Kenn and I looked at our cruise as an experiment of sorts. Is this something we would like to do again? Why or why not? Periodically throughout our trip Kenn would ask, “So, what have we learned today?”

The most important lessons we learned are:

• We need a room with a view. Neither of us would do well with an interior room.
• Paying for the package that includes all tips is a must.
• The “unlimited beverage” package would be better if it included water. Instead, we took advantage of the “special” offered the first full day aboard and purchased 12 bottles of water for the low, low price of only $20.🙄 Neither of us are big drinkers but we did make some use of our unlimited beverage plan. We spent a couple of hours every evening on deck twelve near the outdoor bar where there was plenty of seating and windows overlooking the ocean. Kenn’s favorite drink of the trip was a Mudslide, which was basically an alcoholic dessert.😂 I had never had prosecco, so I tried a peach bellini; it turns out, I am not a fan. I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise since I’m not a fan of wine in general. I tend to prefer a drink with rum or tequila. (The rum based Bahama Mama was my favorite.)
• There were several complimentary restaurants onboard, but the others required additional money. Our cruise package included a credit toward one of the non-complimentary restaurants which we put toward a meal at the Italian restaurant, La Cucina. The food was good but nothing to write home about. I did get to try panna cotta for the first time and it was delicious. (I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it.) It might be nice to try a cruise line where all of the restaurants are complimentary. (Such cruise lines do exist.)
• The biggest, and most important, lesson we learned is that we will never be avid cruisers. No, it wasn’t bad, but for us, the destination is the most important part of the trip. Our road trips take longer, but give us longer at our chosen destinations and we can make side trips on the fly. This is not to say that we will never take another cruise, just that cruises will always be the exception, not the rule.

With the last point in mind, a cruise to Alaska is still very much on our bucket list; we think a cruise will give us the best opportunity to see the most scenery. We’ll probably take a one-way cruise from Seattle so we can disembark and spend a few days visiting friends who moved to Alaska. Of course this means that we’ll have to fly back to Seattle – and neither of us enjoy flying – but, you do what you gotta do.

Later this year we’re planning to take a train trip to see how we like traveling by rail. Have you traveled by train?