Off to Alaska, Cruise Review 9/6/11

[SpyderGT]

After several years of planning, the time had finally come to book the infamous “Alaska Cruise”.

My DW and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in August of this year. I was unable to book the cruise during that week, but what’s a couple weeks off…

A large group of us had been booked on the Splendor in December of last year. Because of the mishap, and cancellation of that cruise, we were offered a very nice discount which allowed me (I am a very frugal person) to justify upgrading to a balcony room. One catch, my 14 year old daughter and my mother would be bunking with us. We loved the balcony room, but also learned I will never share a room with my daughter and mother again….LOL. In the future, I will get them their own room.

Also going along for the adventure would be my wife’s parents; and my mother’s older brother (yes..read uncle) and his new wife.

(Side note, uncle lost his wife of 40 years to cancer several years ago, uncles new wife, had lost her husband to heart failure about the same time.) (further side note….my mother-in-law is cousins with uncles new wife….does this only happen in Utah?…..LOL.

Anyways, on with the story.

It’s off to Alaska, well, not yet, first we have to drive 800 miles to Seattle from Northern Utah. The Cruise Ship Spirit Departs on September 6, The Ford Taurus Station Wagon and Toyota Corolla departed on September 5th. We stayed in Cle Elum for the night of September 5th. Very pleasant Hotel and nice community; and finally we arrived at the Port of Seattle to embark on the grand adventure.

[rambler57]

I'm in, lets keep it going, please.:o

[SpyderGT]

We parked at the Pier and as we were unloading out luggage, a shuttle pulled right up alongside the vehicles. The shuttle driver got out and assisted us in unloading the luggage and getting it onboard the shuttle, then it was a quick drive over to the pier. As we were unloading the luggage, a piece of luggage was unloaded that at first did not look familiar; it turned out that the shuttle driver had unloaded the roadside emergency bag from the car. A laugh was had by all and the shuttle driver took my aunt back to her Toyota to put that bag back in the trunk.

It was 1130 and the lines moved very quickly, that is until we went through security. My mother is a tenacious seamstress and always has some kind of project in her bag. When her bag went though the scanner, she was pulled aside and they took her scissors. We laughed a little, had we flown she certainly would not have had them in her purse, but didn’t think about it going on a cruise ship. Although I am still a little baffled as to why they took them. After all they give us knives in all the dinning rooms….(she did get them returned on the morning we disembarked).

[SpyderGT]

It was a very nice day in Seattle. It was warm and sunny, and I was beginning to think we may have over packed. Once on the Lido deck and some burgers and fries had been consumed, it was time to begin using that sail and sign card to acquire adult beverages. My daughter also enjoyed her virgin Pino Cola’s. Around 1430 we were able to go down and check out our room for the next 7 days. Look at my daughters face as she realized she got to sleep on an upper…LOL. She managed just fine. The blue drink is a “Twilight Zone” a favorite of my MIL. After the sail-away party it was off to the dining room (late seating) to meet out servers, and continue the feasting. I know there has been discussion about the menu changes, but apparently the Spirit is still serving the traditional food. As you can see, my favorite is still there…Shrimp Cocktail. (I had two every night).

[SpyderGT]

First Night at Sea……Holy Cow.

After dinner it was time for me to spend some time in the casino. The seas began to get a little rough. This was my 6th cruise, and I have also had the fortunate experience to have gone on a “Tiger Cruise” with a very close friend of mine who is still currently serving in the US Navy. For those who don’t know what a “Tiger Cruise” is; the Navy allows friends and family of serving personal to bring a guest on board. I was lucky to sail aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from San Diego to Everett Wa. (3 days) in 2002 after the ship had returned from the Persian Gulf.

Before we went on this cruise, we had been informed by friends who had sailed to Alaska that the journey north can get pretty rough. Well, it did for us. There were sick people all over the ship. My daughter and Aunt both got sea sick that night. The aunt spent most of the next day (sea day) in bed. My daughter faired a little better. Personally, I enjoyed the boat “rocking me to sleep”. I also enjoyed a bit of extra cash from in my wallet that night as lady luck had been on my side.

[picomullet]

I agree it was a little rocky and a challenge to walk with coffee in hand. Luckily no one in our group became ill. I thought all the cracking and squeeking in our cabin was going to last for the duration of the cruise..But it turned out to be the best ever...

 

Thanks for posting your review...Can't wait to read more...

[SpyderGT]

What a difference a day makes. We woke up to fog, rain, and cold. This was the weather I had been reading about. Up to the Lido deck for some “brunch”, my daughter eyed her toast and pancakes with hesitation in her eyes; memories of dizziness and stomach concerns still fresh in her mind. It was at this time that I learned the water in the pools on the ship was WARM…and when I say warm, I mean bathtub warm. On our previous cruises, the water in all the pools had always been COLD. After breakfast, I headed down and grabbed my suit. My In-laws, daughter and I meet at the fantail pool and jumped right in. We spend several hours lounging in the pool. I learned two things that afternoon. If you float in the pools on the ship, you can’t feel the ships motion…very strange, but certainly understandable. Also, if you hook your foot just right on the ladder, and lay back, one can fall asleep. I have never fallen asleep floating in a pool of water before, but I did that afternoon. My daughter stated several people took photos of me lying on my back, asleep in the pool. When she woke me up, I had no idea I had fallen asleep, also a very strange feeling. After the pool I met my wife (who had been reading some smut book while munching on chips and salsa and drinking lemonade and amaretto) and whooped her at a couple games of rummy. Then it was off to get ready for “Formal night”. (Side note) There were several service dogs on the ship. While waiting in line to get into the dining room that night, two of the service dogs decided they were in love. They created quite a commotion. The handlers of the animals were doing their best to “restrain” the animals, but to limited avail. Needless to say it created quite a giggle moment. Not something you expect to see while out to sea….

After dinner, and the show, I headed back to the Casino; once again, lady luck was on my side. When I went back to my room that night I had the idea that maybe I should just quit my job, and become a professional gambler on a cruise ship. LOL. (later in the week, those dreams were shred, kicked, cut into little pieces and fed to me with a large spoon of reality soup when lady luck turned her back on me)

[SpyderGT]

Day three outside looked just like day two; blankets of fog rolled across the surface of the water and shrouded the mountains in layers. Visibility came and went as we sailed north through the inside passage. People on the ship began to stake out areas on the lido deck; hot chocolate, coffee, and the never ending supply of food just fingertips away as breathtaking sights seemed to be everywhere. People with binoculars viewed the shores in search of bears and eagles. Michelle, the Naturalist on board announced that killer whales had been seen off the right side of the ship. Everyone jumped up to run to that side and I began to wonder if the sudden rush of people to just one side of the boat would have to be compensated in the wheelhouse. Personally, I did not see the whales…dang it. But it wasn’t for a lack of looking.

Being that I am a member of this fine board, I knew ahead of time from previous postings that one of the “must do” excursions available was the Tracy Arm Excursion. I had emailed and confirmed this excursion several months ago. Tickets had been delivered to our room on day one. At 1120 our group met in the Versailles lounge, and then we were escorted to the catamaran for our adventure into the Tracy Arm Fjirod. We got off the spirit and onto the smaller ship. Soon we were sailing away from our hotel on water and into the wilds. Icebergs were floating all around us. One of the first things I was amazed at with the amount of waterfalls cascading down the huge granite mountains surrounding us. This excursion was amazing. The color of the water, the icebergs, and ultimately, a very close view of the North Sawyer Glacier. The Captain at first attempted to make his way up to the South Arm, but there were too may icebergs in the water. After we got back on the Spirit, we then went to out room and sat on our balcony and enjoyed to sights from “higher up” as the Spirit worked its way back out of the Fjiord. Then it was another fine dining experience, show, and back into the casino, not knowing this was to be the summit of my casino experience…LOL.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Your daughter looks really cold standing out on deck! I'm so looking forward to my first cruise to Alaska next year - but I bet it will even colder for us in early May.

 

Enjoying your review & can't wait to read more! Nice to know the water in the pools is warm.