SELENE
On May 14, we disembarked Silver Moon at Whittier; the next day, May 15, we boarded Celebrity SUMMIT at the same pier and continued into Alaska. Between the two ships lay one night ashore, and this is that night and the day after: the morning of disembarkation, the harbor and hotel ashore, the other ships in port, the afternoon of boarding, and the evening departure.
May 14, Early Morning: The Pier from the Ship's Window
Just after five on the morning of disembarkation, we looked out through the ship's window at Whittier's pier: the wooden dock, the gangway, snow mountains under cloud, a grey sky, almost nobody about. The ship was still alongside, the luggage and farewells not yet begun, and the window frame cut the moment into a quiet picture.
May 14, Afternoon: The Harbor from Ashore
Once ashore, Whittier's harbor looked different. Around half past five in the afternoon, a floating dock stretched into calm water, three jet skis drew white wakes outward, snow mountains and conifer forest pressed down on the water, and at the far left edge sat the bow of another cruise ship. A harbor seen from land is closer and slower than one seen from a ship.
May 14, Night: The Hotel Ashore
That night we slept in a hotel ashore, its windows facing straight onto the harbor. A long table dressed in white cloth, chairs lined up one by one, and outside the window a harbor full of fishing boats and snow mountains. Warm yellow lamps, dark wood — the whole room had the feel of a mountain lodge.
The hotel's atrium is a tall timber space: curved wooden railings winding upward level by level, a chandelier hanging at the center, and still the harbor water outside the windows. Looking down from the upper level, wood grain and lamplight layered together — that was the color of this Whittier night.
Looking out over Whittier town: a red-roofed house, fishing boats on trailers, kayaks, a parking lot, snow mountains and conifer forest behind. A small town, everything out in the open — boats hauled ashore for the off-season, part of the same everyday life as the ships in the harbor.
May 15, Morning: The Other Ships in Port
The next morning, another large ship lay at the end of the pier walkway, its stern lettered SEVEN SEAS EXPLORER, snow mountains behind, the covered walkway running alongside. Not the ship we were boarding — just a neighbor in the same port on the same day. Whittier's pier works like that: several ships sharing one stretch of water.
Beside the pier lay another large ship, its funnel marked Regent, balcony decks stacked along its side, people strolling on the pier below and cars parked alongside. Two other ships in port — a reminder that Whittier is not one ship's pier but a harbor where ships come and go.
May 15, Afternoon: Boarding SUMMIT
Boarding SUMMIT in the afternoon, the main restaurant gave us our first impression: high-backed chairs, white tablecloths, an oval ceiling light, wave-patterned carpet, a row of oval windows glowing blue. A different layout from Silver Moon's restaurants — even the carpet pattern said: this is another ship.
Further in, two armchairs and a small round table stood before a great round window, a booklet lettered RENDEZVOUS standing on the table, Whittier's water, pier, and snow mountains outside. We sat a while at a window like this on our first afternoon aboard, watching a port we had not yet left.
May 15, Evening: Departure
After six in the evening, dusk had settled outside the restaurant's round window: candlelight and a water glass in the foreground, water, shoreline buildings, and snow mountains beyond, the whole picture washed blue. The ship was still in port, but the light was already saying departure was near.
After eight at night, the ship had left Whittier. The wake rippled across the water, a snow-mountain and conifer coastline ran along the left, and the water spread forward. Looking back at Whittier: shoreline buildings, a colorful high-rise, the pier, and snow mountains on the far side of the water, growing smaller. The night between two voyages was left behind.
