It was our first adventure on a cruise ship, sailing out of Vancouver, British Columbia, northward toward Alaska. We boarded on a Monday, early afternoon, in the bright sunshine of the bustling Canadian city. Along with about 2100 other “cruisers”, we showed our passports, received our cards of entry onto the ship, and followed the directions toward the entrance. A wonderful buffet of food was awaiting us, and we took our lunch out into the sunshine and tables to watch the activities in the port. We were to sail at about 4:00 in the afternoon, so we had time to rest, relax, and just enjoy watching the harbor sights and people.
Our cruise was on the Norwegian Sun, and it was “Freestyle”. That meant that it was quite casual, and food was available from five in the morning until midnight, whenever you chose to eat. We were not assigned any certain times or places to eat, so it was totally our choice. Sometimes we had a complete meal, and other times maybe ice cream or a delicious dessert. The dress on the ship was pretty informal also. Jeans, shorts, and t-shirts were pretty common all around. In the evenings you would see some dressed up, others still leisurely attired. It truly was every person’s choice, which made it comfortable for all.
Dan celebrated his birthday on the ship, so that evening we did dress up and dined in one of the fancier restaurants. He enjoyed flounder and I chose my all time favorite, steak. They even brought him a birthday cake and sang to him! We took some back to our room and enjoyed it for a couple more days. Almost all of the evenings were filled with wonderful entertainment, with music, dancers, comedians, and some very entertaining “game” shows. From early morning until after midnight events were scheduled, so there was no shortage of things to choose from, and you could be as busy or as lazy as you wanted!
We chose to do three excursions off the boat during the week at three of our ports. On Wednesday we docked at Ketchikan, Alaska, our first stop on the cruise. There are no roads into this village, so you can only access this town by way of boat or seaplane. We thoroughly enjoyed a show at a former logging camp. It was humorous, engaging, and educational. After that we road buses out to Saxman Village, where the Natives told us about their way of life, and delighted us with dancing, singing, and many informative stories about their beautiful totem poles. Before we got back on the ship, there was time for shopping or enjoying some delicious fish or other seafood fare.
Our second day trip was in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. We were off the ship for an extended period of time on that Thursday. We went on a whale watching tour, out on a smaller boat holding about 300 of us, for about four hours. It was such a cool experience, and it didn’t disappoint our expectations. We saw several whales, even four of them in a group, leaping out of the water in perfect precision one right after another. They did this several times, and it is just amazing how large these creatures are. As we traveled through the water we also came upon a few small islands covered with Stellar sea lions. Once we returned to the city of Juneau, there was still time to do some shopping, and eat at a wonderful seafood restaurant with fabulous fish tacos.
The evening we returned from Juneau, we got a good laugh after returning to our cabin. It was located on the tenth deck, and it was very comfortable. We went in to change clothes before heading back out in the ship to enjoy some evening entertainment. As Dan rested on our couch, he looked at me and said, “ Wasn’t our couch yellow?” I looked at where he was sitting. Two of our suitcases were resting at the end of the sofa, just where we had left them. However, the couch was BLUE. Huh?? We both looked around the spacious room, even into the bathroom, wondering if we were in the wrong place! Dan asked if the pictures on the walls were different. I didn’t remember. But the couch definitely had changed! We laughed, but were puzzled.
As we left the cabin and entered the hallway, we encountered Abel, the man who took care of our hallway and rooms in our area. We stopped him and told him we had a question. He began to laugh loudly, slapped his hands together, and shouted, “ I’ll bet it’s about your couch!” Yes!! We assured him we were confused about what happened. He explained that the week before, people in that cabin had complained about the yellow couch and said it should be replaced. He said they just had never gotten around to it, so while we were out and about that day, they had decided to put the new blue couch in our room. Too funny…and a complete surprise to us. Nothing else was out of place, so it was baffling.
Our last off the ship experience was at Skagway. This town did have a road leading out of it, and we rode a bus out to where we boarded a train to ride the White Pass Scenic Railway. It was a breathtaking train ride through the mountainous and rugged terrain where the gold seekers trekked over a century ago. As we rode, we heard the stories and relived the legendary construction of this celebrated railroad. The Klondike Gold Rush story is almost unbelievable when you realize how back breaking this journey was for those first adventurers. And only a precious few ever found gold!
After our train ride, we experienced a salmon bake in the woods at Liarsville, just a few miles outside of Skagway. The meal was generous and so delicious, eating picnic style on wooden benches and tables, out among the creeks and wildlife. It was a rainy and rather cool day, but no one seemed to mind. For most of us, these were adventures we had never experienced, and certainly not something we did at “home”.
Alaska had been on my bucket list since I was a teenager. I had once chance to go when I was sixteen, with an older couple from Bigelow where I grew up. I had some money saved, but it was for college, so I had to make the decision. I decided to wait, and this summer just seemed like it had been long enough! The opportunity came to go, and so we went. And it was a great time for us to share this amazing trip together. We are so glad we did!
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