Let me say at the beginning that this was an excellent cruise. I had been on Holland America (HAL) about 15 years ago on the Westerdam in the Caribbean. At that time HAL attracted an older crowd and was at the high end of the mass market (as opposed to luxury lines). I believe that HAL has maintained the same standard of excellence while attracting more diverse passengers. I will say more later.
Four of us were going on the cruise. All of us checked into the Executive Inn in Louisville the night before departure for Seattle. We prefer to leave our car at the airport motel and use their shuttle service. It proves to be very economical considering the current cost of airport parking. It also helps with early departure times.
Our trip to Seattle was a disaster. Our Northwest 7:00 AM flight to Minneapolis had mechanical problems resulting in a 5 hour delay. We were rescheduled with a 4 hour layover in Minneapolis and an additional connection in Portland. We arrived in Seattle at 11:30 PM, 12 hours late! We were very fortunate to have planned our travel the day before our cruise.