Alaska Cruise a Great Reprieve From Midwest’s Stifling Heat

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Day 3, 2026 Alaska Explorer

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026; At Sea in the North Pacific Ocean.

Back in June when I booked this 14-day Alaska cruise, I knew cooler temperatures would be a nice break from August in the Midwest. I didn’t realize then how excited I would be to leave behind 19 straight days of 100-plus temperatures in Fort Smith, Ark. We will welcome the forecasted highs of 50s and 60s in our Alaska ports.

When I left the Volendam in May for four months (my longest stretch on land by far in the past four years), my intention was to spend July and August in Chicago. Part of my housing plan fell through so I started looking for other options. My sister Eloise is generous in offering me her guest room, but two months is overstaying.

A cruise seemed the obvious solution, so here I am starting a 14-day Alaska cruise. I booked one of the last super small inside cabins, figuring it would be okay for one person and just two weeks. Then I discovered Eloise wanted to go. The room is a little tighter than ideal for two, but we will make it work.

This will be my third 14-day cruise in Alaska, but my favorite was the inaugural 28-day Legendary Alaska cruise a couple of years ago, which went all the way to Nome. The longer cruises get to different and less touristy ports, like Kodiak, Anchorage and Valdez. We also will visit Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, a new port for me.

Coincidentally friends Paul and Jane from Dallas are on this cruise. Paul and I were two of the first MINI Cooper owners in Texas. We helped start Dallas’ MetroplexMINI club, and while I am no longer a MINI owner, Eloise has a MINI convertible that I drive in Fort Smith.

On Saturday night before boarding the ship, the four of us had a bit of a MINI reunion dinner with two other MetroplexMINI members who now live in Seattle.

From left: Eloise, Jerica, Kristin, Juan, Jo and Paul

Eloise and I also took advantage of our day in Seattle to enjoy Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) at Din Tai Fung, just as Elaine and I did in Singapore earlier this year.

You might think that packing for a 14-day cruise would be easy for me. It wasn’t. I found myself in the role of Goldilocks, trying desperately to refine my packing list from being too much or too little, searching for “just right.” I only made my goal of checking just one bag for the flight because Eloise put my watercolor supplies in her bag.

Seattle’s sky was cloudy but bereft of rain for our sailaway party. Cruise Director Clare and Alex from entertainment led the line dancing.

We’ve started with two sea days as we cut across the North Pacific Ocean to Kodiak Island. These sea days are full of activities, filling two pages of the daily program. Cruise Director Clare started her morning coffee chats with wildlife expert Christie Sandvik, who will give lots of presentations. Other options include art and dance classes, pickleball, beer and wine tasting, trivia, bridge and a polar plunge in the Sea View Pool. I opted for the wine tasting, and otherwise have been pleased to find my favorite 13 Celsius in good supply.

I’ve not sailed with Capt. Vincent Engel before, but he has impressed me with his availability around the ship, including stopping with several other officers by our Cruise Critic meet and greet. Later he chatted with passengers in the Library Café, which I find to be a great addition to this ship with lots of open seating. For some reason, the tables in the Crow’s Nest are jammed together.

The captain also is taking full credit for our smooth sailing and nice weather. I’ve had much worse in this part of the ocean, so we are counting ourselves lucky.