Mr. SP and I love to travel. Like really, really love to travel (read our {Trip Reports} here). In fact, saving for travel is the reason we DIY and stick to budgets. It’s why we drive older-model cars. It’s why our kids live on a diet of bread and water. #Imkiddingofcourse #theygetpeanutbuttertoo
We try to take a kid-free trip every year…sometimes it’s 10-days, others it’s a long weekend. It’s our time to reconnect, and be the people we were before life became so full of responsibilities. Basically, our annual marriage therapy!
We’ll go anywhere, and do just about anything, but the only thing we avoid are group tours. We like to carve our own path, and set our own schedule. Hence a reason we don’t consider ourselves ‘cruise people.’
So when Princess Cruises invited us to experience Alaska, I hesitated….but after a quick search on Pinterest turned up these glorious images…I decided we’d be the King and Queen of Cruise People!
We decided some places are better experienced from the water…with Alaska being one of them…so we leave in 11 days!!! #eeek
We’ll spend a night in Seattle, before setting out to these stops.
The final port is Victoria, British Columbia….which we visited on our own a few years ago. I have this thing with totem poles.
Alaska is somewhere we’ve always wanted to go, but knew it wasn’t a trip we
were likely to ever book on our own, so we’re jumping at the
opportunity. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have some anxiety and reservations.
Will we get seasick? Will we feel like lemmings being told where to go and what to eat? Can you truly relax and enjoy when you’re sharing the space with 100s or 1000s of other people? Will we get a feel for the local flavor at each stop?
The Ruby Princess looks pretty spectacular, so I’m telling myself it’s a floating high-end resort. I’m envisioning a Rose/Jack moment with Mr. SP…minus that whole sinking part.
Usually, creating our trip itineraries is like a full-time job for me (see my budget-friendly planning tips here), so surprisingly, it’s been kind of refreshing to not have to worry with
every single planning detail, from choosing hotels, researching best
restaurants and shops, and booking train tickets. The hardest decisions we’ve had to make thus far was our preferred dinner time, and whale-watching or dog-sledding?
So let’s chat…who’s a cruise person? What tips do you have for living a week on a ship? What do you wear on ‘at sea’ days, and to dinner? Have you been to Alaska…what are the must-see/must-do activities at each of our stops? What’s the weather like in May? More importantly, is the food really as good as they say?!
Thanks for any advice you can give us, and I can’t wait to report back to you on this experience! I’ve already started packing…starting with this dinner dress, and this too-cute-to-believe romper. I think it will be fun to dress up and down.
P.S…I’ve been stalking the Regal Princess Bridge Cam for a few weeks…how fun is this feature?!
