We had a FAB time on Ticket to Cruise. It all began late Saturday afternoon, June 23rd, as we set sail from Vancouver Harbor aboard Holland America's 5 star Zaandam, making our way north to Alaska. Beatle fans from near and far had come together for "8 Days a Week" to celebrate the music and times of the greatest band of all time, The Beatles.

That evening, our group was invited to a VIP cocktail party in the Crows Nest, an observation lounge/bar/disco with sweeping views of land and sea. With an open bar and plenty of savory hors d'oeuvres, we were off to a good start. Ticket to Cruise Producer Linda Wolf welcomed everyone aboard and then turned the program over to emcee Sam Rubin (radio and television entertainment reporter) who introduced our featured musical guests, The Fab Four, the ultimate tribute. Dressed in black suits with black turtlenecks, the lads performed a unique show featuring Beatles tunes from the early days like "Norwegian Wood," "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "No Reply." We sang and danced and partied while this fab band played just for us. The sea was calm but we were rockin'!

The show ended in time for us to make our way to the elegant Rotterdam Dining Room for the first of many sumptuous meals we would enjoy while on board. The dining room was abuzz with excitement about The Fab Four and the multi-course dinner menu. With so many appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, potatoes, vegetables and desserts, it was hard to choose. And, all of this was included in the price of the cruise!

After dinner, TTC passengers went off to do their own thing: explore the ship, take in a Las Vegas-style show, gamble in the casino, have a drink with friends, listen to music, dance the night away, or just hang out on deck and star gaze.

Sunday was our first day at sea and it was the perfect time for lots of Beatle events. We kicked off the day's activities with an original version of the music game show "Name That Tune." Next, special guest Rob Christie gave an extraordinary audio-visual presentation with rare videos and music clips from the very early days of The Beatles. Rob also asked some trivia questions, and if you answered correctly, you got a really cool prize. The morning activities were followed by a couple of free hours to do whatever ... go for a swim, work out, walk the decks, eat lunch, or go shopping.

Our first "really big shew" took place that afternoon on center stage in the ship's main lounge. The Fab Four, dressed in their early Beatles suits, opened the show with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in German. What a surprise! The crowd went wild! With one Beatles favorite after another, The Fab Four captured the hearts of new fans, while endearing themselves even more to their loyal fan base. These guys rock! Going to a Fab Four show is pretty groovy; having them play at your own private event is amazing!

After the show, the stage was re-set for a unique photo opportunity with The Fab Four. Each of our passengers was seated with the guys and the ship's photographer took individual photos. They turned out great! After this, we were off to the Wajang Theatre, the ship's movie theater and meeting room, for "Meet The Fab Four," a candid Q & A session. It was classic!

We finished the Q&A in just enough time to get ready for the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party. Decked out in our best "threads," we met the Captain and partook in more Holland America hospitality. Next we headed to the Dining Room for the Captain's Gala Dinner. After dinner, while most of our passengers went off to enjoy the ship's fine entertainment, Linda and Mick (The Fab Four's sound engineer) went up to the Crows Nest for a night of Karaoke featuring Beatles songs. The place was packed with singers, dancers and folks just having fun. We had tons of requests and before we knew it, it was nearly 2:30 in the morning. By the time we got out of the Crows Nest, it was after 3 and you could still see the mountains and the shoreline silhouetted against the Alaska twilight.

On Monday we held a different type of trivia contest, teaming up passengers to play an original Beatles style version of the popular Millionaire game show. Not only did Rob write all of the 100 multiple choice Beatles trivia questions for the game, he did a great job as host! It was a huge hit with our group and the winners got more cool prizes.

We arrived in our first port of call, Juneau, about noon. Passengers went ashore to discover Alaska and many went on Shore Excursions including helicopter rides to the glaciers, river rafting, flight seeing, kayaking, salmon bakes, a visit to the Red Dog Saloon and more. About 11:00p.m. we left port and since it was still light, the night was "young" which meant we had time for more Karaoke!

The ms Zaandam arrived in Skagway on Tuesday morning. Ticket to Cruise passengers went off in many directions to explore this quaint western town. Some took the train ride to the Yukon, others went horseback riding, and still others toured the town on their own. The weather couldn't have been better - a balmy 80 degrees!

As most would agree, the highlight of an Alaska cruise is to watch the glaciers up close and personal. On Wednesday we did just that and it was extraordinary! We had the most beautiful picture-perfect day imaginable in Glacier Bay: nothing but blue skies and sunshine. We watched the glaciers do their thing (it's actually called calving) and were awestruck as we witnessed ice bergs being born! Besides seeing glaciers, we also saw a grizzly bear on the mountainside opposite the glaciers.

By mid afternoon we had left Glacier Bay and were headed back to the Inside Passage. We used this time at sea for more Beatle events. We opened the Vendors Room where we had Beatles memorabilia for sale. While some passengers browsed, others sat down to watch Beatles videos. It wasn't long before The Fab Four showed up, dressed in their early suits, for an autograph session. Each Ticket to Cruise passenger was given an 8 x 10 glossy Fab Four photo which the guys personalized and signed. About 5pm, everyone cleared the room in a hurry after someone had spotted whales off the bow of the ship!

That evening we held our Retro Party and Costume Event. Our group really went all out with their get-ups! From Go-Go dancers, to English Bobbies, to hippies, we had it all! Prizes were awarded for the "grooviest", the "most far out," and the most authentic outfits.

Following the Costume Event we headed over to the Main Show Lounge for The Fab Four's Sergeant Pepper's show. The band sounded great as always, playing every note live without taped sequences. What a total blast to be back in the 60's at a Sgt. Pepper show dressed up in our own groovy outfits! From glaciers to Sergeant Pepper, Wednesday was one extraordinary "Day in the Life!"

The ms Zaandam stopped in Ketchikan on Thursday. Once again, passengers had a full day to go off and explore Alaska. At the end of the day, when everyone was back on board, we had another photo op with The Fab Four, this time they were wearing their "Pepper" suits. Next the guys teamed up with our passengers and played against each other in a hilarious game of "Fab Four Feud." That night we had more Karaoke, and as usual, the place was packed! We rocked 'til the wee hours.

Friday was another day at sea and we began the day's events with our charity auction, the proceeds going to The Linda McCartney Centre in Liverpool, a new addition to the Royal University Liverpool hospital, dedicated to cancer research and treatment. This was followed by the results of our Scavenger Hunt, all items, of course, were Beatle-related. We opened the Vendors Room one more time for those last minute "must haves." On Friday afternoon, The Fab Four once again took center stage for their fourth show of the cruise. Appearing as the later Beatles, the lads put on yet another remarkable performance. The crowd jumped to their feet with a thunderous standing ovation for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which featured stunning guitar solos by lead guitarist Michael (George). The show came to an end with our group linking arms, swaying and singing along to "Hey Jude," a heartfelt finale for our Celebration at Sea for Beatle fans.

By now we knew that Ticket to Cruise 2001 was coming to an end, but it wasn't over yet! After the show, we got together in the movie theater for another game, an original version of "The Match Game." The band's creative responses to the Beatle-style questions were hilarious and played out perfectly with Sam Rubin's witty ad-libs.

We arrived in Vancouver on Saturday morning and sadly, it was time to say farewell. Over the course of the week we made new friends, spent quality time with family and old friends, and broke away from the reality of our daily lives. We came together to celebrate the music and times of The Beatles, and celebrate we did. As we headed for home, with our heads filled with wonderful memories of people and places and our hearts filled with songs, we knew we had gone through something extraordinary. Long after we are home, no doubt we will look back at this time and imagine we are back aboard our beautiful ship with the sea below, and above us only sky...