One of the many, many wonderful parts of a trip to Alaska is the complete ability to unplug. The downside to the that, is keeping up with a daily travel blog becomes quite difficult. With that said, I’m behind. As I type this, I’m sitting on the 14th deck of our ship in a bar with as we navigate down a channel away from Dawes Glacier. I can’t start with that, though, as to this point we’ve experienced so much. Since you’re dying to know exactly what we’ve experienced, I better get to typing and stop setting the scene.
Friday morning in $eattle was a breeze. We woke up, grabbed some breakfast, cooled at the hotel for a bit, and then got our Ubers to the port. I was fortunate to have yet another great driver. He was chatty and the time to the port was brief. Check-in was hectic as it always is. Two ships disembarking and the same two ships loading up to go again creates a chaotic place to be. But it didn’t take long and by 11am we were on board our home for the next week. All of us had lunch in the buffet and after I spoke with a chef, I was able to eat relatively well. Following our typical routine, we explored the ship and by 1:30, we were in the process of settling in to our cozy, interior cabin on the 6th deck. My bag and Lucy’s bag were a little slow in arriving and she started to get a little put out that she was the last to get her stuff, but in the end it was a non- issue. In fact, getting the bags in a staggered fashion made the process of unpacking a bit easier. One lifeboat drill and one dinner later and we were all ready for bed. All of the girls had their sea bands on to help prevent motion sickness and by 9:30 we called it a day. Embarkation days are always tiring and throwing in the 3 hour time difference made it all the more exhausting.
On day 2 the skies dawned cloudy. All through the night there was, to me, a gentle pitch and roll of the ship. To the boss, it was as if she were being tempest tossed. I assure you, the seas had a gentle 3 foot swell. Lucy and Ethel spent the day sort of tooling around. All of the girls went to the ice show and a fruit carving demo in the afternoon. I sat on the balcony with my dad as we watched Canada pass by off the starboard side. At least until fog thick enough to require the fog horn rolled in and blocked everything. It was neat sitting there and hearing the horn make it’s low, mournful sound. I did run into one small problem. At lunch today I was summarily dismissed by one of the managers in the buffet about my dietary needs. Well, you don’t summarily dismiss me. Not ever. I went to guest services to voice my concerns. Iulia from Russia was very sympathetic (and pretty) and summoned the main manager for both the dining room and the buffet. As it turns out, the manager who dismissed my was that same person. After a brief, awkward moment as this dawned on the both of us, I decided that I would be taking the rest of my meals in the main dining room. Dilip, the manager there, was sympathetic to my plight, and every meal since has been fine. The food has been uninspired, but I’ve been safe. At the end of it, that’s all that matters. I will say that everyone else seems to be enjoying their regular menu foods. Turns out, I kicked a hornet’s nest that has resulted in changes in how food is served on the ship. I guess I became a voice for the voiceless. The moral here kids, is to speak up for yourself. At some point in the night, we crossed back into the US and entered the Inside Passage.
