Showing posts with label ships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ships. Show all posts

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Our Royal Adventure- Galveston

Majority Rules
The Kids Return to Cruising 
September 3, 2022
Galveston, TX 


It's time to CRUISE... Let's Go!

Morning 
It had been nearly 5 years since the kids had last been on a cruise ship and all four of us were ready for this adventure to get started. We were up and out the door before 7:30AM. We did make a short pit-stop at our traditional cruise morning breakfast, Kolache Factory in The Woodlands. 


We are all packed up and ready to go... Let's head south! 

Once we were on I45, it was less than 100 minutes before we were at the NEW Royal Caribbean Galveston Cruise terminal, and that was with a stop at Buc-ee's in Texas City. 

The new Royal Caribbean Terminal 10 in Galveston is GORGEOUS. It was finished and opened in November 2022 and was only a few months old when we sailed. This terminal has it's own parking lot on sight and an incredibly easy pick-up and drop-off lane area that serves the passengers so very well. 


This is always such a great feeling... This sign means I'm within minutes of the cruise ship!


We're almost there...


I love the outside of this new terminal. 


We are parked... Next stop, the terminal! 
I cannot wait to get inside and see it all! 

We parked in the Port of Galveston North Lot which was mere feet away from the entrance area of the terminal. TIP- This parking lot is pricier than other lots but the convenience to the terminal is worth it's weight in gold. We paid $110 for a 5 days cruise.  Once we loaded all of our suitcases, we made our way to the holding area of the terminal as they do not open the terminal to outgoing passengers until 10AM. We had to wait in a covered area on the south side of the terminal. It had room for about 200 passengers and large ceiling fans. We were comfortable waiting 20-30 minutes in this line but I can see where standing in this area during the summer months in South Texas would be excruciatingly hot. 


Waiting in the covered holding area to get into the terminal. 


It's 9:58... They started a countdown for the doors to open and we all got really excited! 

They literally opened the terminal to outgoing cruise passengers at exactly 10AM and we started going into the terminal. The entrance to the terminal is GORGEOUS and I love the quadruple escalators. We were upstairs and getting checked in by 10:04AM. Once checked in, we waited in a very swanky terminal holding area for about 15 minutes before the announcement was made they would begin boarding soon. TIP- During this time we all watched the Royal Caribbean safety briefing video on the Royal Caribbean app. This was only about 5-7 minutes worth of time and was SO EASY and user (especially kid) friendly! 


C'mon, call the "Platinum" guests already... We want to get on the ship! 

At the start of this cruise, Chris and I had 32 Royal Caribbean points (nights sailed) so we were now considered "Platinum" and were able to get priority boarding. AND the kids were able to board with us as well. We heard the "first ding" on the Adventure of the Seas at 10:32AM. 

Once on board, we immediately went to our muster station to get checked in and credit for our Muster Drill. TIP- I absolutely LOVE the new way of doing muster drills and RCCL is even easier than Carnival. However, Norwegian has already gone back to the old way of doing 1 massive presentation and packing the passengers into small venues like cattle. They are saying it is due "safety" concerns and passengers not taking the new style of drill seriously. I am hoping this is NOT an industry change as the new way is so much easier and less crowded than the traditional way. But only time will tell if the old or new muster drills will stand. 

After our muster drill check-in, it was still only 10:45AM and the lunch options were not open yet so we decided to go to the Maitre' D on Deck 4. Since Chris was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in December 2022, we wanted to ensure all of his dietary restrictions were acknowledged and met prior to the first seating of dinner. The Maitre' D was HIGHLY accommodating and not only helped meet Chris's needs but also allowed us to change our dining time from 5:30 to 8PM as well as get us a table on Deck 5 (per the kids request). Thank you so much RCCL for all of your help and support. Once again, top notch service and customer satisfaction from Royal Caribbean. 

After we met with the Maitre' D, we went to the Schnooner Bar on Deck 4 forward for our first drink of the cruise. TIP- On Royal Caribbean, the drink package DOES start on DAY 1 (unlike Carnival which starts on Day 2). It was so nice to get on board and have a drink within 10 minutes. Thank you Royal! 

Even at this point it was still only 11AM and most of the lunch options did not open until 11:30AM. We walked around the ship and got our own ship tour before heading up to the Royal Promenade for pizza at Café Promenade. The kids LOVED this pizza from the start and needless to say, we got our money's worth eating this pizza all week. 


HELLO Adventure of the Seas! 
We are already in LOVE! 


My traditional buoy picture! 


The beautiful Solarium on the Adventure of the Seas! 
This was a smaller pool than Freedom class but still rather big for an adults only area. 


One of my favorite things about Royal Caribbean is the Royal Promenade and the "class" of their ships! 


This kid was hooked from the very first bite! 

Afternoon 
After exploring the lower main parts of the ship on Decks 3, 4 and 5, we went up to the Lido Deck (Deck 11) to try out the Windjammer Buffet. It was crowded but not too bad at 11:45AM. We found seats in the Giovanni's Table area on the starboard side of the Windjammer. TIP- This area is hidden and not well known but at the front of the Windjammer and has plenty of luscious seating. We noticed this area was open during peak dining times in the WJ. 


Here is a video of the Windjammer around 11:45AM and the additional seating in Giovanni's Table. 

After lunch we went to Deck 12 to get the kids registered for the Adventure Ocean kids club. We did not plan on using the kids or teen program but wanted to get registered in case they were "too full" on this sailing. The registration for the Adventure Ocean (ages 3-11) opened at 12PM and at 12:20PM we were about 20 parties deep. The organization of the kids club and it's registration was not very well organized and it was VERY HOT in the narrow hallways of the deck. Overall it took about 30 minutes to get through registration for Luke and come to find out the teen club registration wasn't even open until 3pm which was very frustrating. 

I sent Chris and the kids to get registered for the Flowrider around 12:30PM thinking it would be backed up like the kids club. It was a smooth process so after Chris got them registered, Luke went to play basketball at the sports court. 

Around 1:15PM we all met up and the kids changed into their swimsuits to go on the waterslides and Flowrider. TIP- Remember to always pack your swimsuits in your carry-on luggage. The lines to the water slides were not long at all and the kids were able to go down each of the 2 waterslides about a dozen times. TIP- With any larger cruise ship, be sure to plan your EMBARKATION day events. This is ALWAYS the best time to do the big attractions like waterslides, ropes course and mini-golf. And remember, embarkation day is one of the days listed in your cruise so USE IT! In fact, this would be my BIGGEST TIP of our trip! Do ALL THE THINGS on day 1 before you set sail! 


The kids are ready for the PERFECT STORM waterslides! 


These slides were EPIC and the kids LOVED THEM! 

After the water slides, the kids waited in line for the Flowrider that opened up at 1:30PM. They only had to wait about 4 people before their turn. Luke did very well but got so frustrated that he kept wiping out. Natalie, too, had a few wipeouts but held on a little longer than Luke did. I remember my Flowrider days from the Navigator of the Seas back in 2014 and there is a learning curve involved. Luke was still frustrated so instead of trying again, Chris and the kids went to the main pool area while I went to the room to unpack and set up our cabins. 


Luke did very well!


We was able to surf for a few seconds before a wipe-out. 
TIP- The workers were very helpful and each person got about 2-4 minutes of time trying to surf. 


Luke's Flowrider experience on Adventure of the Seas! 


Natalie had a better grasp of how it all worked at first... 


But she also had a LOT of wipe-outs in her 3 minutes! 


Here is Natalie's journey with the Flowrider. 

For this cruise, it was actually cheaper to get TWO CABINS and have a girl room and boy room than it was to cram us all into a cabin together. The cheapest option was a "Guarantee" cabin which means the cruise line chooses your actual cabin location. Due to this, we opted to get Oceanview cabins since there are fewer of those on the ship and we had a better chance of being near each other. This theory paid out very well as oddly enough, our cabins ended up being right next to each other. TIP- If you do not mind having the cruise line choose for you, booking a "guarantee" cabin is the easiest way to save money on your cruise fare. 


Oceanview Stateroom 2590
Deck 2 (below Studio B Ice Rink) 
Very quiet and little movement, especially for a lower deck cabin. 

Both staterooms were nice and just what you would expect from an Oceanview cabin on a lower deck. However, mine and Natalie's cabin had hardwood floors and Chris and Luke had the traditional carpet. Natalie and I were the very last occupied cabin on that deck, which was odd. As the cruise progressed, we think the other cabins were vacant for Covid cases but we did not get that confirmed. 

Even though it was well past 2PM at this point, we still didn't have any of our luggage so after the kids got back into their day clothes we all went back out and explored more of the ship. We roamed the Royal Promenade and the kids had many more pit stops at Café Promenade for the pizza before we went to the helicopter pad for sail away. We were not the only ones who had this thought and before we realized it, the helicopter pad was FULL of people. TIP- If you do not have a balcony cabin, this truly is the best place for sail away as you can see EVERYTHING! The Adventure of the Seas set sail for Costa Maya, Mexico at 4:14PM. Within 30-40 minutes we were out of Galveston harbor and into the Gulf of Mexico. 


This is my favorite part of a Royal Caribbean ship! 


Getting ready for sail away! 


The boys having a TITANIC moment at the front of the ship! 


Family traditional buoy picture! 


I love the back of our shirts my friend Charlotte made. 
It's my TWENTY-FIRST CRUISE! (Can you believe it?) 


Hello Galveston Harbor... Next stop, the GULF! 

Evening
We watched sail away for about an hour before going back to the cabin to check for our luggage and unfortunately, it was not there so we went up to the sports deck to try and get in our traditional round of putt-putt but the mini-golf and sports court were both closed due to high winds. Little did we know this would be the theme of this entire cruise! We opted to play table tennis instead which proved to be difficult with the high winds as well. We all played each other but Chris (with lots of table tennis experience in college) gave us all a true beating. 


We had fun playing Table Tennis in the crazy wind! 

We made another pit-stop at Café Promenade for the kids to get... you guessed it, more pizza before going back to our room. Finally, around 6:30PM, all of our luggage had arrived and I was able to unpack both cabins for the week onboard. TIP- This was the latest we have ever had luggage delivered to our cabin. This is why you always want to pack your swimsuit and a change of clothes (for dinner if needed) in your carry on suitcase. 


Us girls are SO EXCITED to have our own cabin and we are ready for the evening festivities to begin. 

After we all got unpacked, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show for the comedian who turned out to be hilarious to the kids. It was here that we learned that this sailing had 3,651 passengers and 956 were "junior cruisers". We had really hoped cruising in these odd months would mean LESS kids but that was not the case. (Louisiana takes 3-5 days off for Mardi Gras which happen to be these days, so we expect that was the main reason for such a high number of kids).

After the show we went to the Sapphire Dining Room on Deck 5 for our dinner in the Main Dining Room. We arrived at 7:50PM and were out by 9:10PM. The food was better than I remember but the service was a little slower and less responsive than I expected. Overall, it was a GREAT experience. 


The new menus Royal just released fleet wide in January did not disappoint. We enjoyed the variety of selections and the themes. 


The gorgeous Sapphire Dining Room from Deck 5. 

After dinner we all went to Deck 12 to walk on the jogging track to get in our mile after dinner. This was a goal we set for ourselves to keep us in check with our diet and Chris's Diabetes needs. It had been raining and was still really windy so we didn't last as long as we had hoped for but we got our mile in. 

After our walk we went up to Deck 14 to my favorite part of any Royal Caribbean ship, the Viking Crown Lounge. This is a HUGE lounge for adults (and kids) with ample comfortable seating and a bar. It also offers the best view of the ship. Perfect for hot, sunny or rainy and windy days alike. 


Cappuccinos from the Viking Crown Lounge
(and Luke being silly) 

We were on our way to the cabin to call it a night and then Natalie looked on the app and saw the game show "Majority Rules" and we decided to go and give it a try in the Imperial Lounge. This is a game show were you form teams and answer questions. If you answer what the majority of the audience answers, you get a point. 


On our way to the Imperial Lounge... I LOVE that Royal hangs the TEXAS flag in the Royal Promenade. (They really know how to play to their audience)


Playing the gameshow "Majority Rules" in the Imperial Lounge! 
Luke is such the jokester! 

One of the questions asked "who does this cruise line worker look like". Obviously people were answering things like "Tom Cruise" or "Justin Bieber". Luke ended up roasting the Cruise staff as he answered the question with "Deez Nutz" (a common middle school/ pre-teen saying). Obviously this was not "majority rules" but the staff called out his answer and the entire lounge burst into laughter and the foreign cruise line workers had no idea why people were laughing. So they said it again! BOOM ROASTED!  It was seriously hilarious and was easily the highlight of the kids day! We grabbed some late night pizza on our way to our room around 11:30PM. 

It was a very busy and productive day onboard Adventure of the Seas and we cannot wait to wake up to the crystal clear blue waters of the gulf. 


That's a wrap for DAY 1! 

Up Next... Sea Day #1

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!  

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Breeze- September 2022




 


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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Princess Cruise Line Observations

Caribbean Princess
March 2016

In March 2016 Chris and I sailed for the first time on Princess Cruise Lines aboard the Caribbean Princess. This cruise was all about rest, relaxing and "escaping completely". Since this was our first encounter with Princess Cruise Lines, we noticed some differences both good and bad that stuck out to us. These are just our opinion and observations but worth noting!

    Princess Observations
·         Princess observes the “Zero Count” rule when disembarking which means ALL passengers must completely get off, even if they are doing a back-to-back cruise. I know that both Royal Caribbean and Carnival allow passengers to stay on the ship. This could have been a Princess thing or a Port of Houston thing but it made for a very crowded terminal. There were over 600 passengers coming back on board on March 13th from the previous week’s cruise.

·         The security picture for your key-card was optional and was not taken until you got onto the ship as you stepped on board for the first time. This created a backup and led to traffic jams.

·         Princess gave stickers to passengers who were in the forward of the ship upon check-in to help the flow of traffic. This seemed weird at first but it worked well.

·         Prepaid items such as water or other drinks were delivered by room service but not automatically. If you prepaid for water you had to contact Room Service and then they would bring it to you and someone must be present to sign that it was delivered. This created a headache for us as this information was not presented well and we ended up not getting our drinks until the 2nd day and it took 2 hours to be delivered.

·         The “Princess Patters” (Daily newsletter) was kept almost under lock and key. They did not distribute them until 10PM the night before and there were none available from guest services.

·         Princess has an app that can be downloaded and used FOR FREE while on the ship. It is used via WIFI and has the Princess Patters on the app. This was a HUGE help in not having to carry the “Princess Patters” around all day.

·         The food and the service were TOP NOTCH and easily the best we have encountered while on a cruise. This was a HUGE hit and win for Princess.

·         The ship was “bland” at best and did not offer things to do while on board. Most of the passengers just laid out all day (as we did on this cruise but usually we would have like more active things like a rock wall or even a real putt-putt golf game). This made this ship very boring and forgettable. I am sure the new Royal Princess or Regal Princess offer more but we were not impressed and quite frankly bored with the Caribbean Princess.

·         The crowd was a lot older and more international. There were 3,580 passengers and only 560 kids. However, 1,800 were 65 years of age or older. This was nearly half of the ship. In addition, there was a very large Asian crowd on board which seemed as if a charter of some sort. Princess definitely catered to this older crowd in pretty much EVERYTHING they did!

·         A lot of the events held by the Cruise Director’s staff was not well attended or participated. Often times, we were the only couple dancing or participating. This was sad and made for a less enjoyable event. Loosen up people… Have a little fun! You’re on vacation!
·         Due to the older crowd the elevators were always busy and packed, making it hard to get an elevator. We also noticed that Princess ships are built vertically and not horizontally. Our cabins was on the 14th deck , just one below the Lido deck. However, the main areas of the ship were on deck 5 meaning you had to climb 9 flights of stairs between your cabin and the theater or other entertainment areas. Both Carnival and Royal seemed to have longer ships with less decks in between the entertainment deck and the Lido deck.

·         The public bathrooms on the ship were NOT well maintained and seemed to always have at least 1 stall broken or closed for maintenance.

·         The deck chairs were much nicer and softer than both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. This made a HUGE difference in lying out because it was more enjoyable!

·         The Main Dining Rooms were small and enclosed. They encompassed 3 decks but were not open to 3 or even 2 floors. This was very insignificant to us and made the restaurant feel claustrophobic.

·         There was not a jogging track which also made working out and running much more difficult. The Promenade deck on deck 7 did not wrap all the way around meaning you had to climb stairs to get all the way around the ship. This was not always open either, due to wind.

·         Princess presented each guest with a cool towel for your face when returning to the ship from a port. This was very classy and we enjoyed this VERY MUCH!

·         They only offered 2 trivia’s per day and they were awarded with bottles of champagne and not a useless key-chain or pen. This was also classy but I personally would like the useless memento to remember the cruise by. The champagne will be drank and forgotten.

·         Disembarking information was passed out on day 2 and must be turned in on day 4. This was a “burst of a bubble” as you just got on the ship. Who wants to think of getting off? Plus you have to tell Guest Services or your room steward how you planned on getting off the ship, such as Express Disembarking or Walk-Off. This seems to look good on paper but it did not work out well. The whole disembarking process was a little unorganized.

·         You would think since they cater to an older crowd that things would have ran on time but almost ALL events started 5-15 minutes late. The organizer and planner in me HATED THIS!

We thoroughly enjoyed cruising on Princess and loved the overall atmosphere of the cruise line. The crowd was much older but the style of cruising is the direction we are heading. Maybe we are just getting older!

 Thanks for following along!

 Until we meet again... Keep Calm and CRUISE ON!

 God is good... ALL the time!

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:

 




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Thursday, July 7, 2016

A Legendary Trip North to Alaska- Sea Day #1

10 Year Anniversary Cruise 2016- Carnival Legend

North to Alaska
Sea Day #1
Wednesday, June 22, 2016

This was an incredible day of gorgeous scenery and landscapes, as well as the open Pacific ocean. We sailed out of the Puget Sound and into the Pacific ocean and then back in the icy straights of the Canadian coast. We were able to rest and relax all while enjoying God's countless beauty! 

 Morning
Chris and I both woke up to the light of the day coming in through the window early in the morning but thankfully were able to go back to sleep and then officially woke up mid-morning around 7:30AM. It was somewhat rainy and drizzling outside but that did not stop us from standing on our aft balcony to enjoy the sites of the open ocean. Chris went jogging as I got ready for the day and did my quiet time in the peace and quiet of our balcony.

Our 1st look at the Pacific Ocean... looks about the same as the Caribbean (except MUCH cooler)! 

We headed out to the SeaDay Brunch in the Main Dining Room and it was good as usual but once again, we noticed the slower than usual service. It was only two of us eating and the dining room was not crowded at 8:30AM when we went in yet it still took nearly 90 minutes to get in and out of there. This was frustrating to us as we really like the main dining room over the buffet areas but if passengers were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR, they would essentially lose 5-6 hours of each day. That just seemed ludicrous to us so we already began talking about making changes for the following day. 

After our breakfast we went to the Glacier Talk given by the naturalist Michelle. She was very dry and boring but she was also very knowledgeable and we wanted to learn as much as we could about the Alaskan wilderness. We learned that the tides change up to 18 feet at the fjords and along the Alaskan coastline so the gangway can change decks while in port and these tides determine which glacier for which we would sail. This was the 5th sailing of the Alaska cruise season (May to October) and each of the 5 sailings have had to go to the Endicott fjord and the Dawes glacier instead of Tracy Arm Fjord due to the massive amounts of ice falling from Tracy Arm and the additional icebergs in the water. I was all for not hitting an iceberg so this was fine by me.

We also learned the 5 types of salmon in Alaska by referencing your hand: 
thumb- chum (rhymes- this is the least flavorful)
pointer- Sockeye (think poking in the eye- This is the best tasting to most people and especially locals, which in turn in the most expensive)
middle- King (the biggest one and has a wonderful taste)
ring- silver (think of the silver rings on fingers- a local favorite)
pinky- pink (The most economical and usually the cheapest)

This was very helpful as we eat salmon all the time and this will give us a better idea as to which type of salmon to buy and eat. We usually purchase pink Atlantic salmon but were able to sample Copper River Sockeye salmon while in Seattle and it was the absolute best salmon I have ever had! It also was a $50 plate but it was delicious! 

During the glacier talk Michelle was pushing the private small boat glacier tour of which we had already reserved but I went to the shore excursion desks following the talk just to be sure. The "Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier Explorer" was an excursion taken during the glacier viewing day to the Tracy Arm Fjord glacier or in our case the Endicott Fjord and Dawes glacier due to the inability to pass through the Tracy Arm. This excursion picks you up from the ship (as it is still moving and making it's own way to the glacier) and then takes you even closer to the glacier than the big ship. It is a 3 hour tour and cost $189/ adult and $109/ kids. This seemed pricey but everything I read said you "HAVE TO DO IT". So I took their word and we paid $380 for this tour the following day! More on that later but let me just go ahead and say "YES, YOU HAVE TO DO IT! It was well worth the money and easily the best excursion we have ever taken".

While we were in the lobby we saw the Bonsai Sushi demonstration setting up so we grabbed some seats to watch the master chefs make sushi . This demonstration was incredible and we really enjoyed it. They passed out samples of their famous sushi and promoted their restaurant. We are not usually the "for a fee" restaurant people on a cruise because "who pays extra for food while on a ship"? However, this was very reasonably priced and we enjoyed it very much so after a brief nap on our balcony we came back to Bonsai for lunch.

One of the most amazing things about this sushi to me is the freshness.
It is never frozen or imitation crab but REAL crab! 


The Master chef of Bonsai sushi. 


The chefs made special California rolls as the demo. 


The sample plate! 

Our CLEAN laundry had returned!
Yay for clean underwear.. we were running low ;)

Afternoon
We decided after the sushi demo that we wanted to try the "Ship for Two" special which featured 4 different kinds of sushi and Japanese soup and salad all prepared in a special wood boat. This sushi was the best I have ever had as each roll of sushi was unique and special in its own way, plus the display was out of this world. This cost of this was only $17. Our favorite sushi from our local store, HEB, is $12 for 8 pieces and this featured about 24 pieces. I would recommend anyone going to Bonsai, even if you have never tried sushi, as it was delicious and very well priced! 
And we did just that... It was AWESOME! 


The Boat for 2 at Bonsai... plenty of food for 2 people! 


This roll featured unagi on the boat for 2. WOW... It was delicious! 

The rest of our afternoon was spent on our balcony. It was absolutely gorgeous with the temperatures in the mid 60's in the shade. In fact, at some points in the afternoon as the ship was turning we were in the sun and we were HOT. We were more north than London but we were still in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops which proves the theory of packing LAYERS. We brought lots and lots of hoodies and long pants and rarely needed them for our sailing! This was the most continuous time we have spent on a cruise ship balcony as we usually cruise to the Caribbean and burn too easily. This aft balcony cost was well worth it and would recommend to anyone sail to Alaska. 

As we got ready for formal night Chris realized how much he hated getting dressed up and decided to just wear a polo shirt instead of the dress shirt and tie. We were both so tired and already relaxed so much from the day I understood why he didn't want to get dressed up. It was at that moment that I decided that this may have changed my packing philosophy for a cruise. I like the end result of getting dressed up on a ship but it really does cut into the relaxation of the cruise and is it really worth it? Ask me again in December when I am packing for our family cruise aboard the Liberty but right now... comfort and relaxation are key! 

Evening
We thought getting to dinner at 5:30PM, when the dining room opened, would help speed up the traditionally terrible service in the MDR on formal night. We had to wait in a line at least 75 people deep to get in and once we were in the dining room our predictions were correct to some degree. The service was fine and somewhat exceptional through our appetizers and main course but around 6:30PM the waitstaff began singing "Amore'" and then the service took a back seat to this "entertainment". I am not one to complain about them singing and dancing in the dining room but this night in particular it took over an hour to take away our entree plates, order dessert and then actually get desert. The time management, or lack there of, in this process is the downfall.

Then after we got our desserts our waiter came over and said "oh wait a minute, it is your anniversary right? Do not go anywhere". He then brought us a small chocolate heart cake and sang "Happy Anniversary to you" while we kissed. It was very special and we enjoyed it! Thank you Carnival. The whole dinner process took well over 2 hours and that was very frustrating to us as it was just 2 of us!

Happy 10 year anniversary to us!
This was incredibly rich and chocolaty!

After dinner we went to meet the captain in the lobby for our traditional captain pictures. This captain has been with Carnival longer than I have been alive (34 years) and is a senior captain within the cruise line. He is so famous he has his name on a mountain in Skagway. We were very impressed with him. 
With the Captain! 

After meeting the captain we went to the Showtime Production "Motor City" with the Carnival singers and dancers. This was one of the better shows we have seen performed at Carnival. However, unlike other ships we have been on and even other Carnival ships, they did not feature a live band which I prefer over pre-recorded repertoire.  

After the show we headed towards our room to find Lester, our room steward, in the hallway. He congratulated us on 10 years of marriage and then told us about his family back in the Philippines. He had 2 children, 13 and 2, and the next day was his youngest birthday. He teared up telling us about it and explaining the work process of 8 month contracts and 6 weeks off. I really felt bad for him and said and extra prayer for him and his family that evening.

The mirror in our stateroom when we returned from dinner!

Our towel animal and several gifts from Carnival for our anniverary.
We received a $25 wine gift-card and a $50 spa gift-card. This was a real surprise to us and we were so appreciative. (I'm fairly certain this is because I filled out "anniversary" in the online vacation planner on the Carnival website). 

We spent the remainder of the evening on the balcony watching the sunset and watching our approach back to the Inside Passage and Prince Rupert island. This was some of the most gorgeous sailing of the entire cruise. Not to mention the absolute best sunset we have ever seen.


 Taken from our aft balcony! 

A view of the sunset from the front of the ship. The colors are outstanding! 


Sunset Selfie!

Taken from our balcony! 


Taken from our balcony! 


Another shot from the starboard side of the ship.
(Our aft balcony was mid-starboard so we were able to peak over our neighbors balcony and get this shot... another perk of the aft!) 

While we were on the balcony Chris spotted a humpback whale, among many otter and seal sightings. This 1 whale turned into 8 whales by the time the night was over. We spent nearly 3 hours on the balcony watching these oceanic beasts. Chris even spotted one 20 yards away under the spray of the ship. We felt as if the trip was already complete and we felt as if we had achieved something! It was an amazing feeling and yet another reason I would recommend sailing on an aft balcony. Yes, you can see whales from a port or starboard side balcony but on the aft you get to see whales, and other wildlife, on BOTH sides of the ship. We ended the night around 11:30PM with light still beaming in through the windows.

The back of humpback #1


This is how we would spot them when they would blow! 


Our 1st whale tale from #3!


Another whale tail! 


You can see the water spout in the distance! 


The last one we spotted for the evening! 

This was a great day of rest, relaxation and wildlife spotting and this trip had only just begun. We loved sailing in the open Pacific waters in what was easily the smoothest seas we have ever sailed and then to come back into the inside passage and see the small islands and inlets was remarkable. We are in love with this cruise and itinerary and it is only day #2. Thank you Lord for this opportunity to see Your handiwork. 

 Next up... Endicott Fjord and Dawes Glacier (scenic cruising). 
Stay tuned! 

 God is good... ALL the time! 

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