Our adventure this summer was a little unexpected. A couple of months prior, my sister Jenny and her husband, Michael had "won" two cruise cabins and needed to use them soon, so they invited Stan and me to join them. So, on July 4, Stan and I flew to Seattle to start our Alaskan adventure.
Flying over the Grand Canyon
Mt. Ranier greeted us when we landed
The view from our hotel.
It was Independence Day and America's 250th birthday. We were hoping to catch some fireworks, but honestly, Seattle is not in a good place. People high on drugs were everywhere and the streets smelled bad. We really didn't want to venture out without a car, so we called it an early night to get some rest before embarkation day.
We met Michael and Jenny at the cruise terminal. The boarding process looked crazy and chaotic, however, it was super smooth and went quickly, although I do admit I felt almost like cattle being herded through one line after the other.
Our ship, the Star Princess
Once we boarded the ship, we were in awe of how beautiful it looked. Michael and Jenny showed us around, and although our cabin wasn't ready yet, we were able to drop off our backpacks and explore, and that included hitting the buffet.
My "during" photo of my buffet lunch. Kind of random, but chicken, salad, and ramen.
We explored the ship to become familiar with it...it was huge. Here is Seattle from the ship.
Our room. Disclaimer: I forgot to take photos until the last night when I was beginning to pack, so there are things everywhere. But it was a great room on the 12th deck.
And of course we needed to take advantage of the drink package. This is a called the Ferrero (chocolate & hazelnut)
That night, we joined Michael and Jenny for dinner at the Crown Grill. It was amazing...
The cheesy bread
French Onion Soup
My filet with asparagus and mashed potatoes (the sides are served family style)
And my chocolate dessert
Mt. Ranier
That was the beginning of our week long saying, "I'm so full I cannot eat another bite, but it's so good"
Day 2: Day at Sea
Our first full day was a day at sea. Stan and I slept in and explored the ship some more.
I woke up and went out on our balcony and it was COLD. I sat outside all bundled up and drank my coffee, and actually saw several whales including a beluga. I did not get any whale photos because they pop up so quickly before going back down. It was so peaceful.
Sunrise
Stan and I went to the front of the ship and enjoyed looking out at the sea and watching sea life. I ordered one of the tastiest drinks... a dirty banana. I was hesitant but it tasted a lot like a chocolate and banana shake.
The piazza
Our lunch was at one of my favorite restaurants. It was a casual Italian restaurant called Alfredos. Everything there was so good.
Our lunch companions
I ordered my own creation. White sauce with chicken, onions and arugula. Sorry, my Italian friends, I know it's not authentic, but it was so tasty.
Ending with a cannoli.
That evening was formal night. Dinner (and honestly and unfortunately, I was still so full from lunch), we went to the Italian restaurant on board called, Sabatini's. This was my other favorite. It was so hard to eat that night since I was not super hungry, but I attempted everything!
Arancini and some focaccia
My appetizer was Burrata E Prosciutto Crudo Stagionato 18 Mesi: creamy burrata paired with 18-month-aged prosciutto crudo, fresh cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
A glass of excellent wine with spaghetti and the best meatballs ever
And the BEST tiramisu I've ever had. (I'll admit I ordered it more than once on the trip)
We were uncomfortably full after our Italian feast, but the food and service were the best. I was determined that the next time we ate there, I would not eat so much during the day so I could enjoy it more.
Some Formal Night Photos
DAY 3: Ketchikan
Our first port was Ketchikan. It's a small community, which you can only get to by sea plane or boat. We spent the morning exploring the town.
The view from our balcony early morning. So calm and peaceful.
Stan and the only moose we saw
I just liked this bush. I loved the vibrant colors
Our ship from the pier. It's so large that I couldn't fit it all in a photo
The bay in Ketchikan
The town is made up of many of the original buildings built in the late 1800s, mostly around a salmon cannery, before the gold rush.
Our first bald eagle sighting. They are everywhere in Alaska
This carving is called Thundering Wings. Ketchikan means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle" and the artist honors the native people of the land. It's right by the cruise ship pier.
This is low tide. During high tide, the water reaches up to the decks.
A rare M & J sighting.
Creek Street is the main (tourist) street in Ketchikan. It's mostly restaurants and shops. Ketchikan has a population of around 8000 residents. During the summer months it gets about 1.5 million visitors, almost all from cruise ships.
A former brothel sign.
The creek
We lucked out with gorgeous weather on this day. It was forecast to be rainy and cold. I didn't even wear my jacket and Stan was wearing shorts.
Had to do it.
After exploring the town, we went back to our room and ordered lunch on the balcony. (this is a mediterranean salad, or what's left of it)
The moss was growing on the roofs
Stan and I did a duck tour of Ketchikan in the afternoon. Here is our ship while on the water.Unfortunately, the only wildlife we saw was bald eagles and seagulls. But we did learn a lot, such as there are five different types of salmon (Chum, Sockeye, Silver, King, and Pink) and that students in 8th grade were required to spend three days in the wilderness with limited supplies before they could go to high school. They trained all year on wilderness survival and that is their "test". Seems odd, but it does make sense if they live in such a cold, isolated place.
We went to the pub on the ship called O'Malley's for a pre dinner drink. I ordered a Raspberry-ing martini.
For dinner, we went back to the Crown Grill. Stan and Michael split a Tomahawk steak.
My dinner was a basic ribeye with baked potato
And blueberry cheesecake for dessert.
Day 4: "Glaciers" and Juneau
On our fourth day, we woke up early (like 4:45) because we were supposed to cruise near the glaciers. I can say it was beautiful, but it was COLD.
Views from the balcony.
The ice is a beautiful blue.
A seal!
We ended up not getting to the glacier we were supposed to see because of all of the floating ice. That was a little disappointing, but we still had some great views.
That afternoon, we arrived in Juneau. Stan and I rented a car and decided to venture out on our own. Juneau, like Ketchikan, can only be accessed by boat or plane, so it's not easy to get lost. We headed to Eagle Beach.
On our way, we saw two huge yachts in the water. I tried to get a photo but because we were driving, they were blurry and I deleted them. One yacht had a helicopter on it and the other was a luxurious yacht. Stan found out later that they were Mark Zuckerberg's yachts. One carries his "stuff" (including his helicopter) and the other is the one they travel on.
Eagle beach was one of my favorite spots. Not many people were there. It was peaceful. It had gorgeous views. And there were bald eagles everywhere. We got there at low tide, which is when they go to the beach and get the fish that didn't make it out to the water. They also just rest and hang out. I learned that eagles don't get their white head until they are about 4 years old. Before then, they are all brown.
Surrounded by trees on one of the trails. I was scared that there might be bears, but I didn't see any.
Wildflowers everywhere
Eagle Beach and the mountains that surround it.
Some of the eagles resting and feasting.
Stan resting on a log
More wildflowers!
That night, dinner was at Sabatini's again.
This time I had some wonderful lasagne
And some more of the BEST tiramisu.
DAY 5: Skagway
We woke up in Skagway on day 5. Skagway is a cute little old town and I wish I had more time to explore, but we had an excursion booked. Michael and Jenny were supposed to join us, but Michael wasn't feeling well, so it was just Jenny with us. This was another "favorite" day. We saw so much beautiful scenery and really enjoyed the tour. We stopped in a little town at the end and bought some real Canadian maple syrup aged in whisky barrels. I can't wait to try it on some pancakes. Our guide, Connor, was very knowledgeable and very intelligent. He told us about the areas and geology as we drove past and even recited a poem from the book The Trail of a Sourdough for us.
(Sorry the photo is sideways) Skagway was the starting point of the gold rush prospectors seeking their fortune. It's on the border of Alaska and Canada.
We had an excellent tour. It started with a drive and lots of beautiful scenery.
The water was so still and clear you could see to the bottom.
These rocks are at the bottom of the lake covered in water.
Michael joined us in thought.
We stopped at a place called Wild Adventure Yukon for some lunch of BBQ chicken, coleslaw, potato, and donut.
There's a little petting zoo. The resident llamas (or are they alpacas?)
Miniature highland cows were cute.
The highlight was the sledding dogs. They were so interesting. Very excited for the chance to pull the "sled" (on wheels for the summer) and when the workers came to do a run they ALL barked and howled for a chance to pull the sled.
In the background you can see the dogs that are ready to pull the sled. The one at the top was jumping with excitement (I caught him mid jump)
Emerald Lake.The water is green.
Our awesome guide, Connor.
The Denali-Fairweather Fault System. This is the Moore Creek Gorge fault.
When we got back from our tour, Stan and I went down to O'Malley's for dinner. It's an Irish pub on the ship.
Stan's Irish coffee. I tried to like it but he ended up drinking mine.
I ended up with a strawberry daiquiri to go with my cheese sticks
And I probably only at a quarter of this burger. It doesn't look big, but it really was. I ordered the chocolate cake as a dessert but ended up canceling it because I couldn't even look at food after all of that.
Day 6: At Sea Day
This was our second at sea day. I needed it at this point. I think I took two naps on day 6. But we did manage to hit the gym. It was so cold and stormy outside I didn't even want to go to the hot tub.
It was cold and stormy outside
We hit Alfredo's again for lunch. I ordered this drink called Sgroppini. It was probably my favorite drink on the ship.
This night, we went to the teppanyaki place, followed by one of the shows.
For our 30th anniversary
Edamame pre-appetizer
Our fun chef.
Katsu appetizer
Jenny trying to catch the egg. She missed all three times. I caught mine on the first try.
I chose a "fruit sashimi" for dessert
Stan had mocha ice cream.
Day 7: Victoria
Our last day was in Victoria British Columbia. We didn't even arrive until about 7 p.m. so it was kind of like an at-sea day as well. We had afternoon tea on the ship with Michael and Jenny.
We arrived in Victoria at 7pm, so we only had a few hours to explore. I absolutely adored Victoria and would love to spend more time here one day.
Day 8: Disembarkation and Seattle
It was a sad morning. We woke up early and disembarked. It was a wonderful cruise and a memory I'll keep forever.
Stan and I didn't have time to really explore the Seattle area since we arrived the evening before our cruise, so when we planned it we decided to take a day to explore the area before heading home. We went with Jenny and Michael (who went home) to the airport and rented a car for the day.
Stan's ride for the day
After visiting Pike Place Market, we decided to head out of Seattle and settled on Gig Harbor, which is about 30 minutes south of Seattle. It's a cute little town on the water.
He had lunch outside on the patio. And once again we lucked out with beautiful weather.
After Gig Harbor, we drove around a little bit, but were tired from a busy week. So we grabbed a sandwich and ate at the hotel before heading back to the airport the next morning. We were both glad to be home.
