As our taxi driver deftly maneuvered through Seattle traffic, I admired the iconic Seattle Space Needle standing tall among the city buildings. We were getting very close to our destination. I’d been told that cruise ships dock at pier 91, which is a bit north of Seattle’s downtown and the Space Needle. Finally, our taxi pulled to a stop near a large building that looked like an airport terminal. Handing over our luggage to a porter, we walked into the building where guests were ushered through customs.

Unlike at the airport, we moved through the check points quickly.  It didn’t take long before we walked out of the building onto the pier. I stared (gawked) like a farm girl from Wisconsin, which I must admit I am. Two cruise ships were docked on either side of the cruise terminal. They were so huge, they towered over us like tall buildings. The ship to our right, which we would be boarding, was the Eurodam of the Holland American Line. To our left, was The Royal Princess, a ship which appeared to be about the same size as ours.

Considered a smaller cruise ship, the Eurodam is 936 feet long and is equipped to carry 2,104 passengers and a crew of 800 to 900. Some large cruise ships, like the Icon of the Seas, carry 5,000 to 7,600 passengers and 2,300 to 2,400 passengers. I was glad that I had asked Tammie to book a smaller ship.

As we walked up the mid-ship ramp to begin our cruise, staff happily greeted us and used tablets to take our pictures for identification purposes.  Taking one of the six mid-ship elevators to the fourth deck where our cabin was located, Tammie and I wandered down three different hallways before finding our starboard side of the ship cabin, which was to be our home-away-from-home for the next seven days. We found a pair of room keycards and handouts in the small rack next to the door.

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