The Princess is Whaling

The family trip to Alaska began with a day in Vancouver during which time I learned that I really like that city and think I might be ready to live internationally again (sorry Mom!) There is an amazing park in the middle of the city, but also right on the water, a perfect combo for a mostly urban/little bit nature kind of girl! We boarded the Sapphire Princess cruise ship and then there was all sorts of excitement when we began to pull out of the dock and it was discovered that there was a dead fin whale attached to the bow. Talk about bad P.R. Princess....

They "deeply regret(ted) the incident" but it was "not yet determined" whether the cruise ship killed the whale or simply impaled a dead whale. I guess time will tell (or the whale autopsy and investigation will!) So much for the conservationist mantra... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32146578/ns/travel/

Anyhow, we quickly learned that the free upgrade to the family suite (my own room and bathroom that was joined to my parents' with a huge balcony and lots of freebies) was free for a reason. While underway, it was without a doubt, the windest balcony on the ship, seeing as how it was in the very front, huge and unblocked by partitions. The chairs literally blew around the deck, one went overboard (oops) and the table almost took off my dad's head. However, we enjoyed the free laundry services, $1,200 worth of free internet use, chocolate covered strawberries and Nino, our on-call steward. When the ship wasn't moving, the balcony was fabulous and the views were even better throughout. Thanks Dre and Radu (sister and brother in law)!

Here are the photos from the trip, courtesy of my Dad and Radu: http://web.me.com/marisg321/Alaska