Finally embarkation day is here. All checklist tasks have been completed, and our friend, Bob, picked us up just before 11am. It was a shirt 1/2 hour drive to the cruise ship terminal at Pier 91 in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.
The embarkation process went smooth and quickly we were on board. Having a 4 Star (2nd highest) loyalty status has its benefits. It felt good to be back in familiar surroundings even though the Maasdam is a new ship to us. We found our inside stateroom which is 692 and one stateroom from the stern on deck 5. This stateroom is larger and better laid out than the one we had in June on a newer and larger ship, the MS Koningsdam.
The Zaandam as we departed from Pier 91
We left our belongings in the cabin and proceeded on up to the Lido for some lunch. The first thing that struck us both was the reduced size of the Lido compared to the Koningsdam. The food selections and delivery method were totally comparable. We met another couple from Australia there before heading out to scope out the ship for the next few hours before our lifeboat drill.
Berthed next to us was the Zaandam which we had sailed on in February in South America. The lifeboat drill was uneventful, and we were delayed from departing about 1/2 hour because we were taking on additional fuel. During that time we were able to secure a 5:30pm Pinnacle Grill dinner seating time. We then spent time unpacking for the next two months. This is one reason we like the longer cruises.
Dinner in this upscale restaurant was excellent as we cruised alongside Whidbey Island. The portions were so large and we were even provided an anniversary cake which I unfortunately could not eat because of its high sugar content. At 9pm there was a comedian, Kermet Apia, who was really funny and bed came none too quickly after that since the movie was not appealing and the TV reception went out.
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