Sunday, June 19, 2011

Sunday was the last early day.  We had to have our bags out by 8:00 am and we were also leaving for our transport to our excursion and eventually the ship at 8:00 am.  We got up and had breakfast and it was soon time to board our coach.  The ride was not on one of the roomy coaches we had been in for the rest of the trip.  It was just a regular bus.  The ride was about 3 hours.  We saw really pretty scenery along the way.  Upon arrival in Seward we went straight to our excursion boat for a Kenai Fjord tour.  We saw humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, and a variety of other things.  The tour was 6 hours which was really too long since we could see our ship when we got there and really wanted to get on it.

Chase and Lauren arrived by the Cruise Train.  Their train got there just as we were pulling back into the dock from our excursion.  However, we had to wait for them to get a bus load of people before they would transport us.  It was 5:30 pm and I thought that was when our dinner was for.  However when we finally got to the checkin line our card key said dinner was at 5:45 pm.  We quickly went through security, dropped our things off in our cabin, poked our head in the Neptune Lounge and told them we needed our beds separated and went straight to the dining room.  Chase and Lauren were already there.  The dining room seemed empty as people were still arriving to the ship.  As we were finishing up our meal, they announced that the life boat drill would be at 7:30 pm so we headed straight out there to participate in that.  Krista and I were in Lifeboat Station 14 and Chase and Lauren were in Lifeboat Station 4 -- opposite ends of the deck.  This seemed strange to me since we are only 3 doors down from each other.

After lifeboat drill it was time for FREE bingo.  We walked in at the last minute and picked up our cards.  The prize was $250.  Guess what!  I won!  That was a nice way to start out the cruise.  We were going to stay for the welcome aboard show and they actually had chosen Chase and Lauren to participate.  However, somehow they got too many couples so Chase and Lauren didn't get to participate so we all went back to our rooms.  Everyone was pretty tired.  I did go back down to the casino for a short time but didn't do any good.