From Ketchikan we had only one more port, Vancouver, British Columbia.  Apparently there’s some cruise ship thing where all Alaskan cruises are required to go to Canada, so our stop in Vancouver was to be only for about four hours (8 PM to 12 AM) before we motored on back to Seattle to arrive in port by 6 AM.

The weather had been good our whole trip.  On the last day, it was GREAT.  I told Richard we had one more eating spot we needed to check out, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville did a seafood dinner buffet that had a charge, but they had a breakfast buffet for free.  So, my plan was to go up there, have breakfast, wander around the pool on a nicer day than our first sea day, and watch an ice carving demonstration before checking on the disembarkation method.  (I ALWAYS have plans in mind.)

After breakfast we got a closer look at the race track from above.  Pretty amazing to have that on a ship.

On this side, you could also get into the water slides, one that dropped you straight down and vertical and turns you upside down and all over or another more gentle one that you ride on an inner tube.  We actually never even put our swimsuits on.  Plenty of other people did, however.  The water was heated but not hot.  People looked very comfortable.

From the other side of the ship, we checked out the laser tag .  It’s not my thing, and you have to pay extra, but it looked really cool.  We also saw the dining room and sun deck for “The Haven” which is the way to make an already fancy cruise just a little bit fancier (or a lot).  If we went alone or with other adult friends, we’d probably opt for the Haven, but as a family, the way we went was PERFECT.

We watched an ice carving demonstration on the pool deck which I don’t think went according to plan (It was supposed to be sailfish, but a sail dropped off). It was still interesting nonetheless.

I went down to the internet lounge to check-in for my flight the next day.  We still had 10 minutes left on our plan.  I was also going to pay for my luggage.  When I looked, I saw that first class seats were available for $140!   Score!   My luggage was going to cost $70 anyway, and it would be included with my first class ticket.  And this way, I could be more comfortable for the four-hour flight.  And, more importantly, my seatmate could be more comfortable.  Our Internet timed out while I was paying, so I had to pay the $2 a minute overage, but it was worth it!

Since we’d never been on a cruise before, from there we went down to guest services in the atrium to see what happens during dismbarkation.   I saw a sign saying that they did it by certain colors.  I grabbed luggage tags for the latest time in the day I could.  It turns out there are several ways you can do it.  You can pay for a package where people come get your luggage and take it to the airport for you.  They literally check the luggage in at the airlines, so no lines for you.  You don’t see it until you get to your final destination.  You can get off the boat early if you just want to haul your stuff through the ship yourself.  Finally, you put luggage tags on your luggage and your steward comes and gets it.  Then, you exit later according you your tag color.  Richard had to go early because he needed to board a train to Portland.  My flight wasn’t until late, so I just got one of the tags.   We went back to the room, packed, and then went to a black glass wine tasting with Andrea and Rose.

It was a lot of fun!  It was led by a sommelier.  You were to guess whether it was an actual champagne or just a sparkler, whether it was pinot based or chardonnay based, and whether it was pink or white.  It did cost about $19 extra with the beverage package, but I thought it was worth it.  It was a good time.  Richard and I tied for correct answers, only getting the grape in one of the champagnes wrong.

After that, Richard and I ran down to the comedy club to see if we could get in on standby since all the shows had been sold out all week.  We did.  It was the earliest show of the night, so it was also the cleanest.  We were able to see Flip Schultz (no relation 🙂 ).  He was funny, we had a good time, and now I could check the box for “saw comedian on the cruise ship” off of my list of things that I needed to accomplish for the week.

We went the The Local for dinner, but the bear was really starting to not look well. I took him back to the room and filled him full of medicine.  He took a nap.  When he woke, we were nearing Canada, but knowing he had a big few days ahead of him in Portland, he decided to stay in.   I went back up to the observation lounge and chatted with a few people. I considered getting off the ship and going to check out the hotel or the gardens.  I’m one of those people, however, who tends to enjoy those kinds of things a lot more when there’s someone to share them with.  Plus, you had to pay for the shuttle to town. It was too far to walk, so I watched some of the seals playing by the dock and wandered around.  I went to watch Beau Tahana again, but that was one of the bars that was closed.  Canadian laws require a certain amount of bars to be closed, which was so weird because there were waiters standing in the brew pub who would go to other bars to bring the drinks to you…  I stayed long enough to sing “Sweet Caroline” one more time… (bum bum bum)… Then, was off to bed. (to bed, to bed, to bed, to bed….)

Richard said he felt better the next morning and went to catch the train to Portland (alas, that did not last long.  He had to leave the conference early to come home the next day.)  I took my sweet time getting ready, knowing that my lime green color would not be called for hours.  I stayed in the room until the last possible minute; then, went out to the deck to enjoy the Seattle air.

Once called, I stood in line as we snaked through the ship getting off.  I scanned my card one last time.  Then, we were sent to a room with the luggage, organized by our color tags.  I grabbed my two bags, walked through customs, and out into Seattle.  I walked down the pier a bit and across the street to the waterfront Marriot to call an uber to take me to the airport.  I could have shuttled for much less (the uber was about $40), but I had my share of being smashed in shoulder to shoulder with people for a bit.  Plus, I had PLENTY of time.  My flight wasn’t scheduled to take off until 5:20.

I settled in and got the lay of the land at Vino Volo.  I realized at that point that I’d forgotten my Priority Pass!   What a bummer!   It comes as a perk with my Chase Sapphire card.  I LOVE my card.  It paid for my TSA precheck, my global entry, gives me $300 back on my travel a year, AND it gets me into lounges.  I also get 3x points on all travel and beverage purchases and 50k bonus points after the first 3k spent.  Richard and I use the card for EVERYTHING.  I’ve had it since February, and we’re already over 100k in points–which equates to over $1500 travel dollars.  Love that card!  Luckily, I found out that I could download a digital pass and that SOME lounges and restaurants may take it… the ones in Seattle did, so… just want I needed!   More free booze. (lol)  My flight was delayed a little bit, but I was really pretty comfortable.  I had my lounge and my book.  I did some window shopping, and had my champagne and first class ravioli once I was on board.

We landed a little after 1 AM.  I was home a little before 2…  and excited about seeing my Cava girl and dog sitting for the Waffles and the Buddy for the next few days.

So, final thoughts on my first cruise, then.

I LOVED it.  I was not sure what at all to think.  Alaska had never been on a bucket list of mine.  A mega ship was nowhere in any of my thoughts, but I loved it!   I loved getting to spend time with family.  I loved getting to see new places.

Cruising?   Meh, it’s ok.  I wouldn’t do it to the Caribbean or anyplace like that unless I was doing a girls’ or couples’ party trip or something like that.  I’d prefer to go to an all-inclusive resort for the relaxation sort of thing, but as far as a mode of taking my hotel room with me to go visit new places?  Yup, I really loved the ship for that.

I can’t WAIT until I have an excuse to do my next set of travel blogs!