Just got back from our first cruise EVER anywhere. I'm Tory and my husband, Roy, and I are a couple of teachers from Washington state. We have no kids of our own (but we do play Mom and Dad often as teachers), but we are kids at heart.
Roy planned the trip, continuing his promise to me when we were wee bairn in high school, to make up for things I missed as a kid. Originally we had planned to go to Comicon (he's a nerd, I'm a nerd-herder...I teach Information Technology courses). However in January I had a brain explosion (subarachnoid hemorrhage) and was still dealing with the headache from that (one long headache that had lasted over six months). I was kind of nervous about flying because any time there is a change in pressure my head goes through the roof. So even though he loves LOVES Comicon, and I love him and love to watch him as he enjoys Comicon (and secretly love it too, but don't let on), he changed our plans as a surprise.
I've never actually been hankering to cruise. In my previous (and soon to be continued) life I am often accused of trying to kill my husband every summer. For me, I like an active vacation where I can run, ride a bike, hike, in short I'm like a shark...if I'm not moving I feel like I might die. The idea of sitting on a boat and relaxing while being fed for a week didn't really appeal to me. This is probably part of the reason it was a surprise. (He tends to like to surprise me with things he isn't sure I'll be gung ho on.) I'm a personal trainer and running coach, so often our vacations are scheduled around a marathon or Disneyland (Comicon would have concluded with a trip to Disneyland). When he sprung the trip on me I actually thought it made a lot of sense. I probably wasn't going to be able to go on California Screamin' 5 times in a row like always. The flight would almost certainly cause my head to explode. Having the cabin there in case the head was singing Opera was a good idea, and besides...I've still not been cleared to run (but I did on the ship, don't tell). So he was probably pleasantly surprised when I was pretty excited about the trip. (I have learned to trust him over the years...most of his surprises turn out way better than expected.)
It was a HUGE benefit that we were traveling out of Seattle. No flight at all. Easy commuter train ride from nearby Everett. No parking to pay for. No bags to check. It all worked out really well.
We left from Marysville (our home) after dropping off three of our four dogs at the sitter's house. We parked and boarded the Sounder Train into Seattle. We were WAY early to board our ship, so I decided (because, as usual, I'm trying to kill my husband with exercise) it would be a lovely day to walk the 5.5 miles from the train station to Pier 91. We had rolling luggage, it was sunny and warm out, and it's actually a great walk through downtown and Myrtle Edwards Park to get out to 91! So off we went. It really was a great stroll, although I'm pretty sure my arms were stretched about 3 inches each dragging the luggage.
We arrived nice and early and were the second family into the terminal. We hung out and got right in line when Minnie showed up for pictures...then again when Mickey showed. Finally it was time to board. We were all corralled onto the ship and then into the dining room with that magical way that Disney has getting large groups of people going in one direction without making you feel like cattle. We were immediately served by a lovely girl from Portugal who wouldn't even let me lift a finger to help clear the table because I was on vacation!
After the buffet lunch we wandered around the boat. Right away we located the "secret deck" on level seven. We laid out there in the sun, enjoying the uncharacteristic sun on a lovely day.
Finally we were able to go to our staterooms. I LOVED ours! We're teachers, and frugal, so we sprung for the cheapest room on the boat. No window or deck for us, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was very large, beautifully appointed, and extremely comfortable. Of course we are both very easy to please...we generally stay in cheap but clean hotels because we're rarely in our rooms (as I am generally trying to kill my husband with exercise). Besides, we had our "secret deck" on level seven.
Our first dinner was at Parrot's Cay the first night. Our servers were Andrew and Iracema. He is from Indonesia and is working to send money home to his family (wife and little girl). Iracema is from Portugal and is quieter, but very kind. We didn't learn a lot about her, but she was delightful. We were seated with two other women (I think they were sisters) who happened to also be teachers. We were happy to keep to ourselves the first night and so were they, so we didn't get to know them well for a few nights when one of them overheard me talking about my "kids" (students) and then it was on! We chatted throughout the rest of the meals.
Day two was at sea so we enjoyed watching movies, the Golden Mickeys show, and wandering around the ship. Roy was particularly in love with the 24 hour soda station. We both enjoyed the ice cream. We did have a challenge with eating as we had late seating for dinner (8:15) but we ended up really liking it in the long run once we figured out how to plan our meals.
Day three was the trip up Tracy Arms a fjord which leads to south Sawyer Glacier. We watched out of the 7 aft deck and were blessed with LOTS of humpback whales dancing in the water! It was very beautiful and peaceful, until a loud family came out and wow...some people do not GET "We are not the only ones here, so we should keep our conversations down so everyone can enjoy the beauty." The mother, I swear, will still be talking 7 weeks after she's dead! I don't think the woman took a breath and it was obvious her kids just tuned her out.
We finally decided we wanted to see the front of the ship and went out to deck ten front of ship where they were serving coffee, cocoa, and cookies and narrating what we were seeing. We crowded in and got an eyeful of beauty! It was indescribable. Of course we took tons of pictures, but they don't begin to do justice to the beauty.
Thursday was Skagway. We had decided not to do any excursions, so we just wandered around town. If you love to shop, this is the place to be! We wandered through the shops and found that one was much like another. We got some gifts for my sister-in-law and her husband who were watching dog number four (Dot, tiny girl, my sweetie). We also got treats for the dogs, but nothing for ourselves. We decided we wanted to see the Gold Rush Cemetery so we followed the map. It was about 2.5 miles from the boat, and it was a gorgeous day so LOVELY walk out there. It also let us see more of the local part of town, and not so much the touristy stuff. The cemetery was interesting, but even better was the short hike to lower Reid Falls. BEAUTIFUL waterfall that was worth the effort alone!
Skagway was a nice little town. The locals were very nice, although I'm sure they do tire of thousands of tourists tromping through their town. There was a preponderance of pro-Palin stuff, which made us roll our eyes, and one store was very anti-Obama (which I find disrespectful, regardless of your politics--He is our President). To each his own, I guess. I just hate how disrespectful people can be, regardless of whose side you're on.
The next day was Juneau. If I were to ever return to Alaska, I'd go to Juneau again! Loved it! We did the Mendenhall Glacier and then took the tram up to Mt. Roberts. I will say this...that was WAY overpriced. If you want to take chances, pay $8 for the shuttle out to Mendenhall, then do the Tram which is $10 all day. There was no real benefit to booking through the ship since after Mendenhall we were dropped at the tram, told where the shuttles were to get back to the train and left.
We loved the glacier and Nugget Falls. So beautiful! We walked out the glacier hoping to see bears. No bears! Darn! I climbed up the falls a bit and scrambled over rocks whenever possible. We also enjoyed doing some creek hopping. Roy, feeling that I was trying to kill him again, stayed on flat ground and just took photos.
The tram was beautiful. We saw eagles on the way up, and then were let loose on the mountain. I wish we'd had more time up on Mt. Roberts! We hiked most of the trails in an attempt to kill my husband. We saw porcupine, ptarmigan, eagles, and a hoary marmot. I waited for Roy on the hike up, but on the way down no way I could hold it in...when there was no one on the trail I ran down sailing over rocks and roots. I love trail running and wished we had had enough time for me to run the entire trail (while Roy took pictures).
We also spent some time on the mountain with Lady Baltimore, a bald eagle who had been shot by some piece of trash, damaging her left eye so she was bald in one eye. The guy who was telling us about her actually knew where Marysville is, so that was impressive!
We took the tram back down hoping to spy a bear that had been seen on the way up, but nope. Oh well. If I'd had five more hours up there I would have been in heaven.
Speaking of running, it was such a joy to be able to run around the ship. I got out to run or walk every day on deck four. The first day out (Tuesday) the sea was really rough and it was so strange to run because there would be times when the ship would list to one side and suddenly the ground was 2 inches under where I left it when I toed off! Then a few minutes later it would be 2 inches higher! My hips and knees did NOT enjoy that at all, but the rest of me did.
On the last day going into Victoria I ran 4.5 miles taking "whale breaks" when whales would surface. SO amazing to see WHALES on a run! One of the best things about running, in my opinion, is that you get to see so much on your feet in a way that you just don't experience nature in a car or even on a bike (although I love cycling as well). There were a few of us die hards who would be out there every day, but lots of people enjoyed using deck four for exercise. (A few had problems reading the "No smoking between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m." signs, so maybe they need to make those signs bigger.)
Friday was also our 27th Anniversary so we had booked Palo for that evening. We were disappointed to miss our table mates and our servers, but wow! Palo was amazing! Our server, Alvaro, was from Chile and I took all of his suggestions and had the calamari, salad, and branzina. I'd actually had sea bass on another evening in Tritons and don't tell, but it was better...the one in Palo was slightly over-cooked and missed that creamy texture. It was still delicious, though. We finished with the chocolate soufflé...OMG that alone was worth the entire trip. We are simple teachers from Marys-dork nowhere so we are NOT used to this kind of meal. It took a full two hours and at the end of the meal they presented us with a plate that said "Happy 27th Anniversary". It was well worth the extra $20 to have a quiet, private meal. While all the other meals were all delightful and beyond delicious...the atmosphere of Palo is worth the extra.
The only thing that was a bummer is that it was Pirate Night and I was all ready with my pirate gear! We did catch the tail end of the show and that was a lot of fun! Unfortunately we missed the free bandanas, which I would have loved to have for a race I'm running next weekend. Oh well!
Saturday was Ketchikan, which is one of the wettest places on earth, I swear. Honestly, it didn't do a whole lot for us. We had originally booked zip lining, but because my head was still giving me problems we'd changed it. We did enjoy Creek Street which was at one time the red light district. We were really lucky because the soho were running so there were TONS of eagles out there fishing early in the morning! As soon as we arrived, we heard the call of a male eagle. He was up in the tree apparently telling some fish tales. There were four or five younger eagles, and at least six older adults. (They do not get their white heads until ages 4 or 5, so it's easy to tell who the new kids on the block are.)
After wandering up and down Creek Street and reading all the historical signs, we decided to find Starbucks. It was about 1.5 miles away. Love Disney, but they do not have good strong coffee. It's more like what I like to refer to as "Church Buffet Coffee" where it tastes like someone dipped a sock filled with used grounds into some hot water and it is more coffee-esque, than actual coffee. I like my coffee to grab me by the hair and slap me around a little! I also wanted an Alaska Starbucks mug. Unfortunately they were sold out. It was in a Safeway and it wasn't as good as fresh brewed Sbux from home, but it was still good!
Of course that took us out of the historical part of town and through some dreary ugly areas. It is still a nice city, but I wish we'd done an excursion rather than walked around on our own. It was just rainy and icky out.
Our last day was in Victoria. We didn't arrive until about 6 p.m. We had planned an excursion to Butchart Gardens, which I absolutely love. Again, I felt it was overpriced. We could have taken public transportation and done it a lot of cheaper, but at least it was organized and we were delivered back to the dock. The gardens were amazing. I've been there in other seasons but never in summer...so nice to see the rose garden in bloom! We had sprung for the adult only tour but unfortunately they dropped off the family tour at the same time, so there was no real point to doing adults only. As soon as we got there we had to listen to two of the most shallow teenage girls in the world (and I'm a high school teacher, so I know shallow teenagers), compare they're beautify and make fun of their mother for the makeup she was wearing. (Let me stop and think about what would have happened if I'd ever mocked my mother's looks...OUCH! I think she just smacked me from California!) Then we tried to lose another loud family with bickering tweens. Finally lost them and enjoyed the string quartet and quietude of the gardens. I think the tour buses were the main people there, although we did see a few walking their dogs. I love that they allow dogs in there! I know our dogs are an important part of our lives, and I'd love to take them on a walk through gardens.
On the way out and in the driver gave us a tour of the city, which was nice (but not worth the premium). He was great, though, so we tipped him and thanked him.
The one thing to realize on the last night is if you do an excursion into Victoria you miss your last dinner, which was very disappointing. We had come to look forward to seeing Andrew and Iracema and our table mates every evening! We actually tried to cancel our excursion, but you only could if you had a doctor's note, and I didn't want to lie.
Monday, the last day, went like clockwork. We all debarked according to the color on our luggage tags. Our breakfast was with our serving team and table mates, so that was nice. We enjoyed a small breakfast, and left at leisure after getting hugs from our servers (and giving them their gratuities). They genuinely acted like they were going to miss us, which was nice.
It was disappointing to have to say goodbye, but what a great trip! I am also happy to report that my neurologist had given me new medication for the headaches before I left and it actually worked so that most of the time I had NO headache. (Imagine having a six and a half month headache with pain levels from 4 to 9 every day and then finally getting some relief...even having 30 minutes without a headache was like the heavens opened and angels descended upon my head and started singing.) I had two rough days, but it was SO much better than the previous six months. Seriously, what a blessing.
My main concerns with the trip were going to be:
1. Would I be bored on the boat?
Never was bored at all. We did have one nice day where we laid in the sun and read after hanging out in the pool. I'm not a lay in the sun kind of girl, but I loved it. There were TONS of things going on the entire time, so there was never a lack for something to do. We also had movies on the TV, movies in the theater, and sadly had lots of news on the movie massacre. I know a lot of my students were at the midnight showings, and we would have been at one as well if we were on land. Just knowing that kids the age of MY kids were in harms way breaks my heart.
2. Would there be so many kids I'd want to jump overboard?
I love kids...I'm a teacher, but I was brought up in a very strict house (note my mother smacking me above) and we were well behaved. I love to see kids having fun, but I can't STAND the way that SOME parents take "Give the kids their freedom" to the extreme so that they're family impacts the enjoyment of others in a public place. I was PLEASANTLY surprised that while there were always kids around, they were mostly well behaved and just being kids...not obnoxious kids (save the two teenage girls...good lord if I'd ever talked to my mother that way...of course one does have to choose battles with teenage girls, so I get that but still). The kids were well entertained at all times. There were tons of things for them to do. I watched as servers interacted with kids at meals and they were AMAZING with them.
3. Would wanting to do things like get pictures with characters garner us dirty looks? Would those things be "kids only?"
I was mainly worried about that based on this board, to be honest. There were comments about thinking people who didn't have kids wanting character pictures being "suspicious" or "creepy." Well I am glad to report we got all character time we wanted! The cast members were wonderful about making sure that EVERY child age 9 months to 99 were able to get pictures with the characters! I didn't see anyone giving us the hairy eyeball, so that was nice.
Sure, every now and again an over-eager toddler or an unthinking parent would shove the kid into our pictures, but the cast members and characters were always kind about directing them back for the photo and we gladly gave them their time if the kid just couldn't help it.
4. Would I feel claustrophobic on the boat?
Nope! Having the stateroom available for peace at any time was nice. I even napped a few times (which I never do). The adult areas were peaceful and after the first day, the age limits were respected. (I think a few didn't see the signs the first day.) Because each area on the boat is decorated in a different theme, if you bored of one thing you could go to another part of the ship and feel like you're in a whole other world!
Things I loved:
1. Movies on the funnel, even though it was cold to watch any all the way through.
2. Lots of healthy choices for meals, even though I didn't always choose them.
3. Feeling like royalty at the dinners with our own servers.
4. The beauty of the trip (although next time...somewhere warmer...brrrrrrr).
5. Every cast member from forward to aft was so pleasant.
6. The Disney touch on EVERYTHING!
7. Towel art, which is silly but it made us giggle every night!
Things I wish I'd known more about:
1. It was unclear if I could use the gym without paying because it was located in the spa. I wanted to use the gym, but didn't know where it was.
2. That I could have done a lot of excursions without paying such a premium. I understand WHY do that, but if I were travel again to Alaska I'd probably choose to do something of the things at least on my own.
But those are so minor. I had a great time and won't hesitate to cruise again. We're already talking about cruising again for our 30th anniversary!
Roy planned the trip, continuing his promise to me when we were wee bairn in high school, to make up for things I missed as a kid. Originally we had planned to go to Comicon (he's a nerd, I'm a nerd-herder...I teach Information Technology courses). However in January I had a brain explosion (subarachnoid hemorrhage) and was still dealing with the headache from that (one long headache that had lasted over six months). I was kind of nervous about flying because any time there is a change in pressure my head goes through the roof. So even though he loves LOVES Comicon, and I love him and love to watch him as he enjoys Comicon (and secretly love it too, but don't let on), he changed our plans as a surprise.
I've never actually been hankering to cruise. In my previous (and soon to be continued) life I am often accused of trying to kill my husband every summer. For me, I like an active vacation where I can run, ride a bike, hike, in short I'm like a shark...if I'm not moving I feel like I might die. The idea of sitting on a boat and relaxing while being fed for a week didn't really appeal to me. This is probably part of the reason it was a surprise. (He tends to like to surprise me with things he isn't sure I'll be gung ho on.) I'm a personal trainer and running coach, so often our vacations are scheduled around a marathon or Disneyland (Comicon would have concluded with a trip to Disneyland). When he sprung the trip on me I actually thought it made a lot of sense. I probably wasn't going to be able to go on California Screamin' 5 times in a row like always. The flight would almost certainly cause my head to explode. Having the cabin there in case the head was singing Opera was a good idea, and besides...I've still not been cleared to run (but I did on the ship, don't tell). So he was probably pleasantly surprised when I was pretty excited about the trip. (I have learned to trust him over the years...most of his surprises turn out way better than expected.)
It was a HUGE benefit that we were traveling out of Seattle. No flight at all. Easy commuter train ride from nearby Everett. No parking to pay for. No bags to check. It all worked out really well.
We left from Marysville (our home) after dropping off three of our four dogs at the sitter's house. We parked and boarded the Sounder Train into Seattle. We were WAY early to board our ship, so I decided (because, as usual, I'm trying to kill my husband with exercise) it would be a lovely day to walk the 5.5 miles from the train station to Pier 91. We had rolling luggage, it was sunny and warm out, and it's actually a great walk through downtown and Myrtle Edwards Park to get out to 91! So off we went. It really was a great stroll, although I'm pretty sure my arms were stretched about 3 inches each dragging the luggage.
We arrived nice and early and were the second family into the terminal. We hung out and got right in line when Minnie showed up for pictures...then again when Mickey showed. Finally it was time to board. We were all corralled onto the ship and then into the dining room with that magical way that Disney has getting large groups of people going in one direction without making you feel like cattle. We were immediately served by a lovely girl from Portugal who wouldn't even let me lift a finger to help clear the table because I was on vacation!
After the buffet lunch we wandered around the boat. Right away we located the "secret deck" on level seven. We laid out there in the sun, enjoying the uncharacteristic sun on a lovely day.
Finally we were able to go to our staterooms. I LOVED ours! We're teachers, and frugal, so we sprung for the cheapest room on the boat. No window or deck for us, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was very large, beautifully appointed, and extremely comfortable. Of course we are both very easy to please...we generally stay in cheap but clean hotels because we're rarely in our rooms (as I am generally trying to kill my husband with exercise). Besides, we had our "secret deck" on level seven.
Our first dinner was at Parrot's Cay the first night. Our servers were Andrew and Iracema. He is from Indonesia and is working to send money home to his family (wife and little girl). Iracema is from Portugal and is quieter, but very kind. We didn't learn a lot about her, but she was delightful. We were seated with two other women (I think they were sisters) who happened to also be teachers. We were happy to keep to ourselves the first night and so were they, so we didn't get to know them well for a few nights when one of them overheard me talking about my "kids" (students) and then it was on! We chatted throughout the rest of the meals.
Day two was at sea so we enjoyed watching movies, the Golden Mickeys show, and wandering around the ship. Roy was particularly in love with the 24 hour soda station. We both enjoyed the ice cream. We did have a challenge with eating as we had late seating for dinner (8:15) but we ended up really liking it in the long run once we figured out how to plan our meals.
Day three was the trip up Tracy Arms a fjord which leads to south Sawyer Glacier. We watched out of the 7 aft deck and were blessed with LOTS of humpback whales dancing in the water! It was very beautiful and peaceful, until a loud family came out and wow...some people do not GET "We are not the only ones here, so we should keep our conversations down so everyone can enjoy the beauty." The mother, I swear, will still be talking 7 weeks after she's dead! I don't think the woman took a breath and it was obvious her kids just tuned her out.
We finally decided we wanted to see the front of the ship and went out to deck ten front of ship where they were serving coffee, cocoa, and cookies and narrating what we were seeing. We crowded in and got an eyeful of beauty! It was indescribable. Of course we took tons of pictures, but they don't begin to do justice to the beauty.
Thursday was Skagway. We had decided not to do any excursions, so we just wandered around town. If you love to shop, this is the place to be! We wandered through the shops and found that one was much like another. We got some gifts for my sister-in-law and her husband who were watching dog number four (Dot, tiny girl, my sweetie). We also got treats for the dogs, but nothing for ourselves. We decided we wanted to see the Gold Rush Cemetery so we followed the map. It was about 2.5 miles from the boat, and it was a gorgeous day so LOVELY walk out there. It also let us see more of the local part of town, and not so much the touristy stuff. The cemetery was interesting, but even better was the short hike to lower Reid Falls. BEAUTIFUL waterfall that was worth the effort alone!
Skagway was a nice little town. The locals were very nice, although I'm sure they do tire of thousands of tourists tromping through their town. There was a preponderance of pro-Palin stuff, which made us roll our eyes, and one store was very anti-Obama (which I find disrespectful, regardless of your politics--He is our President). To each his own, I guess. I just hate how disrespectful people can be, regardless of whose side you're on.
The next day was Juneau. If I were to ever return to Alaska, I'd go to Juneau again! Loved it! We did the Mendenhall Glacier and then took the tram up to Mt. Roberts. I will say this...that was WAY overpriced. If you want to take chances, pay $8 for the shuttle out to Mendenhall, then do the Tram which is $10 all day. There was no real benefit to booking through the ship since after Mendenhall we were dropped at the tram, told where the shuttles were to get back to the train and left.
We loved the glacier and Nugget Falls. So beautiful! We walked out the glacier hoping to see bears. No bears! Darn! I climbed up the falls a bit and scrambled over rocks whenever possible. We also enjoyed doing some creek hopping. Roy, feeling that I was trying to kill him again, stayed on flat ground and just took photos.
The tram was beautiful. We saw eagles on the way up, and then were let loose on the mountain. I wish we'd had more time up on Mt. Roberts! We hiked most of the trails in an attempt to kill my husband. We saw porcupine, ptarmigan, eagles, and a hoary marmot. I waited for Roy on the hike up, but on the way down no way I could hold it in...when there was no one on the trail I ran down sailing over rocks and roots. I love trail running and wished we had had enough time for me to run the entire trail (while Roy took pictures).
We also spent some time on the mountain with Lady Baltimore, a bald eagle who had been shot by some piece of trash, damaging her left eye so she was bald in one eye. The guy who was telling us about her actually knew where Marysville is, so that was impressive!
We took the tram back down hoping to spy a bear that had been seen on the way up, but nope. Oh well. If I'd had five more hours up there I would have been in heaven.
Speaking of running, it was such a joy to be able to run around the ship. I got out to run or walk every day on deck four. The first day out (Tuesday) the sea was really rough and it was so strange to run because there would be times when the ship would list to one side and suddenly the ground was 2 inches under where I left it when I toed off! Then a few minutes later it would be 2 inches higher! My hips and knees did NOT enjoy that at all, but the rest of me did.
On the last day going into Victoria I ran 4.5 miles taking "whale breaks" when whales would surface. SO amazing to see WHALES on a run! One of the best things about running, in my opinion, is that you get to see so much on your feet in a way that you just don't experience nature in a car or even on a bike (although I love cycling as well). There were a few of us die hards who would be out there every day, but lots of people enjoyed using deck four for exercise. (A few had problems reading the "No smoking between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m." signs, so maybe they need to make those signs bigger.)Friday was also our 27th Anniversary so we had booked Palo for that evening. We were disappointed to miss our table mates and our servers, but wow! Palo was amazing! Our server, Alvaro, was from Chile and I took all of his suggestions and had the calamari, salad, and branzina. I'd actually had sea bass on another evening in Tritons and don't tell, but it was better...the one in Palo was slightly over-cooked and missed that creamy texture. It was still delicious, though. We finished with the chocolate soufflé...OMG that alone was worth the entire trip. We are simple teachers from Marys-dork nowhere so we are NOT used to this kind of meal. It took a full two hours and at the end of the meal they presented us with a plate that said "Happy 27th Anniversary". It was well worth the extra $20 to have a quiet, private meal. While all the other meals were all delightful and beyond delicious...the atmosphere of Palo is worth the extra.
The only thing that was a bummer is that it was Pirate Night and I was all ready with my pirate gear! We did catch the tail end of the show and that was a lot of fun! Unfortunately we missed the free bandanas, which I would have loved to have for a race I'm running next weekend. Oh well!
Saturday was Ketchikan, which is one of the wettest places on earth, I swear. Honestly, it didn't do a whole lot for us. We had originally booked zip lining, but because my head was still giving me problems we'd changed it. We did enjoy Creek Street which was at one time the red light district. We were really lucky because the soho were running so there were TONS of eagles out there fishing early in the morning! As soon as we arrived, we heard the call of a male eagle. He was up in the tree apparently telling some fish tales. There were four or five younger eagles, and at least six older adults. (They do not get their white heads until ages 4 or 5, so it's easy to tell who the new kids on the block are.)
After wandering up and down Creek Street and reading all the historical signs, we decided to find Starbucks. It was about 1.5 miles away. Love Disney, but they do not have good strong coffee. It's more like what I like to refer to as "Church Buffet Coffee" where it tastes like someone dipped a sock filled with used grounds into some hot water and it is more coffee-esque, than actual coffee. I like my coffee to grab me by the hair and slap me around a little! I also wanted an Alaska Starbucks mug. Unfortunately they were sold out. It was in a Safeway and it wasn't as good as fresh brewed Sbux from home, but it was still good!
Of course that took us out of the historical part of town and through some dreary ugly areas. It is still a nice city, but I wish we'd done an excursion rather than walked around on our own. It was just rainy and icky out.
Our last day was in Victoria. We didn't arrive until about 6 p.m. We had planned an excursion to Butchart Gardens, which I absolutely love. Again, I felt it was overpriced. We could have taken public transportation and done it a lot of cheaper, but at least it was organized and we were delivered back to the dock. The gardens were amazing. I've been there in other seasons but never in summer...so nice to see the rose garden in bloom! We had sprung for the adult only tour but unfortunately they dropped off the family tour at the same time, so there was no real point to doing adults only. As soon as we got there we had to listen to two of the most shallow teenage girls in the world (and I'm a high school teacher, so I know shallow teenagers), compare they're beautify and make fun of their mother for the makeup she was wearing. (Let me stop and think about what would have happened if I'd ever mocked my mother's looks...OUCH! I think she just smacked me from California!) Then we tried to lose another loud family with bickering tweens. Finally lost them and enjoyed the string quartet and quietude of the gardens. I think the tour buses were the main people there, although we did see a few walking their dogs. I love that they allow dogs in there! I know our dogs are an important part of our lives, and I'd love to take them on a walk through gardens.
On the way out and in the driver gave us a tour of the city, which was nice (but not worth the premium). He was great, though, so we tipped him and thanked him.
The one thing to realize on the last night is if you do an excursion into Victoria you miss your last dinner, which was very disappointing. We had come to look forward to seeing Andrew and Iracema and our table mates every evening! We actually tried to cancel our excursion, but you only could if you had a doctor's note, and I didn't want to lie.
Monday, the last day, went like clockwork. We all debarked according to the color on our luggage tags. Our breakfast was with our serving team and table mates, so that was nice. We enjoyed a small breakfast, and left at leisure after getting hugs from our servers (and giving them their gratuities). They genuinely acted like they were going to miss us, which was nice.
It was disappointing to have to say goodbye, but what a great trip! I am also happy to report that my neurologist had given me new medication for the headaches before I left and it actually worked so that most of the time I had NO headache. (Imagine having a six and a half month headache with pain levels from 4 to 9 every day and then finally getting some relief...even having 30 minutes without a headache was like the heavens opened and angels descended upon my head and started singing.) I had two rough days, but it was SO much better than the previous six months. Seriously, what a blessing.
My main concerns with the trip were going to be:
1. Would I be bored on the boat?
Never was bored at all. We did have one nice day where we laid in the sun and read after hanging out in the pool. I'm not a lay in the sun kind of girl, but I loved it. There were TONS of things going on the entire time, so there was never a lack for something to do. We also had movies on the TV, movies in the theater, and sadly had lots of news on the movie massacre. I know a lot of my students were at the midnight showings, and we would have been at one as well if we were on land. Just knowing that kids the age of MY kids were in harms way breaks my heart.
2. Would there be so many kids I'd want to jump overboard?
I love kids...I'm a teacher, but I was brought up in a very strict house (note my mother smacking me above) and we were well behaved. I love to see kids having fun, but I can't STAND the way that SOME parents take "Give the kids their freedom" to the extreme so that they're family impacts the enjoyment of others in a public place. I was PLEASANTLY surprised that while there were always kids around, they were mostly well behaved and just being kids...not obnoxious kids (save the two teenage girls...good lord if I'd ever talked to my mother that way...of course one does have to choose battles with teenage girls, so I get that but still). The kids were well entertained at all times. There were tons of things for them to do. I watched as servers interacted with kids at meals and they were AMAZING with them.
3. Would wanting to do things like get pictures with characters garner us dirty looks? Would those things be "kids only?"
I was mainly worried about that based on this board, to be honest. There were comments about thinking people who didn't have kids wanting character pictures being "suspicious" or "creepy." Well I am glad to report we got all character time we wanted! The cast members were wonderful about making sure that EVERY child age 9 months to 99 were able to get pictures with the characters! I didn't see anyone giving us the hairy eyeball, so that was nice.
Sure, every now and again an over-eager toddler or an unthinking parent would shove the kid into our pictures, but the cast members and characters were always kind about directing them back for the photo and we gladly gave them their time if the kid just couldn't help it.
4. Would I feel claustrophobic on the boat?
Nope! Having the stateroom available for peace at any time was nice. I even napped a few times (which I never do). The adult areas were peaceful and after the first day, the age limits were respected. (I think a few didn't see the signs the first day.) Because each area on the boat is decorated in a different theme, if you bored of one thing you could go to another part of the ship and feel like you're in a whole other world!
Things I loved:
1. Movies on the funnel, even though it was cold to watch any all the way through.
2. Lots of healthy choices for meals, even though I didn't always choose them.
3. Feeling like royalty at the dinners with our own servers.
4. The beauty of the trip (although next time...somewhere warmer...brrrrrrr).
5. Every cast member from forward to aft was so pleasant.
6. The Disney touch on EVERYTHING!
7. Towel art, which is silly but it made us giggle every night!
Things I wish I'd known more about:
1. It was unclear if I could use the gym without paying because it was located in the spa. I wanted to use the gym, but didn't know where it was.
2. That I could have done a lot of excursions without paying such a premium. I understand WHY do that, but if I were travel again to Alaska I'd probably choose to do something of the things at least on my own.
But those are so minor. I had a great time and won't hesitate to cruise again. We're already talking about cruising again for our 30th anniversary!
