Alaska Trip

We saved and planned and thought through everything for our first cruise…. or at least we thought we had. This was our first big vacation without our kids and we were celebrating ten years of marriage. What better trip than a seven-day Alaskan cruise! Let me first say that it was a wonderful trip and we could not have had more fun. The Norwegian Encore had great food, fabulous entertainment, and plenty of options to enjoy our time. There were choices we made that I would recommend for everyone and some choices we wish we had done differently. 

First, and most important, what we did right. The entire vacation was fully paid for before we left. No, I am not saying we charged our credit card. We paid for airline tickets, the cruise, and all shore excursions before leaving. There is nothing worse than coming home to a huge credit card bill that will take months to pay off.  We also paid for the priority upgrade for embarkment and dis-embarkment.  This made getting on and off the boat much easier and almost no lines. 

Now for what I wish we had done. We were in a club suite room with balcony, but it is still a small room. Even though you do not spend much time there, you still need to maximize your space. I wish I had brought a toiletry bag that could hang with all my items. These are relatively cheap and come in plenty of sizes and colors (like this Bagsmart). I wish we had brought a water bottle for the room, like this collapsible one from Special Made. My husband was smart enough to bring one, but a second would have been very helpful so that we could keep one cold. Lastly, we spent way too much time and money picking up headache medicine. The ship charges a ridiculous amount and for some reason finding a drug store was a huge pain during our stops. Pick up a first aid kit (like this mini one) and some over the counter meds (like this packet).

I’ll be better prepared for our next trip! 

6/26/2022-7/3/2022