I don't even know where to start and I have so much to say. Let's try it from the beginning. I was so excited for this cruise (incase you didn't get the message from my past few posts), but things quickly started to go wrong the day we left to the airport. I'll try to keep things condensed. Our shuttle to the airport was 30 minutes late and we had a 2 1/2 hour delay flight due to a computer glitch which caused us to miss our connecting flight. From there we had to rush to find another flight to Vancouver, Canada (keep in mind we have to catch our cruise ship that leaves at 4pm). We managed to find another flight to Vancouver only to find out that we won't make the cruise in time. So here we are stuck in Canada with no cell phone service running on 2 hours of sleep trying to figure out what to do. We make about 50 phone calls to our travel agent via pay phone and found out that we could catch the cruise at one of the ports in Alaska. So after staying the night in Canada and getting a much needed full night's of sleep, we took two more flights to Ketchikan, AK where we stayed the night until we could catch the cruise the next morning.
Here's a view outside our hotel window in Ketchikan.This was taken at 10pm! Did I mention that sunrise was at 4:00 am and sunset was at 11pm? I didn't get wake up early enough to see a sunrise or stayed up late enough to see a sunset... boo.
We were told we had to board the ship in Ketchikan before 8am that morning. You would think we finally caught a break after all the hectic traveling the past two days, right? What if I told you we forgot to adjust to Alaska time (we were still in Vancouver time) and we were an hour off which almost caused us to miss the ship again? Imagine the frenzy we were in rushing to pack up all of our things and trying to get on the boat on time! In the end, we did make it on time with 2 minutes left to spare!
The first day on the cruise ship (cruise day 3) I actually saw a whales! I was so excited and my mood about the trip definitely started to pick up. I also saw a couple seals, jumping fish and a bald eagle! I was still upset I didn't see a polar bear though...
On day 4 we ported at Juneau, Alaska. For most of the day it was raining and gloomy, but we still had fun exploring the town. This may or may not have been my 4th cup of coffee that day... whoops.
Glacier bay national park! Sadly it was raining the whole time we were out seeing this glacier, but it was still a beautiful site. Also, they were giving out hot chocolate while we were out looking at the glaciers! Mmmm, warm hot chocolate and a beautiful view!
Formal night! Formal night is always my favorite because I love dressing up! The night was filled with yummy food and beautiful scenery. Here's a photo of my brother and two of our cousins. The four of us grew up together and are the closest in age out of all our cousins so it's always fun to see them. By the way, don't we all just look so patriotic in our color choices that night? You can find my post on my formal outfit
here.
Last day of the cruise! On the last day we visited College Fjord to view a lot of pretty glaciers. I don't remember the name of this glacier or any of the glaciers we visited... (I know, I'm terrible), but I do remember that this was such a beautiful sight! Even though the last day was wonderful and spent looking at beautiful glaciers I did had something put a damper on my day. Later that night I went to go watch a show with my cousin and I had realized I lost my phone. ): We spent a good 45 minutes to an hour searching the entire theatre and retracing my steps. I also contacted lost and found and it was no where to be found. Bummer. I would have post more cool pics but most of them were on my phone. /:
Other than the multiple delayed flights that occurred going to and from Alaska (I ended up having to take 6 flights this whole trip!) and bumps along the road, I still had a great time with my family. If any one is visiting Alaska any time soon or going on a cruise there please let me know!
