July 30, 2012...55º

Herb and I arrived home last night at 6pm...So glad to be home even though things are in a mess...Our house is in the finishing phases of being painted, bathroom is about half done but at least we have a new toilet installed and usable...Stuff is piled everywhere in the living room on the deck ... Herb unpacks the car (I'm still using a cane and knee doesn't seem much better)...I wander the gardens, cucumbers and zucchini are blooming, raspberries are ripe, garlic needs to be dug, lawn needs mowing and watered, weeds are growing but we have flowers blooming everywhere...Dusty will be here this morning at 7am to work on the bathroom so I must get this done and dressed soon...Day one of our cruise is below...OWAV:)

Main deck with swimming pools and hot tubs.

Sunday July 22…We were up about 6am, had complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and about 10:30am we hailed a taxi to take us to Pier 66 where the Norwegian Pearl was docked and we would embark on our Alaskan, Inside Passage Cruise…We were met at the dock by an official from Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) making sure we had tags on our luggage, with our cabin number, which he loaded on a cart and said they would be delivered to our "Cabin" sometime in the afternoon (It was a little scary letting go of our luggage like that)….Then he pointed down the street and said, "turn left at the overhead walkway"…We joined the crowd, followed the signs and directions, went through security then presented our tickets and passports and were given our room keys and cruise ship charge card…They want you to charge everything, no cash allowed!..After a short wait we were directed to the 4th deck (bottom of the ship) and our cabin…They are small but I'm amazed at the excellent use of the space and the size of the bathroom…I thought it would be like an RV bathroom but it is much roomier with a decent sized shower.

We arrived aboard ship just in time for lunch…Now food is what I've alway heard about in connection with a cruise, just plan on gaining weigh, with food everywhere and included in the price of the cruise…It is different on Norwegian (and maybe other cruise lines now) such as they have some all inclusive restaurants but others that you pay a cover charge to get into…Lunch ( a huge buffet) was very confusing with people in every line going every which way and all kinds of food to choose from…In the mayhem Herb and I got separated from Mona and Jerry…About an hour later after eating we found each other and decided we needed to unpack and take a nap.

3pm we had a safety evacuations drill and 4pm found us on deck 12 where most of the restaurants are, as well as swimming pools, hot tubs (filled with children as it is too cold to get in the swimming pools)…A cold wind was blowing and the music was very loud…We were there to celebrate the start of our voyage…We snagged a table with an ocean view, not easy to do even though we are surrounded by water…M & J order a pepsi, $2.25 each glass and we splurge on a special cocktail on this first day, H & D total of $17.75. (tax and gratuity already added)…An outdoor bbq was in progress, so Mona and I fixed plates for each of us to share, hamburger patties and skirt steak were very tasty and salads on the side.

At 7pm we were in the Stardust Theater where Cruise Director Julie gave us the highlights of cruising life and sights we would see this week…Music, dancing and standup comedy entertained us…H & I headed to our cabin to unwind, write, read and snoozed until 6:30am arrived with our morning coffee…This might be the first time we've ever ordered room service…OWAV:)

Cruisin along