Seattle

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

After our dilly-dallying near Port Angeles the day before, the Zaandam made it to Seattle early on Tuesday morning. Two years ago Bob and I boarded the Eurodam for a week long Alaska cruise at Pier 91 in Seattle and I assumed that was where the Zaandam would dock as well. Not so. This time we were at Pier 66 right in the heart of downtown Seattle. (Why couldn't we have been as lucky in San Francisco?)

Our morning view from the back deck of the Zaandam.
Skies were gray and there were off and on sprinkles. 

The day started out cloudy with occasional light sprinkles, but the weather improved as the day went on. The first stop on my agenda was Pike Place Market. I think we could have walked from the ship, but Jon was nice enough to call an Uber to save me some steps.

It was 9 am when we reached the market and right at the entrance we encountered the stand with "fish tossing" that the market is known for. A neat gimmick, but nothing that falls in the amazing category.

Jon with Rachel the Piggy Bank

Can you see the fish being tossed through the air?

Or how about a "high five" with a fish tail? 

We began by wandering down one of the side streets by the market where we found the Beecher's  Handmade Cheese store. Our son is in the marketing department for one of the larger cheese companies in the U.S. so we had to stop and get a few photos for him!

Making cheese!

Michelle is a collector of Starbucks mugs and even with the rainy conditions she was willing to stand in line for 30 minutes to get one from the original Starbucks in Seattle. Technically I think the original coffeeshop has been torn down, but this was a close second. As she waited we watched as the shop keepers were setting up their stalls in the market across the street.

Michelle waiting patiently to get inside the Starbucks to purchase a mug.

We continued to wander throughout the market and eventually found our way to the "Gum Wall" located in an alley under the market. I couldn't help but think how many germs were plastered onto those walls!

No wonder Holland America isn't serving lobster tails on dressy nights anymore!

Bob couldn't get over that anyone would buy rhubarb for $5/pound.
It grows like crazy in our backyard!

The Seattle Gum Wall. Gross!

Our nephew, Ty, lives in Seattle and works at an office in the building right across the street from Pier 66 where the Zaandam was docked. He knew we were to be in Seattle that day so a little before noon we called him to see if he could join us for lunch. Ty walked down to Pike Place Market and suggested we eat at Old Stove Brewing Company. It was a little cool, but we opted to eat outdoors overlooking the waterfront. The food was good, but spending time with Ty was even better. We usually only see him once a year so this visit was a bonus!

So fun to spend time with nephew, Ty!
My hiking pole helped my walking a little bit but our day in Seattle pushed me to my limit!

You can see how close the restaurant was to the Zaandam!

Michelle and I both ordered the clam and bacon chowder!

My original plans were to go to the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass Museum in the afternoon, but after walking through the market all morning I wasn't sure my knee would hold out. Instead I suggested we stay on the waterfront and take a ride on the giant ferris wheel. After all...we were so close! 😏

But then again, my distance perception isn't the greatest and getting to the Seattle Great Wheel turned out to be a little more of a walk than I had anticipated and a LOT MORE stairs!

So many steps to get down from street level to the waterfront!

Tickets for the Great Wheel were $16/person for the senior rate. It was a pretty good view from the top and cheaper than the Space Needle so a good compromise I guess. Michelle is afraid of heights and almost backed out at the last minute but all four of us shared one of the gondolas. 

I have no clue. 😒

The glass canopy must be there in case objects are dropped from the wheel above.

An aerial view of "our private deck" at the back of the Zaandam!

A zoomed in view of the Space Needle from the top of the Great Wheel. 

The clouds have cleared and it was a beautiful afternoon!

When we got off of the ferris wheel we were routed through the Miners Landing complex to the exit. This added quite a few steps that weren't really necessary, but no different than rides at amusement parks dumping you out in a gift shop.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we got off of the Great Wheel. Jon tried to convince Bob that they should rent the Lime electric scooters again like they did in San Francisco, but I put my foot down. (Figuratively, not literally. 😄) All aboard time was 5:30 and I didn't want to take a chance of them missing the ship because they were fooling around on the stupid scooters. I also knew I was going to struggle walking back to the ship and I wanted Bob along...just in case. But Jon was determined enough that he took off on his own while Bob, Michelle and I started the trek back to Pier 66.

Jon spent about an hour on his scooter tour and did make it back to the ship in plenty of time. Here are a few of his photos from the little adventure:

It turns out Bob was glad he didn't go with Jon. On our way back to the ship we passed several racing yachts in the marina. Of course Bob started talking to a guy involved with the race and found out the boats were all part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. The next thing I knew, Bob had gotten an invitation to tour one of the yachts and Michelle and I were on our own to get back to the Zaandam!

The yachts were getting ready to do the next leg of the race from Seattle...through the Panama Canal...to Washington, DC and had crew from all walks of life. The guy who gave Bob the tour was an emergency medical physician (which gave them something in common) and he showed Bob every nook and cranny of the boat. Getting the personal tour of the yacht was one of the high points of the whole cruise for Bob!

This is the boat that Bob toured.

Dr. Timothy Talbot gave Bob a tour of the yacht, Qingdao.

I had jokingly told Ty that when we got ready to sail we would go up by the aft pool and wave to him at work in his office. I texted him shortly before we sailed and thanked him for joining us for lunch and to my surprise, he came to the window and waved! I didn't realize it, but he also took a photo of Bob and I on the ship. (We had already turned to go back downstairs so all he got was our backsides!)

You can tell by comparing the first photo in this post to this last that the skies had cleared during the day and we had blue skies by afternoon. 

The World Stage evening entertainment was the Step One Dancers performing "Musicology". Bob and I had seen the show two or three times previously, but it was a first for Jon and Michelle. I shouldn't keep complaining, but I really would like to see the Broadway type shows return. The Step One performances are OK on the bigger stages of the Pinnacle Class ships AND the first time you experience them. But after quite a few repeats and the tiny Zaandam stage I'm ready for a change.

Tomorrow would be the official end of our 11-day coastal cruise (or for others, the end of their 4-day cruise) and the beginning of our 7-day cruise to Alaska!!

From the Pacific to the Prairie

 Saturday, May 7 - Seattle to Minneapolis

I woke just a few minutes before the alarm was set to go off but let Bob sleep a little longer while I got dressed. The view from our balcony was the same as the day we sailed except now the Crown Princess was sitting between us and the Seattle skyline instead of the Symphony of the Seas.

As I expected, the Lido buffet was a madhouse and finding a table was challenging. But the serving lines weren't too bad so I requested a freshly made omelet. It was good, but I wished I had thought about getting eggs benedict. That is something I don't make at home and it is a treat for me on a cruise ship.

As Bob made one last check through the closets, he discovered the zippered case with my collapsible hiking poles inside. Rats. I had brought them along thinking I would use them when we went to the top of Mt. Roberts in Juneau (which we didn't get to do.) Even folded down, the poles were too long to fit into my carry-on and my large bag had already been transferred and checked through to Minneapolis. I'm glad Bob discovered them in the back of the closet, but what a pain to have to carry them separately all day long. 

At 8:05 am our Port Valet Group C was called to disembark. Once we were able to get an elevator (which meant skipping 2 or 3 full ones) we were routed through a back door of BB Kings Blues Club and off the ship on Deck 2. Bob commented that it was the first time we had stepped foot in the club all week.

It was easy to find our Seattle Express shuttle sitting in parking space R, just as we were instructed. We were the first to get in and assumed we would be sitting there for a long time as we waited for the large van to be filled. But once one other couple boarded, we were on our way to the airport with just the four of us. Once again I will say how impressed I have been with the service from Seattle Express.

The security lines at SEA were insane. When we finally got through I suggested we check to see if we could get on an earlier flight. There were seats available on the nonstop flight leaving two hours before the one we had booked and we were put on standby. The gate agent assured us that she was able to get our luggage rerouted and on the earlier flight as well. It wasn't until most of the passengers had boarded that we got our seat assignments. After assuming we would end up separated in the worst seats on the plane we were very excited to learn we were in Comfort Plus sitting together!

The flight went by quickly and I realized I don't really hate flying, I just hate flying in cramped seats. 😄 Having lots of legroom and an abundance of drinks and snacks made such a difference! I also took advantage of the free hour of internet we get by being T-Mobile customers. As much as I enjoyed the premium seats, the cheapskate in me will probably never pay for an upgrade.

Our luck with the airline fairy ran out when we reached luggage carousel in Minneapolis. No bags. We paid a visit to the Delta baggage office and it was just as we suspected. Our checked luggage never made it on the earlier flight. The bags were on our original flight and on their way, but would not reach Minneapolis for another couple of hours.

We found a quiet corner of the baggage claim area and camped out. I was glad we had some snacks in our backpacks because there were no food options once we left the secure area of the airport. With the long drive ahead of us, it would have been nice to get on the road two hours earlier, but in the end we would still get out of the airport at the same time we originally planned AND we got to enjoy the upgraded seats. While we were waiting I used the time to call each of our three sons to let them know we were back on Minnesota soil. I spent time visiting with each one and catching up on their news.

Once the later flight arrived, our bags showed up on the carousel and we called the shuttle to reunite us with our car in the off-site parking lot. I guess not all of our travel luck had run out because the shuttle was already there waiting when we reached the ground transportation area and within about 5 minutes we were loading our luggage into the car.

The three hour drive home wasn't fun, but it could have been worse. On the way we stopped and got gyros at Arby's. That was certainly a step down from cruise food, but better than the snacks we had been consuming all day. The clock showed 10:30 pm when we pulled into our driveway. Our internal time should have felt more like 8:30 because of the time change, but we were wiped from the full day of travel.

We are always thankful to return home safely and thanked God for his protection while we traveled. The next planned trip will come next month but only involve Bob. He will be going on a missions trip to Peru with Proclaim Aviation Ministries where the group will be tackling a construction project in Pucallpa, Peru. This will be his second trip to Peru with this group and he is excited to be going back. 

Other than family get-togethers, no other travel plans (cruise or otherwise) are in the works at this time. We will have to see what the future holds! For now, I will do one more blog post with random thoughts and comments on this trip (our return to cruising in a pandemic world!)

Thanks for reading!

Sail Away on the Eurodam!

 Saturday, April 30 - Embarkation

I was afraid I would wake up at 4 am with the two-hour time change, but managed to sleep until 6:30 am. I dressed and went down to the hotel lobby to get some breakfast, but more importantly...coffee. There was a coffee maker in the room, but that is always my last resort.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that scrambled eggs and sausage were being offered. I am on a low carb diet and figured the buffet would be all pastries, cereal and bread. The gal at the front desk told us they had just gone back to a hot breakfast buffet two weeks ago after doing grab and go items throughout the pandemic.

I was pleased with our hotel choice, the SureStay Plus SeaTac by Best Western. There is a second hotel by the same name, but the other one is designated SureStay Plus North. I did a lot of searching online and tried to find somewhere that had a nice balance between price and good reviews and found this place. The hotel is brand new so the furnishings were in great shape. Our room had a king size bed, couch and comfortable chair along with a microwave and fridge. What impressed me most about the room was how well the temperature could be controlled. I had the room quite cool while we were sleeping but the temperature could be adjusted to be comfortable while we were awake. The fan noise was very minimal and yet you could feel the air circulating in the room. The hotel is adjacent to the airport but the jet noise was very minor. The light rail track went right past our 4th floor window but I didn't realize it until I saw a train going by. No noise in the room at all.

Bob left me to shower and get ready for the day while he went for a walk. Normally he would go for three miles or so, but his walk was cut short when it began to rain. The skies were forecast to clear by afternoon and I had my fingers crossed for a dry sail away.

Around 9 am I suggested that Bob check and make sure all of his apps needed to board the ship were in order and ready to go. When he logged into the Verifly app he got an error message. The same thing had happened to me when I first downloaded the app so I told him to just delete it and start over. BIG mistake. When he tried to re-input the vaccine and testing information, he got a message saying it was too late and the data had to be entered BEFORE 8:00 am that morning. Ugh. From all reports, Verifly was the app that was going to let us bypass the long lines at embarkation and whiz into the terminal with no wait.

I had considered taking an Uber from the hotel to the port, but after a little research decided on the Seattle Express shuttle instead. I was slightly apprehensive because it would mean sharing the ride with others, but the positive online reviews convinced me to give it a try. 

Off to Seattle

 Friday, April 29 - MSP to SEA

Our normal pre-cruise routine is to drive to Minneapolis the day before our flight and spend the night with one of our kids or at a hotel with a park and fly option. This time our flight wasn't until 4:00 pm so we were able to eliminate the extra night and leave from home this morning.

I took care of the last few items on my "things to do before a cruise" check list that I keep on my iPad. Some of the reminders are very basic, but checking them off one at a time keeps me focused. By 9 am, Bob was shutting off the water to the house and turning down the temperature on the water heater, the last of the tasks to get completed before we walk out the door.

Our drive to Minneapolis was uneventful although we did run through a short stretch of rain. We were a little too early to go to the airport so Bob made a stop at REI to get a few items he needed. I had made reservations to leave our car at Shepard Road Parking, an offsite airport parking lot. This was our first time to park here and we were supposed to scan a bar code from our confirmation email as we entered. I was trying to explain this to Bob as he pulled in and before I could stop him, he grabbed the ticket that the machine spit out. I wondered if this would affect the parking rate I had been quoted.

The airport shuttle van was circling around the lot and followed us to our parking spot. With the driver waiting, I felt a little rushed as we got our luggage out of our car and loaded into the van and hoped we didn't forget anything.

The only other passengers in the van were a lady holding a toddler. As the shuttle pulled away, she held a container up to the child's mouth who then began to vomit. The ride to Terminal 1 only took about 5 minutes, but the vomiting happened repeatedly. I can only hope the child was car sick, but in reality I doubt that was the case. This might be our first test to see how effective masks are in stopping germs.

Checking our bags and getting through security took a little over an hour! The security line snaked back and forth, the longest I have ever seen. I would estimate only 10 - 20% were wearing masks. 

The security line looking in one direction...

...and looking in another direction.

Seattle...and then Home!

Monday – May 7

The ship hadn’t traveled far overnight. We woke up in Seattle…the end of the cruise for us. I wasn’t ready to get off the ship after over three weeks so I can’t imagine what a one-night cruise must feel like for all of those folks that just boarded yesterday afternoon!

We had set our large luggage out in the hallway the night before so all that was left to do was cram the last-minute stuff into our carry-on bags and backpacks. We were assigned to one of the last groups for debarkation so didn’t need to rush through breakfast. I took some photos from the promenade deck near our cabin and intended to go out by the aft pool after we were done eating and get more photos that included the Space Needle.  But…somehow, I forgot and so have very few photos from the city of Seattle.

The wife of one of the couples we had met playing trivia sat with us and we had a nice visit over breakfast. We exchanged email addresses, but the sad fact is that chances are slim we will ever meet up again.

Getting off the ship was fairly easy when our group was called to disembark. By that point most of the luggage had been claimed and we quickly spotted ours. It would have been easy to get a taxi to the airport, but we had decided to take Uber. Bob had a new customer discount but even with the discount it wasn’t drastically cheaper than a cab.

To get to where Uber could pick us up required walking out of the terminal and quite a distance down a long sidewalk. Shuttle buses were available, but we chose to walk. Folding chairs under a tarp canopy provided a waiting area once we called the car. (Uber isn’t allowed to go all the way to the terminal building.) When the car arrived they had to check in with a security person who then called out our names.

On the way to the airport, we went by the Seattle Great Wheel…a large Ferris wheel on the waterfront. The driver also pointed out the headquarters for Starbucks Coffee.

Our luggage passed the weight test and we breathed a sigh of relief as we checked in. The airport was quite busy, but we found a couple of seats by our gate and settled in for the long wait. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until around 3:30 pm so imagine my surprise when I got a notification on the Delta Airlines app on my phone that our luggage had been sent on a flight leaving at 11:30! I was sorry that I hadn’t at least inquired about us taking the earlier flight.

We ate lunch at Sea-Tac and would have liked to have grabbed something later in the evening when we had a connection in Minneapolis but time was short and our gate was about as far away as possible. We made it on time, but the next flight was already boarding when we got to the gate so there was no time to get anything to eat.

Flying close to some big thunderstorms, our flight was more than just a little bumpy. Our final destination was Sioux Falls, South Dakota, arriving around 11:30 pm. Because our luggage had taken an earlier flight, we had to do some investigating to figure out where it was. The airport is very small and at that late hour was pretty much deserted. A couple other travelers were in the same predicament and we figured out that all of our luggage was locked up…but there was no one around to retrieve it for us. Eventually we were reunited with our bags and just in time…the hotel shuttle was waiting at the front entrance to the airport. We crammed into the van with all of the flight crew and pilots who were also headed to the Holiday Inn. It was going to be a short night for the poor flight attendants. They had to be up by 3 am for their next flight so were barely going to get any sleep.

We walked straight through the hotel lobby and out into the parking ramp where we had left our car over three weeks earlier. I can’t exactly explain the feeling, but it was so weird to know that when we left a blizzard was coming and then a second big snow a few days later but yet now it was May...summer time! Just thinking about it made it seem like we had been gone even longer!

It had been many, many hours since we had eaten the sandwich for lunch at the Seattle airport and we were hungry. Sioux Falls isn’t all that large so most of the places we were passing on our way home were closed. We did find a Taco Bell where the drive through was still open…what a contrast to how we had been eating for the past few weeks!

The storms that we had flown through were now approaching and we had a fabulous lightning show as we made the one hour drive to get home. We were both tired, but coming from the west coast at least our bodies thought it was only 10 pm when in fact our clocks said 1 am.

So…another cruise is in the books. This trip was our longest and I would have to say one of our best. I am always sad to end our travels, but also very thankful to get home safely and not have had any problems along the way.

The next cruise has been booked for about 8 months already so now I am back into planning mode once again. Stay tuned to see where we are headed!