*Dead* Off to the last frontier (and back)! Oct 1-8 aboard the Encore in a 2-bedroom Haven suite.

[Grimix]

Sad day! It's our last full day on the boat on the way to Victoria... We all know the depression that sets in when you know soon you'll be making your own food and cleaning up after yourself... The wife woke early and went to the gym to put in some treadmill time. (She did that at least half of the days of the cruise. She did say that many at the gym didn't seem to know how treadmills work because she saw someone fall on them almost every day... Maybe it was the rocking of the ship? Either way she didn't want to be on duty!) She returns to the cabin as the kids are slowly (very slowly) waking, and is all excited. She had seen whales while running on the treadmill!

 

Not the best picture through the windows of the gym which haven't been cleaned since we went through some rain the prior day. We were all excited. We would have loved to see some ourselves, but were happy that at least one of us saw a whale!

 

We headed to the Haven breakfast for our last 'leisurely' breakfast (Tomorrow we would probably feel a little rushed because they'd be kicking us off... How mean!) While we were eating breakfast we saw some people get excited, and sure enough there were more whales! The windows were much cleaner here than in the gym, but I didn't take any pictures. The kids loved to see them and were almost so glued to windows that they took forever eating.

 

Finally we were done and headed back to the room to regroup. I told the wife I was going to go to the Casino to get a little cash for tips tomorrow. The wife wanted to shop a little bit for some perfume. She had run out of her normal one, and it had been discontinued. The kids wanted to play electronics (*gasp* I know!). I walked with the wife down to the casino where she continued on down to the shops. I tend to play Pai Gow poker because you lose much slower, and I don't like the rules for the 'affordable' blackjacks on board. (I'm not a slot player! I'm on a machine 8 hours a day, I don't want to spend my time in front of another even if it does (rarely) give you money... ATM's are honest. They tell you how much you're going to lose right before they give you your cash!) I get additional money here as opposed to the ATM as when your room is backed by the NCL card you get 3% back on the withdrawals which offsets the 3% they charge for a room advance (unless you have status with the casino which I don't.)

 

I sit at the Pai Gow table and there is only one other player who is playing two hands. They only have one, and it's $50 a hand. I'm not happy about it (I'm cheap, and prefer $5 tables) but if you lose you lose slow. I was up $50 then down $50, and pretty much stayed steady for about an hour when my wife returned. I colored up my chips and gave one last tip. I was down $15 for an hour of fun, and was actually a little up if you count the tips I gave away. I asked my wife if she'd gotten her perfume, but she said they had only one left, and she wasn't sure. I went back to the store with her and she smelled it again. I looked it up online and they are selling it at MSRP. So with no-taxes, and 10% bronze latitude bonus it was cheaper than the standard places I had looked. She got the bottle, and we returned back to the room.

 

The kids wanted to go to the Haven pool, and hot-tub. My eldest (16) wanted to go to the main pool after, and do the slides. My youngest and daughter didn't really want to. My youngest and daughter were playing a game together a couple nights ago and wanted to sleep in the 2nd bedroom, and put my eldest out in the living room. My eldest doesn't like change, but is extremely sweet and reluctantly allowed the swap. Last night they had tried to do it again, but my eldest really didn't want to switch again. We told them no. He doesn't want to leave him alone. When we woke up this morning my eldest was in the living room bed. They had taken advantage of his niceness again. My wife wasn't happy. She told the youngest and daughter that since they forced my eldest to give up his bed again that if he wanted to go to the main pool they had to go with him. My wife and I had plans to try the District Brewhouse since we hadn't made it there yet, and as I mentioned I'm not a fan of the Goose Island IPA.

 

We leave them in the empty haven pool area, and headed to the District Brewhouse. We had walked down here on the first sea day, but they weren't open because we had showed up around 30 minutes before they opened, but had wanted to get back, and this was our last chance! It was pretty hopping! (Beer pun intended!) We found a table near the bar, but would have preferred one near the windows. There is a server that goes around the room, but the wife doesn't like to wait without a drink so I headed to the bar to order for us. 2 Alaskan Husky IPAs. After I gather the two glasses and head back to the table I see the wife had found a table just off of the windows. We sat and enjoyed our beer. The server came around eventually and I had a second, and I believe the wife tried one of their beer 'cocktails'. As we were enjoying our second beverage of the day (Maybe a third for the wife as she starts the day with Prosecco (no Vueve anymore 😞 that flowed liberally last year in the Haven!) mimosa(s)) we see people pointing and sure enough! More whales! We watched for probably over a half hour there were so many. They looked to be Orcas (We only have videos or I'd show pictures!) Great beer, great wildlife. Doesn't get much better than this! If you like beer your shouldn't miss the brewhouse! Great selection of beer!

 

(I haven't shaved all week as I forgot my razor... Sorry! The wife forgot hers as well, but the concierge had toiletry bags behind the counter I had gotten for her. I can't use those cheap razors though...)

 

We head back to the room and find all the kids there. My wife asks my eldest if he liked the slides. He says the other two didn't want to go with him so they had all just returned to the cabin. Oh boy. This set my wife off! She threatened the kids with the most grievous of all threats no to (teenage) people... The loss of all electronics for the rest of the trip if they did get back into their suits and go to the pool with my eldest (after verifying he still wanted to go of course!) They of course suited up, and I walked with them down to the pool area. They went straight to the tube slide. We went to the exit, and I had them drop off their towels and stuff to walk down the stairs to the slide entrance. I told them I'd watch their stuff. The eldest happily, and the other two still pouting that they had gotten in trouble complied. The wife joined me a couple minutes later as I pointed out the kids up on the slide platform.

My boys decided to ride together. When they reach the bottle the youngest has a big smile and says he wants to do it again! The daughter decides to go up again as well. Nothing like a little waterslide to get the grump out of kids! It wasn't warm (probably mid 60s and breezy because we were moving) but the water was heated.

They decided they wanted to do a hot tub. There are two almost right there after you get off the slide. This not being the haven the hot tubs were PACKED. The kids decided they'd rather head back to the Haven and use the one that is usually empty. (I think we may have spoiled our kids... I remember my first cruise was on a Carnival in my 20's with four guys in a 4 bunk bed style inside room (it was a 3-day booze cruise down to Ensenada, don't judge! Don't think my kids could manage that... And it's probably not a good thing!) While they soaked a bit the wife and I went back to the cabin. They arrived about 30 minutes later.

 

 

[Grimix]

Editorial mix up again! Looking at my pictures (which is how I tend to remember what we did when) I realized we did the Laser tag & carts this day! My wife and I had originally planned on getting off in Victoria and walking around, but finally decided against it because not much would be open except maybe bars (which are included on the ship) and she's already been to Victoria. I had originally reserved a 5:30 appointment at Q so we would have time to eat before getting off. Since we hadn't done the tag or carts yet (and the wife had no desire to) she said we (the kids and I) should go do that before dinner. So I went to the concierge and asked if they could change our reservation to 7:30. She called and they had no problem changing it for us.

 

While we were waiting in line for the cars we saw (I believe a princess ship) pulling out of Victoria.

 

After we finish with the cars we quickly head back to the room to get ready for dinner. We're not going to be an hour early tonight! We head over to Q, my youngest wants to use the stairs, the wife has some heals on her feet and prefers the elevator today. We go down to the level of Q and it's a madhouse! Everyone is in line to disembark. My wife gets a text from my son saying they won't let him down the stairs because they are blocked off 2 levels above. The wife starts to worry and I go to fetch my son...(It's not like he'll get lost on the ship...) I have to take the elevator up 2 floors (slowly because of everyone leaving) and find my son. We then get back in the elevator and head back down to Q's level. It seems even more packed than before and we have to push our way (saying excuse me) to get around the corner to where Q is located. The ship staff keep trying to tell us we're going the wrong way, but I just tell them we're going to Q.

 

Once in Q the world is different! There are more staff there than people eating! They quickly seat us, and we get very attentive service. Like at Cagney's the plan here is for the kids to eat off the kids menu, the wife and I to order (with the wife eating the sides) and the daughter getting the wife's meat entree. Today that would be the brisket. I think I had it too, but the meat was my least favorite thing on the plate. I really enjoyed all the sides, and the wife adored their desserts. I was really looking forward to the smoky peach margarita (which she had had last year) but because of backwards Canadian laws they are only allowed one bar per deck (and the Q bar was not the selected bar for this deck...)

 

We went back to our cabin and saw all we were going to see of Victoria.

 

[Grimix]

A couple of forgotten stories!

 

1) When we first got to our cabin only 2 pieces of our luggage were waiting for us. I kept checking and we'd get 2-3 bags here and through-out the day. Around 3 the Emmanuel (our steward) asked me if we had received all our luggage yet. I told him I was just missing our electronics bag (which holds all the cables and batteries for the electronics.) [my apologies if I told you this story before!] A couple hours later he shows up with my bag, and I thank him. When I open the bag I see a note saying my power strips (which I had specifically bought cruise-safe for this purpose!) had been confiscated and would be returned on the last night of the cruise. I didn't make a fuss of it because with all my usb adapaters with multiple outputs, and the 3-in-one charging stands I got for the kids and wife we were able to manage with the outlets we had.

 

2) While going through the Haven we see a gaggle of teanagers in the corner opposite the bar entrance. We were walking to the horizon lounge, and see Lyster (our concierge) walking towards the teenagers. After talking to them we see the group leave. No doubt some teenager had brough their friends into the Haven, and Lyster had either noticed or been called to deal with it.  A few minutes later I was taking the kids down the stairs to get some soft serve. We noticed a couple of the teenagers from early. They obviously weren't happy. We overheard them saying it's not like they were doing anything wrong.

[cruiseny4life]

I'm honestly not sure, but I may be more sad that your review of the cruise is ending, than you were depressed on your last day. The cruise blues are a real thing and your well-written, entertaining stories have definitely kept me going through the long work days as I close in on T minus 32 days until I cruise. 

 

So, thank you for sharing your time onboard Encore! Y'all sure looked like you had a fabulous time and I'm so glad you got to see whales!! 

[Grimix]

3) About halfway through the cruise my wife realized she had lost her keycard. I told her we can just go to the concierge and get a new one. I head over the concierge and wait for a bit but no one is there. I peek over the corner and ask one of the bartenders how late the concierges are there, and they close at 8. Ooops! 8:30, no I'm going to have to go all the way down to the main guest services area and wait in a line. I get there and wait about 15 minutes in line. When I get to the counter tell them my wife has lost her key card. They ask for my room #. I tell them 18110 and they say Miss Chelsea? I answer in the Affirmative. A minute later they handed me her card key. At no point did she ask me for identification, but my guess it showed my picture on her computer so she figured it was ok to give me the card. Security was a little lacking but I got the job done!

 

A third story that I had tried to add through editing, but missed the deadline!

[Grimix]

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

'm honestly not sure, but I may be more sad that your review of the cruise is ending, than you were depressed on your last day. The cruise blues are a real thing and your well-written, entertaining stories have definitely kept me going through the long work days as I close in on T minus 32 days until I cruise. 

 

So, thank you for sharing your time onboard Encore! Y'all sure looked like you had a fabulous time and I'm so glad you got to see whales!! 

They sure are! I was reading all the stories in the Oct 8 roll call group (our original sailing which I still hung out in) and seeing all their excitement at what they were experiencing might not have been conducive to me getting over that depression! At least you still have something to look forward to! I need to look for a new cruise so I have the same opportunity! (Nothing booked yet, but wife is considering between a med cruise or a Europe land vacation for next year...

[Grimix]

I had to get those extra stories because #1 comes in here! It is at this part of the story where we start packing up our stuff in preparation to put the cases outside tonight. We wanted to get this out of the way so we could hang out one last time with our new friends at the Haven bar.

 

You'll get information about Port Valet at the beginning of the cruise. A free service in Seattle where you can leave your bags out the night before debarkation and don't see them until you land at your destination. It's great if your flight qualifies! Our ride home wasn't leaving until 7:30 or so the next evening and so we had a bit more of Seattle to explore until then. We didn't really want to lug our luggage (must be the root of the word luggage!) around Seattle all day! I had read of this before we boarded so had already signed up months ago! I opened up the envelope the butler or steward had left for us earlier in the day and saw it contained our boarding passes and luggage tags. Only 2 luggage tags... Oops... I remembered I had probably only listed 3 pieces of luggage ahead of time, hopeful I could get her to minimize the checked luggage... Now I'm in trouble as I had been telling about how wonderful port valet is, but only 2 of our 6 checked luggage would get to enjoy it... I told her I'm going to go down to guest services (once again it's past 8 so our concierge is closed... darn it you only really miss them when they aren't there!) and see if I can clear it up. I take the stairs and figure I'm screwed because this is the port and not the ship I bet there's nothing they can do.

 

I stand in a pretty long line at guest services. As I near the desk I hear several of the people are getting their confiscated items back. Oh crap! I had completely forgot that they had my items! When I get to the counter my fears are confirmed there is nothing they can do now. (I believe Wednesday is the last day to sign up for Port Valet, and I assume make any changes...) At least I asked them about my confiscated items. They asked for the letter, and I told them I didn't have it (because I had forgot about the need...) and she still was able to retrieve my items for me. Getting back to the room I now have to tell my wife we're screwed... But I tell her that there is a place by the port that will hold your luggage for you for a small fee, and we'd need to store the kids carryons there anyways so it isn't much of an inconvenience. She buys it a little bit, but still takes the opportunity to remind me I missed up several times while we finish packing. I told her to load up the two largest cases with as much as she wants. One advantage of port valet is there is no over weight fees. (I carry a luggage scale with me in my electronics bag because my wife thinks it's a great game to see how close she can get to 50 pounds, and more often than not goes over...) I managed to just barely close the two cases that will be whisked away, and put the two luggage tags on them and place them outside the door. We proceeded to finish packing the remaining 4 bags, and I put the gold priority tags we were given and finish blocking the hallway with our total of 6 bags. The kids still each have a carryon, I have my electronics bag, and the wife has a carryon as well, but those will stay in the room with us tonight. 

 

Today I have been taking pictures of our Vacation Hero's name tags. And while the wife did most of the packing (I'm her beast of burden. She has me move suitcases up/down zipper them, move them outside, but I'm not trustworthy enough to pack) I'm hurriedly filling out the Vacation Hero Cards. Once we're done we head down the bar for one last Hurrah with new friends. I bring the cards with me and see many people are filling them out at the bar. I ask where we drop them off, and Mary Jane one half of the bar tending group says she's collecting them, and will give them to the proper spot.

 

We didn't get the bar staffs picture this time, so attempt to correct that mistake at least with Mary Jane (Paul wasn't there at the moment) but it came out blurry...

 

If you're in the Haven on Encore and have these bartenders you'll be well taken care of! To be honest I find it hard to find fault with almost any of the staff we encountered on this trip (both inside, and outside the haven!) We head back to the cabin after another enjoyable night at our Happy Place with our Happy People. Tomorrow is going to be a long day... Evicted from out home for the last 7 days, and then a LONG travel day...

[AKR2011]

What an awesome, refreshing review! I have really enjoyed your writing style and tales of Alaskan cruise. That is definitely a bucket list itinerary for me, so I love reading reviews such as yours. Looks like you made some awesome family memories ❤️⚓️

[Grimix]

13 hours ago, AKR2011 said:

What an awesome, refreshing review! I have really enjoyed your writing style and tales of Alaskan cruise. That is definitely a bucket list itinerary for me, so I love reading reviews such as yours. Looks like you made some awesome family memories ❤️⚓️

Thank you! It lets me relive the cruise, and when I read it in a couple years it will remind me of it! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend an Alaska cruise. Might have started as a bucket list cruise, but I don't think I want it to be a one and done!

[Grimix]

We wake up a little surely about being kicked off in a few hours. We can see we're already docked. Nothing to do now but finish collecting our belongings, have a breakfast and take the sad walk off the gang plank. I had wanted to finish the packing so we could get out of the room, but the eldest son didn't want to go to as sit down breakfast, and since someone was going to be in the room the rest of us headed to the Haven restaurant for our last meal. I notice all our luggage has disappeared so this is really happening... I'm not a breakfast guy, but I think the breakfasts in the Haven might have been my favorite meal there. (I did really enjoy the scallopini with chicken I had for lunch once though!) I pass out the final tips as we head back to the room. This time I forgo the envelopes (didn't bring any, didn't feel like asking at the concierge desk although I'm sure they would have provided them!).

 

Here's the breakdown for the curious (Maybe I paid too much, maybe not enough, but it I what I paid!): $10-$20/day in the Haven bar. Didn't pay per drink and let them know I don't like to pay per drink. Over paying $1-$2 a drink sometimes I won, sometimes they did. Gave an extra $10 per meal. (We weren't doing 3 meals a day, usually 2...) $160 for the Butler, $100 for the room steward, final $100 to bar staff (total not per person), $60 to the Haven Maitre-D (forgot to tip her last cruise...) and a $100 to the concierge. 

 

We go back to the cabin to finalize packing and collect our things, and eldest son. I think this was 9:30 or so. We head down to the concierge desk where Lyster meets us and escorts our family to the elevator. As we're heading down the elevator man tells our kids how lucky they are to have their parents take them on such a nice cruise. I'm not sure my kids believed him, but they should have! We walk down the gangway and back to our normal lives... So sad!

 

In the terminal we breeze right through, no waiting. When we get to the baggage claim the lady asked what color we said gold, and she pointed us right to where our luggage was waiting. Unfortunately we had 4 more bags than intended, but when divided them up (me getting the lions share) and exited the terminal. I asked an NCL staffer where the place was we could store our luggage, and she said it's the ship staff store just out the door and to the right.

 

We find the location easy enough. They will only hold your bags until 3, and charge $5 a bag. So my mistake cost me an extra $20. Oh well. It won't break me, and it's not worth ruining what's left of the vacation. But as wife's do she does make sure I don't forget I screwed up several other times that day. 🙂 There were about 2 groups in front of us, but we get our bags stored and get the receipt and head back up the hill towards the Pike's Market and the Space Needle where the MPOP museum is located.

 

The MPOP has a unique architecture, and not a lot of straight lines...

 

I think this is what my daughter has been waiting for the whole trip (who cares about beautiful Alaskan scenery?!) She talks non-stop about what they have as we make our way to the entrance. We get in, and then find out the exhibit that she wanted to go to this museum for (The Laika studio exhibit) was an uncharge. So of course we ended up paying it.

 

Lets see if I remember... They're the studio that did Coraline, Kubo and the 2-strings, Boxtrolls, Paranorman, and Missing Link? If you don't know, they do stop-motion animation, and they had many of the props and puppets they used to film the movies. My daughter was in heaven! 

The house for Coraline.

 

They had several interactive stations where you could do some of your own animations. At the end you get a QR code where you can download the movie you made.

 

 

They claim this is the largest stop-motion puppet ever made (I think it's from Kubo and the 2-strings, but you'd have to ask my daughter to be sure...)

 

Outside of the Laika exhibit (which I think isn't permanent...) they had a sound lab where you could play drums, guitars, keyboards, sing, do sound engineering etc. We were told the museum was initially created by Paul Allen as a Jimi Hendrix museum, but has morphed through the years to popular culture. They also have a Nirvana exhibit, Jimi Hendrix (still), Hip-Hop for musical exhibits. Each contains items from the band and tours.

 

 

Downstairs they have movie genre exhibits with lots of props from the movies: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror. It was a great place to spend a couple hours.

 

We start heading back down the hill with plans for a bite to eat, and a stop at Pike's Market before collecting our luggage and heading to the airport. This is Sunday, and the 49ers were playing the Cowboys in what was supposed to be the biggest game of the week, and the most important game for the 49ers this season. So of course our family was sporting our 49ers colors walking around in enemy territory (Seahawks) We stop at a local pizza place called Zeke's that my wife thought looked cute. I had to joke that they might want to hide us since we're 49ers fan. (Better joke about the rivalry then you're less likely to get extra ingredients in your food!) They laugh and say people won't be able to see us through the windows. We get a booth. At this place you do all your ordering through a website they have a QR code on the table. It actually worked quite well. We ordered a pizza and drinks. The drinks came pretty quickly and the pizza a little after. (I did a 4-beer sampler, and they had a good selection of local brews!) The other reason the app worked well is that when my wife was ready for a second she just went to the app and added a drink and sure enough a minute or two later there's her drink! The pizza was actually quite good! I'd recommend this place if you find yourself around the space needle and like pizza.

 

On the way down the hill we stop at Pike's Market first. The daughter collects what my dad called do-nothings. Things you put on a shelf and collect dust. But hey, she has her own allowance she can spend it on that stuff if she wants to! They shop for about an hour while the boys and I find a nice curb to sit on and wait. They come back and the wife has done some shopping herself. Yay! More stuff to carry! 

 

[cruiseny4life]

The real question is, do you let your wife read what you post on Cruise Critic? Sometimes I cringe when I think my husband might just read what I posted...about him. 

[Grimix]

As well make our way down to the store the Encore taunts us...

 

By the time we get back to the store to pick up our bags we're a little after 3pm... Luckily they say 3pm for bag pickups but are open until 3:30pm. Probably for people like us. 🙂

 

This time I just request a standard Uber XL as we don't have quite as many pieces of luggage. Because most people have already boarded the Encore we get our Uber really quick and are headed to the airport. We were going to have several hours at the airport since our flight didn't leave until 7:30 or so. The wife was concerned about lounges. We have an Amex that gives the wife and I (no longer others) access to the centurion lounge, and some priority pass lounges (they can be hit or miss) and since we had been to an Alaskan lounge a couple years ago in SF on the way to Cabo she thought about buying access to the one in Seattle. I don't know if it's everywhere, but apparently Seattle doesn't sell day-passes to its lounges. The wife considered buying the yearly membership to the lounge. She got a discount with her credit card, and she figured we'd buy food/drinks at the airport and she wanted to use the lounge for a Hawaii trip she had planned for the upcoming year leaving from SF. I think she quoted me $500. It was a bit much for me, but I said why don't we check out what's available at the airport first...

 

As we get to the airport we check-in and drop off our bags. Wow Seatac is confusing! We weren't sure what we were supposed to do at first, but found the Kiosks and got our bags dropped off. Going through security the TSA notices my outfit and says he disagrees with my team, but respects my bravery in wearing it here. He says he's going to SF in a week, and wasn't sure he'd wear his Seahawk colors there. I told him he should! This time my electronics bag didn't get flagged for extra security (like it did on the way out. I have a 50/50% of the bag getting extra scrutiny since it has a bunch of wires and batteries...) We walk by a couple lounges as we walk to our gate (The Alaskan lounge is right by the security exit). I can tell my wife has her heart set on the Alaska lounge and the other lounges aren't going to cut it. I would rather not spend the money, but the wife has her own 'allowance' (I allow her anything she really wants... She would take umberance with me saying allow, but that just means I don't put up much of a fight, and lose sooner rather than later...) so that's what we do.

 

The lounge is nice. I'm a little worried it will be filled with Seahawk fans and we'll get dirty looks. The lounge is two stories. We go up to the second story where the bar is located, and they have a bunch of more seating around the corner. My fears were assuaged a little as one of the staff members saw my outfit and said 'Go Niners!' She said she was switching jobs later (We were the Sunday night game, and it was just after 4 now...) so she could be up by the (only!?) tv in the bar. She was originally from the Bay Area but had moved to Seattle. We sat down in the seating are (which is around the corner from the bar) and it had no TV. I set up my laptop and was getting ready to watch the game on it using YouTube TV (We cut the cord a couple years ago, so now we can easily get our TV on the go!) as the bar was full. The wife brought back a beer for me while I was doing this and then she went to examine the offerings. They have one of those freestyle coke machines. Unfortunately it was out of ice. I made a cherry-coke zero because I was pretty thirsty, but without ice it wasn't as satisfying! They eventually filled it up a half hour later. My wife is addicted to Diet Coke, so she had actually gone to the bar to get a glass of ice before getting hers!

 

A couple of the passengers told me go Niners so I started feeling these might be good people! As game time approached the bar cleared out. Apparently people had flights. I wasn't particularly happy about our departure time because I figured it would put us right around the 3rd quarter. I had hoped the game would be on on the plane. Because I thought Alaska did have some TV channels on their entertainment sections. (Spoiler alert: They do, but it's just shows, and not live TV!)

 

Either way I sit down and I'm drinking beer, while the wife is doing wine. The bar starts filling up again as the game gets going (I think it had about 8 seats.) We're watching the game and luckily it seems we're all niners fans. It was a good game for the niner fans. 🙂 If you are a cowboy fan, it might not have been so good. Our flight time is approaching and even though we had a comfortable lead I didn't really want to leave. I've seen us blow worse leads. I check our flight status. Delayed. I've never been so happy for a delayed flight! Turned out the delay was about an hour, just enough time for me to finish the game!

They don't accept tips here. Which is nice since I'm not a big tipping fan (I'd rather not do it, but I do it because it's expected and a lot of these people are overworked, and underpaid (especially on the ship where they're gone from their families for months at a time...)

 

We get on the plane, and an hour and a half later our vacation is pretty much over as we deplane in Sacramento. I still have to catch the shuttle now to the economy parking while the wife grabs the suitcases and waits with the kids. (Just our division of labor at airports... sometimes I win, sometimes she does!) As I get to the shuttle curb I see the shuttle just leaving. I must have waited about 15 minutes for the next shuttle to arrive! They're usually much quicker than this. This next shuttle arrives and parks in a slightly different spot from where the line was forming. (Me right near the front) They open the back doors and tell us near the front (which happened to be the front of the now rather long line) to wait for the people in the back. We were concerned they might fill the bus before we could get on again! The lady behind me tells the driver that we were at the front of the line. The driver says these shuttles are first come first served. To which she says we were first! He didn't care. Luckily we were able to squeeze on (and I don't think the driver got lots of tips...) The shuttle ride was much longer than my normal walk to the car (which is why I usually choose the daily lot even though it's a couple bucks extra a day...) because the bus stops every 20 feet or so. Eventually we get to my stop (which I remembered because I always take a picture of where I parked at an airport) and I get the car and head to the terminal to pick up the family. Finally I get there. Tetris the luggage into the back, and we make it home just after midnight. Our vacation officially over...

[Grimix]

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

The real question is, do you let your wife read what you post on Cruise Critic? Sometimes I cringe when I think my husband might just read what I posted...about him. 

No! She doesn't have an account either. I'm pretty sure she would disapprove. I find I offend her especially when I have no intention of offending her. 🙂 She's come in a couple times while I've been typing this and I shut the laptop screen. She says you keep closing the lid like you have something to hide just like the kids. Oops!

[vacation44]

I, too, am sad your review is at the end as I really enjoyed your writing style, stories and pictures.    And I agree with your wife, the Alaska Airlines lounge is wonderful.   We got to spend a whopping five hours between two of their lounges in September while waiting for our flight back home.

 

Hoping your next vacation is another cruise so we can read all about it!   

[Grimix]

4 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I, too, am sad your review is at the end as I really enjoyed your writing style, stories and pictures.    And I agree with your wife, the Alaska Airlines lounge is wonderful.   We got to spend a whopping five hours between two of their lounges in September while waiting for our flight back home.

 

Don't tell her, but it might have been worth it just so I could watch the whole game at a great location! My wife was also ecstatic they had vegetarian chili, 'meat'balls and Mac & cheese. She loved all of them!

[Grimix]

Another story... not a good one! I think it was the night before Victoria. We were talking with some of our new friends at the Haven bar and they said their teenager had been in the buffet. There was a fight between an elderly individual and someone else about grabbing the last chicken wing. Apparently there were fists thrown and the old man fell and hit his head. They told us he had died, but we later found out he had been taken off at the port along with his wife and luggage. Apparently pretty serious. I'm not sure who started it, but really? You can't wait a couple minutes for more chicken wings? There's so much food on this boat you aren't going to go hungry... This is NCL, if you want to fight go to Carnival! (Tongue in cheek! I actually don't hate Carnival) Either way it solidified my distaste for the Buffet (although my wife did like the Indian food, and their noodle soup which they had a vegetarian option for. She actually brought a bowl with her once to the Haven restaurant where I could order a real meal. The hostess said that looks delicious! (Probably was thinking the butler better not see her carrying around food like that!) Every time we went to the buffet it seemed like a war zone. People jostling to get the food, and circling forever trying to find an empty table. We did go to the buffet for a late lunch on one of the port days. It was about half as empty as I've seen it any other time. We found a nice big table up near the front. There was a group of officers eating at one table, and behind us we later realized was some of the cast of Choir of Man which my kids were really excited about!

[Grimix]

So now the trip is over, and so is my report. I'll just tie up some last minute thoughts... We got home so late Sunday that the wife decided to just keep the kids home the next day from school. Unfortunately after the week off we completely forgot we were carpooling with one of the neighbors and forgot to let them know. They started calling us about 10 minutes after we normally pick them up. We slept right through that... Luckily they are great people, and their mom (another doctor in the neighborhood) said she kind of thought we weren't going to school that day. They forgave us even though we felt (and feel) really bad about that!

 

The next day I had to work (the wife had it off.) but I took off early because I had to do a 2.5 hour each way trip to San Jose and my brother to pick up Toby our dog. He was absolutely thrilled to see me! We had just rescued him a couple months earlier, and he had been returned twice, so probably figured he was abandoned again... 

 

Overall we had a great cruise. I would say it's my favorite! The biggest changes from last year I noticed are the lack of Veuve (I think my wife did OK with the Prosecco, but didn't really drink it straight.) and the lack of bottles with dinner (which came as a surprise to me...) The service was still top notch in, and out of the Haven.. The entertainment was awesome (there was an extra Show on the Bliss, and only the one on Encore, but I like it better than both of the ones on the Bliss...) Luckily our embarkation was easy peasy this time! The food was he same. Some great some not-so-great. The wife really like what the Haven offered, it just isn't enough variety for her. Onda was the hilight of our dining experience, and I'd pick Skagway as my favorite port. Wow, I haven't done a week cruise for many years, but the difference between 5 and 7 days is amazing. I much prefer the 7 days! On the 5 days you feel like they're going to be kicking you off soon almost from the beginning. We didn't use the balcony for hours, but I was out there at least once a day, and definitely enjoyed having it. I don't think you can get a Haven room currently without one though.

 

Our next unscheduled cruise is probably going to be a Mediterranean. I had saved the points on my NCL for possibly upgrading two ocean view rooms to balconies to save money instead of going in the Haven. After this cruise in the Haven my wife has decided she wouldn't be able to handle going back. So it looks like if it happens we'll be doing the Haven again. We debated because there are so many ports, and she wants to try the food ashore (especially in Italy) so wasn't sure we'd get our money's worth. Maybe we wouldn't, but priory tenders and on/off would be hard to give up! We're going to be looking for October/November next year and will probably put down a deposit (I still have cruise-nexts from our first cruise) If we decide to do a land instead we'll be able to get it back.

 

Until then Bon Voyage everyone! We had a great cruise, and if you were ever thinking about an Alaskan cruise do it! Even with the shorter port times we had a great time!