Cruise to Alaska – Day One - Departure Day

Well, we made it to the port at Seattle without much fanfare. Our shuttle service picked us up 15 minutes early, traffic was easy and our check-in smooth. Being on a smaller ship definitely helped.

Once on board we quickly found our room and dropped our carry-on luggage. Lunch was the order of the day. The buffet was open and there was plenty of food to chose from. Stu tried a couple of beers….once we finally found a table.

We took a tour of the boat after lunch, finding the OUTSIDE pool (we had thought it might be an inside one, oh well…LOL!) and checking out all the various facilities. We were impressed with how much was packed into a smaller boat. Our room is close to the elevator and stairs at about mid-ship. Good location and not a lot of motion felt (similar to our location on our Panama Cruise).

From there we headed back to our room and found two of our five bags had arrived. By the time they were unpacked we heard the signals for the safety drills. We grabbed our vests and headed downstairs. Another nice thing about a small boat…easier to take the stairs between decks…there are less of them. LOL!

Back to our room and one more bag had arrived. Unpacked it and headed up to the pool deck level for the departure party. We left about 30 minutes late (not sure why). The sun finally started to shine a little and we snapped a few shots. The temperature quickly dropped and Stu headed back to get our jackets….that was when the last bag had arrived, fortunately.

Once again, back to the room and unpack the last of the bags….just in time for dinner. We had opted for the late seating, 8 PM, so that we wouldn’t feel rushed to leave. Much nicer than the earlier seating. We had picked a table for 8 and two of the other three couples were already there.

Both wives were school teachers (Patty & Jan) and both in California. They had a lot to talk about. Patty’s husband, John, worked in the Post Office and they were both retired. Jan went back to work and her husband, Big Al, was a retired painting contractor. He now works part-time at a golf course and they have moved from CA to Arizona and love it.

After dinner Stu took a shot at the casino and I headed back to the room to relax. No winnings….oh, well.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we plan to pretty much veg out. (Departure day photos at SmugMug)

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu