A taste of cruising
Published 12:01 am Saturday, October 8, 2011
The idea of boarding a giant cruise ship has always tantalized me.
Images spring to mind of smiling, happy people relaxing without a care in the world. They sip sparkling wine, enjoy gorgeous scenery and are waited on by uniformed attendants.
Like many people, I’d see the hulking, humo
ngous boats docked in Seattle or Vancouver, B.C., and wonder if a week aboard could be a vacation for me.
Then I learned that there’s a great way to get a taste of cruising without investing your life savings and hard-earned vacation time on a long trip.
Each spring and fall, many cruise lines offer short cruises in the Pacific Northwest in what’s called the shoulder season between summers in the north and winters in the south. For as little as $79, people can experience a cruise vacation.
I recently took a one-day trip aboard Princess Cruises’ Golden Princess. It was an overnight voyage from Seattle’s Pier 91 to Vancouver, B.C. Holland America Line offers similar cruises starting at $99.
Other short, shoulder season cruises travel either to Alaska or along the Pacific Coast as boats are brought north from Los Angeles. A four-day trip from L.A. to Vancouver aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines starts at $249.
These trips book fast, so now’s a good time to plan for next spring.
Keep in mind that the bargain basement prices are for interior rooms. On a cruise ship, passengers pay more for a view and extra for a balcony.
The boat I took left Seattle about 4 p.m., sailed north into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then turned around near Port Angeles and headed up into the Gulf Islands and Haro Strait to dock in Vancouver before dawn.
We were scheduled to sail under the Lionsgate Bridge about 3:40 a.m. I’m not sure if we were on time. Although it seemed a waste of my limited shipboard time, I did want to get some sleep.
After boarding and settling into my stateroom, a balcony room on the Aloha Deck ($129 per person, double occupancy), I set out to roam the nearly 1,000-foot-long ship.
The Golden Princess has 18 decks, a crew of more than 1,100, five swimming pools, nine whirlpools, a gym, spa, several dining rooms and nearly as many bars. There’s an indoor theater, a casino and a ballpark-sized movie screen on the deck to watch films under the stars (blankets and popcorn included).
Like most cruises, the cost of the room is all-inclusive. A buffet lunch, dinner and breakfast were served during my short cruise. Drinks, specialty coffees, wine and other upgrades (like fine dining) all are tacked onto the bill. Taxes and gratuities also are added to the final bill.
There’s lots to do aboard: A nightclub perched high above the stern offered dancing; the casino had poker tournaments; a comedian and hypnotist performed lounge acts; there’s shopping and karaoke.
Four movies were screened. There was an AA meeting, a singles party and a gathering for gays and lesbians.
With so much going on, it was easy to miss the peaceful pace of the water slipping by, the sun setting over the Olympics and the blinking beam from the New Dungeness Lighthouse at the end of Dungeness Spit.
I sometimes found it hard to relax with music, movies and other noise spilling over the deck. But with a ship as big as the Golden Princess, it was possible to find quiet places. The promenade deck circles the entire boat. Watching the aft-wash from the ship’s twin propellers was mesmerizing.
The service was attentive, friendly and helpful. Although the lunch buffet was just OK, dinner at the Crowne Grill, an extra $25 per person, was better.
One downside of taking an ultrashort cruise is that boarding procedures and a mandatory 20-minute safety briefing eats away at precious minutes. On a longer cruise, these necessary hassles would be quickly forgotten.
What amazed me more than anything was the smooth handling of the logistics. While it took nearly an hour to board, there were hardly any delays after that.
Still, I enjoyed the gentle rocking of the boat, and it was hard not to smile with so many people collected in one place to have a good time.
At 6:45 the next morning an announcement came over the ship’s loudspeaker. It was time to pack up and go. A bus (extra cost) picked me up at the dock and whisked me back south across the border.
While I wasn’t gone long enough to hire a cat sitter, it was far enough away to feel like I’d been on a real trip. I had a glimpse of life aboard a cruise ship. It was a good appetizer — not enough to completely satisfy my appetite — but enough to make me hungry for more.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
Resources
Princess Cruises: Next fall’s one-day shoulder season sailings from Seattle to Vancovuer are Sept. 22 and Sept. 23. Four- and five-day cruises from Vancouver to Alaska are offered May 15 and May 22. See www.princess.com or call 800-774-6237 (PRINCESS).
Holland America Lines: One-day cruises from Vancouver to Seattle are next offered on May 5, 11 and 17; www.hollandamerica.com or 877-932-4259.
Norwegian Cruise Line: A four-day cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver sails on May 15; www.ncl.com or 866-234-7350.
