Live Ovation of the Seas Alaska May 17-24, 2024 with Kmom

[KmomChicago]

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

In all my travels, most places look about as good as they always did in the many photos I saw before visiting them myself. 
 

I can say this for the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, everywhere in the Caribbean, The Great Wall, and many others. 
 

Rarely I visit a place so stunning and majestic that pictures, paintings and poetry all fail to capture the reality of being in the place. 
 

I would say this of Hawaii, Machu Picchu, and this amazing and beautiful place I visited today. 

[cynt]

On 5/18/2024 at 1:12 PM, Tiggercat said:

Recently, I cancelled 1 person in a reservation 2 days before sailing. It was clear that I was only cancelling the 1 individual. They had the insurance through RCCL so no worries….NOT! “The System” actually cancelled the entire reservation. The person that was NOT cancelled found out when she tried to print her luggage tags 8 hours before she was leaving to go to airport to fly to Miami. Unfortunately, this was at midnight and come to find out RCCL does not have a 24 hour help desk. (They claim that they do but if you call it, they say that they don’t open until 8:00 am) To make a long story short, my friend was able to still cruise because when we called at 8:00 am the manifest wasn’t sent in yet and it was confirmed from listening to taped recording of phone conversation that only 1 person was supposed to be cancelled. (30 minutes later she would have been out of luck!) She was given an inside cabin instead of the balcony she paid for! Be careful if you have to cancel someone!!!

OMG! Yep never cancel one person off a reservation. From experience too many woulda coulda shoulda scenarios. Just let it be a no show.

[KmomChicago]

The White Pass railroad exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. I assumed it would be cool, and it was, and also cold, and it was.

 

I wondered whether the quality of the scenery would be diminished due to the travel season; we’re pre-blossoms here in the great north, for example.

 

What I found was an up close look at a special moment in the annual cycle of Klondike-area weather. The foggy clouds kissing the mountaintops created an illusion of the earth reaching straight up and touching heaven. Closer, next to the train, rough boulders were softened, covered in multi colored lichens and mosses nourished by the constant drip and flow of snowmelt working its way to the river valley below.

 

As we climbed higher, it became hard to believe the route was named for a man rather than for the steeply snowy landscape around us. At the peak of our journey, now in the clouds ourselves, there was no visible sign that spring had yet arrived. 
 

On the way back, I was more aware of the lush evergreen forest all around and the hundreds of small waterfalls that I assume exist only in spring and after heavy rains. Though early in the growing season, nature is clearly thriving in this place once overrun with ambitious humans, now just hosting us as curious sightseers. 
 

With all the richness of the English language, I can’t find any perfect words to describe it, though some come close.

 

Fantastic, sublime, transcendent, glorious.

[KmomChicago]

I have mentioned earlier that I have no cruises booked after Alaska. I’m not planning any at the moment, don’t have a destination or a ship in mind that is screaming at me, no sense of something important left undone.
 

My life is changing, and with a few key exceptions I have never really been a repeater. I always understood there would be more opportunities than I was going to be able to fit into a single lifetime, so I have tried to sample a lot of the best places and travel methods. 
 

It’s a huge testament to the cruise industry that I am on my 15th ship. I have sailed Carnival 6 times since 2017 and now Royal Caribbean three. Both are really excellent at what they do. 
 

Sometimes people say they’ve “had enough of that” about something and they mean, they’re sick of it, annoyed by it, fed up. 
 

It’s possible also to say it and mean, this is a successfully completed mission. One that’s been nearly perfectly executed and greatly enjoyed. If this is my last (not ready to say that with certainty), then I am satisfied to leave it right there.

 

[bobmacliberty]

17 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

I have mentioned earlier that I have no cruises booked after Alaska. I’m not planning any at the moment, don’t have a destination or a ship in mind that is screaming at me, no sense of something important left undone.
 

My life is changing, and with a few key exceptions I have never really been a repeater. I always understood there would be more opportunities than I was going to be able to fit into a single lifetime, so I have tried to sample a lot of the best places and travel methods. 
 

It’s a huge testament to the cruise industry that I am on my 15th ship. I have sailed Carnival 6 times since 2017 and now Royal Caribbean three. Both are really excellent at what they do. 
 

Sometimes people say they’ve “had enough of that” about something and they mean, they’re sick of it, annoyed by it, fed up. 
 

It’s possible also to say it and mean, this is a successfully completed mission. One that’s been nearly perfectly executed and greatly enjoyed. If this is my last (not ready to say that with certainty), then I am satisfied to leave it right there.

 

 

I like and completely understand this post.  We've always been interested in trying new things, especially when life limits you to fewer opportunities to travel.  Now that we're retired and have flexibility, we mix in new things for the adventure, and things we've done several times for the ease/comfort.  Given the choice of one or the other, I'd always choose the new and exciting option.

[KmomChicago]

They managed to sell me a photo of my kid at dinner. And they also sold us the Taste of Royal lunch later in the cruise!

[KmomChicago]

Last night’s dinner also marked the official midpoint of this voyage. I can already see where this is headed! 
 

The sun is up this early morning here near Juneau and my job interview is in 15 minutes! 
 

😳

Edited May 21 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

Whelp that’s over with. She learns her fate later this week.

[princess76021]

40 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Whelp that’s over with. She learns her fate later this week.

wishing you want you want out of this interview!!

good luck!

hugs from texas!!

[TravelGirlinDallas]

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Fantastic, sublime, transcendent, glorious.

I was afraid Andrew would be bored on the White Pass train. He was 12 at the time. He stood with me on the outdoor platform of our train car for nearly the whole trip, and he surprised me by being completely awestruck at the scenery, which he described to me as "spectacular". I had never heard him use that word before or since. It was the truth, though.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

43 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Whelp that’s over with. She learns her fate later this week.

Good luck to you!! Hoping for good news!!!

[KmomChicago]

14 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

wishing you want you want out of this interview!!

good luck!

hugs from texas!!

 

11 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Good luck to you!! Hoping for good news!!!

Thank you, out of my hands now, back to our regularly scheduled vacation.

[WhiteOptima]

14 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

I was afraid Andrew would be bored on the White Pass train. He was 12 at the time. He stood with me on the outdoor platform of our train car for nearly the whole trip, and he surprised me by being completely awestruck at the scenery, which he described to me as "spectacular". I had never heard him use that word before or since. It was the truth, though.

We did it in May 2010 and it was warm that day then all of a sudden there was snow.  The train  was the highlight of our cruise.  Next year we are going back but going to rent a jeep and see more of Skagway.

[KmomChicago]

Having done the free experience in port in Sitka this pricing may be the ultimate big fat NO THANKS for me. 
 

As many have noted, it’s, well, okay.

 

[KmomChicago]

Alpha alpha alpha call this morning at the crew cafe as we approach Dawes Glacier. 

[Glide_Path]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

Having done the free experience in port in Sitka this pricing may be the ultimate big fat NO THANKS for me. 
 

As many have noted, it’s, well, okay.

 

Was it hard to score those free spots?  Booked on the first day?  No iFly planned for the kids?

[KmomChicago]

I’m eating alone in Windjammer, spinning in turquoise water, dropping some happy tears at this beautiful moment, icebergs around us in a fjord, hearing Jim Croce on the PA, and the other kind of tears too, missing Carol gone over 20 years now. 

[KmomChicago]

11 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

Was it hard to score those free spots?  Booked on the first day?  No iFly planned for the kids?

Not hard, booked same day and walked right up. Weather wasn’t nice which may have helped. 
 

Kids are too lazy for iFly.

[KmomChicago]

[Mommapadraig]

12 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

I’m eating alone in Windjammer, spinning in turquoise water, dropping some happy tears at this beautiful moment, icebergs around us in a fjord, hearing Jim Croce on the PA, and the other kind of tears too, missing Carol gone over 20 years now. 

I cried big ugly tears when going through the fjords (they may have called them sounds) in New Zealand. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

[KmomChicago]

Lunch in MDR. Tomato salad app with goat cheese.

[KmomChicago]

Mendenhall Glacier and salmon hatchery tour coming up after lunch. I’m now on LTE as we approach Juneau. Warmer and sunnier today. One of the kids wants crab legs so I will be authorizing exactly one pound, probably at Tracy’s, after the tour.

[KmomChicago]

This isn’t quite right.

 

Bliss is here, not Encore. We’ve been catching and passing all the ships I didn’t choose and I have FOMO. Or maybe RIMO, regret I missed out. I kinda always wanted to try Princess of course, 9 years of watching them pull in to Pwair-toh Vie-arrrrr-tah courtesy of Aaron Spelling. But I have now sailed south from LA and north from the Pacific Northwest and they didn’t win, so must not be a burning desire. I think they’re too fancy for me. I’m certainly old enough but I guess I have never been able to figure if there’s enough real difference between brands to upgrade.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

7 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

I kinda always wanted to try Princess of course, 9 years of watching them pull in to Pwair-toh Vie-arrrrr-tah courtesy of Aaron Spelling.

Haha, me tooooo!!! I recently booked a Mexican Riviera sailing on Princess next year, so I'll finally get to see MAZATLAN! (dramatic TV voiceover).