Alaska Icy Straight - Victoria Island via MV EuroDam
Oct 3, 2022, 11:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
Alaska Icy Straight - Victoria Island via MV EuroDam
Mrs. Glasman and I are on the first of three get-a-ways over the next 60 days; today we are departing for Seattle, WA where we will be boarding Holland America's Motor Vessel, EuroDam, for a 7-night Alaskan cruise that will take us through Stephen's Passage, the Icy Straight Point, and Glacier Bay National Park with a few tourist towns in-between.
During our down time in 2020, Mrs. Glasman came across this photo from 10 years ago of me fishing in Glacier Bay, Alaska. What caught her eye wasn't my 😊, but the cruise ship behind me. It was then she made up her mind that once the world opened back up, we would be cruising. After revisiting the topic many times, we booked in June 2022.
At 5:15am, we headed up the Central Valley Highway to Meadows Field airport and arrived at the terminal 20 minutes later.
A quick stop at the Premier Counter to check bags. Just Kidding.
With hardly a soul in the security lane, we were through in just a couple minutes.
Boarding commenced roughly 15 minutes later, and we were the first PAX on board. After settling in, Mrs. Glasman dozed off and ended up sleeping the entire flight. I chatted it up with the FA who was working the first-class cabin with 5 of 12 PAX; 4 of whom were sleeping. Extra drinks for me.
My first of many vacation cocktails. Where's my glass mug?
Approx. 40 minutes later, we landed at SFO and taxied over to Gate F5.
Fairly busy morning in SFO.
With 45 minutes to spare before our Seattle connection, we stopped by the United Club for a quick mimosa or two.
After being warmly greeted, I scanned my BP and was then told the club was OVER 100% occupied. "Well, do we get to go in?" "Yes, Mr. Glasman, but there may not be any seats." Lovely. I looked at the Mrs. and she says, "I'm ready for a cocktail!" As luck would have it, a friendly couple was leaving and offered us their seats. After the table was cleaned, we headed to the bar and were promptly served a couple mimosas. Vacation is underway!
No institutional powdered eggs, just scraps.
Nice. Professional!
After a couple mimosas, we headed to Terminal 2 and D gates.
Beautiful art along the way.
Historic silver on display. Good thing it's under lock and key as with American's net worth diminishing daily, it just might disappear.
Boarding had already started when we made it to D11, so we jumped in queue and followed the masses down the jet bridge.
We passed on the carb box option. Breakfast wasn't served due to the short flight duration. After Mrs. Glasman and I discussed shore excursion options, we were on descent, a quick 75 minutes after wheels up.
After touching down in Seattle, we taxied to Gate A8.
We were the first ones off the plane and headed rights towards baggage claim after a quick bathroom break.
While waiting for our bags, we ordered our Uber Black to take us to the pier. However, we noticed our name on a sign and a representative from the cruise line informed us that we had free baggage transfers and transportation to the ship. Oh... on a.... Bus????
Up Next, our home for the next 7 nights. The Eurodam.
During our down time in 2020, Mrs. Glasman came across this photo from 10 years ago of me fishing in Glacier Bay, Alaska. What caught her eye wasn't my 😊, but the cruise ship behind me. It was then she made up her mind that once the world opened back up, we would be cruising. After revisiting the topic many times, we booked in June 2022.
At 5:15am, we headed up the Central Valley Highway to Meadows Field airport and arrived at the terminal 20 minutes later.
A quick stop at the Premier Counter to check bags. Just Kidding.
With hardly a soul in the security lane, we were through in just a couple minutes.
Boarding commenced roughly 15 minutes later, and we were the first PAX on board. After settling in, Mrs. Glasman dozed off and ended up sleeping the entire flight. I chatted it up with the FA who was working the first-class cabin with 5 of 12 PAX; 4 of whom were sleeping. Extra drinks for me.
My first of many vacation cocktails. Where's my glass mug?
Approx. 40 minutes later, we landed at SFO and taxied over to Gate F5.
Fairly busy morning in SFO.
With 45 minutes to spare before our Seattle connection, we stopped by the United Club for a quick mimosa or two.
After being warmly greeted, I scanned my BP and was then told the club was OVER 100% occupied. "Well, do we get to go in?" "Yes, Mr. Glasman, but there may not be any seats." Lovely. I looked at the Mrs. and she says, "I'm ready for a cocktail!" As luck would have it, a friendly couple was leaving and offered us their seats. After the table was cleaned, we headed to the bar and were promptly served a couple mimosas. Vacation is underway!
No institutional powdered eggs, just scraps.
Nice. Professional!
After a couple mimosas, we headed to Terminal 2 and D gates.
Beautiful art along the way.
Historic silver on display. Good thing it's under lock and key as with American's net worth diminishing daily, it just might disappear.
Boarding had already started when we made it to D11, so we jumped in queue and followed the masses down the jet bridge.
We passed on the carb box option. Breakfast wasn't served due to the short flight duration. After Mrs. Glasman and I discussed shore excursion options, we were on descent, a quick 75 minutes after wheels up.
After touching down in Seattle, we taxied to Gate A8.
We were the first ones off the plane and headed rights towards baggage claim after a quick bathroom break.
While waiting for our bags, we ordered our Uber Black to take us to the pier. However, we noticed our name on a sign and a representative from the cruise line informed us that we had free baggage transfers and transportation to the ship. Oh... on a.... Bus????
Up Next, our home for the next 7 nights. The Eurodam.
Last edited by glasman19; Oct 9, 2022 at 4:58 pm
Oct 3, 2022, 7:25 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
Once we arrived at the Terminal we proceeded to security. Thankfully, due to our booking type we were directed to the priority lane, and after passport, covid, QR codes, blood type, marital status and other document checks...and oh credit card on file confirmation, we through in just under 30 minutes and free to head to our suite.
Our Neptune Suite for the 7 nights. Nothing special. We were actually a little disappointed as the room was tired and dated.
A couple complementary bottles of cheap bubbly, one from the cruise line and the other from "United Cruises," our booking company.
After settling in, we headed to the Neptune Lounge for a light snack, a cocktail and to meet our personal concierge.
Lounge access comes with the suite purchase.
Our cruise departed Seattle at 3:00PM and we were at Sea for the 36 hours.
Cruising the Puget Sound.
After a wonderful sunset, we started checking out the ship but only made it to the Casino for what ended up being a brilliant, yet fun points play!
The first time Mrs. Glasman and I sat down at the 21 Table we didn't know if we needed to pull out cash or like everything else on board, our room key. The dealer told us it was our choice.
Background. Since we booked through "United Cruises" we were earning 10 points for every dollar we spent on the entire cruise; booking, on board spend, shore excursions all of it. 6 points for booking through United Cruises plus an additional 4 for booking the Neptune Suite.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became more entertaining.
Back at the Neptune lounge we enjoyed an evening snack and a couple of G&T's. It was there we discussed a plan to earn "bonus" miles/points. We would find a 21 table that was close to the end of the shoe, we each charged $2,000 worth of chips, play a few hands and once it was at the end of the shoe we would color up and go cash in, and get paid in cash. By the end of the trip, we had just over $27,000 in cash in the safe. For the week of fun, it equates close to an additional 270,000 United Miles and 81,000 points from my 3X's for using my Reserve card.
After a fantastic night of sleep, we decided to eat in. As a perk we were able to either have breakfast at the Pinnacle restaurant, room service or the traditional cruise locations. We chose in room and ordered lobster benedict and mimosas.
Next up; Juneau, Glacier Bay National Park and the Icy Strait.
Our Neptune Suite for the 7 nights. Nothing special. We were actually a little disappointed as the room was tired and dated.
A couple complementary bottles of cheap bubbly, one from the cruise line and the other from "United Cruises," our booking company.
After settling in, we headed to the Neptune Lounge for a light snack, a cocktail and to meet our personal concierge.
Lounge access comes with the suite purchase.
Our cruise departed Seattle at 3:00PM and we were at Sea for the 36 hours.
Cruising the Puget Sound.
After a wonderful sunset, we started checking out the ship but only made it to the Casino for what ended up being a brilliant, yet fun points play!
The first time Mrs. Glasman and I sat down at the 21 Table we didn't know if we needed to pull out cash or like everything else on board, our room key. The dealer told us it was our choice.
Background. Since we booked through "United Cruises" we were earning 10 points for every dollar we spent on the entire cruise; booking, on board spend, shore excursions all of it. 6 points for booking through United Cruises plus an additional 4 for booking the Neptune Suite.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became more entertaining.
Back at the Neptune lounge we enjoyed an evening snack and a couple of G&T's. It was there we discussed a plan to earn "bonus" miles/points. We would find a 21 table that was close to the end of the shoe, we each charged $2,000 worth of chips, play a few hands and once it was at the end of the shoe we would color up and go cash in, and get paid in cash. By the end of the trip, we had just over $27,000 in cash in the safe. For the week of fun, it equates close to an additional 270,000 United Miles and 81,000 points from my 3X's for using my Reserve card.
After a fantastic night of sleep, we decided to eat in. As a perk we were able to either have breakfast at the Pinnacle restaurant, room service or the traditional cruise locations. We chose in room and ordered lobster benedict and mimosas.
Next up; Juneau, Glacier Bay National Park and the Icy Strait.
Last edited by glasman19; Oct 9, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Oct 3, 2022, 9:13 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2021
Programs: UA 1MM
Posts: 348
After a wonderful sunset, we started checking out the ship but only made it to the Casino for what ended up being a brilliant, yet fun points play!
The first time Mrs. Glasman and I sat down at the 21 Table we didn't know if we needed to pull out cash or like everything else on board, use our room key. The dealer told us it was our choice.
Background. Since we booked through "United Cruises" we were earning 10 points for every dollar we spent on the entire cruise; booking, on board spend, shore excursions all of it. 6 points for booking through United Cruises plus an additional 4 for booking the Neptune Suite.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became a more entertaining.
Back at the Neptune lounge we enjoyed an evening snack and a couple of G&T's. It was here we discuss a plan to earn "bonus" miles/points. We would find a 21 table that was close to the end of the shoe, we each charged $2,000 worth of chips, play a few hands and once it was at the end of the shoe we would color up and go cash in, and get paid in cash. By the end of the trip, we had just over $27,000 in cash in the safe. For the week of fun, it equates close to an additional 270,000 United Miles and 81,000 points from my 3X's for using my Reserve card.
The first time Mrs. Glasman and I sat down at the 21 Table we didn't know if we needed to pull out cash or like everything else on board, use our room key. The dealer told us it was our choice.
Background. Since we booked through "United Cruises" we were earning 10 points for every dollar we spent on the entire cruise; booking, on board spend, shore excursions all of it. 6 points for booking through United Cruises plus an additional 4 for booking the Neptune Suite.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became a more entertaining.
Back at the Neptune lounge we enjoyed an evening snack and a couple of G&T's. It was here we discuss a plan to earn "bonus" miles/points. We would find a 21 table that was close to the end of the shoe, we each charged $2,000 worth of chips, play a few hands and once it was at the end of the shoe we would color up and go cash in, and get paid in cash. By the end of the trip, we had just over $27,000 in cash in the safe. For the week of fun, it equates close to an additional 270,000 United Miles and 81,000 points from my 3X's for using my Reserve card.
Oct 4, 2022, 9:27 am
#5
Moderator, OneWorld
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: SEA
Programs: RAA RIP; AA ExEXP
Posts: 11,802
Just a note on your thread's title, Victoria Island is in the Canadian arctic. The city of Victoria, where your cruise will stop to comply with the US Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) is located on Vancouver Island.
https://goo.gl/maps/4dygVFr19dLAxGB79
https://goo.gl/maps/4dygVFr19dLAxGB79
Oct 4, 2022, 12:08 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott (Lifetime Titantium), whatever other programs as benefits make sense.
Posts: 1,920
Reading this with interest. I used to have no interest in cruising, but seem to have slowly come round to thinking it would be a great way to see different locations in a short period of time. Covid and the stories I heard of people and staff on cruise ships put a bit of a dint in that interest, but as travel has restarted, my interest has started to pick up again.
I worked at a bank when casinos first came to Ontario, Canada. Originally if you used your credit card to get chips, they would charge it as a purchase. Which meant you could get chips, cash them out, and have a month to pay your balance off interest-free. The bank caught on to this pretty quickly and made chip purchases cash advances, but a few people made a bit off this for a few months.
Since we booked through "United Cruises" we were earning 10 points for every dollar we spent on the entire cruise; booking, on board spend, shore excursions all of it. 6 points for booking through United Cruises plus an additional 4 for booking the Neptune Suite.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became more entertaining.
Knowing this, we chose to charge the chips to the room to maximize the points. After playing for roughly two hours, we decided to head to the lounge. I asked the dealer where to redeem the chips and he provided directions to the cashier. Now I just figured the chip balance would be credited to the room offsetting the charge(s), but to my surprised he paid us in cash. And at that moment my holiday just became more entertaining.
Oct 4, 2022, 5:28 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
boat stuck Thank You. I love your quote! I felt that way many times when I learned something new. Glad I can contribute just a little.
[QUOTE=GregWTravels;34654317]Reading this with interest. I used to have no interest in cruising, but seem to have slowly come round to thinking it would be a great way to see different locations in a short period of time. Covid and the stories I heard of people and staff on cruise ships put a bit of a dint in that interest, but as travel has restarted, my interest has started to pick up again.
GregWTravels I had no interest either, but this trip changed that. Hope the rest of the report hooks you. My only complaint is 7 nights was just too long for me, 5 would have been perfect!
Oct 4, 2022, 6:30 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
We woke the next morning and arrived at our first stop, Juneau. We were pretty excited as we had booked a helicopter excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, but mother nature spoiled those plans. We had a note in our mailbox that indicated that due to the low dense fog, all flights to the Glacier had been canceled. See concierge's for booking options. Disappointed, we pivoted and rebook a whale watching excursion.
We saw many whales, but the weather and the seas took most of the fun out of it.
After our whale watching excursion, we headed to a popular Juneau Saloon for drinks and a light dinner.
As the evening sun started to set, the days storms moved out.
Next up: Chamber of Commerce weather. Cruising through Glacier National Park and the Icy Stright.
We saw many whales, but the weather and the seas took most of the fun out of it.
After our whale watching excursion, we headed to a popular Juneau Saloon for drinks and a light dinner.
As the evening sun started to set, the days storms moved out.
Next up: Chamber of Commerce weather. Cruising through Glacier National Park and the Icy Stright.
Last edited by glasman19; Oct 9, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Oct 5, 2022, 1:27 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
The next day was gorgeous as we cruised Glacier National Park.
Our destination, the John Hopkins Glacier.
The John Hopkins Glacier.
Johns Hopkins Glacier - Wikipedia
We spent just over an hour at the glacier. 30 minutes on the Port side and 30 minutes on the Starboard side. This gave everyone the opportunity to take-in the Glacier.
A couple of cocktails and a few card games as we enjoyed the scenery and sunshine.
Our next stop was Sitka. We took the bus into town where we had purchased a self-guided driving tour.
Eurodam's sister Ship, Noordam arrived not long after we docked.
Off to downtown Sitka.
Our first stop was the pharmacy as Mrs. Glasman forgot a prescription. Getting old sucks.
Then we headed out of town in hopes to see some of the famous Alaskan wildlife.
Wasn't fast enough to focus as we saw him last second.
Now this is why we choose to come to Alaska. Stunning!!
Whoa! ....and he was a total surprise. Hello Mr. Brown. We will stay right here on this side of the bridge.
Back in Sitka, lots of bird poop up there.
After a pretty cool couple of hours, it was time to head back to the Eurodam.
We boarded and started to make our way back to Seattle.
We took in a "Cruise" show, ate dinner and called it a night.
With our Suite purchase, we had options on where we ate. We really enjoyed the Pinnicle Steakhouse, so we found ourselves there a couple of evenings. We did take in the ships Dinning room for the experience which was as expected. No matter where we ate on board, the food met our cruise expectations.
10oz Filet Mignon with Lobster Bearnaise. Pinnicle Steak House.
'Fresh" caught Salmon.
Surf N' Turf. Petite Filet Mignon with a 5oz Lobster Tail.
Table order Sides. Mushrooms and Potatoes.
Dessert, my favorite Creme Brulee. Not as good as Mamas in Maui, but very tasty.
Next up: A quick stop to Canada and our dismal Delta First flight home.
Our destination, the John Hopkins Glacier.
The John Hopkins Glacier.
Johns Hopkins Glacier - Wikipedia
We spent just over an hour at the glacier. 30 minutes on the Port side and 30 minutes on the Starboard side. This gave everyone the opportunity to take-in the Glacier.
A couple of cocktails and a few card games as we enjoyed the scenery and sunshine.
Our next stop was Sitka. We took the bus into town where we had purchased a self-guided driving tour.
Eurodam's sister Ship, Noordam arrived not long after we docked.
Off to downtown Sitka.
Our first stop was the pharmacy as Mrs. Glasman forgot a prescription. Getting old sucks.
Then we headed out of town in hopes to see some of the famous Alaskan wildlife.
Wasn't fast enough to focus as we saw him last second.
Now this is why we choose to come to Alaska. Stunning!!
Whoa! ....and he was a total surprise. Hello Mr. Brown. We will stay right here on this side of the bridge.
Back in Sitka, lots of bird poop up there.
After a pretty cool couple of hours, it was time to head back to the Eurodam.
We boarded and started to make our way back to Seattle.
We took in a "Cruise" show, ate dinner and called it a night.
With our Suite purchase, we had options on where we ate. We really enjoyed the Pinnicle Steakhouse, so we found ourselves there a couple of evenings. We did take in the ships Dinning room for the experience which was as expected. No matter where we ate on board, the food met our cruise expectations.
10oz Filet Mignon with Lobster Bearnaise. Pinnicle Steak House.
'Fresh" caught Salmon.
Surf N' Turf. Petite Filet Mignon with a 5oz Lobster Tail.
Table order Sides. Mushrooms and Potatoes.
Dessert, my favorite Creme Brulee. Not as good as Mamas in Maui, but very tasty.
Next up: A quick stop to Canada and our dismal Delta First flight home.
Last edited by glasman19; Oct 9, 2022 at 5:08 pm
Oct 9, 2022, 12:26 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 353
Our final advertised port on our 7-night Alaskan cruise was Victoria, Canada.
It was a quick 2-hour stop arriving on schedule at 9:00 PM. We were checking the Jones Act box.
On Approach to Victoria.
Stunning sunset as we docked.
Cabs queuing up for the masses.
Mrs. Glasman and I disembarked the Eurodam, proceeded to "Canadian Customs," and walked through without ever being stopped or given a "Welcome to Canada" from a Canadian customs officer.
Once outside, we walked to a dockside souvenir shop where Mrs. Glasman purchased a few overpriced trinkets.
After our purchase we returned to the ship for a nightcap in the lounge.
The next morning, we woke in port at Seattle. We took our time getting ready and once we disembarked, we were thanked by several crew members.
Baggage claim, no thank you, we passed as our bags went ahead thanks to a free port authority service that checks your bags with the airlines through to your final destination.
....at least I hope they were. Whoa.
One final document check and we were out of the terminal ordering our Black Uber.
Past the busses and cab's waiting for their PAX.
When we ordered our Uber, we "thought" the ride share lot was in the general location of the buses and cabs, that turned out not to be the case. It seems we walked to Kirkland, WA before we found him after a 15-minute walk.
Our Uber Black waiting for us in stall 29 just as the app noted.
We apologized for the delay and started the 30-minute ride to Sea-Tac.
Which is better, the Art District or the Space Needle?
Great plane spotting once we arrived at SEA-TAC
We arrived at the Terminal, thanked our driver, Halie and enter into the terminal masses.
Now I don't know if you heard about the issues at SEA, but the airport reported that the lines that stretched into the parking garage were a result of, "unexpectedly high numbers of end-of-summer travelers, not enough Transportation Security Administration officers to meet the demand, and construction taking two lanes." The wait was over 2.5 hours to clear security.
Not my photo. Credit unknown.
Well, it wasn't that bad today, but it was still over 1.5 hours to clear and guess what? My PassID # wasn't showing on my Delta profile so when I CIOL no PreCheck. First stop, Sky Priority for a quick adjustment.
The line wasn't too bad, the Delta agent added my ID # and Precheck was now showing on my hard stock boarding pass. As a bonus, he told me that since we have both Clear and Precheck we could use Security Checkpoint number 1. He gave us the directions.
We thanked him for the tip and headed off following his directions. We were so happy with the tip as the Checkpoint was only for Precheck and those with Clear + Precheck. There was roughly a 14 PAX in the Precheck lane.
We would have been right through but for some reason Mrs. Glasmans Clear wasn't working so we queued up with the Precheck PAX. We were through in under 10 minutes.
I remember seeing Clear Agents in the United club, and with plenty of time to spare we headed there to see if we could get Mrs. Glasman's Clear glitch addressed.
Unfortunately, no Clear Agent in this club so we decided to head over to the Sky Club which was right next to our gate.
The masses of SEA. Traveling has come back in force.
We ducked into the Hudson News so Mrs. Glasman could purchase a new Cloudz blanket for our upcoming London trip. While she was checking out, I happened to see a friend of mine on the cover of Bicycling Magazine.
After given permission to enter, I told Mrs. Glasman that we should have stayed at the United Club. This place is massive and full!!
Fortunately, we found a couple of seats in the nosebleed section, we settled in, and I went for cocktails.
Neither one of us enjoyed the lounge and we were glad when it was time to board. Our departure gate was A2 just a couple of gates down from the Lounge. We left the lounge right as boarding commenced.
Are you serious Delta? I have more room in row 1 on a CRJ200 opposite Row 1 on this 7-900. Glad it's a short flight.
PDB of either water or OJ.
After a very slow and unorganized boarding, and a quick taxi we were airborne and headed to LAX. The FA had to stay seated for a bit but once up, they started the lunch service.
Mt. St. Helens, I think?
Wow table clothes. Hey United, look!
Not time to dry out just yet.
Our lunches for the flight, I ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad and Mrs. Glasman order the Charcuterie "Board."
We only ended up eating the cookie. Where is the Chicken Delta?
Mrs. Glasman asked me what this was, and I responded, Headcheese or Dog Food?? We ended up picking up In & Out on the way home.
The flight was just over 2.5 hours, we were first off the plane and after we picked up our rental car, we were back to BFL in just under 2 hours thanks to little to no traffic.
We dropped off our rental, picked up our car and headed down the Central Valley Highway, and we were home 20 minutes later. What an experience!
Not sure I would cruise again but we certainly enjoyed our experience.
Come back in a couple of weeks for another report as we travel to London to see the poor performing Denver Broncos tackle the Jacksonville Jaguars in the UK.
It was a quick 2-hour stop arriving on schedule at 9:00 PM. We were checking the Jones Act box.
On Approach to Victoria.
Stunning sunset as we docked.
Cabs queuing up for the masses.
Mrs. Glasman and I disembarked the Eurodam, proceeded to "Canadian Customs," and walked through without ever being stopped or given a "Welcome to Canada" from a Canadian customs officer.
Once outside, we walked to a dockside souvenir shop where Mrs. Glasman purchased a few overpriced trinkets.
After our purchase we returned to the ship for a nightcap in the lounge.
The next morning, we woke in port at Seattle. We took our time getting ready and once we disembarked, we were thanked by several crew members.
Baggage claim, no thank you, we passed as our bags went ahead thanks to a free port authority service that checks your bags with the airlines through to your final destination.
....at least I hope they were. Whoa.
One final document check and we were out of the terminal ordering our Black Uber.
Past the busses and cab's waiting for their PAX.
When we ordered our Uber, we "thought" the ride share lot was in the general location of the buses and cabs, that turned out not to be the case. It seems we walked to Kirkland, WA before we found him after a 15-minute walk.
Our Uber Black waiting for us in stall 29 just as the app noted.
We apologized for the delay and started the 30-minute ride to Sea-Tac.
Which is better, the Art District or the Space Needle?
Great plane spotting once we arrived at SEA-TAC
We arrived at the Terminal, thanked our driver, Halie and enter into the terminal masses.
Now I don't know if you heard about the issues at SEA, but the airport reported that the lines that stretched into the parking garage were a result of, "unexpectedly high numbers of end-of-summer travelers, not enough Transportation Security Administration officers to meet the demand, and construction taking two lanes." The wait was over 2.5 hours to clear security.
Not my photo. Credit unknown.
Well, it wasn't that bad today, but it was still over 1.5 hours to clear and guess what? My PassID # wasn't showing on my Delta profile so when I CIOL no PreCheck. First stop, Sky Priority for a quick adjustment.
The line wasn't too bad, the Delta agent added my ID # and Precheck was now showing on my hard stock boarding pass. As a bonus, he told me that since we have both Clear and Precheck we could use Security Checkpoint number 1. He gave us the directions.
We thanked him for the tip and headed off following his directions. We were so happy with the tip as the Checkpoint was only for Precheck and those with Clear + Precheck. There was roughly a 14 PAX in the Precheck lane.
We would have been right through but for some reason Mrs. Glasmans Clear wasn't working so we queued up with the Precheck PAX. We were through in under 10 minutes.
I remember seeing Clear Agents in the United club, and with plenty of time to spare we headed there to see if we could get Mrs. Glasman's Clear glitch addressed.
Unfortunately, no Clear Agent in this club so we decided to head over to the Sky Club which was right next to our gate.
The masses of SEA. Traveling has come back in force.
We ducked into the Hudson News so Mrs. Glasman could purchase a new Cloudz blanket for our upcoming London trip. While she was checking out, I happened to see a friend of mine on the cover of Bicycling Magazine.
After given permission to enter, I told Mrs. Glasman that we should have stayed at the United Club. This place is massive and full!!
Fortunately, we found a couple of seats in the nosebleed section, we settled in, and I went for cocktails.
Neither one of us enjoyed the lounge and we were glad when it was time to board. Our departure gate was A2 just a couple of gates down from the Lounge. We left the lounge right as boarding commenced.
Are you serious Delta? I have more room in row 1 on a CRJ200 opposite Row 1 on this 7-900. Glad it's a short flight.
PDB of either water or OJ.
After a very slow and unorganized boarding, and a quick taxi we were airborne and headed to LAX. The FA had to stay seated for a bit but once up, they started the lunch service.
Mt. St. Helens, I think?
Wow table clothes. Hey United, look!
Not time to dry out just yet.
Our lunches for the flight, I ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad and Mrs. Glasman order the Charcuterie "Board."
We only ended up eating the cookie. Where is the Chicken Delta?
Mrs. Glasman asked me what this was, and I responded, Headcheese or Dog Food?? We ended up picking up In & Out on the way home.
The flight was just over 2.5 hours, we were first off the plane and after we picked up our rental car, we were back to BFL in just under 2 hours thanks to little to no traffic.
We dropped off our rental, picked up our car and headed down the Central Valley Highway, and we were home 20 minutes later. What an experience!
Not sure I would cruise again but we certainly enjoyed our experience.
Come back in a couple of weeks for another report as we travel to London to see the poor performing Denver Broncos tackle the Jacksonville Jaguars in the UK.
Last edited by glasman19; Oct 9, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Oct 9, 2022, 2:08 pm
#11
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,747
I am not a gambler, but I am absolutely enthralled by your account.
That's called winning!
We would find a 21 table that was close to the end of the shoe, we each charged $2,000 worth of chips, play a few hands and once it was at the end of the shoe we would color up and go cash in, and get paid in cash. By the end of the trip, we had just over $27,000 in cash in the safe. For the week of fun, it equates close to an additional 270,000 United Miles and 81,000 points from my 3X's for using my Reserve card.