Pacific Northwest and Alaska

We’re off the ship, waiting in departures to board our return flight, so this may be the last Footprint.

People - we’ve met LOADS. The ship was full, and it was overwhelmingly US people - after all, they didn’t actually leave the USA! All shapes, sizes, fashionwear (loose description!), and boisterous - as we think they are, they really are! And so many families and travelling groups - there must have been many good deals out there.

We chatted to people like this: a Delta Airlines pilot (we were looking at sea planes landing - we said “would you fancy that?”. He said that he was on holiday, to get away from flying); Gerry and his wife from Edmonton Canada - his website is gerrys.ca; an Irish descended builder from Virginia; semi-retired insurance broker from Kamloops, Canada; a night club owner from Nevada; a Brit from Folkestone who said he hadn’t enjoyed the cruise (?!) - we don’t think he left the ship; a gentleman from Boston who helped to clear the mystery of the circular plaster behind the ear (it’s to alleviate sea sickness, btw); a Part 91 pilot (whatever that is), who seemed boring; two recently married male realtors from Las Vegas one of whose mother was a retired professional golfer; a family group who had a “companion dog” with them. It goes on

And finally, the crew. Different from last year in NZ (except for a small few), but just the same quality, attentiveness, and ability to remember names (ours, at least). The Captain wasn’t Tasos and that was noticeable in the approachability of the officers.

The ship’s off to San Francisco today, back in a week, then to Honolulu, Hawaii, ultimately Sydney for the Antipodean summer. And so, the cycle restarts.Read more