Our second Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska featured snow-capped mountains, serene glacier bays, and so many new friendships. It was an unforgettable week-long adventure on the Celebrity Cruises Edge filled with breathtaking scenery and endless opportunities to create memories that will last a lifetime. 

Here’s a recap:

Pre-cruise activities in Seattle

Most of the 85 people on our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska arrived in Seattle a day or two early (which we always recommend).

They spent the day touring the Emerald City and its highlights, including Pike Place Market, the Chihuly Gardens and Glass Museum and the Space Needle. 

As for us, we packed in quite a bit in the day and half we spent there before boarding the ship. We stayed at the Hampton Inn – Downtown and walked to the Space Needle, MoPOP Museum, Chihuly Gardens and Glass Museum, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Museum.

PIN FOR LATER

Time to set sail on the Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska

Once everyone boarded the ship, we met in the Rooftop Garden for a sail away gathering. Everyone had a chance to meet each other and wave goodbye to Seattle as the ship slipped away from the pier and started its northward trek.

It was great to reconnect with cruisers from our first Postcard Jar Friends Cruise in 2023 and meet new folks, as well. In all, we had 84 people from 12 different states join us on our cruise to Alaska. For us, meeting new people is one of the best parts of group travel.

Dining on the Celebrity Edge

Because we had guests in a variety of cabin types (Retreat, Aqua Class, Concierge Class, etc.) we didn’t all eat at the same time or even in the same place each night. Aqua Class guests dined at Blu, Retreat guests dined in Luminae, and others had dinner one of the four main dining rooms on the Celebrity Edge. All of the restaurants on the ship were fantastic! 

Throughout our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise, at least 10 couples celebrated anniversaries and six people celebrated their birthdays on board.

Silent disco was a big hit with our group

After dinner that first night, many of us gathered in the Grand Plaza for silent disco! 

For this special cruise event, everyone wears a set of headphones and picks from one of three different music channels. You listen or dance to the music of your choice and if you don’t like the song, you just change the channel. You can see what channel someone is hearing because their headphones light up in that color. If they’re having more fun than you are, you switch! It is a ton of fun and everyone from our group had such a good time together. 

Day two of our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska was at sea

As the ship sailed north, our cruisers found plenty to do on the sea day. Many gathered in the theater listening to a presentation by the on board naturalist, Celia Garland. She gave a great description of the itinerary and an overview of the geography, plants, and animals we’d see while in Alaska.

Others spent time in the spa, tried their luck at Deal or No Deal, or formed teams to play trivia together. One of our cruisers even enjoyed quilting by the pool in the Solarium! Trust us, no one was bored.

Martini tasting on our Friends Cruise to Alaska

Later in the day, we had an exclusive Postcard Jar Friends Cruise event: a martini tasting during which everyone was able to sample six different martinis!

Expert flair bartenders from the Martini Bar led the session and shared a little history of the cocktails before explaining each drink we sampled. Non-alcoholic drinks were also available. (I promise you, Jone did not drink all those martinis!)

We cannot thank our Martini Bar bartenders enough for giving us such a fun event and entertaining us throughout the cruise.

The first sea day was also the first evening chic night. Many of our cruisers dressed their best for a night out on the town (or at least out on board the ship). 

First port of call: Ketchikan

Day three of the cruise, we arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska. Though it was rainy (Ketchikan the rainiest city in America, after all), that didn’t stop members of our group from participating in a variety of excursions to explore the area, including the lumberjack show. 

Other members of our group went fishing, ate local seafood, took hikes, learned about Native culture, and more! 

Photo courtesy of Michele Lanfersieck

That evening, some of our group members met in the Eden lounge area. There, we sipped cocktails while chatting and listening to some great acoustic music before heading off to dinner. We wanted to get to bed a little earlier that night as the next day would be an early one. 

Beautiful scenery of the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier

Day four, most of us set our alarms and were up by 6 a.m. as the ship sailed through the Endicott Arm toward the Dawes Glacier. Can we just say that the views were spectacular? 

With the help of Alaskan Ice Pilots (not the name of a rock band but it should be) the captain maneuvered the ship past icebergs and deep into the fjord. There, he slowly spun the ship so that everyone on board could have a magnificent view of the glacier and its 200’ tall face. Naturalist Celia Garland and Cruise Director Dom even joined us on deck for viewing. 

It really was a magical morning as we sailed through the Endicott Arm.

The weather was just perfect and we all took in the majestic mountains, calm waters, icebergs, and of course, the glorious views of the glacier. Definitely a morning we won’t soon forget.

Of course the fabulous Celebrity Cruises crew was out on deck with coffee and hot chocolate for everyone. 

Several people from our group, including Suzanne and Alex, even did a Celebrity Cruises excursion where they boarded a boat from the ship and sailed close to the glacier.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Stavert

At noon that day, Ann and 24 others enjoyed a sushi lunch on board at Raw on 5, one of the restaurants on the ship. It was important to have a good lunch because the day wasn’t over, yet!

The second port on the second Postcard Jar Friends Cruise: Juneau

After lunch, the ship docked in Juneau, Alaska. Group members again headed out to explore the area and enjoy excursions. Juneau is known for whale watching, so that’s exactly what we did.

Long story short, we saw lots of whales! It was so fun seeing these magnificent creatures break the surface of the water to breathe. When they did, it sent a plume of spray 30 feet into the air. After several breaths, they’d dive back down which meant their tail usually popped out of the water before sliding back beneath the waves. 

After getting back to the ship, we enjoyed dinner before relaxing in the Grand Plaza and chatting with fellow cruisers. 

A lovely day in Skagway:

Day five we awoke in Skagway, Alaska. One of our favorite parts of cruising is waking up to a new view every day. Some of our guests took the White Pass train into the mountains while others explored the city. 

Photo courtesy of Kathy Oelschlager

We booked a helicopter trip from Skagway to the Denver Glacier. The views, as you might imagine, were absolutely spectacular. 

Once on the glacier, we visited a camp that cares for sled-dogs. In fact, we had a chance to ride in a genuine dog sled pulled by actual Alaskan Huskies. 

After our ride, we even got to hold a few of the puppies!

Day 6: At sea

After three busy days in ports, many took advantage of our second sea day to sleep in and relax a bit. Others participated in a complimentary galley (kitchen) tour.

It’s so fascinating to learn how the chefs organize and prepare dinner for the thousands of people on board each night. 

A private cooking class with the pastry chefs

After our galley tours, we headed to The Club for our second exclusive Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska event: a session with the pastry chefs in which they explained how to make the delectable dessert baked alaska. 

At the end of the presentation, we were surprised by the captain of the ship, Captain Matt, who stopped by to personally greet our group. 

Music movie trivia on our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska

Later that afternoon, we met again for movie music trivia. Dom, the cruise director, led this interactive session. While a number of folks from our group got roped into participating, we’re pretty sure that everyone had a great time laughing…especially when John from our group was recruited to play the part of E.T. 

That night was our second Evening Chic night, and our cruisers again dressed for the occasion. 

A visit to Victoria, Canada

We spent most of day seven at sea as we continued our voyage south towards Seattle. In the morning, several of our group took a behind-the-scenes all-access tour of the ship. We went through the galley, down into the storage rooms, visited the laundry, saw the engine control room, and finished with a visit to the navigational bridge. 

Along the way we learned a bit more about what happens on the ship to give us all such a fantastic experience. 

Our final stop: Vancouver Island in Victoria

Late in the afternoon the ship docked on Vancouver Island in Victoria, Canada. Many folks from our group set out to explore the city or to visit the incredibly beautiful Butchart Gardens. 

Photo courtesy of Cindy Novinger

Farewells on our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise to Alaska

That night, we gathered one last time as a group in the Grand Plaza for one final session of silent disco, to announce our door decorating contest winners, and say our farewells. Our door decorating contest winners were Sandy and Jon Johnston (Cruisin’ With My Postcard Jar Peeps). Second Place was the Williams family (Anniversary Cruise), third place was Gail and John Pritz (On My Birthday Cruise), and fourth place was Meghan Shrewsbury and Maddie Pilling (In Our Cruise Era). 

We had a blast dancing the final night away with so many new friends. It never ceases to amaze us how friendships form and deepen over the course of a week-long cruise. This one was no exception. 

But the great thing about cruising is that you don’t have to say goodbye because we can always cruise together again. Indeed, we’re setting off on our next Postcard Jar Friends Cruise in January of 2025, aboard the beautiful Celebrity Reflection. 

You won’t want to miss this cruise as we set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with stops in Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, and Nassau, Bahamas. We’d love to have you join us! If you’re interested just click HERE for more information or HERE to book. You can also send us an email at admin@postcardjar.com.

A special word of thanks

We’d like to also give a special thank you to our awesome Travel Specialists Ken Hinkle and John Walker for helping us put together such an unforgettable group cruise. We met Ken and John on the Celebrity Edge five years ago over mudslides. It was such a treat to be reunited in such a memorable place.

Does a group cruise sound good to you? Let us know what you think in the comments below.