Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Muster Stations (and roast beef carving stations:)





Leaving Vancouver was breathtaking in and of itself, but as we approached more open seas, the landscape became even more picturesque. Click on the picture of my Mom and John walking down the steps to the dining room and note the view as you dined each evening! Unbelievable.
 
One advantage of taking the Inside Passage route is that your open seas sailing is limited to only two or so days of the trip. The Inside Passage waters are much calmer and you have the advantage of the views on both sides of the ship. 

We were sailing on Celebrity's ship the Infinity. The ship holds 2046 passengers and its tonnage is 91,000. It measures 965 feet in length, and was built in 2001. I found it very interesting to watch the everyday things behind the walls of it's glamour, like where the crew that cleaned the rooms stay, and what was life like living and working on a ship for 8 months at a time. 

All of our family and friends we were traveling with would go their own way during the day, and we would then meet for dinner in the main dining room in the evenings. I think having our family around us during such a special time was one of the best things about the entire voyage. We so enjoyed just being together. 

The head waiter for our table was from Turkey. He was married and his wife worked on the ship as well. I must say, I've never seen such dedication and attention to detail! He told us that they shared a very small cabin and work about 15 hours a day. John called each course they brought out 'a dinner'. So, the  appetizer was the 1st dinner, the salad was the 2nd dinner etc.. He was quite impressed when they brought out SIX dinners! :)

1st stop- Ketchikan AK!

5 comments:

Paula said...

Oh, it just sounds so fun. The dining room reminds me of the one in the movie Titanic. It looks very elegant and the views look gorgeous. I think I would like the inside passage route too, sounds a lot calmer.

Unknown said...

YES! We sailed the Infinity also - so classy - I enjoyed the art deco accents on the ship.

I feel like an 'armchair traveler' with these posts...keep 'em coming!

Patricia said...

WOW! That sure is some view from the dining room!! What a fabulous trip! Can't wait to hear more about it! :)

Sandy H. said...

Amazing, just amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

6 dinners! "Honey did you hear that, 6 dinners!". Welp, that settles it, we have been thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise before our adoption and I think that alone may have sealed the deal. So far from your trip this is what I have read - Yadda yadda, pretty views, yadda, 6 Dinners!

Looks like an awesome trip!!!