I have to admit I was sure I would not like going on a cruise.  I just thought being on a big ship would have to be pretty boring, after all weren’t you trapped on board most of the time?

I had, thanks to my good friend and cruise expert Jeff Wagg, a chance to go on my first cruise to Alaska.  What won me over wasn’t the chance to go on a cruise, it was a chance to go to Alaska.  I flew to Vancouver where the ship was leaving, spent the night at a wonderful hotel and explored Vancouver a bit (visit the aquarium, it’s great).  Then I drove with my cabin mate to the ship.

First off, cruise ships are big.  I had a real sense of “Wow, I’m going on a big ship!” as I walked up to check in. This excitement has stayed with me at the start of every cruise I’ve been on since.  It’s very much like checking in at the airport, only I’ve found the check in staff for a cruise to be  much nicer than the TSA.

I knew since I was a last minute “fill in” for someone that had dropped out, I had the smallest cheapest room on the cruise ship.  I was truly in the bowels of the ship, as the elevator took me down down down to my cabin.

I was met by the cabin steward, the lovely man that would be taking care of me and my cabin mate for the trip.  This was probably the most pleasant surprise  of the cruise.  Jose didn’t seem to care I was in the cheapest cabin.  Every time I left, I returned to a cabin that had been tidied and he even kept fresh iced water in a carafe for me.  If I needed anything, all I had to do was ask Jose.  He even was in the hallway to compliment me when I was dressed up for evening dinner.  I was so impressed I went out of my way to make sure I personally talked to his supervisor about how much Jose added to my first cruise experience.

Happy disembarking in Juneau Alaska!
I loved this cruise, I even loved the small cabin!

I have mentioned I had the least expensive cabin on the ship, the Celebrity Infinity. It was, like most cruise cabins, very well laid out.  While when I first opened my cabin and went “It’s a closet!” I soon found even a closet can be designed to be very comfortable.  There were two twin size beds, and the suitcases fit under the beds so they were out of the way.  The closet was just right, and there was a nice bathroom with shower.  I shared a nightstand with my cabin mate, but we were quite comfortable the entire trip.

The locals were very friendly!

We did not have a window, so we would awake in the morning and wonder what time it was.  One thing we found funny was that as we crossed a time zone a few times, and it messed up our cell phones which we tried to use as alarm clocks.  I knew the cabin was near the engines, as the walls actually vibrated when the boat was moving.  It was a very pleasant vibration though, and as the ship traveled through the night it was a rather comforting hum.  I would awake in the morning when the engines, and the hum stopped.  I knew it mean the ship was in whatever our port was for the day.  While I missed having a window, it was truly relaxing in the small cabin.  It reminded me of camping in a pup tent.  Also the simplicity of the space made it a very peaceful retreat between eating, sightseeing, and hanging with my other friends that were on the cruise.

A cruise is about scenery and also about friends. During the Alaska cruise our group enjoyed sharing our photographs. Jeff Wagg is in his trademark yellow and black shirt!

The boat itself had many public areas that also felt private.  An Alaska cruise is all about the scenery.  I would sit for hours (or when the weather was nicer, was on the deck), simply in awe of the beauty that is Alaska.  It didn’t matter I was there on the budget plan, the scenery was the same for all.

This video I made of my photographs from the cruise should convince everyone to call up Celebrity cruises and book now.

I have since been on 3 other cruises.  I had a wonderful room with a balcony during 2 of the cruises.  One was the West Coast of Mexico and my cabin mate and I spent many hours on the balcony enjoying drinks and cheese platters.  It was wonderful to wake up and see the view, and also in the evenings to watch the boat pull out from the docks and also to see the lights from the other boats at night.

My cabin mate, Naomi (and fellow blogger) enjoys the balcony on the cruise to Mexico. She’s a fabulous cabin mate!

I also have done two Caribbean cruises, one with a balcony room, but also one with a very small room.  It was a surprise, my cabin mate and I thought we were getting a room with a large window.  Instead, it was a small porthole.  The size of the cabin was much like that of my first cabin.  The room was designed for efficiency and my cabin mate and I soon came to enjoy our quiet little space.  We did have to take turns dressing, it really wasn’t big enough for two women to change at the same time.  But, once again I was reminded of camping, crawling into my little bed at night and being rocked to sleep by the movement of the boat.  Nothing is more relaxing than sleeping on a ship.

Yeah a balcony is pretty nice, waking up to a view like this is very pleasant.

I would love to go back to Alaska on the Celebrity Infinity and have a balcony or window room.  The scenery would be magnificent to wake up to.  I also think of how friendly the crew was and how good the food was also.  There were even shopping bargains, the ship was on the last cruise of the season in Alaska and was getting ready to go to the Panama Canal.  Everything that said “ALASKA” was on sale, so my daughters were very pleased to receive discounted gifts.

Now I don’t need Jeff to offer me a last minute deal to convince me to go on a cruise. I’ve been won over.  I just need to start saving up for that window room on the Infinity!

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Categories: Travel

Tags: Alaska, balcony, cabin, cabin mate, Celebrity, cruise, Cruise ship, cruising, first cruise, food, fun, Infinity, jeff wagg, Mexico, size, small cabin, steward, Vancouver, video