Monday, May 18 -- Awake Early and Busy Day

After not sleeping too well, partly due to the motion of the ship (wore my nausea bands to bed), I got up early to go to a 7:30 AM Body Conditioning Class in the Fitness Center. Had a good workout and felt good afterward. Planning to go the tomorrow session, too. I wanted to go on the treadmill, too, but none were available. Some people were there by 6AM and didn’t adhere to the 30-minute maximum use time.

We all had breakfast in the Summer Palace Restaurant, again with very slow service. The waiter was very nice, doing his best to get us our food in a reasonable time. After eating, Steve and I decided it was time to take a walk up on Deck 12. Brrr… was chilly and windy.

The fresh air was invigorating. We followed up with a nice hot cup of cappuccino. (Yes, again…) Steve ate a small amount from the Great Outdoors buffet. Then it was time for lunch. The big joke onboard has been is that it’s always time to eat. (I’ve done my best to be selective about what and how much I eat, but may have overdone it today.) I had salad and some Indian food at the Garden Café.

After a short stop back at our cabin to drop off jackets and make a quick “pit stop,” we walked down to Deck 6 to the Stardust Theater to attend the “Alaska Port & Shopping Talk.” Jenna gave a very informative talk, with pointers about deals while in all our ports of call. She also gave me a special discount coupon in case I decide to purchase alexandrite (my birthstone) at one of the shops in Skagway. Good deals with no sales tax (absorbed by vendors). I’m definitely looking forward to some serious shopping.

We returned to our cabin. Steve took a nap and I headed back to Deck 7 to attend Jenna’s next session “Juneau & Gemstones Talk.” She repeated info about Juneau for people who were unable to attend the first session and handed out some other info sheets and freebie info. I didn’t stay for the whole session. Went back to the cabin, relaxed, and later Steve and I took another walk outside. By the time we finished (brrr…) at about 4PM, we decided to check out the Blue Lagoon, an eatery open 24 hours. Their menu has assorted “comfort food” with average portions. I ate the artichoke/spinach dip with tortilla chips (yummy), half of a tuna melt sandwich, and mashed potatoes. Steve had veggie lasagna and followed up with some NY cheesecake with blueberries. I had a couple of bites. (Excellent)

Back to the room for relaxation. Steve started watching a movie. (There’s a schedule of movies on 2 TV channels. Good choices.) I arranged to meet Alison, etc., at Indigo Restaurant at 7PM for dinner, but there was a 30-minute wait for admittance (no tables available), so we went back to Summer Palace. It was lobster (tail) night. After a small asparagus/green bean/tiny scallops appetizer, I ate 3 lobster tails with veggies. I wasn’t “planning” to have dessert, but ate a lo-cal chocolate mousse cake. (Delicious!)

Evening show in Stardust Theater -- 9:15PM Comedy Show with David Naster – very funny. Laughed a lot.

We had to turn our watches back for time change, so we get an extra hour of sleep. (Yay!)

Tomorrow – Juneau and the Mendenhall glacier. Weather forecast is for 65.