Today is the second day of my 7-night Alaska cruise on Radiance of the Seas and we are enjoying a sea day as we travel from Vancouver to Alaska's Inside Passage.
This morning I tried to do something I very rarely do: sleep in! I'm a morning person and love having a quiet ship to myself in the early hours of the day, but I definitely needed to catch up on sleep after two busy days of travel.
That being said, I woke up this morning to the alarm someone set at 8AM in the room next to me! That's definitely a first on a Royal Caribbean ship.
We ate breakfast at the outdoor seating area in the Windjammer. Because the outdoor seating at the buffet is only found on a few Royal Caribbean ships, I'm trying to take advantage of it as much as I can.
Side note: If you haven't tried French toast topped with whipped cream and chocolate morsels from the Windjammer, you're missing out!
The weather was quite dreary today, so Reeham and I hung out near the windows at the champagne bar and looked for whales. Unfortunately we did not see any, although some passengers mentioned they saw a few whales from the ship earlier in the day!
The second day of an Alaska cruise heading north from Seattle or Vancouver is a sea day in more open waters, so it is the least scenic day of the cruise itinerary. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a panoramic ocean view, but I'm definitely eager to see Alaska's mountain landscapes tomorrow!
A relaxing afternoon
Lunch in the Main Dining Room is available on sea days, and with today's chilly weather and relaxing atmosphere, having a nice sit-down lunch seemed like the perfect way to start the afternoon.
We started the meal with salads and had butternut squash risotto for the main course, which far exceeded my expectations. It may not be the most appealing dish out there from a visual standpoint... but the risotto was one of the best courses I've had in the Main Dining Room yet!
After lunch, I decided to experience one of the unique features found only on Radiance Class ships, the Cinema!
Radiance Class ships have a complimentary movie theater onboard, and I loved it! While other ships show movies in the theater or on the pool deck, watching a movie in a cinema is a much better atmosphere. I'm hoping to visit the cinema a few more times on this cruise as it makes for a perfect cold weather activity.
Each day has a different movie playing, and there are showtimes roughly every 3 hours during the day. The only thing missing was popcorn!
Following the movie was a round of Friends trivia at Schooner Bar. Schooner Bar on Radiance of the Seas is huge! It was packed throughout the day... a little too crowded for my liking! When the weather is so cold outside, the indoor spaces always feel way more crowded.
We also stumbled across the Quill & Compass Pub. I didn't even realize there was a pub on Radiance of the Seas until I stumbled across it, as it's tucked in a weird location between the casino and theater. The pub is dimly lit and without windows, which doesn't totally match the theme of the Radiance Class!
The next two hours or so were spent relaxing in our stateroom. I haven't spent much time at all in our cabin because there are so many other nice places to hang out onboard. I'm happy with the decision to book an interior stateroom instead of a balcony considering we've spent minimal time in the cabin.
Evening onboard
Because we had eaten in the Main Dining Room for lunch, we decided to dine at the Windjammer for dinner. Tonight's dinner theme was Mediterranean and it was really impressive! From hummus to falafel, pita, fish, and baba ghanoush, I really enjoyed the meal.
I think the Windjammer is totally underrated for dinner compared to the Main Dining Room. I actually tend to prefer the buffet because of the wide range of options available and specialty cuisines from around the world each night.
The Windjammer was eerily empty tonight! I've never seen so few people there for dinner, but I suppose most guests went to formal night in the Main Dining Room.
Following dinner, I went for a walk several times around the outdoor Promenade deck. The weather had not improved much throughout the day, although I was grateful for calm waters.
The wind was insane whenever I lapped around the helicopter pad! I always feel like the crew members in the bridge are looking down and laughing at the passengers crazy enough to venture to the helipad with 20mph winds.
My last stop for the night was to the Aurora Theater for the production show of Piano Man. I usually avoid shows in the theater (aside from Broadway shows) as I feel they are rarely geared toward my age demographic, but I decided to give it a try.
The show had singing and dancing to the tunes of Elton John, Billy Joel, and Barry Manilow. The performers were talented and the music was certainly catchy, but I can't seem to get interested in the shows in the theater as much as live music elsewhere onboard or the more unique shows found in venues like Studio B and the AquaTheater on other Royal Caribbean ships.
The show ended around 9:15 and I headed back to my stateroom to finish this blog before calling it a night. As I went to bed, I noticed the ship rocking way more than earlier in the day. Luckily we'll be in the Inside Passage tomorrow where we should (hopefully) encounter calmer seas!
Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau at 1PM and I am looking forward to the first day of exploring Alaska!
