Part One: Setting Sail
in a good way, though, after our 7-day cruise!
It was also our first trip to Alaska, and the whole cruise was absolutely amazing!
You see, my husband and I had never been on a cruise before! (Well, technically, he had lived on a Navy aircraft carrier during his service, so he experienced a type of sea life...but somehow it's just the same!) ;)
It was actually an 8 day adventure as we began our trip by taking the short train ride up to Seattle the day before our embarkment. Though I hadn't gotten too much sleep the night before (that would become kind of theme for me during the week, though it didn't really keep me from enjoying everything) we were both excited and loved chugging along the tracks.
Friendly conductors in their uniforms, along with the cheerful voice of a gal running the cafeteria (who would make happy announcements over the loud speaker of the menu every hour) added to unique ambiance.
Once in Seattle, we got our luggage and went about the intimidating task of hailing an uber. We don't use them that often, and we ended up with a grumpy one. But Mr. Grumpy got us to our hotel, and then my husband and I made our way to our room.
It wasn't fancy, and my side of the mattress sagged like Mama Bear's bed in the Goldilocks story, but we had an awesome view of the Space Needle from our window, a TV that got one of our favorite comfort shows, Andy Griffith, and the anticipation of our cruise!
The next morning, we got up early (even though I slept even less that night!) and we hurried down to the free breakfast. And I must say, despite the saggy mattress, the breakfast at this hotel was great!
The area was super crowded, though, so we ended up sharing a table with another couple (something new to us, but a prelude to what we'd experience on the ship and come to love!) They were also heading to a cruise on the different ship and we all had a great conversation.
The hotel arranged shuttles to the pier but they were independent services we had to pay for directly at the time of service. When the time arrived, it was all kind of muddled and confusing, and we chatted with others who were also outside waiting for shuttles that were late. Just when one came, the driver said it for another ship only!
I think we waited around forty-five minutes past our arranged time but ...finally, a van appeared with a nice driver who said he would take us and another couple to the pier. We arrived in time (whew!) and were directed to all the right places and lines by friendly staff.
This part went pretty quickly.... until at the second passport check there was a small issue. The young girl assured me it would be fine but we were directed to the nearby desk where an agent double checked reservations and my passport, ect. Honestly, I'm still unclear about what it was, and I was too nervous to ask, but the second lady assured me it was all fine, she was just doing some extra unknown step.
So, after an extra 15 minute delay, everything was good to go and I breathed a sigh of relief. (Whew, again!)
After that, we all kept going through a series of quick little check points, passed through an overpass...another checkpoint, and finally entered the ship. Talk about exciting!
Ours was the Holland America Eurodam. We were both like kids, tired but excited and in awe as we wandered around, trying to take everything in.
We found our cabin and were definitely pleased. It looked comfy and clean and was actually a little more spacious than we expected, from everything we had heard about cruise cabins. Along with the King size bed (two twins pushed together is how they do that on cruises) we had a little couch along with a desk with chair, a TV all the wall in front of the bed, and of course, our balcony!
That balcony would prove to be an extra I was so glad to have! While it's true, we didn't spend a lot of time on it since we were always exploring the ship, dining, hanging out on the main deck, or in port, it was a blessing to have views and fresh air whenever we wanted. To wake up in the morning and peek out to see where we were...to prop open the door for sleeping when the room felt stuffy...and to spot wildlife! (More on that on an upcoming post!)
That first day is kind of a blur. I think we ate lunch at the buffet and dinner had us seated in the more formal dining room with four others, where we enjoyed getting to know everyone and chatting! Sophisticated waiters put cloth napkins onto our laps and brought us sophisticated dinners and desserts as we sat by an ocean view window and watched the land give way to sea and sky.
We also spent a good deal of time standing in line at the courtesy desk where staff helped us get our wifi going and answered lots of questions for us be and all the other new baffled passengers.
But all the crew and staff were gracious and helpful. And we were super excited to be on our very first cruise.
We took some time to unpack, and then later that evening after dinner, we wandered around the ship, taking in the classic, elegant features and statues, trying to figure out the where everything was (that would take days!) and trying to absorb the fact that we were really here on this elegant cruise ship...before finally heading back to our cabin.
And indeed, this cruise would turn out to be one of our favorite weeks ever!
Even though the next morning we awoke to some slightly rough waters....
This movement...it was unlike what we experienced the day before when we first got underway.
We had reservations at one of the finer restaurants on board that evening, and it was also Dressy Night.
Would we be able to enjoy it all? This was what I pondered as I got out of bed (my early-riser husband was already out of the room) and dizzily made my way over to try to take a shower as the floor occasionally rolled beneath me.
Stay tuned for Part 2! (With MORE photos!)
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