The ship was glamorous, seriously.  The piazza was like something out of a magazine, and everything was so very clean, we were impressed.  Once we’d come in out of the weather, gotten checked in on the ship and found our room, we took some time to appreciate the beauty all around us.  Not just inside the ship, but outside too.  Our port was in Seattle, and I’d never been until this trip.  We’d decided a year earlier that we wanted our rooms to be above water level and we wanted a balcony, this felt like such an extravagance, but, once on the ship, we realized what a really good decision that was!  All four of our rooms were right next to each other and, much to our delight, you could open the doors that separated them and have one giant balcony that spanned width of all our rooms.   The view from our balcony was spectacular, first Seattle port, then the open sea and then each of the ports of our journey, we were so glad we’d splurged.  I do highly recommend a balcony on a cruise to Alaska, I’ve had so many people ask me for tips and tricks, well this is a tip, get the balcony, you won’t regret it!

I told you last week that our first day was a day at sea.  It was the weirdest feeling to look out the window and see nothing but water, no land in sight.  You suddenly feel your smallness in the world, at least I did.  Our first port was Juneau, the capitol of Alaska.  Fun fact, you can only get to Juneau by air or by water, there are no roads to it.  Of course, there are roads in Juneau, but no roads to get to it.     It was this stop that we, the girls of the trip, were supposed to go whale watching.   We were so excited when we signed up for this excursion, we even bought binoculars!  But, the ship left the port late, because they didn’t get loaded in time, so we missed our excursion.  We were so disappointed.  The guys of the trip were signed up for a fishing trip off the coast and their trip was a go, so they bundled up and left the ship, headed to the designated place to meet their ride.   

We, everyone on this trip, are from the southeast, not at all used to this type of weather, but we packed as best we could following all the advice we could get online.  We felt somewhat prepared for the unreliable weather we were going to face, at least that’s what we thought.  My husband, Jeff, went fishing reluctantly because he doesn’t love it, but he does love being with his brothers in law, and they love fishing so, he signed up too.   Side note, my Dad and his wife who were on the trip with us, decided on a different excursion from the rest of us so they avoided the drama.   

Now here’s the fishing story, as told to me by Jeff…

“We were picked up in a sketchy white van, about ten of us, and driven by a twenty one year old to a pier (or a dock) where we proceeded to get our rods and try to catch some salmon.   Well, first we walked the wrong way to get to our van pick up site, so we had to back track to get with the group. That took a while and it was so cold and our feet were killing us.   One of the guys, who shall remain nameless, wore boots he’d bought recently that were steel toed.  He thought they’d be fine, but they weren’t.  He limped around and finally gave his rod to someone else so he could take his boot off because his feet hurt so badly.  So he stood there in the freezing cold, on the pier, shoeless and hurting, fun times indeed.   I asked the guide how many fish they’d caught this year so far, he thought for a moment and finally said, ‘three.’    THREE?!  Not three today or even this week, but three TOTAL!   Of all the excursions, and all the people fishing, only three caught anything.   That was disappointing, I knew then we were going back empty handed.  And we did. We were so cold, the fishing wasn’t even fun anymore, we couldn’t wait to get back to the ship.”

The romantic idea of fishing off the coast of Alaska, bringing the “catch” back to be cooked on the ship, apparently they do that, was nothing like the reality of freezing in the cold and wind trying to catch a salmon that is way too crafty to be caught.    It wasn’t at all what he’d envisioned.    But, he can now mark off fishing in Alaska off his bucket list, if it was ever on there. 

Meanwhile, my sister and I decided to get off the boat and explore.  We were disappointed our whale watching was canceled, but we were determined to have an adventure anyway.  Juneau was the cutest little town, lots of small shops and of course we found a coffee shop!  I was on a mission to find sweatshirts for my kids because they were dog sitting for me, saving me a fortune, so I wanted to reward them.   We found a little shop with a decent selection so I bought them each one.  I still don’t know how I got them home since my suitcase was only a breath away from being over fifty pounds.    I had been dying to ask someone who lives in Alaska what it is really like to LIVE there, and as I was paying for the sweatshirts, I got my chance.  There were two young girls ringing me up, one on the register and the other bagging my goods, when I blurted out, “what’s it like to live here?”  I have a feeling they get that question a lot.  The one bagging said “it’s cold.”  I was like, “oh, I bet.”  The other one began to explain how she’d lived there for many years and it isn’t as bad as people think, I was like, “oh really?’  Because in my short experience I’d already decided Alaska wasn’t for me.  She did go on to say that you can’t really order from Amazon, well, you can, but you may not get your order and it will probably take two weeks if you do get it.  That sealed it for me, Alaska was going to be a one and done trip, who wants to live without Amazon??   We walked around the town a little more, stopped at the cutest little kiosk of a coffee shop and then headed back to the ship. 

I could finally check “go to Alaska” off my bucket list! 

That night we ate at the main dining room with our amazing wait staff, then went to a show in the theatre.   As I sat at dinner with easy conversation and lighthearted laughter all around me, I realized that even though the day did not go as expected, it was still a good day; any day you spend with the ones you love is a gift.  The ship would set sail that night and our next stop would be a highlight for me!  Before bed we enjoyed the most beautiful sunset and then slept to the rocking of the boat on the waves.  

We didn’t catch any fish or see any whales, but I’d taken a walk in a place I’d always wanted to see; for me, this was a “dreams do come true” moment.