Jean's 75th Birthday Cruise

Okay, I'll get what I hated out of the way.

I hated:
The aspect of a cruise ship that was reminiscent of The Mall of America or The Home Shopping Network. I came to the sea to see the sea and it wasn't always easy with 3000 other travelers and lots of bingo, dancing, auctions, shopping, spas, nightclubbing, enrichment courses, cooking lessons, boutiques and much much more.

What I liked:
I liked looking for the aurora borealis, I didn't see it but I liked looking for it on the 15th deck of a big ship sailing silently through the night. I liked looking for whales, sea otters, mountain goats, bears, eagles and watching other family members looking for whales, sea otters, mountain goats, bears, and eagles. I liked coming upon family at the Horizon Court or sharing a bench with them on the promenade deck and sea and wildlife watching with them. Deck seven, towards the aft, on the starboard side was my smoking place.

I liked pondering how many hats had blown into the sea from arctic winds whistling around. I liked the size and shape of the bathrooms. I liked Amber swimming, Cathy shopping, Jerry scanning with his binoculars, Jane enjoying every form of seafood possible, and Jean sitting quietly.

What I loved:
I loved sailing. I loved sailing on a ship. I loved sailing on a big ship. I loved sleeping on a gently rocking ship in the middle of a fairly calm sea. I loved the weather. Imagine the best, most stunning, most glorious weather imaginable and that was our weather; brilliant, mild, beautiful. No eighteen layers of clothing was needed to keep warm. Some of our party had several layers, but they were the light weight layers not the intense layers. I loved my Alaskan bag Julia and the Bowman family bought for me on their Alaskan cruise. I carried it everyday everywhere. I loved empty decks and smoking benches. I loved Jean sitting quietly

I loved coffee with family, midnight strolls along empty decks, meeting and talking to people. I loved 3000 people having a good time, people talking in the elevators, hallways, around the buffet, at lunch tables, Sharing stories, lives, space; more or less gently. I didn't hear a single argument or disagreement. I loved how sweet an officer of the ship smelled when he walked by, the deck swabbing at 5 AM. I loved Jean sitting quietly.

I loved the courtesy and efficiency of the staff. My bed prepared with a chocolate treat. The pampering. The staff continually inquiring, "Do you need anything?" "Is everything okay?" "Did you enjoy the day?" "What can I get for you?"

I loved watching Jerry and Amber vibrate with excitement and joy. Cathy's shopping excursions, dinner with the family, the dining room wait staff that had my ice tea with a straw at the table before I even sat down practically. I loved the interesting food, the Twisted Fish dinner in Juneau where I over ordered but didn't over eat. I loved Jane sharing her love and expertise with all the family and strangers when needed. I loved Amber running errands, doing tasks, jumping up and saying "I'll do that." And Jane eating more seafood -- crab legs the length of an arm. And Jean's quiet contentment.

I loved Jean's ability to make her way on foot, with her cane and slight wobble, everywhere she wanted to go. Up to the Horizon buffet Court or down to the dinning room or out to Jan's smoking bench. Jean made her way slowly carefully everywhere. Janice had ordered her an electrical scooter, but Cathy used it due to her needs with her bum knees, otherwise we would have had to carry Cathy to medical every day, and NO one wanted to do that.

I loved meeting and chatting with staff at the smoking areas as they dashed out for a quick smoke; chefs, the junior assistant food and beverage manager, the deck officer. I asked him what a deck officer did and he said drive the ship. I asked if it was on auto pilot as he smoked -- he laughed. I said I thought the captain drove the ship, he said no the captain only drives the ship when it is docking. The captain did a fine job of docking.

I don't think I went on an Alaskan cruise, or a whale watching cruise, or a bear watching cruise. I went on a tourist/staff/people watching cruise. It was pretty geriatric. I think the average age hovered around 62. There were more grey headed folks then I have ever seen in one place at one time. Folks with canes, walkers, wheel chairs, oxygen, scooters. We noticed one mother and her wheelchair bound daughter sharing the cruise experience all over the ship. They were wonderful to watch; laughing, eating, and whale watching. I never saw them without smiles. I loved all the smiles and laughing on board. The three most interesting t-shirts I noticed were Azle Texas (Cara), Eskimo Joe's, and Camp David. I don't think many people could  own a Camp David shirt. I'm still wondering about that. I saw an employee carrying a small bird cupped in her hands walking the length of the promenade deck early one morning. I still wonder about that, where she was going to release a bird at 5:00 AM in the morning in the middle of the sea.

Insomniac that I am at 1:30 AM I saw the nightclub revelers laughing their way back to their cabins. At 2:30 AM it was me and the cleaning staff. At 4:30 AM it was me, the cleaning staff and the other old men insomniacs wandering the ship. At 5:30 AM it was me, the cleaning staff, the other old men insomniacs and the early morning coffee drinkers looking for that first cup. And Jean resting quietly through it all.

Watching Jerry was fascinating as he connected the dots between the history books he has read, history lessons, history documentaries, history articles. Connecting the dots from what he has read to what he saw to what he figured out; land masses, water ways, animals, nothing escaped his notice.

Jean's 75th Birthday Alaskan Family Rolling Cruise Circus was everything; drama, crisis, beauty, shopping, loving, laughing, crying, a bit of drinking. Ask Amber about the lemon drink, the wine, the Baileys and coffee, the Bloody Mary's. Cathy had 100.00 in her casino account when she was whisked off the ship. Jane retrieved that. I don't think Jane and Amber won much.

We started with a submarine sighting at our first sit down dinner and ended with a whale sighting at our last sit down dinner. There were fishing boats, cruise boats, ferry boats, sail boats, excursion boats -- all fascinating. We saw things we may never see again. As we sailed out of Glacier Bay I saw a small lone fishing boat out on the icy waters and it made my heart stand still; at the beauty, the danger, the life, the romance of something I know nothing about.

I know nothing about the nautical life, or the fishing life, or the living in Alaska life, but I do know the cruise was wondrous, spiritual. Glacier Bay felt Holy. Time literally slowed down on the cruise. I loved traveling 2328.17 miles at sea. I think I could sit on a sailing ship and watch the sea forever.

And Jean sat quietly, contentedly, mostly at peace through it all.