After months of googling and stalking Cruise Critic, travel day had arrived ... my daughter and I were headed to Seattle and then Alaska! Whether it was excitement or worry that I would sleep through my alarm, I finally gave up and GOT up at 3:30! Time for one more leisurely bath ... I am going to miss that on the Solstice ... and pack those last minute items. John showed up promptly at 5:45, mimosa in hand, to drive me to the airport. Many thanks once again, my friend!
Kris had beat me to the airport by only 5 minutes and we easily connected. I couldn't believe how quickly we breezed through check-in and security. And somehow I got the TSA pre-approval once again. Woo Hoo! We headed straight for Garrett's so we would have a premium snack on our 4 and half hour flight to Seattle. The Garrett Mix of CaramelCorn and CheeseCorn is our favorite!!
We boarded right on time only to find the pilots conferring with maintenance. Never a good sign and it wasn't. After our take-off was delayed for half an hour everyone had to disembark and wait for a new plane to arrive. Luckily it wasn't a long trek to another part of the terminal and we simply waited at a nearby gate. Finally, two hours later, we were on our way!
Vacation had officially begun...somehow in a moment of weakness I had agreed to book first class. Then again it might have had something to do with my daughter saying: Bye bye - I'll wave to you as you pass me on your way to coach. The comfy seat, increased leg room, and hot towel were greatly appreciated after the delay. And of course, we started our trip with some Bloody Mary's. I took advantage of the included breakfast and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. We passed the time by reading and a little dozing, surprised that there were no movies.
The skies were gray and gloomy when we landed it Seattle, but we were excited to start exploring. Kris had a new state to check off her bucket list. Signs easily directed us to the taxi area and we had about a half hour ride to the Sheraton in downtown Seattle. We discovered our hotel was also hosting the PAX Prime video convention and we were hoping to see some gamers in costume! Alas, it wasn't to be although we did see gamers holding boxes of homemade props.
After checking out our room ... if you stood in just the right spot you could see a glimpse of water in the distance ... we set out to explore the city. Now mind you I had checked a map online the day before we left and I thought we were walking in the right direction. Unfortunately I took us about 4 blocks in the wrong direction and decided I needed to pay more attention to street signs and not my mental map!! (nothing like adding 8 blocks to our walk) We got turned around and once we started walking downhill I knew all was right once again! And that from someone who has never been to the city before!
First stop: Pike Place Market
As you can see we made it to Elliott's! By now the sun had come out and drat it - I left my sunglasses at the hotel so we parked our weary tootsies at the bar. Starting at 3, the oysters were only $1, but you were limited to one dozen per person or 3 dozen to a table. We had 30 minutes to wait but started with some spicy crab corn chowder which was so good I almost slapped Kris's hand away! I knew it was time to order another cup before she came to bodily harm!
Then on to The Crab Pot for dinner. Yes ... this was basically a foodie tour of the wharf area! We knew we had a shore excursion at the end of our cruise which would take us on a city tour and allow us to see the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden.
What you are looking at - The Alaskan - a feast for two including king crab, dungeness crab, snow crab, shrimp in the shell, steamed clams & mussels, andouille sausage, corn on the cob, and red potatoes in their jackets. Don't you get hungry just looking at all that food? Well as hard as we tried we left some on the butcher paper, but NOT any crab!! Did leave some shrimp much to our surprise - blame it on those eyes that kept staring at us!!
Decision time: the way back to the hotel was all uphill so should we hail a cab or walk??? After indulging ourselves, we decided it was penance time so "walk" it was. Luckily the route back only had 100 steps to climb vs. the 147 steps on our previous route. Before you're thinking "good job," I DID have to rest against a concrete planter half way up. Then when we made it past the stairs we still had 6 more blocks, all uphill at about a 45 degree angle. OMG ... what WERE we thinking!!! This was worse than any walk I took in San Francisco. Of course we passed numerous wine bars which gets my daughter thinking ... we need some more wine!
I convinced her we could find a place near the hotel and did we ever. The Sheraton had a beautiful lounge called the Fountain Wine Bar. We not so elegantly plopped down at a table for two right next to the fountain. Two hours later we were still there - feet propped on the edge of the fountain by then! I sure don't look like I've been on the go since 3:30 in the morning!
Day 2 - Leaving Seattle Embarking on Solstice
Great beds at the Sheraton meant a good night's rest and I needed it! We woke up refreshed and ready for our cruise. No heavy breakfast needed with a Starbucks on every block. A quick walk and we had our morning coffee as we headed out to find the flagship Nordstrom. My Seattle souvenir - a sparkly piece of bling which I had seen in Chicago and liked. I was definitely in vacation mode ... no denying myself the second time around.
Then it was back to the hotel to get our luggage and hail another cab. Seattle has two main cruise piers and the Solstice was at Pier 91. Embarkation was painless: from the pier to our first step inside the ship in no more than 15 minutes! As soon as we stepped aboard we were given our choice of a mimosa or glass of champagne - so welcoming! We headed for the lunch buffet and seats were already at a premium even though people had been boarding for only an hour. Then it was time to explore: the Spa was holding an Open House so we checked out the facilities, grabbed a brochure, and I booked a hair appointment. We walked around the exercise room and I picked up a flyer for zumba classes. Silly me ... like that is going to happen. Kristen just shook her head and kept on walking!
Then it was off to explore the many lounges and bar areas. One of the reasons we had chosen Celebrity was the promotion they were offering when we booked. We selected the free beverage package which we upgraded to premium within a day. Thank you Cruise Critic ... we knew the premium package entitled us to the martinis at the Martini Bar. Don't know if you can see it but the top of this bar is all ice ... amazing!
Our room was ready by 1:30. Much to our surprise we had a waiting bottle of champagne from the hotel director. At first glance, we looked at each other and then around the room, and I was thinking: How will we survive a week without killing each other? No room for any unnecessary clutter here... we'd both have to be diligent about putting things away daily. The bathroom was quite small: while sitting on the toilet, your knees could knock into the shower doors and you could reach to turn on the sink faucets ... lol! But the shower doors were curved providing more space when actually taking a shower ... a plus! However, when it came time to unpack later that afternoon, we were pleasantly surprised to find everything fit, including four suitcases under the bed! There were even hangers to spare in the closet!! Our stateroom 9292 was first off the hump, near the elevator, and it had a beautiful balcony.
We skipped the theater show, made another stop at the Martini Bar, and then on to the casino to make the first of our daily deposits. This casino was much smaller than the one on last year's NCL Jewel and more crowded than Cruise Critic comments had led me to believe. We lost a little at the slots before finding an opening at a blackjack table, but we still managed to have a lot of fun while losing! After calling a halt to our gambling we made one more trek to the Martini Bar (between the two of us we had now tried six different kinds) where I ended up dancing with one of the bartenders. We both enjoyed the great music from Miami DJ's drifting up the atrium. It had me reminiscing my teen years yet Kris was singing along and knew the words as well as I did! Stacey and Matilde, if you were here we all would have been a'dancing. The midnight hour arrived and it was time to say good night to new friends and for two giggling women to hit the sack.
Day 3 - At Sea
Now our plans were to take the kindle and ipad to the solarium and enjoy some relaxing reading. Somehow we detoured to Cafe al Bacio and treated ourselves to a specialty coffee after breakfast instead. We took these to the room while we showered and changed ... yes we went to breakfast sans makeup ... it was vacation! By then it was time to head up to the top deck to watch the Hot Glass Show. Unfortunately all of the benches were full so we stood to the side shivering and fascinated. I was in long sleeves, but poor Kris in short. With the wind whipping at our backs we lasted an hour and then cried "uncle!" The seas were a little rocky and some people were feeling ill effects, but my Bonine and sea bands did the job!
After lunch we had a short respite and then it was on to Cellar Masters for our wine tasting. We both enjoyed the Riesling from Germany and I enjoyed the cab from Australia and the Malbec from Argentina. So while I went back to the reds, Kris just parked herself in a comfy chair next to the Riesling. We tasted 12 different wines while snacking on a variety of cheeses. Everyone was friendly and talkative and before we knew it Kris was getting information about a premium wine she wanted to try, Opus One. This passenger had been to their tasting room and then he showed her where it was located in Cellar Masters. Uh oh! We had a free hour after the tasting so did we opt for that solarium then? Heck no, we were too close to the casino!
Tonight was our first formal dinner, another reason we chose Celebrity, a chance to dress up! I swapped my sea bands for Queasy Beads and guess what ... they worked and were certainly more fashionable with a cocktail dress! Dinner didn't disappoint: shrimp cocktail, more french onion soup, and beef tournedoes. The sommelier greeted us by name remembering our preferences from the night before... made us feel sooo special. Then he earned another tip when Kris order a dessert wine not included in our package. We broke our evening pattern and headed to the theater for the Captain's Gala Toast followed by the musical production Ghostlight, a celebration of Broadway hits past and present. More wonderful memories on our special trip ...
But we still had time for one last martini before bed! They really know how to put on a show and it reminded me of Tom Cruise's old movie, Cocktail.
Day 4 - Ketchikan
No wake up call needed for me (or probably our neighbors on either side): the balcony door crashed open at 5:30 to Kris shouting: We're here!! So we greeted the port of Ketchikan from our balcony( in our jams mind you) totally protected from the rain and even managed to watch the Millenium sail in behind us. We hustled to get ready, (don't think I've ever seen Kris so impatient this early in the morning or so chipper) had a quick breakfast at the buffet, and were off the ship by 7:30, hair pulled up in a pony tail ... not a good hair day for me. Kristen's eagle eyes had spotted the stores near the pier already open for business. God forbid we tourists should miss an opportunity to contribute to the Alaska economy! We had a little over an hour before we had to be back at the pier to board the bus for our shore excursion. I'm fine with power shopping before Christmas with specific goals in mind, but on reflection we probably made some impulse purchases that morning - here are our Northern Lights and Alaska Moonbeams!
The majority of our day here was on the shore excursion we chose: Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast. Are you seeing a recurring theme here!? With hindsight we probably should have chosen something different. Our trip began with a half hour bus ride on a road that had more pot holes than Illinois highways at the end of winter! Once we arrived at George Inlet Lodge we had 75 wet steps to head down before reaching a slick lengthy gangway to the boat.
This photo is from their web site - very rainy when we were there
The steps weren't as slippery as they looked in the rain, but it was baby steps for me down the gangway ... my arthritic ankle was already protesting against the rain and the walking I was doing! Kris got to the bottom, turned around, and couldn't believe how far behind her I straggled. By now it was literally pouring and we were lucky to be inside a covered boat with Captain Gil and our tour guide Heather. The shoreline of the Tongass National Forest was not what I expected and the greenery reminded me more of Door County. Poor Heather ... her microphone didn't work and she had to practically shout to be heard over the rain and boat engine.
We took a scenic tour to a nearby bay: passed an old cannery, spotted an eagles nest (Make that most of us did and Kris just agreed!) and saw some eagles feeding. Then it was time to pull up a crab pot and learn a little about crabs ... the focus of our boat tour.
The crab Heather held in her left hand was a male, the only kind they are allowed to keep. Heather told us to look at their abdomen: thin and narrow and you know you've got a male. In addition, crabs must measure at at least 6 inches across to be considered mature enough to keep. Everyone got a chance to hold a crab and I'll let you guess whether we did or not! All the crabs in this pot were then returned to the water since the crabs we were eating were already waiting for us at the lodge. In reflection, the wilderness portion of this tour was a little lacking, but at the time I was so wet & chilled I longed for the warmth of the lodge.
By the time our tour ended and we returned to town there wasn't much time for exploring, but we still managed two more purchases: I bought a birthday gift for Kris, a fur scarf, and she bought herself earrings to match the ring she'd bought that morning. One last stop before we headed on board - the Totem Bar so Kris could try an Alaskan beer. And yes ... you CAN smoke inside a bar in Ketchikan!! There was a huge line at Security when we reboarded. The security guard made me pull down my hood, remove my ball cap, then proceeded to check my photo 3 times without letting me pass until I muttered: What do you expect in all this rain ... bad hair day!
Okay by now I'm feeling the results of my excessive eating & drinking so I'm very happy to get out of my jeans and into some palazzo pants for dinner ... gotta love that elastic waistband! We were seated at a different table with our same waiter. Then he made a discovery: put us close to another couple and we could talk as much as we ate ... it was a much slower workout for him that night!
Kris had found the theater chairs pretty uncomfortable the previous night so she balked about seeing David Meyer, the evening's musician. Apparently we missed a wonderful performance as we continued to give Celebrity our money in the casino. We called it a night before midnight and prepared for another early morning wake-up call!
Day 5 Tracy Arm Fjord and Juneau
You know that half asleep mode when you don't know if you're dreaming or really seeing/hearing the things around you? Then your imagination kicks in and runs with it? It got Kris that morning. She woke up at 5 thinking she heard voices say: All hands on deck. Now maybe she did ...maybe she didn't. So she goes out to the balcony and even though it's still dark she sees a small boat pull up next to the ship. Now she had no idea what was going on! By now I'm awake and I see her head for the cabin door so I asked her where the heck she's going since I knew nothing was open at that hour. She mumbled something about going up on deck. That pretty much confused me, but I convinced her to wait a while and I would get up with her. Have you figured out where this story is going yet? It's only hours later that she admits she thought we were being boarded by pirates!!
So that's how we got up early enough to actually see the ship turn into the fjord and glimpse one of the earliest chunks of glacier ice floating by. By six it was much lighter so we headed to the buffet to get breakfast which we took down to our balcony. (We do have a few frugal moments and this was one of them ... we opted not to use Room Service but many others did.) Now mind you it was probably in the 50's alternating between a mist and gentle rain, but we still intended to eat on our balcony so we wouldn't miss a thing! It was pretty much a cold breakfast but the scenery more than compensated for it! Brent Nixon, a naturalist, was on deck narrating and we could follow his commentary on our balcony. We never heard any loud music playing and there were definite intentional periods of silence that added to the grandeur of our surroundings. Who would have thought that two city girls could be so engrossed with nature, but we were! What we saw that morning was WHY we had come to Alaska. There are many better pictures out there than mine so I'll only share a few.
Starboard was definitely the better side for viewing and it was only a fluke that we had booked that side. Today's scenery didn't resemble Door County in the slightest. We were surrounded by mountains and more waterfalls than I had ever seen before. Even the water was a different color: not the turquoise of Cozumel but still beautiful. The jewel of the morning, however, was Sawyer Glacier. Our ship got as close as navigational charts allowed the Captain to go and there we stayed for while (Starboard facing the glacier) before doing a complete 360 degree turn and returning back through the fjord. That stationary time in front of the glacier was a definite goose bump moment. You felt so insignificant in the face of such majestic power and beauty. We soooo regretted we had not booked the excursion that could go closer and we weren't alone. Yes ... there really was a small boat that had been following along with the Solstice in the fjord and now some passengers got to board it going right up to the glacier.
By the time the ship completed its turn and we started the return journey, both of us were quite chilled. This was the only time I needed all my layers: quilted vest, fleece, raincoat, and scarf. So we made a quick trip to Cafe al Bacio for some hot chocolate and a caramel macchiato before returning to our balcony now able to see the side of the fjord we had missed earlier. It was late morning before we finally got "shore" presentable.
We grabbed a quick lunch in the buffet and headed out to downtown Juneau as soon as we docked at 1:30. By now significant fog had rolled in and we were worried our floatplane excursion would be cancelled. Kris checked at the the shore excursion desk before we left and was told we would not be notified till right before the tour. Although we were not tendered, it was about a mile walk into town so we opted for the shuttle - all you could ride during the day for $4 a person. That would give us about 90 minutes to shop before heading back to the ship. So we visited the shops closest to the shuttle and set off to find the one that sold glacier soap ...success! Before we knew it, it was time to turn around and head back to the ship to get rid of our purchases. We whisked through security this time - everyone was going in the opposite direction. Both of us checked our cell phones to see if we had a cancellation text, but there weren't any.
So we head back out to the pier to look for our shore excursion group. No signs anywhere for the 5 Glacier Floatplane excursion so we asked one of the Celebrity representatives only to be told that the bus would arrive shortly.
We repeat this process two more times and by now it's raining again which is not making for a pleasant wait. Granted we had arrived a little early, but we were getting alarmed at still not seeing a familiar sign. Kris's smile and mine had disappeared and since it's past our scheduled meeting time, I asked once again. This time I am told the tour had been cancelled 30 minutes ago, but they had been too busy to notify the ship. So I relay this information to Kris who immediately questions me since we never received an official text cancellation or saw a sign posting the cancellation. So we both asked yet another Celebrity rep to be told the same information and now others start to gather round with the same question. Picture two wet deer struck in oncoming headlights ...we didn't quite know what to do. If we had been informed inside the ship we would have gone and immediately tried to book a different excursion, possibly whale watching which wasn't until the evening. By now (4 o'clock almost) it was too late to get to/from Mendenhall Glacier using public transportation from what I had had researched prior to our trip. I didn't want to pay for the nearby tram because the top of the mountain was covered in fog. We both thought Celebrity dropped the ball here on how we were notified and we were pretty disgruntled for the remainder of our time in Juneau.
Disappointed, we hopped back on the shuttle and returned to downtown Juneau. Our dilemma - what to do? Well I had read about Tracy's Crab Shack and how their king crab was supposed to be phenomenal...only problem-we weren't really hungry! We went anyway and wished we had brought our appetites ... the best crab on the trip. Why oh why did we have 8:30 dinner reservations back on the ship???? We only got the sampler with one enormous king crab leg, very crunchy crab cakes, and some of their chowder. If you stop at Juneau do NOT miss this place, but be prepared to sit outside and share your seating with lots of strangers busily stuffing down crab.
By now the rain had stopped and the sun started peaking through the fog. You can see how it was hugging the nearby mountains. We decided to walk around Juneau and even checked the floatplane docks to see if tours had resumed. If they had, I don't think we would have questioned any price to go see the glaciers! We found the Wings Airways building, but it was locked down for the day and there wasn't a floatplane in sight ... made us wonder if they got stranded at Taku Lodge when the fog rolled in. So we wandered through all the shops, nothing impressing us enough to part with any more money. In reality we were still somewhat bummed we weren't seeing more glaciers; our morning had been spectacular and this was a letdown. By now my feet and back were screaming: Stop all this walking!! So even though there was a line out the door we decided to go in the Red Dog Saloon and try some more Alaskan beer. Kris turned her puppy dog eyes on me and said: I can't buy their souvenirs if I haven't had a drink there! It was a raucous crowd inside and a fun atmosphere with foot tappin' music and she did get her souvenir!
After a brief respite, we walked several blocks back to the shuttle and returned to the ship. I spotted the Taku store near the shuttle stop and was too tired to walk the extra distance ... no smoked salmon to take home for me. By the time we got back to the ship I didn't have the energy to change for that night's dinner, but I certainly wasn't alone wearing jeans in the dining room! After dinner I finally broke my run of bad luck in the casino... hooray! Unfortunately Kris continued to fill Celebrity's coffers.
Day 5 Skagway
This is a port intensive trip ... don't let the itinerary fool you. I could soooo have used a sea day right about then instead of another 5:30 wake up call! By now Kris and I had our routine and we managed to get ready in about half an hour without bumping into each other, and I had also started taking advantage of the full length mirror rather than the vanity for make-up time. We were back at the buffet once again. They did have the best hash browns and I don't even want to think about all the bacon I consumed ... sigh. We were off the ship at 9 for our longest shore excursion, Gold Rush Highlights. We climbed on a bus which took us to the train in the downtown area of Skagway ... our tour was not using the tracks right by the dock. Then we boarded the old fashioned cars of the White Pass Railway,; everyone in the know quickly headed for the left side of the train. It didn't matter ... we had an entire car for our group which meant we could spread out going from side to side when needed for certain scenic spots. Our guide told us to be on the lookout for fresh snow on the peaks. Apparently while we had slept the night away Skagway received a "terminator" snowfall, the first snow signaling the end or termination of summer. (sorry I don't have a shot of that) The scenery was amazing and my fear of heights didn't limit my enjoyment although I wasn't willing to press my luck and go out on the platform! Kris made it out several times and did try to convince me to no avail.
Photography isn't my forte - factor in the train motion and after a while I just sat back and enjoyed the ride! Once we reached Fraser B. C., we were allowed to disembark after Canadian authorities checked our passports.
Then it was onto our coach for the return trip. There was quite a bit of fog at the summit which probably helped me on the ride down ... I couldn't really see the steep drop off at the side of the road. Our driver explained that the metal posts above the road that looked like upside down hockey pucks were the guides for the snow plows: keep the truck in the white and you're all right - head into the red and you could be dead. Tormented Valley, the Welcome sign, and Pitchfork Falls were highlights on our descent.
Then it was on to our final stop of the tour: the Klondike Gold Fields. This was a typical tourist attraction and the costumed staff quickly set the mood for our visit. Charlie led us to an outdoor arena where we learned the art of gold-panning. Unfortunately I was not a stellar student. Suffice it to say I sucked at gold panning and Kris had a good time laughing at my efforts! I did manage to walk away with a blood blister on my finger when trying to cap my meager amount of gold flakes in the container.
After a quick lunch in their buffet ...we just couldn't get away from those buffet lines ... we only had a short trip back to town. Our tour had taken almost 6 hours so we only lasted about 90 minutes in the quaint town before running out of steam. We waited for a shuttle to take us back to the Solstice and by then it had gotten much colder and windier, making our walk after the shuttle a little uncomfortable. Once we got onboard we headed straight to our room and crashed on the bed to "just rest our eyes.' Ha ha ha ... one hour later we woke up from a well-deserved nap.
We had renewed energy, dressed for dinner and made a quick stop at you guessed it - the Martini Bar! We enjoyed another wonderful dinner: braised short ribs with truffle polenta. Kris had never tried polenta before and declared it might be better than mashed potatoes! I ordered cherries jubilee and reminded her it was a dessert she really liked. After some friendly family squabbling with her insisting she didn't, she ordered a different dessert. Once the desserts arrived and she sampled mine, we ended up swapping - guess Mother really does know best! Kris didn't want to see the illusionist and I didn't want to go alone to the theater so big surprise ... we compromised on the casino. Woo hoo ...Lady Luck smiled down at me once again, but she turned a cold shoulder to Kris.
Day 7 Sea Day
Good thing it was a sea day because we lost an hour last night. Without a doubt I was a sloooooow mover, definitely beginning to feel the impact of all the early hours, late nights, excess food & alcohol, not to mention all the walking and stair climbing. I looked down at my feet and realized I had left my ankles in Alaska!
Kris was definitely out and about that morning quicker than me with a spa appointment at 10:15 for a facial. I didn't even leave the room while she was gone: caught up on my trip notes and did some reading ... finally!! After lunch it was my turn and I headed to the spa for a hair appointment. After that a little more laziness: we browsed through the ship shops, took a winning spin at the slots followed by a losing trip at the blackjack table. Seems Lady Luck thought I might be getting a tad too cocky!
Then it was time to change for dinner. Putting on dress shoes for formal night was NOT fun!! However the dinner made it worthwhile: we both had Beef Wellington and split a lobster tail. I surprised Kris by ordering a bottle of the wine she had been ogling, Opus One, and it was a wonderful treat for both of us. The sommelier even brought better wine glasses to our table that night. After dinner we headed to the theater to see Solstice a cirque du soleil type show. We were pretty late and ended up sitting in the back row at a bar table. The show was shorter than I anticipated and featured one couple who were really quite talented. However, it definitely fell short of amazing.
Day 8 Victoria
How wonderful to know we had another relaxing sea day before arriving in Victoria that evening. Both of us had booked a 50 minute foot massage in the Spa that morning. My masseusse was also a physical therapist and she was quite concerned about the swelling in my feet as was I by this point. I still had two more shore excursions and a long flight home to face! Well, I won't be able to put her advice to work for two more days and then I'll just hope for the best.
Kris wanted to try the formal dining room for lunch just for the experience as we had eaten all of our lunches at the buffet. It ended up being my most disappointing meal of the trip and our friendly dinner sommelier obviously didn't work lunches! We made our last trip to the casino where Kris played on borrowed money and finally, finally won! It's hard to believe that I live close to a casino that I never visit and we were daily visitors to this one!
Then it was back to the room to pack. Why can you pack to go home much quicker than you pack for your trip??? I felt a pang of regret leaving our stateroom that night knowing our trip was coming to a close. But we still had Victoria!!
As soon as the ship docked we left for our shore excursion to Butchart Gardens, another remarkable MUST SEE . Usually I am the navigator, but tonight Kris took the lead. Now handing the map over to someone who is normally directionality impaired took a lot of courage, but she was fantastic. Our driver had encouraged us to see the Japanese Garden first because it would be the hardest to navigate in the darkness, and she led us there with no difficulty except my constant interruptions.
We both favored the Sunken Garden! It was so hard to imagine this beautiful space was once an abandoned quarry yet they have the before photos to prove it on display. The garden was quite extensive and when darkness fell my feet and back murmured a sign of thanks when I suggested we take a break at a coffee shop near the entrance. I even purchased water hoping a little hydration would help with the swelling.
On our return to the ship we did a quick city tour. The legislative building was easily spotted with its stunning array of lights. Victoria would make a beautiful retirement city, but the price of downtown condos makes it far beyond my reach!
We returned to the ship by 10 and faced another long walk from the bus to the gangplank. It was hard to realize we were leaving the ship the next morning. We made the rounds to our favorite haunts, looking for our new friends, and sadly saying our good byes. There would be one last early wake up call for us and it might be my least favorite this trip.
Day 9 Seattle and Home Sweet Home
Since we had booked one last shore excursion in Seattle we had to be ready to be one of the first off the ship. Kris joked I snuck this one in on her, but it did give us our transportation to the airport! Debarking the ship went even smoother than embarking! We had our luggage and strolled through customs within 5 minutes ... unbelievable! For once a short walk ... we boarded the first bus outside the terminal. Mentally I was doing an early morning jig right about then. After a short wait for the other passengers to arrive, we headed to Seattle Center.
Our bus driver kept up a running commentary on everything we passed. He was very specific about when and where to meet, dropping us off right in front of the Space Needle. I thought I would simply sit at the bottom while Kris went up to the top of the Space Needle, but she wasn't having any of that ... my idea, I was going up! Remember my earlier concern during the train excursion - I do have a history of not handling heights well. I had nail imprints in my palm during the car ride to Muir Woods over ten years ago! Roller coasters don't bother me, but sky rides, ski slopes, and mountainous roads normally do. I entered the elevator and immediately moved to the rear; I have to admit I kept my eyes shut for most of our ascent. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could walk around once we reached the top without any dizziness at all, not even a desire to hug the back wall. Then again, I didn't push my luck and use the outdoor platform here either! I relaxed and enjoyed the spectacular view. I even managed to keep my eyes open all the way down! We checked out our digital photo, decided to take a pass, and leisurely strolled through the gift shop while waiting for Chihuly Garden and Glass to open. But our wait was definitely worthwhile ... the glass exhibit was exquisite!
Much too quickly we had to board the bus and head for the airport. It had truly been a remarkable vacation and I am blessed that my daughter invited me to share this journey with her. From the natural beauty of the wilderness to the explosion of color at the end ... we savored it all!
I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into my travel experience. I'll end with just a few quick tips that we would consider if we ever returned:
- Take advantage of Cruise Critic when selecting your cruise ... you'll find an abundance of helpful tips there.
- Find out if it makes a difference whether you choose a port or starboard stateroom ... we got lucky!
- New ships are often bigger with more amenities, but smaller ships might get the best docking in port.
- Sea days are very casual ... lots of jogging suits abound from designer duds to athletic. Women, don't worry about morning make-up ... there were many of us walking around au naturel.
- Have a very comfortable pair of shoes for all of that walking ... it's unavoidable.
- Formal night attire ranged from cocktail dresses and tuxes to Sunday best. And yes ... we saw a few in good jeans and a sports shirt.
- Layers were a good choice unless you were actually hiking on the glacier. I was able to add or take off when needed.
- How many glaciers can a person really see??? It was the highlight of our trip and we were craving more! We would be much more adventuresome in booking shore excursions ... bring on that scenery because it was magnificent!
