July 1, 2008 honeymoon day 7 - Endicott Arm Fjord

7:30am Alaska Time – We wake up after sleeping through the alarm for nearly an hour and head up to the Windjammer for breakfast. We choose the omelet station this morning and throw a couple pancakes on for good measure. We are most of the way down the Endicott Fjord by this time and there a fragments of ice throughout the water on either side of the ship as we head for Dawes Glacier at the end of the fjord. We find a table for two looking out over the front of the ship and just as we sit, we come around the corner of the mountain and see Dawes Glacier. It looks very similar to the Mendenhall Glacier we were able to see from a distance in Juneau while kayaking, but we are going in for a much closer look today. We both slam down the food at a near world record pace and head to the top deck to see the beautiful glacier cut mountains on either side of the ship and, of course, the glacier ahead. There are beautiful, large chunks of ice scattered across the bay ranging in color from a typical white as we expect to a light blue in color. The closer we get to the glacier though, the darker and purer blue the ice becomes. The captain pulls us up very close to the glacier, about 700 feet away, and spins the ship so everyone on either balcony has plenty of opportunity to capture photos of the breathtaking view. As we begin turning so the starboard side of the ship can see, I begin filming with our little camera and am lucky enough to capture the largest glacier calving of the day! I really hope it turns out well. The experience is truly amazing and is a sight I recommend for everyone; this has been the most beautiful sight in a long line of wonderful experiences we have been lucky enough to take part in. After 30 minutes or so, we turn around and begin heading out to sea again. There are many harbor seals swimming in the bay as many of them rest on the floating icebergs. Colleen and I realize just how lucky we were to see one of these animals less than 10 feet away just two days ago in Juneau as people are falling all over the balconies to get a picture.

9:30am – Colleen looks exhausted after a late night and early morning, so she decides it is time for a short nap. I get the backpack to carry the laptop, binoculars, and camera so I can fill the 90 minutes of her nap with sightseeing and perhaps some blogging. Upon arriving back at the top deck I decide to pull the binoculars out first and I am so glad I did. A gentleman several yards from me begins pointing to the starboard side of the ship at a rocky area surrounded by evergreens. It’s a black bear! There is no possible way for our dinky camera, with its all powerful 3x zoom, to capture it but I am able to follow the bear for a while with the binoculars. Even using them though, the bear is little more than a dot on the rocks. Still though, I have now seen a wild bear for the first time! As part of the tour in and out of the fjord, the ship gives the microphone to a glacier expert who shares stories and facts about glaciers, fjords, and the area in general. It is very interesting to listen to and the gentleman giving the lecture provides worthwhile information. As we near the mouth of the fjord the wind begins whipping across the ship taking papers, hats, cups and napkins with it down the top deck. The crew members scramble to make sure everything is picked up and nothing is blown overboard. The wind is very cold which means it is time for me to stop typing, pack up, and head down to the shop.

Colleen and I purchased a earring and pendant set in Juneau so I want to but a chain for the pendant so she can wear them to formal dinner tonight. As I wait for the jeweler to untangle the chain I am going to buy, the captain begins announcing that there are several whales in front of the ship which does me absolutely no good because the chain is not untangled yet. Oh well, we will have many more whale spotting opportunities over the next couple of days, I hope. Once I have the necklace in hand, I head up to the room so we can go to lunch. Before we leave, we write our down on an Alaska postcard to give to Jack and Barb, the very nice couple we met in Juneau. We head down the hall to drop the card off at room 8542, the room they have this week (or so I think). We knock on the door and get no answer so we decide to slide the card under the door. After pushing the card under the door, we turn around and see another couple looking very curiously at us. Then it hits me, I didn’t remember the room number correctly! We just threw the postcard under another couples' door. Luck is with us again though as they are there to retrieve it for us, even if it does make for quite the awkward moment! Slightly embarrassed, we head to the Windjammer for lunch. As we arrive to a very full cafe, we recall that the dining room is open today for lunch so we decide to walk back to the aft of the ship and down a few floors for lunch there instead. As we are seated (assigned seating) we realize we walked in right behind the couple we just had the awkward moment with and are seated right beside them! We apologize again and make light of the situation and they seem to be good humored people and reassure us there are no hard feelings. We enjoy lunch and the conversation is very delightful. Our mistaken identity couple is from Santa Barbara, CA, there is a family at the opposite end of the table from Georgetown, TX (where Colleen’s grandmother and aunts, uncles, and cousins live), and a very nice couple from Houston, TX.

After lunch we head out to the Champagne Terrace just outside the dining room and listen to the Rosario Strings which is an electric violin accompanied by a piano. The music is very soothing and the performance is terrific. We are only there a short while though before they finish up to a very nice round of applause.

2:00pm – We head back to the room and change into our bathing suits and head to the Solarium. Indoor hot tub this time! We jump in one of the two open tubs and are joined by a two very nice women, one from Texas the other from Florida. We all sit and chat about the different activities we have experience over the past couple of days while we take pleasure in the warm, bubbling water. During the conversation, Sarah Jo from Texas informs the rest of us that tonight is lobster night at dinner; score! After 20 or so minutes in the tub, we head back to the room and pass out.

3:30pm – Earlier in the day, I have spotted a ping pong tournament scheduled at 4:30 so we wake up and head back to the Solarium. There are 26 contestants entering so the staff member running the event turns it into a double competition. Colleen had made the decision to sit this one out, but when she finds out it is doubles, she is up for the challenge. The rules are pretty vague and the paddles are terrible, but we manage to win our first round 11-4. Our next round is against two much better players, but we hold our own losing in the end 9-11. We had fun playing though and didn’t get upset with each other, so the tournament is a success.

5:30pm – We make it back to the room and begin getting ready for our formal dinner tonight. The RC Singers and Dancers are putting on another show tonight at 7:00 for the second seating dinner guests. Tonight's show is a Ballroom Dancing feature with two featured performers who are both excellent dancers. Earlier in the week they instructed a ballroom dance class which we were able to watch the end of (the day we both felt sick). As we walk in to the theater, we run into Jack and Barb again for the first time since Juneau. They seem very happy to see us just as we are glad to see them again. We all sit together and the show is terrific. I wasn't too keen on watching ballroom dancing, but in the end I am glad we came. Not only was the show enjoyable, but we are able to spend more time with Jack and Barb!

After the show, the four of us walk toward the dining room for dinner. We have about 30 minutes before dinner begins, so we order some wine and chat about everything that has happened since the last time we visited. As we part ways for dinner, we make plans to meet with them afterwards to enjoy music and possibly some dancing at the Champagne Lounge.

8:30pm - We take our places at the table and are greeted by Sean and Dawn, Andy and Lisa, and Graham. Unfortunately Shasta is not feeling well suffering from a migraine. We enjoy the meal and everyone who ordered the lobster tail gets a second one, thanks Jessie! Also, Jessie brings out a full three course meal for Shasta to go which Graham takes back to their room for her. Hopefully she is feeling much better before we arrive in Prince Rupert tomorrow morning.

10:30pm - Colleen and I walk down one deck to the Champagne Lounge to meet with Jack and Barb. They are waiting there for us with the couple they have been dining with all week, Rick and Judy, from Colorado. Rick and Judy are both very friendly and shortly after arriving we are all visiting like we have known each other for years. After a few songs play through everyone decides to head for the dance floor and dance to a slow song. I am a little nervous because I am a terrible dancer, but it works out fine and we all have a great time before eventually heading off to our rooms for a goon night's sleep.

Honeymoon Day 6 pictures

Honeymoon 473
Originally uploaded by noseycat

Pictures from our fourth day on the cruise which was spent in Skagway, Alaska our northern most part of the trip. Another beautiful day and enjoyable evening!

June 30, 2008 honeymoon day 6 – Skagway, AK

8:00am Alaska Time (GMT – 9:00) – We wake up and begin getting ready for the day already at port in Skagway, Alaska. The view from the front of the ship on our TV show that it is already shaping up to be another beautiful day which helps put a bounce in our step as we plan for the day. Again we map out the select locations to pick up or free items from some of the shops and make a list of other items we would like to take home with us. Once our shopping itinerary is complete, we head to the Windjammer for breakfast which for us consists of yesterday’s lineup, pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs. They must be pretty good because we didn’t hesitate at all to choose those items again this morning. After breakfast we stop by the room to grab our coupons, port shopping guide book, cash and head out to Skagway! We both wear hoodies over our t-shirts because there is a little chill in the air, but we could easily go without them, better safe than sorry though, we have been told the weather in Alaska can change in a heartbeat.

9:30am – We head down to where the gangway was setup the previous day in Juneau to find that we have somehow missed the information that the gangway is now going to be on deck 4. Finally we find the exit and head out to the quaint town of Skagway. The year round population is only 800, but several thousand come here to live during the summer months. Instead of taking a bus, we decide to hoof it which turns out to be an easy walk; about 10 minutes. As we enter the town, we start down the main strip, Broadway. This is really the only street with any useful businesses or shops and the shopping district is only six or seven blocks long. With our trusty shopping guide map and coupons for more free “jewelry” in hand, we set our feet in motion down Broadway. The shopping selection is not as diverse as in Juneau, but we are able to find some fun souvenirs along the way. We also find the Post Office where we pay for stamps and mail a few postcards out. They probably won’t make it back before we do, but I suppose it is the thought that counts. Once we have finished our shopping for the day, we decide to drop our bags off at the ship and eat lunch before our excursion today, a visit to a Mush and Sled Dog camp, which we are very excited about. Boarding the ship goes very quickly as does eating lunch. It is amazing how easy it is to go through the buffet line at the Windjammer when most everyone is in the town.

After lunch we still have an hour or so to wait before the bus will arrive to take us to the dog camp, so we decide to head up to the top deck for a game or two of shuffleboard! Again Colleen beats me easily playing by our made up rules, but then we spot a poster on the wall of the ship which explains the rules of the game. We decide to play one more game following the official rules and I barely squeeze out a victory which feels good after watching Colleen do a victory dance after smoking me in the first game!

1:00pm – We disembark the ship once again and head to the end of the pier where we are met by our bus driver, Tim, at 1:15. We load up on the bus and wait for everyone else to check in and then set out for a 25-30 minute drive through some narrow, winding, gravel roads until we reach the camp. The ride is very scenic and Tim does an excellent job describing the history of Skagway while pointing out points of interest. As we enter the camp, we can hear the dogs barking in excitement! The Alaskan Husky is the breed of all the dogs and they love to pull sleds or land carts in our case. The barking and yelping is deafening as the dogs try to leap forward to begin pulling the six person carts we will be riding. Each cart has 16 dogs in pairs of two strapped to the back of the cart where two mushers will ride and give direction. We are quickly loaded into the six seat carts and we’re the second group to head down the trail. The trail is only a half mile long, but the terrain is very hilly and the weight the dogs are pulling is right around 2000 pounds while the average weight of a normal sled used in races like the Iditarod is only 50 pounds.

As we make it to the crest of the hill, we stop to allow the dogs to drink some water and rest. It is 60 degrees or so and the ideal running temperature for these dogs is -10 degrees Fahrenheit so there are a lot of factors working against them, but they still run hard and the mushers are actually slowing them down.The Alaskan Husky is much smaller than the Siberian Husky breed most people associate with sled dogs. The Alaskans are cousins of the Siberian, but have other breeds mixed which makes for a smaller, but much faster animal. According to the information given to us after the run up and back down the ½ mile trail, the Alaskan breed can average 12-13 mph during the long races while Siberian only average 8-10 mph. Siberian Huskies are primarily used for pulling heavy loads over very short distances. The presentation runs around 15-20 minutes which gives us a look at what the Iditarod race is like and we learn about the Yukon Quest race which is even more difficult than the famed Iditarod. The Yukon Quest is 100 miles shorter than its more famous counterpart, but it only allows nine checkpoints throughout the race meaning the mushers and dogs are not able to reach checkpoints for restocking of supplies, resting in heated cabins or dropping off injured dogs. Conversely, the Iditarod has 22 checkpoints making it much easier to make a checkpoint each day. Before each race, the mushers are allowed to send a standard bag with whatever equipment, food, etc. they would like to have to each checkpoint. If a dog is injured during the race, which happens to every team every time they run these two events, that dog is put onto the sled until a checkpoint is reached where it can be dropped off and will be driven to the end of the race. The record for most dogs reaching the end of the Iditarod is 15 which has apparently only happened once. On average a team will end with 11 dogs at the finish line.

The strategy of running the race is much different than I had assumed too. The winner of the race is the first person to cross the finish line, but unlike bicycle races, the teams are not clocked in at a certain time, then a cumulative time is put together at the end of the race to determine the winner. Instead, the mushers are left to run their dogs however they want. The typical pattern for racing is six hours of straight running followed by six hours of rest, six more hours of running, etc. Lance Mackey, the man who has won the last two Iditarod and Yukon Quest races in the same year, which had never happened before he did it, has his dogs trained to do the six on, six off routine a few times through, and then 100 miles straight before going back to the standard pattern. According to our presenter, he has easily won those two races in consecutive years using this method because his dogs are trained better than everyone else. I am very captivated by his short talk which is followed by everyone’s favorite moment of the day, puppy time!
There are seven puppies, all from one liter, which are three months old. As we get to their pens, Tim pulls them out of the doghouses even though they are sleeping and begins handing them out to the children in the group. The puppies are so adorable as most of the just want to rest their heads on the shoulder of whoever is holding them. A few minutes later, Colleen and are handed one of the smaller pups who is a little more alert now than when he was so rudely pulled out of his bed. We are able to get a few cute pictures with a couple of the puppies before it is time to head back to Skagway and board the ship.

6:30pm – We arrive safely back at the ship and decide it is time for yet another nap. We lie down and turn the TV on to find the movie Ratatouille has just begun. I quickly fall asleep, but Colleen thoroughly enjoys the movie although she isn’t able to finish it before we leave for dinner. Again we enjoy the dinner table conversation as everyone shares their excursion stories from the day. Everyone seems to have had a wonderful time again today. Tonight’s menu features lamb shank which is our choice and we are so happy we decided to try it! The meat is so tender and practically falling off of the bone. Everyone who orders it picks the bone clean; absolutely wonderful! After dinner and further conversation about our days, lives back home, and just about any and every thing, Colleen and I decide to leave and walk toward the theater for tonight’ Love and Marriage Game Show which is supposed to be pretty entertaining. As we walk out of the dining room though, a beautiful sunset/twilight sky above gorgeous scenery captures our attention. We walk outside to take a few photos, but it is very chilly out. I do my best to capture the moment with my little camera and as I begin snapping pictures, Graham and Shasta walk out to join us. All four of us are in awe of the fantastic view we are witnessing, and this is at 10:30pm no less, when all the sudden a few porpoises or baby Orca (killer whales) begin jumping through the wake created by the ship. The markings look like that of a small, dolphin size orca, but I overhear another gentleman say that porpoises are marked similarly to orcas and after a little research via Google I believe he is correct in stating we saw porpoises. Either way, this was the closest we have ever seen a wild dolphin, killer whale, or porpoise so all four of us are thrilled to have seen them. I was able to quickly flip my camera over to video mode and capture a few seconds of them jumping out of the water before they left the side of the ship. Check the Honeymoon, day 6 picture posting which will include the video.

After such excitement and realizing we have missed the beginning of the show, the four of us decide to head back to our respective rooms, change into warmer clothing, and meet near the Windjammer to sit and visit. When we arrive at the top deck and meet Graham and Shasta, we are amazed to find that the mountains bordering the sea are still visible and still picturesque. Colleen and I also brought a bottle of wine with us, which was included in the Romance Package on day 1, to share with our new friends. We are also able to acquire four wine glasses and a Royal Caribbean pocket sized cork screw from our waiter Jessie. We all walk down to Deck 6 and to the back of the ship where we find many open seats with everyone attending the show in the theater. We pull up right beside the window at the back, open the wine and continue in lively conversation about our weddings, pets, families, etc. Shortly after, we are pleasantly surprised by Sean and Dawn as they have ventured to the same lounge in search of a relaxing place to sit. They quickly pull up a seat next to us and add to the festive, enjoyable conversation.

12:30am – As the night wears on, all six of us agree that it is probably best to get some sleep. We have an early morning tomorrow as we are scheduled to visit Tracy Arm Fjord. In cruise reviews I read before this trip, I read many posts stating that the fjord and glacier viewing was one of the most beautiful experiences of their lives and favorite part of their cruise so I am really looking forward to seeing it for myself!

Wedding proofs are online!

If you would like to take a look at pictures from our wedding day, just
click here, then scroll down to June 21 and click on our names. These are proofs as provided by our photographers at Kansas Memories.

Honeymoon Day 5 pictures

Juneau, Alaska
Originally uploaded by noseycat

Day 5 of our honeymoon, day 3 of the cruise, took us to Juneau, Alaska. The city and mountainous scenery throughout the region are beautiful sights.

Honeymoon Day 4 pictures

Formal Night
Originally uploaded by noseycat

Day two on the cruise was our first formal night. We were sea sick most of the day which explains the small number of pictures, but we felt better by dinner time.

Honeymoon Day 3 pictures

Honeymooners Party
Originally uploaded by noseycat

Day 3 consisted of boarding our ship and enjoying a beautiful day in Seattle as we cruised out to open sea. This picture is taken from the Honeymooners party after dinner.

Honeymoon Day 2 pictures

Nate and Colleen at Queen Anne Hill
Originally uploaded by noseycat

June 29, 2008 honeymoon day 5 – Juneau, AK

8:30am Alaska Time (GMT – 9:00) – We wake up and get ready for the day. Finally we get to set foot on land again! We head to the Windjammer to grab some breakfast which consists of the always popular pancakes, eggs, bacon, and juice. We enjoy our food and conversation as we try to decide what to do for the morning until we reach Juneau which should happen around 11:00am. The skies are a little cloudy and the air is chilly, but manageable as long as there is something to keep the wind off of us. After finishing breakfast we begin walking around the ship and make our way to the Solarium at the back of the ship. It feels great in here, but once we have warmed our hands we head back out to the top deck at the aft of the ship. We eventually find a nice warm spot to hangout as we pass the engine room exhaust which has wonderful warm air pouring out keeping us nice and warm as we snap many photos of the picturesque mountains on either side of the ship as we make our way to port.

10:00am – Still standing in our comfortable, warm spot, we hear the announcement that the rock climbing wall is now open which is at the very back of the ship, just a few paces from where we are standing. After some persuasion, Colleen agrees to give it a shot with me. Neither one of us has ever tried this before so we are a little nervous, not to mention the wall in only 20 yards or so from the railing on the back of the ship! We sign our waiver forms, and are second and third in line. The lady going first is with her family. She watched her daughters try it earlier in the week and has decided she will give it a go too. They are very nice folks from Schaumburg, Illinois and we enjoy our conversation with them while we wait our turn to climb. Once the lady has made it to the top even with struggling and taking a break for a few minutes, Colleen is up next. I have no idea what to expect from her especially considering her fear of heights, but once she starts climbing, she looks like an old pro as she scales the wall in just a couple of minutes. I am very impressed with my wife’s athletic ability and determination, but those are two of her traits I fell in love with so I am not surprised. Now it is my turn, and you can bet I don’t want to fail or take longer to scale than my wife! I am still a little nervous, but I do eventually reach the bell at the top and with a sense of relief rappel down to the padded deck below. What a rewarding experience as we are very proud of ourselves and we get a wonderful view from the top of the ship!

10:30am – Back in the room, we prepare our coupons and map out our shopping trip. We are already regretting signing up for this because now we feel obliged to get all the free stuff possible to make up for the $25 we spent to pick up the book. We head down to the second floor, as far down as we can go, to disembark as early as possible. Just before 11:00, the doors are opened and we make our way off of the ship and onto the bus headed into town. Juneau look absolutely beautiful and the buildings in town look well maintained, although it isn’t difficult to imagine how they afford the upkeep with the overpriced items being sold around town, especially the jewelry stores. We make our way through the shops picking up all the free items we can with our coupons and find a nice looking earring and pendant set for Colleen at one of the stores. Once we have exhausted all coupons we still have time to head back to the ship, eat at the Windjammer, and head back to the pier for our first excursion, sea kayaking!

12:30pm – We head back out to pier and wait until 1:15 for the bus for kayaking to arrive. We load up and sit behind a very friendly couple, Jack and Barb, from New York but have now retired to a community near Hilton Head, SC. We visit with them on the bus ride to Douglas Island which carries us across the only bridge in Juneau where we stop for a photo shot opportunity of the town across the harbor. Jack offers to take our picture with our camera and we return the favor by taking a picture of them with their camera. We load back up on the bus continuing pleasant conversation as we make our way to the beach where we will be kayaking. By this time, the sun has been out for most of the morning and afternoon and the temperature is in the mid to upper 60’s, what a beautiful day!

We unload from the bus and begin changing into an array of water protective clothing. We have rubber overalls and boots, a kayak skirt, rain jacket and life preserver. By the time we have everything on we are quite warm and ready to get out on the water. We each grab our oars we will be using for the day and take a short walk to the beach where the kayaks are sitting. There are three group leaders and another young man who will be in a small motorized boat who will be following everyone in case of a tip. After a quick lesson about how to paddle and steer, we are asked to form groups with people we would like to group with. Colleen and I are standing near Jack and Bard so we stand in a group of four which then becomes a group of eight. The math works out nicely as there are 24 people or 12 kayaks and three leaders and our group of four kayaks is assigned to a young man named Evan. Evan has just graduated high school and is a Juneau native. He is well versed is Juneau history and geography and proves to be a wonderful guide as we kayak through the bay which is part of the Pacific Ocean. Right as we begin entering the water, Evan points out a marker about ¾ of a mile away we are supposed to row to and regroup there. The marker takes us directly toward the Mendenhall Glacier which is a flowing riverbed glacier which is the largest type of glacier. He also points out that a Bald Eagle is perched atop that marker. We all hope out loud that the eagle is still there when we reach the point.
As Colleen and I begin to row, we are going to the left which is not the correct direction if we want to make it to the checkpoint. We do our best to steer back towards the marker and eventually we make it. The eagle has flown away well before we arrive, but we sit and visit with Jack and Barb and another nice couple from Houston while we wait for Evan and our fourth kayak. They are a father/daughter combo and had to turn back because their kayak was spinning in circles and needed the rudder to be put in the water before they could steer properly. Once they arrive with Evan, we sit and learn about the area and our view for 10-15 minutes. While we are there we see a few Bald Eagles flying around the area. They are absolutely beautiful so Colleen digs through her layers of gear to find our camera to snap a few photos. While she has the camera out, we are lucky enough to witness one hunt for a fish. It looks at first as if this eagle is going to fly directly over our heads, but 50 yards or so before it reaches us it swoops down and plucks a nice sized fish out of the water. What a stunning sight this was and, according to Evan, a rarity. He tells us that typically the eagles don’t hunt that close to people and often just swoop down to fool younger eagles into capturing the fish, then attacking and stealing the fish from the youthful bird. Colleen is able to capture a few pictures of the eagles in the area before we are instructed to drop our paddles back in the water and head around a glacier silt bar to the end of the peninsula on the other side. As we work our way around the sand/silt bar, a couple of seals pop their heads out of the water curiously watching us flounder our way through the water. We can only see the heads of the seals, but we are very excited about our first up close viewing of marine life. We finally make our way around to our targeted destination, probably another ¾ of a mile from where we took our last break, and again Evan goes into another Q & A session with us, again pointing out different islands, coves and landmarks while giving the background story of each. As our dialogue continues, another seal, which is closer to us than any of the previous ones we saw, pops his head up and looks to be circling toward us. His head goes back below water and sure enough, the guy pops his head back out about 10 yards from our group. “Wow, that is the closest I seen a seal come to a group!” says Evan. We are all very excited for the few seconds we get to see it. Everyone reaches for their cameras, but I think he made it back under water before anyone is able to take a picture. As we all express our excitement about seeing this fascinating animal, he pops up again; this time even closer! He is literally right behind our kayak so close that I could reach him with my paddle if I wanted to. Again, we are not able to capture a picture, but he is close enough to me that I can see the top part of his body through the silt filled water which is not very transparent at all. Our group begins babbling on like we are five year olds at a zoo or circus for the first time with the excitement of our close encounter! After waiting for the seal to surface again, which he eventually does but much farther away, we are instructed to head back to the beach where we picked up our kayaks. Evan tells us it is about a mile from where we are sitting, and we are going to have to deal with the current pushing us to the right as we go in so we dig our paddles into the water and head toward shore. We start off pretty quickly and are making good time, but nearly half way back we start running low on energy and slow our pace. We end up paddling in side by side with Jack and Barb as we get to the shore, and talk back and forth with the wonderful couple from South Carolina about how wonderful the experience has been as we walk back to the trailer to change out of our layers of rain/water gear. After discarding the equipment, we enjoy a selection of moose sausage and crackers with a salmon dip. Following the high energy two hours we have just spent rowing around, we are all ready for a snack as the food disappears in a hurry! We jump back on the bus after thanking Evan for his brilliant effort guiding us during the excursion and head back toward the town of Juneau. A few people elect to stop back in town before making their way back to the ship. Jack, Barb, Colleen and I are tuckered out though so we stay on the bus which drops us off right at the pier.
There is a bit of a line to get back on the ship via the gangway, but it works out perfectly as we are able to enjoy even more stimulating conversation with Jack and Barb. They are such a sweet couple and we enjoy hearing stories about their family and lives during and pre-retirement. Both Colleen and I smile ear to ear the entire time. Once we are back on the ship, we all take the elevator to our stateroom deck 8 which happens to be their deck as well before parting ways. Both couples vow to exchange email addresses before the end of the cruise so we can exchange pictures from the absolutely incredible excursion we have shared. Colleen and I walk down the hall and crash into bed for a nap.

7:00pm – We wake from our nap to shower and change clothes for tonight’s dinner. We are still pretty tired and upon arriving at dinner find the other three couples are also looking pretty tired from their excursions. Graham and Shasta went zip lining, Sean and Dawn had been whale watching, while Andy and Lisa had taken a helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier and visited a sled dog camp. Our wait staff, Jessie and Arnold can tell we are all very tired as they ask us each about our day. For dinner, Colleen and I both order the smoked salmon pasta which sounds like a terrific option. Once the dish comes out though, we are a little disappointed as there are only a few slivers of salmon on a pretty small portion of pasta. The taste is still nice, but the portion is unlike the large, over filling portions we have enjoyed thus far. For dessert we each enjoy a brownie and head back to our room to watch a movie and get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow we have another full day of shopping and an excursion to a Mush and Sled dog Camp in Skagway, AK.

Honeymoon Day 1 pictures

Seattle, early evening
Originally uploaded by noseycat

There are photos taken from our first day in Seattle, WA.

June 28, 2008 - Honeymoon day 4 - At sea

9:00am PST – We awaken a little behind our planned schedule from the night before. We want to be at a Port Shopping Guide presentation in the theater at 9:30, so we hit snooze one more time then scramble to get up and dressed and head down to Deck 5. Colleen still isn’t feeling 100% and we are still moving at a real good clip. We are now well ahead in the race to Juneau as the other two ships are beginning to look quite small in the distance, but we think it would be better to slow it up a bit to ease the motion sickness starting to creep through our bodies. The presentation has already begun by the time we arrive, but there are supposed to be “prizes” thrown out which is why we are here. Maybe by the end of the trip we will figure out that the “free” items are basically worthless, maybe.  About half way through, I have to head back to the room or vomit on the person in front of us because I just can’t handle being there any longer. I think it is a combination of motion sickness and the annoyed feeling I have from listening to Chad tell us all how important it is to go diamond shopping. He seems to have lots of valuable information for those in here who have money, but he is coming off as arrogant which has me rolling my eyes and combined with a rolling stomach means I am now speed walking up the stairs to plop on the bed.

11:00am PST – Colleen arrives back with notes, coupons galore for us to sift through before porting in Juneau. Right now though, it is nap time because we are both struggling to keep down our dinner from last night.
1:30pm PST – We awaken from our nap feeling a little better, so we decide to head up to the Windjammer to grab a bite to eat. The food is decent enough and it seems that sitting by a window is really helping the seasickness. We decide to lounge around the Windjammer as I type a little bit on the blog. Once we have had time to let our food settle, we head back to our room and find that it has been made up and we finally have the itinerary for the day. Ricardo, our housekeeper, couldn’t get in earlier because we were sleeping, but he has made the bed wonderfully and refilled our ice bucket for us. After a review of the itinerary, we find that there is a ring toss competition on the 9th Deck by the pool area. We head that direction and find that we are the first to arrive. We sign up along with six or seven other people for the first round. I am the first to throw and I go 0 for 3, although I did at least hit the board on all three tosses. Colleen goes next and rings a three pointer on her first throw; welcome to first place CJ! The next several people throw with the highest score a 1, so Colleen is looking to be in good shape. However, by this time, another 30 or so people have shown up and are allowed to jump in on the first round. About 10 throwers later, Colleen is out of the top three in points, and since we are poor losers, we leave to find something else to do! That “something” turns out to be changing into our bathing suits and heading to the outdoor hot tubs! I’ve never been accused of being a genius, so just in case anyone has become uncomfortable not being able to witness me being an idiot, I’ll try to be as graphic as possible in my explanation here. It is COLD outside, lower 50’s in temperature. It is WINDY outside, we are moving at 24 miles an hour into a wind straight out of the north. The hot tubs are not really near a shelter, they are right out in the middle where the wind is whipping across them taking all the steam with it in a hurry. Colleen and I are both wearing out swimsuits, pants, shirts, and jackets as we walk out toward the hot tubs before we are instructed to head to the Solarium where we get our towels. The Solarium is an indoor room, with a pool and hot tubs (which are also inside), so we make the logical choice of picking up our towels and heading right back outside! We change and leave our clothing and towels down the stairs about 10 feet away at one of the chairs. We have to put the chair leg on top of it all or else everything will blow away. We head in and our feet are so cold by the time we get to the water, it literally feels like our feet are being set on fire as we put them into the water. The actual hot tubbing experience is fine, as long as we keep our heads low enough not to be directly in the wind and keep our bodies under water. We stay in for about 10 minutes before we have finally decided this isn’t the best idea. I hop out and dry off as quickly as possible in the freezing wind, throw my clothes and jacket back on and take Colleen’s stuff to her so she can do the same. Needless to say, the wind against our wet bodies has the goosebumps out in full force!

4:30pm PST – We have changed out of our swimsuits and put our dry clothes back on. We decide to head back up to the Windjammer for another snack. As we walk through though we don’t see anything we really want to eat and the seasickness has begun to take its hold again. We head back down to our room and watch some TV for a while which doesn’t seem to be helping so we decide to take a dose of Pepto Bismol which we were smart enough to bring with us. After we take the pink stuff we decide it might be best to take another nap before dinner and hope the combination of sleep and Pepto does the trick.

7:00pm PST – Luck is with us as we feel much better! We each shower and begin dressing for our first formal night. Tonight we also have the opportunity to meet the Captain, have our picture taken with him and enjoy a glass of champagne as we meet some of the other high ranking caretakers of the ship.

7:45pm PST – We have made it down to the Captain’s reception and stand in a short line to meet him. When it is our turn, we are introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Scherman which sounds strange but great at the same time. We snap a quick picture and head inside the lounge where we are seated and given a glass of champagne for each of us. As we visit, I begin to describe something (can’t even remember what it was now) to Colleen and promptly know the glass out of her hand spilling all of the seat, her dress, and my pants. For those of you who know my personality when something like that happens, it takes everything in me to not chuck my glass across the room, but I keep my composure and begin cleaning it up. We are both slightly embarrassed and frustrated, but the server next to us comes over and begins to make light of the situation right away and pours Colleen another glass. We find another seat and by the time 8:30 hits for dinner, we have dried out and nobody is the wiser.
8:30pm PST – Our formal dinner features Escargot or Shrimp Cocktail among other options for appetizers, Filet of Beef is the recommendation by Jessie our waiter as the entrée which we both happily order, followed by Double Strawberry Cheesecake, yummy! The meal is terrific and the conversation is very enjoyable. The head waiter, Paul, commented that our conversations seem that of folks who have known each other for years and have made this trip together which is a compliment to the wonderful people we have the pleasure of eating with each night.

10:45pm PST – We head to the theater again tonight for a rendition of “Piano Man” performed by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. “Piano Man” is a Broadway produces musical featuring songs from Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Ray Charles, and Barry Manilow. We are a little concerned that the show may not be up to snuff since we are on a cruise line, but the singers perform beautifully and we sit with smiles singing along throughout the show. Before we know it the show is over and we are thoroughly impressed with a couple of the singers in particular. We head back to our stateroom, change into more comfortable clothes and head up to the 9th Deck for a cup of Hot Chocolate before we retire for the night. Tomorrow promises to be enjoyable, we get to set foot on land again in Juneau and set out to sea in a smaller vessel for our first excursion, Glacier View Sea Kayaking! We are both excited and we have our early part of the day planned out to get some souvenir shopping taken care of before we leave the pier for kayaking.

June 27, 2008 - Honeymoon day 3

June 27, 2008 Honeymoon day 3 – Seattle, WA
We sleep in a bit until 10:00 and then we’re up and packing everything for the cruise. Once we are packed and ready to go, we head to the front desk and request a taxi. Just a couple of minutes later, our taxi driver pulls up asking for the Scherman party. We are a little surprised he is there for us because there are a couple of families waiting outside for a taxi. They become more than a little upset when the driver tells them he is there for us, not them. Oh well, just a few more minutes and we’re going to be boarding the Rhapsody of the Seas, so we aren't overly concerned.


12:10pm PST – We have arrived! We pull up to the Cruise Ship terminal, unload our luggage, pay the driver and briskly walk to the bag check station. I was a little worried that the check-in process was going to be a long drawn out process, but we zipped right through and the next thing we know we have dropped off our bags, checked in with our passports and received our SeaPasses, and are standing on the ramp to board the ship. We are in luck today as the skies are basically cloud free and Mount Rainier is showing in full majesty; what a beautiful sight! We enter on the 5th deck, our stateroom is on the 8th so we begin climbing the stairs because the elevators are nearly impossible to use with all the people crowding around them. Once we find the 8th deck, we learn that rooms are not accessible until 1:00. Since we have 30 minutes or so to burn, we decide to head up to the top deck, deck 10, to take pictures in front of Mount Rainier. As we head toward the front of the ship we come across the shuffleboard court, score! On the side of the ship are the discs and sticks, so we take them down and start playing. Of course, we have no idea what the actual rules are, so we come up with a couple of versions and play two games. The first game Colleen absolutely smokes me! In this version we each are at opposite ends and send all four discs to the other end alternating turns after the other person has sent all four discs. Obviously, this can’t be the proper way to play (right?) so I change the rules! Now we are both on the same side and alternate turns after each disc. This seems to make a little more sense to me since we can now knock each other off of the scoring zones and play defense if we do happen to land on a scoring zone. This time, the game is much closer and I pull out a narrow victory.

1:00pm PST – We have finished our games of shuffleboard and put the game pieces away. As soon as the other folks who have been passing by, they head directly for the course to play their own game. Meanwhile Colleen and I finally snap a few pictures in front of Mt. Rainier and head down to the Windjammer Café where lunch is being served buffet style. The Windjammer is going to be open almost the entire trip so we are looking forward to lots of wonderful food there! After eating, we decide to head back toward the area where we think our room is located. We are a little off in judgment, but we eventually find our way down the hall. While we are still several rooms away, I notice one of the ship employees coming out of one of the rooms near where I think our room should be. Sure enough, it is our room he is walking out of and there is a Just Married sign hanging on the door. We walk in to see the room beautifully decorated with congratulatory ceiling hangings. Also there are flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, cheese and crackers, champagne, wine, and Royal Caribbean robes for each of us. We are completely blown away by the generosity of the folks who put this together for us! Thank you so much Pat & Mary Jo, Bob & Vicki, and our friends from Park Dave, Tewaney, Shaun, Tom and David! We enjoy the cheese and crackers, strawberries, and champagne for a little while before heading back out to tour the ship. We go deck to deck forward to aft checking out each lounge, shop, and find our seats for dinner. We are table 129 at the second seating dinner which begins at 8:30 each night. At 3:30, a mandatory emergency drill takes place. All passengers are required to bring the life jackets from their stateroom and head to the assigned muster stations on the 5th deck. Colleen and I arrive just a few minutes before 3:30, but we are only the third or fourth couple in our group to show. Finally, everyone shows up and the drill begins. The actual drill is pretty quick, but the long wait for passengers to show up has worn us out. Back to the stateroom!

4:15pm PST – We open the stateroom door to find our luggage has arrived; time to unpack. We spend the next 30-45 minutes hanging up our nice clothes and putting everything else into drawers. Why did we pack so much?! After unpacking, we decide to head back up to the top deck because it feels like we might be moving. Sure enough, we have begun backing out of the port and are turning around to head North toward Juneau. We are just over 1100 miles away from our destination. The ship is moving at a pretty slow pace so far. There were three different cruise ships (including ours) at or near the same port and we are last out of the port. Once we hit international waters though, the captain ramps up our speed to about 24 mph so we can make it to Juneau by the scheduled time. We will now be cruising for next day and a half at this speed.

6:30pm PST – We are back in our stateroom preparing for tonight’s dinner. At 7:15, an announcement is made that a comedy show will be held in the theater at 7:45 with some pre-show entertainment beginning at 7:15. Since we are ready, we decide to head up to catch the show for a little while before we move on to the dining room. The pre-show entertainment consists of the Entertainment Director giving away some pretty cool prizes and explaining a little bit about what we can expect in the coming days. At 7:45 our comedian comes out and begins his routine. I am less than impressed, but it has to be difficult to write jokes which will entertain the vast range of ages and cultures present here. By the time we leave for dinner he has successfully made everyone laugh though and seems to get stronger as he goes along.

8:30pm PST – We find our table with one couple already perusing the menu. We sit down and introduce ourselves. Shortly after, the other two couples arrive. We have three newlywed couples at our table and the first couple we met, Andy and Lisa, are celebrating their 10th anniversary. The couple across the table from us, Sean and Dawn, were married the same day we were and Graham and Shasta were married Friday June, 13th. We enjoy the conversation throughout dinner and the food selection of nearly all of us in the sliced prime rib. The food is pretty tasty, although by now we are feeling a little overfed!

10:00pm PST – The event coordinator of the ship, Anna, is hosting a honeymooners party in the Viking Lounge on the top deck. Colleen and I tale the elevator up and are greeted warmly by Anna with champagne, Colleen chooses a Mimosa. They also hand us a plate of chocolate covered strawberries which we force down. We have the pleasure of meeting another couple from Houston, TX who were married June 21. They are very nice and seem to have had very similar experiences as we did for our wedding. When all the couples have arrived, each couple gives one of the room cards to Anna for a drawing for three different prizes. We are lucky enough to win a bottle of La Terre Merlot. Not long after we all decide we can’t eat another bite for at least a day, Anna announces that they have brought a honeymooners cake and begin cutting it up and handing out pieces to each couple. Ugh! We each take about half a bite before setting the plate down and pushing it away. At this point, the ship is really rocking as we speed through the open sea and Colleen begins to feel a little under the weather. We head back to the room, set the alarm clock, and are off to sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.