Royal Princess in Glacier Bay, August 26

Happy Glacier Bay Day!

Glacier Bay Day is the best day ever on an Alaskan cruise. Once you hear the crack of the ice and watch a chunk drop into the water, you know you are witnessing something amazing and awe-inspiring. Even the anticipation of a calving can be goosebump-provoking.

We started our morning at the buffet for breakfast. Now here's a heads up for those of you traveling on the Royal Princess. Mornings in the buffet, especially on days like Glacier Bay Day, are crowded. Like waaay crowded. Just take a look.

But walk all the way to the back, outside the doors, and you'll find a seating area that's pretty darn empty. That's where we choose to eat. We even saw a whale while we were there! But shh...don't tell anyone as we prefer the peace and quiet.

That's the back of hubby's head in the photo.

There are also several other areas that weren't as crowded when it came time for glacier viewing. If you find these somewhat hidden doors outside of Facets and Crooners they will lead you to a couple not-as-busy decks.

There is also another set of doors outside of Vista Lounge. People don't realize these are here. But they are, and they are accessible to all.

Instead of repeating the same things I say every time I go to Glacier Bay, you can read more about it in a couple of my past posts.

Today, however, we did have some new things happen. First, unlike in the past, the shops were open for most of the day. And probably the biggest change of all - the WiFi was accessible most of the day. I imagine the ship, realizing having 3,500+ passengers onboard with no shopping and no WiFi was a bad mix, made some adjustments. Guess I learn something new every day!

Here are a few photos of our day.
Margerie Glacier:

 

Coral Princess was with us in Glacier Bay today. 

Lamplugh Glacier is oh-so-blue. 

Between glacier viewings we stopped at Alfredo's for their tasty pizza. It's free and you can even order off menu. Pepperoni, lots of garlic, and extra cheese, please. Hubby and I share one and it's plenty. Yummy.

I guess our day wouldn't be complete without at least one frustrating thing happen. Today I made two trips down to OceanFront, the place where the Navigators (the ones in charge of Medallion related stuff) work. My Medallion hasn't been working since I got on the ship. After my two OceanFront trips I didn't get a resolution and I'm not sure, short of not using my clip anymore, that I will get one. It has been super frustrating as I've been trying to film all these Medallion videos readers and viewers have been asking for, but I can't get my Medallion to work for the filming.

My Medallion clip sucks so bad I have to use an unconventional - and somewhat embarrassing way - to get it to let me into the cabin. Since we have a handicapped cabin and the sensor is lower on the wall than most other cabins, this special way of opening the door works. If we didn't have a lower sensor, this way wouldn't work. I hesitate even telling you, but here goes...

I use my boob. (Go ahead, laugh away.)

I have my Medallion in a clip on the collar of my shirt. Since the sensor won't read it without it being placed smack dab in the middle of it, I have to smash my boob up against the wall until the Medallion gets right up against the sensor, stand there for a moment, and then the door clicks open. It never shows my photo or name on the screen like it should (probably a good thing - don't need someone walking by finding out who I am). No boob on wall, no cabin entry. As for using it everywhere else - shops, muster drill, on the portals, and on and off the ship - I'm having to take it completely out of the clip. (Bet you thought I was going to say I was using my boob again, didn't you?)

It has been an unbelievable pain that I hope gets rectified. I'll keep you updated. Otherwise you may see some interesting body parts in upcoming Medallion videos with maybe even a few cuss words thrown in!

The rest of the day was spent visiting with our dear crew members. We are so lucky to get to visit friends in their homes and place of work...on a cruise ship. And this evening I'm heading back to Princess Live to watch another live taping of the Wake Show with CDEMO (Cruise Director Extraordinaire Matt O').

Here's the clip from yesterday's taping where he talked about the Encouraging Words Project:

Love you Matt!

Tomorrow is our first port, Skagway. Our plans are to do what we've been doing every single time these past years. Head to Sweet Tooth Cafe for the best patty melt in the world. Other than that, who knows? (However, I will be sure to keep my body parts covered.)

Royal Princess at Hubbard Glacier

Hello from Yakutat Bay!

We've had a great day today. I told hubby that something about this cruise just feels different but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe because we embarked in Whittier instead of Vancouver for a change? Maybe because we are so very comfortable on this ship? Because we have so many crew members working here who are near and dear to our hearts? Knowing these will be our last trips to Alaska? Perhaps because I have a huge filming schedule ahead of me and I feel confident I can share things first-hand others are asking about? Whatever the reason, it just feels good. I don't even have to rub my I choose joy tattoo to get myself in a positive mood.

Even though it was light out early and we have a balcony cabin, we both woke up later than usual. Moseyed on up to the buffet, grabbed some breakfast, and ate outside on the back of the ship at the Horizon Terrace without another soul to be seen. (But inside? Man, it was crowded.)

I had my Encouraging Words Project pocket with my dollar bill in it, waiting to put in the Wake Show box. Along with leaving my encouraging words pockets around the ship, I've been dropping them in the Wake Show boxes for the last few years. Over the course of those years, the cruise director here (Cruise Director Extraordinaire Matt O', that is) has been the only one consistently reading them - and believing in the power of them. I stopped by several times to see if the box had been put out so I could get those positive vibes into the world. Only when I ran into him did I find out they aren't doing the Wake Show Box during the seven day Alaska cruises anymore. So I gave the Encouraging Words Project money pocket to Matt O' personally.

Then later as I was headed to the crafting class, I saw the Princess Live doors open and CDEMO (Cruise Director Extraordinaire Matt O') was filming tomorrow's Wake Show. I popped in a bit to watch. I even made it in time to watch him as he read my Encouraging Words aloud. I almost taped it live right then and there (I decided against it), but when the Wake Show is on the TV I'll tape it and add it to tomorrow's post. I have to say, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that they've opened the taping up for people to watch. It was interesting to see and I definitely will attend again.

After the Wake Show taping I barely made it in time to the crafts class. I did get to meet a blog reader and her daughter in there. (Hi Chelsea and Emily!) Then I met up with hubby at Crooners where he was already chatting with crew member friends. I so love the connections we've made with the crew members. I do believe it's the best part of cruising for us.

We headed back to our cabin in time for the narration during our approach to Hubbard Glacier. Did I mention how much I love our cabin? Like I said in yesterday's post, we had booked a last minute BW obstructed balcony cabin and were upgraded to free to a special BB balcony cabin. It's actually a handicapped accessible cabin and it is huge.

The bathroom is great for hubby and the shower is easy for him to use since it is walk it (actually roll-in) with a bench to sit on.

While we could probably always request a handicapped cabin, we never do. But this week they've put us in one. In fact, we are on this ship for three weeks and have to change cabins three times. Two of those cabins are handicapped accessible ones. I guess that's a benefit to booking super late - they stick you wherever they can. We are so good with it! I think I'll do a cabin tour video sometime this week as I know there are folks asking about what handicapped accessible cabins are like.

We watched as the Hubbard Glacier excursion boat loaded passengers to give them a closer look. I can't remember the cost of the excursion, but I know it was more than I was willing to pay.

After the excursion left, the Royal Princess moved even closer to the glacier. The Captain turned the ship so both the port and starboard sides got to see the glacier. The naturalist also does some narration during the time. You can hear it from the balconies, open decks, and on the bridge cam station on the TV.

Tonight is formal night and we're skipping it. We'll probably make our way to the buffet where I'm sure we'll find some great choices.

Tomorrow we're off to the best day of any Alaskan cruise - Glacier Bay.