North, to Alaska!

 To borrow from Johnny Horton (no, I didn't know his name without looking, just the catchy line from his song) we've booked a Vancouver departure for 2026 and opted for the post-cruise land add-on. Our thought process being that with everything on our list Alaska will probably be a "one-and-done" destination, so let's do as much as we can (within reason, of course.)

Ovation of the Seas

This will be a new destination and yet another new adventure - travel with my sibling and her husband. No kids, no parents. For a touch of irony, they booked an Alaska cruise for this year after hearing us talk about our (now rearranged) cruise. As I've previously noted, our trip was shuffled due to surgery. Well, their trip also befell what I'll simply refer to as "organizational challenges" and fell by the wayside. As I was contemplating plans for 2026 I looked at Alaska itineraries and discovered a similar trip to our original booking was about 1/3 less in cost.

Courtesy hold? Yes, Please!

Now, my wife is generally of the "just tell me how to pack and when we're leaving" mindset - but I wanted to let this simmer for a couple of days and give us both time to think. You know, at least pretend to be adult. I sent my sister an FYI email with the details of my hold and a note saying "This is what we're thinking about..."

They put a hold on an adjacent cabin.

After a proper conversation, which in reality consisted of "is there any reason we shouldn't?" I paid the deposit and informed my sister. She paid their deposit, and now the planning begins!