Fortuitous Joy Alaska Cruise

[fmrlkr]

Late winter 2019 I began researching Alaska cruises to celebrate my husbands 80th birthday in May 2020.  This would be our 4th Alaska cruise, we have 30+ cruises since 2001.  I stumbled across a fantastic price on an Alaskan cruise on the Joy.  I immediately called my PVP.  He pointed out that that price was for May 2019 not 2020.  In a spur of the moment decision, very unlike me, I decided to book for 2019 less than 4 months out.  I was able to use 2 future cruise certificates but the balance was due immediately.  Once booked I started to look for flights.  To make it work I had to book arriving in Seattle 2 days ahead of the cruise and leaving one day after the cruise.  Well, I thought, two trips in one, we would explore Seattle.  So I turned to hotel rooms.  Since we were going to be there I wanted to be able to walk around so after looking at my options we ended up booking at the Charter Hotel (a Hilton property) within walking distance of Pikes Market.  2 extra days in Seattle, hotel and food started evening out the savings on the cruise.  I decided to take a "whatever" attitude, very unlike me, and we did what we wanted, bought what we wanted and spent what we wanted.

 

After a great full day in Seattle we boarded the Joy and had a super cruise and again did, bought, spent what we wanted.  LOVED the Joy!

 

Here we are one year later and the cruise I planned to book isn't happening.  In the mean time my husband has been in the hospital 3 times with various health concerns.  In all probability that will be the last cruise he ever takes, for a variety of reasons.  Although I still have 2 future cruise credits I have gotten the value out of them what I paid so I will just wait and see what the future of cruising holds.

 

We have been talking a lot lately about how luckily we were that I made a mistake reading the NCL site last year.  I wrote a review of the cruise titled Best Cruise Ever?  I can now adamantly say that yes! It was the best cruise ever, for us. 

 

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

What a wonderful, positive story. Thank you for sharing it with us.  I hope your husband is okay, and that you both stay safe and well. 

[nhtravels]

I love that by being spontaneous, you were able to take such a magical trip!

[MNcruisingcouple]

What a great story!  My husband and I feel the same way about the one month long Europe trip we did last summer, including two cruises.  So glad to have done it.

[Travelling2Some]

I think the pandemic has brought home the point that we shouldn't put off our bucket list trips.  Being older and a cancer survivor, I always took the attitude that we might be one bad diagnosis away from never going anywhere again.  I've been blessed to see much of the world and never regretted a dime I spent doing it 🙂  Another case in point:  who the heck ever imagined Notre Dame wouldn't be there forever???  That said, we had to cancel an extended trip to Asia in fall 2019 for the best of reasons - a son's wedding and a daughter expecting a baby.  We had planned a big 40th anniversary trip to Europe, including a Baltic cruise for this spring and now, of course, that's gone too.  Kind of the opposite of the OP's lovely story but we're still going to try to do the best we can, even if it's just driving somewhere in September (before the second wave hits?)  As the saying goes, it's not so much where you go as who you have with you.

[CruzRamirez]

What a great story!

 

Carpe diem

[cruisequeen4ever]

Oh I’m so glad you were able to go last year! You just never know what can happen in life.

[fmrlkr]

22 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

What a wonderful, positive story. Thank you for sharing it with us.  I hope your husband is okay, and that you both stay safe and well. 

Thank you.  He is doing much better.  He started improving and all the home therapy stopped (Physical, occupational, speech and home health care) just weeks before the covid restrictions.  

[fmrlkr]

22 hours ago, nhtravels said:

I love that by being spontaneous, you were able to take such a magical trip!

Me too.  Again it is very unlike me so I am very grateful.

[fmrlkr]

21 hours ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

What a great story!  My husband and I feel the same way about the one month long Europe trip we did last summer, including two cruises.  So glad to have done it.

Sounds like a great trip.  

[fmrlkr]

21 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

I think the pandemic has brought home the point that we shouldn't put off our bucket list trips.  Being older and a cancer survivor, I always took the attitude that we might be one bad diagnosis away from never going anywhere again.  I've been blessed to see much of the world and never regretted a dime I spent doing it 🙂  Another case in point:  who the heck ever imagined Notre Dame wouldn't be there forever???  That said, we had to cancel an extended trip to Asia in fall 2019 for the best of reasons - a son's wedding and a daughter expecting a baby.  We had planned a big 40th anniversary trip to Europe, including a Baltic cruise for this spring and now, of course, that's gone too.  Kind of the opposite of the OP's lovely story but we're still going to try to do the best we can, even if it's just driving somewhere in September (before the second wave hits?)  As the saying goes, it's not so much where you go as who you have with you.

Yes, you need to do what you can and go where you want when you can.  

[fmrlkr]

19 hours ago, CruzRamirez said:

What a great story!

 

Carpe diem

Thank you.

[fmrlkr]

1 hour ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

Oh I’m so glad you were able to go last year! You just never know what can happen in life.

We know this very well.  Thank you.

[edspec]

I remember your review, loved it and your positive attitude.  I was on the Joy last year as well, my first solo cruise and I enjoyed every minute of it.

[GettotheSun]

Thanks for sharing.  I'm so glad you got to go, and that was fun to read! 

 

I would love to do an Alaskan cruise.  My rep at NCL said I could move my kids' cruise credit to me and my partner, so I have thought (as an option) to do that and book Alaska for August 2021, just me and my partner.  Either that or we take the kids to the Caribbean March Break 2021.  Or so I hope we get to!

 

Again, thanks for your post, it was a nice uplift. 😀

[fmrlkr]

2 hours ago, GettotheSun said:

Thanks for sharing.  I'm so glad you got to go, and that was fun to read! 

 

I would love to do an Alaskan cruise.  My rep at NCL said I could move my kids' cruise credit to me and my partner, so I have thought (as an option) to do that and book Alaska for August 2021, just me and my partner.  Either that or we take the kids to the Caribbean March Break 2021.  Or so I hope we get to!

 

Again, thanks for your post, it was a nice uplift. 😀

Thank you.  Alaska is our very favorite cruise.

[fmrlkr]

4 hours ago, edspec said:

I remember your review, loved it and your positive attitude.  I was on the Joy last year as well, my first solo cruise and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you. I find my life is less stressful if I stay positive.

[bonvoyagie]

Glad to see that you had a great trip. And it was very fortuitous that you misread the year.  We also consider ourselves lucky that we were able to do our Panama Canal cruise in Jan just before this virus thing broke loose. I just hope that we are back to cruising as usual next year - we have our 4th AK cruise on the Jewel booked for June 2021.