luvteaching

At Seattle there are "pushers" and they are great! They take you all the way from carside at the pier, through check-in and then to a waiting area. From there, once boarding begins, shio's crew take over and wheelchair people on. It used to be that they took you to the cabin but not sure on that aspect as we now use a scooter which we pick up at the pier and DH motors on! At disembarkation you are given a bar (usually Pinnacle) to report to and there the staff will wheelchair off and down the elevator then port staff take over. They'll take you to your carside, shuttle, etc. They do accept tips (used to be they didn't but I asked this time as we needed one for a short distance and he assured me he could accept them). Karen Karen

There aren't wheelchairs available at the port. If you think you are going to need one check out Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea and get one rented for the cruise. The only port you'll have wheelchairs available is Seattle. Sitka does offer a golf cart ride up from the ship to where you catch the buses to town. Karen

Good morning Jacqui, Since DH did so well on the Westerdam cruise and is chomping at the bit to cruise again I'll add our one we had booked last year as well. We're doing our own version of a back-to-back with the Crown Princess on Aug. 27th (so DH can ride the White Pass Railraod at Skagway) and the we'll get off, go across the pier, and hop on the Eurodam (Sept. 3-10). It gives us 2 weeks of cruising! I know adding the Princess to the list isn't doable for you but please add the Eurodam. Thank you! Karen

An ambulatory room is a bit bigger and has some nice things. We had one on the Westerdam last week (DH needs a handicapped room). There was a button on the wall to open the bathroom door. The bathroom was super spacious (we had a signature suite) and we did well. We've had handicapped balcony cabins as well. If you look up the site halfacts and then navigate to your ship you may see pictures of your cabin. Karen

Good afternoon, In the PNW we are having a cooler day with the sun recently coming out and a nice breeze. This weekend isn't supposed to be that warm but by Tuesday we'll be up close to 90. The big deal that is being made, besides it being hot, is that it won't cool down much during the night so relief won't be as readily available. I sent in our Income Tax at the end of February and kept checking the "where's my refund" site about mid-April. It always said the return couldn't be found. I finally got through on the phone to a real live person who checked and came back to tell me not to panic for several months, that they still were working on returns from the year before! I put my panic mode on hold and finally checked the where's my refund site when we got back from the cruise (last Sunday) and lo and behold the return is being processed. There is hope! Karen

Just off the Westerdam. Ordered a glass of wine nightly and it arrived within 5 minutes or so. Very prompt service.

As stated earlier I was on this cruise (#21 to Alaska) and the seas were definitely not what I would define as rough. I've had worse on the Amsterdam across the Gulf of Alaska to and from Anchorage! Friday night it was a bit rocky but this was close to midnight and I noticed creaking but nothing much in the way of movement. Monday there were bags out at the elevators but the motion I experienced wasn't bad at all. I expected more on Saturday especially and it felt relatively smooth. Others may not feel that way and I understand that but it defintely wasn't huge swells, ship rocking, etc. on Saturday. Karen

Just got off the Westerdam on Sunday and one blue bag was in the suitcase!

Good Evening Dailyites, FIrst of all a great thank you to @kazu Jacqui for posting for me while we were on the Westerdam cruise. It was totally frustrating as I couldn't log in to Cruise Critic and I'd not had that problem before. As you may remember we had azipod issues and ended up not getting too close at all to Hubbard Glacier, arriving about 2 hours late to Sitka and then missed both Ketchikan and Victoria. We were given $100.00 each in nonrefundable onboard credit. DH and I were fine with everything. We were cruising and enjoying ourselves. Others were not happy and I heard that the Ask the Captain event got quite raucous with unhappy folks. I'm glad I wasn't there! It would have been nice if the $100.00 each was refundable but that's the way it goes. We got off the ship in Seattle at 9:20 AM, our bags were the only ones in the "pink" area so easy to identify (and they were all there), got a porter and, for the first time, there were long lines to clear customs. It took about 10 minutes or so. Got DH's scooter and walker returned to the Scootaround kiosk, got a wheelchair person to take him to the passenger pick-up area, and I rode the shuttle to the car park (at the Armory - great people). I was back to pick him up and we were on the road at 10:30 AM, took one quick stretch break on the way home and we were in the driveway at 12:01. I still have one suitcase to unpack but it's full of clean clothes so I can do that tomorrow. It was a good trip, even with the missed ports, and we'd get back on the Westerdam in a heartbeat. We didn't venture far, I didn't walk the promenade deck (for the first time ever) and we absolutely loved the quartet at the Lincoln Center Stage! Karen

DH and I just disembarked the Westerdam and had a lovely cruise. We weren't at Meet the Captain but were told by several that it turned into an ugly mess. Personally I was on a cruise ship and on vacation so I was fine. I appreciated the $100.00 in onboard credit (it would have been even nicer if it had been refundable but I found plenty to spend it on). We didn't get as close to Hubbard Glacier as we have in the past and we got into Sitka a couple of hours late and the on-board time was the same. They told us that morning that HAL was flying in some experts for the azipod. We were told later that we'd leave at 6:00 and we pulled out right about that time. Yes we missed Ketchikan. In Victoria we stayed at anchorage and did not dock. They sent in staff with the customs forms and other paperwork by tender. We left Victoria just after 9:00 PM and made it to Seattle by early morning. We were told that the earlier we got there the earlier they could get the azipod worked on. I felt Captain Smit was very open and aboveboard with us and did a great job of keeping us updated. If you look at my signature you can see that this wasn't our first cruise and we were happy just to be on a ship and on vacation.

Good evening, I heartily endorse the "Sweet Potato Pie..." book. I've not seen the movie. Another book I really enjoyed set in this area is The Girl from the Channel Isands by Jenny Lecoat. We're getting ready to sail on the Westerdam on Sunday. Due to DH's medical issues I've worked hard not to get excited but we have negative Covid tests (waiting on Verifly to ok them) and the suitcases are out. Since this is cruise #21 to Alaska packing is fairly quick and easy. We upgraded to SS 8068 and pictures will be taken and submitted. Those riding on the glass elevator can see our deck but we are looking forward to the location. The weather in Alaska is rain for the week but we'll be fine. Karen

Looking forward to this report Lisa. You and @dobiemom Marcia have a great time! Karen

MIssed the sail in. A number of years ago we arrived in Juneau on July 4th and I remember all the sirens and we could see some of the parade from the ship! That was fun. Karen PS: It's 10 degrees warmer in Juneau than on my front porch!

THanks for the wishes @dobiemom. After all DH's issues since December I'm not allowing myself to get excited until about Thursday! He's all set and has told me if I want to stay home he'll go by himself! How he plans to do that since he doesn't drive, doesn't pack, etc. I have no idea. I have to like his spunk. Enjoy your trip! Karen

It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Juneau with a temp of 75 (warmer than we are in the Sedro-Woolley area)! Also the Queen Elizabeth is at anchor. Karen

One month and that's us! Hopefully all goes well and we're on-board on July 10th. Karen

Here are two webcams for Seattle. The Space Needle one is further away but gives nice panoramic shots - except today when it's covered with rain spatters. The Elliott Bay one is "up close and personal" for the most part. https://www.spaceneedle.com/webcam/ http://www.elliottbaymarina.co/live/ Karen

Tonight is our Sedro-Woolley High School graduation. I had 33 kids in this class and 25 of them are graduating from Sedro-Woolley and a few from other high schools. What is really nice is that they are live-streaming the graduation and I've been able to watch it from the comfort of my office chair . It's now 9:15 and it's still going amid clouds, wind and rain. Karen

@Vict0riann Here's the link for the Space Needle webcam. It does a nice job of panning. Today you can see the Westerdam at Pier 91. Karen https://www.spaceneedle.com/webcam/

Good morning Jacqui, I've hesitated to add us to the cruising list due to DH's issues but he's doing great and we're getting the green light to sail. We'll be on the Westerdam, July 10th from Seattle. It's the 7 Day Alaskan Explorer. We'll be celebrating my 69th birthday and our 45th wedding anniversary (April 9) and husband's 82nd birthday (May 8). we also have a Crown Princess/Eurodam combo in late August/early September but I'll update you on that one later. We miss you on the Daily and I hope you will get back with us. I think of you daily. Karen

When we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam in September the luggage tags were at guest services and you went and picked up which ones you wanted. We got a letter in the cabin telling us what color, etc. Since we are 4 * we could disembark any time we wanted and our tags were delivered to us. We waited until the last call to disembark and our luggage was sitting right there waiting for us. This, by the way, was in Seattle. Karen

HI Bruno, I was waiting for you to check in from your Princess cruise. I agree with you on a couple of items. I find the Princess ships to be so much bigger and harder to find my way around on as well. I don't mind the atrium but it's definitely not a quiet spot. On our last cruise (Pre-covid) we didn't eat in the MDR other than embarkation lunch and that was because we had guests with us doing the Bon Voyage experience. We used the buffet every day. It was ok and we never really saw anything we wanted on the MDR menus. We do Princess every couple of years simply because DH wants to go to Skagway and ride the train. We do one week on Princess and then get off, walk across the pier, and get on HAL to have another trip! Did you get some good book suggestions? How were the ports? How is DD doing? DH is ok here and we're planning on HAL July 10th if all goes well. Karen

I'd be enjoying the view and the operation as well!

It's sure nice in Juneau. Way better than the Pacific Northwest! Karen

It's a beautiful morning in Juneau! Eurodam and Koningsdam are just off the extrance to Tracy Arm as I type this. Celebrity Solstice is following them and the Crown Princess is lagging quite far behind. Karen