Day 7 of My Alaskan Cruise

By:  Cody Thomas, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent

Day 7 of my Alaskan cruise - the last day! It’s always so hard to see an amazing trip come to an end. To know that the moments are now memories and the experiences will forever be part of your life. I love to take these kinds of moments to find somewhere quiet to go and look out at the view of where I am at and really soak in those last few moments. Feel the wind on my face and remember the smells. I love to listen to the sounds and really embrace all of the new knowledge we have learned.

Our last day on Radiance of the Seas was a sea day before we departed the ship in Vancouver, BC. We enjoyed sleeping in a little bit as we did not have an early excursion to get off to. After waking up I personally took the time to bundle up (as sea days can be windy) and head up to the top decks. I took a little stroll around and listened to my favorite calming music and I took in the last sights. Most of the mountains at this point were in the distance, but I felt more connected to nature than ever. Alaska gives you so many new perspectives and leaves you yearning for a return visit to take it all in again.

I met up with my travel buddy and we headed to brunch in the main dining room. This was enjoyable as most days they do not offer this feature in the dining room. We had wonderful company and we exchanged stories about the excursions we went on. This was their first ever cruise and it brought us back to why we love planning trips for our clients. The excitement and joy in everything they experienced was loads of fun to listen to. Let’s not forget to mention that out of the nearby window we watched a family of whales as they made their journey away from Alaska as well.

Final sea days are a nice opportunity to spend time enjoying parts of the ship you otherwise didn’t get a chance to experience. Our ship offered experiences like mini golf, the spa for a massage or hair blow out, or maybe a cocktail at that bar you keep passing. Who knows, you may even want to catch up on some sleep while you listen to the sound of the waves as they pass you by. For us we did take advantage of Royal Caribbean’s internet packages to catch up with family and connect with our travel clients.

As the sun reached down to kiss the ocean we made our way to the main dining room for one last meal with the amazing team that provided us with all of our delicious needs while on board. Our last night was such a wonderful experience as the head chef came up with his team to explain how they provide service in the dining room on an Alaskan cruise. We learned that they load all of the food in Vancouver for two weeks of service. We learned how the team works together to provide custom dishes and how they even have a separate kitchen for travelers with allergies. It’s incredible what these teams do to make sure the guests have the top experience. We said our sad goodbyes and thank yous for the wonderful service our head waiter and his assistant provided us.

After dinner it was off to the Aurora Theater for one final production from the Radiance of the Seas entertainment team. They dazzled us in song and dance and even a special couple performances from the previous shows like the tango dancers. It’s the perfect way to end a day on a cruise ship. One feature we were very impressed by was how many of the service teams from different parts of the ship, like the kitchen team, steward team, customer service team, etc, came into the theater dancing and singing to thank all of us, their guests, for taking a cruise with them. They were all genuinely grateful to be back to cruising and to provide the best experience a cruise like can offer. We were all very appreciative and excited to travel with them again some day.

I started this journey by telling you that Alaska is unlike any other cruise vacation. I think now you can agree with me that it really is. It’s not filled with sun dresses and waves, but bundled up travelers and nature. There are very few other cruise destinations in this world where you will feel so connected to the wildlife, culture, and nature! If you haven’t yet booked your Alaskan cruise, contact a Marvelous Mouse Travel agent now. This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss!