ArcticKitty Tackles Alaska - Carnival Splendor 02-10 May 2022- Trip Planning, Trip Report, & Mehhhhbe Some LIVE

[arctickitty]

ArcticKitty Tackles Alaska - Carnival Splendor 02-10 May 2022- Trip Planning, Trip Report, & Mehhhhbe Some LIVE From Since We Have This Thing Called Cellular Data Now

 

Hello new Carnival friends, ArcticKitty, a real Alaskan here. I love reading in-depth detailed to the nines trip reports, trip planning musings, live feeds, etc. The more the nitty gritty displayed the more I dig. I also enjoy the autobiographical background info that some folks slip in. I’m here to do my part contributing the kind of content I love to read!  Since I'm Alaskan through and through, I'll be weaving every day Alaskan life into this narrative in order to provide context for my travel choices and to give all of you readers perspective on this amazing state.  I am the queen of TLDR (too long, didn't read) but if you like to read and/or you are interested in anything of what I have to say, welcome aboard!

The Carnival HUB app tells me that I have 51 days until boarding, which means I’ve had the Carnival HUB app for 14 days, had this cruise booked for 14 days, and even considered cruising on Carnival for about 20 days, and only even considered cruising at all for about 25 days, and I’m absolutely stoked.

 

I am a planner by nature, but am also a loosey-goosey free spirit creative type (who is allergic to Type A personalities…they can smell me and cower, as do I) and love so many small joys, details, and pleasures in life. I’ve had some life experiences that have taught me how that appreciation is central to who I am and I unabashedly embrace it. Some of those same life experiences have also encouraged me to be spontaneous and say yes to ideas and opportunities that present themselves. I’m known for being a curious blend of tough, sensitive, and in my better moments, plain old bada— (am I allowed to use that word?). Let’s just say sometimes I’m Badabing Badaboom. My career path my whole life has been as a teacher, albeit of many different types and primarily in rural Alaska. I’ve lived and worked in remote corners of this amazing state that most visitors never get to understand, let alone visit. I consider these experiences to be among my biggest blessings, my four cats being the other four.

 

 

(Left to Right) Tiger (age 3), Dandelion (age 9), Wonder (age 3), and Isobel (age 11 or 12)

 

(Okay, last cat pic for now)

 

Recently, several ideas popped into my head and I wanted to proceed with all of them, before I realized I didn’t have enough leave hours banked up. The first idea was already booked so it’s happening—I signed up for a five day woodworking class in the forest. This means tent camping, group campfire meals, and a full cell phone/electronics ban (how will I survive without audio books?) amidst somewhat free form instruction on carving and whatever else it takes to make things from wood. I have zero experience with this and wouldn’t have even said it was a goal to learn, but I read the program website for a few days and it sparked that something-something in me so I signed up and paid for it. Bang. Boom. What have I done? It will be interesting, that’s for sure.

The next “thing” that presented itself was a trip to Guam. A good friend has been working there most of the pandemic and offered to buy most or all of my plane ticket. Seemed like a good thing to say yes to, right? A chance to visit a far flung island with someone with lots of local connections? Sounds like something I’d say sign me up for.  Almost bang and boom.

Except for those darn leave hours don’t just multiply themselves as quickly as I’d like. And the special someone in my life has some wrinkles in his plans that shifted my perspective and pulled my finger off the trigger.

When we met a year and a half ago, (on Tinder! Thank you! You’re welcome!) we lived 90 minutes apart and both had significant pandemic restrictions due to our jobs. I wasn’t allowed to leave the state, he wasn’t allowed to go to a long list of establishments, etc, so we threw ourselves headfirst and head strong into the great outdoors of Alaska, and learned so many new things. Snow shoeing, skiing, snow machining, ice fishing…it’s been a blast. Special Someone was under the expectation that he’d be in Alaska for a good while, a few years, at least.

Gear for two humans and four cats for two nights at a walk-in dry cabin.

 

Four cats about to go for a sled ride.  My cats are small (all 10lbs or less) and are accustomed to sharing their carriers when traveling.

One of four very happy cats enjoying a cabin visit.  This was their first sled-in cabin but second cabin trip.  They love the heat from an old-fashioned wood stove and the magic of how warm air rises up to the high spots they like best.

 

Special Someone and I now live only 20 minutes apart and almost all of the pandemic restrictions are gone. We’ve both worked in non-work-from-home positions the entire time and my current job just lifted the mask mandate for the first time and I cannot even begin to explain how strange it is to see peoples’ chins, cheeks, and noses for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Special Someone got unexpected news of needing to bounce around a bit, geographically. One of my first reactions to that news was that we needed to definitely go on the pricey-to-me snow machine trip we’d been thinking about. We also fine-tuned some of our activity and adventure goals. Although we’d been knocking these out early in the very long winter (I learned to cross country ski, we took all four of my cats on a snowshoe trip to a remote cabin!) the Snowmaggedon storm of Christmas 2021 put a damper on the outdoors for humans and animals alike. Massive dumps of snow alternated with massive pours of rain, creating layers of deep snow and sheets of ice. The moose are having a terrible time trying to walk anywhere on their spindly legs. We humans are finding unexpected conditions on trails we easily enjoyed last year. We’ve had two botched/failed snow machine trips that just didn’t work out because of the weather. We’ve tried and abandoned many other plans because of the ground conditions. We hiked in a state park not far from home and found out that we’d been far too close to a savage moose attack against a local dog team the very same day. Special Someone and I are very much Safety First and it was sobering to think about having chosen to walk where we’d walked, with fresh moose sign and no protection. We’ve had to pivot a lot and find things to do in more populated and trafficked areas. We’ve still accomplished great things! We rode fat tire bikes for the first time (it’s crazy hard!) and completed two different awesome fitness challenges, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Trail Challenge (snap a pic at 10 plus signs on area trails) and the Virtual Race Across Alaska (complete 225 miles by any means and raise money for the Alaska Long Trail), but we just haven’t done anything big or really special. With Special Someone’s upcoming uncertainty, doing something both big and special took precedence in my mind.

Sorry, Guam.

The flights sound brutal, anyway. In a former life I may have had gold status on Alaska Air, and I may have even worn their uniform, but I haven’t left Alaska since December 2019 and I haven’t flown more than 45 minutes since I moved to mainland Alaska in June 2020 (with all four cats as my carryons).

I was a person who thought cruising would never recover. How could it?

Special Someone and I were idly chatting about how cruising had been fun in the past and I stumbled across one of my favorite cruise blogs and discovered, wait, what? She’d been on several cruises. I took a few days of my elliptical riding and track walking time to read her every word, and got back here on Cruise Critic and poked around and realized, oh wait, cruising is a thing again.

I had other doubts, however. Special Someone and I have only known each other during this pandemic. We’ve never traveled anywhere together except for camping and hiking and short road trips. The entire Outside world is pretty foreign to me right now, and I’m not sure how I’ll handle it, so how will it go with someone I’ve never been Outside with?

I also had a long list of “this is how I cruise” and I laid them out and he said OK. Then he left on a trip, me still somewhat idly researching and reading. It wasn’t much of a topic of conversation between us. As I read and my mind wandered, all of my ideas about “this is how I cruise” untangled their rigidity and morphed and I realized I wanted to try something new and be completely open and flexible. I’d come across the idea that mid- or post-pandemic cruising, or whatever you want to call it, is easier to adjust to if you’re not familiar with the line’s product. If you sail with a company you know well, you might notice all the financial and pandemic cutbacks and changes. If you sail with someone new, it’s all new and you don’t know what you’re missing, right?

I also thought I wanted a southbound from Whittier, because I love Whittier and it affords a chance to either camp in the shadow of the Begich Building (the tower almost everyone lives in) or, for a splurge, to sleep atop it in June’s B&B.

I thought I wanted a drink package because I’ve never had one, and I liked the idea of being able to try whatever I wanted.

I thought I’d want Glacier Bay because “everyone” says it’s the best part, and my prior Alaskan cruise went to Tracy Arm instead.

I definitely thought I’d want Princess, because I’ve sailed with Princess 4 times and Norwegian once. I hated Norwegian and thought I loved Princess. I loved the dining room meals on Princess and liked being younger than most of their clientele. This meant for nice empty gyms, jogging tracks and sports courts. Princess has (or had) Zumba, DIY laundry, Italian-style pizza, specialty coffee punchcards with baristas trained in Italy. I knew which treats I liked at Afternoon Tea.

I thought if I tried a new line, it would be Holland America, to enjoy an even older passenger base and fancier dining room menus.

Special Someone had floated the idea of Carnival, but it wasn’t until I found all seven days of standard dinner menus on Profcruise.com that I started to consider it. How could it be that a line catering to Americans known for partying seemed to have more variety and fanciness on its menus? Then I found the breakfast and brunch menus and I started to really dream. And salivate. I’m what they call an elder Millennial, at the top end of that age range, and most of the Millennial trends go way over my head, but man, give me Millennial food trends everyday and I’m a happy clam. Kale grain bowls, avocado toast, salmon everything, I’m set. Plus frog legs and alligator on the menu, not just snails. Let’s go. And then, with beef prices being what they are, I haven’t been able to afford to buy steaks. Interior Alaska is blessed with local beef and pork, and it’s beyond amazing, but I get ground and sausage and mix it with lots and lots of vegetables etc to make it last for many, many meals. It seemed like the beef was just more plentiful on Carnival as compared to Princess so that helped tip the scales.

Special Someone had been gone a week and we were idly texting while I was watering his indoor garden when we saw a bargain deal on a round trip sailing from Seattle. It was the opposite of what I’d thought I wanted but I knew it actually was exactly what I wanted, so I checked flights to make sure they were also affordable and, on the spot, we bought it.

Whoa, so cruising is still a thing.

At that moment, it was 65 days out. I was glad I’d sent my passport renewal in as expedited everything.

[cruisinqt]

It sounds like you’re a foodie so you’re in for a treat with Carnival. We’ve been on Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean but tend to always go back to Carnival because of the food (and a few other things). It’s not because Carnivals food is superior but because of the variety of free (and very tasty) food choices on board. I have to admit that Princess and Royal Caribbean were a little better in the main dining room as far as quality but Carnival has a lot more variety. And I like that they give you the option of steak every night in the MDR. But when it comes to food choices outside of the MDR, Carnival wins hands down. 
Guys Burgers is free and so good that my daughter (who never wants to eats burgers) insists on going there. The free pizza (open 24/7) is made in a brick oven and very tasty. They have free soft serve ice available 24/7. The Blue Iguana Cantina is like a Chipotle and has the best ever (free) breakfast burritos.  And most of the bigger newer ships have Cucina Del Capitano, Guys Smokehouse BBQ, JiJi’s Asian, and many other restaurants to choose from with most being free or free for lunch but at a reasonable price for dinner ($15-$30 pp). 
 

This is a big contrast to most other cruise lines that have alternative food choices but they cost extra (and aren’t very cheap). Like Johnny Rockets or Starbucks. 

[Jamman54]

Wow, an early start but I love your enthusiasm!I'll be following for sure! 

[arctickitty]

8 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Wow, an early start but I love your enthusiasm!I'll be following for sure! 

 

Jamman54, Welcome aboard!  I might be Alaskan now, but we may have been "neighbors" as I grew up in Pennsylvania.

[pcrum]

You had me at the cat photos. I have 7!  Looking forward to reading more. 

[arctickitty]

14 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

It sounds like you’re a foodie so you’re in for a treat with Carnival. We’ve been on Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean but tend to always go back to Carnival because of the food (and a few other things). It’s not because Carnivals food is superior but because of the variety of free (and very tasty) food choices on board. I have to admit that Princess and Royal Caribbean were a little better in the main dining room as far as quality but Carnival has a lot more variety. And I like that they give you the option of steak every night in the MDR. But when it comes to food choices outside of the MDR, Carnival wins hands down. 
Guys Burgers is free and so good that my daughter (who never wants to eats burgers) insists on going there. The free pizza (open 24/7) is made in a brick oven and very tasty. They have free soft serve ice available 24/7. The Blue Iguana Cantina is like a Chipotle and has the best ever (free) breakfast burritos.  And most of the bigger newer ships have Cucina Del Capitano, Guys Smokehouse BBQ, JiJi’s Asian, and many other restaurants to choose from with most being free or free for lunch but at a reasonable price for dinner ($15-$30 pp). 
 

This is a big contrast to most other cruise lines that have alternative food choices but they cost extra (and aren’t very cheap). Like Johnny Rockets or Starbucks. 

Cruisinqt, thanks for the info!  Yes, I am definitely a foodie.  Although I live in what is considered civilization by Alaskan standards, I've spent most of my time in rural areas where access to everything is very limited, so traveling is definitely a way to explore food for me.  My first year back on the mainland, I lived in a small town where the best places to eat were two food trucks (one keto and one with burgers from local meat) and the army chow hall.  Where I live now is a bit of a good food desert, but since I can do this thing called go to Costco now, I just shop there and cook my own to supplement my indoor gardening, or eat at work, which I feel lucky to have.   I'm definitely hoping Guy's can compete with The Fire, and looking forward to the toppings bar.  To me, the best part of a burger is lots of veg and fun on top.  Special Someone loves breakfast burritos, so we will definitely be trying them.

 

One thing I've been wondering about is how to get more vegetables in the dining room.  Pictures of entrees with two pieces of broccoli, one carrot...  I love everything but I love vegetables the most and I'd order the vegetables off every entree if I could.  On Princess you could ask for sides of steamed vegetables...a specific one or a mix...anyone know of any tricks to get more veggies on Carnival?  I've been known to order every vegetable app and entree and have no shame in such shenanigans.  It's the appeal of cruising.

[arctickitty]

9 minutes ago, pcrum said:

You had me at the cat photos. I have 7!  Looking forward to reading more. 

Pcrum, there will be more.  7 sounds amazing!  Although I sometimes get overwhelmed by them and have to hide to get some personal space.  I have four because throughout the two-year-long process of rescuing them, I got them all fixed and put an end to their family line.  Wish I could bring them with me, they'd actually love it!

[RazorPokesHoney]

We're booked on the same cruise. I always find it interesting to see how different people enjoy the same cruise. Look forward to following your experience. 

[curiouscruisekay3405]

I'm booked on this as well! It will be my first Alaskan cruise and I'm so excited to try so many new things. ☺️ It's a big adventure for me, definitely the light at the end of the long-work-hours tunnel.

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, arctickitty said:

Cruisinqt, thanks for the info!  Yes, I am definitely a foodie.  Although I live in what is considered civilization by Alaskan standards, I've spent most of my time in rural areas where access to everything is very limited, so traveling is definitely a way to explore food for me.  My first year back on the mainland, I lived in a small town where the best places to eat were two food trucks (one keto and one with burgers from local meat) and the army chow hall.  Where I live now is a bit of a good food desert, but since I can do this thing called go to Costco now, I just shop there and cook my own to supplement my indoor gardening, or eat at work, which I feel lucky to have.   I'm definitely hoping Guy's can compete with The Fire, and looking forward to the toppings bar.  To me, the best part of a burger is lots of veg and fun on top.  Special Someone loves breakfast burritos, so we will definitely be trying them.

 

One thing I've been wondering about is how to get more vegetables in the dining room.  Pictures of entrees with two pieces of broccoli, one carrot...  I love everything but I love vegetables the most and I'd order the vegetables off every entree if I could.  On Princess you could ask for sides of steamed vegetables...a specific one or a mix...anyone know of any tricks to get more veggies on Carnival?  I've been known to order every vegetable app and entree and have no shame in such shenanigans.  It's the appeal of cruising.

Just tell your server (you’ll have the same one every night in the MDR) that you love lots of veggies and side dishes and he will hook you up. It’s not on the menu but if you ask for a loaded baked potato, mashed potatoes, or a side of mac & cheese they’ll bring it out. They have some of the cheesiest Mac & cheese! I can’t remember the other veggies they offered because I was in love with the mac & cheese but I know they had other offerings. 
 

At Guys be sure to try the pig patty loaded with bacon. The sautéed mushrooms & onions on the toppings bar are awesome too. 

At the Blue Iguana Cantina on the Horizon they offered Huevos Rancheros and cooked the eggs (2) to your specifications (I had mine over medium). They also offered breakfast tacos that were really good too. But my family just loved the selections of meat, eggs, veggies, and hash browns offered for the breakfast burritos and didn’t even want to try my food. On the next to the last day they tried a bite of my breakfast and were just kicking themselves for not trying it earlier. So if your ships Blue Iguana offers the huevos rancheros or breakfast tacos you should definitely try them. The Blue Iguana has such great breakfasts and short lines that we’ve stopped doing the lido breakfast buffet altogether on our cruises now. 
 

Btw, your kitties are adorable. We have 2 really sweet rescue kitties along with a very big Maine Coon and Ragdoll. My daughters teases me about taking them in their stroller for walks but they love it and it’s great exercise for me. 

[arctickitty]

2 hours ago, RazorPokesHoney said:

We're booked on the same cruise. I always find it interesting to see how different people enjoy the same cruise. Look forward to following your experience. 

Welcome aboard RazorPokesHoney.  I’ve only ever done after the fact trip reports before and I remember people saying wow, you went on a completely different cruise than I did.  

[arctickitty]

1 hour ago, curiouscruisekay3405 said:

I'm booked on this as well! It will be my first Alaskan cruise and I'm so excited to try so many new things. ☺️ It's a big adventure for me, definitely the light at the end of the long-work-hours tunnel.

Welcome to Alaska!  Trying new things is definitely a great philosophy to live by!

[arctickitty]

31 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

Just tell your server (you’ll have the same one every night in the MDR) that you love lots of veggies and side dishes and he will hook you up. It’s not on the menu but if you ask for a loaded baked potato, mashed potatoes, or a side of mac & cheese they’ll bring it out. They have some of the cheesiest Mac & cheese! I can’t remember the other veggies they offered because I was in love with the mac & cheese but I know they had other offerings. 
 

At Guys be sure to try the pig patty loaded with bacon. The sautéed mushrooms & onions on the toppings bar are awesome too. 

At the Blue Iguana Cantina on the Horizon they offered Huevos Rancheros and cooked the eggs (2) to your specifications (I had mine over medium). They also offered breakfast tacos that were really good too. But my family just loved the selections of meat, eggs, veggies, and hash browns offered for the breakfast burritos and didn’t even want to try my food. On the next to the last day they tried a bite of my breakfast and were just kicking themselves for not trying it earlier. So if your ships Blue Iguana offers the huevos rancheros or breakfast tacos you should definitely try them. The Blue Iguana has such great breakfasts and short lines that we’ve stopped doing the lido breakfast buffet altogether on our cruises now. 
 

Btw, your kitties are adorable. We have 2 really sweet rescue kitties along with a very big Maine Coon and Ragdoll. My daughters teases me about taking them in their stroller for walks but they love it and it’s great exercise for me. 

yesssss these are exactly the sorts of food tips I’m looking for.  I will see how far I can get with ordering off-menu veggies and happily report back.  
 

Those Guys options sound great!  Thank you!

 

Good tips on Blue Iguana as well…I think that will be Special Someone’s jam.  
 

I wonder what my cats would think of a stroller?  Lol I live somewhere with paved sidewalks even…. I have a little fenced “dog” yard that they love and they don’t even try to climb, but I always supervise them.  When the kittens were babies on the island, I walked them on harnesses, but I had to stop when one escaped and climbed a rock formation where the eagles nest.  The eagles there were known to catch cats and small dogs, so that was the end of walks.

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, arctickitty said:

yesssss these are exactly the sorts of food tips I’m looking for.  I will see how far I can get with ordering off-menu veggies and happily report back.  
 

Those Guys options sound great!  Thank you!

 

Good tips on Blue Iguana as well…I think that will be Special Someone’s jam.  
 

I wonder what my cats would think of a stroller?  Lol I live somewhere with paved sidewalks even…. I have a little fenced “dog” yard that they love and they don’t even try to climb, but I always supervise them.  When the kittens were babies on the island, I walked them on harnesses, but I had to stop when one escaped and climbed a rock formation where the eagles nest.  The eagles there were known to catch cats and small dogs, so that was the end of walks.

Oh and I forgot to tell you that Blue Iguana also has arepas too. They were delicious. 
 

The stroller I got was made especially for pets with all terrain wheels. I got it on Amazon. It’s extra big and I can close it and let them observe everything through the see through mesh. Or I can use the attached strap to keep them secured in the stroller while the top is open. My 2 rescue kitties are older and completely uninterested in it or going on adventures. But my Ragdoll and Maine Coon are young and love taking rides in the stroller. We live on a dead end street that’s paved and out in the countryside. Our neighbor raises alpacas and several people have horses and cattle. The kitties love to see the other animals but I don’t feel safe with them on a leash. There are coyotes around our area. But I’ve found the stroller is pretty safe and secure. When I get anywhere near the stroller they run and jump into it and start meowing loudly. I know it sounds crazy but it works for me. 

[kelkel2]

I love a long, detailed trip report! I’m following along. I’ve never been on an Alaskan cruise, it’s on my bucket list! 

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your report.  Have fun planning and enjoy your cruise.

[peteandpris]

Thank you for a great start can't wait for more.

 

[arctickitty]

10 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

Oh and I forgot to tell you that Blue Iguana also has arepas too. They were delicious. 
 

Arepas is a great tip!  Going on the list of foods to look for!  Still intrigued by the cat stroller…

[arctickitty]

7 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

I love a long, detailed trip report! I’m following along. I’ve never been on an Alaskan cruise, it’s on my bucket list! 

Welcome to Alaska!

[arctickitty]

7 hours ago, jimbri said:

Looking forward to your report.  Have fun planning and enjoy your cruise.

Thank you!  Welcome aboard!

[arctickitty]

4 hours ago, peteandpris said:

Thank you for a great start can't wait for more.

 

You’re welcome!

[arctickitty]

Apps for Alaska Travel & Fun Pt 1

 

Good morning Carnival friends, it is -4 outside, forecast to hit 10 positive this evening thanks to the bright sun, but dip back to 20 below by tomorrow morning.  I’d planned to share a little bit more about my itinerary, background, and general planning, but I woke up with a memory that led me down a little detour, so we’re going to follow that path today.

 

I like to be eclectic when using trip planning resources.  When I woke up this morning, I remembered that on my previous Alaska cruise, I’d paid 99 cents for an app about Hoonah.  It’s the first and only app I’ve ever paid for!  Other than going to the native dance and cultural presentation (highly recommended if they resume it) I walked and walked and walked, as I am wont to do.  The app helped me find some destinations beyond the little paper tourist map.  I woke up remembering this app.  It was probably on my very first iPhone.  I went in the App Store and could not find anything for Hoonah or Icy Strait Point.  I have a vague memory of ISP having its own app, too.  I wonder if it was just not worth it to keep up with these things?  Seems like a lot of extra tech to program when most just look at FB or Google.  Anyway, that got me thinking to what apps do currently exist for Alaska travel, and I’ll share one now that I found and I’ll share more as I try them out.

 

KTown Delivery 

 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ktown-delivery/id1539605794

 

This is my surprise first hit.  I usually use Yelp for finding coffee and food, and in days of yore, obsessively posted everything I ate on there.  In smaller communities, not everything has made it on Yelp, and adding content can really help others.  
 

Enter this delivery app that helpfully has menus for just about every place to eat in Ketchikan.  
 

 

Click on any of these places for their full menus!  Personally, I love reading menus, so this will be a fun reading spot for me, perfect for light reading during low key workouts.  There’s never enough time or money to eat everything, but I sure can read it all!

 

But the reason I was most excited to have tried this app is because of finding Local Grounds on it.

 

 

You see, Local Grounds is a drive thru coffee hut, which is a quintessential Alaskan thing.  This is where locals get their grinds every day sort of place.  And they’re not on Yelp yet!  So if I’d only used Yelp, I might not have found them.  And if I’m in a Yelping mood, I can be their first reviewer (if someone else doesn’t get there first).

 

I love coffee in many forms and make exceptions to the budget to support small little businesses like this.  These stands often have sleeper hits on their food menus, too!  For example, where I live now, the best place to eat “out” is a similar style drive thru coffee stand…get any type of sandwich on their jalapeño cheddar bagel and you’re good to go.

 

I’m excited to have found this spot and it’s my first ashore food or destination goal!  A special drink is a fantastic walking companion.  I’m not usually a sprinkles aficionado, but I often select local specials, so I just may have The Works in my future…even if my primary aim is the sticker…

 

This app could potentially have other uses for cruisers…they will pick up deliveries from other types of stores such as Safeway and Walmart…could be a simpler way to pick up some OTC meds you all of a sudden need or other mid-trip essentials.  Curious to hear if anyone tries their delivery service.

[arctickitty]

My (renewed) passport came!!!!!!!!

[arctickitty]

Perhaps my cats knew about my upcoming change of cruise lines...

[arctickitty]

Trip Planning: Seattle Pre-Cruise

 

 

Hello again new Carnival friends, lots of ideas in this brain and lots of plans written down (by hand) but not so much typed up for you all to vicariously share in the entire trip process.  Let’s work on rectifying that NOW.

 

1. Flights

 

I bought our plane tickets the same day I bought our cruise passage.  For reasons unknown to me, tickets on a nonstop to Seattle cost a lot less than return.  I paid $99 per person to get us south but used miles for the reverse due to options being triple/quadruple on up.  Those $99 tickets are our chosen gamble as they are nonrefundable, non-changeable, non-perky anything.  This will be my first cruise with only one flight to port!  I’m still super cautious about getting there ahead, so we’re going a little early.
 

2. Airport transportation

Since I live a little closer to the airport than Special Someone, our current plan is that he’ll drive to my house in the morning.  He needs every last minute he can get to care for his indoor garden!  He’ll park in my garage and we’ll drive to Fairbanks in my slightly more fuel efficient car.  I will probably make us a pot of pourover coffee that we’ll drink along the way.  (Our favorite is https://www.northpolecoffee.com/product-page/st-nickerdoodle ).

 

Up for debate is if I make us breakfast in advance or if we stop at our occasional favorite stand, Sunrise Bagel & Espresso, for jalapeño-cheddar breakfast bagel sandwiches we dress up with lettuces from my indoor garden.  Driving past Sunrise means a stop is always tempting…

 

We’ll park my car at the airport.

 

As Alaska residents and Club 49 members, we get two free checked bags each, but we’re hoping to not travel quite that heavy.

 

If we “need” more coffee between our own and the plane, I have a couple of gifted Starbucks gift cards we can use inside the airport.  Yes, I am a coffee snob who does not pay for Bucks.

Edited March 27, 2022 by arctickitty
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