plates and silverware for 4 people (I’m solo).  I’m beginning to think I’m being pranked.
So, view of lunch facing our wake:
 

 
No description of the food as it was unloaded onto the table, but I’m decent at IDing grub, so here goes:
Crispy Filipino lechon (pork belly) with a dipping sauce I’m pretty sure was soy sauce, vinegar, green onion and a little cane sugar.
Adobo chicken drumsticks.
Adobo-ish pork (only meh thing).
On the Indian side:
Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable basmati
Chana masala
Raita and a bunch of papadums.

There are two guys working our rear cabins: Kumal and Mark. I think Kumal is the section leader (dark uniform) and Mark is the attendant.  Kumal appears to be the towel animal genius.  Both are amazing dudes. 😊

Hey !  That giraffe stole the monkey's hat !  I think this is officially a "gang" at this point.  They appear to be very malevolent.  All points bulletin required for the starfish/aardvark.  MIA
Seriously, there is a very very talented towel artist in your midst.  Congrats.  Is it Jesus ?  His specialty is really the small towel animals, but this is on par with his work.

Hello?  Security?  May have a towel issue.