Friday, June 21, 2019

Alaskan Cruise: At Sea Day & Ketchikan [Part 2]

On our last Alaskan cruise recap, I left off with our first evening on the ship and sailing away from Vancouver. Thankfully, our first full day on board was an "at sea day", so we ordered room service for breakfast. On Royal Caribbean, a continental breakfast is complimentary in the mornings (if you choose to do so), but any other type of room service throughout the day comes with a fee. We ordered coffee, fruit, and bagels and it was all nice and fresh (and yummy, too)!


After reading through the day's schedule, Jason and I decided we wanted to hear the Canadian Mountie speak. Coming from a law enforcement family (and as someone who loves history), the idea behind their troop fascinated me.


We also dropped Brayden off at the kids club for about an hour while we listened to the Mountie and he really enjoyed "circle time"...whatever that was! Hah!


After lunch, we took naps then went for a swim in the indoor solarium pool. This is normally an adult only area, but they were kind enough to open up hours in the morning and afternoon for the kids to swim.


Brayden LOVED the pool!


To get back to our room, we had to walk outside (which was rather chilly). Royal Caribbean does this silly thing with their pool towels, so you can't really use them for very long because you're paranoid about forgetting to return them. Basically, you check the pool towel out with your room key, and if you don't return it by checking it back in, your room is charged $25 per towel. Anyway, we used my sweatshirt to cover Brayden up with, so he turned into a little penguin while walking back to the room. It was SO funny and we heard so many giggles from people as they passed us by in the hallways!


That evening was formal night, so we got dressed and headed to dinner! I know I mentioned this in my previous post, but I truly loved our wait staff! They were so kind and generous and helpful. All 12 of us were also seated at one giant table which was nice!


We had a lovely towel creature waiting for us when we returned to our room! :)


We also enjoyed another gorgeous sunset as we sailed to our first port of all, Ketchikan!


By the time we woke up the following morning, we were docked in Ketchikan. We didn't plan any formal excursions here, so we took our time eating breakfast, getting off the ship, and shopping around town.


I just love the landscape of the port in Ketchikan. It's so colorful and welcoming!


We also had a chance to finally SEE our ship from the outside for the first time! With the way it was docked in Vancouver, we couldn't even see it before boarding!


My main goal in Ketchikan was to purchase an Alaska Pandora charm which I did! Some of our crew also walked to Starbucks which was about a mile away. If you're interested in Starbucks at all at any of these Alaskan ports of call, Ketchikan is your place. Unless you plan on taking an Uber, no other port has them within walking distance.


I loved being able to walk around slowly, take our time, and simply enjoy the clean and fresh air! It was a great day for sure!


While Brayden and Jason napped, I had the chance to do something I never get to do on a cruise - I spent about 2 hours on the balcony, drinking coffee and reading a book! It. Was. Heavenly!!!


Once Brayden woke up from his nap, he snuggled with me for a little while, then we got him dressed to go swimming in the pool!


Once leaving Ketchikan, I stood out on our balcony to snap a few pictures of the gorgeous landscape. Alaska truly is a magnificent place.


Back to the Solarium pool we went!



He truly loves the water!


For dinner that evening, we had a rip roaring good time while chanting our waiter's name during the parade and waving our napkins in the air. This truly was a wonderful time with Jason's family!!

Up next: Juneau and Skagway!

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For recaps from our 7 night Alaskan cruise on board the Radiance of the Seas, check out these links below:
Alaskan Cruise: Travel Day & Boarding the Ship [Part 1] & VLOG
Alaskan Cruise: At Sea Day & Ketchikan [Part 2] & VLOG
Alaskan Cruise: Icy Straight Point [Part 3] & VLOG (Icy Straight Point & Juneau)
Alaskan Cruise: Juneau & Whale Watching [Part 4]
Alaskan Cruise: Skagway & A Musher's Camp [Part 5] & VLOG
Alaskan Cruise: Hubbard Glacier [Part 6] & VLOG
Alaskan Cruise: Seward and Anchorage [Part 7] & VLOG

8 comments:

  1. What a wonderful experience! I live and I worked 40 years in the port of Civitavecchia, the first cruise port in Italy and second in Europe. Moreover I did some cruises by ship of different owners. The Royal Caribbean is a very good company. Great photos of beautiful moments. Indeed I don't like the formal night event, I prefer to wear casual ......

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    1. That is so neat!! We enjoy going to formal night dressed up, but do enjoy the casual nights as well. I'm definitely glad formal night is only one night! Hah!

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  2. Thank goodness for the indoor pool! Looks like Brayden really enjoyed that!

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    1. Yes, thank goodness - we were so grateful for that!

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  3. He looks adorable in your sweatshirt! I took a cruise to the fjords in Ketchikan, and it was a bit gray and rainy walking around town. What I did do was run 4 miles on the running deck and we were sailing towards port. It was fantastic weather for that!

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    1. Isn't that so funny?! We were dying from laughter! Your day in Ketchikan sounds amazing, especially the run as y'all were sailing into port!

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  4. It's so different to see you guys on a cruise ship all bundled up! Alaska looks beautiful and I think a cruise is a great way to get to see it. Brayden looks like he's having a wonderful time.

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    1. I agree - this was a totally different type of beast for sure! Haha! Brayden had a great time - we enjoy traveling with him!

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