I met a friend at a meeting the other day. She asked, "How are you handling this forced hibernation?" Translation: Are you still in business after no one has been able to travel for the past 6 months? Yes, we are! These have been challenging times for everyone and we're thankful that we're healthy. We certainly feel for those who have suffered and those whose lives have been lost. I can't imagine how difficult life has been for the health care providers. I feel for every educator as the administrators struggle with when and how to start school and teachers deal with uncertainties of virtual learning or social-distanced classrooms.
So, what was my answer to her question, "We're doing fine!" Really, how could it be any other way if you haven't been infected with the virus and suffered through trauma of ICUs and respirators?
That's not to say we haven't been challenged by the life of deciding if you're going to Costco or HEB today or just staying home to binge watch TV or read a book. We were supposed to be on our magnificent Alaskan Cruise and Land Tour with Royal Caribbean this week. We spent a year planning the trip after cruising Alaska last year. Having lived in Alaska twice, it has filled our hearts with treasured memories. So, let's relive last year's trip and prime the pump for anyone who wants to go to Alaska. If you've already been there, we know you want to go back.
We traveled aboard Celebrity Millennium from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska. Upon arrival in Seward we boarded a smaller ship for sightseeing around Resurrection Bay. The waters were choppy but the sights were spectacular including several Orcas doing breaches.
After sightseeing in Seward, we rented a car and drove to Homer, Alaska. We almost didn't make it there because wildfires had forced closure of the main highway to the Kenai Peninsula. We sat and waited for a couple of hours and finally were led down the highway past smoldering trees on both sides of the highway. In Homer we planned a halibut and salmon fishing trip. We stayed at the beautiful Alaska Adventures cabins. Here's my favorite picture of the trip!
This year we were supposed to be aboard the Radiance of the Seas and planned both a cruise and a post-cruise land tour.
I'll guarantee that you'll see plenty of bald eagles in Alaska. Some of the other wildlife may not cooperate. We went looking for brown bears at Icy Strait Point (Hoonah) but never saw one.
My advice: instead of hibernating, plan your next trip to Alaska. Do you want a Cruise Only vacation? Would you rather have the complete Alaskan experience on both land and at sea? You can't go wrong either way but we highly recommend the latter unless you plan to return to Alaska again and again. If you don't plan a land adventure you'll never get to see Denali up close. Even if you do visit Denali, only one out of three people get lucky enough to see this view.
Every port has a wide choice of adventures that you can select from, ranging from helicopter or float plane sightseeing tours to a ride in a jet boat. Sherry's all dressed up and ready for adventure on the jet boat ride in Skagway.
In Juneau you can take a tramway to the top of Mount Roberts. You can see our Celebrity Millennium below. What a fantastic view. For the adventurous there are hiking trails on top.
Why wait? Do you really think virtual travel is the same as actually being there in person? The smells, the sounds, the people, the food. Call us and we'll tell you about all of them.