Portland, Oregon: The worst part of a cruise is disembarkation. Cruisers are required to place their luggage outside their staterooms by midnight the night before disembarking... leaving you with hopefully nothing more in your cabin but your pj's, toiletries, and something to wear off the ship the next morning. There must be a better way, but until someone comes-up with a different plan, cruisers must suffer with this unfriendly, undignified plan.
After Lisa and Lenny returned from their lovely dinner in Victoria last night, we all organized our luggage and set the bags outside as the Ruby Princess set sail for Seattle. When we woke, the sun was shining and we had already docked in Seattle. We had slept through it all!
By eight o'clock, we had all gathered in the food court/buffet for breakfast and coffee, until we we left the ship at our assigned departure time of 9:05a. Our bags waited for us. Lisa and Lenny hired a bellman (with a trolley) to take their bags to an awaiting van (with a car seat for Lucy). We said our goodbyes (we won't see the kids for four weeks!), then Dave and I dragged our own bags to the taxi stand.
Lucy had a special baggage handler.The kids went to the airport and flew home to Los Angeles. We took a taxi to the Seattle train station, had a real breakfast at the next-door restaurant, then boarded the 517 train to Portland... where we were greeted by a hired car for our return home.
It was a great - whoosh, fast-paced - week. I will next update with my overview and cruise review.
Until my next update, I remain, your happy to sleep in my own bed correspondent.