When last I left off, our crew of ten was preparing for a great adventure.
I woke up early…5:45am…the time difference telling on me…along with the excitement of the day ahead.
As I quietly got ready in the hotel’s bathroom while my family slept, Chicky popped her head in.
She, too, had not been able to sleep in.
In fact, all three families woke up in our respective rooms around the same time.
I grabbed a healthy breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant…
Unfortunately, the fruit was not very good…sad to say. Most of it was hard and just not ripe. Oh well. I knew I’d be eating good soon enough.
We applied our luggage tags to our bags for the next part of our journey, met the shuttle that Coupon Queen had prearranged, and headed out, taking photos along the way…
The next photo will give you a better clue of where we were (but not where we would wind up)…
So, we were in Seattle.
But, what were we doing there?
Well, that’s for me to know and for you to soon find out.
Keep reading.
We arrived at our destination and unloaded the many bags that the driver had somehow fit into the van.
And that’s when we saw it…
Our next mode of transportation…
Hola, cruise ship!
Oh yeah, baby.
This, my friends, is the Westerdam.
We were headed on our third cruise as a large group (my fourth total).
Although Coupon Queen and Grand Pooba have been on a number of Holland America cruises, this would be my family’s second one with this cruise line. Prior to that, we’ve been on a Disney cruise.
The check-in process was fairly painless.
I wasn’t surprised when I got pulled aside to empty out the contents of my knitting bag. The scanner had shown the small pliers I keep for repairs to stitch markers. The security guard raised his eyebrows at me.
Seriously…pliers…me…with all that yarn in my bag?
He let me keep my tool and rejoin my family.
At least I wasn’t patted down like an elderly woman I saw standing one line over.
We waited in a huge room while various groups were called for.
I asked a lady to take a group picture of us, which I can’t show you because then you’d see what beautiful creatures we are.
We were even more beautiful because we were all sporting Auburn apparel…my idea since Auburn had won the college football national championship in January.
It was finally our turn to board, but before we did, we posed for the “official” group photo.
Oh, my word, but the photographer was quick. He took one large group picture, in which we placed Coupon Queen and Grand Pooba in the center, of course.
Then, the photographer snapped individual pictures.
It was QUICK, QUICK, QUICK.
I doubted that the pictures would be any good.
I was wrong.
The pictures were FANTASTIC!
Dang it.
We bought the group picture and the kids’ individual photos.
Anyhoo…the buying came later.
First up was the most important thing…
Depositing our carry-on bags in our rooms and eating.
Our rooms were nice…what we expected having gone on several cruises…
I loved the robes…
Which were quickly adorned properly…
We also found a complimentary bottle of champagne, from the travel agent…
After eating lunch, I grabbed my knitting and headed out to explore the ship.
The views from the various decks were impressive…
Downtown Seattle’s skyline was so different from the view I have in Podunk, USA…
On the way to the ship, we had driven close to the Space Needle. Seeing it from the ship was something else altogether…
My knitting decided to come out and play…
Saturdays are busy days for cruise lines. I saw the Golden Princess docked beside the Westerdam. This ship would be our travel partner throughout the week. One interesting fact is that four people I know were on that ship. I was hoping to run into them when we stopped at our various ports, but that never happened.
Eventually, it was time to leave port. The backdrop of the mountains provided a picturesque view…
Deck 10, also known as the Crow’s Nest, was a great place to take in the scenery, as Chicky is doing in the following photograph…
Then, it was time for dinner. My dining steward provided me with a vegetarian menu…not quite the same as vegan, but it was better than nothing. Throughout the cruise, I ate a wonderful variety of dishes. Around night four, my steward figured out that I was vegan, and a vegan menu was provided. Oh my word…the difference was amazing…the entire list of dishes was free of animal products, including milks and cheeses, which I can’t do regardless of what type of diet I’m eating.
Anyhoo, my first meal included the following dish…grilled asparagus and mushrooms…
The view from the dining room was of the back of the ship…such a pretty sight…
Before I knew it, the sun was going down. As you know, sunset is my favorite time of the day. I managed to grab a few pictures…
The sun had set on Day 1 of The Great Adventure.
Where we were heading is still a surprise.
Stay tuned!
Filed under: Vacation | Tagged: Holland America, travel, Vacation, Westerdam | 4 Comments »
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