Alaskan Adventures Day 2 - Time to Cruise!

Sydney woke up at 4am Seattle time, 7am our time, and we were thrilled….. not! The weather was a brisk 60 degrees and we were shocked at the lack of humidity. Luckily, that gave us time to organize our stuff and get ready to head to the airport to meet DD, Uncle H, and Nana. After, once again, navigating with our pile of luggage, we made our way to the car taking us to the ship. After loading everything and trapping Nana in the back with the luggage – the car wouldn’t start! Another car came quickly to the rescue and jumped ours.

Tight squeeze!

 We drove through Seattle and saw our cruise ship in the distance. HOLY CANNOLI, it was huge. Sydney kept saying “THAT is our ship?” Personally, I was wondering if it was bigger than the city where I was raised. I bet it holds more people!

It is huge!

After showing our passports about 100 times and dropping our luggage, we were off to load the ship. They have an interesting way of keeping track of passengers. We have a card that serves as our room key, ID, and credit card. They then take your picture so anytime you use the card, your face appears and they know it is actually you using it. Smart! We weren’t able to get in our rooms yet, so we went and had lunch at the buffet. There were some decent healthy options, so I was happy! Sydney kept asking where the mac cheese was. We started exploring the ship. I had the overwhelming urge to see every inch of the boat and get to the highest point. I could hardly believe the things we were finding – a putting green?! 4 pools and countless hot tubs! A bar around every corner? A place for on demand pizza and ice cream? CRAZY!

The view from the walking track/putting green.

After exploring, we went and visited the kids room. This place was nicer than any daycare I have seen! Slides, painting stations, a tricycle course, a bouncy-house esque play center, and a theater. Sydney didn’t even care about us after she saw that! But we couldn’t stay long, it was time to check into our rooms.

We had a balcony with two chairs and a table, a queen bed, desk, tv, and a closet area by the bathroom. It was almost as spacious as a typical small hotel room that we experienced during our Asia travels. There is a steward in charge of a group of rooms and ours was Winston. He opened the partition between our room and the one Syd and Nana are staying in, making our balcony twice as big! Our suitcases were delivered and before we knew it, it was time to muster. In order to muster, you go to your evacuation point and learn about all the safety procedures in case of emergency. Sydney promptly passed out in Nana’s arms. We went back to DD and Uncle H’s suite and laid her down. Soon, the horn sounded and it was time to leave the port. We sipped champagne and stared in amazement as our giant ship backed out and got up to speed.

Bon Voyage!

As we went exploring and found the weight room, I decided to go onto the bow of the ship. When I opened the door, a gust of wind was so strong I could barely walk! Well, it turns out I had my sunglasses on my head…. And now the Alaskan waters have them…. Forever. Ironically, this just happened to me at the river back home and these were the replacements. *facepalm*

The fitness center.

Soon, it was time for dinner and we headed to find our dining room. We sat at a really nice table by the window at Botticello’s and had Daisy and Wellington as our servers. They were so kind and accommodating. The maître D even came to check if everything was okay on the menu for the rest of the week since Sydney has a dairy sensitivity. We enjoyed dinner and then went to do some more exploring. The restaurant was really nice and that was a little challenging with a 3.5 year old. She was really well-behaved but also wanted to move around. Luckily, we were by a window and she entertained herself there. Tomorrow, we will bring a coloring book for sure!

Part of the kids room. 

After dinner, It was finally time for Sydney to visit the kids room and she had a blast. They knew her name immediately and treated her like a queen. When we picked her up about an hour later, she did not want to leave!

At night, it was pretty chilly on our balcony compared to how warm it was during the day! We all got back and passed out, what an awesome day!