Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Adventure #6: Alaskan Cruise

Alaska--what a beautiful place and my latest adventure in the series of 40 adventures for my 40's in 1940s style!

Last year, when my sister mentioned that her and her friends were planning to go on an Alaskan cruise in the summer and if I wanted to go along...I jumped at the chance and that's when it ended up on my 40 adventures list.
 It's also the first time I've ever been on a cruise ship. I'll confess--I was usually the person that when I saw a cruise ship said things like "how horrid...I can't imagine being stuck on a ship with all those people!" Boy...was I ever wrong.  My mind is completely changed. I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend it as well.


Let's start at the beginning. We embarked in Seattle, Washington and my sister and I shared a cabin. We also had our very own deck. I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious the rooms were--including the closets! Enough space for my sister and me and ALL our clothes and suitcases. :)

 Our first day was sailing, which gave us time to get used to the ship. It was BIG (though I hear it's relatively small by cruising standards) and I thought there was no way I would ever figure out how to get around and what was on each level.  But it was nice to explore with my sister and friends on that first day.  There were so many things like hot tubs on the decks, a gym and spa, lots of restaurants...

Our first stop on day 2 was Ketchikan, Alaska and my first encounter with wildlife (lol):

 
Ketchikan was a cute little town and we had tons of time to explore.  We stopped at Dolly's House -- one of the original red light district/saloon joints. The small Alaskan towns we visited were rich in gold rush history and lots of the houses were still from that traditional 'saloon' era.

Awww...loved that there was a vintage sewing machine in Dolly's House:

Here's a picture of me with our cruise ship in the distance. You can see it's big but definitely not one of the largest ones. We did the Princess Cruises and I was super impressed to learn that this was the original cruise ship company of the Love Boat series (and they regularly played rerun episodes in the cabin rooms! LOVE that!).  Apparently Princess Cruises is celebrating 50 years of going to Alaska. How I would have loved to have been on that first cruise in 1969!


There is so much stunning scenery in Alaska. It reminded me a lot of Scotland but with more trees and wild animals.  We got to see some huge salmon in Ketchikan--as we caught the tail end of the spawning season.
 

Our next stop on Day 3 was Skagway, Alaska. And we opted for an excursion to go on the White Pass and Yukon Railway.  This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.




The scenery was stunning, the train was vintage, the company was fun and the weather was gorgeous. What more could you want?
 

We also saw a steam train passing us:
We spent most of the time in Skagway on the train and then grabbing some yummy food at another really neat saloon.

Our next day, was completely at sea and it was actually really nice to have some relaxation time. I enjoyed sitting on our balcony with my book and a glass of wine. We also played 'Cards Against Humanity' with the group and that was hilarious.

 

One thing that really surprised me was how good the food was on the trip. Here's our group at our dining table. We had the same table every evening that was just for us--with a dedicated waitstaff.  We could choose food from a menu--really delicious Alaskan salmon and other meals. It was AMAZING. Two of the nights were also more formal nights which I really enjoyed!  I recently made the dress in the picture below--it's coming to the blog soon!


Another fun picture of our group in the lift/elevator:

On Day 5 we visited Juneau, Alaska. The only way to get there is by water. There were some amazing mountains/hills:

We started by taking the suspended tram up the mountain and doing an hour hike. There was a great nature centre and we had fun checking our wingspans :)

I tried to wear mostly me-made outfits on my trip and this tartan jacket that I made from McCall 3581 was perfect to wear with my Freddies of Pinewood jeans. I felt very outdoorsy...lol.
 

After we climbed back down the mountain, we took a short bus ride to go see a glacier and do some more hiking. The glacier was stunning.

I really enjoyed Juneau--it was so gorgeous. When we got back on the ship, we jumped immediately in the deck hot tub and this was our view as we were leaving Juneau:

Day 6 was again at sea and Day 7 we landed in Victoria, British Columbia.  We had time in the evening to go and visit the famous Butchart Gardens. Oh my! Was SO LOVELY. The picture below is unedited--such fabulous colours in the flowers and plants.

Like most of the best gardens, Butchart Gardens was started in the Victorian Era.   We had fun walking around and we saw an amazing evening fireworks show that was very vintage inspired (vintage music and some fun fireworks to match the songs).


Then it was one last overnight where we celebrated with Gary Glitter--the cruise director and a giant balloon dance party! hahaha.

We arrived back in Seattle on Day 8 in the morning--I was one of the last groups to leave the ship. What a fun journey. I'm already thinking about doing other potential cruises. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and adventure with good food and company and it was so great to spend so much time with my sister who I miss a lot since we live in different countries!

What about you? Have you ever done a cruise? Ever thought about it?
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