Tag: Alice

  • Part 6, Return to Seattle via Victoria

    Part 6, Return to Seattle via Victoria

    The next morning, cruise director Dave treats us to a backstage tour behind the Princess Theater.

    We leave the open ocean and curve back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Suddenly, Andy discovers that we have cell reception! It’s a straight line of sight to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and Port Angeles is starboard. Sequestered since leaving Skagway two days ago, everyone’s phones suddenly beep with stored alerts.

    The Golden Princess glides smoothly into Ogden Point while we enjoy an early dinner. After customs clearance, we disembark. Wynn and François pick us up for a tour of Victoria, visiting the front lawn of the Legislature Building, catching the brilliant sunset from Clover Point, and climbing to the top of Craigdarroch Castle. Back at the waterfront, we stroll through The Fairmont Empress Hotel. It’s nice to have this little reunion to finish our trip.

    Soon, we cruise in US waters. We wake up back by the docks of Smith Cove. A quick taxi ride shuttles us to the airport. We’ve beaten the crowds on this early walk-off disembarkment, and we realize how lucky we were as we watch our taxi driver’s dispatch screen calling all the taxis back to the cruise terminals for the thousands of passengers that need rides.

    Just like it says in the Princess Cruises tag line, we did escape completely—well, almost. Except for the brief periods of cell and data intrusion, that promise did, for the most part, come true. And just as we had originally planned, this weeklong excursion was the perfect getaway celebration for my favorite sister’s birthday.

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  • Part 5, Alice’s Birthday at Sea

    Part 5, Alice’s Birthday at Sea

    It’s Alice’s birthday! It will be a day-at-sea celebration.

    Maître d’ Jean Paul Musiu and executive chef Joel Directo demonstrate curing salmon with sugar, salt, cracked pepper, and fresh dill and making Caesar salad from scratch by whisking together chopped garlic, capers, black pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, pasteurized raw eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and optional anchovies.

    Alice gets to strut down the Runway at Sea fashion show. After eating too much, we all visit the Lotus Spa for intense workout sessions before hot tub relaxation. Then, we each get ready for the formal portrait sessions. Before dinner, photographers click away at so many of the guests that bothered to get dressed up.

    For this second formal seating at the Chef’s Gala dinner, we celebrate Alice’s special event. Our waiters, Joaquin and Roland, dish out the traditional Baked Alaska ice cream cake and serve up the Golden Princess birthday dessert creation. Today is what this whole vacation is about.

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  • Part 1, Sightseeing in Seattle

    Part 1, Sightseeing in Seattle

    It’s Friday, and we’re off for vacation to celebrate Alice’s birthday! Dad and Mom went up earlier to do some Seattle touring and shopping while the rest of us worked. After a really busy week, we all meet up. It is going to be an escape of sorts—that’s what the cruise line advertises, anyways.

    The chilly air sunk its teeth early Saturday morning. Along with that, there’s the smell of ocean. The first stop, Pike Place Market, wakes us up even more, with the cacophony of sellers, buyers, musicians, and hordes of tourists like us, and the wafting breeze of more ocean and fish. We skip the long millipede line at the original Starbucks, choosing instead to have breakfast at Lowell’s. Our parents then hop over for a snack at Ivar’s Fish Bar, reliving some sentimental moment decades ago. Andy and I tour the Seattle Art Museum.

    Chinatown exudes a different type of smell—one that is common to all the Chinatowns I’ve been to. Ripe. The artistically presented Wing Luke Museum interprets the Asian immigrant experience. The exhibit that would become my favorite sits in a small alley and catches my eye: thirty-nine (39) questions for WHITE PEOPLE.

    Andy drags me along for a Segway tour, and it turns out to be fantastic. After a wobbly training session, we zip along the waterfront, up to Seattle Center, and loop back through Pike Place.

    We take a relaxing afternoon driving and sampling tour. One slice of chocolate mocha cheesecake at Bakery Noveau weighs us all down. The arboretum is peaceful, but the Japanese garden is closed for some private moon viewing event. For dinner, we immerse ourselves in New Orleans gourmet at the Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge. After overeating, the stroll to Seattle Center jumpstarts the digestion, and we end or tour in Queen Anne’s. From Kerry Park, the city lights up under the rising moon.

    After breakfast in the Armory, the whimsical creations of Chihuly Garden and Glass capture our imagination. My favorite areas are the Glasshouse and the Garden, where fragile shapes bloom and bud like resident plants. Here, under the towering Space Needle, we have our parting shots of Seattle before heading to the cruise terminal.

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  • Alice’s Early Birthday Party

    Alice’s Early Birthday Party

    So, it’s less than two weeks to Alice’s birthday. Today turns out to be the best day for everyone’s schedule. Like back in 2011, we’re celebrating in the courtyard again.