Cruise Ship: Norwegian Star
Cruise Destination: Seattle to Alaska - Roundtrip
Dateline: July 25 - August 1, 2004
By: Lynette
lwalt@charter.net
Day 1 - Seattle
We were going to sail out of Seattle, so we flew in a couple of days early to see the city. We chose a hotel right in the heart of the city so that we could walk to many of the interesting spots.
The first day, we walked down to the waterfront. It is so interesting and beautiful. There are a lot of neat shops, and we got to see Pike’s Fish Market. The guys were throwing fish around and really enjoying themselves. It was great fun and they drew quite a crowd.
Next we went to Seattle Aquarium and to the IMAX (“Oasis in the Sea”). We walked all around the waterfront, and ended up eating at a Subway. I know – no imagination! I think we walked about 10 miles – all uphill! But we still wanted to go to the Space Needle. Believe me – it was worth the walk. What a great way to see the City. We really enjoyed it.
There is a very nice bus system in the downtown area. If we were going to be here any longer, we would have to figure it out.
Day 2 - Seattle and Embarkation
Walked up to The Rosebud, a quaint little restaurant for breakfast. The walk to Rosebud was straight uphill. There were a lot of interesting dishes on the menu, but decided to stay away from the stuffed French toast (we did a lot of carb-loading yesterday).
We went back to the hotel and packed up. We had a couple of hours before we had to leave for the boat, so we took the shuttle to the Pacific Science Center, down by the Space Center. We could have walked but we were a little short of time.
We enjoyed the Science Center, which was built along with the Space Needle for the 1962 World’s Fair. Then we took a taxi to Pier 66 to embark on our ship. It took about an hour to go through ticketing and security, which is much like airport security. They even take your bags so that they can be searched before returning them to your room.
Our cabin is nice, much like a mobile home in side. We got a balcony room, so that we could sit outside on our private deck and watch as we pulled away from Seattle. It was very cool!
There was a mandatory life boat drill at 4:00, just as we were setting sail. Then, we went to a barbecue beside the pool. They had a live band that played 50’s, 60’s and 70’s music. It was great fun. We listened to music and watched the people in the pool.
At 9:45 PM, we went to a live show in the Stardust theatre, which seats about 1200 people, I’m guessing. There was another band and they played rock and roll, which is so much fun. The cruise director came out and told some jokes and sang with the band. Then we listened to a comedian named Fred Klett. He was very funny.
We stopped in the Market Café for desserts and then went to bed.
Day 3 – At Sea
Today, we will be “at sea” the entire day. We had a leisurely morning, eating breakfast in the Market Café about 10:00 AM. We took a stroll around the ship, and then we went to Friendly Feud. They chose contestants from the audience. It was really fun.
Then we went to Movie Music Theme Trivia. That was fun, too, but we weren’t very good at it. I think we scored 45%.
Then we went to Double POWER Bingo (as if regular bingo wasn’t exciting enough!) We didn’t win there, either.
We went back to the cabin (which, according to our cruise director, Keirin, is short for “cabinet”). He said that he had heard someone ordering room service, and they were ordering MORE ROOM! Actually, we have a balcony room, and it is plenty big, and being able to see out the sliding glass doors is a real plus.
The toilets in the cabins are vacuum powered and make a horrendous noise when they are flushed. Keirin warned folks not to be sitting on the toilet when it is flushed or “you will get a hicky on your butt the size of Texas.” He claimed that you would actually come to enjoy the sound after a few days, but I never did.
Most of the morning, all we could see out the windows of the ship was ocean. But this afternoon, we are considerably closer to land and it is breathtaking.
We ate this evening in the Aqua Restaurant…quite elegant. Then, we listened to a theatre group performing songs written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, like Phantom of the Opera.
We will be pulling into Juneau tomorrow afternoon. The time there is one hour earlier than Seattle.
Day 4 – Juneau
We pulled into Juneau about noon. Another of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships was at the dock, so if people wanted to get into town right away, they could be “tendered” in a little boat to the shore. We weren’t in any hurry, so we just enjoyed the day.
We ate breakfast and then went through some of the shops on board. Then we went to play trivia. We lost again. (I don’t know why we keep trying!) And then I went to an Ice Carving Demonstration on deck 12 – poolside.
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