Our group consisted of Mike (his shirt says "Chick Magnet") and, front row, me, Marj, and Marilyn; back row (also left to right), Mary, Susan, Nan, and Jane. Before this trip, Mike and I had never been on a traditional, BIG cruise ship before. But we'd seen The Love Boat on TV, and three members of our group had cruised several times, so we pretty much knew what we were getting ourselves in for and, all in all, the cruise experience lived up (or down, depending) to our expectations.  

Our ship was the Sapphire Princess: 16 decks tall, 290 meters from bow to stern, between 40 and 50 meters wide, with about 2,600 passengers and 1,100 crew members. There were eight major restaurants, fifteen bars, four swimming pools plus a dozen hot tubs, a gym with jogging track and tennis court, a spa, a three-story atrium surrounded by shops right in the center of the ship, and assorted other interior public spaces in which to sit and relax, read, nap, or stare out the window....plus lots of the open deck space for walking, sun bathing, and scenery gazing.

Our stateroom was small compared to a standard Midwestern motel, but very clean and comfortable (and more spacious than some rooms we've had in New York City or London!) What most impressed me about the ship, though, was the crew. Room stewards, waitstaff in the fancy restaurants, servers on the buffet line, bartenders, tour guides, security guards, deck hands: every person we met was professional, competent, and cheerful. We heard that the crew consisted of people from 40 nations, and the levels of English proficiency varied from one person to the next....but it seemed that everyone had been very well trained in the concept of "customer service" and was committed to the idea of giving all passengers a pleasant vacation experience. When we encountered a minor glitch (a schedule listing the wrong closing time for one of the restaurants) and dropped a comment card in the box at the purser's desk, we got a phone call within a couple of hours, acknowledging our complaint....and two more calls the next day, following up to make sure we'd received a copy of the revised schedule. If most cruise lines are consistently that dedicated to keeping their passengers happy, it's no wonder that so many people love to take cruise vacations!

On the down side, we were on a ship with 2,600 other people, and inevitably there were times when we had to stand in long lines, shuffle along as part of a large crowd, and generally feel treated like a herd of cattle. Also, I've always equated the "wilderness experience" as something to be enjoyed in relative solitude -- but when you're going from place to place in what is essentially a mobile hotel and convention center, moments of solitude are few and far between.

But, even if the "tone" of the trip wasn't entirely to my taste, the destinations we visited were wondrously beautiful! Seeing a nature special about the Arctic on TV, or a film at a science museum or IMAX theatre, provides only a pale imitation of the reality.

Unfortunately, the same is true of the photos we took. They'll give you an idea of what we saw, but they're incapable of capturing the impressive size and scope of the Alaskan landscape. Also, we saw a lot of wild animals during our trip, including humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, black bears, grizzly bears, moose, caribou, bald eagles, snowshoe hares, and porcupines....and got photos of almost none of them. Which is fine for us -- the memories are marvelous! -- but not ideal for sharing our experiences. So when I say we spent ten minutes watching a mother grizzly and her two cubs foraging on a river bank in Denali National Park, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Our cruise spent much of its time in the "Inside Passage" region of southeast Alaska. The area includes the state capital, Juneau, and lots of popular tourist destinations, so if you'd like to learn more, there is plenty of information on the Web (such as this basic map or this brief overview.)

On the following pages, the photos are generally in chronological order. I've started each page with a brief summary of the contents, so you can skim through quickly to whatever pages interest you most. Enjoy!