Just Another Day in Paradise!: Alaskan Cruise Day 1

Friday, September 9, 2022 - Day 1

EMBARKATION DAY - SEATTLE

The day we had been waiting for, finally arrived!

Our boarding time was 10:30 am so it was a late night and early morning. But we could not wait! Adam, Levi and I walked down the street to get breakfast at Taco Bell for everyone while they all got ready.

Waiting in the hotel lobby for our cruise shuttle to take us to the terminal. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn by the airport and had about a 40 minutes ride to terminal 91.

Loved seeing all the Seattle sights on the way.

Space Needle

But nothing beats the view of the ship for the first time. It’s my favorite moment and our ship was huge. I didn’t think it was ours as first because it was the biggest one at the pier. (Backstory- we had originally booked on Princess embarking out of Seattle and disembarking in Canada. But when it came time to book flights we could not get out of Canada. There’s ferry’s, trains, buses, cars and planes to get from Victoria to Seattle but they were all booked. So after lots of research, I switched our cruise from Princess to Royal, from 5 nights to 7 nights and to fly in and out of Seattle and holy cow, so glad we did. It was a game changer. Princess had very limited on board activities and with 3 days at sea we would have been so bored but with Royals on board activities our sea says we’re spent running from one thing to another trying to get to as many as possible. We were so impressed with Royal and would definitely cruise with them again. The ship was clean, our room was attended to twice a day and the staff was amazing. They were so attentive and personal. Our room attendant knew all of our names the first day!)

Ovation of the sea!

The North Star!

The North Star is an attraction on the top deck that lifts you 300 feet in the air and then turns to give you 350 degree views!

Our home away from home for the next 8 days and 7 nights!

Heading to the terminal!

All checked in a ready to board

So excited to head to Alaska!

Our crew in the terminal!

Time to board!

On the gangway heading into the ship!

We entered on the 4th floor by the Royal Esplanade.

These tiles were in the elevators and were changed nightly.

We immediately headed to the sea plex on deck 14 to book some of the activities that required reservations. I had read to get early boarding and to book your reservations as soon as you board because most of it will fill up before boarding even ends. So we did. I alway read to do the North Star and I-Fly on the first day while everyone else is exploring the ship and not even thinking about the activities. So we did!...So glad too, it was a game changer.

Sea Plex

So amazing! The SeaPlex was a two-story sports arena that housed, bumper cars, skating, basketball, pickle ball, soccer, dodgeball, foosball, ping ball, video games, competitions, tournament's and the hot dog house!

We spent a lot of time here over the next few days

The hot dog house and the running track on deck 14! Three times around the ship was a mile.

So cute! Right outside the Sea Plex!

View of Seattle from the ship

More Sea Plex!

After getting our reservations for I-Fly and Northstar we headed to the 5th deck for lunch!

Back to the Royal Esplanade which is a two-story shopping center where all the shops and some restaurants are located.

Walking past shore excursions.

Lunch at cafe Two70 which shares its seating with the Two70 theater where so many shows and games were played.

It was so yummy!

It was still before noon but had already a long day. Grandpa was ready for a nap. After lunch while still waiting for our rooms to be ready we explored the ship.

Loved this hall by the shops. The big chimes on the wall would softly ring when the seas were rough like wind chimes.

Royal Esplanade on the 4th and 5th deck.

The butterfly wall! It came alive by touching a butterfly. By the end of the cruise someone showed us how to get all the butterfly’s to fly at once by touching each corner. We shared the trick with others as well.

Mid ship elevators were glass and faced each other.

I stopped at guest services with grandma and grandpa while others headed to I-fly. I had to catch up quick so I just took the stairs. On the way I found the glass floor I had read about. Took the family back later to see it.

At 1:00pm we did I-Fly

The flight crew!

Ready to Fly

It was so much fun! I'm ready to go sky diving for real now!

Back to walking around and orienting ourselves with the ship.

Still don't know what this is. It's on deck 15 by the sea plex. I looked for a plague saying what it was but there was no explanation. :)

One of favorite things throughout the cruise ended up sitting here with our ice cream cones, watching the water and finding sea creatures. This is on deck 14 right behind The Solarium which was another popular hangout for us.

The North Star

First ice cream of the cruise! Ice Cream was only open from 11:00 - 5:00 everyday, so we had tp plan accordingly. Haha!

The North Star in action!

Indoor Pool

Fitness Center

This was a hidden gem that I read about while researching. It's above the Captains bridge and is a private little deck that not many know about. Again, we came here often and never found anyone else here.

It hangs out over the water further than the ship so you get a great side view of the ship.

The Solarium: Be still my heart! Loved this place. It was an adult only area with a Bistro, Pool, Hot Tubs an indoor views. It is on deck 14 and at the very front of the ship. Hour and hours and lot's of days were started with breakfast here. One of my favorite quiet corners of the ship.

Solarium Pools and Hot Tubs

The hidden gem deck is just to the left of this picture.

Around 2:00 we went to our cabins and found it ready for our arrival. Deck 7 room # 7526. Levi and Calli were #7517 and grandma and grandpa were #7582.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Sitting Area with our outside balcony that we used all the time.

No need for a hairdryer with a balcony.

Door Decorations. I wrote a joke a day on our board and it ended up being so much fun. Several other passengers wrote back and forth and even wrote some jokes for us. These also proved to be so useful when we left our room to let the others know where we went. (While we were in ports we had service and could text, on sea days we purchased texting on the app so we could meet everyday but sometimes it was still hit and miss)

All organized and ready to play!

Calli and Levi's Room. The bottom line was soon erased by Levi. Haha!

They had an indoor stateroom with a virtual balcony.

It was actually pretty cool. It was a live feed of what was going on outside.

3:00pm Time for North Star. Grandpa was worn out so he opted to take a nap while the rest of us went up!

Checking out the views on the way up

It was crazy to look down and be above the ship

It was a 15 minute ride up 300 feet and then turned 360 degrees. It was awesome!

Took the family to see the clear floor. It's on the 13th deck and looks all the way down to the 4th deck.

Coolest thing. You can see the elevators coming and going.

All the walls in the stair cases were decorated differently and so cool.

The Wind Jammer. Before you entered this buffet you were required to wash your hands in a little side wash room. A staff member stood there and said "Washy, Washy, for Yummy Yummy, Makes me Happy, Happy" It was darling. We giggled every time and gladly went and washed our hands. Haha!

2nd ice cream cone of the day!

The sail away party was canceled due to an emergency. (Never knew what the emergency was) By this time it was 4:30 and we had already toured the ship, ate lunch, enjoyed several ice cream cones, done I-Fly and the North Star and we hadn't even set sail yet.

We had dinner every night at 5:15 in the Main Dining Room #3 on the 4th Floor. American Icon Grill. It was so good every single night and of course our waiters (Roger and Htet) were amazing.

Two entrees for this boy the first night. He couldn't decide between the steak or the tenderloin so he got both. Our waiter would always bring out extra appetizers, entree and desserts. We were never left wanting to try something new. While at dinner we set sail.

After dinner we went to the top deck to watch the sunset. Such a gorgeous night. We had amazing weather the entire trip. A week before the trip it was forecast to rain the entire time so we all purchased big rain ponchos. Then two days before the trip it was forecasted to rain everyday except a window of sunshine for our two excursion days. Such a blessing! But in the end we did not see rain until we were at the airport in Seattle ready to fly home. We could not believe how lucky we got.

Again watching the sun and water in the Solarium near the front of the ship.

Walked to the back of the ship to watch Seattle slowly disappear.

Alaska cruises are actually a lot different than regular cruises because there are so many times you are near land. There was only one day that we were completely surrounded by nothing but water. The rest of the times there were islands, icebergs or land.

Stopped by to see the robotic bartender on our was to a late night show. It was so cool. It would take the order, make the drink and then deliver the drink. We stopped to watch them more than once.

Our show that night was Pixels Cabaret. This was the only show that we did not love. It was kinda weird and we were not sad when it got over. :)

Found a hidden cruise duck in one of the stair wells on our way back to our cabin. Another fun thing I learned about before coming so you better believe we had brought ducks to hide as well.