Alaska!

We just got back from a 10-day cruise to Alaska.  This was our first vacation in seven years and things sure have changed!

The good:

• It was great to see friends and family (we had a group of 21 people), some of whom we hadn't seen in decades
• The scenery in Alaska was AMAZING
• The food on the ship was really good and the Indian food part of the buffet was sublime
• It was nice to see green landscapes, flowers, smell the ocean, etc...all things we don't have in Las Vegas
• The staff was wonderful, friendly, and very helpful. 
• Our room was at the very front of the ship so we had great views for the entire cruise.

The bad:

• We have been on more than a dozen cruises but this was the biggest ship we had ever been on and 4500 cruise passengers on one ship is way too many people
• Traveling with mostly elderly people is like herding cats.  One person, I think, was showing signs of dementia (she kept getting lost, getting confused, missing group dinner time, etc...her cruising roommate was not happy to have to be her keeper).
• Since we are getting old as well, it was a big change from our earlier cruises where we would hit the nightclub dance floor until the early morning hours; this time we found the nightclub on the last day of our cruise and bedtime was at 10pm each night!  I also brought heels and a dress which I didn't wear--these days I value comfort above style.
• The cost of cruising has increased quite a bit but everything that made cruising a "wow" experience--room cleaned twice a day, towel animals, turn down service with a mint on your pillow every evening, lobster night, formal night, entertainment options--have all been greatly reduced.  Our room steward said she used to clean 12 rooms a day and now she needs to clean 24 rooms a day; instead of a Broadway style show every evening there was a show complete with set changes/costume changes only once during the cruise; there were a few bands on the ship and all were just OK...

The ugly:

• There were long, long lines for everything--lines to check in to the cruise, lines and long wait times at the elevators any time of the day or night, lines at the buffet, lines to get off the ship in the ports, etc.
• Don't even get me started on the massive crowds at the airports...
• Since Alaska cruises are only available a few months of the year, it seems like there were four or five cruise ships disgorging 15,000 cruise passengers at each port we visited.  There were tourists as far as the eye could see; I can experience that at home!
• Alaska is so cold in the summer!  I knew it was cooler than Vegas but 50 degrees and pouring rain at a couple of ports kept us onboard and inside at a couple of ports.

The final verdict:

• A cruise is a great way to sample various ports in Alaska (one guy in our group headed out hiking at every port and said he definitely wanted to return to a few places for future backpacking trips).
• Hubby and I were very happy to get home.  We both decided we now prefer staying home rather than traveling (this is completely opposite the couple of years of non-stop travel we did just 15 years ago).
• The people were great.  After watching cruise brawls on YouTube, I was a bit concerned but everyone--adults and kids alike--were all kind and polite.
• Some cool things: we watched a glacier calving; watching these giant cruise ships maneuvering around fjords and narrow passageways was nothing short of amazing; I photographed an entire tiny cemetery at Icy Straight Point; hubby's sister gathered a bunch of kids on the cruise--and there were LOTS of kids since it is summer break from school--then taught them a few dances and brought them on stage with her when a band was playing to show off their dance skills--they were so happy dancing! 
• Here's some pictures from the cruise...