Well what can we say about cruising...its riding along icy waters in a giant port-a-potty with strangers and eating yourself into a coma. Oh yea...on the first day, you get to try on these bright orange life savers in our stateroom then head up to your life boat station and get corraled like cattle while you wait for everyone to check-in. Look at the picture above of those innocent people that had no idea what they were in for.
We spent our first night getting our room "recleaned" and the bathroom shower unclogged. Nana took the first shower of the trip and found herself in the middle of a flood (Is the ship sinking?). As you can see by the picture below that it was all over the bathroom floor and about to reach our bedroom. So what we found out when the plumber came in...the shower drain was clogged with hair, dirt, and other stinky stuff that we don`t want to know about.
Even though cruising is not all rainbows & unicorns, we did have alot good times being together and hanging out with our friends. On our first three days at sea, we enjoyed the sunrises, lounging & playing at the pool, exploring the ship & taking pics with the art decor, and eating many, many desserts. We are glad to say that we`ve had this experience but we would rather travel by car.
On the third day, we saw Tracy Arm, Alaska. Because of the fog, we had to wait awhile to try to enter the passage that led to the glacier. During that time, I joked and called it Tracy`s armpit!! Our ship was completely covered with fog and we couldn`t see anything. Finally the sun broke through and we were able to make our way to see the glacier. The water was like glass and the icebergs looked so beautiful. On the larger pieces of ice, we could see footprints where animals had climbed up and walked across them. Papa and I saw a couple of animals playing in the water. They looked like otters or small sea lions but they were to far away to take pictures of them. It was truly a wonderful sight all around us with snowcapped mountains, glaciers, and many icebergs.
Our first port was Juneau, Alaska and I think this one was my favorite spot of the cruise. Our shore excursion was to ride the Mt. Roberts Tramway. Pat & Dorothy also did this excursion with us and it was lots of fun with beautiful sights. We rode a tram to the top of Mt. Roberts (3,819 ft.) and as we rode to the top we watched our cruise ship get smaller and smaller. While on the ride, we saw two bald eagles just sitting on the tops of the evergreen trees. We also got to meet a bald eagle that had been shot in the eye and that was being cared for at the raptor center. Papa, Pat, & I went on a hike through the Alpine trails and we saw two red squirrels, beautiful wildflowers, and awesome views of Juneau. Oh yea...the ride down...our car stalled for a few minutes and we were all a little nervous swaying back & forth while we were thinking that this tram is only hanging by three steel cords. We safely made it down and later Pat & I even rode the tram again (We wanted to spot the eagles again. We didn`t see any eagles but thankfully the tram didn`t stall again).
I really wanted to see a bear in the wild but all I saw was this tree that Papa said a bear had clawed.
Even though I didn`t meet a real bear, I got my picture taken with this giant stuffed bear and I met two husky puppies (too cute!!). Nana got her picture taken with Sarah Palin.
After a long day ashore, we came back to play in the pool & soak our feet in the hot tub. That night, Papa & I ate at the fancy dining area with Pat & Dorothy while Nana rested in our stateroom. Nana doesn`t feel left out that she missed the dining room experience. She enjoyed ordering room service.
On our second port, we visited Sitka where we got to ride our life boats over to shore (the waters were not deep enough for the cruise ship to dock). We did not have a shore excursion in Sitka so it was fun to just visit the shops (I loved the scrapbook shop) and the town`s historical buildings. We visited the old Russian church in the middle of town, then we walked to the Russian Bishop`s House (National Historical Building & Park) and to a local market. Papa wanted to buy some pop and we checked out the prices of milk ($5.29 gallon) & eggs ($4.09 for 18 eggs). We also went to the library and they let us check our e-mail.
The third port of call for the cruise was Ketchikan, Alaska. Our shore excursion was riding a trolley through town to the Saxman Totem Park then to Creek Street for shopping. Our bus driver was very funny and he told us about some history of the city & highlights. The totem park was very interesting and we got to see an eagle & nest on the ride there. Creek Street was very beautiful but we did see some dead salmon (glad we didn`t smell them). We also got to see the IGA that was on the news for having a bear cub come into the store and eat a bunch of the produce. The bus driver told us the story about how the police could not get the bear out but a local man came in and removed the cub quickly so that he could shop.
After visiting Ketchikan, our ship was having a salmon bake out on Lido Pool Deck. So we met Pat & Dorothy for lunch. Papa was very excited and he filled his plate with lots of salmon fillets. Nana & I got some salmon for Papa too then we headed off to the buffet for some veggies. They were actually serving some delicious BBQ Tofu that was very delicious!!
After leaving Ketchikan, we headed for Victoria, Canada. When we got into the Canadian waters, we saw a large pod of Killer Whales. The captain said that there was probably about 25 of them. Papa and I went outside on the third deck and watched them for about half an hour until we couldn`t see them anymore. They were not to close to the ship so I couldn`t get great pics of them. We did see a few lift their tails and most the time we saw their top fin and water spray.
On the last day of our cruise, our steward made me a towel monkey for my birthday and I got a birthday card from the captain & crew (the captain signed it). VERY SWEET!! One of my favorite things about the cruise was having fresh cookies & milk sent to our room. YUM YUM!! Even though we have alot of crazy things happen and our vacations are always a bit like National Lampoons, we always have a good time together.
We thank God for all of our safe travels and His beautiful creation that we have to enjoy.
