The two ships that sailed when we were available were the Jewel and the Pearl. I wanted to leave on Saturday, so that I could have a day to recover on the back end, but after reading reviews of Glacier Bay, decided on the Pearl, which left on a Sunday.

We flew to Seattle from San Jose on Saturday. After an easy two-hour flight, we arrived in Seattle and met up with my mom, who had flown from San Diego. We had chosen to stay at the Clarion, which was basically across the street, was inexpensive, and had a free shuttle from the airport. While comfortable, it was obvious that it was an inexpensive hotel.

Sunday morning, we got up early and walked a half block to catch the light rail. Instead of taking a taxi to the pier (likely $40 plus), we paid about $10 to ride from the hotel to a block or so from Pike’s Market. At the end of the market, we found a nice breakfast place, which had a view of our ship! After eating, we walked less than 10 minutes to the pier. Even though it was only about 11:00, we were able to check in and get on the ship within about 15 minutes! Somehow, we missed seeing where to check our bags, but since we each only had a small carry-on and a backpack, we had no problem carrying them aboard. Read more