We had planned this trip several years in advance knowing only that we liked to cruise and we wanted to do something BIG to celebrate 25-years of marriage.
Well we did!
We booked ourselves on a cruise to the Inside Passage in southeast Alaska.
The cruise lived up to its expectations.
We chose a cruise on the Norwegian Sun from Norwegian Cruise Lines. They had a good itinerary and the timing was right for the anniversary celebration so thats how we got started.
Norwegian Cruise Lines is at www.ncl.com
The ship we cruised on is the "Sun"
We did Seattle, Ketchikan, Juneau, Tracy Arm to the Sawyer Glacier (almost), Skagway, Prince Rupert, and back to Seattle.
This vacation page will be set-up with separate pages for the places we went - so - here we go!
Each name should take you to that respective web page. Believe me, we were beat most days because we did a lot.
Gotta get to the boat so we flew on Alaska Air from Burbank. Burbank is one of the very few USA airports that still use ground ramps instead of flyways to get into the airplane.
We left LA on a Saturday and it was a beautiful day. One of the best of the spring. Had to take a shot back at the San Gabriel Mountains. Very clear day for LA. (Yes - the airport is in Burbank but the region is in Los Angeles so we just say it's all in LA).
When we arrived at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle the Voyager airplane was on display - hanging from the roof of the lobby. Interesting airplane - I believe it is the first airplane to fly non-stop around Earth.
This bi-plane was on display. Anybody know type it is?
I am guilty of taking pictures of myself. I took this one on the bus to the cruise port.
Susanne had planned ahead and had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries delivered to the room. I was deeply touched by Susanne's caring statement of love.
Sweet.
Of course this being a cruise - the Captain had to hold a safety drill to ensure that we all knew how to get to the lifeboats.
The passengers congregated on the side decks and a lifeboat was lowered to show how it works.
We had a good time with the whole thing.
During the drill we had a chance to look around. Let's see... football stadium with the white trim, baseball stadium in green trim, container cranes in red trim, and what else... clouds. I had not been to the Northwest since I was about 10-years old. I had always heard that it was cloudy and rainy all the time. I know better than that but still... on my first day in Seattle - it was cloudy and dreary!
Always something - I learned the hard way in LA Harbor that passing boats stay at least 50-yards away from cruise ships - security concerns. Here is a picture of the Coast Guard reminding a yacht to stay away from the cruise ship.
We are underway. The band was playing outside on the upper deck. I learned right-off about cruise boat staff. The crew is from all the nations of the world. Now the band was good - but hearing "Sweet Home Alabama" blasting away by the band from the Philippines was a little disconcerting.
The upper deck of the ship is open and has the pool and hot-tubs. Very nice - but - see those clouds...
This was also our first chance to see the skyline of Seattle. Really nice downtown.
This was our first time seeing the famed Space Needle - more on this later...
Susanne just looks fabulous.
We were off to a really great start. Drinks in hand, leaving the dock, ready for a big celebration cruise.
Click forward to Day Two - Going to Ketchikan