Sapphire-Let the Journey begin

[pamwinn]

This internet access is a little different in the Westin but here goes:

 

The following is my attempt to write the longest cruise journal ever. I will keep the journal (hopefully) daily and post as often as possible. Ignore all typo's and grammatical errors. It's jet lag. That'smy story and i am sticking to it!

 

---------------------------------------------

June 9, 2004-Wednesday

 

Flight from Atlanta to Seattle

 

Rex and I stayed up most of the night trying to figure out how to get our stuff into the suitcases. Rex usually blames me for the amount of luggage we take on trips. This time however, he brought along 4 changes of clothes for each of the 13 days we’ll be on this journey. Rex kept telling me it was time to get up but he never told me the time. Last time I looked it was 3:46 AM. Our fight was at 11:36 AM and the Atlanta airport is less than an hours drive so I thought he was overanxious. I looked at the clock again and it was 6:40. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me to get up?†I screamed. I blasted out of the bed and took my shower. We stayed up until 2AM so my mental faculties were somewhat off. I neglected to rinse the shampoo completely out of my hair. By the time I discovered this it was too late to do anything about it so my hair looked incredibly weird for the flight to Seattle. My mother arrived promptly at 7:15 AM to take us to the airport. This was a problem, as she was not expected until 8AM. She takes punctuality to the extreme.

 

We made it to the airport with hours to spare. We purchased our lunch from the Atlanta Bread Co. to carry-on the plane. (Time: 8:42 AM) There was nothing left to do so we had bloody Mary’s until 11:AM. By that time I was quite relaxed. We staggered to the gate and boarded the plane. We found our seats and much to my dismay, my hiney still does not fit in those seats. I am wondering if all the seats are made in Japan where derrieres are somewhat more petite than the “more than average†American butt.

 

The flight was uneventful, bought the 2 buck headphones and watched Starsky and Hutch. Can you believe that movie did not win a single academy award? As we approached Seattle, I was awed by the fact that Mt. Ranier was as high as we were. Amazing!

 

Then the most amazing thing happened. I spotted Safeco field and there was the Sapphire. What a great picture that would make. We tried our best to dig the camera out of the backpack. Much to the dismay of the third party squeezed in beside us. (He mumbled at our giddiness most of the flight. Might have had something to do with the bloody mary’s we had on the plane. 8^)

 

From the airport (which is small to me though others disagree) we took the Grayline Shuttle to the Westin. As I type, I am sitting in front of the floor to ceiling picture window on the 37th floor looking out over Pike Place market. The Sapphire is in plain view off to the left. Rex is snoring……

 

(to be continued)

 

Sapphire Princess PreInaugural

 

Sapphire Princess Inaugural

[ImpulsivePuppy]

Hi! I just visited the Sapphire today. You are going to be quite impressed. Have a great time!

 

-Michael (a.k.a.

Impulsive Puppy)

Grand Princess 98;Amsterdam 02; Mercury 02; Baby 04

"East takes you out, out takes you west, west takes you in, and in takes you east."

[Coral]

Have a great 2 cruises!

[meyerhaus]

Jealous here! I can't wait to read your witty journals.

 

JON

 

www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus

 

Golden Princess Southern Caribbean-7/11/04

Click to go to the ROLL CALL!

 

Big Red Boat-1993

Celebrity Zenith-1993

 

 

[marlinmike]

Welcome to Seattle. Make sure you go across the street (5th Ave) and eat at the Icon Grill. The glass art in there was done by a student of Dale Chihuly, a world renowned local artist Chihuly who has done some BIG glass projects throughout the world. OR, the restaurant at the Westin, Roy's, serves this baked, chocolatey dessert thing (sorry, can't remember what they call it, only can remember IT) for two that is to die for.

[chubby_faye]

Hi Pamwinn! Thanks for keeping us updated. We are leaving on the Sapphire in a month so please (!) keep us posted and give a review. I saw you are from Atlanta - I just moved from here and I've VERY homesick.

 

I agree about the airport - any airport looks small compared to Hartsfield!!!!

[lkmamom]

Hi pam and rex,

 

Sitting here just cracking up over your first journal entry, mostly because that is exactly our situation before we take a trip. I never sleep the night before and we always end up at the airport very early.We are always in a sleep deprived state the first day of any trip. I hope that you had a good night's rest , and got all of the shampoo out of your hair!too funny

 

How was the greyhound express? We are still contemplating which shuttle to take to the Sheraton. Anyway, trivial matters I know.....you will be on your way soon kiddo. I hear the new ship "smell" is wonderful have a wonderful time.

Linda

[srphnx]

We are jealous, please keep making it worse.

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[CruiseFever]

I've got this one bookmarked!

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Diamond Princess 12/22/04

Sapphire Princess June '05

Caribbean Princess 09/17/05

Carnival Valor 10/30/05

 

[Jeepers385]

Pamwinn, what a great start to your trip, can't wait for the daily reports. You first report sounds so much like our last cruise. Next time I'm going to take half of DH's clothes out after he packs.

 

Keep it coming

 

Debbie

 

Sapphire Princess 10/2/04

Carnival Destiny 2/8/04

Grand Princess 7/6/03

RCL - Nordic Empress 2/03 & 4/02

Crown Dynasty 7/00

Queen of Bermuda 7/87

Carnival - Mardi Gras 11/75

 

[pamwinn]

Hi Ya’ll…Rex here… I’m sitting here on the 37th floor of the Westin looking at Elliott Bay and wondering why they didn’t call it Elliot Sound. Surprise: it’s rainy. But our spirits are not to be dampened. I’m looking forward to Pike’s Market and exploring Seattle. I’m just waiting on Pam to decide which outfit to wear today. She’s busy going through the 18 suitcases we brought. I just got off the phone with the president of Samsonite who called to ask how our vacation is going and would we be interested in their latest suitcase model since it’s the only one we don’t have. Apparently it’s the size of one of those things they stack on container ships and it’s stackable. I told him we could do lunch and discuss it.

 

The Westin is okay ( read: expensive for what you get). The towels are great but the see-through toilet paper is not. Everything here is expensive. We had dinner at Asiogo’s (sp?) last night. It was excellent and I recommend it. However they did relieve us of 100 bucks. A nightcap at the hotel bar last night: $25. We had breakfast this morning downstairs: $30. I have to go now. I’m going to call the Samsonite guy and order the new stackable container. We’re going to need it to carry money next time. rx

 

Sapphire Princess PreInaugural

 

Sapphire Princess Inaugural

[Richard Stein]

92 pictures of the new Sapphire princess are on the Cruisemates site under the name cc cruise. Have a peek. I'll see it in a few.

 

Horizon, 9/5/04, Sapphire Princess, 6/13/004

Zuiderdam-2003, Constellation -2003, Infinity-2002, Vision of the Seas-2002,

Mercury-2001, Norwegian Sky-2000, Horizon-2000, Ryndam-1999, Grand Princess-1999, Westerdam-1998, Grand Princess-1998, Oriania-1997

1985-1996-3-HAL, 1-RCCL, 2-NCL, 11-Princess, 1-Royal, 1-Cunard

[Lynda90]

Pam and Rex,

 

Thanks for the laughs. I'm at work and trying not to laugh too loudly. Will look forward to reading your next installment.

 

Lynda

[srphnx]

More, More!!! And don't expect the internet connection on the ship to be good, it was about $8 at 35 cents a minute for me to post from Diamond on that route.

 

There are some great cyberstation connections to be had and one card works in all stops $5 for 60 min.

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[blmanke]

If you are Platinum with Princess....you get the internet free !! A VERY nice perk for those of us who are addicted to the net and to CC.

The internet was off part of the time so that was a disapointment. It does take a while to get the "bugs" out of a new ship.

We were on the 5/15 cruise to Alaska and loved the Diamond, even with the delay in Victoria due to the dock running into us!!.

Even with the bad embarkationa and very long wait to debark. It was a great vacation.

We have booked for next year already on the Caribbean Princess.

 

"BARB & JOHN"

 

SITMAR

PRINCESS

CUNARD

CARNIVAL

RCCL

To Alaska on DIAMOND

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 9-17-2005

 

[srphnx]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by blmanke:

If you are Platinum with Princess....you get the internet free !! A VERY nice perk for those of us who are addicted to the net and to CC. Yes I know, it is costing me about $12.000 in cruises to get $30 worth of free internet on the ship, only a cruiser sees the logic in that.

The internet was off part of the time so that was a disapointment. It does take a while to get the "bugs" out of a new ship.

We were on the 5/15 cruise to Alaska and loved the Diamond, even with the delay in Victoria due to the dock running into us!!.

Even with the bad embarkationa and very long wait to debark. It was a great vacation.

We have booked for next year already on the Caribbean Princess.

 

"BARB & JOHN"

 

SITMAR

PRINCESS

CUNARD

CARNIVAL

RCCL

To Alaska on DIAMOND

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=8b0000&cdt=2004;5;15;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 9-17-2005

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[pamwinn]

6/10/2004

 

He said/She said

 

She:

We woke up for the final time around 6 AM. This is very late for us as in Atlanta it was 9 AM. One of the first things I noticed was that my computer was dead. Oops! Forgot to plug in the A/C adapter last night. “Where’s the power cord for the computerâ€, she said? “What cordâ€, he said? “The one I told you to pack,†she said. “You didn’t tell me to pack any power cord. I don’t know what you are talking aboutâ€, he said. “You asked me what it was. It was on the floor by your nose-hair trimmerâ€, she said. “I don’t remember thatâ€, he said. “How can you not remember an entire conversationâ€, she said. And then she realized the answer for herself. Said power cord was located in his backpack along with the nose-hair trimmer.

 

After we showered, we dressed….like tourists. I chose “new stuffâ€. I wore Khaki cargo pants from llbean….zip ankles with draw string closures in case of an immediate need to take them off before removing shoes or protection from crawling insect attack. They have nice big pockets to stuff full of things. I wore an Eddie Bauer charcoal-gray long sleeved fleece top. Over that, I wore a fatigue green Eddie Bauer trekker vest…many pockets and clips to attach things to. Even though it was daylight, it was overcast, windy, and chilly so I attached my mini halogen flashlight to one of the clips. You just never know….we could have an unexpected eclipse. Besides, it looked cool. Into the numerous Velcro pockets, I packed my hairbrush, chapstick, digital camera, spare battery etc. Over that I wore my lands end navy blue gortex jacket. I was ready for adventure. Two blocks from the hotel I discovered I had not packed my earmuffs. Big mistake as cold wind can give me an earache. I had on my brand new, shiny white keds…complete with gel inserts I purchased last night at the drug store near the Westin when I discovered I needed them.

 

Coming soon….Pike Place Market.

 

Sapphire Princess PreInaugural

 

Sapphire Princess Inaugural

[Flintstone]

Pam and Rex....enjoy your trip!! You definately sound like "My" kind of people!! Can't wait to read more!!

Thank for taking the time!!

Deb

 

9/2000 Carnival Tropicale

12/2001 NCL Norway

9/2002 NCL Norway

10/2003 Disney Wonder

6/19/2005 Sapphire Princess

[wander]

Pam and Rex,

 

Did I ever laugh at your write-ups.

 

I will now know how to recognize you on the Sapphire tomorrow (Friday). You will be the one constantly "patting yourself down" looking for various items in your pockets. I know - I do the same thing. I have one outfit that between the pants, shirt and travel vest I have 17 pockets! By the time you get home you will have a fun personal treasure hunt finding mysterious things in the corners of your pockets.

 

We will only be on the two night cruise - but two is better than none. Looking forward to seeing the ship!

[Lynda90]

Be sure to wear all that when you go thru security on the ship. They might not let you on the ship, but you'll be prepared for anything! Really enjoying your journal--can't wait for the next episode. LOL

[kimba595]

Pam - It's nice to know you also have conversations with your husband that he doesn't remember having. I thought I was the only one!!!

 

I'm an overpacker too, so let me know how much you didn't use that I can leave at home. Also, did people really dress up for formal night? My husband won't do the tux thing because he's afraid he'll be the only one. Me, I'm all about buying a new outfit!! LOL

 

Have fun and keep the funny posts coming! ~Kim

 

Alaska Bound on the Sapphire Princess

 

[pamwinn]

He said:

 

Rx here: I really liked Pike’s Market. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. It made me want to live in Seattle. I love all the fresh fish, bright colors, and interesting smells. If memory serves (yeah right) it is a more intriguing market than Boston’s Haymarket Square. It is interesting to note however that the folks in both markets look very much alike…strange how that happens.

 

Pam and I have an iron clad rule about going to a restaurant: One should always do research to determine the quality of a restaurant before you actually eat there. Well, after carefully looking at their neon Miller Lite sign for about three seconds we decided that we would eat at Lowell’s. As always, Pam held true to the research and selected the best thing on the menu, which turned out to be Miller Lite. I, on the other hand, ordered the shrimp-n-chips and who cares if they’re $13, I’m on vacation. And, I must say that while the shrimp was expensive, at least it wasn’t very good. The shrimp were so small they were both hard to find. I asked the waitress if she had a magnifying glass I could use. She said, “Yes, but it would be $75 extra. Oh well, it was a cold rainy day and the warm beer somehow seemed appropriate.

 

She said:

 

I loved Pike Place market. The flowers, the ethnic diversity, the fresh seafood…shrimp and lobster the likes of which I’ve never seen. When we passed City Market, Rex got the look. You know what I mean…head tilted back, eyes narrowed, slack jaw, and mouth wide-open. After drinking our way through the market, nature called. Funny thing about the restroom there, the stall doors are only 3 feet high. What’s up with that? I don’t know about you but I have a unique public restroom posture that I’d prefer not to share with the rest of the world. Oh well, once a teacher always a teacher I suppose. More interesting is the outdoor, self-cleaning unisex restroom near the waterfront. Sounded good to me. A lady I presumed was homeless was blowing her nose nearby. She said, “Hey lady, need some tissue†and waved the soiled tissue at me. I didn’t ask how much it would cost and just said, “no thank you†and smiled at her.

 

By the way, I waited until very late last night to get the 24-hour Internet access for 16 bucks at the Westin figuring that would get me through tonight. No such luck. Once we found the power cord and reconnected this morning I discovered the 24 hours runs from noon-to-noon no matter what.

 

Sapphire Princess PreInaugural

 

Sapphire Princess Inaugural

[Florida Beach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pamwinn:

From the airport (which is small to me though others disagree) we took the Grayline Shuttle to the Westin. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Pam,

 

So far so GREAT We already booked and will stay at the Westin pre-cruise . Did you pre-reserve the Shuttle to Westin? Thanks

 

Have a GREAT time

 

March 28, 2004 - Mariner of the Seas

July 4, 2004 - Sapphire Princess - Alaska

[pamwinn]

6/10/2004 epilogue

 

We are in for the night. I hope that we have taken care of the jet lag thing. The Sapphire just left. Where is she going and why aren’t we there? It’s almost 9PM in Seattle.

 

We had dinner at the Icon grill right across the street from the hotel relieving ourselves from more of that bulky cash we purchased the extra suitcase to carry. We then decided to walk towards the Space Needle heading north on 5th Avenue following the same route the monorail takes. It is a very easy walk…completely flat. We were basically at the Needle but it was getting dark and we are unfamiliar with what happens after nightfall so far from home so decided to head back to the hotel. We will catch Seattle Center and the Space Needle on 6/20 when we return from the cruise. For those interested, free buses are running the monorail route to Seattle center and the Space Needle while repairs are being made.

 

6/11/2004

 

6:30 AM

 

I woke up at 4:30 AM anxious to get going…that’s 4:30 Atlanta time, 1:30 here in Seattle. It’s going to be a long wait. We watched a Celebrity ship dock at about 6AM. The Sapphire is still nowhere to be seen. It is foggy and rainy. It looks cold, too. I could not care less about the weather; it’s all part of the adventure. I think I neglected to mention that in the packing frenzy we decided to leave our warm coats at home. We just didn’t have the luggage real estate for them. I am hoping that all my outdoor clothing will suffice.

 

7:15 AM

 

Rex went downstairs and brought coffee back. Ah, the breakfast of champions. I am going to need more soon but I am not going to say anything until what I perceive is the opportune moment. I feel like an eagle hulking over my keyboard, facing the bay, waiting somewhat impatiently for my prey.

 

7:45 AM

 

Oh, boy! Here she comes.

 

8:45 AM

 

Okay, Just got out of the shower. I want to make sure I have plenty of time to bath again just in case I forget to rinse something. Why is it that leg hair grows at an accelerated rate when on vacation? Rex told me to leave it as I might need it for warmth in Alaska but I didn’t take his advice. The orange stripes from the “tan-in-a-can†Rex put on me Tuesday are much less noticeable. I’m glad this isn’t a Caribbean cruise all the same. I used the Westin bath products. My hair smells like a fresh mown lawn….maybe I forgot to rinse?!?

 

9:25 AM

 

We are in a time warp. The passage of time has slowed to a crawl. I hope the time on the ship passes this same way. He’s probably going to say something different but Rex has started the clean clothes-hoarding thing. (You know….he wants to keep all his clothes clean so he’ll wear something he’s already worn to get on the ship). We’ve already agreed to have our laundry done on the ship. That’s why he brought the 4 outfits for each and every day.

 

The sun is out!

 

9:50 AM

 

The sun is gone!

 

9:51 AM

 

The sun is out!

 

9:58 AM

 

The sun is gone!

We have finally made the decision to have the Taxi pick us up at 11:00. Yes, that’s early for what appears will be a 5-minute drive but the Sapphire is really calling to us now. My stomach is churning and it’s not from all the beer, wine, bloody Mary’s, and margarita’s I consumed yesterday….really, it isn’t.

 

10:22 AM

Okay folks. It’s time to pack the laptop. I’ll keep up the journal as well as I can during the cruise. I don’t know when I’ll be able to post again but I’ll attempt it on the ship. I know you are anxious to hear how the ship is as opposed to the bathing ritual stuff and I’ll do my best to oblige.

 

Sapphire Princess PreInaugural

 

Sapphire Princess Inaugural

[srphnx]

Oh, do I know that feeling of waiting to go to the ship, we are only 2 weeks away from our last one and REALLY wish we with the lucky Saphire sailors today. Thanks for the fun posts.

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96