On this day we cruised the inside passage. The Alaskan portion of the inside passage is approximately 500 miles from north to south and approximately100 miles from west to east. There are some 1,000 islands and thousands of bays and coves making it a popular tourist destination. There are wildlife viewing opportunities from land and sea, whether you are exploring the rugged coastal mountain ranges or exploring by boat, cruise ship or kayak on the water. Over 2 two million visitors a year cruise this region in a variety of cruise ships. In addition to the cruise ships, more than 35,000 recreation boats transit the inside passage annually.

We enjoyed breakfast in the main dining room which is elegantly appointed. Crisp white tablecloths drape to the floor, large leather upholstered chairs at the tables and vintage style silver accessories grace the tables. The friendly staff was all too happy to chat as they provided stellar service. The extensive breakfast menu included most anything you could imagine from eggs, to pancakes and muesli to lamb chops and everything in between. The staff is excellent at remembering your names and will call you by name every time they come to the table.

Onboard all week long was a naturalist by the name of Dr. Gloeta Nickole Massie who gave a morning talk on what type of wildlife we might expect to see in each port of call. She was quite enthusiastic with a great sense of humor. In the afternoon Gloeta gave a talk on Whales, Bears and Glaciers explaining differences and similarities in different varieties of each.

Being a sea day, it seemed as though all we did was eat. We dined in the Grand Dining Room for lunch. They had a wide variety of dishes from salads, to sandwiches and fish to soups. They list some as healthy options showing the calorie content but we made selections on what looked good or that we had not tried before. Kent had empanadas for a starter and a salad niçoise for his main. Mark had a mushroom soup for a starter, a croque monsieur for his main and a coconut creme sweet with a raisin rum topping for dessert.

Late afternoon brought the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Celebration where he introduced his senior officers. The Riviera Showband performed for guests listening and dancing pleasure. The drinks were complimentary although it doesn’t make much difference when the majority of people have drink packages allowing them unlimited drinks.

We continued to eat more as we dined in the Grand Dining Room for dinner. Kent restrained himself by only having a shrimp cocktail and a salad. On the other hand, Mark had the lobster bisque, the spinach salad with bacon dressing, the duck l’orange followed by the pistachio souffle.

The evening’s entertainment was a showcase of dynamic pop hits and career highlights by Paulette Ivory. Paulette sang hits of Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey. Paulette starred in Aida, and The Lion King and other shows in London and on Broadway. She has acted in the Young and the Restless for TV and performed for King Charles.