Alaska wilderness cruise

hi, i am 42 and i feel all i have in my life is my job and my parents of whom i live with.
i have no children or family or my own, and this failing has been eating away at me. tried to do something about it but nothing availed (career? string of dead end jobs. women? never reply or can ever get close to on a personal level). after my grandmum died a few weeks ago i really do begin to feel the clock ticking and this anxiety and worry, i dont know if thats a midlife crisis.
all i know, this is not just an episode of being 'down in the dumps'. its been something i feel its been growing inside me for years - not in my head, but feeling it from my gut. i'm starting to feel it interrupting my job. my get up and go has got up has gone. i just dont feel like working even though the rational part of me forces myself to just do it. i dont know if i have depression but lately i am in this state where i just dont feel like doing anything and i am just unhappy.
i used to be a gamer in my 30s as a hobby, but i havent even touched my ps5 for over 6 months. i've sold all my games. i just lost the will to play.
i have been seeing a counsellor for 11 years in trying to 'get help' (as everyone keeps saying) but i feel its done hardly anything for me. she has aspired me to do travelling to get out my comfort zone and meet people, which i have done. but thats it. even travelling is becoming meaningless now because i am constantly in this state of preoccupation. i know after a big holiday i'll never see those people again even if they add me on facebook or not (and when they don't, it hurts).
people say talk to friends and family. i have no real friends. never have. when i was a little boy in school, i was bullied. in secondary school i got focused on my studies thinking that eventually, a degree would unlock a life of fabulous riches. but i eventually learned the hard way with years of unemployment that it wasnt, back then. i tried reaching out to people, online via a facebook group, but it descended to insults and hurtful remarks that left me banned and made me punched the wall. my family doesnt know about my feelings, becaise from what i have seen, mental health is seen as taboo. they'll just admonish me, shout me down, tell me to get a grip. i cant really talk to them because they're going to deny theres a problem. and i dont want to break their hearts, especially my parents. i rather soak the pain than bring them in it. i love them too much to see them feel hurt for me.
social groups - when going out, if its not work or a family function, i largely have social anxiety. i so badly want to meet women and get a girlfriend, who hopefully becomes my wife and eventual mother to my kids and form my new family, but i just seem incapable of it. i just cant get close to a woman at that personal and intimate level. if i try, it results in failure and embarassment. at the rare times i did try, it just doesnt come out right. i once went to salsa dancing class in a big city nearby, trying to talk to women, but the anxiety was so overwhelming, i couldnt breathe, and thought i was going to have a heart attack, i had to get out of there. i never been back since. i dont even go to pubs. i think about women more and more - even women i wasnt attracted to at first, drives me crazy now. i remember when leaving a job to move to another, a lady colleague i worked alot with hugged me, and it felt unlike anything i felt before. it was amazing. the softness, the warmth, the care...its as if i was missing that my whole life. i was close to crying. i want to experience true closeness, and intimacy.
thats not to say i'm a virgin. i lost my virginity at 30 to an escort; that was a unsatisfying experience as even then i had anxiety and couldnt perform properly - i did it because i didnt wanted to be the '30 year old virgin'. i just cant seem to get close with women. i tend to obsess about them. my instagram feed is full of attractive women. seeing beautiful ones on tv, even if its just the weather girl or news reader, it drives me nuts. in my job, i work with journalists, and theres many women there. i can talk to them confidently and easily, IF ITS ABOUT WORK. the instances i tried to talk about life in trying to get to know them and get close to them, the barrier goes up. i can tell because they wont add me on fb or whatever. i just cant seem to hack it with women. no woman = no wife = no mother to my children = no family of my own = no legacy.
i appreciate some might say not having family should not mean one is a failure. however, as much as i tried to ignore it, i come from a culture whereby family trumps everything else - money, career, hobbies, everything. i been ignoring it for years. trying to chase a career, which ended up as a string of dead end temporary jobs. losing 15 years of my life to this, living from temp job to temp job, and going to over 200 job interviews in getting secure employment, enduring hundreds of devastating rejections. but, years later, i now have at least job security, which is most important, but am beginning to feel the limit of my pay. trying to chase a career, spending nights throughout the 2010s playing video games and enjoying my gaming career in that, playing adventure games...but now i have reached a point where i've 'run out' of games to play and nothing (except maybe gta6) will interest me in picking up a controller again. i've grown out of it, it seems. i even been travelling more too - i travel far, and so big holidays. from usa, to africa, to europe, to india, and soon to be going to australia... doing all sorts of holidays from cruises, ranch holidays, safari, hiking, group road trips, wildlife conservation volunteering, sailing the mediterrarian - grand, amazing experiences that does suspend my worries... but in the end, i keep coming back to them, this feeling of emptiness.
my big fear is seeing my parents get older and dying from a broken heart caused by me. my dad worked in construction but is retired and now freelances, and he tends to hurt himself in accidents as he gets clumsy. my mother works in a school. i have always lived with my family except during the years i was at university. i feel my mum and dad are my 'best friends' - sad as it sounds -and the thought of them both going to die somepoint in the future, fills me with dread. because i feel i have failed them, in not continuing the family line. failing to secure a legacy for us. to keep us all going, surviving through the next generation. when i think about it deeply, our bloodline has been passed down for thousands of years, surviving through all sorts such as wars, plagues, and revolutions. i feel compelled to continue it, as if its a duty, and i dont want my parents to die with their last thoughts being disappointment. i can see it in my dads eyes already, the sadness. he wants to play with his grandchildren, but he has none, and all his friends shows off their grandkids. similarly with me, i see people i went to school with, and ex-colleagues i used to work with...they all have kids and a house of their own and a car. i have none of that. i stand NO chance buying a house of my own as i simply can't afford it, and renting will be throwing my money away living on other peoples crap. i said to my parents i want to inherit this home when they go, because my memories are here. my history. our family memories. my happy childhood memories, growing up, the birthdays, playing with my brother, my parents, the fun times growing up, coming back from school, doing homework, watching football together on the TV in the 90s, our first pc, all of it. all of these amazing experiences back then, i love to go through again, but this time with my own kids, seeing them grow up, playing with toys, drawing, having a first pet, etc...to navigate life with them as a father, and teaching them what i believe is required to be a good person.
before you say it, i'm not just doing it for my parents. i want a family for myself. i feel if i failed to have children, failed to find someone who loves me, failed to have any friends, failed to have had any influence or imprint on the world nomatter how small - i actually feel i'm not part of this world. to quote ellie from the last of us, my life would not have 'fkn mattered'. its as if i am a 'watcher', if that makes sense, not part of the fabric of this world and civilisation. watching it all from a window. that'll lead me to questions like why i am i here, leading to a probable, and painful, full-on existential crisis. when its my parents' time, when they grow old and die, and if i'm left all alone, i dont think i'd want to live anymore. i'm praying to find something. of course, i know i have to DO something, but my mind draws a blank. i cant ignore what my body is telling me anymore. but then, i step outside the house, and i dont know what to do, socially. when i approach someone, i get anxiety attacks. in my town, people are aggressive - its also possible if i approach a woman here i might end up getting assaulted, shouted at or shamed. sometimes theres no place to really go as i live in a small town. and as you get older, its harder to make friends, as people already have their established circles. i even remember my ex-manager talking to colleagues about this when we had a drink once and she asked 'how do you meet people' even though shes in her 50s and has established family and friends - indeed. how, for those who do not.
for coping, some people elsewhere suggested exercising. this is something i tend to do, but perhaps not enough of. i like to go on walks. theres a public park where i go and feed the ducks. seeing animals makes me happy. when the baby ducks swim to me wanting the kibble food it makes me feel wanted. i love animals. from dogs, cats and ducks - to even wild animals like the tigers i saw in india. i also did some hiking holidays, including going through some american national parks like yosemite, where i saw a family of bears at a distance. travelling is something i like to do too - in fact, i have more 'big' holidays coming up in usa again (alaska this summer), then australia, europe (croatia), the canadian rockies and maybe south america. i do these trips to get that out-of-body, 'blown away' feeling, of being thrilled, alive, and enjoying and experiencing life. it does help. but travelling is expensive. i'm not made of money.
all i want, is my own family..

Trying to decide whether or not to get the Have It All package. We had heard that the bars are closed on port days and since we have 3 long port days, just wondering if we go back to the ship, can we get a drink?

I and some of my family members will be going on a 7 Night Southbound Alaska & Hubbard cruise on the Radiance in July. For those that have sailed on the Radiance, any insight on the boat? Also, if you’ve done that same cruise before, I’d also like to hear about that as well and what excursions you did. Thank you!

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world where you go and what would you do?
For me it would be a moose 🫎 hunt in Alaska! I just really would love the opportunity to hunt one of those animals, and be out there in Alaska in an almost untouched wilderness.

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world where you go and what would you do?
For me it would be a moose 🫎 hunt in Alaska! I just really would love the opportunity to hunt one of those animals, and be out there in Alaska in an almost untouched wilderness.

Celebrity is definitely the cruise line for me!
I’m a recent retiree who rarely traveled and now am trying to get a lifetime of living done in the time I have left lol.
I took my first cruise 9 months ago. Have been on 5 cruises now - 3 on Celebrity (Equinox, Ascent, Beyond), 1 on MSC, 1 on Princess.
I am so sorry I switched my Alaska booking from Celebrity to Princess. But I kept hearing Glacier Bay is a must. Princess is not for me. At all. I’m trying to focus on the good until I can get the hell out of here. I hope Glacier Bay is worth it.
When I get home I’m going to need an immediate quick cruise on Celebrity as a palate cleanse lol.

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world where you go and what would you do?
For me it would be a moose 🫎 hunt in Alaska! I just really would love the opportunity to hunt one of those animals, and be out there in Alaska in an almost untouched wilderness.

We cruised Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas to Alaska and had a wonderful time. Love the adults only area, lots to do and spend time. I’ve done the Alaska cruise before with Princess and while I had a good time there. I hated how every “event” was some kind of ad for something they’re selling. There was very little to do. So Royal Caribbean has set the bar for me as far as cruises. But I’m curious how it fairs to the experienced cruisers.
Thanks in advance

I drove one for 50 miles from Dellenbach in Fort Collins. Up to Horsetooth Reservoir for the twisties, through Laporte and out to I-25 towards Wyoming for some SuperCruise time. We have a 2019 Leaf that we charge with solar panels and a 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness that got rear-ended on the I-25 Autobaun the other night. Could the Equinox take the place of my late Outback and be my new work car? I drive 25k a year as a wedding photographer in Colorado's metro Front Range and into the mountains (Vail and Breckenridge mostly).
Highs ...

• Next-level screens, connectivity, technology. Great interface, clarity, and feature set. For this price? Whoa.
• Idea roominess and storage (compared to our Leaf and late-Wilderness) - the back seat's perfect on legroom - bigger than an Outback
• Great one-pedal driving - just like our Leaf. Thank you, GM!
• Exterior design is even more impressive in person. Really well done.

OK ...

• Front seats were great (wish it had 4-way lumbar), but the rear seat is very firm and I wonder about roadtrip comfort back there.
• Through mountain roads, the car felt way heavier than 4,000lbs and I wouldn't drive anywhere in anything other than Sport mode.
• All the acceleration I need, but didn't feel as swift as our Leaf.
• The wipers blades come from the center and took way more of my attention than I thought they would. Wait, what? Do I like this?

Lows ...

• The door cards and switch gear are equal, or cheaper feeling than my 2014 Corolla. Hard plastic rules. I guess they had to cut costs somewhere.
• The center armrest is as stiff as a board. Can I bring a pillow from home as I rest my elbow there for hours will SuperCruise does the work? What were they thinking?

I was really knocked out by Google on board, the giant screens and SuperCruise. It felt like the surprise and joy of experiencing Compact Discs when they first came out (alright, I'm old). I love live mapping and this thing kills at it.
I want a loaded 3LT but fear a build-out might take too long (I'm currently out a car after the Outback was hit). In conference with their sales team next week to decide.
Hope you get to drive one soon. It's such a modern classic.

Hi everyone first time Alaska cruiser and first time on NCL. We will be on the bliss in early October Seattle/Alaska cruise. We have the free at sea package and Have a few questions:

1. Unlimited drink package: we both drink so debating if it’s worth it to upgrade to the premium drink package (I like champagne, sparkling wine and mimosas but outside of that and the Starbucks that would be included not sure it’s worth it)
   
2. About the drinks how does that work for taxes at each port?
   
3. Interior state rooms: Will the TVs be smart TVs? Should I bring a Roku or fire stick? Do I need to pre download shows, etc for offline viewing
   
4. Glacier bay viewing: where is the best place to be for hanging out all day for viewing. (Husband and I are early 40’s and my parents are coming late 60’s/early 70’s with mobility issues). Looking to get comfortable stay warm enough and still get nice views if at all possible.
   
5. Excursions: any that anyone recommends booking on own? Or should we just book all through the cruise only? Any recs? We want to do anything glaciehiking/kayaking etc.
   

Want to cruise to Alaska next month, but I am a convicted felon from 30yrs ago and I have no Passport. Possible?

Hi guys, I just got off the Sapphire princess in Alaska. This was my first cruise, and started out a bit shaky, with the technical issues, but then shaped up to be a pretty awesome experience, except for one thing.
With all our spare time, I went down to the casino, and figured I'd try my hand at some gambling (also my first time). I was doing pretty well, and I had made $675 off a $20 buy in, through a combo of roulette and blackjack (mostly roulette). I was placing all my bets on one colour, and was winning about 47% of the time, but making slow progress! It was a strategy that was working, and then I noticed something strange. One of the managers - who was normally really friendly - was taking an abnormal interest in my table. I then started losing, so I switched colour, and then that colour started losing. I figured this was probably just me being stupid, and not sticking to my strategy of playing the odds. I switched colours one more time, and continued to lose. The manager was still paying my table a lot of attention. I was betting on black, and decided to actually just stick with the strategy, but then disaster struck. Repeatedly. I got 9 reds in a row, and lost a disgusting amount of money.
Look, before you guys roast me, I realise the arrogance and stupidity of what I was doing. However, I find the series of events to have been extremely suspicious, and I really suspect some sort of foul play on the part of the casino.
Can any of you tell me whether I'm just being silly, or if there's any merit to my suspicion?
I also realise that if princess has any good business sense, they'll be monitoring this subreddit, so if you know anything, but you don't want to post here, please feel free to pm me.
Many thanks in advance.
TLDR: I lost a lot of cash in a suspicious way on the roulette table, and want to know if it's possible that the casino cheated.
Edit: I accidentally had the wrong name of the ship.

I’ve sailed on Celebrity (Alaska) and Royal Caribbean (2 Caribbean cruises) and am on the tail end of my first Princess cruise on Majestic (RT from Seattle to Alaska)

based on Reddit recommendations stayed at the Mediterranean Inn. Well located, well priced, super comfortable with a helpful staff and an option to catch a shuttle to the pier
got to the pier at 11a for a 3p departure. Process was smooth and took under 30 minutes even though I was Blue lane (had to pick up my medallion). Highly recommend getting there early to avoid long lines.
keep your swimsuit in your carryon. Seattle was a great day for the pool but our luggage took just long enough to arrive to keep us from enjoying the pool(s)
the staff is fantastic - if they are forced to smile and greet you, you can’t tell - they seem genuinely happy
there are so many activities throughout each and every day it’s impossible to get bored
manage your expectations about the Hollywood Conservatory- I don’t know how early people were waking to claim a cabana but pretty much once someone was in one they stayed there all day. This won’t be as big an issue with sailings later in the season when it’s warm enough to enjoy the outdoor decks/your balcony if you have one
food is good - some meals were amazing, some were blecch, most were good
if you don’t have reservations at Concerto you will be told to come back later. Allegro was always accommodating
the $10 sale had zero clothing items - I was expecting T shirts but it was beach totes, ball caps, costume jewelry, sunglasses and neckties
this was a well-oiled machine: everything was planned out and ran super smoothly

I would be delighted to sail this ship my next Alaskan cruise! I’m actually considering a back to back for a milestone birthday in a couple of years

Hello my wife and I are trying to go for an cruise from Seatle or Vancouver in September, first time in Alaska and our must have is Glacier Bay, also we get sea sick easy so i prefer not to do an exploration ship, the bigger the better for sea sickness in my case. Im guessing that leaves: Princess, HAL, and NCL (some of them)
That being said which ship do you recommend? Our priorities after Glacier Bay are food, relax, confortable.
Thanks!!!

Going on a cruise to Alaska next week and made this Titanium diver to go with me.

First time cruiser here. This summer we are on the 7 day cruise to Alaska on Ovation of the Seas. I see other posting about getting a check in time. How does this work? I assumed you show up at the pier some time during the roughly 6 hrs window prior to sailing. Do we have assigned check in times? What if my time is 1pm and I show up at 2pm.
Also, there are others in our party, so my mom is sharing the cabin with her friend and I am sharing with my friend. The 3 of us are flying in to Seattle, renting a car and exploring for 2 days prior. I was going to drop them at the pier to board, then I would return the car and take the shuttle back so I don't have to pay for 3 people on the shuttle. Will we be allowed to board if we are not all together? My mom's friend is arriving separately too.
TIA

I'm traveling on an Alaskan cruise this summer that's going to be stopping in Canada and Alaska of course. Assuming I have cellular coverage, will I be charged extra for using data? I'm on the Flexible plan.

I have a 2024 Outback Wilderness with some type of throttle problem. I live in a foot hill community at about 3500 ft elevation And I’ve been traveling down this hill for 35 years to get to work on the valley floor so I know the road like the back of my hand.
When I first got the car, I was able to coast down the hills using the engine compression to keep the car at a reasonable speed. With the throttle closed, the fuel consumption gauge would always be pegged 99.9 MPG as you might expect for a car running downhill with a throttle completely closed. Lately the car has started to run away from me at random times. When it does the fuel usage gage will drop to values between 50 and 80 mpg and I find my self fighting the engine with the brakes. Downshifting has no effect at all, infact during these times downshifting produces no feeling of additional braking effect.
Has anybody else experienced a problem like this with their outback?
I suppose I should add this happens with or without the cruise control on and with or without the air conditioner on. It seems completely intermittent.

Life circumstances have changed and I have some free time. I also have a lot of frequent flier miles and could just show up on a dock waiting for no-shows for their cruise, and potentially scoop up some cheap accommodations. The only cruise I've been on was to Antarctica so it was a little different. I was aware that a handful of people did show up at the last minute and grabbed berths from people that were no-shows. Of course an Antarctica trip has no ports of call, so there is no way for someone to join the cruise later. Is this sort of thing possible for Alaska this summer? Where would I look?

I am leaving on an Alaska cruise in one week. I will be on the discovery, Princess. Should I pack umbrellas or will they be available in my cabin?

Does anybody have experience with Breeze Airways or WFS? Looking for feedback on either. I'm trying to get my foot in the door for a CSA job. The major airlines are rejecting me. 15 years customer service experience as well as flight, cruise, and travel agent agent experience and certificate for travel school doesn't meet the minimum qualifications for an interview with Alaska Airlines. So I'm trying any airline at this point.

Hello,
I came back from NCL Joy's Alaska trip a month ago and have booked a new cruise on NCL Epic for December 2024. I usually don't go for Sushi fearing it would not be worth it, but Food Republic seemed interesting and my family tried it out for the first time. It was an amazing experience and 3 Specialty dining was enough to feed 4 people. (12 dishes in total)
I have sailed on NCL Epic in the past on a Western Mediterranean 7-day, but never tried Wasabi.
I am hoping folks can give me their opinions on Wasabi, plus recommend items to order.