Island to Alaska with Pictures

[cworld]

One other thing about supper in the Horizon Court, the guy in charge of filling our tea glasses did an outstanding job. (Me)

 

Since we had some time to kill before the show, we walked back by the Calypso Cove store and check out the jackets and sweatshirts one last time before our bag is supposed to get to us. I found this great looking blue jacket. It looked like something you would wear on the deck of a sailing ship. It looked great, so what did we do?

 

We came, we looked, we left.

 

What? I know it sounds stupid, but we just couldn’t spend the money. It’s not right. Yes, we’re entitled to spend up to $500.00 to replace items in that suitcase, but what are we really missing. #1 My jeans – can’t get those on board, and I’m not sure we’ll see a JC Pennys until Anchorage. #2 My sweatshirts – my wife and I wear the same size sweatshirts, (although they don’t smell the same) I can wear one of hers. #3 My coat – it’s supposed to be 75 degrees in Ketchican tomorrow. We’ll be inside all morning, and outside only in the late afternoon. I won’t need a coat. #4 – My suit – already did formal night. #5 – Her formal dress – see #4. #5 cords to recharge the camcorder and camera batteries – can’t replace those on board. There were other odds and ends, but nothing that was replaceable.

 

If we get the bag tomorrow in Ketchican, it’s no problems. It doesn’t feel right to just go out and blow the $500.00 just because we can. That’s not ethical. If we need to spend the money, we will. If (and that turned out to be a big if) we get the bag tomorrow, all will be right with the world. (All was not right with the world, but that’s a story for later.)

 

About 7:30 we made our way back to the Princess Theater for the 8:00 show of “Curtain Up”. We got there pretty early, and the theater was already pretty full. We found a seat about 15 rows from the front on the left side. We staked out seats on the isle, because we both like to be able to make a quick exit, in case our true identities are discovered.

 

While we waited, we noticed lots of people being served drinks. We came prepared, we had our decanters full of that foul Coke stuff (about now, I’m dying for a Dr. Pepper. I tolerate Coke, but the love of my live is Dr. Pepper. And yes, dear, as you know, that love affair has been around for longer than you.) Also while we waited rude people stepped right over us to sit on the row we were sitting on. HELLO, don’t you people know who we are? How dare you sit on our row? What gives you the right to sit on the same row as us? We’re in a balcony cabin. That makes us better than you scum. (What’s that? How many balconies are on this ship? SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY SEVEN. Oh, that’s a lot, isn’t it?) Sorry, I take back that scum thing. Did I say that out loud? It’s probably the drinking. What are they putting in these Cokes these days?

 

We did have a couple of interesting conversations whilst we were waiting. Has everybody on this ship lived in Texas at one time or another? It sure seemed like everyone we met was from, or had once been from, or had a relative that lived in… or something to do with Texas.

 

Question for anyone who sailed on the Island Princess May 7, 2005. --- Is there anyone out there that sailed with us that doesn’t have a connection at all with Texas?

 

Anyway as they used to say on the “Bugs Bunny Show”, on with the show… As we walked in the theater we were handed a program for the show. It really was a very nice program. It’s on nice thick semi-glossy paper, and it’s professionally laid out. The inside lists the cast and talks about the show. It has a little blurb about the show that says,

 

“If you love the Broadway Musical, you won’t want to miss this show. (I’m not sure how appropriate this statement is since I’m already in the theater.) With it’s unique concert-style presentation – the cast remains on-stage throughout the show, making quick costume changes before your eyes! “

 

Note to Princess – you might not want to brag too much about those quick costume changes before our eyes. They were really distracting, (especially that one…) and subtracted from the performance instead of blending in to or adding to the show.

 

There was more information about the music that was to be performed in the “wonderful Princess Theater”. Overall I thought the program for the show was well done.

 

Rating for the program for Curtain Up – B+

 

About that time, the lights dimmed, the music began, and

 

More about the show tomorrow.

[cworld]

Carl,

 

On behalf of all of us who think that our cruises go by way to quickly, thank you. You have finally taught us how to make the magic linger. And I mean that in a very good way.

 

Forever thanks,

Cathy

 

Thank you. You don't know how much your words help keep me coming back. And, I get to re-live the cruise every day. It's fun.

[Mrs. cworld]

DH,

We like seats on the aisle, not on an island.

 

Your loving wife

[cworld]

DW,

 

Seats on an island sounds pretty good right now.

[kristacpa]

I've been lurking on this thread for weeks...and while several chuckles have escaped, I was rolling on the floor when I stumbled across your LBV post. Having decided that I couldn't wait until my January, Sun Princess cruise (yes, I have lofty ambitions to post on the "Live from the Sun" novel), I have booked a pre-vacation to the same LBV resort you advertised, I mean spoke about.

 

I too share your passion for planning...now back to the DIS boards to see if your words of wisdom can be found in another forum. I have five dinners to plan...

 

Looking forward to the remainder of your post...

[marcruiser]

Loving this, keep on going.

[HMcruiser]

DW,

 

Seats on an island sounds pretty good right now.

LOL at work...oops :o when I read that!!

[luv_jeeps]

cworld - this is great. We sail on the Island August 20th. Love the story and the pictures. I look forward to more!

 

I think we're going to be on the same cruise. :D

We're doing a cruise tour, and do the touring part first.

You on the southbound leg ?

 

Thanks for the reviews cworld. :)

[naplesam]

I think we're going to be on the same cruise. :D

We're doing a cruise tour, and do the touring part first.

You on the southbound leg ?

 

Thanks for the reviews cworld. :)

 

There is a thread started for a Roll Call for this cruise. Join us!

 

Here is the link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112287&highlight=island+alaska

[luv_jeeps]

Keep the review going. :D

[cworld]

Overture, curtains, lights,

 

This is it, the night of nights

No more rehearsing and nursing a part

We know every part by heart

Overture, curtains, lights

This is it, you'll hit the heights

And oh what heights we'll hit

On with the show this is it

 

Tonight what heights we'll hit

On with the show this is it.

 

 

 

 

It's time to play the music

It's time to light the lights

It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.

 

It's time to put on makeup

It's time to dress up right

It's time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight.

 

Why do we always come here

I guess we'll never know

It's like a kind of torture

To have to watch the show

 

And now let's get things started

Why don't you get things started

It's time to get things started

On the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational

This is what we call the Muppet Show!

 

 

 

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Bugs Bunny and the Muppet show have nothing to do with Broadway Musicals, but this is what was going through my head when the show started. It’s time. The curtain is going up. The music is starting. The wait is over. The show must go on.

 

The taped, yes I said taped (or maybe hard plastic) music started.

 

Insert disclaimer here…

 

I want to stress, this is my opinion, and my opinion only.

 

End of disclaimer.

 

Some background - One of the loves of my life is vocal music. I was really big in to music when I was in high school. I am a big fan of good harmony in music. My favorites range from Manhattan Transfer to Queen to Shania Twain. I love great voices that grab you when you listen to them. I even enjoy Toby Keith (good Oklahoma boy) even though on the whole, I’m not a country music fan. Classic Rock, that’s for me. I tell my kids that when their old they’ll still be listening to our music and the *#!* (that’s junk for all of you dirty minded people) that they listen too will be long gone. I sing pretty well and have a pretty good ear for good music.

 

I was looking forward to this show. It sounded really cool. There’s gonna be music from some of the top musicals ever written Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Music Man, and of course, the best, most important musical ever written, OKLAHOMA. This is going to be good. How can you go wrong? “I got chips, there multiplying”, “I’m singing in the rain”, “The power of the music of the night”. “Oh, Kay, Ell, Ay, Hch, Oh, Em, Ay”

 

How can you go wrong with such great material?

 

It can be done.

 

 

The curtain came up, and there on stage were a set of risers, with clothing lockers all painted in black around the risers. My first thought was, this is weird. Where is the scenery? Where are the props? Just how are they going to pull this off? This is going to be interesting (or maybe not).

 

 

About then the performers started coming out. And the show began. There were 4 singers and 8 or so dancers. They jumped right in to the show. Between each musical number one of the singers would introduce the next number, while they and the rest of the cast were changing clothes. YES, they changed clothes right there on stage.

 

 

The clothes changing bit was terribly detracting (yes, I said detracting, not distracting). It took away from the show. Each performer had their own locker and would go over to it and change in to the costume for the next scene. A couple of times performers had difficulties with their clothing and that took away the focus from the show. It was also distracting, the dancers were, how do I say this, easy on the eyes, the girls were dressed underneath their costumes in a flesh colored body suit, and it was easy to get caught up in watching your favorite body shape change costumes. This had wardrobe malfunction written all over it. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective there weren’t any glaring wardrobe problems other than the one dancer who couldn’t get something zipped. But I found it very distracting (dear, where are the binoculars? Oh, yeah, there in the missing suitcase, nevermind). Is this just a "guy" thing, or did any of you wonderful ladies have the same problem?

 

 

As I said earlier, there wasn’t any scenery. The only thing on the stage that ever changed was the lighting, and the costumes. No car came rolling on to the stage during “Grease”. No chandelier came down during “Phantom”. It was all left up to the imagination. Now I have a wonderful imagination, but my mind was having a hard time seeing things during this show.

 

I guess I’ve been to Rodent World too many times. If we would have seen this show performed at Rodent World, they would have had a revolving stage that had different scenery popping up as the music changed. They would have had things coming down from the ceiling. You would have been able to smell the hay, the rain, the car… RW would have stimulated all of the senses. I know that the technilogical problems are worse on ship than on land, but it seems that some of these things could be done. (OK, I promise, no more comparisons with Rodent World. It’s not fair. So I’ll stop.)

 

NOTE TO PRINCESS - Isn’t the Island Princess supposed to be state of the art? It seems to me that the Princess Theater is not very state-like. If I were building a state of the art theater, I’d include a couple of things that I didn’t see in the Princess Theater on the Island Princess. Number 1 - some kind of dispersion device that could spray out things like water or bubbles. That way during “Curtain Up” you could have some water dripping during the “Singing in the Rain”. Some kind of smell generator – this could be handy before movies to simulate popcorn smell, or to add the smell of cows during “Oklahoma”. Well. maybe not cows, but hay or something.

 

And to me your whole “Curtain Up” presentation is cheaply done. It comes off cheap. No real band, no props just austerity. It wasn’t even high school level.

 

Rating for the stage presentation of “Curtain Up” – D

 

This is only for overall presentation of the show. I’ll get to the performers later.

[prophotogirl]

June 7th, 2005, 10:00 AM

cworld

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Apr 2005

Posts: 87

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by prophotogirl

Everyone here in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Mansfield, GP, Irving, Richardson, Rockwall, Cedar Hill, McKinney, Plano, Denton, Benbrook, Southlake, Keller, Grapevine, Duncanville, Lewisville, Lake Dallas, Flower Mound, Mesquite, Addison, Farmers Branch, Lancaster, Frisco, Burleson, Coppell, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, Watagua, and anywhere else I forgot in this Metroplex of ours:

 

 

 

 

I know we're probably considered lower class pond scum, but what if an Okie wanted to crash the party?

 

 

 

 

Just wondering of ya going to come crash the party. Okie's can come too. :)

[Hornet]

:confused: What?

[cworld]

This came from another thread about a cruise critic party in Dallas.

 

 

prophotogirl,

 

Don't think we'll be able to make it.

 

Carl

[cworld]

Enough of that negative stuff… Let’s talk about nice things.

 

The cast of “Curtain Up” is very good. The singers were

 

James Allen from Australia – A tall good-looking blond haired Aussie. He has a really good voice and good stage presence. He did a very good job.

 

Note to James – If I’d had your looks and your voice at age 25, today I’d probably be singing in some church choir, slaving over some 2 bit dead end job. Oh, yeah, that’s right that’s what I’m doing isn’t it? Really, You were good all week. Good luck.

 

Todd Mitchell from America – Another handsome young man with a young voice. Didn’t bowl me over, but I wasn’t disappointed either.

 

Note to Todd – Enjoy your time on the high seas, but start planning for a life outside of show biz. (I don’t mean that to sound mean. But youth doesn’t last forever.)

 

Jenn Minchink – Jenn made the show worth going to. She had a knockout voice. She is the real thing.

 

Note to Jenn – Make a tape, send it to American Idol. You’ll finish in the top 2 and have a recording contract in no time. That is if you stick to country music. Your can do rock, but your voice screams country.

 

Nancy Schofield – Nancy was OK. She was pretty, but her voice wasn’t of the quality of the others.

 

Note to Nancy – You might want to think about another (STOP RIGHT THERE! You said this was not going to be negative. Just nice things, remember.) Let’s see… something nice. Nancy, your picture hanging by the pursers lounge looks really nice.

 

Note to Dave the Cruise Director – Dave, I know it will be difficult, but you need to at least change Nancy and Jenn on the Phantom number. Nancy just can’t quite pull it off.

 

On to the dancers… I found my program and it lists 11 dancers. 6 girls and 5 boys. How do you rate dancers? Let’s see --- there were a couple of 8’s, a 6, a 9, and did you see the b… (like they say in the song “Shaft” “Shut Your Mouth”. I better stop right there.) At times the dancers added to the program, but at times they didn’t. But that is usually true for all programs where there are dancers. Choreographers tend to want the dancers in action all of the time. Some times dancers need to be neither seen or heard. Just let the music speak for itself.

 

My rating for the cast of “Curtain Up” – B+

 

Overall I pretty much enjoyed the show, but I saw easy ways to vastly improve it.

 

Rating for “Curtain Up” – B-

 

After the show we walked by the Calypso Cove one last time. I checked and right in front was a XXL blue coat. Man I wanted that coat. I hope the bag doesn’t show up tomorrow.

 

We walked by the casino an peaked in. My wife asked what was the big deal about casinos? I just said they are addictive. We went on back to the room and watched another absolutely mind blowing sunset from our, without a doubt the best thing about the cruise, balcony.

 

Just another day in paradise.

 

Click on this to see what I mean.

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/349017044/349404355HbRySJ#

[ricktalcott]

My wife asked what was the big deal about casinos? I just said they are addictive. We went on back to the room and watched another absolutely mind blowing sunset from our, without a doubt the best thing about the cruise, balcony.

 

Note to Carl. It's the balconies and the sunsets that are absolutely, mindblowing addictive. :)

 

Rick

[cworld]

Note to Carl. It's the balconies and the sunsets that are absolutely, mindblowing addictive. :)

 

Rick

 

Can't argue with that.

[luv_jeeps]

Any chance we can get a mod to sticky this ?

 

It's a GREAT read and should be enjoyed by all. :D

[cworld]

I wish I could insert a poll here. I was wondering if you liked having the picture link in with the story? I could start working them in if it helps.

 

Let me know,

Carl

[Mrs. cworld]

Another note to Cruise Director Dave: You need to announce that when the appropriate time in the finale comes that all the OKIES can feel free to stand up and join in with the singing of the OKLAHOMA. And believe me--all of the OKIES will know exactly when to join in--that IS our state song!!!!! We didn't really think the people behind us would have appreciated us standing up and joining in. :D

[Hornet]

I thought the picture was a nice addition.:)

[margord]

Loved the picture as part of the story.

[cworld]

You need to announce that when the appropriate time in the finale comes that all the OKIES can feel free to stand up and join in with the singing of the OKLAHOMA. :D

 

No dear, Dave needs to announce that everybody should stand, or maybe bow down. It's OKLAHOMA. Every one should automatically rise. Just like the national anthem. You'd probably stand for O' Canada. Come on you lazy people get up and show your Sooner Pride.

 

PS. I can't believe I forgot to write something about this. I thought for weeks about what I was going to say about Oklahoma. OH, well. Missed opportunity, the story of my life.

 

Sorry, I didn't get anything out today. Rough day. I'll post a bunch tomorrow, honest.

[cworld]

OK, as we all know I'm now always honest. It's not a bunch, but it is something...

 

How about that, we’ve finished 2 days. Only 6 more to go. At this rate the whole Alaska season will be over before we get done. Oh well…heavy sigh.

 

We watched a little sports center, messed around until we (OK, I) pretty much fell asleep. We had to get up at 2 am to reset our clocks. That’s what it said in the Patter. “The ships clocks will be set back one hour on Monday morning, May 9th at 2:00AM.” Just who was going to reset our clocks if we didn’t do it? Huh?

 

ZZZZZZZ

 

ZZZZZZ

 

ZZZZZZZZ

 

What was that? Are we there? The Patter said we’d arrive in Ketchican at 6:00 in the blessed AM. What time is it now? Look out the window. Is the sun up? Sort of. What’s going on? I don’t know, but we are still moving. What time is it? 5:45. Too early. We don’t have to disembark for a while. I know, but I just have to get up and take some pictures... My Oklahoma time was catching up with me. My body thought it was 8:45. So I was wide awake and raring to go.

 

Mrs. cworld jumped in the shower, while I threw on a hat and some clothes (remember the pants this time) and ran over to the side where the ship was docking and snapped off a few photos.

 

Go here - http://homepage.mac.com/cktrent2/PhotoAlbum4.html

 

Finally, the time is here. WE ARE IN ALASKA!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Only problem is where’s the snow? This isn’t Alaska. It’s it supposed to be cold and snowing all of the time up here? Where’s Rudolph? Where’s Frosty? This is the home of Eskimo’s isn’t it? Where are the igloos? If there’s not going to be any snow, how about rain? Isn’t Ketchican supposed to be the North American home to rain? I expected to hear B.J. Thomas break out in song any time. Doesn’t Ketchican get 3 million inches of rain or so a year? Where is the rain? Where is the snow? It’s already almost 60 degrees, and it’s only 6:00 in the morning. There’s not a cloud in the sky.

 

It's so pretty outside, I go out on the balcony and remembering the entertainment from the night before I break out in song…

 

Oh, what a beautiful morning.

Oh, what a beautiful day.

I’ve got a beautiful feeling.

Everything’s going my way.

 

Hear that? Don’t cha think I could be in “Curtain Up”? I sing good.

 

We showered, and got ready. We had a shore excursion scheduled at 8:00 and planned to be at the ramp at 7:30. So we jogged up (well, maybe we just walked slowly) to the Horizon court and grabbed breakfast. Another omelet, more pineapple… What’s that? Fried rice for breakfast? Interesting. (I didn’t try it, sorry) Grab the Cokes. Omelets are OK today. Pineapple is still OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD.

 

We checked the ambient outside air temperature (technical term) as we walked back to the cabin. Feels great. I decided I’d be OK with one of Mrs. cworlds sweatshirts, since it was probably to late to get that beautiful blue jacket. So we got ready, and took off on our Great Alaskan adventure, Ketchican chapter.

 

Rating for the weather in Ketchican – A+++++++++++ Unbelievable

 

Rating for the view as you come into the dock at Ketchican - A+

 

Sorry this is kind of short, but just for you I’ve added some pictures. From now on, the link in the story will contain some extra pictures that aren’t in the album on the front page. Hopefully this will work and help with the story, because there are some beautiful things to be seen on the rest of the cruise.

 

I hope you enjoy.

 

Preview – Our first shore excursion was a trip to see the totem poles, a fish cannery, and a boat ride to try to find wildlife.

[Lizzybell]

Carl-i have been laughing out loud while reading about your Alaskan adventure. I, like eveyone else, have become hooked. You are a born writer with a great sense of humor & I can't wait for the next chapter. It has brought back so many great memories of our trip on the Sapphire last year-Alaska is amazing. Thank you, Liz