July 14--On our way to Alaska

The Welches and Dunnucks began the day with breakfast in the dining room instead of going to the Horizon buffet. Breakfast and lunch are served in the Provence dining room with anytime seating. Since we were spending the day at sea we thought it was a good time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. We were shown to a table by a window and enjoyed the view of mountains and very calm water as we sailed through Canada.

After breakfast, Alan and Dad wanted to attend a presentation about shopping in Ketchikan. A husband and wife on the cruise director’s team specializes in information about the various shopping venues. We learned about the 50-some jewelry stores in Ketchikan and were encouraged to shop in the stores listed on the map of Ketchikan we were given. We were told Princess could guarantee the quality of the merchandise at these stores and help us if we experienced any problems with something we purchased. We were also given the opportunity to purchase a book that had many discounts coupons as well as coupons for free merchandise such as tote bags, loose gem stones, earrings, gold coins, etc. Of course the number of coupons books they were authorized to sell was limited so we needed to act quickly….you get the picture.

Alan looked over the more than 20 free items and saw a 2 carat blue sapphire, pearl pendant, and pearl earrings. He decided if we just made sure we took advantage of those items we would cover the cost of the book. We bought one and so did Dad. Joyce and Mom were bored with the shopping talk after about an hour and decided to leave. Alan wanted to stay for the door prize drawings and Dad decided to stay since we planned to attend a talk by a marine biologist about dolphins that was scheduled for 30 minutes later in the same lounge.

The information we received on dolphins was very interesting and informative. We learned the differences between whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Several of the whales, such as the killer whale (Orca) are actually in the dolphin family. We learned about the habitat, food and behaviors of the specific kinds of dolphins as well as various seals, sea lions and walruses. There were many great pictures of these beautiful animals.

The Dunnucks and Welches likes the quieter, leisurely pace of eating in the dining room instead of the buffet at breakfast so they decided to try it for lunch. Alan decided he wasn’t very hungry and needed to watch what he ate, keeping in mind the weight limits of the zip line and helicopter tours. He chose to return to the room with the plan to grab a piece of pizza at the Pizzeria when he got hungry. Joyce decided to monitor her blood sugar levels in the morning and if they were acceptable, eat what she wanted and get as much exercise at possible.

Sydney and Sandi attended a presentation in the Lotus Spa on cleansing the body of toxins. While there they learned the average weight gain on a cruise in 1 – 1 ½ lbs. per day!!! Oh, my!!

Alan surprised Joyce by agreeing to take ballroom dancing lessons taught by Donna, one of the cruise directors. Jon and Sandi also took the lessons. Today’s dance was the basic Merengue. Donna is British with a delightful accent. She taught the ladies their steps, then the gentlemen and then we practiced together. The gentleman seemed to need more instruction and practice than the ladies. I’ll let those reading speculate on why that might be! It was great fun and we all did pretty well.

Mom & Dad attended a presentation on whales in the afternoon. Hopefully they will write or dictate the highlights to us so we can record them here.

Alan and Joyce decided this would be a good time to take advantage of the hot tubs. On previous cruises they had discovered around 6 p.m. was a good time to use the hot tubs. Many of the other passengers were often at dinner at this time and with a 7:45 p.m. dinner seating, that gave us time to relax in the hot tub before getting dressed for dinner.

While enjoying the hot tub, Alan and Joyce saw Sandi and Forst returning from the fitness center. Sandi had taken Forst to try a few of the machines. Forst wasn’t able to do as many repetitions as he expected to do which challenged him to plan return trips to the fitness center to build his strength. Sandi and Forst didn’t see us or hear us when we called to them. We watched as Forst rewarded himself with an ice cream cone at the ice cream shop near the pool and hot tubs.

Tonight’s dinner dress is formal. Multiple stations with a variety of backdrops were set up near the dining rooms on decks 5 and 6 for formal portraits. There is no charge for the sitting and no obligation to purchase and prints. We all dressed up and had pictures taken first at a whole group and then individual family units. We then went into dinner. Sydney and Paul were more comfortable with the ordering process and Sydney tried a few more selections. Paul stayed with the cheeseburger and fries. He enjoyed the long thin crunchy bread sticks between courses. Both kids and Mom and Dad wondered why the rolls were hard and not soft as we usually bake at home. When is came time for dessert, Forst and Jon decided the volcano on the kids menu was the dessert of choice, complete with cherries and no sprinkles.

In the evening after dinner we tried out our new dance by dancing to Big Band music. Jon and Sydney also took advantage of the opportunity for a couple daddy/daughter dances. Since the attire for dinner this evening was formal , we were all looking mighty fine. Paul got some of the dancing on video and is threatening to put it on YouTube!

The dancing and singing groups provided the evenings main entertainment. There were various styles of music and dance available, including some questionable-for-families styles in the middle. Overall the sets and entertainment were enjoyable.

After the evening’s entertainment, Alan and Joyce took a stroll around the ship. They ended the evening is a piano bar listening to tunes by Barry Manilow, Gershwin, Andrew Lloyd Webber to name a few.