We left the campground around 10 am and
drove into or rather through Seattle to get to Pier 91. However, we
missed our exit, Western Avenue. There was a lot of traffic exiting
and we avoided it, that is the travel, and missed our exit. Well,
this sent us off into The Queen Ann district with no easy way down to
the water. We stopped and talked to a tree trimming crew who
happened to have a detailed city map book. They gave us directions
to the water out of the residential maze and we found our parking
lot.
We grabbed the next shuttle over to the
port, checked in with minimal delay but had to wait until 11:30
before we could board the ship. Once on board we were able to access
our rooms right away. We dropped out handbags and set out to find
lunch and explore the ship.
For the first 48 hours of any cruise,
all food is served by the staff even in the Lido buffet. This helps
the cruise line establish whether they have a sick ship or not. So
we walked the buffet line and grabbed a bite to eat.
Mandatory safety drill was at 4:15 pm.
We are no longer required to wear our life jackets to the drill but
they do require everyone to be quiet and pay attention. They take
attendance and people who don't come up for the drill are escorted
off the ship. Since the Costa Concordia incident, the cruise lines
have become quite serious about making sure everyone attends the
drills.
After the drill we retired to Inge and
Rufus' balcony cabin for cocktails and sail away. Our dinner seating
was 5:45pm and we have a window table midway along the stern of the
ship. We have a very nice view of where we have been.
As always, there are many choices for
dinner. I had salmon with a ginger reduction and Otto had the
rainbow trout. Holland America now has a new vegetarian menu – you
get to look at it the day before and order from it. However, there
are always vegetarian choices on the regular menu as well. The
salads are always nice. The desserts were underwhelming for the
first day; we'll see if they improve.
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