Day 1, Monday, May 29, 2023
My grandson’s 20th birthday. Where have the years gone?
We love sea days. It’s a day for sleeping in, breakfasting when you feel like it, going for a walk on the promenade deck, and napping after lunch. In other words, for Vacation Relaxation!
We woke at 7:something, dressed for exercise, and took the elevator down to the Deck 4, the Promenade. The temperature was in the 50s, the winds were almost 20 mph, the sea was r*o*u*g*h, and there were moments when I felt I had vertigo. But we saw the sign that said three laps around the ship equaled one mile, and we were determined. My health app says I’ve done 5,000 steps today; that makes me happy.
While we were doing our laps, we noticed a pilot boat tailing us, then noticed they pulled up on our starboard side, as if to let a local pilot get onboard. But then we saw a couple of crew members move from our side door over to the pilot boat, and then someone toss their bags to them. Don’t know the story behind that, unless it was a crew member who was ill and needed to get medical help unavailable on the ship. Or it was the end of his contract that day and he Had. To. Go. In any event, it was interesting.
Breakfast of cereal and fruit in the Lido Market after our walk, sitting by the window and watching the rough waves. The thing about meals onboard is, no matter what you’re in the mood for, it’s available.
I’ve been having knee problems since Thursday morning. I’ve been wearing a soft brace off and on throughout the trip, but it’s just not easing up. After our walk, I came back and soaked in a hot tub, turning on the jets for a little while, seeking comfort. (It’s 4:30 p.m. as I write this. Jas has gone to the gym. I may get back in the tub before he returns, just to make dinner and evening activities more comfortable for the barking knee.)
After soaking and showering, I met Jas in the Crow’s Nest and spent some time finishing yesterday’s travelogue. It was a very gray day and quite beautiful to watch from that high point. After a while, Jas wanted a nap, so went back to the room. When I started feeling hungry, I went back to the room to drop off my laptop and iPad, and made just enough noise to roust him from his nap and tell him I’d meet him at the Dive-In.
He showed up just as I made it to the front of the line. That Jazzman is talented! We placed our lunch orders, found a table by the windows, not too far from the pool. On sea days, all the restaurants are crowded at noon, as there’s no place else to be! We ordered burgers and fries, and were told we’d be beeped in about 20 minutes. I ordered a strawberry margarita from the Lido Bar, which I found too sweet. I finished half, then traded the other half for Jas’s half glass of water.
I’ve been wanting some hair gel or spray, so went down to the shops to see what I could find. Nada—I’m going to have to live with my fine, floppy hair for another day until we get to Ketchikan. I also looked at all the cold weather clothes on sale in the HAL shop, but knew that when I get to Tongass Trading tomorrow to pick up my luggage strap, they will have similar warm gear for 25% the price it is onboard.
Back in the room, we needed to fill out the paperwork for Thursday’s helicopter ride up to the top of a glacier. We had to give them our guesstimated weight, fully clothed for the flight so the pilot can ensure a balanced load and deliver that to Guest Services before 4:00 p.m. today. Then Jas wanted to go to the gym but realized he didn’t bring any gym-quality tee shirts. I went to see our concierge, made a donation to the “On Deck for a Cause” charitable event and got our two t-shirts. We now own five or six of these navy blue t-shirts between us. The last time I bought one was after the January, 2023, cruise when Jas forgot and packed all of his shirts and sent the bag off the night before disembarkation. That was my second donation to On Deck for a Cause. At least we have a fallback plan!!
Dinner time, and we had made reservations at the Main Dining Room. Club Orange status comes with our Neptune Suite, so we get special treatment, a special seating area, and a couple of special items on our menu that is available only to Club Orange members. (Note: One can purchase Club Orange status without booking a Neptune or Pinnacle suite. It comes with a room upgrade and a number of other included perks. It’s one of the tricks to book a room without a view, and get upgraded to a room with a view.)
Tonight was Gala Night at dinner, what used to be called Formal Night. It’s a “dressy attire” dinner. Some men wear sports jackets; some shirt and tie, some just nice button-up shirts and slacks. Ladies wear anything from sparkles to a cute dress or slacks and top. But Alaska cruises are typically more casual, as—in our case—most of our luggage space went to the layers and layers of clothes and sweaters to be able to stay warm. I wore what I would have worn to play for church or a casual performance: my fave Eileen Fisher black knit tunic, and the matching skirted leggings. It makes a nice dressy-looking outfit that I can be comfortable in. I brought along cute red shoes to spice it up a little and wore a Nordstrom charm bracelet with a Nordstrom Steinway grand, a shopping bag, a sparkly high heeled shoe, and a couple of other signature Nordy items. I’ll try to remember to photograph the bracelet to include here. (For those who don’t know, I was a pianist at Nordstrom’s Pentagon City, Tyson’s Corner, and Montgomery Mall stores for nine years in the late 80s/early and mid 90s. It was one of the part-time jobs I worked to put my son through Interlochen Arts Academy and support myself while he was in high school and college. Loved it!!) (Edit: 7/11/23 – the bracelet photo is in the gallery, below, now. From the bottom, clockwise, the charms are a Nordstrom coffee mug; a sparkley high heel shoe, as Nordstrom started its life as a shoe store in Seattle; a Nordstrom shopping bag; my Steinway grand piano; and a Nordstrom charge card. I believe these were available in the stores in the early or mid-1990s.)
I believe we skipped the appetizer for this meal, as we had eaten a late-ish lunch. I don’t see a photo on my phone, and I try to photograph every meal. Our entrees were wonderful: I had Tarte au Chèvre avec Oignons Caramélisés (Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Onion). It came with ratatouille, and the kitchen kindly plated one for me without the ratatouille. Eggplant is not my friend. Jas enjoyed the 12 oz. Pinnacle Grill Strip Loin Steak. For dessert, I had the warm chocolate cake, and Jas had red velvet cake. It was a lovely meal. Our waiter was Yudi, and his assistant was Qorie (pronounced Cory). These gentlemen were sweet and very skilled servers. We’ll be coming back to this table in subsequent nights to enjoy their kindness.
We walked a little after dinner, watching a few minutes of the dancers and listening to a little music, before heading upstairs to relax in our jammies.
And our first full day was complete. We were halfway between Vancouver and Ketchikan. The engineers in the bridge would continue through the night as we slept, and we would arrive in in Ketchikan at 7:00 a.m.
Alaska 2023, Day 1
