Our First Sea Day in the "Boring" Hecate Sea
I felt like I was really struggling the first sea day. Previously- vacations felt like an escape from reality. All things were good on vacation- especially a Disney vacation! But I had to come to terms with the fact that you can't escape life when you are a parent, especially a parent of a toddler. And it's not that anything even bad or unsavory happened on the trip. I was just bummed when I would feel irritable (usually for no good reason), hormonal, or a bit tired and/or off. And I felt all of those things on our first sea day. I even had a cold. Maybe if the scenery that day was absolutely remarkable, so much so that it demands all of your attention (like the next day in Endicott Arm)- I would have snapped out of my strange mood, but alas...
The first Day at Sea is spent in the Hecate Strait. I recently purchased the book
"The Alaska Cruise Handbook: A Mile-By-Mile Guide" by Joe Upton. (Maybe I should have purchased this book before the cruise, hm? But now I get to relive my cruise all over again. I want to feel that I'm on vacation all summer! I often wake up dreaming of things I want to put in my trip report. Also- I do recommend this book. It's even more fun when you are reading it with access to Google Earth Pro [which is now FREE- used to be $400] and you can see exactly where he is talking about).
(P.S. Speaking of Google Earth Pro- this is how I figured out how we were on the second day. You can create routes and then measure them in miles...and then figure out how many hours it took to get to say- the beginning of Endicott Arm and do the math to figure out how many miles per hour you were going...and work your way from there.)
This is what Joe Upton, who spent 20 years exploring the NW coast as a commercial fisherman and journalist has to say about the Hecate Strait:
You see that? "Big Ship Usual Route: BORING, far from land."
This is the only time that he uses the word boring in the entire book. (Seriously. I did a search for it). Ah ha... Now I don't feel so bad feeling like the first sea day was a bit unremarkable.
But HEY- that is the beauty of a
Disney cruise. The actual ship itself is crazy beautiful and the personal navigators are full of fun activities.
Our day began with room service delivering some pastries, coffee, tea- and most importantly the rice milk that we ordered the day before. (The breakfast room service tags are in the desk drawer). I wanted to have rice milk to put in William's bottle for the nursery, as I tried to pump on our first night on the boat and it just didn't work very well (After 15 months of pumping- I retired my trusty friend while on the boat).
P.S. No need to order anything special to take with you to the nursery. They can provide all the ranges of milk they carry and various snacks. William loved yogurt and crackers.
We ordered breakfast every morning, but also asked for them to include a cheese plate and a selection of fruit, which we would put in the fridge to snack on throughout the day. I would also circle that I just wanted honey, which I would use for tea. We would put the coffee and hot water carafe with our stateroom drinking glasses, along with the tea and honey, for on demand tea and coffee ALL day. Those carafes keep beverages HOT for HOURS... We are talking over 12 hours. I also snagged some chai tea from the spa and kept a few bags in the stateroom, as well. It was pretty luxurious to be able to have a hot cup of tea anytime we wanted it.
I knew that there was a very good possibility that there was going to be an "Art of the Theme" tour of the first sea day, because of previous navigators I looked at, so I strategically booked the nursery time online. (Although it totally wasn't necessary, because the nursery wasn't full at any point during the cruise. However, my table mates said that they nursery told them that the first cruise in July already had times when the nursery was totally full).
I loved the idea of taking the "Art of the Theme" tour on the first day, because then I could enjoy all the details and thematic elements throughout the ship during the entire cruise.
We didn't get William checked into the nursery on Day 1, so Andrew headed down at 9:15 AM to get him all setup. He swears up and down that I didn't give him William's secret password, but I made it to the nursery when they were trying to figure that all out. (We used the same password that I had as a child, which I never had to use, but check out this news article about how a
family password stopped a kidnapping.)
We learned on our Art of the Theme Tour that Flounder's nursery was never planned. The Wonder actually converted a kitchen into the nursery on a cruise from Europe back to the States, so it lakes a fun entrance, as nearly all other places on the boat. I think it was quaint and I will have fond memories of Flounder's Reef, as I believe it will be replaced with a Small World nursery in the Dry Dock.
Something else that I noticed in the nursery is that they changed their hanging decorations nearly every day to match the themes of what was happening on the boat.
There were only three other people on our tour, so it felt small and personal. I loved learning about how Disney purchased genuine Venetian leather for the Palo dinner menus; so I took extra time later in the week running my fingers across the wonderfully bound menus.
I thought it was interesting that Walt was a smoker. I had no idea. Even today it's terribly difficult to find a picture of him with tobacco present. I also learned that the nautical flag alphabet is actually a thing...and to keep an eye out for it on the boat!
(Note to future self: This would be such a cute nursery theme.)
Oh! And I forgot about my favorite part! Something that you probably won't hear on any of the other Art of the Theme Tours. I asked about the laundry facilities for the ship. How do they logistically wash all those sheets, towels and tablecloths (that I was seeing people draw on with crayons. Is that common?)? Our guide told us that they have six industrial washers that run almost 24/7. Their doors are the size of portholes and they use a mechanical claw to move the wet laundry from the washers into the dryers.
I couldn't help but smiling every time I walked past Morty and Ferdie (Mickey's nephews):
Some speculate that
Morty was named for Mortimer, which was supposed to be Mickey's original name. But I suppose that is how Disney lore is created. (And isn't it
wonderful!?)
Since we still had some time before our 11:00 AM Palo reservation, we headed up to the Overlook Cafe. We loved this space so much. I hope it doesn't disappear in dry dock, as it's such a nice place to have a wonderful adult coffee drink while traveling by the cold shores of Alaska. We even picked up their "loyalty" card and received a free non-alcoholic drink on the last day of the cruise. (I think you need to buy five to get a 6th free or something?)
It should be mentioned that if you really adore tea, the Overlook Cafe is the best place for wonderful tea. Just for a fun experience- open and smell all the teas. They are so different and really delightful.
I'm not even sure that what I ordered was on the menu...or even the name of it, for that matter. I saw a couple whizzing by on a tray and exclaimed, "That one! That one looks great!"
Isn't it beautiful? As you can see- it rained almost the entire time during our first sea day. It was mesmerizing, hypnotic and meditative to watch the rain drops rolling off the rounded windows at the Overlook.
We took our hot libations with us and headed across the deck to Palo. We still hadn't quite figured out the deck plans, yet, but at least it wasn't raining too hard.
And Oh...Yes... Brunch is just as fun and delicious as everyone says it is!
Since that nightshade allergy was documented in my file for all to sea- I couldn't avoid it in Palo either. However- since Palo doesn't really seem to have Head Servers- or maybe just because it's an upscale place- the
Executive Chef came out to give me my personal tour of the buffet and we went through EVERY food item looking for nightshades. I followed him around like a starry-eyed school girl. It was such a special experience. I made sure to order all hi favorite cheeses and entrees.
And we ate...and we ate. And we ate. Haha. Of course the Gorgonzola and Grape pizza was divine. Andrew ordered the chicken parm (seriously, what's so great about it y'all? It's chicken parm. :: shrugs :: )
I thought the strawberry soup was WAY to sweet, but the Eggs Julia was divine.
One nice thing about going to Palo earlier in the trip is that if you really love your server, you can request them on subsequent visits to Palo later on your cruise.
Oh- and this picture is just for the sake of beauty:
We took our time at Palo. Our reservation was from 11 AM to 1 PM- so we gladly savored every moment.
Nothing ever popped up on our Wave Phone, so when we went to pick up William - I had no doubt that he had a lovely time. When I first went back to work, William went to daycare full time. It wasn't quite as painful as I thought it was going to be and we fell in love with our daycare. Now he only goes to daycare 1.5 days a week; my parents watch him three days a week and Andrew's mother watches him the other .5 day. Such a lucky boy.
Perhaps it's because he spends his time with three different people throughout the week that we are really flexible with schedules.
(Don't you just want to squeeze those little cheeks?!)
I knew that William would probably be ready for a nap. Heck...Mommy was ready for a nap! So I changed him into his jammies and we cuddled into bed.
As soon as character meet and greet tickets were available to book online (WOOOHOO!), I snatched up a Frozen Meet and Greet for this first sea day at 3:15 PM.
As 3 PM neared, I contemplated waking William up for the event. I thought about it... and thought about it... and realized that if I woke him up, it would purely be for me and not him. So I let him sleep. And this set the tone for the rest of the cruise. I was going to follow William's lead. I would just go with the flow.
I waited for Andrew to come back down from the Overlook Cafe, where he had been relaxing and reading his kindle.
The scenery had begun to remind me of the foggy Pacific Northwest that was the backdrop of all the Twilight novels.
Every time we passed a waterfall, the grandma and grandpa-like couple next door exclaimed, "Oh my god!" And that seemed to capture my own sentiments as well. Since the cruise, I've wondered what makes waterfalls so amazing. What forces us stop what we are doing and gaze until the waterfall passes out out sight? Is it that we are so used to seeing water flat on the ground? That each and every waterfall is different and unique? The nail technician on the ship told me that her roommate asked her, "Where does all the water come from? Will it ever stop?"
The waterfalls on our first sea day were delicate and seemed dainty from the ship. They tumbled out of the thick forest to the water below, shrouded in mist and fog.
Although I would have been content to have just sat in our room, sipping tea and watching the misty forest glide by, Andrew wanted to explore the boat. Ah ha! Which
obviously means to check out the git shops, right? right?
But Andrew indulged me. He knew it was only a matter of time...
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't really have anything in William's size. Although- look at this ADORABLE book that I got downstairs in the "native" store (Radar Trap) next to Route 66:
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Alphabet-Northwest-Coast-Native/dp/1554761646
On a Side Note: I was really into buying scarves on this trip.
You will see a lot of the same adorable stuff on the boat as you will in the ports. And to be honest, the prices are pretty similar.
Pretty much everything at the Radar Trap store is on this website:
http://www.nativenorthwestselect.com/
After we poked around the stores a bit, we headed to Deck 9 to find the infamous cinnamon pretzel stuffed with cream cheese. The crew members at the Pluto's Dog House kindly pointed us in the direction of Pincocchio's Pizza and the guys were really fun. I think it was about a 10 minutes and we gladly waited. Andrew went to get hot chocolate for us, as I bundled William up in a blanket from the deck.
We watched Enchanted on the tunnel vision for a bit while we all indulged in the pretzely goodness.
I had lost track of time on the deck. So it was probably around 5:15ish when we headed back in and the Welcome Reception had already begun. Andrew asked if I wanted to go, as I mentioned earlier that I really really had wanted to go... Hello? Free booze!? YES! But I envisioned going in our formal attire and didn't want to go in our loungey clothes.
:: shrugs ::
So instead we just headed to the room to get ready for formal night. William and I took another relaxing bath.
Earlier in the day I attempted to ditch that cocktail glass. I tried to wash it out in the bathroom sink, but it was still really sticky. So I ultimately decided just to throw it on the room service tray to make it disappear. Instead it reappeared in our stateroom all clean and shiny. Haha.
After we got all spiffed up, we headed down to Parrot Cay.
If Parrot Cay was going to remain on the Wonder- I would try to make sure that our formal night didn't land on it's rotation again. However, perhaps the "southern charm" of Tiana's place will make it a moot point. (Although I still feel that the ideal restaurant on the Wonder for formal night is Triton's)
I was relieved that the dinner experience from the night before wasn't repeated. In fact, my appetizer and salad arrived to the dining room before I did (Woohoo!). William ate quite a bit of my salmon appetizer and I should have asked for another. It was very good.
My slow roasted prime rib arrived... with more steamed cauliflower and broccoli. No butter. No Salt. No Pepper. No saute. No browning.
I didn't see the head server at all during this meal, so I expressed vehemently to our server that the dinner for the following night looked perfectly wonderful for my sensitivities/diet- so that it could come just as the menu read. It would be fantastic.
At no point did our server give us the "excellent" speech (trying to stress the importance of rating crew members excellent on the surveys at the end of the trip), perhaps because he knew he service wasn't excellent? He didn't address me by name...or at all... until the last day of the cruise. He would say, "Hello, Andrew! Hello, William" and it was like I didn't exist.
I should also mention that this was the first time we have really seen William express toddler behavior during dinnertime before. He insisted on trying to clear everything off the table like a little bitty godzilla.
(Where did our sweet baby go? Did the cinnamon cream cheese pretzel make him go a little spicy?)
I really wanted a few formal pictures, but William was just being a nut- so we let him burn off some steam in the atrium. While toddling around, we met a beautiful little girl with her grandmother (see above). Grandma didn't seem to speak English, but I thought it was such a special moment, because babies and Disney transcends all language.
We were first in line for the formal picture and William was just SO squirmy- I thought it was going to be impossible to get a good picture, but it actually became the best picture of the entire trip:
(The only thing that I think it just a little bit odd is...we aren't quite looking into the camera. Where were looking?)
We also tried to take a picture with Minnie and for some reason- I didn't give them my phone. Guess I will still in novice cruising mode. I actually took all the pictures on our trip with my Samsung Galaxy S6. I don't take pictures on a camera during my everyday life, so I figured I wouldn't try to balance a camera and toddler on our first family vacation. I also read other trip reports where people mentioned that they wished they didn't spend so much time behind their camera lens... and it's tempting, because there are so many beautiful things to try to capture on "film" while in Alaska.
WHEW! What a dinner and evening. Andrew kindly let me hit up the Quiet Cover again before the show. This time I spent my 30 or so minutes in the pool, somersaulting and floating back and forth in the pool, which seems quite large when no one else is in it. It felt like pure bliss... floating weightlessly in warm water, while gliding across the sea. I can definitely see why pool time is usually such a hot commodityl! True contentment.
I headed back up to the room and changed into comfy clothes and SLIPPERS. This was the first of many times that I wore my slippers while exploring the ship. It's a bit of an indulgent thing to pack and takes up a bit of room, but nothing feels like vacation than extreme comfort. However, I do have to admit that it did feel weird practically being in pajamas during the Golden Mickeys when others were still in formal attire.
Perhaps it was because we had such an easy time finding seats the night before, we were a bit lackadaisical and arrived only about 10 minutes out from showtime. I was concerned that we weren't going to find two seats together. The theater was absolutely packed. But then, our awesome tour guide from earlier in the day caught my eye and said, "Are you looking for two seats!?" And we scored two aisle seats together in the middle of the theater.
As you may recall from the previous evening, William totally slept through that show and I wondered if he would so conveniently sleep through all the shows...
But our little sir was bright eyed, even in his jammies, and ready for the show:
Gosh. And he loved every moment of it. He would stand up on my legs and jump up and down, clap and blow kisses. I think he recognized a lot of the songs from our Disney pandora station at home. This was one of our favorite performances, just because we were so delighted at William's reaction. He danced with delight until the very last moment.
Perhaps it was all that excitement that made it particularly easy to put William down for bed.
Or it could have been the work out he had on the stairs. He had a glorious time pounding his little hands on the steps.
Andrew went to cognac tasting at 10 PM and said that it was a GREAT deal. For $25, he said that they tasted easily over $100 worth of cognac.
William and I were both sound asleep by the time he got back into the stateroom.
Reflections on Our First Sea Day:
So the Hecate Stait area is an ICAs, which is an "Important Cetacean Areas," so although the scenery isn't mesmerizing, this first sea day has a lot of potential for whale watching
I did have a really wonderful day, but I think if I knew about the Hecate strait previously, I might have begun my day FIRST thing with a coffee on the Starboard side of the Overlook Cafe to see if I could spot any fin whales off the coast of Princess Royal Island. That is also where a resident pod of killer whales hang out:
It's worth a shot, right? Humpbacks seem to hang out on both sides of the ship.
Fin whales are an endangered species. Between
1925 and 1975, almost 48,000 fin whales were reportedly killed by commercial whalers in the North Pacific, including Alaskan waters; commercial hunting has been banned since.
This is a fin whale in the Hecate strait:
Fin whales are the second largest animals on earth, only second to the blue whale. Can you imagine seeing one of these
whales breach? It's very uncommon.
However, I was going on a whale watching excursion later in the week, so if I knew that the scenery was going to be better on the last sea day, I definitely would have scheduled our massage or other indoor activities on the first sea day.
This would be a good day to see a movie.I would also recommend checking out the rainforest room on this first sea day. Preparing for a vacation is pretty stressful! Aaahhh.... I can just imagine all my tension melting away in those warmed title loungers.
A couple of years ago, we were on a DCL med cruise and DS was 18 months old- we purchased an Osprey Poco backpack and toted him all over Europe in it. Best purchase ever!! I highly recommend it for excursions with toddlers that you don't want to leave behind on the ship.
I've heard so many awesome things about all the servers on the boat. I can't even imagine how much MORE amazing our trip would have been if we had a fun server. 
Yay!
I just took my entree to go and we went home. 
