Smokey the Bear is jacked!
From there, we were only a few minutes from the tunnel. Whittier was built up during World War II because it was an ice-free port and was a shorter distance to Anchorage but there was one problem - there were no roads to it and there were mountains surrounding it. They ended up taking two years and built a 2.5 mile tunnel that was just wide enough for a railroad. As of 20 years ago, Princess would load the motorcoach onto a train car and that's how they would get through.
Deciding this was getting untenable, they got funding in the late 90's to widen the tunnel and allow car traffic and this work was completed in 2003. The tunnel is still barely wide enough for a bus so only one direction of traffic can go at a time. Waiting our turn, our bus was the first through since they cater to Princess. During the trip, the driver told us that it had survived the 1964 Good Friday earthquake (which destroyed much of the town, especially with the ensuing tsunami) but there are 8 safe rooms that can be used in an emergency that are stocked with provisions and are ventilated. They've only been used once during a car chase a few years back. The other interesting thing about the tunnel is that it closes at 9 PM, meaning no one can get in or out of Whittier during the night. Whittier is very small and doesn't have many residents; almost all live in one condo building. The former military housing unit was condemned because of asbestos but it's too costly to remove so it's just abandoned and decaying.
We finally said goodbye to Tia and went to the complex to the board the Star Princess. When we checked in we had to scan our passports but they couldn't find our keys. This was the first red flag since when they found it (after a delay in which the manager had to be called over), it was in the location for the previous room number even though our new room number was printed on the card. We then walk up to get on the ship and that's when the trouble really started.
The cruise card can be swiped or scanned; when they swiped it to let us on board, it said it was invalid. Everyone on our tour had already gone on and while we should have been the first ones on board, it took so long for some other employee to bring new cards that other people were now lined up to embark. Finally we got new cards and headed to customer service to complain and make sure everything else was straightened out but once again, the guy at the desk didn't seem to care and said everything would be fine.
They take your picture all of the time on the boat.
This was taken as we boarded. Jess is NOT happy!
We ended up going to our room and thankfully our key worked and our excursion tickets were there. The room was small but ok; the balcony was pretty big and since it was a nice day (and since we didn't set sail for over 6 hours), we enjoyed it before grabbing lunch at the buffet which was basically my nightmare. It was very crowded and all the food was nothing I'd care to eat. People were packed in and everything was out in open containers; at one point there was a guy literally drooling on the sneeze guard. In fairness, he was struggling with the tongs so I think he had medical issues but still...this is what turns me off to buffets. I grabbed an apple and a roll and then Jess got me some cookies. We did eat dinner there later and that had some meat stations so at least then I could eat something.
Right before the boat leaves, they do a mandatory safety drill. We arrived on time and to ensure that everyone attends, they scan in our cards. Of course, when they did this the scanner makes the sound you'd hear when someone busts out on "Price is Right". Same thing happened with Jess's card. The guy writes down our room number on his hand and says he'll take care of it. As soon as the safety demonstration ended, we headed to customer service and after waiting in a very long time, once again, they did not care that our first cruise experience was so bad. They did change our cards but seemed put out when we asked them scan them to make sure they worked (after all, we'd be leaving the boat when it docks in a couple of days and I didn't want a hassle when we went to re-board). We ended up missing them leave the dock because we were in line; I assume I missed lots of people waving their hats and handkerchiefs at us.
The other thing we noticed is that every two minutes they are trying to sell us things. At dinner they were selling alcohol packages for $60+ per person per day and we were thinking about how anyone could drink enough to justify that much booze. We wanted to get a soda with dinner but didn't see where there was any. When we asked, we found out that soda is a separate package so that was going to be $8 per day per person for the duration of voyage. Considering what we'd spend on a bottle of soda that's not too bad but it is kind of annoying to have to go to a bar to get a Diet Coke each time you want one. And that package still doesn't even include bottled water.
Our first day aboard was not exactly great and while we hope it changes, we're thinking we're not cruise people - we'd rather have done another week on land at this point.
As they say at Princess, "You're stuck on board now so what are you gonna do?" Note: Yeah, that's the attitude we got.
