Lunch with a friend and zoom after dinner

The day started with a gradual waking up.  By 11 am, I was up and running and getting ready to have lunch with MSJ.  It was nice to be able to see her again, as we have had way too many postponements of our lunches this summer.

 - - - - - -

I made sure that I was properly shaved and made up before getting dressed.  It was still warm enough for me to wear a casual denim dress from Universal Standard that has been a staple of my summer wardrobe since I bought it.  Rushing out of the apartment, I barely made it to the pizzeria on time.  When we met, it was as if no time had passed.  So we went inside, ordered a couple of slices each, then went to the park to chat and eat.

MSJ talked about family affairs, and how recent dealings with the government put her and her family through the ringer.  Then, we discussed medical issues, specifically an incident with her and marine life, while I mentioned my recent pinched nerves and doctor's recommendations.  She brought me up to date on what was happening with her sons, and while she was talking, a mendicant came up asking us for money.  Neither of us had ever seen a homeless person or a beggar in Croton before, and we handed this person some small bills so that she could get some food.  (I hated seeing her hunt through nearby garbage cans for food, that I felt I should help her out a little.)  We then shifted to talking about current political events, and both of us felt we had good cause to worry about what is happening to us, or what could happen to us in the near future.

All too soon, we had to part. I went home, and awaited a zoom meeting with our Texas friends.  Opening the meeting at 8, I had to use my Chromebook in the living room, as the AC in the bedroom wouldn't keep me cool while I was wearing my wig.  RQS and I talked about our Alaska trip, and I showed off some pictures I took.  I made a joke about who would wear the white dress if we got married, and it evolved into me saying that a wedding would be held in San Francisco, and that our friends would be invited.  I'm pretty sure that they would come if we were to do so.

Shortly after the zoom meeting ended, I had my nightly phone call with RQS, and then closed things up for the day....

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Thoughts on the trip (08/23/25)

 

Some thoughts, looking back on our trip...

• If one needs to fly across multiple time zones to take an Alaska cruise, make sure to arrive at least a day or two in advance of the cruise to: (1) Get used to the new time zone, and (2) Have some wiggle room in transit arrangements, so that a delayed flight won't cause a person to miss the cruise.
  
  
• San Francisco is a wonderful city to spend a few days exploring.  We loved our visit to the De Young museum to see the exhibition of Paul McCartney Beatlemania era photographs.
  
  
• San Francisco is a mass transit friendly city.  However, like New York, rerouted bus routes are poorly communicated to riders via their transit authority's app.
  
  
• San Francisco's Passenger Cruise Terminal is near the heart of town, and relatively inexpensive to reach via local ride services or cabs.
   
• One should book all Alaska shore excursions way in advance of one's trip.  Several excursions were sold out by the time we boarded the ship.  We were glad that we booked our trip on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad months in advance, as this 2½ hour excursion often sells out.
  
  
• In Juneau, there is an area in the center of the tourist district where cruisers can buy independent tours.  Most of these tours are professionally run, and are priced lower than those tours sold by the cruise line. We bought our Juneau excursion via shoreexcursionsgroup.com, and had only the minor inconvenience in finding the bus that would take is to the glacier and back.
  
  
• Although one can take Juneau's public bus system to the Mendenhall Glacier park, I would not recommend it, as one would still need to walk a distance before reaching the park's tourist center. I'd rather spend more of my time walking within the park, than spend it walking to the park.
  
  
• Glacier Bay is only reachable by ship.  Only 2 ships may enter the park in a single day.  One may see wildlife while cruising in the park, we weren't that lucky.  Focus on getting a cruise where one spends as much time viewing glaciers as possible - seeing a glacier calve is an amazing sight.  
  
  
• In Ketchikan, we went to see the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.  We could have booked our tickets on our own, and used Ketchikan's free seasonal bus system to get from our pier to the show and back.  From the show, it's a short walk to Creek Street and the town's arts district.
  
  
• At many of Alaska's ports, one can book excursions for whale watching.  If one hasn't seen a whale breach before, it's an awe inspiring sight.  As for me, I've seen enough whales on my trips to Cape Cod, that I don't find breaching interesting anymore.
  
  
• Many people will enjoy sled dog mushing and glacier fly-over excursions.  These tend to be expensive, but most people who take these excursions feel they are well worth the money.
  
  
• Our cruise gave us a full day in the 3 Alaskan ports we visited.  We didn't visit any of the more popular ports (Vancouver, BC and Victoria, BC).  Instead, we spent ½ day in Prince Rupert.  And that was the perfect amount of time to spend in this port, as there isn't much to see except what's in the Museum of Northern British Columbia.
  
  
• Assuming one is returning to the East Coast after the cruise, one should book flights as close to 12:30 pm to arrive in one's home city to get home by midnight.  With this being said, I prefer to return from San Francisco on a "Red-Eye" flight, so that I can sleep on the plane AND have more options when I get home.
  

I highly recommend visiting Alaska's inside passage if at all possible.  The landscape and wildlife are unique and can be awe inspiring when the stars align just right.  

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Disembarkation Day / Flying Home (08/22/25)

I first thought it was going to be a relatively short post for me, as I'm finally home and getting used to being back in my own apartment.  Yeah, Right!   This was a great cruise, but we didn't see the wildlife that most of us expect from an Alaskan cruise.  Given a choice between this cruise and another cruise through the Norwegian Fjords, the fjords would win out.  But that's something I can write about later on. 

- - - - - -

I didn't get much sleep the night before disembarkation.  RQS asked me when we'd be going under the Golden Gate bridge, and I said that we wouldn't see it when it happened due to San Francisco's fog.  And I was right.  The fog didn't start lifting until we were ready to get off the ship.

Around 7 am, we left our cabin for the last time and went downstairs for breakfast.  We had 1¼ hours to kill before we could get off the ship, so we had one last breakfast in the main dining room.  Soon, our number was called, and we proceeded to the gangway to get off the ship for one last time.  Once in the terminal, quite a few cruise rookies got in the way of us retrieving our bags and exiting the terminal.  Yet, we were off the ship and out of the terminal in less than 45 minutes, and on our way to the airport by 9:30.

- - - - - -

Once at the airport, we had to get our bags checked and boarding passes issued at JetBlue's service desk.  Although we had seat assignments made the day before (many thanks to our TA on his vacation!), we still needed new seat assignments because the cane I was using couldn't fold up.  (We were booked into an emergency exit row, and the service agent knew we'd have a problem if they saw our canes.)  So, he reassigned us to seats 5 rows in back of where we were first seated and 5 rows in front of the seats we originally expected to sit in.  This man was extremely helpful, unlike the "Karen" protecting the service agent lanes at JFK - this gives us something more to write about when we send in our complaint letters to JetBlue's corporate offices.

We then went through TSA security with only one minor hitch - even though I have a trusted traveler number, my belt had to come off due to its amount of metal.  AARGH!  I'll have to look for another belt just to go through airport security one day soon.  And then we were in the airport, waiting at the gate for 2 hours.  Luckily, we were in the first general boarding group, as people boarding behind us would have to gate check their bags.  (RQS gate checked her carry-on anyway, so that she could get on the plane with her remaining bags.)

Eventually, we got on the plane around 12:40, and it would be another 5½ hours before touch down at JFK.  We knew that we wouldn't have our bags until 10 pm, and I started to think: What places would be open for late night grub delivery in RQS's section of Queens by the time we got home?  That would be a question that could only be answered when our plane touched down and our luggage came off the carousel.  Hours later, we had our answer.  Our bags were off the carousel around 10 pm (even though the plane arrived at JFK 30 minutes early), and with a ½ mile walk from the terminal to the Airtrain coupled with another 30 minutes in an Uber, we wouldn't be home until after 11 pm.

Now we had a minor problem.  All of the late night joints in RQS's neighborhood were closed.  Luckily, DoorDash and McDonald's came to the rescue.  The clock said midnight in New York, but our bodies said it was 9 pm in San Francisco.  By the time we finished our burgers, we were ready to crash for the night, as we had no more energy to do anything.... 

 

 

 

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #5 (08/21/25)

It's the last full day of our cruise, and I'm a little sad.  We've gotten used to the routine of cruising, and we've been away from reality for the better part of two weeks.  Right now, we're one day away from San Francisco, and we're getting ready to go home.  Our bags are almost packed, and we're figuring out how to keep our big bags under the 50 lb. limit for the plane.  (Luckily, we have a hand scale that we can use.) With this being said, we'll end up going home, then getting ready for another cruise.

Right now, we have to pick up our pictures from the photography studio, and burn off our remaining onboard credits.  RQS will be going to a spa session, while I'll be buying a watch I don't need.  It's not the best way to spend money.  These are just the best ways we can think of to use these credits. 

- - - - - -

Given that my shipboard non-refundable credits were still over $200, I knew we had to burn off some of these credits quickly as this was the last day of the cruise. The first thing we did after a late breakfast was to go downstairs and see if a watch I wanted was available at a price I wanted to pay.  It was.  $95 later, the watch was being adjusted for my wrist, and we were off to the lounge for 45 minutes.  And then we were off to the Crab Shack pop-up restaurant.

On certain sea days, Princess turns its Crown Grille restaurant into a seafood joint (Crab Shack) serving a limited menu focused on crustaceans.  We weren't able to get reservations for the first Crab Shack pop-up on this cruise, but we got one for the last day of the cruise.  RQS compromised with me, and we ordered the Seafood Bucket for Two.  YUM!  Lobster, Snow Crab Mussels, Tiny Clams, and Shrimp - all cold, fresh, and Tasty.  I wasn't sure of how we'd have room for our last dinner on the ship.  But I knew that we'd find a way to do so.

- - - - - - 

Around 1:30 pm, I noticed an email from JetBlue telling me that we could now check in for our flight.  When I looked at things, our assigned seats were gone.  This could be a great disaster for us, as I need to have an aisle seat, and RQS strongly prefers one as well.  So, I contacted our travel agent and found out that he was on vacation.  Yet, he took care of the problem and got us decent seats for the trip home.

At this time, I also found out that a charge made to RQS's account should have gone to my account.  So I had to trek to guest services to move the charge to my account.  At the end of the day, my credit balance was $0.03.  Not bad for people trying to use up both refundable and non-refundable onboard credits.

- - - - - - 

Shortly after 7 pm, we went downstairs for our last MDR dinner.  As usual, no one ended up seated with us.  (This MDR was way below capacity, so we weren't surprised.)  I had a seafood cocktail (more like a salad with seafood) and the seared salmon.  Yum.  Too bad my stomach was still digesting lunch.  But we made sure to thank our two servers profusely, and give them tips before we left for the last time.  When dinner was over, I went upstairs to get things ready for tomorrow morning, while RQS went to the casino to make a donation.  

 

 

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #4 (08/20/25)

  

The Pacific Ocean just after sunrise.  It's a beautiful sight, and something I'll have the chance to see one last time before reaching San Francisco.  Views like this are one of the many reasons to be sailing in a balcony cabin when taking an Alaskan cruise.

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Last night, while I was doing laundry, I met another cruiser in the laundry room.  We got to talking about current affairs, both of us being appalled by our current fascist regime's policy of hassling (or worse) anyone who doesn't look like a piece of white toast or have a white toast sounding name.  We wondered if the military would revolt (we didn't think so), and how people are acting out of fear.  I opened up about being TG, noting that I have filed for a European country's foreign birth registry.  She said that she has dual US and Mexican citizenship, and that she is trying to get Spanish citizenship, in order to be able to live in the EU if needed.

This morning, I started to think: Could I leave the US with nothing but the clothes on my back and get by?  30 years ago, I would have said YES! without a thought.  Today, I'm not certain of this, given my age. But I won't dwell on this question right now.  Instead, I'll sit and watch the ocean go by my balcony and stay relaxed until we get to San Francisco.

- - - - - -

The first thing we did after getting up was to go for lunch.  Yes, I pigged out with an appetizer, some soup, a burger and dessert.  And it was all yummy!  Then it was off the the atrium too see what was on sale.  As I write this, I have $322 in onboard credits - $172 nonrefundable, and $150 refundable.  Assuming that RQS burns off $75 of the nonrefundable credits in a spa session tomorrow, and that we burn off $140 at the Crab Shack pop up tomorrow, that means that I still have $113 to burn.  This means that I may buy a watch that I don't need to use up the remaining credits.  (Or, I could have Princess cur me a check for the remaining refundable credits.)  While we were still out of the room, we asked guest services about whether they have behind the scenes tours of the ship, as they do on some other ships.  All they have is a guided walk through the galley area, where one can see what goes on in the main kitchen.  Although it is something nice, it's not what I was looking for.  Yet, it paid to ask.

- - - - - - 

Around 6 pm, we had to get ready for the last formal night of our cruise.   I forgot where I put my tie, so RQS was ready before me.  We got more photos taken, and then went to another specialty restaurant (the Crown Grill) for surf and turf.  RQS had the lobster tail, while I had the veal chop.  Yum!  As usual, we were ready to pass out after eating, so it was back to our cabin to get a start on packing, and to watch some TV before going to sleep.  (You'll never know how quickly one can fall asleep until you watch a 50 y/o episode of The Love Boat!)

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Prince Rupert, BC - Port Day #4 (08/19/25)

 

Prince Rupert, BC.  Independent excursion providers such as viator.com and shoreexcursionsgroup.com have no options for tours at this port. It's a town where there's no "There" there. We have a half-day port stop in Prince Rupert only to comply with the US Passenger vessel services act.  It could be worse - especially when we had a nice walk while in port.  At the time I write this, one 4-day Bermuda cruise from the US East Coast is being diverted to Saint John, NB to avoid a nasty storm. 

We have visited all of the ports we planned on visiting on this cruise.  Yet, it's hard to believe that this cruise will be over soon, and we will soon be in San Francisco, flying back to New York and reality.  After this last port stop, it will be 2½ days of uninterrupted cruising, followed by a return to our more hectic pace of life. 

- - - - - -

Unlike other port stops on this cruise, we had no plans to get off the ship here, as there were few things to do.  Our main plan for the day was to do some laundry and relax during the day.   However, RQS needed to replace her cane, so we trekked off the ship to find a store where she could replace it.  Luckily, there was a shopping mall nearby, where she could buy a cane.  Even through the Walmart in town was permanently closed, there was a pharmacy and surgical supply store in the mall where she could buy a cane.

Prince Rupert is not a port where one goes for exciting excursions. It's charm lies in the fact that the port is a place where one can get off the ship and have some quiet time walking around the cruise terminal district before cruising onto the next port of call.  There are a couple of museums in walking distance of the cruise terminal, as well as a supermarket and a shopping mall where people can buy non-tourist related goods.  It's not a port for everyone. Yet, we enjoyed the time we were able to get off the ship and stretch our legs.

- - - - - -

The afternoon came, and our ship left port for one last time before reaching San Francisco.  RQS decided to take a nap, as she had walked over 2½ miles today, and was a little tired. 

 

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Ketchikan, AK - Port Day #3 (08/18/25)

 

Ketchikan, AK - The gateway to Alaska.  The last time I was here, I didn't take the opportunity to visit Creek Street.  This time around, I made sure that I had the chance to see it. 

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The day started by us waking up early and going back to the bed to rest for a while.  Then, we got dressed and went to the main dining room for breakfast.  There were already 6 other people sitting there, and we broke into conversation with 3 of them.  (Of the 3 we didn't speak with, 2 were not native English speakers, and 1 was on the spectrum.)  It was a pleasant and lively conversation about cruising in general, 1 person being a former travel agent. All too soon it had to end.  RQS and I had to make it to the staging station to take the shuttle to the Alaskan Lumberjack Show.

As expected, there was a little confusion in the theater when our group was called to go outside.  No one knew where to sit, and we (like others) were scattered across the theater and had to make our way to our group as it was leaving the theater.  But we made it OK, and got onto the shuttle which would take us into the heart of town for the show.

The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is a competition between two 2-man teams competing against each other.  There is a bit of humor thrown into the narrative, but it is simply a friendly timber sports competition.  Everything one might have seen lumberjacks do in their work 100 years ago, one would see today in competition. These are skills which this show preserves for posterity as entertainment. 

 

After the show, we walked over to Creek Street and visited Miss Dolly's House.  Dolly, a former bordello owner kept her business running until prostitution ended in the 1950's.  However, the house itself is shown mostly as it was when Dolly passed - as an old woman who chose to stay in town when others of her profession left.  When done with Miss Dolly's, we walked along Creek Street and explored the area. Then we went for lunch at a local shop.  It started to drizzle (no surprise here - Ketchikan gets over 240 days of rain each year), so we decided to take the local free shuttle back to the ship and rest for a while.

- - - - - -

When dinner time came, we went to the main dining room and sat at our usual shared table.  Our dinner reservation was for 7 pm, and no others were at our shared table by 7:30.  So we ordered our food, and had a nice meal.  Since our waiter, Marco, had time, he asked us some questions about how we felt about cruising on Princess.  We mentioned that this is our favorite cruise line, and explained why.  Then, he asked whether we had cruised on Carnival, and we said 'no'.  He asked why, and we noted that they have a completely different target demographic, and he agreed with us.  Marco is a waiter who loves his work, and his professionalism and personality comes out in every meal he serves to "his" cruisers.

It was nice to have a pleasant conversation with Marco.  But I think the relatively empty dining room gave him the time and freedom to do so.  We would have loved to know more about his life, but he was slightly too busy for us to consider that conversation.  And it was just as well, as there are some things that are best not known.  With that being said, we want Princess Cruises to know how good a waiter Marco is, and that we'll be sure to write about him in both post-cruise surveys and in emails to Princess' corporate offices.

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Juneau, AK - Port Day #2 (08/17/25)

 

Juneau, AK, the 49th state's capital.  And we had a shore excursion scheduled to take us to the Mendenhall Glacier.  It was raining out, and I wasn't that interested in going out, as I hate going out in the rain.

But first....

RQS and I got up early, so that we could reach the meeting site by 10:30.  We had breakfast in the buffet, and were out the door by 9:30.  

When one gets of the ship at the pier we were docked at, one has a 10 minute walk to the center of the tourist district.   And we had to do it in the drizzling rain.  Both RQS and I were glad that we brought rain gear with us.  Once by the tram, we had 45 minutes to kill.  So we hung out across the street from our meeting place, in a relatively dry place.

Eventually, we crossed the street to find our tour guide.  Although we did so, we had to wait an extra 15 minutes in the rain before the bus arrived to take us to the glacier. Our driver was a man with a beard that would qualify him to be a member of ZZ-Top. Once on the bus, the driver talked about life in Alaska, and about how he home-schooled his daughter as a single parent. (I'd have loved to find out more, but it would have been way to impolite to ask.  Let's say that this 15 y/o daughter knows how to hunt, skin and tan an animal's hide, and cook the meat from that animal.  Father and Daughter meet the definition of the self-reliant frontier people that people associated with Alaska.

   

We reached the park, took some glacier pictures, and then hung out in the visitors center until our bus returned to take us back to town.  If the weather had been better, we would have walked to Nugget Falls.  But that's something we'll do if we ever get back to town.  Arriving in the center of Juneau, we decided to get some grub at Tracy's King Crab Shack.  Yum!  Although the food was expensive (this is Alaska, with its high prices), it was good. After lunch, we walked back to the ship with a couple of pit stops for souvenirs. We picked up some snacks for us to eat, a book on pre-statehood Alaskan bordellos, and some venison jerky for TCL.  Once on the ship, we decided to rest for a while....

Dinner time came, and we headed downstairs for dinner.  Although we requested our usual shared table, no one came to share it until we were being served our main course.  This didn't stop us from having a nice conversation with the people who ate with us.  And then, we were off to the main theater to hear Trenyce perform.

Trenyce is a singer who got her start on TV's American Idol show.  Even though she came in 5th, she has made a career out of her singing.  Tonight, she sang songs made famous by Diana Ross and Whitney Houston - and she made them her own, while performing them in the style of the original artists.  This performance made up for last night's lackluster show.  

All too soon, it was time to go to bed - and we did just that. 

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Glacier Bay - Scenic Cruising Day (08/16/25)

 

Glacier Bay.  It's a national park where only two cruise ships are allowed to enter it on any one day, and we are on one of those ships.  It's a place where nature has been allowed to run wild, and I am grateful that I have the chance to see it before global warming ruins it.

- - - - - -

One thing I've noticed where RQS and I differ greatly is in our sleeping habits.  If I wake up, I tend to stay awake.  If she wakes up, it's easy for her to stay asleep.  This is not usually a big problem, as I will often go into another room and do my thing.  But when it's in a cabin, it's something else.  I have to find ways of doing my thing without disturbing her. And that can be tricky when we have an inside cabin.  Luckily, we have a balcony cabin for this cruise, and we'll be able to see glaciers without leaving the cabin if we want to do that.

Around 9:15, we went to the buffet for breakfast.  Not much to say about that, save we were on the opposite end of the ship from where the Park Ranger was scheduled to give a talk about Glacier bay.  By the time we reached the theater, there were almost no seats left, and we had to walk to the front row to find seats.  Of the 2 presentations we have seen this cruise, the park ranger's presentation was the best. After the presentation, we walked back to our cabin and watched Alaska glide by from the comfort of our balcony for a while. 

 
After lunch, we moseyed up to the lounge where the park ranger was talking.  She noted several things about Glacier Bay park that made the cruise a little bit more interesting: Why the color of the water can be a shade of aqua, how fine glacial silt can be, what causes icebergs to calve from glaciers, etc. Even though what she said was interesting, I found it relaxing to see Mother Nature in her majesty.  All too soon, the park rangers were dropped off at the entrance to the park, and our ship started on its way to Juneau.

- - - - - -

Dinnertime came, and we sat at our usual table with some people we ate with before. Although it was noisy, we were able to enjoy a good meal and good conversation.  Unfortunately, I took a chance with another Indian chicken dish and struck out.  Such is the life of someone who gambles with food.  At least, the creme brulee was good. 

Later on was the stage show.  It was a 30-minute song and dance extravaganza, where the performers sang (and danced to) music from around the world.  One problem: more than half the numbers stunk. One of the decent tunes was an abbreviated version of Iz's "Somewhere over the Rainbow" / "It's a Wonderful World" medley. The men performing "Nessun dorma" and the woman doing Alicia Keys' "New York" did a great job on their tunes.  However, the show was ruined for me because the cast ruined "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Mas Que Nada", both tunes I've loved from childhood.

With that being said, it was another good day in the great white north.

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Skagway, AK - Port Day #1 (08/15/25)

 

As I start this entry, it's not even sunrise yet and I captured the above image on our way into Skagway.  It's very much like cruising in the Norwegian Fjords, yet very different at the same time. Both places are filled with rugged beauty. But in Alaska, one also comes to see the wildlife here.  I'm not much for whale watching. But I am interested in seeing the salmon go upstream to spawn. And Alaska has much of that at this time of year, and we'll be seeing the salmon run in a few days.

- - - - - -

Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike gold fields, many miles away in Canada.  It has a rich history, yet now exists for the summer tourist trade.  In 1997, I took an Alaskan cruise out of San Francisco and visited the Alaskan ports of Skagway, Sitka, and Ketchikan, as well as viewing the Hubbard Glacier. This time, I wanted to make sure I got to Juneau and Glacier Bay. (Note: Glacier Bay will be tomorrow's destination.) And I was glad to be able to do so this time around.

The Lynn Canal (not an actual canal) is beautiful at this time of year, with calm waters and snowy mountains on both sides.  It's a wonderful setting for cruises going in to and out of Skagway.  For years, the only way to reach Skagway was by ship.  Now, it is one of a small number of towns able to reach the mainland by land. Today's shore excursion, The White Pass & Yukon Railway runs on tracks laid to reach the gold fields over 100 years ago.

- - - - - -

After a forgettable breakfast in the dining room, we left the ship to look around Skagway before our trip on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. (WP&Y RR)  This railroad is 125 years old, and it is an amazing feat of engineering for its time.  Built for the Klondike gold rush, it was built by many laborers who rushed to Alaska in hopes of getting rich quick.  (Only a mall percentage of the people who made it to the Klondike ever made enough money to be rich, and an even smaller number of these laborers kept their wealth after leaving the Klondike.  (Note: Frederick Trump, the Orange Snowflake's grandfather, owned the Arctic Restaurant and Hotel, an establishment that offered fine dining, lodging and sex in a sea of tents. Read into this what you will.) The WP&Y RR has an interesting history, and it is the main reason I had to visit Skagway again.

Around noon, we walked over to the waiting area for our excursion, and before we knew it, approximately 600 people were waiting for the train.  We didn't get moving until 1 pm, but RQS later said the wait was worth it - there were some spectacular views on this route.  (Both of us think the Flam Railway in Norway has more awe inspiring views. Sadly, we will not be back in Flam anytime soon.)  Although we got some good photo opportunities, we couldn't capture the views properly due to 2 things: (1) It's impossible to do some of these views justice because they could never be reproduced on a large enough screen, and (2) the train was moving too quickly for us to set up shots properly.  We were back in town by 3:30 pm, and on the ship by 4 pm.  

- - - - - -

After a couple of hours passed, we got ready for dinner.  When the clock struck 7, we went downstairs for dinner and asked for a table waited on by our favorite waiter.  This meant we'd be at a shared table, opening us up to new people and new conversations.  And we were not disappointed.  We met a nice couple from California with whom we had a great chat. It was a nice way to close out a long day.

 

 

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #3 (08/14/25)

The clocks moved back an hour last night, and we still got up late for breakfast.  It's just as well, as neither of us were in the mood to do anything but relax.  Outside, we can see nothing but the Pacific Ocean, and it's nice to know that we'll have a nice continuous view of the inside passage when our ship leaves Skagway tomorrow.

- - - - - - 

We got up late, and decided that our first meal would be lunch in the main dining room.  I wanted something simple to eat, as I knew I'd be having GI Tract issues later in the day.  So, I had some lentil soup followed by a gussied up hamburger.  Both were yummy.  But this would not be the focus of our day.

Sometime towards mid afternoon, we entered the Inside Passage, and had calm waters to sail on our way to Skagway.  From our balcony, we saw some snow covered mountains, while others nearby saw whales. Both of us broke out our binoculars to get a better view of things.  Even though the tops of the mountains were often covered with clouds, we enjoyed the view.  This is one cruise which I would always recommend a balcony cabin.

All too soon, dinner time came, and we had to stop enjoying the views from our balcony cabin.  So we trekked downstairs to the restaurant where I ordered the Crab Buccatini, the Seafood Antipasto, and the Tandori Chicken for dinner.  There was nothing that wasn't top notch. While having our appetizers a couple from the Denver area was seated at our shared table. I recommended the pasta, and the woman opposite me loved my suggestion.  The four of us had a nice conversation, even though the noise level in the restaurant made it hard to hear each other.  To finish the meal, I had the Apple Strudel, while RQS had the Cheesecake.  We could have kept talking for a while, but RQS had to go up to the room, and I wanted to go and capture the last minutes of our first Alaskan sunset. 

 What a nice way to close out a day, isn't it?

 

Alaska Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #2 (08/13/25)

Breakfast for two....

There were more plates and trays of food to start our day.  But the day had come late due to Room Service personnel oversleeping.  (Or, that's the excuse the man gave.)

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We were awakened by someone calling from New York, trying to get RQS to accept a dental appointment for cleaning only, as her dentist would not be there.  As usual, the person was acting with a pre-set agenda and wasn't listening to RQS. RQS wanted to see the dentist as part of her regularly scheduled appointment. But RQS made herself clear and got the appointment she wanted.  As for me, I could have used an hour or two more sleep.

When were finally moving, we had to wait more time than should have been necessary for breakfast, as Room Service was running late.  By the time we finished breakfast, it was lunch time - a meal we decided to skip in favor of afternoon tea later in the afternoon.

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Afternoon Tea....

Around 3 pm, we went down to the dining room for afternoon tea.  There was not enough room in the area outside the restaurant to hold all of the people waiting to get in for tea.  At 3 pm sharp, the restaurant opened to let everyone in.  RQS and I were seated at a table for 2, a table off the beaten track of wait staff flow. This wasn't the problem that made tea unpleasant.  Instead, it was the loudness of our area.  We had to shout to hear each other speak.  Unlike tea on our Norwegian Fjord cruise, the small finger sandwiches had almost no flavor.  Was it us?  Or was it the ship's environment that caused us to give a "thumbs down" on tea?  Who knows?  But I won't be in any hurry to go back there again for afternoon tea.

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Dinner....

We got dressed in our nicest clothes for formal night, and left early for dinner.  This would give us some time to get formal pictures taken of us before we went to dinner.  After walking around for a few minutes, we found a place where we wanted our pictures taken - and did so.  Then, it was off to dinner.

Arriving at the restaurant a few minutes early, we asked if we could be seated at a table where our favorite waiter was working.  They hemmed and hawed a little, and seated us at another shared table.  Then Marco showed up, and greeted us warmly.  We love his touch in serving us at our table.  (Now, I understand why my uncle was once upset at not having his favorite waiter serve my dad when he visited him in the Hamptons one year.)  Across from us was a couple from Turkey who could barely speak English.  Shortly after we ordered, two ladies were seated next to us, and we had a great, non serious chat with them.  I suggested the Orange Duck, and she was glad I suggested it. Our dishes came.  First was the crab cake, then the ravioli, followed by the duck.  Yum!  The orange sauce was not as pronounced as I'd make it, but it was good. Finally, dessert was served, and I had the creme brulee.

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When we finished dinner, we decided to do almost a week's worth of laundry.  One of the nice things about a Princess cruise ship is that most (if not all) have self-service laundry.  Two problems: the token dispenser didn't work, and the soap dispensing machine was empty (or, we thought it was).  So each of us had to make our way to Guest Services for help... multiple times.

All in all, this was a good sea day....