BeforeSunsetLemonade

Thanks! It made a world of difference! We also brought our own tumbler to keep the hot drink hot for longer. This was particularly helpful when we were sitting outside in the colder temperatures. Plus, we find it nicer to drink out of real cups, rather than the paper ones you would get at the International Cafe. In the morning, we would put creamer into the tumbler, bring that down to the International Cafe and they would fill it right up with the hot beverage. Additionally, we brought a little sponge and dish soap to wash the tumblers daily.

On July 13, 2024, we disembarked from a 7-day Alaska cruise round trip from Seattle, with a stop in Victoria. On the second day of the cruise, we received the Canadian customs form to fill out and return to our cabin steward within two days. Once in Victoria, we did not go through any customs or border check to enter into Canada. On the way back to the ship, we just had to swipe our medallion. In Seattle, we proceeded directly out of the terminal with no stops at customs or border check. There were no facial recognition devices, nor did we have to stop and show our passports.

They had an 80s night party the night we sailed into Glacier Bay. Other than that, I’m not sure. Enjoy your cruise!

FINAL THOUGHTS… ROOM We were in cabin D731. This premium deluxe balcony was the standard room with a sofa, though the balcony was extra long. This balcony was an aft view balcony. We enjoyed sitting out here as it was protected by the wind. It was also half covered, so there was always a bit of shade to sit under or escape the rain. As it has a view of the ships wake, there is a constant noise from the churn of the water. It sounds like a consistent waterfall. It was actually quite soothing. The downside is that if one were trying to hear the naturalist provide his commentary, even with the tv on full volume, we could not hear anything from the tv. As this room only has neighbors on one side, with the other side adjacent to a hand washing station, it was very quiet. Our neighbors door was not adjacent to ours, so we never heard their door close. As we only had that one neighbor, it decreased the chances that we would have little ones on the room next door, unlike our travel friends who had a baby that they could hear cry throughout the cruise. Additionally, since this room is at the back, the back stairwells are easily accessible giving us quick access to the buffet and gym directly above us or quick access to Princess Live or the Piazza right below. The laundry room on the Dolphin level is also in the aft section of this level making it easy to use the iron when we needed to press a shirt. CREW The crew on this ship were fantastic! We met many crew and enjoyed talking to them and hearing their stories. They were very efficient, except for the one dinner at the Catch, always had a smile on their face, and oftentimes went above and beyond, when we didn’t even know there was an above and beyond. One of our favorite things is that at the end of our dinner the first night in the MDR, our servers asked us if we wanted to sit there for the rest of the cruise. We agreed as they were fantastic, so each night when we would eat in the MDR, we did not have to get in line or stop at the host desk and instead, we just walked straight into the MDR and sat ourselves at our table. FOOD We found the food on this cruise to be exceptional. To the large salad selection in the buffet, to the tasty meals in the MDR, and the fantastic meals in the speciality restaurants. Some standouts: The almond croissants are heavenly. These were not overly sweet and the almonds added a nice texture. The sugar free coconut cake that they had one night in the MDR. I have dreams of this cake; it was that good. I regret not asking for another piece. The Crab Shack’s crab was sweet, briny, and fresh that there was no need to add any butter to it. Camus by the glass. There’s no need to say any more about this. ENTERTAINMENT We absolutely enjoyed the lounge acts. From the Rambling Rovers, to the Elias 8 Duo, to Guitarist Mark Vilar. They were all spectacular and elevated our experience. We found ourselves adjusting on schedule based on when they would perform. ITINERARY Alaska is beautiful. We had some memorable experiences in port from the beach hike in Juneau, to the Deadliest Catch boat in Ketchikan, and even to the bike ride in Skagway. It was fantastic. We were also pleasantly surprised by the plethora of animals we saw during the trip. From leaving Seattle and seeing dolphins. To otters, eagles, ravens, orcas, and humpback whales….memorable. And a sights of the lifetime, seeing a humpback breach or the calving of the glacier…breathtaking. END OF THIS LIVE Well, that concludes our live on this adventure. We thank you for following along. And for those that saw us on the ship and said hello, thanks for coming over and spending a little time with us. We have enjoyed this trip tremendously. We will certainly be back. So with that…one final thank you for coming along. Goodbye for now. Till we wave 🌊 again.

DAY 8 - DEBARKATION Well, that was a breeze. As we docked in Seattle, we were welcomed with a beautiful sunrise. We spent the morning packing up the last minute toiletries and clothes. Got hot drinks and food from the International Cafe, and went down to Princess Live to wait for walk off group 1. Walk off group 1 was scheduled for 7:25. By 7:15 they announced that the ship has been cleared and started letting people off the ship. After scanning the medallion for one last time, we walked through the terminal where there was no immigrations or customs to go through. No face scans or showing of passports. Nothing. We were out of the terminal by 7:25. We immediately checked prices with Uber and Lyft. Lyft was considerably more expensive than Uber. We didn’t realize that the pick up spot was another five minute walk, as we would have waited a bit to order. Our Uber got to the pick up spot before us. By 7:33 we were in the Uber and dropped off at the airport by 8:03. Baggage check was a breeze, though we were 4 pounds over the bag limit, so we had to do a little adjusting. As we had Clear with TSA Precheck, we were through security by 8:20. We’re now sitting at Brewtop Social, sadly no lounge airline lounge access, as we have two hours before our flight. This restaurant is located in SEA’s C terminal on their mezzanine level, which is above the chaos on the lower level. Plus, it gives great views of the runway. So with that… Till we wave 🌊 again.

Thank you! And yes, here’s to great wine from Paso!

We didn’t try to take it out; we didn’t even think of that.

DAY 7 - VICTORIA As we didn’t arrive in Vancouver until 9:00 in the evening, this day was really a sea day. With that, this was the first morning that we actually slept in and woke up at 7:00 AM. It was nice to just sleep in and didn’t feel like we had to rush to fit it all in. SPIN CLASS At 9:00, we went up to the gym to take the spin class. As opposed to the first day where it was full, this spin class was sparsely attended. There were seven people in the class. The sign up sheet was full, so if one was on the waitlist, they would have let them into the class. The spin class was great as always. The trainers do a great job of organizing a workout to get the heart pumping and the sweat flowing. The one interesting thing that happened during the workout is that the cruise director came on the ship-wide loudspeaker during the workout. This meant that the class had to pause while this announcement was made. The instructor told us to just pedal to keep our heart rate up and we would resume once the announcement was over. TAKE 5 We spent the rest of the morning reading in the Take 5 lounge. For the majority of the morning, we were the only people in the room. It was nice, peaceful, and relaxing. The bar was open and they played soft jazz over on the sound system adding to the ambiance. At 1:00, the live jazz band began playing and the lounge filled the room. The band does an excellent job of entertaining with great music interwoven with stories about the songs. At the end of their set, they mentioned that it’s corporate’s plan to turn the Take 5 lounge into an extended portion of the casino. The band encouraged us to let corporate know how we feel about this. I for one am in support of keeping this venue as the Take 5 lounge as it provides a very quiet refuge from the hustle and bustle of all the other spaces. NATURALIST PRESENTATION At 2:00, Michael Modzelewski made his fourth of four naturalist presentations. As always, he is fantastic as he blends storytelling and pictures to convey how amazing and awe inspiring Alaska, Alaskan wildlife, and the native people are. We thank him for everything that he had to share. O’MALLEY’S PINT GLASSES We love O’Malleys and the Rambling Rovers has been a fantastic band to listen to this week. Just one warning, if you order a beer from O’Malley’s they fill the glass from the bottom. Don’t be curious and push the bottom, otherwise you’ll end up like us with beer all over your pants. VICTORIA With a 9:00 PM arrival, we had a short time to head to shore. Our main plan was to walk around the city and back. So we did an hour and a half loop from the ship into the city and back. GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESS UPDATE The captain provided an update of the gastrointestinal illness. He thanked us for all that the staff and passengers are doing to be mindful of not passing along the illness. He reported that this was the first day that there was a drop in the daily number of new cases. He reminded us to continue to be diligent and wash our hands. In the rooms, they have removed the decorative pillows, the decorative bed thing, the silver tray, and all the drink glasses. We think they’re starting to get ready to disinfect all the rooms and all the stuff in them. In addition, he shared that when we get to Seattle, 46 crew members will depart and 45 new crew members will join. We are curious about what the one position that is not going to be covered in the upcoming sailing. So with that… Till we wave 🌊 again.

Thanks for sharing. We hope you enjoy your cruise! We’ve had a fabulous time and has helped us DISCOVER how much we have enjoyed cruising in Alaska!

DAY 6 - KETCHIKAN The weather forecast for the day was a high of 60° with partly cloudy skies. It was pleasant enough to be in a t-shirt and jeans, though we did bring jackets and gloves since we were going to be on the water for our excursion. DEADLIEST CATCH CRAB FISHERMAN’S TOUR As we’re big fans of the Deadliest Catch, this tour was a must do! So we fanboyed out and dawned on our Deadliest Catch t-shirts for this excursion. In preparation for this excursion, we rewatched Season 2 of the Deadliest Catch and we were excited just to be on a boat that was featured on the show. This excursion exceeded our expectations. The crew spent their lives fishing and crabbing in Alaska and told personal stories, some funny, some heartfelt, some heartbreaking, that made this experience come alive. They also demonstrated different types of maneuvers of how to retrieve different types of fishing gear, everything from the large crab pots, to smaller crab pots, to fish baskets. The most spectacular thing, though, was unexpected. EAGLES! The boat partners with a local tribe that allows them to fish off their tribal waters, and while there, conduct a maneuver that mimics what happens in the wild, to feed and attract wild eagles. This was spectacular! If we were to do this again, we would choose to sit on the bottom level. We had chosen the top, as we thought we could get better unobstructed pictures, which sitting on top is better for this. The bottom, however, is shielded from the wind and has heaters. While not tremendously cold, it would have been more comfortable if we sat down there. In addition, once at sea, one could get up and move around the crab boat as one wanted. So, even if we were sitting on the bottom, we could have moved up top for pictures. CREEK STREET We had just enough time after excursion to walk to Creek Street, take a picture, and get back to the ship. On the way back, we encountered a long line and started to feel at ease of having to wait in it. As we approached the end of the line, a Princess crew directed us around the line toward and gave us directions on how to board our ship. The line that we saw was for NCL as they dock about 20 minute car ride away. DINNER - CROWN BAR GRILL Our reservations for the evening were at the Crown Bar Grill. Our friends brought with them one of our favorite wines from one of the trips we made to that winery with them. Once seated, the sommelier came over, was excited for our bottle, and offered to decant the wine for us. He taught us how to decant wine and was so amazing and engaging. BREAD COURSE The bread was a garlic bread stuffed with cheese. This was so delicious that we asked for an additional round of bread. APPETIZER To start, I had the seared jumbo scallops with salmon caviar. The scallops were cooked to perfection and the salmon caviar added the brininess to the meal. The sauce was overflowing, though delicious. SOUP COURSE For the soup course, I had the shrimp and pancetta bisque. This was earthy, creamy, and had full sized shrimp to indulge in. MAIN COURSE For the main courses, I had the rib eye cooked to medium with a side of asparagus and mashed potatoes. I was surprised that we weren’t offered all the sides, and instead had to order individually what we wanted. The meat was cooked just as I like it and was juicy and charred beautifully. The meal could have had more than just the four sprigs of asparagus, though. DESSERT To end, I had the salted caramel crème brûlée cheesecake, while DH had the key lime pie bar. We don’t typically share food; it’s just not our thing, but we did share the desserts. The cheesecake was just ok. DH’s key lime pie, though, was delicious. GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESS UPDATE Same update from the new captain from the day before that they are continuing to step up their cleaning procedures and reminding people to wash their hands. We do see many crew, bar servers, wait staff continuing to clean repeatedly every surface. We have felt quite comfortable with their focus on sanitizing everything constantly, over and over again. END OF EVENING To end our evening, the sky was beautiful and there were a plethora of dolphins playing in the ships wake. So we grabbed our Disaronno’s on the rocks, headed to our room, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. So with that… Till we wave 🌊 again.

DAY 5 - GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK We ordered breakfast room service and asked for almond croissants. We had heard through other CruiseCriticers that the almond croissants are delicious and, if you specify on the breakfast tag, they’ll bring them. I certainly can confirm that these croissants will be sent if asked for and that they are delicious. Thankfully we have three more mornings to have them. At 7:45, we went down to the Vista Lounge for the Glacier Bay greeting and were glad we did. It gave us a nice overview of what we would experience for the day. Before the talk, we were also able to look at what they were selling and asked about how to get the National Passport stamp. They let us know that they don’t have the stamp where one could stamp the passport book on one’s own, possibly because of the current shipwide gastrointestinal infection or because this is just how it’s done, so instead they had pre stamped pieces of paper that one could cut and paste into one’s National Passport book. After the greeting, we saw a line form for the merchandise. We decided that we would just come back a little later in the day. In retrospect, we should have joined in the line then. Throughout the morning, we went down to the Vista Lounge to see how the line was doing. Each time, there was a consistent number of people waiting. We finally had one person stay in line, while the others were able to view the passing sites. We then rotated throughout the 45ish minute wait. It was well worth it though, as we were able to get our National Passport stamp and purchase Glacier Bay gear. Be mindful that they only bring on a limited stock of merchandise, so if one really wants something, get in line. Our group bought the last of their large t-shirts. GLACIER VIEWING Since we were traveling with friends, we had our choice of which balcony to use for the glacier viewing. Our friends are in a starboard side room, while we have an aft facing room. Our friends suggested we start in their room, and as the ship turns, we head to our aft room, and then go back and forth. While we did this switch once, we realized that the best view that gets the most time just looking at the glacier is from one of the side rooms as most passengers on the ship have a side facing room and the ship spends most of its time with the side facing the glacier. So, we spent the time at the glaciers in their room. We did use our room as we sailed out, as that was really the only time that our aft facing room had a consistent view of the wonderful scenery. The weather for the day was pleasant at about 55°. While it was overcast, it only had short moments of light rain, that it made it comfortable to be in sweat pants, a T-shirt, and a light rain jacket. While viewing the glaciers, we were greeted by a plethora of otters, sea gulls, and eagles in the distance. We looked for bears, but saw none. We were lucky to see and hear a huge piece of ice calve into the water. The sound and sight of this event was breathtaking. It’s inspiring how most everyone on the ship is quiet while viewing the glaciers allowing one to use all one’s senses to hear the sound of nature, feel the chilling air, smell the crisp and clean air, and see the magnificent sights. It’s simply an amazing experience. On the way out of Glacier Bay was another prime opportunity to see whales. We saw about 10 whales and had the unique opportunity to see one humpback whale wave its fin towards us repeatedly. We also were very lucky to see another humpback completely breach out of the water. GYM After we left the national park, we headed to the gym. It was mostly empty this early afternoon, making it peaceful to exercise while looking out in the distance. The gym is very well stocked and we were able to use the kettlebells and sandbags with ease. We also used their battle ropes, even though they were on the very light side. Overall, it was a good hour to spend in the gym. EVENING After the gym, we showered and got ready for the evening. We stopped into the PES lounge for a drink and to listen to Elia 8 Duo who has a beautiful voice and perform adult contemporary easy listening music. We also took in the packed venue of O’Malleys to be entertained by the Rambling Rovers. These two lads put on a feet tapping, hand clapping good time. Dinner was once again in the MDR. Since we had our reserved table with our fantastic wait staff of Ossbert and Joepep, we bypassed the long line and seated ourselves at our table. The meal again was great and the stars of this dinner was the lamb chops and the sugar free coconut cake. After dinner, we headed to the casino, where I turned $20 into $25, our friend turned $20 into $100, our other friend broke even, and DH lost his $20. Still a fun 30 minutes. GASTROINTESTINAL ILLNESS UPADTE The captain made his daily announcement to remind us that there are still people reporting to the medical center complaining of gastrointestinal issues and that we should be diligent in washing our hands. Throughout the day, we did see passengers being mindful and respectful of this, especially in the gym where many people wiped their equipment before and after use. Staff were also seen constantly wiping down high touch places, including in the casino where they wiped down the machine once the machine was abandoned. I’m impressed with their procedures of keeping us healthy. The one big announcement though that the captain made was that this would be his last night with us on this ship. He’s been on the ship for three years, launching it when it made its maiden voyage. When we get to Ketchikan, he’ll be singing off and a new captain will take the helm. So with that… Till we wave 🌊 again.