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Planes, trains and more planes - Seattle, Vancouver and a 1 night plus 7 night cruise on the Crown


cruiseintoheaven
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So, bear with me as I fumble through this - my first attempt at a semi-live review. I've got 300 minutes to burn so we'll see how this goes!

 

After a rather terse goodbye with our three cats who protested our departure, we left Indiana Wednesday morning and made our connecting flight in ORD with about 4 minutes to spare. Arrived in Seattle by 3, and took the link light rail (for $3 pp vs. $50 cab plus tip) to our downtown Seattle hotel - the Executive Hotel Pacific. Pros to this hotel: location - corner of Spring and 4th St., very good location if you don't have a car and want to do the basic sights by foot or cab/uber. The hotel has a breakfast cafe type restaurant as well as The Lodge for lunch and dinner. Also on site are a passable fitness center and a barbershop. A complimentary happy hour (wine only) is held nightly from 5-6 on the mezzanine floor. The hotel is a bit dated, but clean and comfortable. We booked 2 nights for $350 - and were upgraded to a two bed/bath family suite - a bargain for downtown.

 

On Wednesday night we took the short walk towards the waterfront to the Sky Observatory - a "must do" IMO, much better and less $$ than the Space Needle. I believe the cost was $14 pp and allowed you all day/night access. We went upon arrival and again after a fabulous dinner at Tulio's in The Vintage hotel, so that we could see the city lit up. Can't say enough about the Observatory or dinner: 919d448a40208e49b322804ebfcbcb97.jpg.....next up.....day 2 in Seattle!

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On Thursday morning we trekked down to Pike Place to watch the markets wake up and see the water a bit close. we saw a celebrity ship as well - fun reminder of things to come! We went in search of our requisite postcard and geegaw and then headed towards the space needle to see the Chihuly Glass and Gardens - wow! Hard to do it justice.....just spectacular.....we made an early night of it as we had be up early for our Cascades rail train up to Vancouver - Crown Princess - here we come! I'll try to post a few pics of the glass and garden center. Also, weather has been very nice.....lots of sun, and 3 minutes of light rain last night - I'll try to bring that with us!

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We are on the Amtrak cascades rail - hugging Puget sound - quite pretty and serene. Ride should take 4 hours from front to back. If you do this option, try to get seats on the left if heading from Seattle to Vancouver, and on the right if doing the reverse......[emoji4]

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Well, we made it to Vancouver by noon, at the pier by 1:00.....and then waited and waited, and then waited some more! Between Canadian and USA customs and a PACKED ship, we weren't onboard until about 3:00. Thankfully muster was short and sweet, and there is a full lineup of entertainment for this evening, including Magic To Do in the theatre, Comedian Steve Morris and various trivia etc pet the norm. Shops are open, casino is not. We are planning to try the The Salty Dog tonight. The Captains P/E/S event was fairly well attended......seas are smooth and weather beautiful 😀

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Tom & Lynn, wow, I was surprised to run across your live review. Sounds like you are having one good time. Can't wait to join you tomorrow on the Crown Princess, party time! Were packed and ready to get to the airport early in the morning.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

Edited by Kenosha Cruiser
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Good slightly misty morning from Seattle.....lots of partying last night on the one night cruise....but nothing horrible. I'll be very curious to see how many PAX stay on for the 7 day Alaskan...guessing captain circle host could tell me. Last night we ate the salty dog, partly to try it, and partly to avoid what we assumed would be a stampede of very hungry people at he buffet as well. Service was very good. I'm short but didn't find the high tops a problem. The food was good and portions decent. We had a table against the wall along with a few other couples so didn't feel like we were plunked down in the middle of the room. Would we go again? Probably not - just not seeing the value for the $. Also we were told that our OBC would ABSOLUTELY roll over to our next voyage - but just to be on the safe side we spent it - DH got his coffee card - good for 8 days, a few Perrier waters, and I got a bottle of wine - good for, well it was good for last night:). In transit pax are to meet in the casino at 10....so time to get moving!

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So according to the Patters - we will have the naturalist Michael Modzelewski, Libby Riddles, lumberjack Rob Sheer, the Glacier Park Rangers, Midnight Sun exoerience, folklorist Steve Hites, A night in the Klondike to look forward to while onboard.....and oh, did I mention PUPPIES?? [emoji4]

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Also we were told that our OBC would ABSOLUTELY roll over to our next voyage - but just to be on the safe side we spent it

Definitely rolls over.

We've done a couple of B2B recently and the new system works just fine.

Internet minutes also roll over. Just have to use up the old before you can start using the new.

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Also with us: comedian Carlos Oscar, Vocalist David James Guidice and the Voice of the Ocean

 

 

 

Don't miss Carlos Oscar if you haven't seen him before! He is hilarious! He was on our "Hurricane Sandy" Caribbean Princess cruise to Boston (long story).

 

He had everyone in stitches and we all forgot (for a little while anyway) what was happening outside the ship!

 

We even caught his show in Las Vegas about a year later.

 

Wishing you a wonderful a smooth, sunny trip to Alaska!

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The in-transit process this morning was interesting - we had 6 PAX that were still MIA at 10:30, despite numerous announcements by the captain. I thought for sure they wouldn't let us go through our process until they zeroed out the ship - but, they wound up taking us out/down/around - maybe 10 minutes or so all together - not bad. Also, I've seen mention of Princess not putting your names and loyalty status on doors anymore. At least for now on the Crown, they still have them.

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Good morning. It's beautiful to look at outside as we head for Juneau, but pretty darn cold. Highs in the 50's, same predicted for tomorrow....glad I brought my winter coat and hat. The captain said last night we will be in for some rough seas later, I do feel more rocking and rolling already, but haven't grabbed the sea bands or bonine yet.

 

Lots going on about the ship today as per the norm for a sea day.

 

Last night we met up with our friends from our RC at the Outrigger Bar for sailaway after muster (which we were told we didn't have to go to, though it was recommended).....umm.....no, but thank you! We had a great turnout and connected names and faces. Dinner in the HC as it was late by the time we wound up our sailaway party, then some trivia and off to bed.

 

Tonight is formal night and all that goes along with that. We did bring one outfit suitable if we decide to go.

 

Service has been very good, ship looks good. The princess at sea app has greatly improved, but still sporadic at times. The ship feels very full, partly because I think it's sold out, and with the colder temps, more PAX inside....hate to type this for fear of cursing myself, but no mention of the word "noro"..... That's it for now....have to hit the gym and work off a few calories! :)

Edited by cruiseintoheaven
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Good morning from Junuea. The naturalist onboard gave a very interesting and informative talk and slideshow yesterday in the theatre - highly recommend you attend these lectures unless you've been to Alaska many times.

 

Recap of last night: very rough seas as we were warned....made formal night a bit of a challenge in gowns and heels, especially on the "scary" Piazza stairs...most everyone was clinging to the railings, fear of noro and all :)

 

Had dinner in Michaelangelo with a very nice young couple. They are not the partying types and feel Princess is a good fit for them. It was interesting to hear their opinions about the ever popular topic of what constitutes formal wear.....a new topic on these boards I know, right? ;) That led me to take a look around me, and oh boy....I see where people get frustrated. DH and I have been very laid back on last few cruises and not gone to the MDR, but decided to this time around. He wore jacket/tie, I wore a dressy pantsuit with blingy heels. Saw several men wearing casual t-shirts, t-shirts with arms cut off, shorts, etc. Not to beat a dead horse, but Princess really should not allow them entrance, it's that simple.

 

Anywho, went to the yes/no game show in the Explorers lounge with our Roll Call friends.....lots of fun. The CD Dan Appleby is very good and quite funny.

 

This morning, several whales could be seen from the Promenade deck. Hoping so see more later. Time to go get ready for our 5 glacier sea plane ride. The couple we are going with agreed to meet in Crooners ahead of time for a bit of liquid courage....:D

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?..Had dinner in Michaelangelo with a very nice young couple. They are not the partying types and feel Princess is a good fit for them. It was interesting to hear their opinions about the ever popular topic of what constitutes formal wear.....a new topic on these boards I know, right? ;) That led me to take a look around me, and oh boy....I see where people get frustrated. DH and I have been very laid back on last few cruises and not gone to the MDR, but decided to this time around. He wore jacket/tie, I wore a dressy pantsuit with blingy heels. Saw several men wearing casual t-shirts, t-shirts with arms cut off, shorts, etc. Not to beat a dead horse, but Princess really should not allow them entrance, it's that simple...
I don't want to hijack your thread into a formal wear discussion, but were your observations made in the DR on formal night? Edited by IECalCruiser
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