Sep 5

Sep 5 Alaskan Cruise August 24th-31st 2019

August 29th, 8:40pm. I am sitting in our state room watching the Pacific Ocean pass by out the window. We are traveling from Ketchikan Alaska to Victoria British Columbia. Wow, being on a cruise ship is an interesting, if not bizarre experience. Yesterday, my husband told me it reminded him of a sci-fi movie. So far, we have traveled from Seattle to Juneau. Juneau to Skagway. Skagway to Ketchikan and now Ketchikan to Victoria, BC. At each stop we get to disembark for several hours to take a tour and see the sights. The towns are littered with tourist stops and jewelry stores but the scenery is beautiful. I don’t know what tanzanite is, but these people are crazy for it? Generally, I feel that I am at a buffet restaurant on a floating mall.

My husband and I have never taken a cruise before. I don’t know how to say this nicely…we are not cruise people. We wanted to like it, really we did, but dang…there are too many people in one space to feel comfortable. We do not “do” buffets, ice carving demos, pamper parties, random (unknown) comedians, afternoon trivia, ect. in our normal life. I guess we are not group activity people. The activities off the ship are safely lead by tour guides who shuttle you from one “experience” to another. There is a line to do just about everything, which means slow walkers, close talkers and all the things that make me feel like blindly punching people. Also, I caught a cold, so I am cranky.

The food is less than exciting (this may be because I am a pescatarian, and my options were limited). The best dinner I had was a curry vegetable pot that was on offer from room service. I wish I was posting a blog full of all of the amazing food I ate on this cruise, but sadly, nothing was worth posting about. What I will say is that the staff on this cruise (Ruby Princess) has been amazing. Each and every person we have encountered from our cabin steward to the buffet servers have been friendly, polite and accommodating. We have not had a single bad experience with the staff. The ship is clean and well maintained. Our room is spacious and comfortable.

Sometimes you have to try something before you realize it’s not for you, and people, the cruise lifestyle is not for me.

I am so grateful to Dan and Dolores Mrotek for allowing us this opportunity. Without them, we would not have been afforded this chance to see whales, bald eagles, seals and a hilarious “art” auction. The people watching on a cruise is 5 stars! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!