We had an amazing week with friends and family among 3000 other guests as we sailed into Alaska from Seattle. Our group was 17 and we had family from New York, Colorado, San Jose as well as many friends from home. It was definitely the way to celebrate my birthday.
The boat was lots of fun, with the expected entertainment, food choices, and amazing care in the cabin. We were all grouped together so the halls were a bit noisy and the balconies were a place to visit your neighbor even if it was 6 am – there were whales! and icebergs, and a few bald eagles. We didn’t want anyone to miss the excitement (or was it we were awake so why shouldn’t our friends)! One evening we had a pesky towel man that would not turn the TV off!
We ate too much, tried to exercise but the activities never end so it is really easy to say “run in circles on the track (1/9th of a mile long) or go play bingo! We played lots of card games, had a little survey test to get to know our friends better, sang a little Karoke! I found out Nick (son-in-law) can really ROCK it! We saw the shows, drank a few drinks of the day, learned how to put an outfit together from others suitcases when someones suitcase didn’t make it until day 3 – thats a long story! We sat in the hot tub reminiscing, sun catching and of course a lot of sightseeing! We saw whales off the boat; a porcupine, a couple of bears, salmon swimming upriver, and some bald eagles.
We took a tour of the Glacier and a waterfall; we rode the train that was the same route for the Gold Rush in Alaska; Ziplining in British Columbia; and a PediCab ride around Victoria. The weather was pretty good, one rainy day in Skagway where we found you can still get condoms for $1!, the beer is $8. The seas were calm and no one got sick or lost, except for those 3 suitcases.
Another wonderful memory. Sharing it with my friends and family was the best part of the whole week (and a couple chocolate cakes with vanilla ice cream). Can’t wait to get home and see everyone again.