As I am writing this I am just about as far from Whisper Creek as I could be – if not geographically, at least climate-wise. I am sitting in the Solarium of the good ship Anthem of the Seas overlooking Juneau Alaska. And I have to say, it’s been a pretty interesting trip.
Last winter during a Black Friday sale we booked a summer cruise to Alaska. My wife and I did our diligent pre cruise research and watched a lot of YouTube videos on the different ports in Alaska so we pretty much knew what to expect. But still, you have to see it to believe it.
Alaska is raw and untamed. Endless stretches of forest (Did you know that the Alaska wilderness is the second largest rain forest in the world right after the Amazon?) with amazing mountains and valleys as far as the eye can see.
The compact cities of Sitka, Skagway and Juneau cling to small strips of land near broad deep channels. These cities are not accessible from land, only the sea or air. Local tradesmen love the hustle and bustle that comes with the arrival of the cruise ships and it’s not unusual to have 3 or 4 in the port at the same time disgorging thousands of tourists with pockets full of cash.
It’s funny to me that we’ll crowd off the ships and the free food that they provide to eat at expensive restaurants on shore. I was surprised that one restaurant we went to had Alaskan crab legs for $97.00 a pound. My legs aren’t worth that much! One would think that Alaskan crab legs in Alaska would have somehow been cheaper.
I had to ponder what these cities look like during the cold winter months when cruise ships are not around. I’m sure they go about their winter business at a slow frozen pace. Not sure why anyone would want to live here but they do, and for the most part they love it. They do have a saying though… “Come for the wildlife and stay because your car won’t start.”
For much of the cruise our ship was surrounded by fog but the sun did peak out for our day at Juneau. The temperatures hovered in the mid 60s with a nice day of 70 degrees at one stop.
At Skagway we took a train called the White Pass Railway which traced the Gold Rush miners trail. First of all the scenery was amazing as it followed the Skagway river up into the mountains. We also viewed the actual footpath that the miners took. I can’t begin to imagine the hardship that these thousands of men went through in their often fruitless search for gold.
I volunteered to steer the ship for a while so the captain could take a break, but that offer was soundly rejected as was my request to water ski off the back of the boat. I guess these career sailors do not share my sense of humor.
If you have not taken an Alaskan cruise I highly recommend that you add it to your bucket list. Alaska is truly the last frontier and it’s a must see.
On the flip side…
THE PERFECT MONEY MAKING MACHINE
I have been an entrepreneur most of my adult life and when I see a business that has fine tuned the money making process, well I have to call it out. My wife and I just recently completed an Alaskan cruise aboard the Anthem of the Seas (Our 10th cruise overall) and wow, do they ever have the profit process perfected!
Now please understand here that I am not complaining. I wanted to go on the cruise and I approached the whole trip with an open mind and wallet. And I don’t mind a company making a profit ~ after all that’s what business is all about.
After boarding the ship and getting a good night’s sleep, it was time to think about coffee. I love my coffee and I need several strong jolts first thing in the morning to get my body in high gear. They had abundant free coffee at the many restaurants on board but at best it was watered down and had low octane. Enter Starbucks! For a small additional fee of $8.00 per cup I was able to get my caffeine fix each morning. There were around 8 Starbuck locations on the ship.
Coffee not your thing? Well you can always get your caffeine and sugar fix with a nice tall glass of ice cold Coke, for an additional charge. Cruise lines offer this thing called a beverage package for a (not so) small additional fee if you need your daily Coca Cola fix. Other than that, “It’s no coke for you!”
The free restaurants do offer a wide variety of very watered down drinks at no charge. I think however if they could have figured out how to water down water, they would have done that.
Want to send a quick text or email out to your fam? You guessed it, you have to purchase an internet package. And don’t forget to invest all your extra unneeded cash in the machines at the casino which is a big profit center for Royal Caribbean.
The ship offers a wide variety of free restaurants where the food is plentiful and mostly tasteless. Want something better? There is a constant army of people in your face with menus trying to direct you to the pay as you eat venues. I do have to mention that the evening meals in the dining room were actually not bad but they did offer a variety of upgraded menu items for an additional fee.
One of the big money makers on board is mixed drinks. Most cost about $15.00 each but if I want to stay really pickled, I could have purchased an unlimited drink package for around $1000.00 per person and if you’re traveling with anyone, you have to buy a package for them. No sharing!!
We opted out of the drink or beverage package and still managed to spend around $500.00 for our Starbucks and mixed drinks. Want to spend some serious bucks? Book some shore excursions. Most run in the $300.00 to $1000.00 category and are mostly worth it I guess.
And then there are the plethora of shops, art gallery’s, watch and jewelry emporiums and spas just waiting to help you limit out that credit card.
According to Investopedia for the fiscal year ending in 2024 Royal Caribbean reported a total revenue of just under $14 Billion driven by strong ticket sales and onboard revenue performance. And the post covid crowd is booking more cruises than ever.
Roughly 35% of RC’s revenue comes from onboard purchases including drink packages, speciality dining, shore excursions and casino gambling. As I wrote earlier I have nothing against a company that has figured out how to earn an honest buck and I think that Royal Caribbean just may have cornered the cruising cash market! I just want you and your wallet to be prepared.
