shadowmeboy

The Cannery has a lot of great information. Plus some really cool shops to explore. I really enjoy the examples of how the canning process was done in the past. After getting some goodies, we headed back towards the Adventure Center. Susan and Maria took the souvenirs back to our respective Staterooms as Susan and Maria as well as Trace and I had excursions. The women were doing the ZipRider and Trace and I were doing an ATV excursion. I saved the fire. It had died down. You need a good fire on a cool day! We hopped back on the Transporter to head back up the Skyglider one more time before our excursions! Adventure course - it wasn't open and looked like it was still being put together still. Back on the Skyglider! I love Maria's eyes as we start heading up! The view is incredible! I spy the Norwegian Spirit The view from up on top! A quick rest break! We headed back down the Skyglider and our groups parted ways. Susan and Maria had to meet up in the Adventure Den for the Ziprider. They then would ride the Skyglider up to the top again. Trace and I headed back to the Adventure Center on the Transporter.

This is a map of Icy Strait Point. This will give you better idea of the layout of ISP with the new additions. Back on the bottom of the hill. this will help illustrate the elevation rise. So we decided to head back over to the Cannery. Trace, Maria, Susan and I all fit in these gondolas comfortably. Trace and I are not small people. Guard Cat! Another Supervisor! I was hoping the Cookhouse was going to be open. They had fabulous Fish & Chips the last time we were in ISP. But they were closed.

This is new from my last visit! So we took the Transporter to the Wilderness Landing area. The transporter is free, but the Skyglider is not. We stopped in the Adventure Den to get Susan and Maria's waivers signed, and to get their wristbands for the Ziprider which gives them unlimited Skyglider access. Wyland Mural in the Adventure Den. Heading up the Skyglider! Sign at the top of the Mountain You can walk around up here, but be Bear aware. This is the highest point on the Skyglider. Here is a video I made about the Skyglider

The local whale was bubble feeding by himself. Diving back down You can see his bubbles. Port Photo! Finally back in Alaska! Eagle up in the tree

We headed up to Trace & Maria's Cabin to play some cards prior to arriving in Icy Strait Point. Treats! Nice! View from Trace & Maria's balcony Coffee! The Butler brought snacks, aka lunch! Trace & Maria's Butler brought some pretzel rolls from The Local! Uno Flip was the game of choice! Finally, ISP is within viewing range. The Sun should have been in port with us this day. The new Wilderness dock Pulling in! An Eagle in the tree above the whale. A Supervisor!

Someone finally got out of bed, and we headed off to breakfast #2 at Windows. Assorted Seasonal Fruit for Susan Half Grapefruit with some cottage cheese for me! Susan got a waffle with bacon. I got eggs benedict with ham, bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns. Afterwards, we headed back out on deck to try to spot some whales. A bit later, heading to our room, Susan found a duck in the elevator. Trace sent me a picture of his breakfast. --

Here is the Pilot Boat off our Aft after dropping the Pilot off at the Spirit. Susan wasn't up yet and I was hungry. So I got breakfast #1 from the Garden Cafe. The Pilot Boat was waiting around for the Carnival Ship. I believe that is the Carnival Spirit. Whale Spout! Tail! The mist made it hard to focus at the distance it was away. There it goes

I noticed a Pilot boat coming out to the Ship.

Friday, July 8th, 2022 - Cruise Day 3 - Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, AK Here is the daily Good Morning Alaska! We finally were in Alaskan waters as we sailed up the inside passage towards Juneau and Icy Strait Point. Juneau and icy Strait Point are not that far away from each other. I started to see fishing boats. It was so calm, peaceful, and quiet on deck.

After photos, we headed to dinner with Trace & Maria at Onda Trace got a Margarita Pizza for his appetizer. We could of shared it as a table. Wait, we did. I got the Beef Carpaccio - It was good, but tiny. Susan got the Fritto Misto - This was a massive plate much like the pizza. Susan got the Pappardelle Bolognese Maria got the Scottish Salmon Trace got the Ravioli I got the Tuna - this compared to the other dishes was tiny again. If it wasn't for Trace's Pizza I would have left Onda hungry. I dislike the lack of consistency between dishes in terms of size for price. I will not make Onda a priority when it comes to Specialty Dining. I would rather take La Cucina any day. Dessert Menu Trace and Maria both got the Butterscotch Budino Susan got Tiramisu. I got the cheesecake but the photo went missing. So we went to go to the show, but we got there too late to get seats. Susan was able to get a single seat front row center. Al Park was the comedian tonight. Susan said the show was good. I was at the craps table with Trace since we didn't get a seat. After the show, we all called it a night. --

The Social Comedy Club - Deck 7 Forward A note about the Social Comedy Club on the Spirit. It is really popular. Come at least 20 minutes early to snag a good seat. There is a mad rush here after the show gets out at the theater. It was time for the Latitudes Silver and above party! Maria wanted in on the selfie action! Cruise Director Carlos CruiseNext Manager After the Latitudes party, we headed to the Beir Garten on Deck 13 Forward. We were going to do a meet up with the Facebook group. We could never find anyone. There was no Cruise Critic M&G. i was going to do the one on the Sun but we flipped ships too close to sailing to organize one for the Spirit. It was a bit chilly up there. Time for photos!

Thank you. Sorry, we planned it, but didn't know exactly when we would get there. I didn't know how long NW Trek and the drive to Bremerton would take. That is interesting about the fountains. We really enjoyed sitting down there and relaxing while we waited for the Ferry!

Italian Wedding Soup Bay Scallop Gratin - This is one of my favorites. Make sure to ask for more bread, they never give you enough. Spinach Caesar Chicken Flautas Queso Frito Tortilla Bowl Spaghetti Carbonara Spaghetti Carbonara with a chicken breast from the Chicken Milanese Chicken Milanese Chocolate Cheesecake Tiramisu Warm Chocolate Lava Cake When we got back to the room after lunch, our laundry bag that we gave the night before was already back! The red bag on the bed is the Spirit ship model we picked up. We are up near the Queen Charlotte Islands by now --

We headed up to Trace & Maria's cabin to hang out and play cards. The Butler brought drinks! After playing cards for a while, it was time for lunch. While it was sunny, it wasn't that warm out. A few people in the pool. Lunchtime in the MDR!

Deck 8 Starboard Mid Teppanyaki - Deck 8 Mid Asian Restaurant - Deck 8 Mid Deck 8 Aft Starboard Theater - Deck 8 Different camera shot Trace sent me a picture of the Suite Menu

Susan finally rolled out of bed and we headed to breakfast at Windows. Susan got the Yogurt Parfait I got a half grapefruit. Assorted pastries I tried the Pretzel Roll Sandwich. I was super excited when I saw the hashbrowns they had. I hated the ones on the Breakaway. Susan got an omelet After breakfast we went exploring. The Local - Deck 7 Mid to Forward Starboard Casino - Deck 7 forward The main floor is nonsmoking; If you want to smoke while playing, the upper section on Deck 8 allows it. Atrium, looking up, from Deck 8 Wait for me Susan! --

Found a dry table and chair on Deck 12 Looking East Looking West Looking South International Container Ship Sea Otter Panorama

I finally headed out to the Great Outdoors, aka my spot! Outdoor beverage station - this comes in handy, because I can leave my camera gear set up and I can still see it from here if I need to get Coffee, Juice, or Hot Water. I would always set up near the slanted park of the wall is. Under cover, but still open enough to see. Looking Down on Deck 11 and 10 Deck 12 Deck 11 Spice H2O Deck 10 - Never saw this bar open Looking up at Decks 11, 12, and 13

Thursday, July 7th, 2022 - Cruise Day 2 I am an early riser for work, and it never fails on vacation I am being woken up early. So I always head out to a deck and enjoy the quiet and peacefulness the morning brings! So at this point, we are almost to the top of Vancouver Island several miles off shore. The temperature wasn't too cold or too warm. It was sure quiet on deck. After taking a look outside, I decided to be a little nosey. Theater Entrance on Deck 7 It was weird seeing the Theater opposite of most theaters. Strange walking in right at the stage. I then headed up to Deck 12 Onda Italian Restaurant - Deck 12 Port Aft On the other side of Deck 12 is the Buffet. I don't mind the buffet when its like this. This was taken before 6 am when the buffet opens for hot food for breakfast. The buffet runs the entire length of Deck 12 Starboard from Mid to Aft and halfway on the Port side towards Mid Ship. Starboard Side near the Aft Elevators Looking Aft Looking Port Looking Forward Looking Port Looking Aft looking Port Looking Starboard Looking Starboard from the Port side of the Buffet Port Side of the buffet

Time for Dinner with Trace & Maria at Cagney's - Deck 7 Mid Don't we look good! Black Tiger Shrimp Trio aka Shrimp Cocktail - Susan and I both got one Lobster Bisque I did not get a picture of Maria's Baked onion Soup Susan got the Petite Filet Minion along with Maria Trace got the 20 Oz porterhouse I did it! I got my Tomahawk! First time since 2016! Now that is a steak! Susan got 7 layer Chocolate Cake I got the Raspberry Crème Brulee Trace got the "OMG" Butterscotch-Caramel Cheesecake Maria got the Raspberry Crème Brulee Sailing through the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading out to the Pacific Ocean Deck 7 Mid Starboard We all decided to chill out in our staterooms. We were all tired and full. Bed came early that night! --

I would have stayed out longer, but it started to get rainy and blow under the cover of the upper deck (deck 13) and my GoPro ran out of battery. So I packed up and we wandered the ship to explore a bit. Pool Deck Deck 12 Mid - the Bier Garden is up a deck, on 13, under that canopy. I did not spend much time on the Pool deck, the weather was never really warm enough to constitute it. So I do not know if they opened this food buffet here at all. Exercise Room Deck 12 Forward Spinnaker Lounge - Deck 12 Forward Mandara Spa - Deck 12 Forward After exploring it was back to the room to get ready for dinner. Look what arrived! Our Latitudes Strawberries! After getting ready, we had a little bit of time before our dinner reservation, so we headed up to deck 8. Here are Tradewinds shops, still closed due to being too close to Washington State. The other side of Deck 8 Mid, and also looking down on Deck 7 from 8 in the Atrium. Shorex is on the left and CruiseNext is on the right. Magnums Champagne and Wine Bar - Deck 8 Mid Hallway leading to the Photo Gallery (Deck 8 Mid to Forward) - Half of the Art is displayed on the wall to the right, the other half in a small room port of the Photo Gallery. We headed to the Photo Gallery to check in on our photo package and to pick up the small extra stuff from that package. Plus we always seem to run into a photographer, who has sailed with us before. This ship was no exception, because John from our Breakaway cruise in April had just transferred to the Spirit. He was excited to see us. We found out that there were only like 6 to 7 photo packages bought precruise. I guess we will be easily winning the most photo taken award for this cruise! On the Breakaway, we had taken close to 100 more pictures than the next closest photo package amount.

Rounding the corner out of Elliott Bay. Draw a line along the sailboats and that is roughly the entrance to the Ballard Locks is. Shilshole Marina Washington State Ferries on the Edmonds - Kingston Ferry route Edmonds and the Edmonds Ferry Dock Bluffs of Whidbey Island Bush Point and the Bush Point Lighthouse Lagoon Point Here is my Sailaway Time-lapse! --

Pier 66 as we pulled away! An Argosy Harbor Cruise is following us. Space Needle with the Olympic Sculpture Park along the water. Look at at that friendly wave! Look at that not so friendly wave from @tgloersen Enjoying Sailaway! Washington State Ferry from Bainbridge Island. Looking at Magnolia Hill and Smith Cove Queen Anne Hill Love this time to hang with our friends! I am #1 in Trace's book! Ah! Love me a Strawberry Daquiri! cheers!

Day 1 Daily There we go! That looks better! We got several comments on our door decorations over the cruise. Midship Elevators Atrium - The Atrium felt tight any time a function was occurring in the Atrium. CruiseNext and ShoreEx are behind me. We headed outside to the Great Outdoors. I set up and started taking photos. Geez Matthew, really? There she is! My beautiful Bride of 15 years! 15th cruise together! Pano 1 Pano 2 Time to forklift the lines! Bon Voyage Seattle! See you in a week! Max's M wanted a Seattle Sailaway photo! Kitsap Fast Ferry heading for Bremerton. Look who joined us for Sailaway!

While we were eating, the announcement stating staterooms were ready was made. Here is our lovely Oceanview for the week. We were just fine with this stateroom. Bathroom This bathroom was better than the Jewel Class ships. Although, I like the showers on the Breakaway Class ships better. Here is what it looked like before we messed it up!