We have boarded the Carnival Luminosa. It leaves in about 4 hours, destination Brisbane, Australia by way of Japan, Okinawa, Philippines and Indonesia. It was also supposed to have 2 ports in Alaska but we were informed at check-in that they were being cancelled due to impending bad weather. Disappointing as Alaska is the only state that I have never set foot in and was expecting to check that off my bucket list. *sigh* Two ports in Japan are being added, but this means that we start the journey with 8 days at sea. Good thing we like sea days.
We drove to Seattle yesterday and stayed overnight at the Travelodge by the Space Needle. This hotel is in a good location – close to downtown and the cruise terminal – and the staff was efficient and friendly. But I can’t recommend it. All of the ice machines were broken (but at least the desk provided a bucket of ice, free of charge, unlike the Travelodge in Barcelona) and the shower water was lukewarm. Not a great hotel, but it was just one night.
We got to Seattle by driving up from Tillamook. That is a nice drive up the coast to Astoria. I was planning on driving the coast of Washington, too, but ran short of time (I had to return the car by 5pm). But it was a nice day and we got some nice photos.
Marlene and I went out for a walk around Seattle after we settled in. We ended up a Pike Place Market but enjoyed many of the views downtown. Seattle is a modern and very clean city. Lots of high-rise residential buildings. People seem to want to live downtown. Can’t blame them – it is a beautiful city.
We didn’t go up the Space Needle or do much of anything other than walk around. Next time.
I didn’t buy the internet package. My plan is to buy 24-hour access about every third day. So my blog posts will be sporadic. Please be patient.