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!

Vancouver

Sunday – May 6

Originally, we had booked this cruise as a 22-day itinerary along with our friends, but after our cruise last fall, I bought some Future Cruise Deposits (FCD’s) and re-booked the cruise using those. Not only did we have a lower deposit, but we each got $200 in on board credit for making the reservation within 60 days of our last cruise. I could not use the FCD’s and rebook the same, EXACT cruise, so we switched to the 23-day itinerary which really worked better for us anyway. Getting off the ship in Seattle meant more affordable flights home.

After having breakfast and saying good-bye to Danny and Stan (who were ending their cruise in Vancouver) we took a detour down to Deck 1 – the Dolphin Deck.  Next January, we have booked a cabin on this level (steerage?) for our next adventure. (Stay tuned!) I was hopeful that whoever was in our cabin on this cruise might be getting off and we could get a peek at the room, but no luck. BUT…we were able to check out another cabin a few doors down that our good friends will be in. This will be their first Holland America cruise so I knew they would appreciate seeing a few photos of their future home. Being on Deck 1 I know I will miss the newly remodeled bathroom that we had this time and also the easy access to the promenade deck...but not enough to pay a lot more money to move up two decks.

I also took a few photos of Canada Place (where the Zaandam was docked) and then we walked off the ship around 9 am. There was still $90 worth of on board credit in our account so to use it up, I had purchased a shore excursion on the Hop-On-Hop-Off (HOHO) bus. It was about the same price as it would have been booking it independently and was a good way to use up the credit.

Off to explore Vancouver!

Our tickets were good for all day, but when we checked in to get our passes for the bus, we were told that because of a race in town, many of the roads were blocked off and we couldn’t get to Stanley Park until afternoon. The HOHO bus does a city route and a park route. We would have to do the park route later and we boarded a bus doing the city route.

There were different styles of buses being used and the one we were on was a trolley-style bus. (The brochure showed an open-top double-decker bus but we never saw any of those.) We got on in front of Canada Place and right away the driver had hard time getting through the mess of closed roads and extreme traffic. He called it a “perfect storm” because besides the marathon and three ships in port (Zaandam, Westerdam, and Noordam) there was a large crowd in town for a Shania Twain concert. 

Not the greatest way to see a city. The windows are small and the bus was hot & stuffy.

Information center at Canada Place

The guy in the green shirt was selling HOHO bus tickets so it isn't necessary to purchase in advance.

Many roads were closed due to the marathon.

We “hopped off” the bus in Gastown to see the famous steam-powered clock. We just missed hearing it “toot” at 10 am but were lucky enough to catch the 10:15 whistle just as the next HOHO bus was pulling up. I believe this is where we switched and got on a Park Route bus. 

Statue of Gassy Jack.

Such a beautiful day in Vancouver!

Stanley Park was still closed because of the race so after going past Canada Place again, the bus headed to Granville Island…our next stop. We wandered through the public market admiring the gorgeous fruits, vegetables and many other types of goodies. We had spent quite a bit of time at Granville Island on our first trip to Vancouver, but it was a beautiful day and it was a perfect spot to sit outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. An outdoor painting challenge was going on and artists of all ages were painting on small canvases outside the public market.

Crossing over False Creek 

Walking from the bus stop...under the bridge...to Granville Island.

Yes please!

Sea urchins anyone?

Outdoor patio at the marketplace overlooking False Creek.

A good place for a selfie!

Lunch time rolled around and rather than eating at the market we walked back to the bus stop (browsing through shops on the way) and went back to the ship. Free food always wins.

When we got back to Canada Place, passengers were lined up all the way down the long, long hallway at Canada Place to board the three Holland America ships leaving for their first cruises of the Alaska season. Since we had “in-transit” cards, we were able to bypass the lines…thank goodness.

Around 3:00 we left the ship again and boarded the next HOHO bus to arrive…finally we would get to Stanley Park! This time instead of a trolley style bus which was hot & stuffy and had limited viewing through small windows, we boarded a larger bus with a glass roof and good AC.

A bus with a glass roof means we could see the tops of the beautiful buildings.

Bob wanted to see the totem poles at Stanley Park so we got off the bus at that stop a little after 3:30. While Bob was viewing the totem poles, I walked across the street and was taking some photos of the waterfront area. As I walked back I heard someone yell my name…it was Danny! He and Stan were spending a couple of extra nights in Vancouver and had also bought tickets for the HOHO bus!

When we saw the next bus pulling up around 4 pm, the four of us got in line to board with several others. Unfortunately, Danny and Stan got the last seat so Bob and I and several others were left to wait for the next bus. The sun was warm and the only place to sit in the shade was on the ground under a tree. I was watching the time and 20 minutes went by…then 30…and finally at 4:35 a bus pulled up that had some space.

I breathed a sigh of relief…at first…but then realized we still had almost all of the park route left to travel. Traffic was very congested and at times we came to a standstill. All aboard time for the Zaandam was 6:30 pm and I was getting nervous that we may not make it. I was already forming a mental plan in case we missed the ship. The bus went by some beautiful gardens and other scenic spots. I would have enjoyed them more if I wasn't worried about getting back to the ship on time.

Looking across the Lion's Gate Bridge.

Vine covered Sylvia Hotel.

It was about 6:10 when we got off the bus at the port. The Zaandam was still there waiting on us and all we had to do was get through Canada Place, down one level and we would be walking across the gangplank and onto the ship.

But…when we got into the building it was deserted. The long, long lines of people waiting to board the ships were gone and the hallway was empty. We found the door where we had gone through to go down the escalator earlier in the day and it was locked. The Zaandam was right there but we couldn’t find a way to get to the ship! We leaned over the railing and yelled to a crew member walking by on the Promenade deck of the Zaandam and asked how to get to the gangplank. He didn’t speak English well nor did he have any idea of where we were supposed to go.

Bob went running down the outside of the terminal looking for someone who could help. I was directly above the gangplank and when I saw some other people boarding, I yelled down to them for help. They got one of the officers standing nearby who told us that we should have entered the terminal through the hotel. From there we were to take an elevator down to the lower level, walk through a parking garage and finally get to where we could exit the building and go up the gangplank to the ship. TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN EARLIER IN THE DAY!!!

It was right at 6:30 when we stepped foot back on the ship and the officer said “we were looking for you.” 😒

As we walked back to our cabin it felt like we were on a different ship. At the beginning of our cruise (from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego) we were on the younger side of all of the passengers. There were no children but many, many passengers using walkers and scooters. In San Diego the passengers that boarded there were somewhat younger and there were even a few families with kids.

BUT…things were really different now. This final night of our cruise could be booked as a one-night cruise from Vancouver to Seattle and those that did were a young crowd. Lots of 20 and 30-somethings and also babies & kids!

I wanted to watch sail away so we grabbed some food from the buffet and took it outside and found a table next to the aft pool. Even though we ate in the buffet, here are the dining room menus I copied from the Navigator App.

MAINS

The aft pool area was a great place to be as the Zaandam left Canada Place.

After 3 weeks on the Zaandam I still find it odd that there are colorful cows in the pool.

Sulfur.

It was getting really chilly on the open deck around the pool so Bob and I went down the outdoor staircase that lead to an open area on Deck 6. We were totally alone there and the area was a little more protected from the wind.

Sailing under the Lion's Gate Bridge.

Passing Stanley Park. On our first visit we rode bikes on the waterfront path.

We stayed there as we sailed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge and until I was able to get a photo of the Point Atkinson Lighthouse (love lighthouses!!). At that point the ship was getting into more open water...and we were frozen.

The production show in the theater was “Road House” …one that had been performed earlier in the cruise. We enjoyed it the first time, but not enough to sit through it again on our last night of the cruise. Instead we sat outside our cabin on the Promenade Deck watching the sunset and feeling sad that our cruise was coming to an end. The sunset was extra spectacular…sort of a going away present for us to enjoy. One of our Aussie friends joined us and the three of us stood there all alone snapping photo after photo as the sun sank into the horizon.  

Sea Day #10

Saturday – May 5

No excuse today but we were both slow in getting up. In fact, I didn’t think Bob was ever going to wake up. It was 8:15 before he finally opened his eyes. The banging noise in our ceiling was back during the night. It doesn’t seem to happen during the day…only when we are trying to sleep which is annoying. According to guest services, they had someone come into our cabin while we were docked in San Francisco and check into the problem and found nothing. But then…it would be hard to trouble-shoot when the ship is docked and the banging ceases.

Today’s coffee chat was with Taylor, the cruise director, and Andy, the assistant. During the Q & A time, I thoroughly embarrassed myself AND Taylor. On a previous day during trivia, Taylor had introduced one of the dancers as his wife. What I didn’t realize was that he was joking. So, when he announced that he would be leaving the Zaandam the next day in Vancouver and switching to the Noordam I asked whether his wife would get assigned to the same ship. Taylor stammered and stuttered and Andy totally ridiculed him. I felt silly and I think Taylor felt equally embarrassed!

Cruise director, Taylor.

Assistant Cruise Director, Andy. (Andy had been the Cruise Director on our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise back in November.)

During the time I was in the Crow’s Nest, Bob was walking on the promenade deck and was excited to report that he saw a whale breach!

The two of us met up in the theater for the backstage tour and Q & A session with the singers and dancers. It was surprising to see how tiny the dressing room was…not sure how they function when they are rushed to change between scenes. The production staff was all new on this cruise. One of the dancers got injured and had to leave at the beginning and another had been sick so a couple of the production shows were done with just one male dancer.

Backstage tour.

The dressing room was very cramped.

The view of the theater from the stage.

I joined Bob as he walked a few more laps of the ship and we saw dolphins and black chunks of “something” floating in the water next to the ship. I questioned the cruise director later and he had no idea what it was, but it almost looked like something that was coming from the ship.

Before lunch, we ducked into the theater to hear the lecture on geography covering Holland America’s cruise ship itineraries. The talk was pretty dry and list oriented…more like a school lecture than something interesting and entertaining. I left a few minutes before Bob and went back to the cabin to try and tame my hair after our walk outdoors. He stayed longer, but even he couldn’t stay interested enough to make it through to the end.

After 3 weeks of cruising, we had fallen into certain routines on sea days and one was meeting up with Danny and Stan at 11:45 to beat the crowd at the buffet for lunch…especially the line for the Asian station. Today the choices were Malaysian. I also added a bowl of parsnip/carrot soup and a piece of peach cheesecake for dessert. As we were leaving the restaurant, we looked out the window and saw a pod of dolphins jumping and swimming alongside the ship.

At the 1:00 trivia game, we played with a couple from Oregon and also one of the Australian couples. The bonus question was worth 7 points which we did get correct, but we missed the question “What is the highest mountain in Nepal?” The correct answer was Everest, but Bob questioned that answer since he said the mountain was actually on the border of China and Nepal. He thought perhaps it was a trick question and his overthinking lead us to the wrong answer. On a good note, we did see another whale from the windows of the Crow’s Nest!

Afterwards we spent a long time visiting again with both of the Aussie couples. It was so fun to get to know them and hear about their life and culture compared to living in the U.S. We exchanged email addresses and hopefully we will be able to stay in touch. It would be great to meet up and cruise with them again sometime!

After the fiasco trying to buy a Coke at the Crow’s Nest bar, I went down to the Mix Bar and ordered a Diet Coke. Once again, they scanned my beverage card repeatedly and it just didn’t work…so…I got it for free again! It is hard to use up the funds on the beverage card when they keep giving me drinks for nothing!

Since tomorrow would be a long day in port at Vancouver, I knew I HAD to begin the packing process. Bob left to go walk…it is impossible for two people to try and pack at the same time in the tight space. I got as much done as I could and the rest would have to be done at the last-minute tomorrow night. After the frustrating job of packing, I needed to get out and move a little so joined Bob and Danny in a lap around the ship.

Our always smiling room steward, Ilham.

Dinner was potato and leek soup for both Bob and I. Bob also had a spring roll and the two of us shared the main entrée shrimp salad. For the main course we both ordered Korean short ribs. Sadly, we had to say good bye to Yazzir and Lala. Danny and Stan were disembarking the next day in Vancouver and we had a full day planned so would eat in the buffet instead of the dining room. We lingered for some time as we visited with Yazzir about his life in Indonesia.

Yazzir getting our dinner orders.

Fadila (Lala), the assistant waiter.

In fact, we were so late leaving the dining room that all of the seats in the upper level of the theater were taken and our only option was to sit on the lower level close to the stage. The talented violinist and singer, Lizzie Ball, was the headliner on the Main Stage. Cruising gives us an opportunity to experience such a wide range of entertainment!

The sun had just set when we walked back to our cabin and we spent some time walking on the promenade deck enjoying the beautiful pink sky. The ship was sailing through a passage with mountains very close on both sides. I was sad to think our cruise would be ending very soon and truly wished we could have added on the 14-day Alaska itinerary that the Zaandam would be doing following our cruise. We have done two Alaskan cruises, but I don’t think I would ever tire of the beautiful snow-capped mountains, blue glaciers, majestic waterfalls, whales, eagles, sea otters,…well…you get the idea.  😉