As of yesterday afternoon we were safely aboard our ship, the Diamond Princess; today we were supposed to cruise the Hubbard Glacier. Due to dangerous ice flows and fog, we were diverted back to the main channel of the Inland Passage. We were not unduly upset about this since we were planning to see other glaciers along our route.
On the positive side, this was a lazy day. We slept in til 7am, had a leisurely breakfast, walked around deck 7 for an hour, showered and then read in the Conservatory until it was time for lunch. We did not care for that location a lot—there were too many activities, people and too much noise. But, the lounge chairs were comfortable and it was inside. The weather has actually been milder than anticipated; but, you wouldn’t want to read in it. Breaking for lunch, we read and rested until tea time. We each managed to get about 4 books read during the entire cruise.
Looking Outward
Afternoon tea at 3:30pm, with the white glove service, became a welcome daily break for us, with an array of tiny sandwiches, cakes, and scones with clotted cream and jam. There was always pleasant music in the background—string quartet, guitar or piano.
Afternoon Tea
Today was one of our two formal nights and during a champagne break in the late afternoon we were treated to the sight of women wearing various styles of formal wear—including Chinese, (Asian) Indian and Japanese traditional garb.
Decisions, Decisions. Drinks are an important part of the between-meal cruise experience. They had almost everything you could want in a beverage, including hot chocolate and Irish Coffee.
This was one of the places people told me to go, it was one the big trips that you should see: Alaska. ~ Jeff Goldblum
