We reserved 2 cabins on the Rhapsody of the Seas, Alaska cruise for September 3, 2010. My wife and I were in the Grand Suite and Mother and Niece were in an inside stateroom across the hall from us. We scheduled the trip from a local travel agent and booked the shore excursions on line. We also purchased the insurance and airport transfers.
We flew from Dallas to Seattle on Alaska Air and had a great flight. We were met by the Royal Caribbean staff at the baggage pick up and escorted to the bus. We had a short ride to the pier and quickly got aboard the ship. We have traveled on the Rhapsody in 2005 and knew the floor plan. The ship was in very good ship for a 13 year old ship. Our cabin was very large and clean, with new furnishings, wicker balcony furnishings, great linens, a bottle of chilled champagne, fresh fruit, and tons of storage. The mini-frig was stocked with soft drinks and bottle water. We had lunch at the Windjammer and began to show mom the ship.
We had our first formal dinner and got to dress up. The ladies wore nice evening dresses and I wore a black suit. Most of the guest dressed the suites and dresses. There were a few tuxedos and a few pants suites. And yes there were a few passengers that had no clue to what the word formal meant. The dinner in the MDR was excellent . We had no complaints about the food in either the MDR or Windjammer. The hamburger bar was, well a hamburger bar. You really can’t mess that up too much.
Juneau was our first port. It was raining when we arrived and we hoped this wasn’t a sign of the future. We boarded our tour bus in route to the whale watching tour. We arrived and the rain stopped. We boarded a two level jet boat and started a 3 hour tour. We saw 10 different hump back whales, the closest about 50 feet from the boat. We also saw an island full of Sea Lions. We returned to port and boarded the bus for the Mendenhall Glacier. The weather was cloudy and cool but no rain. The glacier was very pretty with a bright blue color. After an hour, we returned to the ship and departed for Skagway.
We docked at Skagway on Monday morning (Labor day). We took a shuttle into town and got the shopping out of the way early. We returned to the ship and boarded a bus to the train station. We rode the White Pass RR to Fraser B.C. Remember to take your passport if you go. We had a great ride and wonderful clear weather and sights. At the top we exited the train and boarded another bus. This took us to Liarsville. I would recommend that you skip this place. It is a mock up of the old tent city. The snacks they offered was hot cider and animal crackers. Not much since the last meal was breakfast. The Liarsville staff did a song and dance routine that was very cheesy. While there, we were allowed to pan for gold. Since there is no gold in Skagway, we used seeded pans that contained 3 very tiny pieces of Canadian gold. They had one dog in town that was the “photo op” Husky. We didn’t waste any SD card space on this place.
We returned to the ship and departed for the Tracy Arm fiord. We arrived at 6:00 AM and found a beautiful day with cool temps and sunshine. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. The ship was able to get about 200 yards from the Sawyer glacier. What a view! A family of seals was sunning themselves on the ice flow.
We departed the fiord and headed to Victoria Island. Aboard we had out second formal night. We arrived in Victoria and found another sunny cool day. We took the Butterfly and Garden tour. Victoria must be the prettiest city in the world. Our tour guide was on his last day and took down the tour sign. He took us all over the city, showing off the government buildings, parks, and shops. The garden tour is a “must do” in the city.
We attended Bowser’s 50’s Show, a female comedian (can’t remember her name) and three shows with the ship’s dancers. Each of the shows involved the passengers in one way or another. They were pretty good. I attended an informational talk with RCMP Sgt. Glass. He discussed the history of the Canadian Mounties. We attended the Captain’s Reception and met Captain Stein, The Hotel Manager and Cruise Director. We were able to talk to each officer about ten minutes. They were very informative and made us feel like one of the family.
The ship arrived in Seattle on Friday morning. We exited the ship at 9:00 AM with no problems. RCI took our luggage from the hallway and we never saw them again until we arrived in Dallas. Their luggage service is excellent. The entire trip was better than expected with no problems or disappointments. Thanks to Oliver, our suite attendant, Mayeth, our Suite Coordinator, Lester and Mechael, our waiters, and Gerry the Head waiter.
