2017 Alaska Cruise with the Little Girls

Cruise September 17-24

One of our favorite ways to vacation is a Cruise. You get on the boat and everything is taken care of for you. You can really unplug. At the time we had two little girls, 5 and 1. We were looking for a fun vacation. Living in Seattle area it was easy to get on a ship and go to Alaska on a cruise. We had already done the Alaskan cruise twice and thought it would be a great idea to take the girls, have room service, and get away. The girls had a promotion where they were free because it was late in the season. Chrissy had just started Kindergarten, but it wasn’t a big deal to us to pull her out of school at that age. Overall, it was a ton of work with 2 little kids, but we still had a great time.

Sunday, day 1

Getting luggage and car parked was a breeze. We got on the ship at 12 which was perfect because we beat the lines to lunch. The lunch buffet was awesome. I had shrimp pasta and salad. Chrissy had some salad, lemonade, pizza. After we stopped by the Drive Inn we had an order of cheese fries mmmmmm so good. Then we went swimming. Chrissy loved the hot tub and Lucy was thrilled with the pool. There was a kids shallow area around it all. She seriously wore her ankles raw going around and around doing the half crawl in the water. She went around probably 10 times. When I first went in with her I couldn’t touch at all. I had to hold her above the water and swim. It took forever to the point I was under kicking fast and holding her above. It was stressful. Dinner was amazing. We sat down and Chrissy was so excited for lemonade she slammed the champagne glass down and it shattered at the shaft in her hand. It cut her a little but could of been so much worse. Dinner was delicious. We had French onion soup, Ketchikan chowder, Cesar salad, fruit plates, mac n cheese, New York steak, raspberry sorbet, apple bread pudding, crème Brule, and that was about all. Lucy at more than I’ve ever seen 1.5 fruit plates, half the mac n cheese, bread… At night we went to the opening show and sat in the VIP box. I got a strawberry daiquiri and Lucy turned into an animal over it. She loved it and so did Chrissy. The show was fun and the girl were glued to it. Keep in mind this was at 10:30 at night. They were troopers. Lucy loved one song so much, listen to the music, at the climax ending she started clapping on que a little before everyone else. It was cute. She was so tires but didn’t like her bed. At 2:30 I pulled her in with us and she snuggled. About every hour she would wine for 10 seconds and flop back down.

Monday, Day 2
We got up at 7 and went to breakfast. The waves were really rough and high for our day at sea. We all took Dramamine. Mom and Lulu went to bed again and Chrissy and I went to breakfast again . Hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant for Chrissy. Chrissy didn’t want to go to kid camp so we and found the crows nest up top. The boat was sure rocking on the top of the ship. They said it was the worst it had been all season. We played Uno and blocks for awhile. Chrissy was hungry so we went and got fruit loops. Keep in mind its not even 10:30 and we are at our 3rd breakfast. I tried so hard to have fun with Chrissy but she is so whinny, demanding, doesn’t listen, and a tough kid sometimes. We went to the room and got Lucy and went to a Salmon cooking show. I learned to slice the skin to allow the fat to drain. After we got mom went to lunch and took a nap. After nap we got ready for our Gala night dress up dinner. We played the Disney bears movie. We took pictures had shrimp cocktail, escargot, fruit, steak, risotto, and chocolate soufflé. Chrissy and I went up and grabbed waffle cone ice cream before the show. It was singing and dancing about all the places in the world. It is the highlight for me when I see how much the girls love it. Chrissy said I want to be like them. After the show we had more food at 10:00. Pasta, pizza, and of course more ice cream. I think I ate more calories than I burned today. We went back to our room got ready for bed and watched a chimpanzee Disney. I’m exhausted and the kids wear me out. We need a Nany next time. Lucy doesn’t sleep I her pack n play. She sleeps with us in the bed.

Tuesday, Day 3
We woke up to super calm water out our window with morning clouds along the Alaska mountains. The girls love our window and sitting in it. Its worth the extra money and our view is beautiful. Today is our Juneau adventure. We got off the ship and took the tram to the top. We hiked up the mountain and I spotted about 25 mountain goats and 3 bears. 1 bear looked like a really big one. We also saw 1 billy on our side. Sarah got tired and Chrissy kept complaining. It was special. I could of spent the whole day up there in the high mountains looking at bears and billys. It made me miss the glory days of hunting and guiding. We came down and shopped a few stores. We did the “trick or treat” at each of the jewelry shops to get the free prize for the girls. After a few shops we were tired and went back to the ship. Little Lucy was a good sport but so tired in the backpack and wanted to walk everywhere. There were 5 cruise ships in port, the most I’ve ever seen at any port. So there were about 9,000 people wanting to do the same touristy things. Once we got back to our room Lucy fired up so we went swimming. Chrissy took one arm band off and said look at me. She felt some pressure when she saw Lulu going under and learning to swim. Soon she took the other one off and swam to the other side. She said she would do it for an ice cream. She did awesome and did it a few more times. By the time we showered and went to dinner Lucy was done. We put her in the high chair but she was more interested in throwing her food on the floor. I put her in the tiger in the tree position. She fell asleep so I had ger in my arms for the dinner. We had halibut, chicken, jambalaya, french onion soup, chocolate cheesecake, ice cream, and mango blueberry crisp. After dinner we had some more ice cream on the lido deck and played basketball under the lights parked in Juneau. Before bed we watched a whale movie where they tried to save the whales from freezing in the ice.

Wednesday, Day 4
We got up and I took the girls to breakfast and let mom sleep. We walked around the ship and it was a beautiful morning We played outside for a minute and in the empty theater. Chrissy and I went and saw Pirates dead man tell no tales. It was a fun show. Then we met up with mom and Lucy and attempted lunch. I ended up taking Lucy by the pool and eating a salad. After lunch we dressed warm and saw the glacier. It was cool but we agreed Glacier Bay was a lot better. Lucy and mom took a nap while chrissy and I went swimming. After swimming Chrissy wanted to get ready for dinner. I had her lay down with me quietly after her shower. Within minutes she was snoring. Dinner was a bit of a struggle. Lucy didn’t want to sit. Sarah walked her around for awhile then I decided to take her for a walk. We watched the piano guy and walked outside at sunset. It was beautiful with little wind. It was a goid moment. We went back in and caught up with dinner. The show tonight was music to BBC Alaska moments. Lucy and I hurried to the showroom to get us a seat up front. As we were going by the piano couple singing when the nights go by she sang and the baby goes by so quickly. It was funny because we were in a hurry. We had a strawberry daiquiri and when Lucy finally saw it on the table she about jumped off Sarah’s lap. She loves those drinks but not the show tonight. It was like watching a movie. She was clapping and having fun on the front row at first but got tired. I took get back to the room and showered her. Then we watched beauty and the Beast before bed.

Thursday, Day 5
Last night Lucy fell off the bed for the third time. This was the first during the night. The kid has been beat down this trip in tight areas. She was up at like 5 just sitting up playing. I wonder how often she does it at home. I took her up at 6:45 to eat breakfast. It was such a beautiful morning going be all the like islands to Sitka. I really love this area. We sat by the window looking out for breakfast and saw a whale. We decided to do the bear and raptor tour for a total of $60. On the way there we saw some sea lions and whales in the bay. We saw 5 Grizzly bears and 3 black bears. We learned that black bears don’t exist on Sitka in the wild. Our favorite bear was lucky the grizzly. The black bears every year about 1 week before hibernation have their rituals. 1 foams at the mouth, 1 will do a head flip in the corner and the other one paces frantically. They do it for 1 week then go into hibernation. Chrissy and Lucy liked seeing them. Of course Chrissy fell off the milk crate as she was getting a better view. The bird refuge was cool seeing all the owls, eagles, and hawks. Our favorite was the snow owl and the little tiny miniature owls. The day was a real challenge. Lucy got the “I’m going to throw you overboard” award for the day and she earned it with lots of effort. We went to lunch, took a nap, and went swimming when we got back. We went to dinner late and Lucy was a real pain. I don’t think there was much time with all of us at the table. It was prime rib night. Mom stayed back in the room with Lucy for bed and I took Chrissy to the comedian. He was really funny and it was a smaller crowd. I think she really liked it.

Friday, Day 6
Early morning in Ketchikan. We got up at 7, ate, and went out in the rain. We walked the board walk and the salmon were mostly dead up the river. Mom bought a few necklaces and we bought Chrissy some gold flakes in a jar. Lucy was much happier and rode in the backpack with the rain cover on for about 2.5 hours. We got back and Chrissy got a beat down for not minding for the 100th time. We had a nap, got up to nachos, salad, pasta, pizza, chicken sandwich, fries, and ice cream then went swimming. Chrissy is now swimming without floats. We showered, rested, and got ready for the surf and turf gala. Dinner was the best of the cruise. Spiced shrimp, 2 lobster tails, filet mignon, 2 flourless chocolate cakes, and baked Alaska. After was the musical shot hit from Elvis to Beyonce. The girls loved it. After we watched the piano players and had ice cream. Before bed we finished guardians of the galaxy.

Saturday, Day 7
We got up and had breakfast. Mom and Lulu had a nap while Chrissy and I filled out luggage tags and colored looking out over the Ocean. I watched the Mummy while the girls took a nap. We didn’t get off in Victoria. It sounded like a lot of work so we walked around the ship and had dinner. I had Sarah take the girls for another walk while I packed our room. The next day we had breakfast and got off the ship rather smoothly. Now back to reality.