DAY TWO--CRUISING THE INSIDE PASSAGE

 

        We both slept like babies last night.  Last night and this morning we are cruising in the inside passage off the Canadian coast.  So it is very smooth sailing and can hardly tell we are on a ship.  Our next door neighbors had a fight this morning so I was awakened at 6:30.  Rebecca wears ear plugs so was still sleeping.  We finally got out of bed at 7:15 and this was our view when I opened our balcony curtains.  About an hour later we ran into a very dense fog.  Visibility maybe a couple hundred yards.  When in fog like this the ship has to blow its horn every minute to warn any other ships we are here.  Of course they have radar but small boats would probably not show.
        I threw on some clothes and ran down to coffee connection to get a couple cups of "double shot Americano coffees).  I do this every morning.  The barista there is our old friend, Rommel.  He made our coffees when on our world cruise earlier this year.  Back then he and I had a long conversation as he raises pigs when home in the Philippines. 

                                                                    This is Rommel

                                                                  Coffee Connection

This is Mustafa, a bar waiter.  He was also with us on our world cruise and has been on for 10 months now.

        I had requested room service breakfast for 8am.  Jerry showed up with it at 8:05.  My french toast and Rebecca's scrambled eggs were not real warm but the pot of coffee was VERY hot.

This is Hugo who is the internet manager who helps us passengers get hooked up on the ship's internet sight.  I managed to get our cell phones and my laptop hooked up but still had a question for him.

        The fog finally lifted around 10am.  So we suited up and headed down to the fitness center.  It is just one deck below us and forward.  There were 4 treadmills but one was inoperative.  While I was there a technician showed up and reset the inop one.

This is the cardio side of the fitness center.  The other side is for the fitness person to conduct stretching classes and there are also some spinning bikes in it.

        This is our position at noon today.  It is 55 degrees outside with reduced visibility again due to mist and light rain.  Weather is basically, yucky!!  So far still smooth sailing.

                                                                           Abegail

        At noon we went to Compass Rose for some lunch.  Of course, Rebecca only eats one of her Atkins meal bars for EVERY lunch.  We asked for Joseph as our waiter as he is one of our long time favorite waiters.  I had a small Caesar salad with 5 anchovies and then a seafood bouillabaisse for my entree.  It was a small bowl so I asked for another.  OINK!  We also asked Anne (one of the head waiters who is in charge of special orders) for a standing order of 5 pigs-in-a-blanket and on alternating nights jalapeno poppers as hors d'oeuvres to be waiting for us in the Mariner lounge at 6pm for our cocktail hour.  Rebecca also has a standing order for a small plate of gouda cheese to have for her afternoon snacks.

        We have asked Aries to clean our room at noon every day while we are at lunch.  Rebecca has an allergy issue with the feathers in the duvet covering our bed so we asked Aries to remove it and put a blanket on the bed instead.  She also asked for foam pillows yesterday.
        In case you are wondering what our suite looks like, here are some photos of it.

                       I bring magnets to put things on the wall (walls are metal with covering)

        We spent the afternoon in our suite watching some tv and reading.  Just a lazy day at sea.  This evening at 6pm is the Captain's Welcome Reception in the theater.  He will be introducing the ship's senior officers while drinks and canapes will be served.  Well, we have been to many of these so will skip it and head back to the Mariner Lounge once again for pre-dinner cocktails and our pigs in a blanket.

        We will be dining in the main restaurant, Compass Rose, this evening.  At 9:30 we will going to the theater for the first production show of this cruise.  The production cast (12 singers and dancers) will be performing one of our favorite shows, "Divos & Divas".  It is a concert style show that pays tribute to some of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time.

        We will be docking in Ketchikan, Alaska, tomorrow morning by 7am.  More tomorrow!