The Last Frontier

So we made it back safe and sound from our absolutely amazing vacation! There’s so much to show and tell, but let’s start with the overall trip and cruise line ( I’m going to blog backwards here so start at this one and work your way down). Our journey started in Seattle where we boarded the Golden Princess. Heading out to Seattle from NY is such a long flight and by the time we got there we were already exhausted but really looking forward to everything.
We landed in Seattle a bit early which was super nice and hopped in a cab to head toward the boat. Once we got there, check-in was easy and smooth and we were on our way to our room. The room was ok, big for a cruise ship, but slightly outdated (keep in mind that after cruising on Disney Cruise Lines last October, we got accustomed to a VERY high level of quality and service). But as soon as we got on the boat, they already had $70 of our money. That’s what they charge for 2 people for the whole week to drink soda (in our case seltzer—which kills me because it’s just carbonated water!). Alcohol I can understand, but that’s crazy after paying all the money we did initially for the vacation…whatever. So we quickly headed over to the safety drill they had and then put on our bathing suits to head up to the sail away party. The sail away party was nothing fancy but we just hung out and had a few beers. We were officially on our way and we were beyond thrilled!
Now, here’s what I liked and didn’t like about Princess Cruise Lines (and yes, I will be comparing it to Disney because it’s all I know).
Like I said the rooms weren’t exactly sparkling. Our bed was not great. Basically it was two full beds pushed together to make a queen, except my side was crooked and it was almost as if I was sleeping on a hill. I rolled down many nights.
The service was so-so. The person who cleaned our room was fantastic, but some of the people in the dining rooms were a bit rude at times. Usually on a cruise you have the same waiters for the duration of your trip, but because we chose the anytime dining, we didn’t and that’s probably why we didn’t experience a high level of service. The food was phenomenal no matter where we ate though.
Tips are automatically tacked on to your bill on Princess. We paid $10.50 a day per person. So for me and Frankie we were spending $21 a day no matter what. On Disney they provided you with envelopes and you tipped what you wanted to who you wanted--and we took very good care of them. I wasn’t thrilled about being forced to tip like that, but I guess if they don’t most people will screw them.
Here’s one you might not believe, but it’s 100% true. I saw more kids on this ship than I did on Disney. That’s because Disney had a million things for the kids to do and they were always busy. This ship had things for kids and teens, but not a lot. So no matter where you went, there were pretty much kids everywhere. Not that I mind, I like kids. But for those who don’t, just a heads up.
Don’t get me wrong, overall I really liked Princess, there was just a few things I would change. And would I travel with Princess again? Possibly, but there are other lines I would like to try.
Now…on to Juneau!

Juneau

For two days we were at sea. The first night we just got acquainted with the boat and the second night we attended the captain’s cocktail party, which was very lovely. Going to bed that night felt like Christmas Eve because I couldn’t wait to wake up and see what would await us! And then morning came…I think Juneau was my favorite out of all three ports we went to. Our voyage to Juneau was so pretty, snow capped mountains all around and beautiful blue water. We even saw sharks in the water, which we did not expect. Very cool.
When we started to pull up we went outside to see what it looked like, I couldn’t believe what a sweet, picturesque town was before us. You could see a stretch of cute little shops and all the pretty ships in the port. We were in love and we hadn’t even stepped off the boat.
We were super excited for our helicopter tour to the glacier, but unfortunately due to the fog, it got cancelled. I was bummed and wanted to see Mendenhall Glacier. But luckily we found a really cool tour of the city that stopped there. Our helicopter was supposed to land on it, but at only $27 a person for this tour, we were sold. So we headed on a tour bus with some really cool young local guide and we were on our way. First he took us to this really pretty park that overlooked the town. It was a quick stop but really cool. Then we headed out further into Juneau along Eagle Way and I cannot believe how many eagles were just on the sides of the road and in the trees! Truly amazing! We drove by a few more places and then we were finally at the glacier. I guess I didn’t know quite what to expect and when I first caught site of it, I was blown away. The park surrounding it, complete with waterfalls, was gorgeous, but the ice was beyond words! The contrasts of blue and white and the cuts throughout it were stunning. Like nothing I have ever seen before and probably never will again. And as I sat there in awe at the site of it, Frankie calmly let me know that there was a bear about 20 feet in front of us. There he was, a cute little fuzzy brown bear just walking in the grass, he then crossed the gravel street path and continued on to the other side of the park. Stupid people were following him all around like the paparazzi which annoyed me, but there were lovely, knowledgeable park rangers to make sure they didn’t frighten him. We were able to hang out at the park for about an hour and then it was time to head back to the bus.
Back on the ship we met up with our friends who traveled with us and had a nice dinner followed by drinks. They spent the day kayaking we all headed up somewhat early to get a good rest for our next port, Skagway.

Skagway

Skagway was also awesome! Again cute little town, lots of shops, saloons, and the best thing—the White Pass and Yukon Route. We bought tickets for this in advance and we’ve heard great things about it, but I never imagined it would be as cool as it was.
Here is the description from the website “The WP&YR climbs nearly 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. See the steel cantilever bridge which was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901.”
The whole ride was three hours long and takes you all the way up into Canada. I knew that it went up a mountain but I had no idea just how high it could go! The coolest thing is that each car has a balcony in the front and back, and about 10 minutes into the trip, they let you go out there and take pics. And you can stay for the duration of the ride! It was slightly terrifying but so cool. Me and Kenny stayed out there for a bit and got some pretty cool shots. Frankie and Maria took naps. Hey, that’s what vacation is all about, relaxing! It was an expensive nap though. But in addition to the pretty greenery and mountains we saw, we saw another bear and some mountain goats.
After, we hit the hot tub, took naps and showers and went to dinner and then hit the nightclub. Frankie let loose and joined in on Vodka shots and even danced with Maria for a bit! I was impressed at what vacation can do to a person.
The next morning we needed to be up bright and early for the journey through Tracy Arm Fjord, which I’ve heard is amazing!

Tracy Arm Fjord

7 am (Frankie gets up to use the bathroom)
Jaimie: Hun, are we there yet? I don’t want to miss it. Look outside while you’re up.
Frankie: I don’t think so, there’s nothing out there but ice.
Silly Frankie! That would be what we were waiting for! So we threw on sweatshirts and headed out on to the balcony. They had an Alaskan author narrate our trip through, which was such a nice touch. As we went along, you could see little seals swimming up to little patches of ice, and you could see crystal blue glacial ice all along the way. It was a spectacular site! During the narration they mentioned the best spot was on deck 7 in the front. We quickly ran up, but then realized our balcony was so much better! Plus they turn the ship around and reverse the trip, so you don’t miss a thing. So we grabbed some coffee and spent the rest of it right at our room. If you are considering an Alaskan cruise, I would suggest getting a balcony. Oh, and bring binoculars!

When we got to the end, they made sure to tell us that as we continued our trip to Ketchikan, around 4:30-7:30 we should be sure to be on the look out for whales as this is their dinner time and we should be able to spot some. And we did! We saw 3 or 4 and then that was it. Great site!

Ketchikan

I think I would say that Ketchikan was my least favorite of all the places we went. Like the others it was a cute, small town, but it had a little less appeal and it was more expensive than the others I found. We really just spent the day walking around and shopping which was nice since the weather was great, but not really much to do there. We checked out the totem poles which were really interesting and then headed back to the boat.
If you ever visit, I heard the lumberjack show is cool. We just didn’t have enough time.

Coming to an End

After Ketchikan we had one more stop on the way, Victoria British Columbia. We did some research on the city and were really excited to see Butchart Gardens, except we never made it. Due to high winds and a very narrow port, the captain thought it was too dangerous. We were pretty upset, but what can ya do? And unfortunately Princess was less than prepared for this, so our last night on the ship was a very quiet evening.
The four of us headed to the game room, grabbed Taboo, had some drinks and laughed our asses off! We were having a great time playing and laughing and then without even a last call, they closed the bar at 10pm. Seriously? On a cruise ship? I don’t even mean liquor-wise, we couldn’t even get soda in that area anymore! I thought that was pretty crappy. So we called it a night and headed back to pack up and end our terrific journey.
Sure, not everything went as planned on the cruise, but we never let it stop us from having a blast! We had a once in a lifetime experience and were able to travel with good friends. What more can you ask for? If you’re considering a cruise to Alaska, I would say don’t hesitate.

This concludes Jaimie & Frankie’s excellent adventure. Tune in next time when we travel to…?

Good Times

Just a little highlight from the other night! That's Lori singing back-up....

Almost There!

Vacation is so close I can feel it. I feel like we booked this trip forever ago and its finally here! Unfortunately, with everything else going on I haven't had too much time to go shopping so I have no idea what I'm going to pack. Plus, this is a super hard trip to pack for. I read so many different things on the weather in Alaska this time of year. Oh well, we'll just make due with what we bring.

Who Gives a Rats Ass?!

OK, we all know that I live for celebrity gossip! Its just always been my thing. And I know my tolerance is at an all time low these days with everything going on, but is it me or is the A-Rod and Christie Brinkley divorce stories just completely out of control??? Its all I hear about these days! Seeing it in places like People and TMZ are totally understandable. But when these stories are headlining the news it just kills me! I mean with everything going on in the world today, this is whats deemed important? What is wrong with the world today?

Progress

Dad is making great progress!!!!! Yesterday was kind of bad and I didn't take it well. I think I've been doing ok through all of this, but after seeing him struggle the way he did, I got home and lost it. God bless my mom because she talked me through it and really helped. I felt bad dumping all my emotion on her when I know how much she is hurting, but she had her breakdowns too and was strong at that moment thank god.
He ate for the first time in days today and did really good! The best news is that he walked a bit and he got moved to a different unit!!!!!! He's not in CTU anymore, he has a much more comfy bed and we get 8 hours of visiting time instead of the 3 half hours. He's also able to grab his own cup and spoon and drink and eat by himself...huge progress! We never thought he would come so far so fast. After seeing him looking so good tonight and being in such good spirits I think I might actually catch some sleep tonight.
There was a bit of bad news today, my dad's aunt died today. Not unexpected since she was old and sick for a long time, but still obviously very sad. I made the family promise though that they wouldn't tell dad. Terrible not to tell him, but I think its better to keep up his enthusiasm right now.

Miracles Do Exist

Today was the hardest day of my life. Last week I left for a business trip to California. While out there, my dad was admitted to the hospital for heart problems. Everything was looking good and I was told there was no reason to come home. They were about to release him, when they did further tests to be sure, and they found several blocked arteries. When I landed last night at midnight my mom gave me the news that today dad would be having bypass surgery. Even though the stress tests came out good, they found the blockages after an angiogram (thank god they decided to go ahead with it!!!) Apparently all this time, his body found another way to flow the blood and oxygen to his heart but basically he could have dropped at any given time. So this morning mom and I headed over at about 7am to be with him and wait for the surgery. The doctors said that things were looking good because his heart was completely healthy and they wouldn't need to do anything with that...no damage, no heart disease...nothing. Even though this was all so hard to deal with, we were our typical family and laughed and helped make him feel at ease as best we could until they took him away. Then the waiting started. They told us it would be about 5-7 hours. The nurses came out every two hours to tell us it was all going smoothly, but of course we were wrecks. Anybody who knows me knows how close I am with my family and how much I adore my father. After a little over 5 hours, they came out and told us it all went beautifully. In the end it was quintuple bypass (5 arteries). They told us we could wait another hour and go in there to see him before we headed home. I was terrified to go in, but I know my dad and I know he's an ass kicker and that he would come out on top. And he did. Of course he was hooked up to machines and looking so vulnerable, but he looked so much better than I thought he would. The nurse told us that he might be able to understand if we talked to him, and although he was still in a deep state of sleep, we know that he heard us.
Leaving tonight was so hard and even though I only got two hours of sleep last night, I don't know if I'll really sleep much tonight either. I am counting the hours until we can go back in the morning and see him. As always, my mom is a trooper. My mom and dad are the most amazing couple in the world, after almost 40 years together, they are still like a lovesick teenage couple, even the nurses and doctors couldn't believe how sweet they were, so I can only imagine how hard this has been on my mom. But she is now at home and I think feels a little more at ease after seeing him looking like a rock star right after surgery. Its going to be a LONG road to recovery, but we'll be a family and get through it step by step, day by day. The hospital is giving us classes on how to help care for him and what we need to do to get him back on track.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, I know they helped. As me and mom sat in the waiting room, we can't believe how many people came to be by our side and who called to check-in. We are very lucky people to get through this. I'm so glad this day is over and I will be so happy to see him in the morning.