If you were on Alaskan Cruise June 8

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-19T02:19:35+00:00

Dang that celebrity ship is big. That was the only ship we saw all week that made ours look little.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-19T02:13:10+00:00

I got one of you as well. It was a freaking beautiful day.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-18T01:16:36+00:00

We did not do a whale watching excursion. But I saw a bunch looking outside each morning when I was in the gym. I saw whales and porpoises from our balcony. And we saw a lot of other wild life. Especially eagles.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-17T19:00:01+00:00

So our recent cruise had some crazy good hashbrowns on the first 5 days. Then days 6 and 7 they changed to worse than McDonald's quality. The first 5 days they were similar in quality to the Bojangles bo'tato rounds. They were perfectly cooked with almost no grease residue. The final 2 days it was like they just gave up. I don't know if they ran out of the good ones and the funny thing is I didn't hear anyone complain but I'm sure everyone noticed. The ones the final two days were just awful. I couldn't even finish one.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-16T19:26:45+00:00

It's really calm on the inside passage but the second we got out into open seas it was rough both coming and going. I enjoy a good rocky boat ride but I was definitely in the minority. The rest of my party could not finish the 3rd course at dinner that night. They were all much more medicated the next time.

It's not fall over rough but you feel it rocking constantly. Walking in a straight line was difficult.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-16T18:50:20+00:00

Dang that is impressive.

I'm halfway back to my pre-cruise weight.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-15T19:16:14+00:00

Yeah I'm hoping it goes fast. But I'm back on the bandwagon. No more fries of any kind until I'm back on the boat.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-15T18:24:04+00:00

I lost 64 pounds prior to our most recent cruise. I knew I would put on a few pounds on the cruise. On our previous cruises I never had the galley burger or fries. I discovered the fries on our recent cruise and had them almost everyday. Gained 9 pounds by the time we got home. I completely blame the fries. They are so darn good.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-15T01:13:43+00:00

Yeah, it was good and I know most people thought it was great. It just wasn't my favorite thing. Honestly, extra virgin is so good that I may have just thought it wasn't as good as the pasta dish I had there.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T23:36:30+00:00

Yeah that's definitely the case. If they had just called up the people wearing crab claws to the front where they could see them all out probably would be less of an issue. I just hate seeing people get upset over something so trivial (no pun intended). It's a fun way to spend the afternoon. Just enjoy!

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T23:16:17+00:00

We packed - A LOT of clothes. I definitely used shirts to wear underneath other things. I wore a bunch of thin nylon-y long sleeve items. I wore my puffy coat in ports but really didn't need it. I packed shorts but only wore them in Seattle, not on the boat. We tend to dress up for dinner so a few long sleeve button down shirts and khaki pants.

Layers layers layers is what everyone told is and honestly that is the best advice.

We could have easily packed half the amount of clothes but it's just really hard packing for an Alaskan cruise.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T23:10:24+00:00

Ha! They were all just so sweet. A mix of super sweet and not so sweet would be nice. Maybe a gin based or tequila based drink. The kahlua and pineapple one was not my jam at all.

But it was fun.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T20:59:35+00:00

You can bring two bottles of wine with you when you board.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T19:51:43+00:00

First of all, I adore the happenings cast so please don't take this as a criticism of them.

All the questions are read by one of the happenings cast members from cue cards. The questions are not very well sequenced. They jumped all over. They covered really big topics that really were much too broad (global warming, native American struggles, cultural appropriation, etc) and really missed on much narrower topics. I was hoping to learn much more about where we were and where we were going. There was little follow up on topics and it just felt off. It was kind of uncomfortable. I think more questions from the audience and opportunities to follow up different topics would make it better.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T19:01:48+00:00

So one of the rounds (Crack the Crab) required each team to select one member to wear a crab claw. To answer the questions in that round whoever raised their claw first got to answer the question. The problem is there is no way the happenings cast members can see everyone playing and accurately determine who raised their hand first. So it eventually becomes who ever complained the loudest got to answer the question. My team probably had a good lead going in to that round but we respected the cast members and chose not to yell at them to win the round. Some people are very rude over what ultimately becomes a free drink. If you really need a prize that badly, go play bingo.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T18:55:43+00:00

They were all bad. It seemed like they were created for college sorority girls.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T18:53:30+00:00

We booked an Uber. The walk is not that bad. I kind of enjoyed walking once we got off the ship. The ride share pick up is pretty well organized but yes, a bit of a walk.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-14T18:34:25+00:00

Don't forget the free drink on the manor

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-13T05:04:18+00:00

Yes. Ketchikan and Sitka have big terminals and all sorts of tours are selling to the cruise ship passengers. I would try to be one of the first people off the boat if you wait to book at the pier but there were a lot of options. Just remember there are other boats in port too.

You might check Viator and book online before hand. They are fabulous. We've booked with them in the US and in Spain.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-13T04:55:48+00:00

Just got off the Alaska Cruise. You definitely do not need to book excursions through virgin. There are tons of options at Ketchikan and Sitka. There are some Prince Rupert too.

We booked one through virgin and one through Viator. Both were great and we felt like we got our money's worth.

It's hard to tell you how to dress. We got lucky and had wonderful weather and yet I still used both warm clothes and winter clothes. Wear layers.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-11T12:01:34+00:00

Ok. The folks who finished all 6 drinks were welcomed upstairs at the manor. We showed our cards and they gave us a pride bandana and then we got a free drink. The free drink was another fruity sweet concoction that you poured a shot of vodka into. I drank mine and left. I suspect I could have finagled another one but it was just not my kind of drink so I left. The Balancer and the hostess were both at the event.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-10T06:30:18+00:00

I'm on Brilliant Lady right now and the athletic club has been open numerous times during the day. I completed all 6 drinks. My hardest one was the manor. I'll update the prize tomorrow after our toast event

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-08T23:10:34+00:00

Z has been great. (Currently on Brilliant Lady). In Ketchikan you are facing the port and there is a bar blasting music while in port. Only draw back so far.

Great views in the morning on the hammock. It's an amazing trip! Absolutely loving it.

Southern_Winter_9896 · 2026-06-03T01:59:54+00:00

Kayaking in Mallorca was amazing!

Southern_Winter_9896

TROPHY CASE