Monday, September 7, 2009

It’s about 7:30 am.  The sun is up.  You can tell because the gray has gotten lighter.  We are about 1/3 of the way from Seattle to Juneau.  It is very cloudy, about 60 degrees.  Wind is across the ship with seas between 4 and 7 feet meaning that there is a lot of noticeable movement of the ship.  This isn’t giving Sue and me any problems, but it takes some getting used to, and I can see where some probably are having … issues.  Sort’a rocked you to sleep…

We made a nice pot of Community coffee in our room to start the day off.  Bringing that was a good idea.

After a restful night we are looking forward to exploring the ship today. We have on the land side of the ship as we travel north and will be on the water side on the return.  We will see what the land offers up using our binocs later today.  We should be passing Ketchikan in a bit.

Coming up on 11:30 now.  We had a nice breakfast at the Summer Palace, pretty conventional (eggs, bacon, toast) although more exotic fare was available.  The coffee on board could be worse.  Back to the room for a bit, and then down for a pretty brisk 1-mile walk around the deck, and a little boat exploring after.

The theater is impressive.  We ran across the casino and felt no temptation to join in the games at this point.  It was remarkable in a sense though.  The boat is very, very clean and smoking is outdoors, but as soon as you step into the casino it’s like being teleported to the floating bars called riverboat casinos in Baton Rouge.  The same colors, then same sounds, and *the exact same smell*.  Ugh.

A little more touring and then out to an open deck café (the sun is out a bit now) for some beverages and a light snack of fruit and a little smoked salmon and capers.  Back in the room now for some room time and computer time.  Sitting on our balcony is a pretty pleasant thing to do.  No aminaminals yet for Sue, but that will come.

Sunday, day 1 onboard.

            Check in was relatively painless; handed us champagne as we boarded; room ready at 2pm as promised.  Room on deck 11 aft (which means toward the back of the ship for us novices), last room with a balcony. Balcony equipped with 2 chairs and small table.  Nice desk area with small fridge; power strip provided since there are only 2 plugs. Small flat screen TV with some onboard stations.  Room has queen sized bed with adjoining seating area with the desk and a pull out sofa which can be separated from the rest of the room by a thick curtain if desired.  Bed has side tables and room has interesting little crooks and crannies for placement of our stuff.  The compartmentalized bathroom is much larger than expected; tub with shower, lavatory area, and the potty.  We are due for our emergency drill in a few.  The room seems like it will meet our needs more than adequately…we will make it our own once our luggage arrives!

Since Sue wrote the above all luggage has arrived and we are in for the duration.  The room is actually larger than we thought it would be, and we have plenty of storage space.  Being the cabin most aft, we have a slightly bigger balcony than most and a clear view behind us.  Now we are about to start cruising in earnest … as soon as I get our “posting” protocol worked out by posting this.

Sue will be checking her AOL email at suehagius@aol.com!  Look for pics on smugmug.

We had our first real meal of the trip a little while ago (we aren’t counting the BK burgers in the Dallas Airport).  It was at a sushi plance a block over from our hotel in downtown Seattle:  Genki Sushi.  They had the revolving belt that you could select items from as they passed, but we sat at a table and ordered.  We shared:

• Tempura Udon Soup
• Fried Eggplant Nigiri Sushi
• Tuna Nigiri Sushi
• Rainbow Roll
• Tempura Roll
• Miso-Glazed Seared Salmon

and  *real* green tea (iced) with a wedge of lime.

The price?  $16.20, for *both* of us.  Seattle Sushi looks like a winner.