Tuesday Sitka to Seward at Sea

Tuesday Sitka to Seward at Sea

Well that was something!  We survived the first of two nights at sea and awoke to chunks of ice the size of boxcars floating by our cabin slider.  Visibility still obscured by a low and angry blanket of clouds but a much smoother ride.   

I sat by myself for 90 minutes in the coffee bar organizing photos and jotting notes.  Lots of folks suffered last night.  I will spare you the details.  Nace and I did remarkably well and reunited for breakfast on the top deck.  Our treat for today was a drive by and 360 degree spin of the ship providing a very close view of the Hubbard Glacier, the source of the chunks encountered earlier.  Those who kept their sea legs gathered at every rail and enjoyed a peek at this magnificent example of natural grandeur.  A sound very much like thunder was punctuated seconds later by visual confirmation of another calving of hundreds of tons of ice.  Really cool.  

Nace and I paid a visit to the Cruise Consultant, Selvaggia, a real Italian combo of brains and beauty, patient and helpful to the extreme.  Nace and I are booked for a 2020 Mediterranean sailing on the Regent Splendor to be commissioned in April 2020.   We have all the details worked out and will eat bread and water for two years to pay for it.  Rod and Glenda are 

presently disinclined.  We are hopeful time will heal the memory of last evening’s tempestuous seas.  

Upon our return to the cabin after breakfast, our empty luggage had mysteriously moved from under, to atop the bed.  A clear signal that our cruise was coming to an end.  We spent the remainder of the morning moving out of the closets and drawers and back into our bags.  At 11 PM the hallway will be filled with the collective worldly belongings and hopefully we will reunite  with our luggage at the Hilton hotel in Anchorage.  The ship will dock in Seward and we then board coaches for a few hours ride to Anchorage.  Part of the transfer cost is access to the hospitality of the Hilton since many of us have very late departures.  

No sensation of melancholy yet about leaving this remarkable vessel and I think we are ready to start getting back to reality.  

We met Rod in the Compass Rose for a sit-down lunch and I have no idea why we waited until the last day of the cruise to avail ourselves of this pampering.  Nice small portions but still room for dessert.  Rod took a few goodies back to Glenda who remains in seclusion but we were assured that she is feeling better.  We hope to see our merry band together again for our last dinner.  

Nace and I are enjoyed a rare after lunch adult beverage from the aft Horizon lounge, watching the azure prop wash trail extending to the horizon.  

Final steam and shower before the last dining at Compass Rose.  We met up with Rod for dinner.  Glenda has not found her sea legs.  Back to the Connoisseurs Club for a last cigar and then to the show that was cancelled last night due to the rough water.  

5 am Wednesday

The continuous crying of seagulls announced our arrival at the port of Seward.  We will depart the ship by 8:40 after breakfast and head to Anchorage for what I presume will be a long and miserable travel day.  Our flight does not depart Anchorage until 10 this evening.  We will be in Ft. Myers the following morning at 10 am local time.  Compounding our misery will be our status change from first class aboard ship to steerage on United Airlines.  

Disembarkation scheduled for 8:40 began promptly and we walked the gangplank for the final time.  A line up of motor coaches with our checked bags already loaded took us for a 2.5 hour ride from Seward to the Hilton in Anchorage.  Apparently everyone who drives a bus, van or watercraft is required to have some stand up comedy experience.  Our coach driver narrated our trip with anecdotes and facts about the area and the scenery was impressive, albeit obscured somewhat by low cloud cover.  He pointed out where Denali would be if we could see it through the clouds.  

Regent arranged hospitality at the Hilton and we were able to check our luggage and walk around town for our 7+ hours of layover time before the shuttle to the airport, 2 hours before takeoff.  We covered Anchorage by foot with 6 hours to spare and fought the urge to return to the Hilton where unplanned napping would have been inevitable.  This is by far the worst day.  I calculate 21 hours from the time we stepped off the ship until we deplane in Naples.

Despite the grumpiness brought on by withdrawal from fine food and unlimited libations we remain steadfast in our euphoria over this once in a lifetime departure from reality.  What made this most enjoyable is the shared experience with Glenda and Rod.  We laughed and cried and embrace the potential to do this again in 2020.  Time to detox and get our blood chemistry back to normal.  

Look for a final posting in a few days once I complete the SmugMug album of all the photos in a better quality format.