A few months ago, we’d been chatting with our friends Woody and Marilyn about the two cruises Pepper and I have taken, and they said, “We’ve never been on a cruise– would you be interested in going with us to show us how it’s done?” Of course! After our Wenatchee stopover, we continued west to Seattle and picked them up at a hotel. They’d flown into town from San Diego, and we all headed to the cruise dock. So here we were, standing in the chilly Seattle sun ready to get on this massive ship.
Marilyn had done some online research so she knew some “tips and tricks” of the cruising trade, and we’d been on a few, so together we navigated the boarding process and settled in for a week-long trip to Alaska. There were plenty of spots on the ship to just relax, so Woody and I did just that.
Modern cruise ships are ridiculously huge, but that means they can offer a lot of variety in activities, food, and spaces. Marilyn is an avid Scrabble fan, so we had to pose by this artwork in one of the hallways.
She’d brought a mini travel Scrabble board, with emphasis on board… she couldn’t find the letters! (She later found them at home on her bed, the victim of some early-morning packing gone awry.) Fortunately for us, the ship had a game sitting in “The Library” area, along with a few decks of cards and other games. For the first time, I was able to beat her at her craft. It was a close victory, but still a victory.
We made port in Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, and finally Victoria. The weather forecast had been pretty grim: every day was predicted to be about 45 degrees and raining. As it turned out, there were some sprinkles, but most days were merely overcast and hit 55 degrees or even 60 in the sunlight. Here’s a view overlooking the channel outside Sitka:
We walked a few miles to a bird sanctuary and saw a bald eagle up close. We see them quite frequently in Montana, but they’re always in a tall tree or circling far overhead. Up close, they’re surprisingly large.
Proving that the world is indeed a small place, we actually bumped into some friends onboard! We were walking through a crowd and I thought I saw Mike from a distance. When we made it to port (where our phones worked again) I texted him to ask if he and Carol were on an Alaskan cruise. They were, we met up, and spent some time talking and catching up.
One of the highlights of our time on land was the White Pass Railway in Skagway. It’s an old narrow-gauge railroad that dates back 150 years to the gold-mining days of Alaska. The views were spectacular.
Marilyn wasn’t quite as impressed, I guess.
We explored Juneau for a while, including a trip to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls.
Our final stop was Victoria, which we’d skipped on our last Alaskan cruise because we didn’t have much time. This time we had several hours and enjoyed a bus tour. The weather was splendid, so it was nice to just be out in the sun overlooking the city.
As expected, we had a grand time with our friends. I enjoyed the opportunity to see Alaska again– albeit on a limited itinerary– but the best part was just relaxing, enjoying good food, good entertainment, and good company.