An immersion in Alaska’s stunning scenic beauty and small-town charm!
Arriving at Seattle’s Pier 91 on boarding day in late August 2016, we saw the terminal pier flanked by two ships, the M/S Amsterdam and the Ruby Princess. Our first impression was the striking contrast between the two vessels, operated by different cruise lines. The gargantuan Ruby Princess stretches 951 feet in length and 19 decks tall, looking like a high-rise building that fell on its side, and not the least bit inviting. Then we looked over at the M/S Amsterdam and gave a sigh of relief. It’s a REAL ship, with a classic graceful bow and wood-planked promenades. At 780 feet long and ten decks, the M/S Amsterdam is a medium-sized cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 1380, as compared to the Ruby Princess with over 3,000 capacity.
We soon congratulated ourselves on making the right booking, because the megaship’s terminal check-in area was slammed with long waiting lines, and those crowds watched us enviously as we race-walked through the terminal to board our charming mid-sized ship!
We wanted to book a city tour but it was full, so we did our own walking tour of the town, through a park, looked at the salmon streams and neighborhoods, touristy shops, etc. A really great town and we enjoyed exploring it.