Just Like the Titanic

A few reflections as our Alaskan cruise draws to a close …

*We’ve had excellent weather the whole time, with only one day of rain and daytime temps in the 50s and 60s.

*A cruise isn’t like a Holy Land tour where you are together all the time. Our group of 34 eats together during the evening meal. Other than that, we’ve been on our own.

*All the rooms are called “staterooms,” which suggests something grander than the reality. We’ve enjoyed ours on the second deck, an inside room with no porthole. After visiting a ninth-deck stateroom with a sliding glass door and a small veranda, I think that’s the way to go.

*The ship itself is a masterpiece of design, beautifully appointed, with an attentive staff of 900+ who are unfailingly friendly, courteous and cheerful. They are so friendly that it takes some getting used to. They say they want to treat their guests famously and they do.

*Our little group has grown close during these days together. We see each other, wave, laugh, and during the evening meal, we trade stories about where we’ve been during the day.

*My favorite moment came during the land portion of the tour when I heard someone go to the hotel desk in Denali and ask, “Do you take American money?” They were relieved to be told that they were still in the United States.

*Since this is our first cruise, I can’t compare it to a Caribbean cruise, but quite a few people on board say that a Caribbean cruise is much more of a party atmosphere and even more laid-back. That makes sense given that at each stop in Alaska, people stream off the ship to do things like visit a glacier, go on a whale-watching trip, ride a train into the mountains, go shopping, or learn about the indigenous culture.

*I suppose it’s possible to lose weight on a cruise but you’d have to lock yourself in your stateroom. I’ve gone to the workout room every day and found it just as Harry Bollback predicted. The first day it was full of people at 6 AM. This morning almost no one was there.

*Speaking of Harry, we’ve enjoyed having Harry and Millie along for the cruise. He and Jack Wyrtzen co-founded Word of Life in the mid-1940s. Harry is absolutely full of life and joy and wisdom and good humor. Each morning he leads us in a brief devotion at 7:30 AM. At the end of each evening meeting, he wishes us good night and tells us to “sleep well and dream of me.”

*The evening meals are an incredible presentation. Last night we all dressed up for the grand celebration. A band played a fanfare and we all cheered as the cruise director introduced the various chefs and hosts who came from around the world. Then we cheered again when the waiters brought out Baked Alaska for dessert. And then there was the Midnight Buffet featuring extraordinary ice carvings, long tables of exquisitely designed foods plus Beef Wellington. Marlene and I went to sleep after the evening meeting and woke up in time for the buffet at 12:15 AM. After going back to bed, we didn’t want to get up this morning.

*As I write these words we are in the harbor at Ketchikan. Riding the tender to the shore, we saw two eagles flying just a few feet away. Riding back to the ship there were floatplanes landing all around us. At the moment the wind is whipping up the waves and a mist partially obscures the mountains behind the town. Tomorrow we sail the Inland Passage and then early on Friday morning we arrive in Vancouver.

*Alaska is just plain amazing. If you haven’t paid a visit, you should. My parents met in Nome, Alaska during World War II. During our stop at Skagway, I purchased a book that details the story of the fighting in the Aleutian Islands, a chapter of the war that most people know nothing about. I don’t think Mom and Dad ever visited Alaska again after the war. I have thought about my parents and how they met during those cold, hard days in 1942-43. It occurred to me that they never said much about the war and I never asked them. Now I wish I had.

*A few days on a cruise ship is relaxing for the body and the soul. A friend from New York, not knowing where I was, called me on the phone this morning and said that I sounded relaxed. I took that as a compliment since I’m speaking eight times during the cruise.

*Last night during dinner as I looked around the vast dining room and saw the ladies in beautiful evening dresses and the men and coats and ties, I commented to Marlene that taking a cruise is the closest we’ll ever come to being on the Titanic. It’s true. A cruise is like stepping into a storybook world that you saw one time in the movies. Being here is like being on the Titanic, if you don’t count the iceberg part of the story.