The Accidental Cruiser

A blog by StaRed in General

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About this blog

How I went from refusing to cruise, to choosing to cruise.

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Last stop...Victoria

We stood on deck and watched as Ketchikan slowly got smaller and smaller as we pulled farther and farther away. My only complaint about today was that I wished we had more time to spend in what was my current favorite port city of the cruise. We spent the rest of the beautiful sunny day out on deck, snapping photos and watching for whales. It was so bittersweet knowing that tomorrow was our last stop before returning home to Seattle. We had a full day at sea ahead of us tomorrow as we weren

StaRed

August 16, 2012

I'll Be Back!

Just a quick update...I so apologize for not posting in such a long while. For reasons too long to list, I have been distracted from my little blog and from my writing. However...I'll be BACK with a new blog post this Wednesday (tomorrow). I hope you come back and I hope you enjoy!! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to finish my Alaska adventure...even if it's from the view of my laptop! See you Wednesday!!

StaRed

August 14, 2012

Kayaking in Ketchikan

“Blinded by the light…” That song came immediately to mind when I opened our curtains on the morning we arrived in Ketchikan. After two days of drizzle and overcast skies, it was almost a cornea-burning shock to see the pristine sapphire blue skies and blazing early morning sunshine that greeted us that morning. My first thought of Ketchikan? Storybook! This was quite possibly the quaintest town I’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. I couldn’t wait to see what she had in store for us

StaRed

June 28, 2012

Windex Blue

It hit me this morning that our cruise was more than halfway over. This amazing and wonderful surprise of a vacation has gone from something that I was almost dreading to begin, to something that I most certainly dread being over. While it was obvious that I had come to love cruising accidentally, it was with total certainty that I knew I would do this again as soon as was possible. It wasn’t just the amazing Alaska scenery that had wiggled its way into my vacation-loving heart; it was also the

StaRed

June 14, 2012

Wait...was that a hobbit?

By the time we woke up the next morning, we had already been docked in Skagway for two hours. Knowing we couldn’t pick up our car until noon, we really had no reason to rush out of bed. When I flung the curtains back that morning, I was a little disappointed to be greeted by overcast skies. I then corrected myself, with a firm shake of the head, “Overcast skies…really? I’m in Alaska, baby! Who cares if the sky is a little cloudy?!” The man on the balcony next to me was a little alarmed to hear m

StaRed

June 8, 2012

How do you trump such a perfect day?

Still. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I woke up early that next morning. Totally and completely still. Excitedly I threw back the covers and ran out onto our balcony. I felt like I was on sensory overload when I saw what was waiting for me behind the closed curtains. The ship was gliding slowly and silently through a narrow passage and the breathtakingly scenic shore almost looked close enough to reach out and touch. The early morning sunlight was glowing a beautiful gold off the

StaRed

May 31, 2012

Is this what duct tape is for?

My very first sea day! I was so excited to get up and explore this gorgeous ship some more. I woke up that first morning, though, to the strangest sensation. It felt like the bed was sliding across the floor…back and forth, back and forth. It took a few seconds before realization finally dawned on me, “Ohhhhhhh. Now I can feel it moving.” I remembered the itinerary map showed that the ship had to go out and around Vancouver Island after leaving Seattle, and now it was all making perfect sense. I

StaRed

May 24, 2012

We interrupt this program for a special message...

I just wanted to take a break from cruise-related things to wish my amazing sister, Laurie, a very happy birthday!! Last night Laurie got the greatest present a mom could get...the news that her son's one year post cancer treatment scans came back NED...no evidence of disease...no cancer...ALL CLEAR! Jack is still cancer free!!! Happy birthday to you, Laurie!! You are one amazing mom and sister. Happy NED to Jackers! We love you! What a present you gave your mommy! Happy Friday to all

StaRed

May 18, 2012

Do these shoes make me look cruise-y?

I literally saw every single hour pass on the hotel alarm clock display. I couldn’t sleep, I was too excited. Too nervous, too anxious, too ohmygoshthisisreallyhappening sort of excited. I finally couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to start getting ready about 6:00 am. Hey, a girl needs her time to get her face on. I have to confess that I changed my outfit twice and my shoes three times. I really wanted to look sophisticated and cruise-y, without looking like the scared-witless newbie tha

StaRed

May 17, 2012

Here We Go...

“Boarding has now begun for all first class passengers heading to Seattle.” I looked again at my boarding pass which clearly still read, “Coach.” I honestly kept expecting to see it magically change to “First Class,” but alas, it never did. Oh well, a girl can dream. I’d never imagined myself taking a cruise, much less planning for one. Yet here I was, waiting for our group to be called to board the flight which will take us to Seattle. The past six weeks have been a blur. Between the

StaRed

May 11, 2012