Sunday, May 26, 2019. Disembarkation Seattle

Sunday, May 26, 2019. Disembarkation Seattle

We awoke to see the Golden Gardens marina outside our balcony, across from the Smith Cove cruise ship terminal.  That view was eventually blocked as the Holland America Westerdam tied up on it’s berth.  

The dining room was open for breakfast, so we all met for breakfast and had a relaxing last breakfast.  Towards the end of breakfast, the dining room staff was anxious to get us on our way because the ship was getting turned over for the incoming passengers.  We had set our suitcases out the night before, and were down to just our day packs to lug around.

We made our way to the disembarkation lounges, and said our farewells.  There was very little delay on disembarkation, and no crowding around the lounges when we arrived. This was in stark contrast to the troubles we had encountered on disembarkation from the Ruby Princess at the end of our recent Hawaii cruise.  Perhaps it was the late departure time we had requested 10AM- the last batch, since we had no flights to catch.  Having a nice sit down breakfast was certainly preferable to the crowded and hectic buffet during the early morning hours.  

George’s au pair drove Franklin’s mobility van to pick the Hu family members, while Ciara picked us up so she could spend some of the Memorial Day weekend at home.  

After we got home and unpacked, we went for a hike at Fort Ebey.  As we walked the bluff trail, we saw the Star Princess headed back out of Puget Sound with it’s next load of passengers, headed back for Alaska.  

Over all, it was an enjoyable but brief Alaska cruise.  Dealing with Betty’s disabilities and coordinating with Ben’s brothers did present some unique challenges, but Princess Cruises did a very nice job of making things as easy as possible.  The ADA stateroom was surprisingly large and convenient, and the portside staff were always eager to help with Betty in her wheelchair.  Franklin’s battery powered blender made it possible for Betty to enjoy the delicious and constantly changing cuisine, and the dining room staff were always very helpful and respectful in dealing with the mess associated with  having to blend her food at the table and feed her.  

We did manage to walk away with 5 trivia wins and a pile of loot from the Wake Show drawings.  Most of the Trivia prizes were given away as souvenirs for Dave's family and other passengers, but we do have some Star Princess coasters to add to our collection of Princess ship coasters.

There were obvious compromises in the itinerary with the 5AM arrival at Tracy Arm, and 7PM arrival in Victoria.  We would recommend future travelers to carefully examine the itinerary to  note the times of arrival and departure.  We failed to do this because we had booked this on significantly discounted last minute standby fare deal.  We suspect the prime port call times were given to the larger and more profitable Royal Princess.  But we did see some spectacular sights in Tracy Arm, and did enjoy seeing the Butterfly garden, especially the monster Atlas moths.  

For those looking to book a round trip Alaska Cruise itinerary from Seattle, we would recommend finding an itinerary that includes a visit to Glacier Bay (infinitely more spectacular from the cruise ship than Tracy Arm, although the  passengers who took the optional excursion on the catamarans to the base of the Sawyer glaciers probably had a spectacular view) and one that arrives in Victoria during the early morning hours, so you have a full day to enjoy in Victoria.

As for our first experience as Elite level passengers, we did really have to push ourselves to get through the two coffee cards, and would have preferred to have been upgraded to a soft drink package instead, if that were a possibility. There was no way we would have gotten through the provided minibar set up in a week.  We’ll ask on our next cruise about trading the minibar for a soft drink package instead of coffee cards.  

We were a little surprised by how long it took to get our laundry back, but Ben’s shirts have never looked so good as they did coming back starched and pressed on hangers.  The laundry service will be especially handy on our long Rome to Singapore cruise coming up this winter.  It was also nice to be able to cut to the front of the customer service lines, but traveling with Betty also gets you a pass to bypass all the lines on Princess because they give first priority to passengers with disabilities.