I’m not quite sure how or when we decided that taking a cruise to Alaska with Allie as a 5-year old was at the top of our wish list. I suspect it’s because someone from Barb’s work had done a similar trip and recommended it (see the page of notes…from who?). I viewed it as a family reward for me surviving Hekimian’s merger with Spirent and our big FutureOp conference, plus it was a getaway to someplace cooler in August.
We did some research on our own but also relied on a good, old fashioned travel agent. These were the days when there was actually a walk-in travel agency at our nearby Dorsey Search shopping center. We worked with our agent Linda to select our cruise line, ship and itinerary.
One we made the selections, the Celebrity Cruise line was pretty good about sending us information about our trip. I have to admit that the anticipation of a cruise vacation may be the best part.
We assiduously pored over the booklet of excursions and made our selections ahead of time. Top of the list were whale watching and the Yukon Railway.
Thursday, August 9
We flew to Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday, August 9 and found our cruise agent at the airport who arranged our transfer to the Vancouver Hyatt for the night. It was Barb and Allie’s first time in Vancouver but I think most of what we saw of the city was on the ride in from the airport. I had been in the city a couple of times before, once with my parents and at least once on business. It’s one of my favorite cities but we didn’t do it justice on this trip. I can’t remember what we did for dinner, but after a cross-country flight I think we were mostly interested in a good night’s sleep.
Friday, August 10
We spent a chunk of the morning wandering around Stanley Park which was quite beautiful. There wasn’t a whole lot of time, though: we had to get ourselves checked out of the hotel and over to the cruise terminal by noon or so. I’d love to go back and spend more time in Vancouver and also take Barb over to Victoria.
Our ship was then very new Celebrity Infinity, a big improvement over the only other cruise ship we’d been on, Disney’s Big Red Boat in 1991.
We went through the embarkation process starting around noon, dropping off luggage, getting our room cards, dinner reservations and making our way on board.
We were in Stateroom 9032, a tiny but functional balcony room on an upper deck with a good view. We unpacked in time to make it to the ship’s tour at 3:oo, then waited for the lifeboat drill at 5:00. Doing the drill with Allie along made it a little more meaningful, not to mention being in much colder waters than the Caribbean. It occurred to me that if there was a real emergency we were all probably screwed anyway, the outside decks being very crowded when all the passengers were out there.
Our 7-night cruise itinerary included stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, along with a swing by the Hubbard Glacier.
Saturday, August 11
We enjoyed the scenery of Vancouver Island and the Inside Passage as it slid by on the first evening and the next day. The ship had a kids club (Ship Mates) where we deposited Allie for part of most days, giving Barb and me a great chance to relax, enjoy the ship and the views. Barb tracked down any and all trivia games and won several of them, garnering her various items of Celebrity Cruise swag. Barb and I attended the Captain’s Welcome-Aboard Cocktail Party and the Spectacle of Broadway show (I can’t recall if Allie joined us for that show; maybe not).
Sunday, August 12
Our first stop was Juneau, Alaska’s capital which I was surprised to learn was not accessible by road. There were plenty of cars there anyway. We signed up for a 4-hour whale watching tour, I think the 12:30 one. We had to catch a bus for a 20-minute ride to the boat dock, then headed further up the Inside Passage to look for humpbacks.
This excursion was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. We soon saw not only whales but sea lions and bald eagles, too. It was my first encounter with whales, both humpbacks and orca. I found the humpbacks to be incredibly peaceful and serene. The water was very calm and we got close enough to hear them breathe. We didn’t see any dramatic breaching or action, but the experience was exhilarating nonetheless. The orca we saw from further away were much more threatening as they cruised along with their distinctive tall dorsal fin.
After whale watching, we returned to Juneau, wandered the town for a bit and took the Mount Roberts Tramway for a great view of the city and surroundings.
Monday, August 13
We don’t seem to have any pictures of Skagway (they must be somewhere…) but we had an interesting stop there. It was also our big adventure day, with two excursions planned. Skagway is very much a tourist town that lives off cruise ships; it’s more of a movie set than a real town but there’s a story to tell of the Klondike Gold Rush.
We popped Allie in the Kids Club for the day while I ventured forth on my Klondike bicycle adventure. I think the deal was that Barb signed up for it but then decided against it. I was game, though. I took a van ride with a group to the top of White Pass where we got helmets and bicycles for a two-hour glide down the mountain 15 miles back to Skagway. It was fun and I was not much worse for the wear afterward. But I have no photo evidence to support it.
Later in the afternoon, Barb and I rode the White Pass Railroad which was indeed quite scenic and quaint, as is its reputation. It did not quite live up to its billing as “The Railway Adventure of a Lifetime” but it was enjoyable. Afterwards, we wandered the town, poking our heads in various shops and sites on the walking tour. Eventually, we headed back to the ship and rescued Allie.
That evening, I think we took in the “Night of Stars” but Barb bolted in time to make it to TV Trivia.
Tuesday, August 14
Another highlight of the cruise was heading up an inlet to Hubbard Glacier. Our ship was first in the morning and for a long while we had the glacier face to ourselves. The pictures don’t really do the scene justice. The glacier face was hundreds of feet high with amazing blue ice. We caught several instances of the glacier calving off large chunks of ice. As we were leaving, several other ships were steaming in which somehow seemed to diminish the experience a little. I’m glad we had some time there ourselves.
The ship had an official photographer and one way or another we ended up with a little photo book containing some better shots from our day at the glacier.
After seeing the glacier in the morning, the rest of the day was spent cruising back south, with more sighting of whales and eagles along the way. It was a leisurely afternoon for me. More trivia for Barb and Kids Club for Allie.
Wednesday, August 15
The next day we awoke just off Ketchikan. We anchored offshore and had to catch launches to get to excursions. I think Barb and Allie stayed onboard while I headed off for a kayak paddling excursion.
The kayak excursion was peaceful few hours on the water away from the crowd on the ship. I remember seeing some eagles in the trees but not a whole lot of other wildlife.
Later in the afternoon the ship actually docked and we had a little time to explore Ketchikan, which mostly consisted of tourist shops. Seems to me we saw a short exhibition of lumberjack skills there.
Thursday, August 16
On the last day, Barb had a spa session while the kids club got ready for a talent show. I think Allie did a dance. Everyone did the Macarena.
(I never knew there were actual lyrics)
Friday, August 17
We woke up in Vancouver and were hustled off the ship bright and early. Time to turn it around and do it again. We made our way to the airport for our flight home.
In all, it was a successful vacation, we got some rest, saw some sights we wouldn’t have seen, and generally had a good time. The Kids Club was a good alternative for Allie and I think she had a good time, but I doubt she remembers much at all from the cruise. That said, we weren’t in a hurry to hop back on another cruise.
Travel Details
The basic cruise cost us $2,149 per person but I’m not sure what they charged us for Allie. I also don’t have notes on what the flights cost us. The incidental and excursion charges are here. It was, at the time, an expensive vacation for us and we were conscious of adding charges every time we got a drink or anything on the ship. That was another reason we weren’t too eager to do it again right away.
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