So, during the height of the COVID pandemic, they were basically GIVING cruises away. I snagged us a balcony on royal Carribean for a 7-day cruise to Alaska with a drive-by to see the Dawes Glacier. I'm not a huge fan of cruises these days because I like to spend more time at the ports of call than just the few hours the boat stops, but sometimes it's the thing to do. I'm also a cheapskate, so when I cruise, it's usually an inside cabin stateroom. This cruise is, in fact, my first balcony room. I'll don't intend to ever go back to that inside cabin! I could hang out on the balcony in my night clothes! I could hang out on the balcony and go to the bathroom without worrying about whether I was going to lose my chair! I could lay in bed and look out at the ocean! I could bring my camera and tripod out on the balcony and play with settings on my camera without worrying about anybody tripping over me or my stuff! I could even get "balcony blankets" from our wonderful stateroom attendant, Vineet! Unfortunately, I won't always get a balcony stateroom for less than the price of an indoor cabin, but I have now had the taste of the good life, and I'll only go back kicking and screaming! Even on cold days, naps on the balcony were so much better than naps inside!
We did take some time to explore the boat. We were on the Ovation of the Sea, which is known as the "sports boat". Lucky us! I considered the Flow Rider to see if I could potentially learn to surf. I watched a couple of kids do the boogie board. Decided I might have tried it if I wasn't headed to my big trip to Antarctica. Some of those kids slammed into the back of that area so hard, I decided not to try it this time. Maybe some other time. I talked to them about trying the I Fly activity. They strongly suggested against it because of the rod and pins in my left shoulder (and other health issues, but that was the biggie). They said they would let me, but I would have to sign a special waiver, not just the usual one. Bumper cars? Not with my back! Rock wall climbing? As bad as my balance is? Not likely. So, I did the walking track and took pictures of the panda bears on the side.
Aren't they adorable!?
So, I spent some time on the balcony playing with settings on the camera, learning how to use the ship's app, and other similar things.
Whales off in the far distance. These shots are zoomed all the way in. With binoculars, we could just make out the gray/silver colorings and length that made us think about humpbacks. They are known to be migrating from Alaska now and pass through the sound. They're also significantly bigger than gray or minke whales that are also migrating. Wish they were closer, but it is what it is. The spouts are kind of clear, though.
Here is a sampling of the shots I took playing with the camera. Of course, I'm also playing with my new photo software. Of course, being in the open waters, the scenery wasn't terribly varied. Just the difference in time and clouds.
Because ship time and land time are potentially different and we have an early excursion, I ordered a wake up call. First stop, Ketchikan!
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