Lyle and I have just returned from a seven day cruise to Alaska
and it was wonderful. This was the first time that we had been on a cruise of
any kind and the experience didn’t disappoint. We had booked at the last minute
on a deal and were thrilled at also getting a last minute upgrade on our cabin.
Let me tell you about that first. The upgrade was a balcony
which was nice, but for me, the best part was that the room was at the very end
of a hallway at the back of the ship. I could find our room on my own without
having to count doorways. The deck level was announced on the elevator and I
simply walked down the hall until I reached the end. Of course, this might
sound a simple matter to those of you who can see the numbers on the doors, but
for me it was a huge stride in independence. I did have a bit of trouble on the
elevators. I wasn’t able to see which floor number to press. I solved this by
pressing them all and then just waiting until our level was announced. Until I
reached this solution, I did do a bit of riding up and down and experimenting.
While the location of our cabin was made easy, now let me
tell you about the most difficult part for me. The breakfast and lunch buffet
line was a nightmare. The line seemed to go from each end of a long counter of
foods extraordinaire but the throng of people crowding around often carrying
full dinner plates and cups of hot and cold liquids was very confusing. I was
afraid that I might bump into someone at every step I took. Not only that, it
was almost impossible to manage my own selection in one hand with my cane in
the other. I ended up just sitting at a table at letting Lyle wait on me. With
the long lines at the food counters, this wasn’t his favourite thing to do
either.
So, those are the two practical issues. Other than that, we
both really enjoyed life on board the ship and the different and in many cases,
spectacular scenery. Our ship left from Vancouver and stopped at Juneau, Skagway,
and Ketchikan, with a short cruise into Glacier Bay before returning again to Vancouver.
I will tell you more of each spot once Lyle has had a chance to sort through
our photos.
In the meantime, here is a picture of our ship. We travelled
on the Volendam with Holland America. It was definitely a good first cruise
experience.
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| Sue in front of the Volendam |
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