Captain Bos aka Captain Alaska, The Joy of Cruising Podcast, 8/24

I am delighted to welcome Captain Peter Bos to The Joy of Cruising Podcast this week. In a section called “Ship Life” in the just-released The Joy of Cruising Again I tried to provide readers a sense of what life onboard a cruise ship was like for crew, staff and officers, and wrote about several past and present cruise line employees. I am honored Captain Peter Bos agreed to be featured in the book.

Captain Bos retired from Holland America Line (HAL) in March 2018, after 37 years with HAL and 44 years at sea. He was the longest-tenured Captain at HAL when he retired. At the time he retired, Captain Bos was the captain of the Vista-class MS Noordam. Captain Bos traversed the world regularly, as Captain on ships with world cruise itineraries such as Rotterdam and Prinsendam. However, he is known best by HAL fans for his travels to Alaska, garnering the nickname, Captain Alaska, not just because of how much time he spends taking ships there, but the knowledge he routinely shares with his passengers about their surroundings in Alaska—wildlife and glaciers. As one Captain Bos fan I quoted in The Joy of Cruising Again said, “He makes you feel like he’s found something wonderful and can’t wait to show you.”

Captain Bos lives with his wife Kathryn on Lake Hickory in North Carolina, not that far from where I live, so a couple of our interviews for The Joy of Cruising Again were in person. When I was trying to get an official headshot from HAL of Captain Bos in uniform, because he lives so close, he offered to get dressed in his uniform and take a photo. I declined that gracious offer and ultimately did receive a photo from HAL. I told Captain Bos “I wish I could fit in my work clothes four years after retirement!”

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