A day on the ship in rainy Juneau
Mother Nature never did cooperate today so instead of being an “Explore Juneau” day (in my case Mt. Roberts hiking day) it was a ship day for a lot of people, including me. I was actually surprised at the number of people who did venture forth – pleased, but surprised as well.
I went to the Provence dining room for lunch today for the first time, thinking that Horizon Court would be even crazier than normal because of the number of people who stayed on board. It has a very nice atmosphere, and was almost empty and heavily staffed. Good decision! Or not. I was seated in the very center of the room instead of near a window (not a big deal), 6 feet from the business end of a serving station (good thing I enjoy the clatter of cutlery and dishes while having a nice meal). Service was very slow (how is that even possible?) and then half-way through my meal, with the place still almost empty, a couple was seated at the table 10 inches from me, even closer to the serving station. The mediocre food quality by then was just part of the package.
The highlight of the day was to be a presentation by Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod (in 1985). I got to the Universe Lounge half an hour early and picked a seat at the rear center of the main level, leaving the best seats for paying passengers.
I probably could have taken a much better seat, as the place was only 2/3 full when Libby came on stage. Her personal presentation was excellent, the video not so much but very interesting for folks Outside I’m sure.
I’d been wondering how much she gets paid to do these presentations for every Princess ship that docks, but once I saw her book sales, it’s a safe bet that she doesn’t get paid much, if anything. She’s an excellent addition to the program and it’s obviously working for her in any case.
As was the case on the last sailing, there was a meeting of folks from CruiseCritic scheduled for 4:00 pm today. On the last sailing nobody showed up – today only 1 other person did. Too bad, the group had a lot of fun on our Infinity sailing.
This is the Explorers Lounge all kitted out for the 4:30 “Under $500 Art Auction”. There’s nothing that I’d hang in my house (just not my style), but I should go to one of those auctions to see what the action is like.
…walk through a scanner and you’re home 🙂
Whenever I visit Juneau, I wonder how large a lottery win it would take to buy the “Discovery” – I love those classic cruisers!
This photo, shot as we sailed away at 4:00 pm, is for my friend Marie in New Zealand – the ship on the left (the Ryndam) is the one that Susan and John are on right now, Marie 🙂
This old cannery wharf down Gastineau Channel was barely visible through the heavy rain.
My fingers are crossed that the weather forecast for Ketchikan tomorrow, which shows light rain, is either reasonably accurate or better yet pessimistic, as I have a Misty Fjords flight booked.
Accepting this gig was an experiment – one that didn’t work for a few reasons. Number 1 is that to be good at this at the level Princess apparently wants (I’m still just guessing) you have to do it full time – when I drove motorcoach tours I was good. On a part-time basis it’s just too much work to even be average, and being average is just not an acceptable situation. If I could have taken my suitcase off at Skagway, I would have, but at this point all I can do is try to get better each day for the next 9 days.
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