Day 1 -Morning in Seward, Boarding the Ship, and Sailing past Bear Glacier.

Breakfast at Harbor 360 Hotel

The photo above is me sitting in the breakfast area with the Jewel behind me, a better picture is below this post.  My wife and granddaughter were sleeping in trying to recover from the long day before.  

The free breakfast was typical of many free continental breakfasts at hotels.  The things they had were all good, you could get hot pancakes, but I settled for a light start and lots of coffee.  We chose this hotel for its proximity to the harbor and the ship.  

After breakfast, I went and explored a little and then joined my wife and granddaughter for a walk around the port area.  We checked out the close gift shops and a hardware store.  Then it was time to go back to the hotel and leave for the port.

Boarding the Ship – Day 1 Afternoon

We arranged for early check-in, and we were due at the terminal between 11:30 and 12:00.  The hotel had a shuttle, but it didn’t run until noon, so we called for a taxi, and from our hotel, it took about 5 minutes and cost $7.00 to get the terminal.  The terminal in Seward is just a metal building that is shared by multiple cruise lines.  There was a pretty significant line for regular passengers, but it seemed to move fairly quickly. 

Since Cheryl travels with her wheelchair, they had a line for those that have mobility challenges.  We had to wait for several Haven parties to get processed, but then we were processed and on our way to the ship.  This was different than our last experience with the Breakaway because once we were through security, it was straight on to the ship.

Our first stop was the Bliss lounge to drop off some of our carry-on bags and then to Tsar’s Palace for lunch.  The day was very cool, and while most of the passengers went to the buffet, we went in and had a very nice lunch.  There is a separate post here for the food choices during our trip.

Before we even finished lunch, they made the announcement that the cabins were ready and so we went and picked up our carry-on bags and then went to our room and started getting it set up for the cruise.  Details of the room and pictures will be in another post.

We had dinner reservations at 5:30 for dinner in Tsar’s Palace, and that was also our muster station.  The lifeboat drill was at 5:30 as well, and that meant that after the drill they had to clear out the passengers, remove the table coverings, and then checked us back in to eat.  Dinner was not rushed but was very efficient, and we were finished with dinner in time to attend the 7:30 welcome aboard show. 

The show was typical for the first night, a sample of some of the entertainment, the comedian did audience participation (using unwilling volunteers), and it was hysterical.  The song and dance performers did a good job, and it was enough to make you want to see the shows.

Sail – Away – Day 1 Evening

Sail-Away was different as we didn’t leave Seward until about 9:00 PM.  The sun was still up, and the day was cloudy, but not raining.  As we sailed through the islands that dot the entrance to Resurrection Bay, We had a very clear view of Bear Glacier, one of the glaciers that descends from the ice fields on the Kenai Peninsula.  I have a video of that glacier here.

The water was very smooth as we traversed Ressurection Bay, and you didn’t feel any ship motion until we entered the Gulf of Alaska.  Once we were in the Gulf of Alaska, the ship seemed to pitch and roll slightly more, but not enough to bother you.  I was surprised that the seas were not larger and the motion more pronounced