11 days
4 vessels
5 towns/cities
2143 nautical miles.
2 flights.
9 comments on my Cthulhu shirts
15 books finished

So that's the Alaska Cruise 2017 in a nutshell. While things definitely did not go completely according to plan, I did try to make the most of everything. Came to a few conclusions. One, I still love the ocean, definitely need to spend more time on/near it. I spent hours looking and listening to the ocean, often reading at the same time. Loved the feeling of the ship swaying, helped me get to sleep at night.

The ship was interesting. Huge, bigger than the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. For those in the crusing know, it was the Carnival Legend. We had a balcony room port side, aft. (aka left and in the back for the non nautical). accomidations were nice, loved the shower. I slept on a couch that was converted to a swin bed, but I spent most of my time in the club chair the room had, great for reading. The food was good, nothing out of this world, but enjoyable. Ship had a very cool library, books as decor mixed with shelves of novels. Would have spent more time there, it was quiet. But the downside was very little airflow (a problem I had on most of the ship), so it was more comfortable to lounge on the balcony.

Alaska was interesting. Saw a glacier up close, saw so many bald eagles, I actually felt a little blaise about seeing them. As for cetaceans, I got to see killer whales, humpback whales and what I think was a striped dolphin (aka, not Flipper) running next to the ship. Parts of Alaska looked like something out of a horror or Lovecraftian story, dark, quiet woods and looming mountains. Gorgeous, but it could have easily been terrifying with a small shift. The towns/cities themselves were...eeh. Right by the cruise docks was full of shops selling 'cheap' jewelry and tshirts and stuff. And we didn't spend enough time in any of them for me to explore the more interesting parts. On the other down side, I'm as badly allergic to Alaska as I am to Texas. I was miserable from day 3 on with 'cedar fever' symptoms, which I haven't gotten rid of.

We also stopped in Victoria BC. I liked this city more, it had a better 'vibe' and the houses and building had more history to them. Again, I didn't get to explore...which was sad, since there's a famous bookstore there. Already have made some mental plans to go back some year. Also, I'm told the museums are amazing. Seattle, where we were for a few days before the cruise. Did the usual tourist stuff (Space Needle, Pike Place Market, etc). People who know me also shouldn't be surprised that I went to the Seattle Aquarium and spent a lot of time trying to communicate with the octopus there. Had some really tasty sushi one night. (no connection). There's a small laundry list of things I'd want to go back to Seattle to do, but it was nice to visit.

So that's things in a very small nutshell. Lots more to talk about, but if I tried to record everything I'd probably go nuts. My depression and allergies were kind of nuts on the trip, a cruise of several thousand people is challenging the likes of me. But my friends were really ok with me spending large chunks of the cruise in the stateroom reading. My friends get me, and I'm glad they talked me into going on a cruise. I may do it again some time, when things are a little more stable. I'll probably post some trivia stuff, and some of the pictures I have at another time. Night all.