WAYNO

This is all so incredible!  Thank you.

No airport is easy .

Sea-Tac is a huge and busy airport, and the gates are very spread out.  Fortunately, they have a people-mover system that helps get folks to their gate with less worry of a coronary.

I get to any and all airports 2+ hours early.  Sometimes it takes every minute of that.  But, get off the ship timely, have your ride ready, and you'll be good.

Good travels.

Assuming you're flying from Sea-Tac...

The drive is roughly 40 minutes when the traffic allows.  An hour or more during rush hour.

Either way, as long as you have a guaranteed ride to the airport from the cruise terminal, a 12:30 PM departure is quite reasonable.

We just signed up for this cruise, today. 

And my Wife and her friend will be on this ship for the same cruise, two months earlier.

I guess I don't much care what brand they use, as long as it's good ice cream.  There are many very good regional ice creams.

What I was thinking, and kind've hoped for, is maybe backing away from Ben and Jerry's, they might relocate the ice cream counter.  On Navigator, the counter extends into the Promenade enough to make it a real bottle neck.  Huddled around the area of the Veteran's Day service, which is in front of the ice cream counter, folks got genuinely angry with us for being in their way. 

Oh this retirement thing...

I've been thusly blessed for 8 years now, and my Wife 7 years. 

I am crazy busy.  How did I ever get things done when I was working?

And the pet thing?  Even a dumb ol' cat.  We had a person stay in our house whenever we were away, just to babysit the cat.  We lost her this year and we miss her so much.  My Wife nearly brought one home yesterday.  The only reason she didn't,  the person at a traveling pet adoption agency didn't have the cat in question, with her.  It will happen.  In the meantime, travel is certainly easier without a pet. 

It's been awhile since we've done this cruise.  This one's slightly different.  This one adds Sitka, and trades away Tracy Arm Fjord for Endicott Arm.  

On 12/7/2023 at 2:40 PM, WAYNO said:

This lack of promenade thing is the one reason I don't book Odyssey as a first choice.

It's a beautiful, wonderful ship, but I do miss the promenade. 

But soon after I wrote this, we have booked Quantum from Seattle to Alaska, July 29th. 

This lack of promenade thing is the one reason I don't book Odyssey as a first choice.

It's a beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful ship, but I just miss the promenade. 

We've cruised 7 times in the last 12 months.   Prior, we've cruised on an average, 3 or 4 times per year.   Does that make us frequent?  If so...

It's been many years since I've used a travel agent.  On an upcoming cruise, airfare was exorbitant and constantly changing.  I gave MEI a try.  They were quick to respond, but the choices offered to me were few, and more expensive than I had already found.  I think I am not the kind of traveler travel agents are interested in.  Guess I still don't need a travel agent. 

L.A. is nice today.  

Now the wait for the shuttle.

And reality becomes us...

It is time to head home.  We are so anxious for our cruises to finally happen, but in the blink of an eye, it is over.  At that time, I am also ready to be in my home.  

This was a particularly wonderful cruise.   We met a couple from this same cruise one year ago, and met a bunch of new friends also. 

Interesting, there was no handout from  the casino for available cruises with our certificate, nor was there anything in Next  Cruise. We must do it all online now.  

We are getting an early taste of home.  It is blustery and downright chilly on deck.

My one and only visit to the Diamond, err, Crown Lounge.  There were no lines to get coffee.

This is the last sea day.  The weather be a changing...

.

In departing Puerto Vallarta last night, a slightly different view of the city as viewed from the Windjammer...

Windjammer for dinner tonight.  It was a good choice and I didn't have to get dressed up.

Last night at the MDR, they were just not on their game.  Drinks were impossible, orders were wrong. And in spite of asking to be done early enough for a 7 o'clock show, we weren't finished til 7:30.  The  poor guys work so hard, non-stop, I don't know why it doesn't come together better.

But minute steaks, grilled fish, pork chops, and fried chicken at the Windjammer tonight made everything worthwhile.