Getting there is half the fun

Having been on two cruises in two months, I feel like I can offer some opinions. At the moment I have none except I like to go on cruises. We went with friends to Alaska and had a great time. Also, we found a good hotel at an extremely good price. The price scared me so I thought we may be in a not-so-good part of town. We were very near the airport and only about a block from the city railroad. We found a Southwest Air flight with only one stop (anything over 10 miles on S W and you have one stop) and the second flight let us see some of the beauty of our country.


We went directly from the airport to the hotel which was a very short ride. After getting settled in we got brave and rode the rail into downtown. Seattle is a very nice town and great for walking. It got dark shortly after we got there and many of the stores were closed, which did not bother the other guy and me. Seattle has a different feel from other large cities where I have been. I think it must be partly their proximity to Canada and the fact that the citizens actually care about this planet.

The Space needle is as magnificent structure as one would imagine it was.  It doesn't dominate the sky as does the Eiffel Tower but it is there proudly pointing toward the heavens and letting you know all is well with the world.
But the next day was the fun day. We left the hotel after breakfast, which was excellent, and took the train to the end of the line. After much map reading and discussion we determined the end of the train line was only a few blocks from the cruise dock. PLUS- the famous market was on the docks just "up" from our cruise ship. So we rode the train and did not take a shuttle from the airport. The shuttle was quite expensive and was very iffy on getting us to the ship on time. I would have hated flying all the way to Seattle and then watching the ship as it cruised away from me standing on a hill overlooking the bay. So, we rode the train and walked down to the market.

Now that is a fun place IF you like odd markets. We all really liked it and spent a long time there.  There were several street buskers, but I guess one would have to call them "market buskers." This is my favorite one. His screeching (to western ears) reminded me of the dozens of older people fiddling away in a park in China. The whole park was set aside for elderly people and the place was very well used. This busker seemed to be garnering a good pay for his daily efforts.

From the back of the markets one can get a very good view of the cruise ship. That is exciting as you know that any minute you will start to walk down there and then enter a whole different world.          

Once on the cruise ship your life changes from one of stress and possible nail biting to one where your hardest decision of the day may be where to eat dinner and/or whether to see the early or late show.
The very first day of this cruise was a day at sea. That gave us the freedom to relax, explore the ship, find interesting things and relax.
We got to unpack without being in a hurry and get our cabin organized. Later that day there was a brief reception for those who had sailed with NCL previously. We attended that and after several glasses, I decided that NCL didn't bring out its best wine for those of us who were drinking for free. Did I mention we had a day to relax?