Alaskan Cruise 2014

To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we decided to take a 7-day Alaskan Cruise out of Seattle, our first cruising experience and probably not our last given the right situation. Our itinerary included stops at Ketchikan, the Tracy Arms Fjord, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, a standard route for hundreds of cruise ships that sail the Inland Passage over the summer. The Alaskan Cruise season begins around May and ends sometime in September. Some "Ports of Call" such as Juneau, Skagway, etc., will accommodate as such as five cruise ships a day through out the peak summer season, which means upwards of about 12,000 tourist shopping, eating, and sightseeing in their towns. Needless to say, the tourist industry keeps these towns afloat. Locals welcome the tourist, but relish their laid back small town lifestyle after the summer season.

Our 15 level cruise ship, which accommodated 2,880 guest along with 1,200 crew members, was outstanding. Perhaps not 5 star, but definitely a four! It's basically a small town afloating the sea offering all the services you would for need for a week such as restaurants, spas, casino, fitness center, pools, theater, movies, lounges, dancing, etc. The food at the buffet was good overall and I was always able to find something that I liked enough to get seconds. Our dinners in the formal dining room with set seatings, were outstanding overall with only a few missteps by the chefs, and was my preference over the buffet. Kay wondered whether or not I would like cruising, and I say everything has it's place. I enjoyed my week and would consider another. I worried that 2,880 people on a ship would feel crowded, but that was not the case. There was plenty of room and always a hidden enclave to be had if you didn't want to see anyone. Certain places would be crowded such as the buffet at lunchtime, the fitness room in the morning, or the elevators, which we would avoid by using the stairs. After all, we could use the exercise to counter all our eating. Loved the experience! Below are a few pictures. To see the full set in Picasa, click on the link at the bottom right of this post.

From Alaskan Cruise 2014