Full Cruise Write-up
Here it is: the full cruise lowdown.
Disclaimer: There are no pictures in this post. It is recommended that you click on all the links to follow along with pictures, or just open our Flickr page to follow along.
We departed sunny southern California Saturday (12 July) morning. The flight up the coast was fairly uneventful, but we did see a birds-eye view of Mount St. Helens. My parents met us at the airport (they had arrived a day earlier) and drove us to the hotel in Tukwila and met my sister and her husband there. We relaxed a bit, and headed out to see the Seattle sights (that’s two alliterations with the s, oh yeah!) We parked and walked up the seafront, finally making our way to Pike’s Place and the location of the very first Starbucks! Nice. Later that afternoon we also went to and up the Space Needle.
The next morning (13 July), we woke up and drove our rented tranportational device to the dock. We got all checked in and we were able to board the ship relatively early. Our staterooms (that means room in ship-language) were not ready yet, so we all explored a bit. We noticed that the ship was doing a good job at preventing norovirus outbreaks buy installing these hand sanitizer machines everywhere. I mean everywhere. They had one in each elevator, one outside of each bar, restaurant, bathroom, everywhere. It was awesome. That afternoon, the ship left departed and we attended a party put on by the travel agent that booked the trip for us all (all = me, my wife, my sister, my father, my mother, my sister’s husband, my aunt, my uncle, my cousin, my other cousin, my cousin’s wife, my uncle’s sister and her husband, my uncle’s sister’s daughter and her husband.) The travel agent had one of the suites on the top of the ship. The suite had a common area, a private hot tub, a private balcony, three rooms, and a shared lounge with a pool. It was pretty cool. That evening my parents, Becky and I tried out one of the premium restaurants, Cagney’s Steakhouse. On the ship, there were five normal restaurants and five premium restaurants. The normal restaurants were free, no charge (except alcohol and soda.) The premium restaurants had a fixed “cover charge,” but it was more like an entrance fee. You are seated and served like a normal restaurant, and you can order as much as whatever you want (two filet minions? You got it.) At the end of the meal, they bring the bill like normal, but there is just one fixed price for each person. You pay with your room key just like a credit card (the room key was linked to a credit card as we checked in). The steak was delicious. After dinner we went to the theatre to check out the opening show. Every night they had planned for a different show entertainment, but this first night was kind of a taster sample. Each performance did a short version of what they’d be performing on their specified night. The dance group performed a short number, the comedian did a short bit, and the juggling group did a short routine; all whilst pitching their full show.
The next day (14 July) was planned to be a full day at sea, so we entertained ourselves with the ship’s amenities. That day it was mostly the library. We all sat and read. That night, our whole group decided to get all dolled up and go to one of the nicer dining rooms. That night I discovered I don’t really love lobster.
Tuesday (15 July) we were scheduled to dock at Juneau. We did so. Before we left we had booked the shore excursion to see the Mendenhall Glacier and go to a Salmon Bake. We found our bus that drove us about twelve miles out of town to the Mendenhall Glacier and the glacier visitor’s center. I don’t know what I was expecting a glacier to look like, but it was amazing. We got back on the bus and it drove us to the salmon bake. The salmon bake served us amazing fresh salmon is an atmosphere that reminded me of junior high boy scout camp. It was set up on wooden picnic tables under a tent, and included a boyish woman singing songs about “Yukon Women” on her acoustic guitar. Back on the bus, we saw a bunch of bald eagles right off the road. It was cool. On our way back to the ship we had the opportunity to walk through downtown Juneau. It is small. Really small. Much smaller than I expected. According to some internet sites (more than just Wikipedia) the population is somewhere around 32,000. That an estimate of a little over 10 people per square mile. The city we live in has an estimated population density of over 7000. Yeah, it’s a small town. After we got back on the ship, we enjoyed the comedic stylings of Ross Bennett in the ship’s theatre.
Wednesday (16 July), we awoke to find ourselves in Skagway. After some breakfast, Becky and I went to the on-ship spa for our massages. I got a regular back and neck massage plus a super-sizing to include the scalp. Becky got a hot stone massage. Now that we were both relaxed, we laced up our boots and hit the hiking trail. We signed up to hike a small portion of the famous Chilkoot Trail. We discovered on our hike that a good portion of the area we were at is classified as a temperate rainforest, similar in climate to New Zealand. It was nice to look around and feel like I was in Middle-Earth. We hiked about two miles up the trail then we got on rafts and floated back down to where we started. On the river, we saw no less than three bald eagle nests. Looking back, I consider this excursion to be the highlight of the trip, it was so beautiful and clean and peaceful. That night we joined my parents again at another specialty restaurant, for some Italian food.
Thursday (17 July) was Glacier Bay day (alliteration, now assonance? My high school writing teacher would be proud of this post.) This day also marked the furthest north we’d be for the trip (approx 58° 42′ 0″ N.) Glacier Bay is this national park that seems like it was made for cruise ships. There are four or five huge beautiful glaciers that are fully picturesque and visible without leaving the buffet line or the hot tub. We enjoyed the sights of Glacier Bay from the comfort of the travel agent’s top suite again. It was nice because we could go outside to the balcony to get killer post-card shots and we could go back inside to the climate controlled room an enjoy an espresso. That night we all (see above for ‘all’ definition) got back together for another specialty restaurant: Teppanyaki. After dinner my parents and I went back to the ship’s theatre to see the juggling act Team Rootberry.
Friday (18 July) we woke up fairly early to disembark (ship-language for get off the ship) in Ketchican and meet up for our final excursion in Alaska: bike riding. We suited up with our stylish helmets and rubber bands on our right ankles and we took off. Now, I think I’m fairly adept at judging hiking or walking distances. I can walk for a bit and say to myself, we’ve walked about a mile, and be fairly accurate. However, when it comes to biking, I have no idea. We biked for about an hour, rested a bit and biked back. Afterward, we asked the guide how long it was, their reply blew me away: nine miles! We biked nine miles? Wow. On the way back to the ship, we took the opportunity to explore the sights of Ketchikan. It’s a good thing we did, because we found a wildlife rescue operation that had some birds on display, including some owls and a bald eagle! We got a rather scary picture with it. That night Becky and I enjoyed a romantic date at the specialty French restaurant, and then we went up to the lounge and watched Karaoke.
Saturday (19 July) our ship was heading around Vancouver Island, Canada, so we enjoyed some warmer weather and read out on deck. That afternoon my father and I went to the juggling workshop put on by Team Rootberry and successfully learned to juggled scarves. We docked in Victoria, BC in the late afternoon and set foot on Canadian ground! We found our bus that would take us to the Butchart Gardens. I read up on the history of Butchart Gardens, but I forgot. Ahh yes, it once was a cement factory, but once the limestone was all used up Mrs. Butchart (the cement guy’s wife) turned it into a lovely garden collection. We didn’t have as much time as we would have liked, so we hurried our way like Clark W. Griswald at the Grand Canyon through the stunning Sunken Gardens, the fountains, Rose Gardens, Japanese Gardens, and Italian Gardens. We got back on the bus thirty seconds late and sat down under the judging eyes of all the other passengers. Our next stop was the Church & State Winery. We were treated to a wine and chocolate tasting. Back on the ship, we gathered our things to prepare to leave the following day.
Sunday (20 July) we left.
September 11th, 2008 at 19:47
Kurt and Becky,
I almost feel like an intruder, reading your narratives. I hope you don’t mind. We are cousins, I guess to the 2nd degree. Your grandmother, Shirley, was my aunt. I only met her once in my adult life, but still have fond memories of her visit to Illinois. I loved sitting at the table with her, listening to her stories of family. I only wish I had known her and the rest of my mother’s family more. Anyway, in the course of finding your website, I have enjoyed reading about your family. Specifically, I love this narrative, and pictures, of your trip to Alaska. The pictures are absolute gorgeous, and I enjoyed Alaska through your eyes. Sounds like it was a great adventure. My husband and I hope to cruise north one of these years. I know it is a busy world, but if you want to communicate, I’d love to learn more about you. If not, I understand. Sue