Northto Alaska

Friday 27th May North to Alaska We felt very spoilt this morning because we actually didn’t need to be ready until 10.15am. We were able to have a leisurely breakfast and then take our time packing ready for our cruise. Our coach took us to the cruise ship at the port and we were able to see a little more of Seattle. It seems to be a busy city but is very green with many trees. It is also the home of Microsoft and Boeing and we saw many buildings around town indicating this. Washington state is also one of the states in the USA where marijuana is legal and we saw many shops selling marijuana all around town. Have to say, seeing a gun shop followed by a marijuana shop and then a Liquor store made us all raise our eyebrows. Our tour guide told us all about the gun laws here and how two states are now trialing non-concealed  weapons.....Yes that’s right, you can walk around with you gun on your hip! While enjoying breakfast this morning we talked to a lovely couple who live in the USA. They were asking lots of questions about Australia  and especially the guns. They knew that Australia had tough gun laws and had heard that we had a gun amnesty where 1,000s of guns were handed in. They also asked if the USA was the “laughing stock” of the world with the “Trump” election trail. All the Australians there said “Yes”.  They said they wanted to come and live in Australia. We are now on our ship, in our extremely comfortable cabin. Our cabin is on level 7 in the front section of the ship and we have a window looking out to the front of the ship. There are about 2,000 guests on this ship and it has 13 levels. There are so many restaurants and shops,  bars, a casino, ice skating rink, theatres, pools etc. We have not found everything yet but hopefully we will by the end of the trip. Our ship is called the Explorer of the Seas and will be the biggest ship that has ever gone to Alaska. We’ve had a delicious 3 course dinner and after a walk around are now relaxing in our cabin.