From blue icebergs to iced blue drinks, our cruise to Alaska was everything we hoped it would be. We began our trip Saturday morning through the long customs lineups, H1N1 questionnaire, random people trying to sell us $%#@ before being awarded our golden ticket: our everything card, good for boarding the ship, entering your room and shopping/purchasing anything you like aboard the ship. Our room number 4076 was a tiny cubby that housed a double bed, couch and small bathroom. Complimentary robes were provided and we began to unpack. Well, that is after we ran to the nearest buffet, prepared to gorge ourselves on fabulous food. T
he lido buffet (soon to become our second home) housed many delicacies from salad bars to pizza and pasta, hot food of the moment, sushi and dessert. The food was good, but there is only so much buffet food a person can stomach. We explored the ship from top to bottom, two swimming pools, a gym, movie theater, theater, nine+ bars, a library, etcetera, before heading for a much deserved nap. We were awoken by a shrill alarm insisting that we put on our life vests for mandantory boat drill. What a way to start the trip!Throughout our weeklong cruise we spent many evening dinning in the vista lounge for plate dinner. Great service and the food went both ways depending on what you ordered. I enjoyed lots of fish and steaks, and too many deserts!! We snacked on popcorn and movies in the purple cinema before falling asleep well after midnight. Our first day on the boat was a sea day which we spent eating, chatting, playing trivia, walking the ship, napping and all that fun stuff. That night we enjoyed our first formal night on the ship with shirt and jackets, women in pretty dresses. It was lovely and what a way to spend our first wedding anniversary!
Our first day on land was in Juneau, Alaska where we opted for a guided four hour hike of Mendenhall Glacier Park. With a tough rating on this tour we knew we were in for an adventure leaving the oldies behind on the ship. The hike was challenging, but fun, with breathtaking views of the glacier (pictured on the right). Our guide Mike was really sweet, originally from Los Angeles, he fell in love with the great outdoors of Alaska and never plans to return home. Although
Alaska is beautiful, I can't really say I would want to live there permanently. Some of the towns are really small which actually makes for less crime. Car theft is virtually non-existent as the police only need to cover the ferry terminal and the one highway out and you're caught! Apparently their main concern is domestic abuse due to too much alcohol consumption (allegedly).Our second day we docked early in Skagway and had the whole morning to explore the city. Mostly tourist shops, that sell cheap crap were everywhere. So many jewlery stores full of tanzanite and diamonds. These stones don't even come from Alaska. "here stupid tourist, come here..." We didn't even pay them a moments notice. We did end up in an art store that sells local jewlery and hand made art. There were some really beautiful pieces there, but not without a hefty price tag attached! Joe bought me a beautiful necklace made out of fosilized ivory and clam shells whilst steering me away from the $1000 painting I was eyeing up!
After a quick lunch on the boat we joined our tour up the mountain via a 1.5 hour scenic train ride. Really beautiful, people were snapping photos incessently trying to capture the beauty of nature. We saw some cute mountain goats grazing and an abundance of trees. The scenery actually reminds us a fair bit of Vancouver. We are very lucky in Vancouver to have such an abundance of forestry and wildlife. It always amazes me when people come from all over the world and become so overwhlmed by the great outdoors we have. I don't think we appreciate it as much as we should. The second half of our journey was bike riding down the m
ountain. We chose the bike option for the adventure and to breath in the cool fall air after hours of recirculated cruise breathing. When we first mounted our bikes, we were freezing and stiff, but by the end of the 1.5 hour journey, we were professionals, masters in our craft. Or at least Joe was. I am still trying to get comfortable on those stiff seats!Back on the boat for two days we filled our time with eating, hot tub visits, trivia, movies, eating more. We also saw a magic show that featured a really cute grey poodle making me miss our four cats at home. The ship also took us through Glacier Bay which had spectacular views of gigantic glaciers. People were lined up outside to get the best picture. You feel as though you're in the Antartica sometimes out in the middle of nowhere with all the ice and glaciers. The weather could definitely have been better, but we didn't mind, it just gave us an excuse for another nap.
A couple of evenings on the ship were really rough and we took motion sickness pills and went to bed early. It's wierd how affected you become. Joe felt like he was still on a boat even while on land. The woman in Skagway said that people ask her all the time, if the floor is moving. Ugh, wouldn't want to be on the water for a living. Another interesting fact about the cruise is that all of the staff (85%) are Indonesian. Most are tiny and really cute and friendly. I think 
they live on the ships all year with their husbands/wives. They seemed to be very content with their line of work, although they do work hard. Our cabin steward, Aep, was really sweet, remembering our names immediately and talking to us in the hall all the time. He is pictured with Joe on the right standing on his tip toes because he is so tiny!Our final day on land was in Ketchikan where we opted to roam around and see the city instead of another overpriced tour. Not very eventful, just more shops and restaurants. We went into a second hand store to check out any good deals, but it was kind of sad and small with vagrants (who appeared drunk) sitting outside. I saw a couple of workers from the ship in there scoping out the deals. We made a run for it. Joe was feeling really sick that day so we headed back early after buying me a touristy sweater that says Alaska with the Northern Lights pictured as yellow stars. Too cute!!
The good/bad thing about dinner time is that they pair you up with different people everynight unless you have an assigned table. You meet tons of interesting people and it forced you to talk to them lest you appear rude. One night we met a loud mouthed man and his wife from Honolulu who had been married and divorced to each other twice. She said he annoyed her and she didn't think he was taking her seriously, so she divorced him. He was a bit of a know it all, shouting out stories and his thoughts on everything. Another night I had the whole table comparing astrology signs and their thoughts on that. We had three scorpio's and two capricorn's at the same table. Fun! We also met a young couple from England one night at dinner and then met up another night for drinks. Real
ly funny, we enjoyed the company of other young people, as most of the ship was aged 75 and older. They had been on a trip through Banff and the rockies before heading on the cruise. A route that seemed to have been taken by many.To sum up the week, we really enjoyed the relaxing and luxurious cruise life (albeit a bit boring) although we have filled our cruising quota for the next 30 years. I could see myself taking another cruise in the future, but not anytime soon. Alaska was great and a state not to be missed!
