SEATTLE EXPRESS

Our Seattle Express pickup time from the Doubletree Southcenter was 10:45 am, but they say to be ready 15 minutes prior and be in the lobby 5 minutes before that. This is to account for some variation, as you never know where you will be on their hotel pickup list.

At 10:39 am, a 24-passenger shuttle bus arrived labeled Beeline Tours. I expected a bus marked as Seattle Express, but this Beeline Tour bus was what Seattle Express arranged for our transfer. I learned later that your bus will usually be a Seattle Express Bus – but there are always some exceptions.

Our bus was packed, and we had to keep some of our smaller roller bags in the aisle. We left at 10:54 a.m. and arrived at Pier 91 at 11:27 a.m.

PIER 91

This was our first time leaving on a cruise from Pier 91 in Seattle. I expected our shuttle bus to drop us right by the terminal entrance and be met by porters to help with our luggage. Instead, we were dropped over 100 yards away at the end of a long row of bus and shuttle parking spots. There weren’t any porters so we had to roll our bags to the terminal on our own. Once again, the Tach Luggage was a big help.

Once in the terminal, we were directed to the luggage drop-off point for the Westerdam, where the bags were immediately X-rayed. If you hang around, you should be able to see if your bag gets flagged for having contraband.

Back toward the front of the terminal, we snaked through a 6-minute line where they checked our boarding passes and passports. We used our passport cards instead of our passports – which were accepted without question. They printed out a hard copy of your boarding pass on the spot if you didn’t have one.

Security was up an escalator and took 5 minutes. After Security, the line is divided into the Priority line (Suites, 4 and 5 stars, Club Orange) and the Standard line. As it turned out, the non-priority line was empty, but we stayed in the priority line anyway, which took only a few minutes. Check-in using the standard iPad process was quick, and we were on our way to the ship via the optional photo station. The total time from arriving on the bus to walking on the Westerdam was 40 minutes. The total time after we dropped our bags was 25 minutes.

OBSERVATION DECK

Our Verandah Cabin, 10010, is on the Westerdam’s Observation Deck behind the Crow’s Nest. The room seems fairly standard, although I think this verandah is slightly smaller than others. Signs on the deck light switch say they are controlled by the bridge. We are close enough to the bridge where the deck lights may be an issue at night.

The Retreat Cabanas are above us, but we haven’t heard anything. The Cabin seems fine, and the location is convenient for us as we spend more time in the forward part of the ship in the classrooms, casino, and World Stage.

Cabin 10024 has an inside cabin but has a window to the jogging track, which gives you some natural light.

SAILAWAY

Cruise and Travel Director Stone kicked off the SailAway at 3 pm at the SeaView pool by introducing the entertainment team while the waiters passed around a variety of snacks

Note: Stone’s full name is Towanna Lynette Stone – but she goes by her last name/nickname, “Stone”.

One of the bartenders juggled some bottles and glasses as we cast off and sailed into the channel. The assistant cruise directors led some of the guests in line dancing.

I recognized Dee and Jay from the YouTube Channel @ParoDeeJay. They were live streaming the SailAway—check it out HERE. They also have nice port guides on many of our Alaskan Ports—check out Ketchican HERE. I spoke with them briefly, and they will be putting out more content over this cruise—subscribe to their channel!

WHO MOVED THE FURNITURE?

I have spent over 350 days on the Zuiderdam and know her well, every nook and cranny is familiar. The only other Vista Class ship we have been on previously was the Oosterdam. Aside from the artwork, no polar bears in the Lido pool – dolphins instead, no significant changes.

Here is what I noticed so far that is different on the Westerdam:
No handwashing sinks in the Lido.
No staircase from Deck 1 to Deck 2 in the Atrium.
No Staircase from the Forward Elevator Lobby down to the Casino
The library is slightly further forward.
Shop layout a little different – you HAVE to walk thru the Effy shop to go forward of the classrooms.
Men’s and Women’s bathrooms are reversed for the restrooms near the Rolling Stone Lounge. I walked in the Women’s by mistake. The deck plans are not quite right here.
Captains Collection Holland America shop is not on the Westerdam – that space is back to the Art Gallery.
Texas Hold’em table is in the Casino instead of the Gallery Bar.
The center aisles in the World Stage are on an angle instead of straight

MAIN DINING ROOM

We have a table for four, #27, for the three of us at 7:30 pm Fixed. We requested a large table. We arrived exactly at 7:30 and found a long line which moved quickly as people learned how to find their tables. You weren’t escorted – and if you said you knew where your table was you were quickly waved in.

The late show starts at 9 pm and with dinner at 7:30 we haven’t usually finished until a little after 9 pm. We asked our waiter if he could get us out by 8:45 and he said he could and we wrapped up by 8:40 (We skipped desert).

This cruise will have four dressy nights.

WE ARE ALASKA

WE ARE ALAKSA is a multimedia presentation this evening on the World Stage, where the Cruise Director reads from a script on the teleprompters. It started by going over the history of Holland America in Alaska. It explains how Bush Pilot Chuck West kicked off what would become the Alaska Tourism industry in 1947 – creating West Tours. The bulk of the presentation covered snippets from the various ports we are scheduled to visit and was customized to our itinerary. Very interesting.