Monday, August 20, 2012

Cruising Alaska...part 1 (and a giveaway)


 Several years ago we took a cruise to the Caribbean.  It was my first cruise.  I wasn't really impressed.  We had rough seas, motor issues and I was very (repeat that), very dizzy.

Lat month, we took our second cruise.  It was exceptional (although I still had some dizziness).  We flew to Seattle and boarded the MS Westerdam and cruised to Alaska.  Our trip was 2015 nautical miles. The ship was 935 feet long! It carried 2036 guests (and never felt crowded) and 807 crew members. It used 216 tons of diesel a day and 90 tons of gasoline a day.  WOW, that is a lot of fuel!


 Our cabin was lovely!


There was even a desk for me to write at, with a window view.


We were greeted with fresh flowers, fruit, chocolate covered strawberries, and champagne. 
(Nice start, right?)


We had a lovely patio, which I spent a lot of time on.


We had cruise TV.  We could watch a TV channel that showed the view from the front or rear of the ship.  (Totally cool!) We could also watch where we were on another channel and get all the ship stats.



The ship was beautiful!  It even had a retractable roof over one of the pools.


I did find time most days to work on NOT A HOLIDAY, although the beautiful views out my window were a bit distracting.


Most days we had a cute critter in our rooms when they came in to turn down our bed at night. 


This cool life boat took us to shore in one port. 
 The town was too small to have a dock big enough for our ship.


The food was beautiful and tasty.  I can't believe I forgot to photograph every meal. 
(hangs head in shame)


There were 84 people preparing food for us each day.


We consumed 11,830 lbs of meat and meat products, 3,814 lbs of poultry, 3,000 lbs of fish, 2,575 lbs of seafood, and 23,040 eggs.  (I'm pretty sure I made a big dent in the fish and seafood totals.  I had one or the other (or both) every evening at dinner.)


These were part of the crew that made sure we had a wonderful time.


My favorite thing to do while we were on the ship was to go to the piano bar.  Derek Floyd made every night exceptionally fun.  On the last night, I was exhausted, but I wanted to stop by and chat with Derek.  He was looking forward to his wife and son getting on the ship when we returned to Seattle and then he would have a week with them.  I hope he had a wonderful time.  

If you would like to hear Derek, you can hop over to this  clip.


And now for the giveaway....Jewelry was the big item on this cruise.  Every port had loads of jewelry stores, plus they sold it on the ship.  I bought this pair of gold flake earrings to give away to you guys.  I know you might be a guy and think, well what kind of fun is this?  Think of it this way...you can surprise someone you care about with these lovely earrings.

All you have to do is be a follower, comment on this post and your in...On September, 6th I'll let random.org chose a winner.

I hope you have been having a wonderful summer.

39 comments:

  1. That is so generous and kind to share your cruise bounty with one of your blog followers! My husband and I have never been on a cruise. Knowing us, we'd eat too much and gain about 50 lbs. each.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, how wonderful!

    My dad took me on a week-long cruise to Alaska (from Vancouver, BC) years ago, for my 40th birthday, on the ms Zaandam. Not a veranda suite, though! LOL.

    I still remember the endless food and drink and the on-board shopping. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds and looks awesome! When we first got married, hubby and I decided our retirement gift to ourselves would be an Alaskan cruise! Can't wait!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so glad you had a terrific time and the pics were wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so glad you enjoyed this cruise much better than the other one! I love seeing all of your pictures and am a little shocked at all of the thousands of pounds of meat, poultry and fish that were consumed! So glad you had a nice time!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awwwwwwwwwww!! I totally love the elephant towel!!!! With eyes!! That would cheer me up every day!!

    Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow! It sounds wonderful!
    And I had to laugh about the Cruise TV. I bet my husband would totally watch the rear/front of the ship for hours.

    And food on cruises ... always totally decadent! Glad you had a better time than your last cruise.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My in-laws just got back from a cruise to alaska, and they are already planning their next. They LOVED it. So fun to see your pictures. And SO impressed you worked on your book. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. This reminded me of our cruise. Great times.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've said before, always wanted to cruise Alaska. Our only cruise was in the Caribbean. Although my parents lived on a boat so we sailed with them many times.

    Yes, you can gain a lot of wait on cruise ships if you aren't careful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Loved hearing about your trip. I've always wanted to go to Alaska.

    And what a sweetie you are to shop for us too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Enjoyed reading this, Sharon, especially since we just returned from our Alaskan cruise! I noticed blue skies in one of your pics. We had nothing but gray skies, drizzle, fog, and rain. We made the most of it, though, and still had a great time. My favorite thing was kayaking on Lake Mendenhall and getting up close and personal with the glacier and icebergs everywhere. The lake temperature was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrrr!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Sharon,
    Yes, it's me, your starstruck fan, Gary :)
    I have heard amazing things about the Alaska cruise. I often used to see the ships heading from Vancouver to Alaska.
    I think I would look stunning or stunned in jewellery.
    And summer arrived in Britain. Yay.
    Take care, Sharon.
    Gary

    ReplyDelete
  14. Some of those pictures made me so hungry! Is that fair, really?

    Anyway the vacation looked and sounded wonderful. Thanks for sharing it. I've already packed my bag.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh my gosh, this is so cool. And I love that you were at the piano bar listening to this lovely music. You MUST have been incredibly busy since you didn't take a picture of every meal! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. WOW!!! what a fantastical trip and for sure you got zillions of cool pictures. i like that youre sharing out your pictures so i could go on that trip with you. :)
    ...hugs from lenny

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, what a super cruise you had. I've never been a cruise person but your pictures have made me rethink that...the food alone looks worth the trip. Smiles - A.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Alaska! You visited a place near and dear to my heart...I lived on Kodiak Island for 20 years and have many magical memories of the vast beauty and ruggedness of the state. So glad you were able to enjoy it in delicious comfort!

    ReplyDelete
  19. oh wow, your cruise looks spectacular! I went on a little one earlier in the year, but it was nothing like that! You've given me itchy feet! I want to travel again! hehe

    ReplyDelete
  20. I used to cruise quite a bit and enjoyed Holland America more than the others. Celebrity is also nice!

    ReplyDelete
  21. That is the funniest elephant.

    Thanks for sharing your photos. You and my cousins, aunt and uncle went at almost the same time. Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  22. wow! I've always wanted to go on a cruise. i love the pictures! Looks like a fun trip :)

    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. WONDERFUL pictures!! And I'm so glad you had a great time. I don't know how you managed to get editing done but I admire you so much for sticking to it! Big hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love your photos, Sharon! I have such wonderful memories of my Alaskan cruise. Certainly a trip of a lifetime.
    Cute earrings for a lucky someone!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Awesome! I haven't cruised in a little while. I miss the floating buffet!

    ReplyDelete
  26. wow... amazing...... wonderful view....

    ReplyDelete
  27. Those photos are amazing, Sharon! I'm so jealous. Alaska looks gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  28. How FUN!! Sorry you were dizzy, but at least you weren't as dizzy as before. I love that cute li'l washcloth elephant!! It sounds like an amazing time, especially with the tasty food. :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm glad your second cruise was so much more fun than the first. Great pictures, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  30. This looks so great. I love that towel creature!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love your travel posts. I hope to visit Alaska some day.

    ReplyDelete
  32. My husband's family lives in Prince Rupert BC. Alaskan cruises stop there all the time.

    What a cute critter who turned down your beds. I want one. :)

    Sounds like an awesome trip. And the food. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I've never done a cruise. People have told me how great they are and that I'd really enjoy it. I'm not too keen on being out on a ship in open water. I'd be thinking too much about The Poseidon Adventure or Titanic. The food might convince me though.


    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

    ReplyDelete
  34. Looks amazing, Sharon! And how nice of you to buy us a present! <3

    ReplyDelete
  35. Oh, wow. Amazing! I love the desk with the window - and the cruise ship channel!

    ReplyDelete
  36. How awesome! Alaska is beautiful. And the food on the cruise looks amazing! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh my, Sharon! You're making me decide on a cruise now!

    Thanks for sharing lovely photos of your cruise!

    ReplyDelete
  38. You were lucky only gaining a pound. I see I wrote wait instead of weight!!!

    My parents lived in both England and the Mediterranean (Malta and Spain) on their various boats. I've blogged about it, although not recently.

    ReplyDelete