Search the Community

“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 researching, the Google-ing, booking excursions, buying two different “for Dummies” books and four cruising the Inside Passage books, and then reading said books, shopping…sigh. And that was on top of all of the preparing and stressing that went in to leaving our business and our two year old son for 8 days. Shockingly, I actually feel quite prepared, especially since I packed according to a really great list I found online…but I still don’t understand why we need a string of Christmas lights or a roll of duct tape. At our travel agents urging, we decided to fly into Seattle the day prior to our cruise, as we had never visited the city before. I was looking forward to strolling around Pike Market, window shopping downtown, finding a great local place to eat dinner…pretty much do anything and everything to distract me from my mounting anxiety of actually boarding the ship. Double checking for what must have been the hundredth time, I made sure my bottle of meclizine was safely inside my carry-on bag. Of course it was there, snuggled beside my candied ginger, my Noro virus-fighting hand sanitizer, and these cute little lollipops I found that advertise banishing morning sickness for pregnant women. Hey, I figured if they can tackle morning sickness, they can tackle the looming seasickness that I was positive was going to cripple me. Of course my husband thought this was all ridiculous and completely unnecessary, but inside I know I’ll delight in hearing his apology when he begs me for a cherry maternity sucker. We landed in Seattle right on time and quickly catch the shuttle to our hotel. After dropping our bags and getting checked in, it was off to explore Seattle. We spent a gloriously sunny day wandering Pike Market and doing all things tourists visiting Seattle do, but for dinner we wanted to try something more local. We asked the hotel for a suggestion and we were told very enthusiastically to eat at Elliott’s. I can say that Elliott’s was quite possibly one of the best meals we’ve ever enjoyed. Everything about that restaurant was outstanding. The only disappointment was having to push my plate of fresh salmon away because I just couldn’t eat any more. Riding quietly in the back of the cab next to the hunky hubster, I realized that the butterflies that were flying around weren’t due to eating entirely too much crab fondue, they were from excitement. This is really happening, ya‘ll!! Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow we are sailing to Alaska! I’M sailing to ALASKA!!! We plan to arrive at the port around 11 in the morning and I’m really looking forward to my first glimpse of the Diamond Princess. Will she look as enormous as I think she will? Am I still having my initial worries of boredom, of feeling trapped, of certain and crippling seasickness, of how in the world I’ll swim in freezing water after the ships hull bashes into an iceberg? Maybe a tiny bit. I mean, hey, it’s happened before. But honestly, I really am getting excited. I believe my anxiety has finally flown out the port hole. Who’d have thought? Tomorrow…we’re going on a cruise, baby! To be cont'd...

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 that I was. And since we’re all such close friends here, and I feel that I can tell you anything, I may as well also confess that I brought an entire suitcase dedicated to shoes. Just my shoes. Scott’s shoes fit perfectly into his one suitcase, and I was quite proud of myself for condensing my packing list into just three suitcases and one carry-on. Honestly, Scott should be thanking me for making this small miracle happen instead of glowering at me while hauling everything downstairs to the cab. We arrived at the port of Seattle a few minutes before 11:00 am and finally got our first look at the Diamond Princess. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for the sheer size of this ship. My very first impression was, wow. She was so big and so white! Scott and I were excitedly jabbering to each other about which balcony we thought was ours while snapping as many pictures as we could. Even though it was a cloudy and gloomy morning in Seattle, this beautiful ship practically glistened. She was fairly new - only about two years old at the time - but to me, she looked perfect. I have to confess it was love at first sight and I‘m pretty confident that Scott was feeling the same arrow from the cruise cupid. Check in was quick and easy. Even though we had absolutely no idea what we were doing and where we were supposed to go, we were zoomed through all of the lines and agents and walked on board only about thirty minutes after stepping out of the cab. We walked on into the Grand Plaza…what a wow moment. We both just stood there with our mouths open. We could see up floor after floor of marble and steel railings and glass elevators and winding staircases. We kept saying to each other, “This is on a boat???” And yes I realize the correct term is ship, but hey…we’re new here. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring every inch of the ship. She was just beautiful. I kept reminding myself that the little Texas town we lived in has a population of 3,400. Our entire town could fit onto this ship, with room to spare. Despite all of the traveling that we have been fortunate to do together, nothing prepared me for the wow factor this ship gave me. After completing the Muster drill, we decided to head all the way up to the Skywalkers Lounge for sail away. We found two seats right at the window at the area of the lounge that is cantilevered over the side of the ship. It felt as though we were suspended in mid-air…especially since the portion of the floor under my cute-shoe clad feet was see-thru down to the water below. We ordered our drinks and were chatting happily with each other when I noticed that the scenery below was moving. No…we’re the ones moving, not the buildings! I started excitedly babbling, “I can’t even feel it…I can’t even feel it!,” to Scott over and over. I even called my Dad from my cell phone and told him the same amazing phenomenon that I had discovered, “I can’t even feel it!!” We had the following itinerary ahead of us: Sat Jun 6 Seattle, WA 4:00pm Sun Jun 7 At Sea Mon Jun 8 Juneau, AK Noon 10:00pm Tue Jun 9 Skagway, AK 6:00am 8:00pm Wed Jun 10 Tracy Arm (Cruising) 8:00am 1:00pm Thu Jun 11 Ketchikan, AK 6:00am 12:30pm Fri Jun 12 Victoria, Canada 7:00pm 11:59pm Sat Jun 13 Seattle, WA 7:00am In Juneau we planned to catch the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and wander around the town. For Skagway we have a car reserved with Avis and plan to drive the Yukon Highway into Canada and up to Emerald Lake. In Ketchikan we we’re booked with Southeast Sea Kayaks for a sea kayaking excursion. Victoria’s plan was an evening haunted history tour of the entire city. Sitting in the Skywalker Lounge I kept marveling at the lack of movement I felt. I felt so cruise-y and non-newbie. Why on earth was I so nervous about getting seasick? Pft...amateur. I had nothing to worry about. But just to be safe I had a maternity sucker tucked into the pocket of my linen jacket. And a spare meclizine pill. And a few pieces of ginger candy. But I had nothing to worry about. To be cont'd...

I set the phone back in its cradle and with a sigh of irritation I leaned back in my chair. The custom shower tile was going to be late…even later than it already was. Delays are a part of custom home building, but this particular job has had hiccup after hiccup, and frankly this little gem of good news is not going to be received well by my client. Deciding to put off that impending phone call for just another moment, I instead began opening up the mail. Bill…bill…bill…junk…bill…junk…big manila envelope. Hmmm…it’s from our lumber supplier. Frowning in puzzlement, I slid out the glossy brochure and a letter that was addressed to myself and my partner-in-crime and “boss,“ my husband Scott. Dear Scott and Stacey, Congratulations! As a thank you from SmallTown Lumber Company, we are pleased to announce that you have qualified for our end-of-the-year “SmallTown VIP Giveaway!” As a top customer, you are one of our “SmallTown VIP‘s!” As a token of our appreciation, we’re giving our largest customers an all-expense-paid “VIP” dream vacation! This “VIP” vacation includes a 7 night Alaskan cruise, airfare to Seattle and all transfers. Please contact our corporate travel agent for scheduling and details. From everyone here at SmallTown Lumber, we thank you for being a “SmallTown VIP!” I believe I read the letter a dozen times. Is this for real? Yes…the return address is correct. Yes…I recognize the signature on the bottom of the letter. Holy cow…this is for real!! I started thumbing through the glossy brochure in amazement. The photos showed an enormous ship silently gliding through channels of sheer cliffs and snow kissed mountains. Happy looking people dotted the outside decks pointing in amazement at the beautiful scenery. A bald eagle majestically soared through the unbelievably blue sky in the background. The plume of vapor from a whale erupted from the glassy surface of the water. Bright white icebergs were dotted all around the ship’s hull. Wait…ICEBERG’S?? Reality hit me like a face full of arctic water. Uhhh…me…on a cruise??? I’m too young to go on a cruise…I’m only 28!! We’re too active for a cruise!! We’ll be bored!! What if we get seasick??!! Why, I’ll surely feel trapped! Oh. My. Gosh…What if the ship hits one of those iceberg things? What if it sinks??!! I can’t swim in freezing water! A mental image of Scott and I running together in panic, hand in hand just like Jack and Rose flashes through my mind. Ok, enough. I snapped myself out of my dramatic little daydream and snatched up the phone to call Scott to tell him the news. He had the same reaction as me, while we were overwhelmed with gratitude and disbelief at the generous gift…we just couldn’t shake the, “Oh goody…a cruise,” state of mind. While we love to travel, we’d never even considered taking a cruise before. Knowing we could not turn this down, I called the travel agent to get the details. By the time I hung up, we were booked. June 6...a ship called the Diamond Princess….balcony room…Seattle round trip to somewhere called the “Inside Passage.” A cruise. We’re going on a cruise. Blinking a few times in shock, I started thinking of all the planning and research that was ahead of me. Me, on a cruise? In six weeks??!! Little did I know, I was about to become “The Accidental Cruiser”…. To be cont'd...

"Alaska shines, despite the weather" View full cruise review