North to Alaska - Part 1

 

North to Alaska

 

 A few days ago, we set out for our Alaska cruise. Like most travels these days, there were delays. No, it wasn’t that the plane didn’t leave on time, the plane was delayed an hour on the tarmac before taking off, which in my opinion is even worse. The pilot said it was because they needed to make a correction because of wind direction. My usual response to these things (because I am not afraid to fly) is so what, I don’t care …. get the plane up, serve the wine and pass out the snacks.

Once landing at SeaTac, we walked across the street to the Radisson Hotel. Hotels are expensive these days, especially close to the airport so for 300 hundred bucks we got a pretty comfy bed with sheets but no blanket, a view of a stagnant pond and a lady walking outside throwing bird seed into the wind and praying to God, probably because she was staying in the Radisson Hotel at 300 bucks a night too.

We chose this hotel because it is right across from the airport and right next to the infamous 13 Coins restaurant,  it is an easy place to stay before our Alaska cruise. Easy, but not inviting.  Like most things these days customer service is a forgotten concept.   No longer employees learn the customer is always right, they learn the customer is a pain in the ass and it is their job to deal with it. 

Being the pain in the ass, as they expected, we had to ask for a blanket for our bed.  They also instructed us in great detail they could only give us the number to call for a taxi, but could not call a taxi for us. They repeatedly asked when we would be checking out, so they could inform housekeeping. In all fairness, it was done with a big smile on their face.

We did have a nice dinner at 13 Coins, with old friends we have known for years and that made it memorable.

Calling our taxi the next day was easy, but also 40 minutes late. While waiting, we were entertained by a middle age woman jogging in her bra. I am sure she thought she brought an exercise bra.  She ran back and forth on the sidewalk about a fifty yards in each direction.  Each time she returned she had to wait for the pedestrian light. We concluded she did this because she was worried about the safety of Seattle streets. She probably was right about that, but I would probably advise her for her own safety to rethink her top.

At noon we boarded the Oceania Riviera ship with 1200 other passengers that were in their later years, if not their twilight.  We quickly concluded that the gym was not going to be crowded, but the elevators and buffet would be. 

 When we boarded, our cabin was not ready so we did the next best thing and went to the pool bar. Seattle is warm in August, but today was very warm so we decided on a margarita and rum and coke. The bill was 73 dollars. We advised the bartender we had a beverage package and he advised us our package was only good for meal times and only for wine and beer. No problem… there is always a solution, but it usually involves money. We bought an upgraded package for 360 dollars each, had another drink and called our cruise agent. He credited us and all was well with the world again.

Our second day was a sea day; we attended a cooking class. Our instructor had been Julia Child’s assistant for 14 years. She was an excellent instructor.  In the class, we made Northwest salmon rillettes with poached salmon, crème fraiche, shallots and smoked salmon… yummy. We also whipped up some seared scallops with crab and pecan brown butter and a berry crostata. What a meal.

 After class I waddled off to the casino and to my surprise I ended up ahead, so I quit… that was a surprise too.

Well that pretty well sums up the first two days being a pain in the ass, eating, drinking and spending money…tomorrow we will be in Ketchikan Alaska known for being the salmon capital of the world.