It Comes to an End

Well whether we liked it or not our cruise came to an end.
We got up early so we could see the Diamond enter the harbour. We gathers ourselves together and we went upstairs to the Horizon Court to have breakfast.
Then we went back to our stateroom to vacate it so Rene could get it ready for the next occupants.
We went to The Wheelhouse Lounge to away our turn to disembark. This spot is for the Elite and Platinum people and they have coffee and pastries and it is quite quiet and lovely. In this picture you can see Ken in the lounge almost falling asleep.
We were a little later than we expected and so we called Kerri to let her know. Getting off of the ship went very smoothly with no problems at customs. Within 5 minutes of our reaching the sidewalk Kerri was there to pick us up. We went to her home and transferred our bags, had a little visit and we headed for Abbotsford.
All too soon our cruise has come to an end.
We will be aboard the Golden and the Island in September, only 59 days till we sail again.
Come along with us!!

Dessert extravaganza

Ken plays Mini Golf
Pine Island Light
Jennifer eats Meringue as she goes up the hall
Suitcases are on their way
Our last stroll on the deck.

Last Full Day

We woke very early, before six. I checked the e-mail and there was a message from Kerri saying that they would be there to pick us up. We decided to go to the dining room for breakfast. We were at a table for 8 and the people were all Americans and very interesting.

After breakfast we went to the photo gallery and we choose our pictures. We bought one from Juneau and one from Skagway, the embarkation photo, one from Glacier Bay and the one with the captain. I also got the rights to do a photobook with Panraven. Because of having a Platinum card it came to only 89.75, so that was not too bad.

Next we came back to the stateroom to begin packing. What a job.!

Ken wrote the thank you notes and prepared the tip envelopes for the waiters and the Steward.

I went to customer service and got a copy of our account to make sure all was as it should be. I also went upstairs to the Dessert Extravaganza to get pictures. It is always so very amazing and taking pictures does not raise my blood sugar.

We were just about finished the packing by noon so we went to the Santa Fe dining room for the English Pub Lunch. We gave in and went to the Lido Deck to at least have a taste of the dessert selections.

After that we went to the Princess Links and played a round of Mini Golf. This is a better course thn the one on the Sapphire.

Then we went to check out the art at the art auction. If they had a Josaphine we were going to stay to see what the price was but it was obvious that none of her works were scheduled to sell.

I dropped of the camera batteries for recycling and Ken put the “You Made a Difference” cards into the drop box.

We returned to the stateroom to have a rest. I was beat  after all of the running around.

We decided that we should go to the special reception for Elite and Platinum passengers at least once so we dressed early and away we went. Tonight was the special cheeses with port wine. It was really very good. We were surprised at how few people were there. I guess everyone was packing.

We then went to dinner with these friends for the last time. It was Baked Alaskian night, which is always fun. I was amazed by Jennifer. She is a very thin little bit of a woman and she just loves meringue. She ate her dessert, asked for extra meringue, then asked Salvador for more meringue and then as she left the dining room she got another big plate of meringue.

We returned to our room, changed our clothes and put our suitcases into the hall.

Then we went topside to watch the ship sail along the inside passage. We walked along the top of the bridge and visited with others who were doing the same thing. It was cold and breezy so we went into the Conservatory and sat on longue chairs. Ken went back and got our wine wnd the glasses and we sat and finished our wine as the light faded. We brought that one bottle of wine from home and it took us the entire cruise to drink it.

Then we returned to our room.

Vancouver tomorrow.Our Last Full Day,

An almost empty ship, our own yatch:-)
Ken and Jack relax at the Wake Bar
My New Omega!!

Ketchikan,July 21st/2011

Day 5 of our cruise,

Today we are in Ketchikan and believe it or not it is sunny again today. This place gets many feet of rain a year, yes feet and yet every time we have come here it has been sunny. They tell us it just poured yesterday. The streets still had puddles but the sun was shining brightly. There were 4 large ships in port again. The streets and the stores were teaming with shoppers.

After breakfast we went into town and we did some shopping. We bought wind jackets that we can use in South America with layers. We got a new ice cream scoop and a chowder mix as well. I bought an Omega as well. It is reversible with yellow gold on one side and white gold on the other.We also got a Northern Lights pendant to go with it.

  We returned to the ship in time for lunch and we ate in the lobby bar again. This is a great way to avoid all of the goodies at the buffet.

After lunch Ken and I went out on deck 18 to get some sun. It was so quiet up there it was as if we had our very own private yacht. I only stayed about 20 minutes and then I went down to the Explorers Longue. They were showing the movie “The King’s Speech”. I had not seen it and this was a great opportunity. I loved it.

We got ready for dinner and Ken called and had a visit with Jennie.

We enjoyed dinner with Jim and Pat and Jack and Jennifer. We made a date to meet at the Wake Bar for a drink around nine. We planned to get our pictures chosen and purchased but the one from last night was not there so we will wait for tomorrow.

We went back to the stateroom to wait till time to head out. We watched TV and finished working on the Blog .Our luggage tags and disembarkation arrangements arrived. We leave the ship at 9:10. I sent mail to Kerri telling her what our times are.

We met Jack and Jennifer and enjoyed a drink at the Wake Bar. This is a very noisy place because of being below Club Fusion, and you really can’t see the wake of the ship because the port holes are too high. We were the only ones there which proves  that it is not really the best place for a quiet drink. The bartender was from Australia so we took advantage to ask a few questions about travelling there. I ended up getting a second drink again. I guess there is a Sea Breeze and an Ocean Breeze one is blue and one is not.

After this very nice visit we called it a night and headed back to our room.

Tomorrow is a sea day and we will have to pack L.

Captain Joe puts another log on the fire.
Heather is our very capable guide
Wonderful sunset
We are dressed up for Formal night.

Juneau

July 20^th/2011

We can’t believe that this trip is almost over. Juneau today, Ketchikan tomorrow then a sea day and then we have to get off.:-(

We woke very early this morning. It was five o’clock and we were both wide awake and the ship was being maneuvered into position at the dock.

We have a tour today so we got dressed and went to deck 14 for breakfast. A lot of people must have early tours because there were a lot of people in Horizon Court.

We returned to our room and gathered our things. It is overcast but there is more and more blue sky appe3aring and it is not cold. The temperature is around 55 so we decided not to bother with our jackets but we wore our hoodies and Ken took his backpack with rain ponchos and an umbrella. We also took hats and gloves just in case it got cool. Today’s cruise is aboard a steam driven river boat so it might be cold out on the water.

We went down and disembarked around eight and we met the tour person and discovered much to our surprise that there will only be 4 of us on the tour. Finally the other couple arrived and away we went. The bus took us into town to a dock where the water taxi was moored. This is a really cute little watercraft. The captain is Joe and our guide is Heather. The boat is powered by a steam engine and the fire box has to be filled periodically and there are totes of wood cut and ready for that purpose. Heather is an elementary school teacher and she is most informative. Our tour lasts about an hour and a half and it is great. We learned so much.

We returned to the dock and Ken and I decided to walk back to the ship even though we could have taken a Princess Shuttle. We were in and out of the stores but we resisted buying anything this time.

Back here for a light lunch. Then Ken went to get some sun and I showered and did my hair to get ready for tonight.

Well I got my hair done and we dressed for dinner. We left the room a bit early and we just strolled around the ship and stopped outside the Explores Longue. Jim and Pat and Jack and Jennifer happened by and the 6 of us went together. This is lobster night so we all enjoyed that. Ken and I left early before dessert because we wanted to go to the Captain’s Circle party. The couple with the most sea days had over 1200 days, second place went to a Chinese couple who had 52 cruises and the third place couple had 42 cruises. We were surprised to learn that there are only 34 Elite cruisers aboard.

We enjoyed 2 cocktails and we had our pictures taken with the captain.

We left the party, located our Juneau photo, and then went upstairs to change clothes.

We walked the decks and took pictures of an amazing sunset and enjoyed it from deck 18 at Skywalkers. It was truly beautiful. But the wind was blowing and it was quite cool.

We went to Horizon Court and had the dessert that we skipped at dinner and we brought a glass of water back to our room.

We then called it a night.

Tomorrow we are back in Ketchikan… our last port.