Alaska 2013 - Sunday

As anyone who's had hardwood floors re/finished knows, vacating the residence isn't just a good idea - it's pretty much a requirement (at least if you like to breathe and have food that doesn't taste like chemicals!)  I'd like to say we planned this in advance but truthfully we had hoped the kitchen/dining room remodel project would have been completed long before this.  As it turned out, it provided Gerry and me an opportunity to "escape completely" (as Princess says!)

It was a crazy deal though - one worth of Lucy and Ethel.  My cruising buddy (and BFF) Carol really wanted to attain her "black belt" in cruising (the highest reward level on Princess Cruises - a black "Elite" card meaning you've completed 15+ cruises and now get free laundry service, among other perks).  I've already gotten mine (21) as does Gerry (18) - many of these cruises being the one day "relocation" cruises (where they move the boat from one port to another so it can begin its new season - in our case to/from Seattle-Vancouver BC).

These one-day cruises can be a lot of fun and really crazy as they involve transportation (by train or by bus) to/from Vancouver depending on the time of year.  In the spring, the ship finishes its winter season by arriving in Vancouver but needs a one-day "relocation" to move it to Seattle where it will headquarter for its summer (Alaska) season.  In the fall, the process is reversed.

The deal for the RT Alaska cruise out of Seattle was just too good for us to pass up, but Carol didn't have that week off.  So, in order to reach her 15 cruise goal, we dropped them off at the Amtrak station early Saturday morning so they could ride up to Vancouver, get on the Golden Princess and sail back to Seattle where we picked them up Sunday morning.

Since it was Mother's Day, Carol and I arranged to take us out for brunch at the nearby Palisade's.  After a fabulous brunch, they dropped Gerry and me off back at the Golden Princess where we began our week-long cruise (sometimes I even need a scorecard to keep up with us!)






The hardest part of boarding the ship in Seattle is waiting for your group to advance up the escalator to go through security and check-in.  This time it really paid off to have that "elite" boarding pass as we were immediately taken to the shortest line, given our little black cards and a map of the ship and directed to go through the door on the left, and look back to the right (because that's what our "elite" status allowed us to bypass!)

Having just enjoyed a sumptuous brunch we had no need of the buffet on Horizon Court (although we did manage to find us some iced tea there).  Before long we were heading out of Seattle (chasing one of those "dam" ships!).  We waved in the general direction of Ballard where we thought Gerry's sister, Cathy and her family live as we headed north to Alaska!

~later, tw