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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...

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 me talking to myself, but frankly, I didn't care. Dragging my “I-can-sleep-later-than-a-teenager” husband out of bed, we decided to just stroll around town for a bit after breakfast and kill some time before heading on over to Avis to pick up our car. We planned to drive the Yukon Highway into Canada and stop at Carcross Desert and Emerald Lake and wherever else we decided to slam on the breaks along the way. As avid four wheeler riders who enjoy riding the sand dunes, we were very intrigued to see this desert that is referred to as “The Smallest Desert in the World,” smack dab in the middle of the Yukon, no less! Walking through Skagway I was amused to see many of the exact same shops that I saw in Juneau…and curiously they were just as crowded here as they were there. Isn’t it all the same stuff?? Anywho! We also found some absolutely charming little mom and pop stores that we happily browsed in while strolling the streets., along with a cute little ice cream shop that I made a mental note to stop in after we returned the car that afternoon. Hey, a girl has to plan her meals! Armed with our passports and our camera, we picked up our car and followed the easy directions out of town and onto the highway. After a quick stop at the border, hence the passports, we quickly climbed higher and higher into the gorgeous spiky mountains. All of a sudden, we hit a wall of fog like you wouldn’t believe, and literally could not see five feet ahead or five feet to the sides of us. Then just as quickly as the fog swallowed us up, it spit us back out into the blazing sunshine, revealing a landscape unlike anything I had ever seen. Gorgeous blue skies, grey and brown mountains with snowy peaks and shadowed crevices, green mossy covered rocks along streams, and tiny little pools of crystal clear water. “FAKE” was the word that came to my mind. It was so stunningly beautiful it looked fake. But it obviously wasn't, and I truthfully felt like I was looking at a painting that God had made just for us. We pulled off to the side of the road to walk around a little bit and to take the first of roughly a million pictures. We joked that little gremlins and hobbits were surely going to pop out from behind a rock and wave at us, because that is exactly what you would expect to see in a fairytale land. Knowing we had about an hour and a half drive ahead of us, we decided to continue the almost deserted highway toward Carcross. The entire way it was like watching a tennis match, looking left then right then left then right, so that we could take in the constantly changing landscape. We saw snow gauge poles mounted along the sides of the road, and they stretched up to an amazing 12 feet tall. Can you imagine snow that deep?! WOW! Carcross was just as promised, a small one square mile area of sandy dunes in the middle of the mountains. It is actually a false desert that was created by glacial lakes retreating and leaving behind the dunes, and it was a stark contrast to the surrounding landscape. Our next stop was Emerald Lake, and it surely lived up to it’s name! The lake was the most beautiful emerald green color, with rings of lighter and brighter green colors rimming the outer edges near the shore. It was a perfect turnaround point for us and after spending time taking pictures and taking in the gorgeous sights, we decided to make our 75 mile trip back to Skagway. We had until 8:00 PM before we said goodbye to Skagway, so after we returned the car we decided to hop back on board for a quick nap before dinner. Why is it that you sleep SO GOOD on a cruise ship? After waking from our late afternoon snooze, we woke up craving fish and chips and decided to search it out in port rather than eat dinner on the ship. We made our way to the Skagway Fish Company located right near the dock. It was obvious from the looks of all of the bearded men that were seated at the bar that locals frequented the tiny restaurant…and boy could we understand why. After an amazing meal of halibut fish and chips so fresh it was practically still flopping on our plates, we reluctantly waddled our way back to the ship. While we were anxious to get back to our “home”, we were sad to leave yet another fabulous little Alaskan town. Skagway and the amazing Yukon Highway offered up never-to-be-forgotten sights and experiences that we would surely remember our entire lives. Silently gliding away from the dock at 8:00 pm sharp, we bid Skagway a fond farewell. Possibly the only thing keeping me from being too terribly sad was the knowledge that tomorrow would surely hold even more eye candy. Tomorrow…Tracy Arm Fjord! To be cont’d…

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