North! To Alaska – Seattle to ???

After months of planning, it’s time to head to Alaska. Of course, there are always ‘last minute’ things to take care of like re-packing the suitcase (remember we’ve been on the road two weeks by this point), checking in, printing out luggage tags, and boarding passes.

We met our friends and set off by Uber to Pier 91 on Saturday morning so we could make our boarding time. Holland America had everything clearly marked and several attendants pointing the way to the various checkpoints, from luggage, passport, ID Photo, and boarding the ship. Of course, I took my own photos, but there are cruise photographers on hand at various points during the cruise to help memorialize the trip. There’s a cost for the professional photos, so you’ll have to decide if you’re going to buy all of them, select a few, or stick with your own.

The first task was to find our room, get our life vests on, and meet at our emergency stations for a drill. Our room was nicely laid out with quite a bit of closet space, a large bed with drawers underneath, and a pullout couch. The bathroom is small and requires a bit of maneuvering (and is definitely NOT made for two people at a time).

Then it was time to meet at the Lido Deck (9) to plan the rest of the day. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a great view as we left port. After we were underway, we moved to the Observation Deck (10) to wave goodbye to Seattle and head out to sea! We spent a bit of time walking around the decks before getting dressed for dinner.

After dinner, we explored some more and found the game room (which also has an espresso cafe & bar!). Several tables were scattered around; a huge storage cabinet housed a large selection of board and card games, and puzzles available for use. We played Sorry! and turned in for the night.

Our next two days were at sea. As Saturday turned to Sunday, the seas became pretty rough. I’ve cruised before, and have rarely, if ever been seasick, but the seas were so rough the guys were the only ones up for breakfast. The Captain hosted a talk with graphs, charts, and some of the most colorful weather maps I’ve seen showing A MASSIVE storm calling for a complete re-route in our itinerary. The advanced warnings allowed our ship to skim along the outskirts of the storm, even though missed Juneau entirely to avoid all that scary red and pink in the weather system. The Captain’s presentation was fascinating; his experience at sea was evident and it was clear that not only did he know the size of his ship, but trusted his crew, maps, and the tools used to predict the weather.

Monday was still a bit rough, but as we continued to cruise along the outer rim of the storm and made our way north, the seas calmed and we were able to see some whales, seals, and a bit of blue sky on our way to Glacier Bay.