naturelovergirl

I also wore icy blue ❄️

One way to pack light and bring a bit of bling to your smart attire nights is to bring some fun and sparkly accessories. (One of my packing light tricks)

We took advantage of this sale, booking an Alaska 2025 voyage for my parents. Fabulous sale.

We recently returned from a family cruise with my in-laws on a different line (something we do with them each year and look forward to taking) Although our favorite line, as a couple, is Cunard (unparalleled in beauty, relaxation, and enrichment programs), we always enjoy these fun family cruises on the other lines too. They are fun for all of the ages and personalities in the group including my young nieces. We all love hanging out together, seeing places, making memories, and, as you do on a cruise ship, eating as a family together. This “other” line this time was chosen by other members of the family due to the itinerary- which was quite interesting. We all liked the itinerary. BUT… I have never in my life been on a cruise with such poor food. Wow. We (collectively as a family) have sailed on so many different lines and have never had a ship food experience like this. I had read bad reviews about this particular line we just took before sailing- but my family wanted to try it out. I’m a positive but realistic person- so I went into it all knowing they had a reputation but hoping it was merely people complaining online. Goodness gracious, the bad reviews on the food were spot on. It was interesting to return home from a cruise saying, “Yeah, I’ll never cruise that line again” I am usually the person saying “When are we going next?” Certainly made me appreciate Cunard, which I always do… but it also made me appreciate the family-friendly boisterous cruises we have taken on other lines.

Well Funny story… we changed excursions before the trip… and then the other excursion was cancelled for the rainy weather on the day So in the end we ended up with no excursion and hiked all around Ketchikan in heavy rain part of the time and drizzle the rest Turned out to be a very fun and nature filled day of hiking and watching the salmon running

Through the cruise ship Keep an eye out for it in case they add it Other excursions companies will have this as well if you are interested

We took the White Pass excursion which included the Yukon and Bennett Lake- it was a great day!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal in Florida! Homemade deliciousness of recipes passed down through the generations on both sides with lots of leftovers! We tend to freeze our leftovers in vacuum seal bags. This keeps our leftovers tasting amazing in the future! Truly the gift that keeps on giving. Today we started decorating the house for the Holidays- with lots of Christmas music playing in the background! We just finished decorating our tree... One of those ornaments was from our recent Cunard voyage to Alaska in August (a handmade wooden whale we purchased at a gallery selling Alaskan-made crafts). Placing the ornament on the tree made me think of our beautiful time we had, once more, on Cunard.

We are on QE at the moment- coming towards the end of our cruise to Alaska. We have had a really lovely time. The weather, as happens in Alaska, was quite rainy at times, but that did not stop us. We had plenty of layers, rain gear, and good hiking boots. Regarding the Open Dining- I’m on the fence about it all, honestly. We loved choosing our time to dine- we made reservations each night for 7:15. This worked well with our itineraries. We also were allocated some great tables for two, our personal preference. What you lose out on is the relationship with the dining room staff. I miss having the same waiters very much. I have talked to people who are cruisers (but not Cunarders) and they have had a hard time in the open dining on Cunard this trip- feeling like the staff were “not personable”… I even heard people say that the wait staff had a “bad attitude”. We never experienced those negative things. The staff were working hard and were efficient. That said, with the traditional cruising experience, I do feel that some of the beautiful experiences in the dining room were lost not having the same staff each evening.

Enjoyed watching the sunrise in Vancouver… awaiting our Alaska sailing on QE. We will be sailing tomorrow, and we are looking so forward to it. Today we relax in Vancouver, go hiking at the Capilano Bridge Suspension Park, eat good food, and wait for Queen Elizabeth. Can’t wait to be on her again.

This is the latest news... crossing fingers... sounds promising. https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/25/wpyr-and-union-smart-td-reach-tentative-agreement/

Definitely like the Royal Caribbean itinerary better Look at your hours in port Much more value for your trip Unless Skagway is a deal breaker port for you, I would go with Royal.

A possible strike won’t be happening immediately. Negotiations must follow the rules of the Railway Labor Act… so we must all just wait and see how the required mediation goes. If mediation breaks down they will still have to have a 30-day cooling off period before an actual strike can happen. So just keep watching the news. https://alaskapublic.org/2023/07/10/skagway-rail-workers-vote-overwhelmingly-to-authorize-strike/

Visit Juneau (on their social media) and city officials are encouraging visitors to find other transportation methods and not to use the city bus because locals use them- they are concerned that a huge influx of tourists using the city bus (because of the Mendenhall shuttles running out of their capacity limits) will affect the locals negatively

Here is the latest news https://skagwaynews.com/2023/07/06/railroad-brakemen-conductors-and-engineers-authorize-leaders-to-call-strike/ NOTE There are many steps which must happen (including a 30-day cooling off period if mediation breaks down) before a possible strike takes place