Typically on cruise ships, passengers are asked to have their packed bags in the hallway by 10:00 pm the night before. The crew picks up the bags and organizes them for disembarkment in the morning.
In the morning, everyone needs to be out of their stateroom by 9:00 am. Rather than have 5,000 guests trying to get off the ship at the same time, passengers are asked to go to their muster station where they wait until their group is called. It’s an orderly way of processing bags and passengers.
When preparing for the cruise, passengers are asked to schedule their outgoing flight for departure after 2:00 pm which allows plenty of time to get off the ship and make their way to the airport.
I was quite surprised to see that this ship was encouraging people to take their own bags off the ship and provided an early time slot for doing so. I’m not excited about schlepping my bags anywhere especially down the gangway. However, I hadn’t abided by the ship’s request and had booked my departure flight for 1:00 pm. Being a little nervous about getting to the airport in a timely manner, I was eager to leave early even if it meant lugging my luggage. Theresa’s flight wasn’t until 5:00 pm but she was eager to get moving, so we decided we would take the early departure invitation and haul our own bags.
Sally and the Golden Girls opted for the standard departure and pre-purchased passes for the shuttle bus to the airport. They had a late afternoon flight also.
I wonder if this new ‘take your bags and get off the ship’ option was the result of covid and less contact or a way to help the crew with the monumental task of clearing the ship before the monumental task of preparing for the next sailing’s passengers which would begin arriving around noon.
No coffee room-service this morning. Even though it was dark when we arrived in Seattle, our early morning awakening was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Seattle.
Theresa and I started our departure journey around 7:15 am. It was a short walk down the gangway and through the terminal. Out the door where a dozen taxi’s were waiting. We found one quickly, loaded our bags and jumped in. The familiarity of Seattle streets from our visit last week made for a happy ride down memory lane with a sunny day bonus.
To our surprise, we were at the airport in 30 minutes … around 8:00 am. We split the cab fare which came to $30 each — about the same price as the shuttle bus to the airport.
I went to check my bag while Theresa went to see if she could get on an earlier flight even though she had a non-refundable ticket. I never saw her again at the airport — she was able to get on a 9:30 flight. We said our goodbyes by phone.
Our Seattle-Alaska adventure had reached its final destination. Theresa was on her way home and back to reality. Where was I headed? On to the next adventure. Stay tuned. I’ll give you a hint — it’s not Spain.
Jane in Spain 