- Preparations, getting to Vancouver, embarkation
- Chops Grille, a Juneau glacier helicopter adventure and king crab
- A drive from Skagway into the Yukon Territory
- Tracy Arm Fjord cruising, Portofino, Butchart Gardens and Empress Afternoon Tea
- Disembarkation in Seattle, Pike Place Market, Radiator Whiskey pig's head meal, The Club at SEA
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Early Friday morning, Jewel of the Seas docked at Pier 91 in Seattle. It was an industrial port and was not pedestrian-friendly in terms of walking to downtown. We disembarked on the later side after having breakfast and took a taxi to our home for the night, the Hilton Seattle. I considered taking Uber, but the wait for a vehicle was longer than the taxi line, since the port was several miles away from the city center.
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The Hilton Seattle was located downtown, convenient to everything. I had booked the room using a "anniversary free night" certificate that I received from charging $10k during the year on my Hilton HHonors Reserve credit card. I also had Hilton HHonors gold status from having the card, so we were able to get into the executive lounge for complimentary happy hour and breakfast. Fortunately, we were able to check into the room at 9:30am so we did not need to leave our bags with the bell desk. Our room was also upgraded from a "low floor standard view" to a "bay/cityview".
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Kaleb and I freshened up, then headed out to Pike Place Market, just a few blocks' walk from the hotel. A popular tourist destination, plenty of people gathered to inspect the stands selling food and crafts.
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We found the original Starbucks location on First Street, but the lines were long. Kaleb ended up getting coffee at the "1st and Pike" Starbucks just a couple of blocks away on the same street, which also served the exclusive "Pike Place Special Reserve" blend.
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For lunch, I wanted to try Pike Place Chowder, which I had found on Yelp. When we got there, the line was somewhat long, even though the place just opened 15 minutes prior, but it moved; 30 minutes later, we were sitting down and eating chowder. Delicious! The Market Chowder was our favorite. Chow-daaaah!
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| Pike Place Chowder menu |
After lunch, we walked around town, passing by the famous Space Needle. For fun, we took a brief $2 ride on the monorail from the Needle back to downtown.
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| monorail station |
The monorail dropped us off at Westlake Center, a large shopping mall. After a little window shopping, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap and to partake in happy hour at the Executive Lounge. It was the oddest experience. The small lounge was almost full but everyone was very quiet. The only sound was the news on TV. There were several young couples, just sitting there drinking beer and wine with no conversation. We grabbed some fruit and found a table. There was no sign of self-serve alcoholic beverages or a server. Eventually a staff member came around but we found the atmosphere so strange that we just finished our snacks and left.
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| my happy hour snack |
For dinner, I had made reservations in advance by phone to Radiator Whiskey, a place that I found on Yelp where reviewers raved about the half-a-pig's-head meal, making it a must-try. Kaleb loves whiskey and bourbon so it was a win-win. At the time of reservation, I also requested the pig's head meal.
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We waited a few minutes before we were seated at a two-top next to a window. The restaurant was pretty hot inside so it was refreshing to have a light breeze every once in a while. Since we had already reserved the pig's head meal, we didn't order anything else other than drinks, but we saw the food at other tables and everything looked delicious.
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When our pig's head came, our neighbors were remarking on it. It was quite impressive. The menu said that it could feed 2-3 people, but I think at least 4 could have indulged. We were so stuffed and had leftovers to take back to the hotel. A complimentary shot of whiskey was offered if we ate the eyeball. Kaleb did the deed, commenting that the eye tasted like yummy meat jello and that he'd eat one again.
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| half-a-pig's-head meal |
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| so much left over |
We were glad to be walking distance to the hotel as we were pleasantly tipsy. The view of the sunset outside our window was beautiful. Another perfect day!
The next morning, we got up too late to go to breakfast at the lounge, but it didn't matter because we were still so full from last night's dinner. I did take the leftovers out of the refrigerator and into my backpack to take home. (it made it okay)
After an uneventful check-out, we walked to Westlake Center to take the light rail to the airport (approximately 40 minutes' ride), but the downtown portion was temporarily closed. A staff member manning the entrance told us to board a free shuttle bus to the Stadium station and take the rail from there. Despite the detour, we were able to get to the airport without much hassle. There were many helpful staff along the way to point riders in the right direction.
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The walk from the airport light rail station to the terminal took about ten minutes. After getting our boarding passes and clearing security quickly (thanks to TSA Pre-Check, a benefit of having Global Entry), we got lunch at Anthony's Restaurant. The tabletop menu advertised fresh strawberries, so I was looking forward to the desserts, but the fruit was previously frozen. :(
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After lunch, we headed over to the relatively new The Club at SEA, a lounge that we could enter with the Priority Pass card (complimentary membership with the Platinum Card from AMEX). Due to a prior mix-up with AMEX, Kaleb's Priority Pass accidentally got canceled and we didn't have a chance to rectify the situation, but The Club at SEA was having a limited-time promotion where a Priority Pass cardmember could bring in a guest for free (versus paying $27) so it all worked out.
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Then we had an uneventful flight home, save for the beautiful view of Mt. Rainier from above.
A few days later, I noticed that the amount charged to my credit card was not the same as the one reported on our final cruise bill received the morning of disembarkation. After inquiring with Royal Caribbean, it turned out they were from mini-bar items which we did not have. They were quick to refund the charges.
And so ends our Alaska, Canada and Seattle adventures! I highly recommend going on an Alaskan cruise to see our beautiful 49th state from a different point of view, as some scenery you can't see from land. I myself would definitely go on another Alaskan cruise, as there are slightly different itineraries. I would also recommend doing a land portion to enjoy the wilderness and fauna. There are many cruise lines to choose from; our Royal Caribbean experience was decent though you know I am biased towards Celebrity because I love their food (and escargot every night). One thing I did notice on Royal Caribbean was that the buffet always had an exclusive station stocked with an assortment of Indian curries and other hot vegetarian options, which was very popular with the large Indian group that was on board. This is great for vegetarians who may not have considered cruising because of the food options; the main dining room menu also has vegetarian options to choose from. As always, if you're interested in an Alaskan cruise (or any other destination), it'd be my pleasure to help you plan your trip.
Where are we off to next? A trip to the beach house in Ocean City, NJ and Pennsylvania attractions...stay tuned!
