naturelovergirl

I also wore icy blue ❄️

One way to pack light and bring a bit of bling to your smart attire nights is to bring some fun and sparkly accessories. (One of my packing light tricks)

We took advantage of this sale, booking an Alaska 2025 voyage for my parents. Fabulous sale.

We recently returned from a family cruise with my in-laws on a different line (something we do with them each year and look forward to taking) Although our favorite line, as a couple, is Cunard (unparalleled in beauty, relaxation, and enrichment programs), we always enjoy these fun family cruises on the other lines too. They are fun for all of the ages and personalities in the group including my young nieces. We all love hanging out together, seeing places, making memories, and, as you do on a cruise ship, eating as a family together. This “other” line this time was chosen by other members of the family due to the itinerary- which was quite interesting. We all liked the itinerary. BUT… I have never in my life been on a cruise with such poor food. Wow. We (collectively as a family) have sailed on so many different lines and have never had a ship food experience like this. I had read bad reviews about this particular line we just took before sailing- but my family wanted to try it out. I’m a positive but realistic person- so I went into it all knowing they had a reputation but hoping it was merely people complaining online. Goodness gracious, the bad reviews on the food were spot on. It was interesting to return home from a cruise saying, “Yeah, I’ll never cruise that line again” I am usually the person saying “When are we going next?” Certainly made me appreciate Cunard, which I always do… but it also made me appreciate the family-friendly boisterous cruises we have taken on other lines.

Well Funny story… we changed excursions before the trip… and then the other excursion was cancelled for the rainy weather on the day So in the end we ended up with no excursion and hiked all around Ketchikan in heavy rain part of the time and drizzle the rest Turned out to be a very fun and nature filled day of hiking and watching the salmon running

Through the cruise ship Keep an eye out for it in case they add it Other excursions companies will have this as well if you are interested

We took the White Pass excursion which included the Yukon and Bennett Lake- it was a great day!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal in Florida! Homemade deliciousness of recipes passed down through the generations on both sides with lots of leftovers! We tend to freeze our leftovers in vacuum seal bags. This keeps our leftovers tasting amazing in the future! Truly the gift that keeps on giving. Today we started decorating the house for the Holidays- with lots of Christmas music playing in the background! We just finished decorating our tree... One of those ornaments was from our recent Cunard voyage to Alaska in August (a handmade wooden whale we purchased at a gallery selling Alaskan-made crafts). Placing the ornament on the tree made me think of our beautiful time we had, once more, on Cunard.

We are on QE at the moment- coming towards the end of our cruise to Alaska. We have had a really lovely time. The weather, as happens in Alaska, was quite rainy at times, but that did not stop us. We had plenty of layers, rain gear, and good hiking boots. Regarding the Open Dining- I’m on the fence about it all, honestly. We loved choosing our time to dine- we made reservations each night for 7:15. This worked well with our itineraries. We also were allocated some great tables for two, our personal preference. What you lose out on is the relationship with the dining room staff. I miss having the same waiters very much. I have talked to people who are cruisers (but not Cunarders) and they have had a hard time in the open dining on Cunard this trip- feeling like the staff were “not personable”… I even heard people say that the wait staff had a “bad attitude”. We never experienced those negative things. The staff were working hard and were efficient. That said, with the traditional cruising experience, I do feel that some of the beautiful experiences in the dining room were lost not having the same staff each evening.

Enjoyed watching the sunrise in Vancouver… awaiting our Alaska sailing on QE. We will be sailing tomorrow, and we are looking so forward to it. Today we relax in Vancouver, go hiking at the Capilano Bridge Suspension Park, eat good food, and wait for Queen Elizabeth. Can’t wait to be on her again.

This is the latest news... crossing fingers... sounds promising. https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/25/wpyr-and-union-smart-td-reach-tentative-agreement/

Definitely like the Royal Caribbean itinerary better Look at your hours in port Much more value for your trip Unless Skagway is a deal breaker port for you, I would go with Royal.

A possible strike won’t be happening immediately. Negotiations must follow the rules of the Railway Labor Act… so we must all just wait and see how the required mediation goes. If mediation breaks down they will still have to have a 30-day cooling off period before an actual strike can happen. So just keep watching the news. https://alaskapublic.org/2023/07/10/skagway-rail-workers-vote-overwhelmingly-to-authorize-strike/

Visit Juneau (on their social media) and city officials are encouraging visitors to find other transportation methods and not to use the city bus because locals use them- they are concerned that a huge influx of tourists using the city bus (because of the Mendenhall shuttles running out of their capacity limits) will affect the locals negatively

Here is the latest news https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/06/railroad-brakemen-conductors-and-engineers-authorize-leaders-to-call-strike/ NOTE There are many steps which must happen (including a 30-day cooling off period if mediation breaks down) before a possible strike takes place

My husband loves the bran muffins on Cunard!

Several years ago- We bought a multipack of the plastic holders online with the strong metal steel loops in a variety of sizes- so no matter which line we are on, we have their particular size of the luggage tags. They work great.

I say do all three you have- they will be amazing!!!

Here is a slightly longer article about the potential of a strike https://www.ktoo.org/2023/06/28/amid-busy-tourist-season-workers-on-skagways-white-pass-railway-are-voting-on-a-possible-strike/

I agree @Coral We plan to watch the news about it all- but I’m not expecting for the port to be changed for our cruise We already have alternate plans in our back pocket in case of the strike… I’m hoping we will still be able to experience the train, but we will know what we will do if it is impossible

No problem Here are the current prices for what they are offering for those things this year- just remember that Alaska is not inexpensive... but if you want to have some of the Alaska experiences you accept that you will pay. We budget for excursions and would always prefer to experience amazing things than go shopping. I would imagine with inflation that prices will be a bit more next year- but this gives you a basic idea Ketchikan The Lumberjack show is $50.00 per person The Lumberjack show paired with the crab feast of dungeness crab at the George Inlet Lodge is $150.00 per person Hunting for Halibut is certainly being offered in August for this year and it is priced at $425.00 per person We are going to Neets Bay with the Alaskan Bear Adventure by Land and Sea- it is sold out on Cunard now but it cost $399.00 per person Juneau (This year Juneau is a tender port- so we are absolutely buying a ship sponsored excursion) Of course whale watching is very popular in Juneau There is the Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest for $189.00 per person Also a combo tour with whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier for $215.00 per person Just to go to Mendenhall Glacier is $50.00 per person The tramway up Mount Roberts is $50.00 per person There are also the big epic excursions like seaplanes, helicopters, and walking on glaciers... most of those are already sold out so I can't give you a price- but they are, of course, higher in price We plan to rent a jeep to do our own thing through Cunard- the cost is $325-$420 per vehicle depending on how many doors are on the jeep Skagway We are doing the White Pass Rail in August There are different options for the rail Your best bet is to look at the White Pass Rail website and see which one fits your needs if you want to do the train We will be doing the excursion which lasts all day and goes to Bennett which costs $310 per person There are a wide variety of excursions which highlight the gold rush history as well as the magnificent nature- I'm seeing the lower cost of $45.00 per person to $625.00 per person for the flight seeing with dog sledding on a glacier The street car tour in Skagway is priced at $49.00 per person Sitka We are choosing to be independent in Sitka We want to go to the National Historic Park and just explore on our own We are renting e-bikes Sitka has a Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest for $155.00 per person They have a Wildlife Quest combined with a crab and salmon feast at a lodge for $249.00 per person There is a fly fishing excursion which is sold out Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center are animal rehabilitation excursions which many cruisers do- a combination of both costs $109.00 per person... a combination of both of those plus the Otter & Wildlife Quest is $215.00 per person. There are excursions which highlight hiking, kayaking, and adventure vehicles at a variety of cost points It is supposed to be beautiful in Sitka The cruise ships dock many miles outside of the town- so shuttles are provided to get you into town if you are just wanting to explore on your own Hope this helps you a bit

There are 121 excursions listed for our Alaska voyage this year. So there are LOTS of them! So pics probably won’t be an option. Too many. Did you have a particular port or experience you were hoping was on the list. Narrowing it down might help you get some answers.

Cunard is very special at night with the dress code. It is part of their tradition and part of what makes them unique. It is different from other more casual lines. Whereas other lines have dress codes that are merely suggestions, Cunard is more of a traditional line and has a true dress code. I would not want to limit my Cunard experience at night- it is great. So my suggestion is not to stress about it, but just embrace and enjoy Cunard for all of its beauty after 6pm.

The dress code is formal on a Gala night- some people might give a nod to the theme (that would be us), others may go all out with the theme, while some people do not do the theme at all. The main thing is to dress formal. Oh, and have fun!

We have made the choice today to switch from Late seating to Open seating for our Alaska voyage later this summer- and it truly came down to the idea of making the most out of scenery and scheduling with our port activities- some of our morning excursions are quite early. We typically prefer traditional seating on a cruise- but in the end, we discussed it, and we decided that early seating was too early and late seating was too late. We have done open dining on other cruises- and I will certainly miss having the same wait staff in the dining room on this upcoming Cunard voyage. Still, in the end I think it is the right choice for us with our plans. I’ll make sure to let you all know what my experience in Open is like for us on Cunard after the August Alaska cruise. Crossing my fingers!