Zaandam- disembarkation concerns

Maybe the mix up is in that Zaandam will not return to Alaska for 2019 and be part of the Alaska fleet next year? She is instead going to take over the Boston/Montreal Canada/NE sailings from May through September. She will be replaced by Amsterdam on the 14 day sailings to Alaska and Amsterdam will in turn be replaced by Oosterdam as the 2nd ship sailing 7nt cruises from Seattle to Alaska. All of this was known well before the recent announcement of Prinsendam being sold and leaving the fleet next July, which has caused changes to itineraries in fall 201/winter 2020 on Rotterdam, Veendam and Volendam to backfill for her departure.

syesmar: We were also planning on using it with Alaska Air in September; could you report back with your experience on Zaandam as to the availability of Seattle's "Port Valet" free service?. . . Thank you, Penny

We used Port Valet on August 13 after disembarking the Zaandam and it worked out very well. I had read here where the boarding passes had difficulty scanning in the past and although the agent had to hold it under the scanner a little longer, we had no real issues with them. Be sure to read the instructions for the luggage tags (don’t remove the middle sticky part of the label to make life easier:>) - the bags do get re-labeled once they’re at the airport.

We had an evening Alaska Airlines flight. Using Port Valet enabled us to spend several extra hours in Seattle. We visited the wonderful Chihuly Garden and Glass (they have a bag check room, where we left our carry ons during our visit). Taxis drop off right by the Space Needle next door and it cost $12 pre-tip from the cruise terminal. (This was also the area from where we took a taxi to the port, as Avis is across the street. Cost then was $10 pre-tip). The area of Seattle Center was perfect for us to spend time: http://www.seattlecenter.com. We enjoyed the park benches with the Space Needle in view. The Pacific Science Center and Imax (they have bag lockers) and MoPop are there, as well. The Armory has a number of restaurants indoors like a giant food court and there was plenty of room to keep our bags with us while we ate. They had free WiFi there, too. The Monorail was just outside The Armory. It costs $2.50 one way to Westlake Center, takes 2 minutes and runs every 10 minutes. You ride the escalators or elevators to the lower level to connect with the Light Rail to SeaTac (there is only 1 airport stop so it’s very simple). Buy the tickets from the machine before the final staircase (or elevator). Tickets cost $3, the journey is roughly 40 minutes and runs every 6 to 15 minutes, depending on time of day.

Everything worked so efficiently and was very simple. We were very grateful to already be checked in and have our bags taken care of, and also liked that we did not have to battle Seattle traffic. We had a most pleasant day.

We used Port Valet on August 13 after disembarking the Zaandam and it worked out very well. I had read here where the boarding passes had difficulty scanning in the past and although the agent had to hold it under the scanner a little longer, we had no real issues with them. Be sure to read the instructions for the luggage tags (don’t remove the middle sticky part of the label to make life easier:>) - the bags do get re-labeled once they’re at the airport.

 

We had an evening Alaska Airlines flight. Using Port Valet enabled us to spend several extra hours in Seattle. We visited the wonderful Chihuly Garden and Glass (they have a bag check room, where we left our carry ons during our visit). Taxis drop off right by the Space Needle next door and it cost $12 pre-tip from the cruise terminal. (This was also the area from where we took a taxi to the port, as Avis is across the street. Cost then was $10 pre-tip). The area of Seattle Center was perfect for us to spend time: http://www.seattlecenter.com. We enjoyed the park benches with the Space Needle in view. The Pacific Science Center and Imax (they have bag lockers) and MoPop are there, as well. The Armory has a number of restaurants indoors like a giant food court and there was plenty of room to keep our bags with us while we ate. They had free WiFi there, too. The Monorail was just outside The Armory. It costs $2.50 one way to Westlake Center, takes 2 minutes and runs every 10 minutes. You ride the escalators or elevators to the lower level to connect with the Light Rail to SeaTac (there is only 1 airport stop so it’s very simple). Buy the tickets from the machine before the final staircase (or elevator). Tickets cost $3, the journey is roughly 40 minutes and runs every 6 to 15 minutes, depending on time of day.

 

Everything worked so efficiently and was very simple. We were very grateful to already be checked in and have our bags taken care of, and also liked that we did not have to battle Seattle traffic. We had a most pleasant day.

Thank you very much for reporting back on your experience with Port Valet! We will be leaving in 11 days for our journey and appreciate the information. Glad you had time to explore Seattle; we have an 11:40am flight (changed from a later one by Alaska....) so will not be able to visit Seattle itself.

Thanks again, Penny:)

Baggage changes likely due to GI illness on the ship during the cruise.

Hmmm, Yes, maybe.