Alaska Cruisetour - Day 5

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Woke up at leisure this time. All of us worked out that morning before breakfast. Good variety by Fairfield! Praveen and I ran around a park near by. It was extremely nice. We got an Uber to Egan convention center. Well organized. We dropped off the bags to be checked in. There were 2 big buses waiting g to ferry passengers to Whittier. Bus promptly left around noon. It is about 90 to 120 minutes depending on tunnel to Whittier. This tunnel is a one way one lane road allowing vehicles and train to share. Top of the hour, Whittier transports head to anchorage and at the bottom of the hour, it is the other way. Driver was very informative and funny. Buses get the preference when they start allowing traffic to flow into Whittier. As soon as you cross the tunnel, you can see the docked ship on the left side. It seemed like a small inlet for such a big ship to dock! We got out of the bus and walked straight to the tent like structures where Princess had arranged check-in procedure. They verify your identity and provide key card. You will have to pass through metal detectors (similar to airport) before getting on the gangway. Typically, this gangway allows you to enter the ship at mid-point.There were plenty of stewards and security to direct you to your room. Ours were in Emerald deck (Deck 8) E-607 and 609. It was on the starboard side (left) of the ship. It is a partially obstructed view windows. There was lifeboat on the other side. But you could see outside using the top 30% of the window. Oliver our steward greeted us and informed that it would be around 8 PM for the luggage to arrive. Ship’s buffett area “Horizon Court” which is at Deck 14 was already open. Since we did not have lunch and was also curious about how this buffett would be, we promptly went up to have lunch. Good spread, variety of desserts. Vegetarians have less choice, but typically they have 1 soup that has veg broth. We went out to Whittier downtown after that heavy lunch! We spent more than an hour walking around the downtown. By now, the day had become very sunny, bright and even warm. We came back around 5 and walked inside the ship to get familiar with the floor plan. It is not easy to navigate even though, you get a map when you board. We went to the 15th floor to see the ship leave the shore.We went to dine in the formal dining room - Boardeux. We informed the waiter about our food restriction. We were good with having the vegetarian item from the menu this day. Waiter informed us that, from the next day, we should be able to get the special food. It was a 3 course meal with appetizer, main course and desserts. Quantity was reasonable so you don’t feel like you are completely out of control. When we came back to the rooms, our luggage was ready. We unpacked knowing that, we will be spending the next 7 days in this room. Most of the folks who have done cruises can attest. The way this room and the bathroom is setup is very efficient. You have all the typical amenities needed like an hotel but in a very space constrained environment. You can not make any sudden turn in the shower stall fearing stepping on the curtain. But it works! TVs have about 15 channels. 2 of them of for Princess. They have local production crew in the ship itself with a cruise director who is in charge of entertainment. He explains what is in the store for the upcoming day and also provides a brief on various ship’s entertainment and shopping activities. They do talk a lot about shopping and jewelry.

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