On the eighteenth day of our 17-Day Ultimate Alaska Cruise, we disembarked from the Grand Princess in Seattle, our final stop in port. This was where it all began. Therefore, in a way, it was more like a 17-Night Cruise, although if you get technical it lasted a total of seventeen days, minus a few hours. We boarded the ship at 11am and left at 8am.
We woke up that morning and the ship was already tied up at the pier. I didn’t look down, but I’d wager that the crew was off-loading our luggage as fast as they could. Two thousand passengers makes for a lot of baggage! We got dressed and went upstairs to the buffet for breakfast, just like always. But we didn’t stay long. We viewed the displays near the elevators and they showed plainly that a brand new cruise was about to begin that very same day! These guys don’t mess around! Busy, busy, busy.
We hustled back down to our stateroom and double-checked everywhere: the closets, the cabinets, the drawers, everywhere. We made sure that we had our personal bags and headed for the elevators one last time. Good-bye stateroom! We had fun in you! And then we closed the door behind us. Since our luggage was already gone, we only had to head downstairs and wait our turn to leave the ship.
We looked around the ship as we headed to a sofa near the gangway. There were plenty of passengers in the same state of limbo. We arranged for a bus ride to the airport with Princess Cruises as an official shore “excursion” so we had an early disembarkation time, at 8am. Most people didn’t do this. They were part of the “Blue” group. We were fancier, paying extra, so we were part of the “Silver” group. I noticed on the chart that the Suite-dwelling passengers were the fanciest of all, with a “Gold” rating. Oh well. We left only fifteen minutes after they did, so there you go.
Once our group was called, we got into the steadily-moving line that led to the gangway. We beeped our bluetooth Medallions one last time on the sensor near Security, and we were officially Disembarked. You’re not really gone until the database on the server knows you’re gone.
After a short walk, we arrived at the luggage claim area. There were signs that sent us in the right direction, and everything went smoothly and rapidly. They really had this Disembarkation stuff down to a science! We grabbed our bags and walked out the main terminal doors to the bus depot. Once again, signs sent us to the correct bus and we stacked our luggage next to it so the driver could load it underneath. Then we sat down and waited until everyone in “Silver 13” was on board.
SEATEC airport was less than a half hour away. Once again, we ended up in a large bus depot area. The driver unloaded our bags and we grabbed them. Signs directed us onto a line which turned out to be the longest and slowest line in the known universe. Or at least it seemed that way. An hour or so later and we were through airport security. Hooray!
The “hooray” was cut short when we discovered that our flight was going to be two hours late! Annoying but true. Maybe that’s why they call it “Hooray up and Wait.” (Sorry about that; I couldn’t help it.)
Eventually, we boarded our plane and blasted into the sky. The weather was fine, and we got good views out the windows, of the Washington and Oregon volcanos, as well as the snowpack still melting in the High Sierra. I dreamed of hiking there later this Summer, but only time would tell.
We landed in San Diego without issue, and waited for our baggage to arrive. We had special Spruce-Tip Beer and Spruce-Tip Soda within the bags, so they had to go down below as checked luggage, per the rules. I didn’t make the rules, but I sure could have used some of that beer after a two hour delay! Maybe that’s why they made the rule in the first place.
Our son was waiting for us at the airport, and gave us a ride home. Home, home at last! I was still missing the beauty of Alaska, but I was thankful to be back where I belonged. Seventeen days was a long time to be away.
After that, it was time to spend the night in my own bed for a while. Of course, we already had plans to take a road trip north, back to Washington State, and maybe do a bit of backpacking. But before we could do that, I had to upload all of our cruise photos and videos to my computer, and make at least a token start on the long process of writing these entries in my website. I figured that I might get finished next Winter, if I worked hard enough.
But all of that could wait. Summer was just beginning, after all, and we were going to enjoy it to the fullest.
NOTE: After we were home for a few days, and had time to think, we asked each other what we thought of the cruise. What was good? What was bad? Was it worth it?
The Good: We really enjoyed all the ports of call. Many were only accessible by sea, particularly within the Inland Passage region of southeastern Alaska, so a cruise was necessary. While there, we learned about other cultures, including that of the native Tlingit tribes. We had a great time in Skagway when we went into the Yukon Territory on the old Klondike Stampede Trail. We saw glaciers calving, such as the Hubbard Glacier, the Harvard Glacier in College Fjord, and during our visit to Glacier Bay National Park. Glaciers and snow-topped mountains! That’s what Alaska is all about. The food on board was great, and our waiters were fun. Our room steward was helpful and professional, a true gem in a world too-full of uncaring employees.
The Bad: OK, maybe not exactly “bad” but both of us were somewhat uncomfortable with all the extra Service we received. We are used to doing things ourselves. We could have had food and drinks delivered to us anywhere on the ship, but we didn’t; we walked over and got it ourselves, which is more our style. But we could understand why some people thought this was great. Vicki had a few appointments to do her hair at the salon, which she liked, but she also had many additional products and services offered to her by certain salon employees, who made her feel uncomfortable about saying No. Ship-wise, We had a couple of issues with the internet and the hot water in our stateroom, but the ship’s crew were quick to resolve them.
Was it worth it? Actually, Vicki did most of the planning, and all of the paying, which was very nice of her. Planning a long trip like this is what I do for our big hikes, and this trip, with all of the details of port excursions and service packages, was on a whole other level. Thanks, Vicki! You are the one who made it great. And if I never see the final billing statement for all the fun we had, well, what can I say except that the Ultimate Alaska Cruise was worth every penny!
For a topographic map of the cruise see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the voyage see my Flickr Page
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