Live Review: Explorer Alaska Cruise May 25th to June 1st (by a disabled vegetarian wi

[CatLadyFemme]

We spent much of the afternoon napping. The rocking boat feels like a cradle to me and CatDad didn't feel well. This is definitely the most I have felt on a ship to date, on any cruise. He took a bunch of bonine and pepto before dinner and shook it off.

 

We went to the LGBTQ meet up in R Bar at 5pm, but couldn't seem to find anyone...though people often don't think we look queer, so might have overlooked us as well! Instead, we took some pics and headed for dinner.

 

Since CatDad wasn't feeling well and also was not particularly excited by any entree, he went with three starters: Ceasar salad, Lobster Bisque and the Scallops Gratin. He said salad was fine, took a few bites of the bisque and skipped it, but LOVED the scallop gratin and highly recommends it.

 

I had a cheese plate without bread (plus more meh GF bread), the Vignole salad with no bacon vinegarette/proscuttio (just oil and vinegar), more veg Indian food of the day, and that amazing dessert again. Hopefully this picture doesn't disappear!

 

I will say, one of the best Celiac/vegetarian (vegan?) tricks I have learned on Royal is to ask for what you want. WJ has yummy GF rolls that are way better than the MDR bread. I ask Amiel (our asst waiter) and he said he'd have them for tomorrow. I wqs feeling over Indian food every night, and Belic asked what I wanted. I said maybe some veggies, tomato sauce and cheese baked in a dish. He wanted to know specific veggies, and even added suggestions, so that is what I am getting for dinner tomorrow. It is hard, because sometimes I don't know what they can even do, but if you ask, they will try their best. Manage expectations, but usually, they will have some ideas to do something similar to what you would like.

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

For breakfast tomorrow pre-excursion, I ordered cheese grits (not labeled GF, but he is checking. He says the new menus have some labeling issues), sauteed mushrooms, and potatoes. Potatoes were not listed, so we went through options& mashed potatoes? No. Baked potato? No. I was trying to explain home fries, he was trying to figure out how to describe hash browns, and we settled on roasted potatoes. Here is the daily breakfast menu, which is different than our recent Enchantment options.

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Also: here is the menu for night 3.

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Came back from dinner to our first towel animal! I think it is a sloth. Maybe?

 

Walked the Promenade during the Captain's meet and greet. CatDad bought a reversible fleece/water proof jacket because he didn't listen to me when I sent him his packing list. Am amused he was the first to buy something!

 

Dropped it off in the room, put my feet up to help with the swelling for a bit, then went to the 8:30 magic show with Leo Ward. I *love* magic and am neutral about most comedy (so much of it is grounded in sexism, racism, etc.). He was a very good magician and a fairly good comic, intil he started making some jokes about how to pronounce an Asian woman's name, including calling her Swastika. As a Jewish woman, not really amused by that. Otherwise, good.

 

We went up to deck 11. It finally cleared and the sun came out. It was goregous and I got a sunset picture. A little chilly but not cold; I was only in my dinner dress and it was fine. Then stopped at Cafe Promenade for water and to get CatDad a sandwich. I asked about the GF sandwiches there were on the sign, and the woman said she had no idea why the sign said that, but that theu had GF pizza and cookies, which I knew about.

 

Then we have meandered back to the room to read a bit before breakfast, and our Glacier/Wildlife Lodge/Whale Watching tour tomorrow. CatDad is a little nervous about going on the smaller whale watching boat, given how seasick he has been getting on the Explorer, and he's alreadu maxed out out on daily Bonine/Pepto Bismol, so send good wishes our way for clear-ish weather and calm seas/stomachs!

 

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[Maxine48]

Thank you for posting this and the menus & Cruise Compass:) We are on this cruise late July!

[Cokernuts]

I’ve heard several say to try eating green apples to help with motion sickness. Your cabin steward can probably provide some if you do not find them in the Windjammer.

[CatLadyFemme]

I’ve heard several say to try eating green apples to help with motion sickness. Your cabin steward can probably provide some if you do not find them in the Windjammer.

Ooooh! I will have him try this. Thank you!

 

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[accio_7]

I just discovered your review today, good job so far! Have a great day in Juneau :)

 

 

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[alexkrn46]

I will try to figure out if this is a thing. I assume you mean someone who enjoys and knows about nature, as compared to someone who prefers to enjoy nature while nude, correct?

 

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I mean a local expert who lectures on Alaskan heritage and geography. Thanks

[CatLadyFemme]

I just discovered your review today, good job so far! Have a great day in Juneau :)

 

 

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Thanks!

 

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[tortoisegirl]

Great review--thanks for sharing!

 

Also, for seasickness, I recommend to try to stick to bland starchy foods (nothing rich/fatty), and eating less, but more frequently (~ 5 times/day not 3). Also, note that for Bonine/Meclizine, it can be dosed up to 100mg/day (I take the 12.5mg tabs and do 4 every 12 hours). Some packaging says much less than that (only 25-50mg), but the dosing indications I have read online say up to 100mg/day, especially if well tolerated and for the short term. Hope he feels better soon! I too am very prone to it, and think prolonged mild seasickness is worse than short term severe seasickness. Usually that sea day between Seattle and Alaska is by far the worst for Alaska cruises that are round trip Seattle (we've done 2).

[CatLadyFemme]

There is someone giving a talk on Alaska and wildlife at 10am. I will try and find out their credentials!

I mean a local expert who lectures on Alaskan heritage and geography. Thanks

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Day 3 Cruise Compass

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Ok. Breakfast was a little rough. Like my pre ordered lunch, it took forever, and unlike my pre ordered lunch, it was a comedy of errors. That said, I did get GF toast that was tasty, OJ and tea, and met nice people.

 

Then we went to the Alaska talk in the Star Lounge, which was an hour about the history of the state, and the wildlife, and the glaciers. Obviously, just a few minutes on each, but very interesting, and the couple has been doing these talks for years. So yes, Naturalists are on board!

 

I tried lunch in WJ, but almost nothing on the GF line was vegetarian, and we didn't have time to ask them to make something, so I ate green beans, and we headed to the giant line to get into Studio B to head off on excursions.

 

Despite asking multiple times what to do as a disabled person, they told us to sit with everyone else, and then we were told to walk down a flight of stairs, and then another stair gangplank. Luckily, we found another couple, where one person was using a walker, and pestered people together. We got wrong info not once, but twice, but finally got off the ship and onto our excursion!

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Will come back to post all about the amazing whale watching and glacier tour (HIGHLY recommend!), but here is the Cruise Compass for Day 4

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Also, MDR menu for Night 4.

 

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[Jimbo]

Space Needle

 

I was just about to hit “buy” on Space Needle tickets when a friend who is on Explorer this week told me about the construction.

 

“We did not go up, just to the park by it. I don’t know if the renovation effects views or not. One thing we did learn is that the tallest building in Seattle is Columbia Center. It’s taller than Space Needle and more in town - and a fraction of the cost to go up ($14.75 for a whole day pass to its Skyview Observatory). Our walking tour guide said it’s a much better deal - you can see farther, get photos of the Space Needle from it and you can go back up and watch sunset if you want. We didn’t give it a try but just giving you the information in case it’s something you might want to consider.

 

http://skyviewobservatory.com

 

So I have booked there instead!

 

 

 

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2 thumbs up on that, much better then the Needle and less crowded.

 

Jimbo:)

[Cokernuts]

Did CatDad’s motion sickness get better? I hope so.

[CatLadyFemme]

Did CatDad’s motion sickness get better? I hope so.

It did! He was fine once we hit the inside passage, and fine on the whale watching vessel. It was really just day 2; we have met a fair amount of people who were so bad they had to go to medical on deck 1, so I guess we were lucky his didn't get so bad.

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

Ok. The whale watching? Phenomenal. I have a crappy phone, so my images don't di it justice, but so worth it.

 

We saw several bald eagles en route to the port. Once boarded the (very nice and well appointed with food, drinks, and restooms) boat, we saw a porpoise, then started seen whale spots and soon tail flukes here and there. I didn't make it up top due to the stairs, but CatDad kept going up and down. Then it got sunny, and we saw more whales, a few sea lions, and then went to a rock with over 100 sealiojs where you could hear them talking and saw some if them playing. The naturalist on board (Kelsey) was supet interesting and ansswered all sorts of questions. On our way back, we saw a few more spots and tail fluke action, and then, as we were pulling back into the dock, this one whale (who I am calling Beyonce) kept flipping her pectoral fin out of the water at us, waving it back and forth (a la Single Ladies), at least a dozen times. She wasn't more than 50 feet away. It was magical; I mean, they could not have planned it better. Then, we boarded busses to the glacier.

 

I will say, the boat ride itself was several hours, which was worth it, but we got back (after the glacier) almost 90 minutes after we had expected, so make sure you keep this in account if doing dinner or spa reservations that evening.

 

Glacier to come next!

 

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[ValerieJo]

Fellow Michigander here. Thanks for posting the menus, compasses and all the great pictures. We are headed out this Saturday to do the Land Portion first then the Radiance Southbound cruise.

 

Excellent review. Thanks again for posting.

[alexkrn46]

Thank you. I am enjoying your review!

[CatLadyFemme]

We have been without internet for a day, and spotty before that, so apologies while I catch up over the next day or two.

 

Here is the MDR for tonight, Day 5 (formal) and lunch menu (second sea day, overall day 5)

 

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[puggylicious]

Thank you so much for posting all this information from your cruise. I am enjoying following along.

 

A weird observation on my part. It seems like the desserts in the main dining room at lunch are better than the desserts offered at dinner.

[MikeNTeriAZ]

Thank you so much for posting all this information from your cruise. I am enjoying following along.

 

A weird observation on my part. It seems like the desserts in the main dining room at lunch are better than the desserts offered at dinner.

 

 

I was just going to post the same observation. ;)

All looks good to me anyway.

 

 

And due to your pics of the whales and other creatures, I've decided to do the boat trip. Yippee! Hopefully there'll be some there in September.