I read the brochure before we left and wondered out loud what the heck is "scenic cruising?" Most itineraries list the ports of call and sea days, this one was different. Cruising is inherently scenic so what up?
We woke at our usual early time and had a leisurely breakfast while we awaited our "scenic cruising."
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| Breakfast Buffet Grand Princess |
After breakfast, we grabbed the cameras and headed up top. During the early morning, local ship pilots boarded and were steering the ship up the Tracy Arm Fjord towards the Sawyer Glacier. It was magnificent outside with icebergs in the water and waterfalls cascading off the mountains. There is a bit of fog but the light is wonderful for photos. When we reached the end of the fjord, the ship turned "lazy three sixties" while we filled up memory cards. This is what scenic cruising is!
A short statement here: I hold the rights to these photos. If you want to use them, contact me at lifesapicnic@gmail.com. I am very reasonable about usage but please don't steal my photos. Thank you!
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| Tracy Arm Fjord - Sawyer Glacier |
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| Sawyer Glacier Alaska |
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| Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska |
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| Waterfall Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska |
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| Bergy Bits and Growlers Sawyer Glacier, Alaska |
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| Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska |
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| Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska |
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| Tracy Arm Fjord Alaska |
We took photos of everything including us!
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| Life's a Picnic Photographers |
I was a long fun morning with an abundance of photo ops but there was more fun ahead. A week into this cruise I find myself in the really "relaxed" mode and stumble with my note taking. One thing I never forget is lunch! We hit up Alfredo's Pizza on the Piazza for lunch. We really love its casual setting with quick service. While waiting for seating I chat up the pizza maker and ask how many pizzas a day he makes. He says he makes over 400 a day by himself! This is an "artisan" style pie, hand thrown, that would cost a bunch around San Francisco, but is included in our cruise fare. I told him with his skills he should open his own shop. He responds softly and says "that is my dream." With a glass of Chianti and great pizzas we toast to his dream. I hope his hard work pays off.
Walking off our lunch we shop the ship's stores and find a bargain scarf for $10. While waiting for today's Zumba class we make our own commercial about the many uses of a scarf. We seem to make a number of guest laugh with our antics. Maybe we could get free passage by doing a comedy routine.
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| Scarf Tying 101 by Life's a Picnic |
Later we head up to the Da Vinci dining room for yet another splendid dinner. It is "Italian" night and the waiters are dressed as gondoliers. At first glance, I think the costumes are "Where's Waldo?" outfits minus the hipster hats, but am assured they are gondolier outfits. We start with prosciutto - melon and a green salad. For our main course I have veal Marsala and Avril, the chicken Saltimbocca. In addition, the maitre d' hotel whips up a small portion of a spicy pasta Arrabiata table-side. Dinner and a show! Our head wait person, Dianna (pronounced Deanna), is model beautiful and has treated us so well this week it will be hard to say goodbye soon.
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| Dianna and the Maitre De |
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| Dinner Da Vinci Dining Room Grand Princess |
We are offered a Limoncello with a souvenir glass for an extra charge. I think it worked, we are so tired after dinner we head back to our cabin to retire.
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| Limoncello - Say good night! |
4 comments:
Glorious photos of the inlet and the hills! Amazing that trees grow out what appears to be solid rock. Your Hawaii cruise will be very different, but beautiful in its own way.
Zoomie- Thanks! It was remarkably beautiful. Looking forward to Hawaii.
The Tracy Arm Fjord image could hang in a gallery. Can I have your permission to just stare at that shot? All kidding aside you have skills my brother.
Chilebrown- Permission to stare granted! Thank you for you kind comment.
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