Part Two- First Days
Not a lot, exactly...though I didn't have much to compare it to. But enough.
I learned later that because this particular itinerary takes a path in more open sea at first before entering the inside straight, a bit rougher sea on Day 2 is pretty common.
I showered and got ready the best I could. Besides the ocean waves beneath my feet, I hadn't had my coffee yet.
(My husband apparently hadn't gotten my phone message to please bring that ASAP.) When he finally arrived back at the cabin, he, too, was feeling a little woozy.
We headed to the Lido Market where I had a muffin and (finally!) my morning caffeine.
Sidenote: The Lido Market is the casual cafeteria-style buffet area, and though it's a casual dining and atmosphere, staff behind the pexiglass graciously dish up whatever you want onto a plate, and sometimes custom cooks something. After you find your own little table, other staff come around asking if they can get you more water and coffee. It's unbelievable service!
I promptly put on my trusty motion sickness wristbands. I had never used them before, and now was the time to see if they really worked!
That time I could only find one of the set I brought for hubby, but he gladly took it. I later gave him a non drowsy chewable to try. (After lots of research, I came prepared!) Both the wristbands and pill seemed to be working because soon we were feeling a little better. A few hours later, we even headed over to the special brunch happening over in the Main Dining Room. This needs a more elegant name, even though it's part of the all inclusive dining. Much more formal than the buffet area and so absolutely stunning. (The first day we originally thought it was one of the pay-extra restaurants, but no, it's not!)
They told us they had eaten a little early morning breakfast in their room due to her feeling seasick, but all of us agreed we were doing a little better. At least, we all had no problem eating, so that was a good sign!
Later, we went to a Cha Cha dance class taught by a young guy and gal who were part of the shows, and they were super fun. But they taught it in a really fast-paced way (there were about 10 of us) and though it was pretty easy for me, my poor husband (with his self-proclaimed two left feet) was not getting it. At all!
Poor guy, he was really trying, too, but it's not his thing and he only does it for me! Of course, the continued ocean waves weren't helping. But we ended up laughing so hard!
After that, the rest of the day is a bit of a blur to me now, at least leading up to our fancy evening. But we were both feeling a little woozy again (must have been all that dancing on a floor that rolled with the waves!) So after having explored a little more of the ship, I rested a bit.
I can't remember where my hubby headed off to, or why...he wasn't feeling so great, himself. But I know I needed to rest a little before getting ready for Dressy Night. And I also noticed I didn't feel the effect of the rocking ship as much while lying down in bed.
But soon I forced myself to start getting ready. Freshening up, changing clothes, applying a little more makeup, heating up the curling iron...the works! (Men have it so easy!)
It was a little challenging to get all prettied up that evening, because:
a) I think I had about five hours of sleep the night before (remember, this was a theme for me that week!) and
b) Rocking ship = slightly queasy feeling!
But honestly, I never felt the seasickness too intensely.
(Not like that time in Hawaii when our kids were little- with the family, the dolphins, and Captain Jack...but that's another story for another day!)
If anything, my husband was dealing with it a little more since he's susceptible to motion sickness in general. But thankfully, neither of us were too bad off, and I had packed a variety of remedies!
When he returned to the cabin, I found his other wristband and then he downed two more seasick pills as he got changed and ready. I decided to hold out and just keep using the wristbands.
Then we headed down the narrow passageway...he, wearing nice slacks and a classy, white button down shirt (so handsome!) and me in a cute summery dress and little pink heels (that have a tendency to slide off my foot if I walk too quickly, or take stairs- even on solid ground.) I was definitely hanging onto my husband that evening, and not just because he was so handsome!
As we made our way to our restaurant, a photographer stopped us and we had a little photo shoot. (And I must say, at least one of those pictures turned out pretty well considering we were still a little green behind the gills!)
The special restaurant we had reservations for was top notch and elegant. Our sophisticated and gracious waiter, complete with an accent, offered my husband ginger tea when he revealed that he especially was dealing with a little motion sickness. And by the time we finished dining, we both felt quite a bit better again. (Amazing that the food actually helped, instead of the other way around!)
Filet mignon...it was superb!! We definitely were being spoiled!
From there, we attended our first onboard show.
I have to be truthful, there were parts of it we didn't care for so much. (The choreography was at times a little less than family friendly. Nothing too extreme, though.)
But it was entertaining, overall. (The next two shows that week we would end up enjoying a lot more!)
All in all, it was an exciting, elegant evening aboard the cruise to end our first full day!
**************
The next morning when I awoke, I was pleasantly surprised to notice the seas felt so much calmer! Ahhh....
It was also the day of our first port! We'd finally be on Alaskan soil and we'd be visiting Juneau!
I was excited but a little nervous about getting off the ship right after breakfast so we could find our excursion tour in time.
(Did I mention I planned everything by myself (with a little help from a travel advisor) from start to finish for this first ever cruise?)
The excursion booked through the cruise line was a bus to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. It was really the only excursion I booked ahead of time for this entire cruise, and the videos I had seen of it looked beautiful.
I guess I was right that time to be a little nervous, though. Once we got to the pier, it was even more confusing than I had anticipated. There seemed to be an endless sea of tours gathering and we didn't see any sign for ours.
We walked up the pier and back, and to make matters worse, hubby and I got separated in the crowd briefly and weren't able to call on our phones.
I said a prayer and finally saw him! Moments before, I had asked around and was directed to a line of folks by a bus- only to find out it was the wrong bus after we had stood for some time. Thankfully, though, our correct bus was just one line over. And we made it! Whew!
It was all so crazy with no clearly marked signs.
Looking back, I'd have to say that besides a few moments during embarkation day, trying to find our tour bus in time was probably the most harried we felt the whole week.
However, once we met our friendly tour driver and reached our seats together on the bus, all that stress began to melt away.
(Well, for me, anyway. Motion sickness-proned hubby was a little concerned not being at the front of the bus. Luckily, I brought his wristbands and he was fine.)
At last, we arrived at Mendenhall Glacier Park! We could see the gorgeous glacier off in the distance. Almost immediately we began briskly walking the mile long trail, along with many others.
I was really setting a quick pace and continuously dodging slower groups as I pulled hubby along. It felt good to be hiking on solid ground in the crisp air. I also love waterfalls and I was eager to see this one first hand.
Once we got into view, it did not disappoint!
I had seen Nugget Falls on videos as I was planning our trip, but my husband didn't know what to expect.
However, even for me, videos didn't do it justice.
What made it so uniquely wonderful for me was how it cascaded right onto the open shore. You could get as close as you dare to the rushing silver falls and feel the cool spray. I loved looking up, watching the water falling high above my head. I wasn't directly under it, of course, but it seemed as if the waters could almost tumble right over me.
Despite being close to a glacier, which stood off the left and slightly behind the Falls, the weather felt fairly warm that day- especially after our fast mile hike. The mist of the waterfall was so refreshing.
Next to the shore was a beautiful panoramic bay and behind it, all around us, were majestic snow-capped mountains.
If we didn't have a set time that we needed to be back to the bus, I could have stayed there for hours.
It will forever be one of my favorite places.
***
When we returned to the heart of town late that afternoon, we ducked into a few shops and then headed to the restaurant.
I had called in reservations the week prior. However, when we checked in, the very young gal who working as greeter said she had no record of my reservation.
I was taken aback, not just because they didn't have record of my reservation but because of her demeanor.
I realized they were busy, but instead of politely apologizing for the mix up, we got the feeling she was actually annoyed and perhaps didn't even believe me.
She hastily showed us to the worst empty table and there we waited. And waited.
The restaurant was called Hanger Bay, and it was way more rustic than the website made it appear, but as we peered across the room to the windows, we could see the beautiful view and the little sea planes coming and going. There was a porch area with tables outside. Hmm...
It was getting a little chilly by then, but we decided to move outside and hubby informed the wait staff.
We waited and waited....and we were sure we were forgotten since our move outside. We were thinking about leaving, despite the great view.
But first, hubby went back inside to very politely let them know it had been a half an hour since we arrived and no one had taken our order. (We only have so much port time before we have to get back to our ship.)
Alas, we got a different waiter who was very nice and apologetic, and later finally got our food- which was actually pretty good- even if it came nearly an hour after we arrived.
Best of all, we did get a picturesque view unique to this part of Alaska, watching the seaplanes land and take off right below us. The planes were extra loud at times, but we thought it added to the whole experience.
Although the air was turning nippier, it was unusually sunny. The Alaskan ports rain more often then they don't, so even the locals were commenting on the gorgeous sunshine!
After our longer than planned dinner, we had just enough time to stop at a couple more shops to buy a few things and peek inside the historic saloon before getting back to our ship.
But despite just a few of the above mentioned snags during our first port day, we both felt super happy and grateful as came aboard that evening. Overall, it had been a wonderful day!
We loved stepping foot onto Alaska soil, riding in the tour bus as the fun driver pointed out various points of interest, seeing our very first glacier, the wonderful Nugget Falls in the serene setting, checking out the local shops, and watching the seaplanes come and go.
After we went to bed and hubby had fallen asleep, I had gotten up and decided to peek out our curtains. I was surprised to see our view had changed from the greenery to the twinkly lights of the small town- our ship had turned around and was slowly leaving port.
It was nearly ten o'clock and the Alaskan sun was just setting...everything sparkled like a fairyland in the waning light.
I stood silently at the railing in my jammies, completely in awe, as I took it all in and snapped a few pictures.
It was the perfect ending to a beautiful first day in Alaska.
The next morning our ship would be in Glacier Bay, which from everything I had learned, would be one of the highlights of this cruise. And sure enough, that morning as I peeked out, I was excited to see we were already getting close...beautiful white mountains drifted past our balcony.
My sweet husband was coming back to the cabin with my morning coffee and I didn't want to miss a moment of anything that day. I quickly hurried and got ready!
Stay tuned next time for spectacular Glacier Bay!
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