ACorgan

Just confirming that most the tables I saw as I walked by were $6 min (no one seems to be playing at the moment and the dealers looked bored) I had planned to go to the team trivia at the Billboard, but it was packed by the time I got there (5 min before start) and no seats to be found, so wandered over to the casino instead

Made it to the gym. It’s actually quite beautiful with many machines right at the window looking straight ahead as we sail forward. I must have timed it well because there were plenty of machines to choose from. There was some kind of stretching class going on when I arrived that seemed very popular. They had run out of room in the small group activities area and I saw people interspersed between the weight machines following along with the stretches. The greenhouse spa also appeared to be bustling and had a long line of people trying to book treatments (not surprising for a sea day). Most cruises, I do at least one spa treatment, but might skip it this time around since such busy port days planned and (hopefully) beautiful scenery while the ship is in motion. I had forgotten how challenging an elliptical machine can be with the ship motion, especially for someone as non-coordinated as I am 🥴 It was a very light workout, but I made it the whole way through without falling off my machine, so we’re going to call that one a win 🏆

First breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill today. We arrived right at the start of breakfast (8 am) and had a lovely table by the window. After placing our orders, we saw a group of something briefly swimming next to the ship. They were spouting, but didn’t look like large enough spray for whales. Maybe some kind of porpoise? Beautiful, sunny weather so far For our meal, our table tried the smoked salmon omelette, the bagel and lox, and the ham and cheese skillet. I’m being told the skillet was “a little watery due to the pico, but still tasty” We didn’t try any of the scrumptious-looking pastries they kept bringing around, but that was sheer willpower and the desire to not to gain a huge amount of weight this cruise, because they looked really good 🤤 I’m going to let breakfast settle and then might check out the gym, mostly to justify the fact that I felt compelled to pack 2 sets of gym clothes rather than any burning desire to work out 😂 I’ll probably be the one going a turtle’s pase on an elliptical (assuming I can find a free one). Hopefully it will at least have nice views. I’m also hoping that pre-posting about going to the gym will make me follow through with that instead of climbing back into bed for a mid morning nap, which sounds like a very good plan B 😉

I didn’t play any table games, since I’m strictly a slot player, but know there were several boisterous groups around tables playing something last night. I’ll definitely be back through the casino today, so will try to peek what the blackjack minimums are are report back

There was actually good news on that front. Yesterday it suddenly showed up as an excursion option and we were able to book it as soon as we were on the ship today, so will get to go the gardens after all 🙌

After dinner, I spent some time in the casino. I hadn’t realized that the Westerdam casino was smoke-free, so that was a pleasant change from my last HAL trip, on the Zaandam. The night life around me seemed to be going strong when I tapped out (around 10 pm) with dueling pianos in Billboard and a live band playing away in the Rolling Stone Lounge. From the looks of things, there’s a fun crowd on board that will probably keep the party going for awhile, but my early morning is catching up to me, so I’m off to wind down with some light reading before bed 🥱

Our first dinner went well. We were seated at a 6-top right next to the window at the back of the ship. No one else showed up, so had the table to ourselves tonight We had the French onion soup and the salmon chowder and both really enjoyed our soups The club orange main was Peruvian chicken. I wasn’t so sure about it from the menu description, but had heard great things here on cruise critic, so gave it a whirl. It definitely lived up to the hype. Very tender chicken that reminded me of something smoked on a Traeger grill, corn that tasted like it had just been cut off a BBQ corn on the cob, and a tasty cilantro-forward sauce. My only critique is that it was a huge portion, so I felt bad that I could only make it about halfway through. If this had been a land-based restaurant, I would have 100% taken the rest to go; I’m sure that chicken would have made a killer chicken salad Last, but not least, the deserts didn’t disappoint. I went with the fruit plate, since wanted something lighter after all the food today and my traveling companion went with the chocolate brownie cheesecake. The fruit didn’t look amazing when I first got it, but it was all very flavorful, especially the pineapple, which was very sweet Looking around the dining room, there were quite a few empty seats, which surprised me on a sold out cruise. Not sure if there are just less people in the late fixed dinning or if it just happened to be an evening where people chose to go to specialty restaurants, lido, or room service? We’ll see how it looks tomorrow

It was ok. Definitely not as good at I’ve had in Amsterdam, but decent for cruise food. It could have used a little more powdered sugar and the bacon didn’t have much taste, but the apples and the accompanying syrup were both delish, so it balanced out

Right? I was really surprised to see it that early. I wonder if it’s related to the time change? Once we hit Juneau, we change clocks, so the 7:30 dinner time, will actually be 8:30 PST, if I’m doing my math correctly 🤷🏻‍♀️

I will make sure to post about those! I was trying to look ahead of time and was having trouble finding posts about it. On our cruise last August, some of the best food we had was from the club orange menu (jambalaya night and short ribs night 😋). No idea if they’ll have the same options this cruise, but should find out soon 😉 We have the late fixed dinning and had anticipated something around 8 or 8:30, so was pleasantly surprised when our key cards showed a 7:30 dinning time. That’s close to when we eat at home, so should work very well

Grabbed the first drink of the cruise, a Bee’s Knees, from the Crow’s nest just in time for sail away Tons of people up here, too, but managed to grab some seats just as people were leaving

Our first meal on the ship was very civilized. We got to the MDR 10-15 min after it opened and were quickly seated. We tried out the Dutch pancake, the mac and cheese, and the croque madame There were several people in the dining room, but it didn’t feel crowded at all and service was prompt. After eating, we checked in to our muster station and I went to find a bar to buy some water for the room. First, I wandered the second deck, but none of those bars seemed to be open yet, so I popped up to the third deck. The Ocean bar was hopping and it looked like it might be a wait to put in my drink order, so headed up more of the stairs to the lido bar. Apparently the lido deck is where everyone from our sold out cruise was hiding; it was an absolute zoo up there. I quickly snagged my drink and made my escape back to my room. I didn’t go through the main meal area of the lido, but as I passed by the door, it looked crammed to the gills. Closer to the pool, they had a whole taco bar set up and I could smell them cooking away at the Dive In; neither one looked particularly busy, so if the MDR hadn’t been an option, we probably would have been happy with either of those. I got back to my room just in time to meet our steward dropping off one of our suitcases (still waiting on one), so am going to take some time to unpack and settle in

It was a rainy drive up to Seattle, but hardly any traffic, so we made great time. Once we got to the port, we wound around a bit, so was getting nervous if we were going the right way. Just about the time we were thinking about turning around, we got to the sign for republic parking, so all was well. It was very easy and straightforward. Since we had prepaid, we just told them our name and they checked us off a list. There were plenty of open spaces and as soon as we had our bags out of the car, a shuttle pulled right up to us and picked us up. When the shuttle dropped us off, there were several porters for the Princess ship, but we didn’t see any for HAL. No worries though, we just wheeled our large bags inside and quickly dropped them off. The shuttle had dropped us at 11am and by 11:05 we had already dropped our bags and were in the very short initial check in line. After winding through the truncheons and up an escalator we came to the security screening. Somewhat similar to airport security, but much more lax - no need to take out liquids or electronics and could leave our shoes on. Post-security, we got in the “priority” check in line, but it really didn’t matter, since the normal side had no line either. A friendly gentleman helped us with the facial recognition machine and scanning our passports and once that was done, directed us to a woman at a podium. The podium woman gave us a number (group 16), but told us to go speak to a gentleman in a suit since we were “priority.” (Note: at this time, they were calling group 7). The suited gentleman glanced at our boarding passes to confirm priority, took our number card, and waved us onto the ship. We were on the gangway by 11:12, so less than 20 min total from arriving at the port in our car. As we boarded the ship, they were directing everyone to elevators up to the lido and said that none of the rooms were ready yet. It looked like a crush of people, so we chose to take the stairs instead. By the time we got to our floor (7), I needed a breather, so took a chance checking our room and it was ready for us 🎉 We stopped by the Neptune lounge to book an additional excursion and have a quick snack and now are just settling in until the MDR opens for lunch at noon

That’s great to hear; thanks for the data point! I haven’t seen many posts about boarding in Seattle, but all the scary stories from Vancouver had me a bit nervous. Relived to hear that Seattle seems to be going much smoother

Bags are (mostly) packed for tomorrow. That’s right, “bags”, plural. I tried guys, I really did, but still ended up with two suitcases 😂 There was a brief moment when I really thought I’d get it down to one bag, but then realized I hadn’t added any of my shoes, toiletries, or winter gear. I am down to 5 pairs of shoes total, so we’re going to call that one a victory ✌️ In the back of my closet, I found a pair of gold flats that seem to go with all my evening wear choices, so that helped immensely. Next up, we have to decide what time we’re leaving tomorrow. It’s about a 5.5 hr drive to the cruise terminal. Initially, had planned to leave really early to be up there as soon as parking opened up at 10 am. Now, however, I’m leaning towards leaving here at a more reasonable time, like 6am. Worst case, the boarding lines are really long when we get there and we don’t make lunch in the MDR, but I’ve decided I’m fine with that. I will happily buy brunch on our drive up if it means I get to sleep a few more hours. I am definitely not a morning person All that’s left on my list for today is getting the house prepped for our house/pet sitters and giving our dogs some extra cuddles before I abandon them for a week. Only one more sleep until vacay!

I’m just about finished with my first pass at packing and am getting ready to go back through, critically look at things, and (hopefully) purge. Shoes are always the toughest part for me, since I’m never sure what exactly I’ll need. In the “definitely taking” pile, I already have my Hunter rain boots (just ankle ones, since they pack easier) and a pair of comfortable sneakers. In my “still being considered” pile, I have 3 pairs of “around the ship” shoes for the daytime, 3 pairs of evening shoes (all flats), an extra pair of sneakers (in case the first get muddy while hiking), some flip flops, and a pair of warm snow boots. I’m sure I won’t really need all those, but it’s so hard to figure out what to cut. For example, three pairs of evening shoes is probably overkill, but do I want to be stuck with only a black pair that look odd with a brown or blue dress? Or only a brown pair of shoes that won’t match a black skirt? Meanwhile, my traveling partner will probably blissfully pack his two pair of shoes and never give it a second thought 😂

I don’t think it has to be too heavy handed of a “patriotic occasion” but more of a fun tradition to celebrate a different culture. Kind of like wearing green on St Patrick’s day - you don’t have to be Irish to get in on the fun and enjoy the parties

We just booked another excursion (for Sitka), so now we have plans or ship excursions for all of our port stops except for Victoria. I kept holding out for Victoria, hoping that they might add a Butchart Gardens excursion, but if it hasn’t happened by 3 days before the cruise, think it’s not in the cards. We’re in port from 8pm to 11:30pm, so could maybe chance taking a taxi out there, since the gardens are open until 10, but not sure if I’m brave enough to try that. I might take a look at the other ship excursions to see if anything else of interest or we might just try walking into town along the waterfront.

Only a few more days until we leave on our cruise, so figured I’d get this thread up and running while I was still on land and have dependable internet. This is the first cruise I’ve ever booked a guarantee room for, so was a little nervous, but by 6/4 (2 weeks before the cruise), we had already received our assigned room. Our guarantee was for a SC and we ended up with a SA, so I’m not mad about that one 😁 We had also been waitlisted for main (late) fixed dining, but on our current paperwork, it looks like we’re secured for that. I’m still working full time, so we tend to splurge on our cruises and get a suite since we have such limited time to travel. I may also have to do a tiny, teensy bit of work while on vacay, so we’ll see how the internet situation on the ship works out. Our check in time for the cruise seems to be moving around a bit, but I’m trying to remember if that’s even relevant since we have priority boarding. Does priority boarding mean we can show up whenever? Or does it just mean that we still need to show up at the assigned time, but just get a special line when we get there? This is the first time that we’re driving to a cruise instead of flying and I already have our parking spot pre-reserved at Pier 91. It’s going to be a struggle because I’m a notorious over-packer. Usually I at least have the airline weight limits to keep me in check, but now there’s nothing to rein me in 😂 I’m trying to remind myself that we have complimentary laundry, but chances are still high that I’ll show up with at least two large suitcases, because you never know what you’ll need 😉 I’m hoping to spend the next day or two evaluating what kind of outdoorsy clothing I have and figuring out if any of my jackets are truly waterproof or if I should pick one up from the outlet mall prior to our trip So far, the weather predictions are looking decent 🎉 It’s several days out though, so subject to change, but hoping for the drier weather to hold 🍀

I’m confused - I didn’t realize the Neptune suite drinks had ever been a part of HIA? On our cruise in Aug 2022, the paperwork at that time indicated that neither the Neptune Lounge drinks nor the minibar drinks were included in HIA. So not sure if it changed and then reverted back or if this has always been the policy, but just wasn’t being enforced?

In September, not likely to have many kids since most of them are at the start of the school year. When we went in September, the salmon were still spawning and it was awe inspiring just to see the sheer number of them crowding the creeks

Would you even need him to sign in? If it’s just to see the ticket in the app, could you just screenshot it and send him the photo to pull up?

One additional data point: we had three people in a Neptune suite last August on Zaandam. The first two passengers had HIA, which included the signature drink package. The third person initially had no drink package and when we asked about, was not required to buy any kind of drink package. After pricing things out the first day, they opted to then add the quench package, but again, no issue whatsoever that two people had the signature and one had the quench (all 3 people over 21). All three people had access to all of the suite perks (eg, Neptune lounge, pinnacle grill breakfast, etc)

Good point about the specificity. For my particular trip, it’s out of Ketchikan and the description says we’ll be fishing “in the sheltered waters of the Clover Passage”

I’ve been seeing several news headlines in the PNW about the salmon-based court case out of Washington. From what I can gather, a judge in Washington made a ruling that has the potential to shut down the king salmon season in SE Alaska due to a perceived threat to the endangered orca populations in Washington. I’m sure people have strong opinions one way or another, but not looking to start any fights here. What I do want to know is whether this will only impact commercial fishing or if it will halt sport fishing as well. Does anyone know? I have a salmon fishing excursion booked for end of June and just wondering if I should swap it to a halibut one instead…