American Spirit June 19-26 Puget Sound

[nybumpkin]

Pre-cruise: We booked ACL’s package and flew into Seattle from Albany the day before sailing. The hotel is the Crowne Plaza Downtown – a nice hotel. The only drawback is that it’s downhill to many of the sights and restaurants. We had a late lunch at Von’s 1000 Spirits on First Avenue, then walked back to the hotel and later had snacks and drinks at the bar.

 

Sailing day started with the mandatory Covid test by the ship’s medical officer. This was after being required to do a test before arriving in Seattle as well as proof of vaccination. Easy enough to do. We then boarded a bus for a Seattle tour before arriving at the ship, docked at Shilshole Marina. We had a couple of stops along the way for photos. The tour was done well.

 

The ship: We arrived for boarding at 11:30, just in time for lunch. We checked in and were issued lanyards that served as our I.D.s for the week. (Side note: I hate lanyards. I just kept mine in my purse or clipped to my pants waist.) As promised, our luggage was waiting in our cabin.

 

American Spirit is (I think) the oldest and smallest ship in the ACL fleet, with a 100-passenger capacity I thought the furnishings were dated, but the ship was well cared for and comfortable. The cabins were a good size and we did not lack for outlets. There was also a hub to plug in phones and tablets. Much better than the main line ships we have sailed.

 

Food: There was a full breakfast menu; when you go to breakfast you will be asked to select lunch and dinner items. You’re not bound to your choices – the chef just wants an idea of how many of each item he will need to prepare. I was happy with the choices; being the Pacific Northwest, there were a number of salmon and crab items. When we docked in Port Angeles, a food delivery arrived and the chef was on the dock inspecting the order. He made a Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict that was fantastic. Some of the desserts were too rich for me (and they had the added problem of a broken ice crem freezer, which meant your ice cream choices were limited to vanilla or – vanilla), but overall we enjoyed our meals.

 

Crew: I really have very few issues with the service we received. Our cabin was well cared for and serviced twice a day, always when we were at breakfast and dinner. Once our cabin attendant realized she had forgotten to lock our door and was more than apologetic – given the people on board, I really wasn’t worried.

 

The deck crew was well trained, from the captain (retired Navy) to the crew manning the gangways. They used the ship’s launch twice, in Friday Harbor to take people to the whale watching excursion and in Poulsbo where the ship had to anchor in the harbor.

 

The dining room was staffed by four servers, two managers and the galley crew – aside from the chef, I don’t know who else was in the galley. The servers were all young – one turned 19 on our sailing – and yes, there were hiccups along the way. One server mixed up orders more often than others; however, he was anxious to make things right. There were times when they did seem to be overwhelmed, but the managers stepped in to help.

 

Entertainment: The guest lecturer on board was a retired teacher who gave excellent talks on Seattle If we were in port at night (usually,) local performers came come aboard after dinner to entertain. 

[nybumpkin]

Ports: Seven years ago we took an Alaska cruise out of Seattle, so we had some familiarity with the area – but we wanted to see more of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula. This cruise gave us the opportunity.

 

Anacortes: A quaint city with murals decorating many buildings and a nice waterfront area. ACL provided a shuttle to the downtown area, so we did a DIY walking tour for the morning. In the afternoon we ventured a few blocks to a hardware store/antiques shop that the shuttle driver had pointed out to us with a very eclectic collection.

[nybumpkin]

Friday Harbor: Many people here opted for the whale watching tour, but again we opted for DIY and a visit to the Whale Museum (admission included with the ship lanyard).

[nybumpkin]

Port Angeles: If US citizens were allowed into Canada, this would be the jumping-off point for the ferry to Victoria, BC. As it was, the ferry “Coho” sat forlornly at her pier and no one was going to Victoria, although Vancouver Island tempted at a distance. Most folks opted for excursions into the Olympic National Park; we opted for the Lake Crescent Lodge tour, which included a stop at Madison Falls along the Elwha River.

[nybumpkin]

Port Townsend: Again we opted for a DIY tour with a stop at the Jefferson County Museum of Art and History (admission included by showing the lanyard). A nice tour with exhibitions by local artists and a visit to the 1892 jail cells.

[nybumpkin]

Poulsbo: Our time was very limited here. The ship had to anchor in the harbor and passengers were ferried ashore in the ship’s launch. The first launch was reserved for passengers with excursions; unfortunately, a number of them had to forego most of their breakfast. Someone commented that breakfast service should have started a half hour earlier this day. Pouslbo is a pretty little town with a beautiful waterfront. We walked over to the Maritime Museum and had a nice tour.

[nybumpkin]

Back to Seattle: The trip from Poulsbo to Seattle was under 2 hours and we were back at Shilshole Marina. For the afternoon, they ran buses to the Space Needle or Pike Place. We opted for the Space Needle, but our plan was to tour the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum next door. It’s gorgeous. On the way back to the ship, our driver stopped at Kerry Park – wow. A wonderful view of Seattle, much better than you’d get from the Space Needle (which we did with our kids before).

 

Debarkation: Our flight home was on Sunday, so the cruise director called a car for us and we went back downtown to the Marriott Waterfront. We spent the day taking the Washington State Ferry to Bremerton and then had dinner at Ivar’s. The next day the same driver picked us up for our trip back to Sea-Tac. Flight home was uneventful.

 

Overall: We enjoyed the cruise, enough so that we booked a NOLA-StL cruise on Queen of the Mississippi for 2023. (2022 is already booked with trips that were postponed due to Covid.) Was it perfect? No – but I don’t look for perfection in a vacation. I attribute some of the hiccups on the trip to a cruise line just getting back in service after a year-plus hiatus. I’ve read similar issues on other lines. We’re looking forward to coming back.

[jagoffee]

Very nice review with a lot of information and pictures.   Thank you for sharing.  It is encouraging  to see that you had a great time.

Edited July 15, 2021 by jagoffee

[Izena]

What a wonderful review, informative.   We  should all practice tolerance- life is full of hiccups!

[twototravel]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We are thinking about booking one of the Puget sound tours depending on how are New England one goes. Did you see much wildlife on your trip?

[nybumpkin]

14 hours ago, twototravel said:

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We are thinking about booking one of the Puget sound tours depending on how are New England one goes. Did you see much wildlife on your trip?

We saw a fair number of harbor seals and a variety of birds. The folks on the whale watching tour saw one whale - which is one more than was seen the previous week.

 

A cautionary tale on dining. after we returned DH began having problems with his left ankle - pain and swelling. Yesterday he saw his doctor, who asked, "By any chance, have you eaten more seafood than usual recently?" Well ... yeah. Seems he has gout, which can be brought on by oily fish and shellfish. Apparently it increases uric acid in the blood. He'll take it easy on the seafood now.

[twototravel]

@nybumpkin We are currently on Constitution right now. Booked yesterday for the Grand Puget cruise in April 2022. This sailing is on the Constellation, sister ship to the one we are on now. The savings you get booking while onboard is quite a lot. 

[nybumpkin]

6 hours ago, twototravel said:

@nybumpkin We are currently on Constitution right now. Booked yesterday for the Grand Puget cruise in April 2022. This sailing is on the Constellation, sister ship to the one we are on now. The savings you get booking while onboard is quite a lot. 

I hope you're able to get to Victoria by then! We booked the Lower Mississippi while aboard, and the savings were very good.

[Wasasalad]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I know it’s from 2021 but I really appreciate all this information! I just booked Spirit for September 17,2022 only because I noticed a solo cabin available! A recent cancellation to my benefit! I’ve been on 50+ cruises but never a small ship like this! I’m really looking forward to it!

thank you again!

[nybumpkin]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:14 PM, Wasasalad said:

Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I know it’s from 2021 but I really appreciate all this information! I just booked Spirit for September 17,2022 only because I noticed a solo cabin available! A recent cancellation to my benefit! I’ve been on 50+ cruises but never a small ship like this! I’m really looking forward to it!

thank you again!

I'm glad you found it helpful! I didn't respond earlier because we just returned from a Viking river cruise on the Danube. While I don't like to compare cruise lines (it's like apples to oranges, I've found) and I loved our Viking sailing, one thing I really appreciated about ACL was the variety of educational speakers and entertainment that boarded at the different ports.

[snorkle lover]

Just out of curiosity where you able to get right off the ship and walk to a town or point of interest. We are hoping to avoid bus rides.

[Wasasalad]

23 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

Just out of curiosity where you able to get right off the ship and walk to a town or point of interest. We are hoping to avoid bus rides.

Yes! That was the best part. All very small towns. The excursions were in small passenger vans except for the one that went to Olympic National Park. That was a big bus but only a few of us on it. 
Most  of the major sights are not in walking distance. Just little towns. 
The jet boat in Defiance Pass was excellent. The tour to an animal sanctuary was fun. 
Just make sure that you check yourself back onto the ship. We had to lick the computer at the door. 
one evening it was going to be “rough and windy” so that night were moved over into a cove and dropped anchor. It was fine! I think they just needed the dock for a yacht!

 

I stayed at their hotel the night before. They came to the hotel that morning and did the ship check in at the hotel. We left from 

Shilshole Bay Marina 

It was way out somewhere!

Any other questions? It was an amazing cruise!

I’m an early bird! The breakfast in the lounge was st up before 6am every morning! I only went to the sit down breakfast once. 
The food is amazing! Deserts incredible!

Hot cookies every afternoon!

The evening cocktail party is more wonderful food!

Snacks always available! 

 

[Xerxes10]

Glad to hear that you had a great time.

[whoshwhosh]

I am going to make my airline reservation shortly and need to know about what time disembarkation is in Seattle, also time to airport. This way I can allow enough time for my departing flight.

[Wasasalad]

11 hours ago, whoshwhosh said:

I am going to make my airline reservation shortly and need to know about what time disembarkation is in Seattle, also time to airport. This way I can allow enough time for my departing flight.

September 2022. 
My flight was at 10:45am. They made the air reservation. 
They sent me and another couple to the airport by black car transport at their expense. I only had to tip. The other couple refused to ride with me! They insisted on having their own car transport!

A lot of traffic! Huge lines at check in!

this year I’m on Oceania so I’ll never get off the ship early. This year my flight is 3:45pm. Not good but only 10:45 or 3:45pm

Seattle has this SpotSaver that I will try this year. 

https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver?fbclid=IwAR2FOsZ7JzsqdpR0yUNa_i8MMvtJMREoXKamyeFjNTPZEHemRne1usOkaYc_aem_th_ARhkqUj6UOl00kaD3ljqoEv9ldZo50pwsVS5yAz8XbvOzWXKdKAI_dgoZ3AbaXv1h28

[nybumpkin]

I'm sorry for not responding timely - DH and I jut returned from a Norway cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We stayed in Seattle a few extra days after the cruise, and they called a car for us to meet us at Shilshole to take us to our hotel. I found the staff was very helpful with all our arrangements.

[Wasasalad]

21 hours ago, nybumpkin said:

I'm sorry for not responding timely - DH and I jut returned from a Norway cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We stayed in Seattle a few extra days after the cruise, and they called a car for us to meet us at Shilshole to take us to our hotel. I found the staff was very helpful with all our arrangements.

I found them very accommodating! First class in all areas!