Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Cruise Begins

Sunday morning, July 14th, we picked up Kent, Linda, Greg and Kristie from the Seattle airport and made our way to Pier 91 to board the Golden Princess.  The twelve of us completely filled the taxi van and nearly toppled the luggage cart at the pier!  We had beautiful views of Seattle as the ship started to pull away.  Shortly thereafter, we were summoned to our "mustering stations" for a safety drill, and see the port authority guide boat directing us out to sea.


Monday is a day at sea and we continued to familiarize ourselves with the ship.  Here's a few photos of the Golden Princess which were taken throughout the week. 


  The first formal night provided an opportunity for us to see each other at our best!




At one of the silly games played on board, Kristie was selected to be one of the participants in "Peer Factor".  She put on a large and roomy costume which her teammates had to stuff with more balloons than the other team.  Although they lost that game, they came out later with a winning dance routine that earned them the championship title that evening.


Another memorable "game" was when Sandra's daughter, Michelle, sent her a text saying that she had gone into labor and delivered baby Harvey a little before her due date.  She even sent this cute baby picture as proof.  Isn't that a proud Grandma!  But the next morning after texting with her son, Parker, it was revealed that this was simply a cruel joke!  I'm not sure if I've ever seen steam escaping Sandra's angry brow like it did then!


There were karaoke nights, magic shows. bingo games and some hilarious comedy routines along with the traditional Broadway style song and dance show.  Some of the food was fabulous (and some was not) but it was always plentiful.  I think Bob and I found our favorite to be the thick rich chocolate malts!  (That's what living in Korea does to you!)  But the true highlights of this cruise were found in the natural beauty of Alaska discovered at each port and from the deck along the scenic voyage. (To be seen in the next few posts.)


 But the best part of the whole experience was being with some of our very best friends - our family!  Here's lookin' at the handsome bunch of us one more time from our second formal night:  (My brothers and I - oldest to youngest - with Mark missing as the second youngest in the family.  Seriously, do we look anything alike?!  Maybe the chin?)


 And here's the message we want to leave with you:









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