Seattle and at Sea (Sat-Sun, Aug 18-19)

I’m happy to say that the check-in process itself was more orderly than what it appeared it might be from the traffic situation on the pier. That was actually sort of organized chaos, though it was hard to tell at first. We weren’t exactly clear about where to go, but the signs were pretty good and the traffic guides kept cars moving. It was a quick good-bye, but a short walk into the terminal.

Once inside, I learned that I could take my own baggage rather than drop if for them to deliver to the room, so off I went with my wheeled bag and backpack. Up the escalator into a line for check in. At the desk, they handed out room keycards and other paperwork and then it was a relatively short walk up the gangway to the ship (bypassing the semi-obligatory photo op picture).

On the ship, there was a manned elevator to ensure we all got to the right floors. After a little looking around on my floor, I found my stateroom. Easy!

Our only event of the day (after check-in to get our credentials at The Nation desk), was dinner. We’re assigned a different table each night so we’ll get to meet as many of our fellow travelers as possible. We’re sitting six to a table so it’s a good conversational group. But there are apparently 350 of us The Nation cruisers, so we definitely won’t meet everyone!

I took a picture of Seattle from the pier, and once back to the pier we’d just vacated. My stateroom has a veranda, and I got a lovely picture of the sunrise from there when I woke up at 5:30 AM. (Nice to not have to get all dressed and go on deck for pictures.)

The “panel” picture gives you an idea of how the main stage is set up for the discussions we’re hearing (which include questions and comments from the audience). That’s included just to give you an idea (and remind me!), but it’s too dark to get any good pics. The panels have been fabulous, however, and I’m really enjoying them.

At sea, we started out near land, so I got a good pic of the mountains. And the day ended with a wonderful elephant on my bed. 😉