JULY 2024: 7-Night Cruise TO alaska
out of seattle, washington
on royal caribbean
quantum of the seas 
july 15-22, 2024

ITINERARY:

• Day 1: Depart Seattle
• Day 2: Cruising at Sea
• Day 3: Sitka, Alaska
• Day 4: Skagway, Alaska
• Day 5: Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier (by Sea), then Juneau, Alaska
• Day 6: Cruising at Sea
• Day 7: Victoria, British Columbia
• Day 8: Arrive Seattle

COST:

1. The CRUISE COST* varies based on your selections.
2. The RETREAT COST** is $500 per retreat participant.

     What’s the difference?

1. *The cruise cost is what you pay to the cruiseline and includes your lodging, meals, shipboard entertainment and activities, taxes, and fees.
2. **The retreat cost is what you pay to me. This is what connects you to the rest of our group and includes daily retreat activities like the welcome session, nightly group dinner seating, one retreat session each sea day (three total), an exclusive gift, access to our full schedule so you don’t miss any “Butt-Sitting with Beth” or mocktail/cocktail hour opportunities, one group shore excursion on the White Pass Railway into the stunning Alaskan wilderness, a get-to-know-everyone Facebook group ahead of the retreat, and other fun little surprises.

RETREAT GROUP SIZE: 35 maximum retreat participants (not including guests)

NON-RETREAT GUESTS: If you have guests you’d like to bring who do NOT wish to participate in the retreat, that’s totally fine. In that case, you can book them on your cruise, but they don’t need to register with me or pay for the retreat portion because they won’t be participating in our group dinners or activities. Do let me know who you’re bringing, though; that helps me track the appeal of this type of trip to significant others, sibs, friends, kids, etc.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE RETREAT PORTION: Contact me at beth@bethwoolsey.com. Put ALASKA CRUISE RETREAT in the subject line, and send me a message with your name and any questions you may have.

HOW TO BOOK THE CRUISE: You can book your cruise directly with the cruiseline or contact a travel agent for a free quote. My agent is Sharon Mitchell at World Travel, smitchell@wtpdx.com.

GOT ANY OTHER TIPS, BETH?
As a matter of fact, I do!

• The cruise cost does not include gratuities, wifi, alcoholic beverages, soda, or specialty coffees, but you can pre-pay for any of those you wish. Just let your booking agent know.
• Speaking of cruise cost, I always just let Sharon, my travel agent, know I want to book the “cheapest available,” so if you’re concerned about price like me, feel free to say so!
• Aaand, speaking of travel agents, they can help with a huge number of details–air and ground transportation to the cruise ship, hotels before and after the cruise, travel insurance (inexpensive and recommended), specific cabin requests. For some bookings, there is a nominal fee (i.e. airfare) for travel agent services, but they provide many TOTALLY FREE (i.e. cruise bookings).

Looking forward to seeing your face, friends,

A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON RETREATS
{minus the part about being brief}

So. We here at BethWoolsey.com (which is Just Me, Beth Woolsey, plus whoever else I can drag into my orbit) have, FOR YEARS, offered small retreats specializing in COMMUNITY, INCLUSION, and TAKING A FREAKING BREAK from lives that are often relentless and overwhelming. We’ve done these primarily in our own backyard on the Oregon Coast, and we expanded to international retreats to Tuscany, Italy in 2019 with plans for more in 2020 (HAHAHAHAHAHA!). Then, like the rest of the world, we took a 2+ year hiatus. Then we (I) tried to figure out how to add retreats–life-giving, people-building, love-mongering retreats–back into the schedule in a way that’s healthy and responsible given the current environment. Locking everyone into a house, even on the expansive, gorgeous Oregon Coast where we could become delightful superspreaders seemed Less Than Ideal, especially without a reliable way to verify infection status. So I was flummoxed. As eager to open retreats as I was reluctant.

But then. Then! Then I went on a lovely Alaskan cruise in July 2022. A cruise where medical protocols are updated as new information is available. A cruise where the food is beautiful and plentiful. A cruise where the scenery is extraordinary. A cruise where the adults-only pool, hot tub, and bar area is serene and where I can excel at my Best Talent which is Butt Sitting. And I thought, THIS! This, please! We can gather where all these wonderful things are arranged. And if this is an outcome of the After Times–that I thought out of the box for new ways to commune together–then I am here for it. Let’s do this.