Saturday, November 25, 2023

Catching up

Well, hello there!  I ended my blog posts from our Sapphire Princess cruise with a large unknown, and thought I would publish an update when I cruised this fall, but things happened and plans changed and right now I don’t know when I might next step on a cruise ship. I mean, anything is possible so I’m not ruling out a quick cruise or three in January through March, but there is nothing booked, and it really just depends on how our winter weather treats us.

It’s been only three and a half months since our Alaska cruises, but they’ve had some big impacts. When I last left you, my mom’s health was in a decline, though she still had plenty of good days and we had no idea how long things might stay like that. Since I had tested positive for COVID our last night on the Sapphire Princess, I decided to wait a couple of weeks to fly back to Ohio, ultimately using flights I’d booked months earlier, to spend four days with Mom over what would have been her 72nd wedding anniversary. 

While she texted me two days before my arrival to tell me she couldn’t wait to see me, Mom declined very rapidly, almost overnight, and entered hospice care my first full day there. We’d taken so many wonderful trips together over the years; I think she was just waiting for me to be with her on one final journey.  She spent nine days on hospice care before she passed away. I’ll just copy the post I made on Facebook when that happened. It was raw and heartfelt and though I was exhausted and grief stricken when I wrote it, I really don’t think I can say it any better now. 

“My mom passed tonight about 10:45pm. We had a week longer with her than hospice originally thought, and I was able to be with her the entire time (except for one night when I finally had to leave to get some sleep). 

While initially unresponsive since last Tuesday, she awoke Sunday while I was washing her face and said “I love you” three times in a row. We had her with us that day and the next before her pain finally required medication Tuesday morning. Those hours she was aware are a gift I will always treasure. Being with her when she passed was a blessing beyond words. 

My mom, quite simply, was love.”

Sigh. The ache has lessened but I still find myself, once or twice a week, thinking, “I have to tell Mom about that when I talk to her this evening” (I used to have to carefully time my calls…after the local weather and before Wheel of Fortune came on). I wouldn’t take anything in the world for the last call she made to me, while we were in Glacier Bay on the Sapphire Princess.  She just wanted to tell me she loved me (made possible by Starlink Internet). It’s a wonderful world. 

Of course, time keeps on spinning. My four day trip stretched to weeks, and while I was sooo happy to return home in September, we immediately started looking at cruises for the fall. Our cruises to Alaska had been pure relaxation, just what we needed after our tornado clean up, and more of the same sounded pretty good right about then. I initially tried to re-book the Sapphire Princess cruises to the South Pacific, South America and Antarctica that I had cancelled when things were still so up in the air with Mom, but the cabin locations we like were gone, and cabin location is very important to us. And, G more so than I, really was not keen to undertake long flights right now. The simple cruises out of Galveston that he did on repeat last winter sounded pretty appealing to him. 

Well, all I can say is thank God for Princess Platinum Vacation protection with its 100% back Cancel For Any Reason coverage and for Southwest’s fully refundable flights. I’ve saved points miserly for years, and they have really came in handy this year. At one point in October, I had all of the following flights booked.



I had watched McGee run in a cross country meet in early October.  His second place finish (out of more than 100 runners) positioned him well to compete (as a sophomore!) in the conference championship in late October, but we (and he) didn’t know for sure he’d made the team until the week before. 

A friend’s daughter was getting married in early November and I didn’t want to miss that. Then McGee made the NCAA Regional and National Cross Country Championship teams.  Next year we’ll know to plan for these meets but this year was more tentative (and we’re so proud of him!). 

Then my best friend’s mom passed away and we had gotten very close while she was on hospice care, and her funeral was this week, and finally (I hope!) a dear friend who lives alone fell and broke her hip and just arrived home from rehab on Thanksgiving Day and is really going to need some extra help with driving and meals for awhile. 

No, cruising is not going to work for me this fall, but I’m fine with that. I’ve said before that my heart is not quite in it like it was, but also I just feel far more connected to people and events at home than I was able to be when we traveled for months at a time. And I’m enjoying this level of involvement immensely. Still I can see us booking something last minute during the winter, and I’ll have Future Cruise Credits to use up within a year. Check back in a few months. 

And finally, today was The Game, the Michigan v. Ohio State game, and I’ve had a bad tummy just thinking about it for a week. In the end, the right team won what turned out to be a great game so all’s well in my world. But I want to share one final Mom memory with you, because I’ve sure thought about it all day today. 

Toledo, Ohio, where I grew up, is the epicenter of the intense Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, but my family was solidly on the Ohio State side. Then I went to the University of Michigan for graduate school, and, honestly, the earth would have shifted less on its axis if I had married a Rastafarian.  It’s always made this weekend in November an interesting one, and I was glad when The Game was played the weekend after Thanksgiving instead of the weekend before, as it was for years. The holiday dinner became a lot less testy when the outcome was still unknown. 

On this day last year, my Apple Watch buzzed that I had received a text message from Mom while I was still in bed. That wasn’t unusual; she always texted me when she got up and she always woke up very early. I opened one eye and saw that she had sent me a GIF of a Michigan football player.  I thought she was being sweet like she always was, like a “Good luck, let’s hope it’s a great game” kind of thing. Once I got up and looked at the text on my iPhone, I could see that the Michigan football player was a receiver, and that receiver was dropping a pass. And we were off. 

For the next several hours, the GIFs flew fast and furiously between us, until we had certainly exhausted all of them that were available. Not a word was exchanged, and we never talked about it afterward, but it was, quite frankly, one of my favorite memories of my mom. That she was in her 90s, understood football as well as any ref, and could still throw such shade…I missed that today, but that memory will make me smile forever. 

Life will always be good, because she was my mom. :-)

World’s best mom and a huge Ohio State Fan
Better luck next year, Mom  💙💛

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Day 16: Home!

That Direct to the Airport offering, where we were able to bypass Canadian immigration in the Canada Place Cruise terminal by filling out a form and purchasing Princess transfers?  It was a very, very good thing. I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

We didn’t have a horribly early start to disembarkation day. Sabatini’s was open from 6:30 to 8:30am, and we were out of our cabin and at breakfast around 7:30am. Knowing it was going to be a long, food-less day, we both had omelets and a fruit plates and cappuccinos and mimosas..oh my. There was no holding back today. 

It was so convenient to simply roll our carryons from Sabatini’s down to Club Fusion.  We got there by 9am and our group was called exactly on time, at 9:15am. We walked off the Sapphire right there on Deck 7, went down one escalator in the terminal, boarded a bus and were pulling away at 9:29am. Unbelievable. Still, navigating out of that confusing parking garage area, and making our way to the airport took awhile, and it was 10:20am when we arrived at YVR. We managed to avoid the rain drops, entered the terminal, claimed our luggage…

…and waited. That was really our only hitch of the day. Our flight wasn’t until 3pm, and the earlier flights were already full.   We couldn’t check out bags until noon, so we settled in for a wait.  At least we had seats (but no charging outlets). 

Global Entry got us a shorter security line, but we still had to remove shoes and liquids. We were able to bypass Passport Control altogether, and did a facial scan at a Global Entry kiosk. That’s all it took, we were greeted by name by the US immigration officer and, due to Global Entry, never even had to show our passports. We were back in the US before we boarded the plane in Vancouver. 

Luckily, we live near a major airport and didn’t have a connection, as so many of our fellow cruisers who were on the plane with us did. Because that Paxlovid is tough on the tummy, and I was ready to be home. Michelle picked us up and we walked in the door by 8pm. As far as travel days go, that was an easy one. In fact, the entire cruise was as pain free as possible. We loved it. 

Still, I have cancelled the Sapphire Antarctica cruises we had booked, just before their final payment dates. It’s a combination of things:  that’s not exactly Antarctica as I want to do it, but the larger reason is the unknowns surrounding my mom. We may end up jumping on board at the last minute. It’s just too uncertain right now to be that far from home. G is booked on some Regal Princess cruises in the Caribbean, and I can join him, or not, as family things and McGee’s Cross Country schedule allows.

Our Sapphire Princess experience was so positive that I would cruise anywhere, anytime on that ship…if no other issues existed. Seeing Awesome Ambrish again, having the incredible dinner waiters Chandra and Paresh, Judith and Sonu at the juice bar (which I loved), party band Gravity, waiter Hadley at Alfredo’s…so many people had such a significant positive impact on our cruise. Love Princess crews!  They really are the best. 

Still, my future cruising plans are on hold, but could resume at any time. But it is certainly nice to take a break after a positive experience, with good memories at the forefront.  Thanks for following along!  Keep cruising, keep blogging, because I love following your travels too. 

Until next time…stay well and happy. 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Day 15: At Sea

We were a little bouncy last night in our cabin on the back of Aloha Deck, the first time we’ve even felt that we were on a ship. I threw the empty hangers (there are a lot; we packed lightly) onto the floor of the closet about midnight, and we finally got some sleep. 

Our breakfasts in Sabatini’s are winding down, and I treated myself to the brioche French toast again today. I *thought* we’d be having lunch in the International Dining Room, but, as it turned out, we didn’t. There was a slight break in the rain (I ran out onto the Terrace Deck and took those pics of the two person loungers that I posted in an earlier post), but, for most of the day, it was grey and rainy, and we heard the fog horn for hours. We settled in and watched a movie in the cabin, and got packed up before we went to dinner at 5pm. By then I was hungry, which was a welcome thing, because G’s fish that he caught yesterday was going to be served in the dining room. 


Watermelon and feta


Crispy salmon cake

Valentin filets G’s salmon

Best salmon ever!

I had dessert tonight and a fancy alcoholic coffee too. 
‘Cause it was The Last Supper


Our passage began getting narrower over the course of the evening. 

I have been dragging the past few days, and was taking a COVID test that we brought from home every day. When I tested tonight, I was not surprised to find that I was finally positive. Really, the fatigue was the worst of it, but I was also congested and had a slight fever. Luckily, we had Paxlovid with us (after the Ruby last year we won’t travel without it) and I took the first dose right away. I can’t say that the ship has seemed “sick”,  but there have been a few more coughs on the southbound cruise, and we’ve seen a few tables outside cabin doors. Still, we kept to ourselves most of the time on board, and I always wore a mask in the Princess Theater. G had told me I was going to get sick on the Sapphire, and he was right. But this is not serious, and I’ll be better in a few days. It’s part of travel these days. 

Still, these two cruises have been among my favorites, at a time I really needed to get away. Despite the family dramas taking place at the same time (there have been more than a few tears in the cabin), I’m so glad we celebrated our anniversary on a cruise. 

We’ve signed up for Direct to the Airport transfers tomorrow, bypassing all immigration lines in the port terminal. We’ve heard good things about it. I’ll be wearing an N95 mask the whole way home, and it shouldn’t be a hard travel day. Fingers crossed it all goes well. 



Monday, August 7, 2023

Day 14: Ketchikan

The typical Southeastern Alaska rainforest weather finally caught up with us today. It made for a wet day in Ketchikan but not an abysmally cold one. Still, it put an end to my plans for the day and had G fishing for salmon (yes, again!) in the rain, wind and rough water. Such is life. 


Our first glimpse of today’s weather on the bridge webcam

The Sapphire Princess wasn’t arriving in Ketchikan until 9am or so, and it was nice change from our 6am arrival on the north bound cruise. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in Sabatini’s before returning to the cabin for G to finally layer on all the clothes he’d brought from home but hadn’t yet needed.  

G had a 11:15am meeting time on the pier for his excursion. I had planned to do some sightseeing on my own today, but there was nothing I needed to see badly enough to put up with the driving rain and wind. I settled in for another day the ship.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Pny2qPerWktoDbBeKcvmDJcZmKvmqP7f
Not very pleasant

And it did rain all. day. long. Just between us, I love these kind of days. They are a rare treat at home, and leave me feeling so very cozy. But G left me with some assignments on his way off the ship:  exchange our Elite mini bar items (two cruise’s worth) for something transportable; and activate prescriptions which had been sent to our local Air Force base pharmacy to be picked up when we got home. 

These are so not a few of my favorite things. 

Calling Room Service was actually painless, and giving an accounting of what we were returning and wanted in exchange not too onerous. But I really wish there was a better way to handle the minibars with the drink package. 

Calling the Air Force pharmacy, as expected, took forever. As in over an hour.  Still, I was able to be in the cabin when the minibar was exchanged, sorted through disembarkation paperwork, completed our Canadian Declarations form and delivered it to Guest Services, all while I was on hold. At least their hold music is classical and not grating.  And the price for the meds (free) is definitely right. 


The reason Apple AirPods were invented.


My tasks for the day complete, I wandered down to the International Cafe to have my first meal of the cruise there.  Given today’s weather, I chose soup and a cappuccino and enjoyed it sitting in the Piazza. 


International Cafe lunch offerings

It was a soup and coffee kind of day. 

At 1:55pm I was getting nervous. All I got gotten from G was a photo of a too small king salmon that had to be returned to the sea. I knew that the rain would make fishing rough, but hoped he’d have something to show for his efforts.

King salmon that was thrown back

But, finally, I got the pic (and the smile) I’d been hoping for. 

Looks like dinner!


It started getting late, and I got cleaned up for the evening to free up the shower for G when he eventually returned. And he did, after 4pm, drenched and dripping and really fairly miserable. It had not been the same kind of day he’d enjoyed three previous times on this excursion. And, because of his later return to the ship, the salmon would not be cooked and presented in the dining room until tomorrow’s dinner. 

A long, hot shower went a long way toward restoring him for the evening. We watched from our dinner table as passengers battled rain and umbrella-wrecking wind as they returned to the ship.




Tomato and basil bruschetta

My favorite cauliflower steak

I left dinner a little hungry. Tonight was the Most Traveled Guests cocktail party in Skywalkers and the galley always has a delicious display of food options. 


With cook Rugellia
The time that it takes to prepare all this!





We stayed chatting with the ship’s safety and guest services officers (and telling old war stories) until 9:30pm. It was one of my favorite parties in years.  We never know when our paths will cross with these friends again and that’s always kind of sad. 

But that was the end of our evening. The seas were a little rough (the safety officers predicted middle of the night phone calls from the bridge), and it was quite rough for the first time in our cabin on the back of Aloha Deck. Sleep was going to be a little difficult tonight. 


Source:  Princess Cruises



 Source:  Princess Cruises


Source:  Princess Cruises

Source:  Princess Cruises




Sunday, August 6, 2023

Day 13: Juneau

Our glorious weather continued AGAIN today. This stream of sunny days in Alaska almost defies belief at this point, something Captain McBain pointed out at tonight’s Captains Circle Party. He said he spotted sunbathers on the open decks yesterday in Skagway. Yeah, we may have been among them. 

We started today in Sabatini’s (fruit plate and half of a bagel and lox sandwich). Francesco, the Restaurant Manager there, is the sweetest guy ever. We will miss him and all of our Sabatini’s waiters (not to mention our dinner waiters). We spent the morning using the pools and hot tubs on the back of the ship, because it was just so warm and sunny. 

About 1pm we went to Alfredo’s for the first time since the pricing change. Theoretically, we are grandfathered in under the old (free) pricing since we are in transit guests, but we also have Princess Plus, so we would get two free meals here, regardless. Let me just go on record as saying I’ve do not like the change, at least for Alfredo's. This is one restaurant where extra courses were not needed and are, frankly, too much. At home, we don’t have a starter and a dessert when we have pizza. Pizza stands on its own quite well. 

New Alfredo’s menu

Alfredo’s antipasto
and the 4th and final Alaskan beer onboard, Kolsch.
I ate few bites of this, part of one slice of pizza and…

… few bites of tiramisu for dessert.  

The extra dining charge makes much more sense for restaurants that were previously extra cost anyway, and less sense for Alfredos, which was free. To justify the charge, Princess added superfluous courses which are way too much food. 

We rested on those wonderful double loungers on the back decks this afternoon. We love those things so much that I was crawling around looking underneath them to see who manufactures them last cruise. They are heavy enough to *almost* withstand EF1 tornadic winds but also have wheels so they can be moved for cleaning (which we do on our deck, a lot). Word got around and the Rooms Division Manager Charan made sure I had the product and contact information delivered to our cabin. One of these is just what we have been looking for for years, and we’ve well proved that they’re nap-worthy. 


These things are wicked easy to nap on. 

I returned to the Pacific Moon Dining Room after missing one night and was greeted by our wait staff like a long lost friend. Spoiled, and loving every minute of it. 




Still, a three course lunch at 1pm doesn’t leave much appetite at 5pm, so tonight I ordered just the quinoa and butternut squash starter (quinoa is on the menu at home at least three times a week). Served with pumpkin and pomegranate seeds, it was quite good. 

Quinoa and butternut squash

Chandra was concerned when I didn’t order an entree, and kindly remembered that I had liked the mushrooms that served with the salmon last cruise. He bought a plateful of mushrooms to the table, and they were the best. 
A plateful of mushrooms (from the salmon entree),
Courtesy of Chandra 💕


Another dinner with amazing views
These were taken through our dining room window.


This evening, we attended this cruise’s Captains Circle Party in Club Fusion. A funny sidebar about that: we were sitting on the Terrace Deck last evening and I was getting straight on which night was the Captains Circle Party and which was the Most Traveled Guests cocktail party and we were throwing around the acronyms - CCP and MTG- in our discussion and the bartender overheard us and laughed, saying we referred to the parties the way the crew does. Hey, it’s not our first rodeo!

Anyway, back to tonight, Captain McBain hosts the funnest CCPs. He really is one of the most personable captains I’ve ever sailed with. He asked us tonight what our favorite cruising destination was and I answered (no surprise) French Polynesia, but refrained from adding that, at least it was in the old days when Princess still had a ship small enough to get into the really good ports. 

The Most Traveled days for those interested:
1st - 1456 days
2nd - 1113 days
3rd - 554 days
MTG cutoff - 159 days (I think)

And we finished the evening just as we did last evening, in my favorite cruise fashion, sitting on the Terrace Deck in comfy clothes watching the scenery.  Peter, the bartender at Outriggers Bar back there, greets us like it’s Cheers every night, and we love it. We will never tire of Alaska cruises for one simple reason:  there really is something to see nearly every evening of the cruise. 

A few more clouds tonight. 
We are (finally) expecting rain tomorrow. 


Source:  Princess Cruises

Source:  Princess Cruises

Source:  Princess Cruises


Source:  Princess Cruises