Mrs. Regular Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 Greetings, RC Blog friends! It's me, Mrs. Regular, back again for another blog. This year we are leaving the Regular kiddos at home and making it an extended family affair! Follow along for preparations, travel, and semi-live updates from the Brilliance of the Seas! Background Info Picture it... Sicily, 1929... Just kidding. I'm in my Golden Girls era so I often channel Sofia when I begin telling a story. Picture it... my living room, November 2022. Alaska 2024 deployment would be announced and bookings opened within a few days. We already had cruised in the Mediterranean, cruised from NYC down to the Bahamas, and were booked for summer 2023 on the Mariner of the Seas for my 40th birthday. Generally we are a "one cruise at a time" kind of family but something struck me about the 2024 Alaska deployment that just felt.... right. Like it was the exact right time for Mr. Regular and I do book something for ourselves. A treat. A reprieve. Alaska has been on our bucket list for a long time and at first glance when bookings became available, the price was pretty good. I knew I couldn't just book something without speaking with him first, so I laid out all the benefits and trade-offs (small ship! leaving from Vancouver! Aft balcony! I just got a pretty sizable raise so I will foot the bill! He saw no tradeoffs, lol), and got his ok to contact the travel agent. YES! It was so early in the deployment I got to hand pick our room and with over 600 days to go, we started planning and researching. Eventually, our other extended family (mainly our parents) caught wind of our plans. We scheduled a mid-May itinerary for a few reasons, one of the best being our kids wouldn't be able to go. I know, we are Regular mean parents. But also because the likelihood of the ship being overrun by school kids would be lower. We love kids, we have two, we have kids in our family and extended friends group. There's nothing wrong with kids. But, we loved our experience cruising during a non-break time. The last two cruises we've taken have been with our kids during school breaks and they have been vastly different experiences. Not bad, but different. We wanted to return to those non-break vibes. But this time in Alaska. Anyway, our parents wanted to tag along and we were ok with that. Getting my sister to come rounds out our merry group of 6! The Intergenerational Regular Family Tree Me, Mrs. Regular. 40 years old. Working at a university full time and full time PhD student. I am finishing up coursework and successfully defended my proposal last month. This itinerary falls over the one break I have between spring and summer terms. I have been on 3 RC cruises and will reach Emerald on this cruise. Husband, Mr. Regular. 45 years old. Working at the same university and teaches snow sports on the side. He is bummed there will be no skiing or snowboarding while visiting Vancouver or Alaska. Has been on the same cruises as me and will reach Emerald. Regular Mom. My mother! 70 years young. Doesn't travel much, retired 3rd grade teacher. Has always wanted to go to Alaska. Will be her first cruise. Regular Sister. My sis! My best friend. 38 years old, never cruised before. Just there to show up and have fun! Regular Father-in-Law. Mr. Regular's dad. 79 years old, has cruised once before from FL. Certified renaissance man, he is an acrobatic pilot, flight instructor, motorcycle racer, and welder. Ran a multi-million dollar business but never earned a bachelor's degree. He is just so cool. Regular Mother-in Law. Mr. Regular's mom. 84 years old, has cruised once before from FL. Recovering from a mild stroke in January, she is a remarkable person. She's improved so much in 4 months mobility and speech wise. She's still sharp as a tack but just a little slower than before. In her 80's but acts not a day over 60. Why are we "regular people"? My username and the name of my cruise blogs came out of an observation that post-COVID restart, most people in the RC Blogs were taking their "revenge" travel trips and there was a run for a while of suites only travel blogs. No shade to the "suite snobs" out there or to those who are blessed enough to cruise frequently at the premium of a suite. But, while I am still fairly new to cruising I wanted to read more from perspectives that didn't go for all the extras or bells and whistles. Thus, "regular people cruising" was born! Not only do we not tend to travel in suites with the amenities, we also don't splurge on other luxuries like drink packages, unlimited dining, spa treatments, a lot of excursions, etc. Now, this will change a little bit this trip because I think Alaska affords some special opportunities. Our Itinerary My in-laws are flying in on their own schedule, but mom, Husband, Sis, and I are all traveling together from NJ on a direct flight to Vancouver on the 11th. Crossing fingers for smooth travels! We are all staying at the Sheraton downtown and will get brunch on the 12th before heading to Canada place to board our ship! Day 1 - Vancouver Day 2 - Inside Passage/At Sea Day 3 - Sitka in the afternoon. No plans other than walking around port and maybe going to the totem poles Day 4 -Juneau. Mom, Sis, Husband and I have the dog musher's camp excursion in the morning. Regular in-laws may or may not get off the ship, much will depend on how MIL is doing. She can do activities in small bursts but then needs time to sleep and recover. We will be done at the camp by 1 but the ship is in port until 7 p.m. so I am sure some sub-group of us will explore Juneau a bit. This night Husband and I have date night at Chops. Day 5 - Haines. We all have the White Pass Railroad excursion booked through RC. Most looking forward to this one! Day 6 - Tracey Arm and glacier viewing/At Sea Day 7 - Inside Passage/At sea Day 8 - Vancouver. The Regular In-Laws are staying at a hotel on Vancouver Island to relax for a few days and traveling home later in the week. The rest of us have a red-eye back to NJ. We will look into storing luggage somewhere and taking a tour around Vancouver before heading to the airport. Next Update: Packing! Packing! Packing! FionaMG, PPPJJ-GCVAB, WAAAYTOOO and 9 others 10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 Have a great time! Mrs. Regular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 I love Alaska. You are going to be for a treat. Love the dog musher's excursion. Hubby always warn me, "We are not buying a husky." They are so cute. Wait until you see the eagles and whales. Beautiful. I will be following. Mrs. Regular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmar02 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 We loved Alaska (even with the kids). I think it would be magical without them though, and you are in for a treat! Mrs. Regular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 15 hours ago, Mrs. Regular said: Alaska has been on our bucket list for a long time I never even considered Alaska but my wife did and spent a year planning (with an outside company) what turned out to be a bucket list type extravagant 18-day land/sea trip in 2018. It cost a small fortune (especially given that we normally just drive to PC for 7N's in the Caribbean in an interior) but it was the best trip we've ever taken. I've been thanking her for making me go ever since. Enjoy! WAAAYTOOO, Cactus527, Mrs. Regular and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalk640 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 Alaska is amazing, went in 2017 and it's still my favorite vacation/cruise. The White Pass Railroad is a great excursion, definitely one of the highlights for my family. Enjoy this trip! Mrs. Regular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 I am doing my first Alaskan cruise this Sept on Quantum. I too normally cruise regular. We are in Interior VB and have excursions planned for 3/4 ports. So, I am looking forward to this blog. MaryS, Sweety, Cactus527 and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Regular Posted Wednesday at 01:03 PM Author Report Share Posted Wednesday at 01:03 PM On 4/25/2024 at 4:06 PM, Ampurp85 said: I am doing my first Alaskan cruise this Sept on Quantum. I too normally cruise regular. We are in Interior VB and have excursions planned for 3/4 ports. So, I am looking forward to this blog. I've sailed on the Anthem before so if you have any Q class questions, let me know. I'm so excited to explore the ports! On 4/25/2024 at 12:52 PM, skywalk640 said: Alaska is amazing, went in 2017 and it's still my favorite vacation/cruise. The White Pass Railroad is a great excursion, definitely one of the highlights for my family. Enjoy this trip! We are so excited for that one, and even though we dock in Haines there is time to explore Skagway a bit before getting the ferry back. On 4/25/2024 at 9:42 AM, OCSC Mike said: I never even considered Alaska but my wife did and spent a year planning (with an outside company) what turned out to be a bucket list type extravagant 18-day land/sea trip in 2018. It cost a small fortune (especially given that we normally just drive to PC for 7N's in the Caribbean in an interior) but it was the best trip we've ever taken. I've been thanking her for making me go ever since. Enjoy! Sounds incredible. I wish we were able to take more time to do a land and sea situation. Hopefully next time! On 4/25/2024 at 9:33 AM, melmar02 said: We loved Alaska (even with the kids). I think it would be magical without them though, and you are in for a treat! With our without our kids we always have a great time cruising! On 4/25/2024 at 1:47 AM, Sweety said: I love Alaska. You are going to be for a treat. Love the dog musher's excursion. Hubby always warn me, "We are not buying a husky." They are so cute. Wait until you see the eagles and whales. Beautiful. I will be following. We LOVE dogs and I am so excited to get to cuddle puppies. I admire Huskers from a distance, we are Lab people. Still work but a lot less maintenance! On 4/24/2024 at 11:21 PM, JohnK6404 said: Have a great time! Thank you! JohnK6404 and Sweety 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Regular Posted Wednesday at 01:14 PM Author Report Share Posted Wednesday at 01:14 PM Packing! Packing! Packing! Thanks to the internet, I've found a ton of helpful information about preparing for an Alaska cruise. Between RCB and YouTube, there's so much out there. If there's one thing to remember, it's that layers are key. Here in the northeast, we are no strangers to varying weather conditions from March to May (and sometimes June)! My drawers are a mix of sweaters, fleece, light weight blouses, and cardigans. So, all of that will be coming with me, hahahah! I just returned from a long weekend at Disney World, so much of my travel toiletries and bits and bobs are already in the carryon suitcase. We will be checking 3 bags and using carryons and backpacks for onboard the plane. So far, here is the list! Clothing - for all weather! Jeans, leggings, sweaters, "fancy" dresses for formal night and Chops, swimwear for hot tub time, gym clothes Outerwear - for all weather, but mostly chilly! I plan to bring a puffy vest, base layer, fleece jacket, water proof outer shell, knit hat, gloves, sneakers, sunglasses, and waterproof hiking shoes. Games, books, etc, for sea days. We are on northeast time and with the sunlight going from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., we anticipate being awake a lot this week and needing something to do in addition to gazing at the incredible scenery. Alaska or cruise specific items - binoculars, bonine, hand warmers, magnetic hooks, cruise lanyards, luggage tag holders, reusable water bottles, bottles of wine (bought in Vancouver) Anything else you would recommend adding to the list? I'm going to get a start on packing over the weekend. 11 days to go! skywalk640, JohnK6404 and OCSC Mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted Wednesday at 01:32 PM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 01:32 PM 13 minutes ago, Mrs. Regular said: water proof outer shell Dunno if it's important based on your listed excursions (or if this is included under the above) but we found froggtogg waterproof pants very useful... however we also did 10 days on land pre-cruise, a glacier hike, dog sledding up on a mountain glacier, etc. so we used them more for being on the ice/snow than for rain, although they worked for both of course. They fit right over your jeans/hiking shoes. Mrs. Regular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDaley Posted 22 hours ago Report Share Posted 22 hours ago On 5/1/2024 at 6:03 AM, Mrs. Regular said: I admire Huskers from a distance, we are Lab people. Still work but a lot less maintenance! I gotta say, my step Husky is the best dog I’ve ever owned and he seriously doesn’t take a lot of maintenance! He gets groomed 3 times a year and otherwise I brush him randomly (maybe like every 3 months?) when he looks a little fluffy. He is the calmest and sweetest boy. On walks everyone is barking and going absolutely apes%&* when they see us and we just trot right by smiling! Your Alaskan packing list sounds perfect! Happy to see binoculars made the cut, I spied on a treetop filled with 4 eagles with mine! If you can squeeze a mini one in, I’d recommend an umbrella too. Mrs. Regular, Ampurp85, MaryS and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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