NORTH, TO ALASKA!

Way up north, north to Alaska, way up north, north to Alaska
North to Alaska, go north, the rush is on
North to Alaska, go north, the rush is on

With props to Johnny Horton, that silly refrain still sticks in the head after 55 (ouch) years.  Don’t ask me why.  But it’s appropriate, as this is embarkation day!  With our hosts’ help, we got a cab to take us and the bags down to the dock where our ship was waiting.  We opted to board early so as to avoid the crowds and to take advantage of lunch aboard ship.  Good thing, since regardless of our planning, the crowds were building as we got there at 10:45 (the alleged boarding time was listed as 2:00, but they had started).  Things went much more smoothly than they did when we took our first cruise with Celebrity out of Valparaiso, Chile.  This time, we went through the process without undue delay or hassle.  The room wasn’t ready yet, so we beetled off to the Oceanview Café and settled into a corner table and had some lunch while waiting for the boyos to arrive.  No luck spotting them, so about 1:30 we got into our rooms, but no luggage yet other than our carry-ons.  The big bags will be delivered later.  The room is identical to our last cruise, so everything is familiar.  First up on the agenda was the emergency stations drill, so we made our way to the appointed deck, where we waited, and waited, and finally sat while we waited.  Not quite sure what ZZ Top was dressed for.  The crew member in the life vest was demonstrating how to put it on and got completely fouled up.  The woman to the left had to help him in it.  Hope the rest of the crew is better trained!

We called the kids’ rooms and connected with both, so we got together and did a walkabout, then went back to unpack.  The ship left the dock at 5:15, the boyos watching from the Sunset Bar with drinks in hand while we went up to the bow to watch the maneuvering and to see the skyline of Vancouver retreat.

Part of exiting the harbor is going out under the big bridge that connects Vancouver with West Vancouver.  We cleared it, by not by a whole lot.  We’re approaching it in the pic of us, and have cleared it in the other.

We all got together for dinner at 6:30 and I was happy to see that escargot were still on the menu.  Buried in garlic.  Oh, yes.  We both had salmon for the main and were quite happy.  Afterwards, we went to the theatre for the 9:00 performance of a comedian, whose name I’ve forgotten but who was quite funny without being gross.  Loni and I called it a night afterwards, but the kids . . . .?  When we got back to the room, we found this little guy.

Ah, always angling for a bigger tip.  Actually, because we’re on the “open dining” (no assigned time or table for dinner) plan, our tipping is rolled into the cruise price.  This was our only critter;  just mint chocolates on the pillows the rest of the nights.  We’re on the third level, midship, so we are ideally situated for minimal roll or pitch, and slept well.

SATURDAY, JULY 4

Today was spent entirely in cruising, so I didn’t take any pictures of note (which, I guess, presumes that the ones I do include are noteworthy?).   Breakfast in the buffet, but you can get eggs to order.  I’m partial to broiled tomatoes, bangers, and croissants.  Mid morning we took in a naturalist talk, and later1 an engineering presentation of how the ship worked.  In between, of course, we further stuffed ourselves at lunch with salads, ribs, and (ahem) a variety of desserts.  We visited JC in his room, which was virtually a suite as he had expected to be here with Meghan and the peanut.  Poor Meghan took her pregnancy off to Phoenix to be with her relatives for the duration.  JC really misses not having her here to share the experience.  He couldn’t downgrade the room, so he is stuck rolling about in all this space.  And rolling is the operative word.  He’s on level 9, way forward, the absolute worst for pitching and rolling.  He says he was feeling quite ill last night.  I hope he gets his sea legs.

In the late afternoon we played trivia, but the jackass host departed from the competition by awarding extra points for any player who jumped up to throw a hug around any passenger who just happened to be passing through the lounge.  Stupid.  If that’s the norm, we won’t play again.  Tonight is the formal dinner, but the best I can sport is a dress shirt and sweater.  I didn’t even bring a tie.  The food was excellent, with choice of one (or more!) of duck, beef tournedos, rack of lamb, or Alaskan rock fish.  El stuffo.  Afterwards, it was the all-cast revue of “Simply Ballroom” in the theatre.  OK, but not particularly wowing.  Wasn’t helped by us having to stand for half of the show before someone vacated their seats.  Tomorrow, our first port of call . . .