What Our Alaska Cruise Taught Me About Slowing Down

I will always remember my first trip to Alaska, and I hope it’s the first of many. 

What stays with me most isn’t a single excursion or a checklist moment. It’s the memory of sitting on a lower deck, wrapped in stillness, watching mountains and water slide past as if time itself had decided to be gentle for once. Sometimes we watched for whales. Sometimes we waited a long time and saw nothing at all. And somehow, that waiting was part of the beauty. 

There was no rush to fill the space. 

That rhythm carried through the entire trip. We were laid back in a way that felt natural, not forced. There was a lot of connection. With each other. With family who came along. With new friends we met somewhere between sea days and shared meals. Conversations unfolded slowly, the way they do when no one is checking the clock. 

Even the ports felt different. Unhurried. We wandered more than we planned. We didn’t feel the need to “do it all.” Some of my favorite moments came from stopping into small shops and talking with the people who worked there, asking what it’s like to live and work in these places we were only passing through. Their stories added texture to the trip, grounding it in real life instead of postcard perfection. 

Looking back, I realize Alaska didn’t just slow me down while I was there. It changed how I travel now. 

I notice myself choosing fewer plans. Leaving room to sit, to watch, to wait. I care less about squeezing in everything and more about how a place feels while I’m in it, and how I feel when I leave. That trip taught me that not every beautiful moment announces itself loudly. Some of them drift by quietly, asking only that you stay long enough to notice. 

The best souvenirs are the habits we bring home.