The construction work on the garage in our condo continues and we were looking for a break from taking shuttles to remote parking lots, dealing with complicated grocery shopping, and noise, So, we wanted to get away in August but I could not find a lecture gig so we decided to cruise as regular passengers. After checking options, we settled on an Alaska Cruise on Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady. A very different kind of cruise (as you will see).
August 18, 2026 - Travel Day
Our flight this morning - AA2852 – has a departure time of 9:45 AM. Our cab was called for 8 AM to give us a little cushion at the airport. He arrived on time. He was a fast driver but safe. We did encounter some traffic and arrived at ORD at 8:50 AM. We checked our bags at the kiosk. TSA line was short and we got to K16 as they started boarding. Our plane was at the gate
and they were already at Group 5. We're Group 4 so we jumped the line. Our aircraft is an A321EOW (Extended Over Water - this aircraft type carries extra life rafts and life vests as over water safety equipment). We are in 12C and 12D (aisle across Cabin Extra seats). Comfortable seats but no seat back screen - there was a USB charging port on the seat back. We purchased tickets (AA Miles was not the best option) total cost $1,183.60. It’s a long flight and jet fuel is high. The crew really wanted an on time departure asking people several times to find their seats so they could close the doors and get going. The jet pushed three minutes early and had no wait on the active runway.
Full flight WiFi is available on American for AAdvantage Members (courtesy of ATT) so I tracked the flight. There was no weather on the way and it was a beautiful morning in Chicago so takeoff was smooth. Asked the passenger at the window if she could roll up her shade for the takeoff and she did. I thought that there was an FAA regulation that on takeoff and landing the windows had to be open so that crew could monitor the tarmac for any issues. Guess not.
We had our bagels cream cheese and lox - always good with two cups of coffee and a glass of orange juice. The flight attendants were very good and finished the snack run quickly. Consistent with the radar map on Flight Aware,
it was a smooth flight overall (photo at 32,000 ft about 4 hours out)
the captain said
it would be bumpy during the descent but it never happened. We had an on time landing at just around
12:30 PM local time.
It was a bit of a walk to the baggage claim area (as it is on all airports
these days). Our bags came off early so
no repeat of our last flight.
I had compared Uber vs taxi to our hotel and the taxi was a little less so we
exited the airport and found the taxi stand. The fixed rate from SEA to
downtown was $68. Our driver had no problem with speed limits, stop signs, or
lanes. He at one point was doing 75mph.
It was a little scary but we were belted. I tried to focus on the scenery along the way
and not the weaving and speeding.
One site along the way was T-Mobile Park,
which opened in 1999 as Safeco
Park (until 2018) and home to the Seattle Mariners. It features a retractable
roof - it has no walls so it still feels like an outdoor game while keeping
fans dry.
We got to our hotel, Best Western Plus Pioneer Square (on Yesler St) in
15 minutes.
The hotel is less than a block from the main shoreline street, Alaska Way,
on which stores, restaurants, and other sites are located along the shoreline.
Pioneer Square is a historic district where many period buildings and
restaurants are located. Check in was quick. Our room, 326, is small but the bed
was OK. It has a very loud window AC and it was running because it was in the
high 70s today. The room was cool enough so we turned it off. The room had a
wall thermostat but I don't think it controlled the unit.
During check in, Ellen inquired about the Hop On Hop Off tour busses. The desk
clerk told her that there was a free shuttle - Waterfront Shuttle - that
would take us to all the major Seattle attractions. The shuttle runs every 15
minutes (10 AM to 10 PM daily) and there's a stop a block from the hotel at
Marion St.
We left the hotel and looked for the shuttle stop. The shuttle stops are identified by a small green sign that is sometimes hidden among regular bus stop signage. We asked a local where the shuttle stopped because the signage is difficult to see. We got the hand of it after that.
We caught the shuttle on Marion St (we found out later that there is a closer stop).
We decided to ride the complete shuttle route to see where it went and then
decide where to get off.
The shuttle was a green trolley equipped with a ramp for easy boarding.
Downsides included shaded windows (cuts down the Sun but no photos) and worn shocks (Seattle streets need work). We passed the famous Pike St Market, the Olympic Sculpture Garden and ended up at Seattle Center, a park home to the Space Needle. This was the end of the line. We went across the street to the first stop on the return route.
While waiting I got a great shot of the Space Needle
and the interesting sculpture, "Olympic Iliad" consisting of red painted steel cylinders.
The sculpture by Alexander Liberman was installed in 1984. It is 45X60 ft and 60 ft tall.
We caught the return shuttle and got off at Waterfront Park.
We walked along the Alaska Way Greenway - a newly paved pedestrian walkway that contains restaurants and views. It also contains native plants in special planters along the entire length that add to the beauty of this path.
Waterfront Park is a public park on the Central Waterfront adjacent to Alaska Way.
It was constructed on
the site of the former Pier 58. The original park closed in
September 2020 after a failed inspection.
The pier was completely removed by February 2021 and replacement park
began construction in 2022, and the completed Waterfront Park officially
opened on September 6, 2025. The park contains various apparatuses for kids to
play on and seating. You can get a good
view of the Seattle Great Wheel from the Park.
The Seattle
Great Wheel is a 53-meter Ferris wheel at Pier 57. At an overall
height of 175 feet, it was the tallest Ferris wheel on the West Coast of the
United States when it opened in June 2012. You can ride the wheel for $21 - $25
and need to be at least 42 inches tall to ride along. I am not a big fan of
Ferris Wheels – the last time I was on one was in 1964 when I was in college
(UCLA Mardi Gras). It looked like very
few people were riding this day.
There are a
lot of restaurants all pretty much serving the same food. We started off at "Fisherman's
Restaurant". The prices were sticker shock scary. Salmon was
around $35. Fish and chips were around $20 to $25 (cod or halibut) for
two to three pieces of fish. We found the same prices at all the places along
the walkway. We finally gave in and got some fish and chips ($18.99) at a
restaurant near Pier 57 (did not get the name).
We ate outside because not only was the weather nice but the inside of
the restaurant had an odd smell (not fish). We paid cash to avoid a 4% credit
card surcharge. The restaurant still wound up charging surcharges. The fish was
unremarkable and the ambience non-existent but we were hungry.
We decided to
walk back to the hotel from the Pier 57 area.
About half way there, we stopped at a Starbucks coffee
house. Starbucks originally opened in
Seattle on March 30, 1971, and only sold coffee beans and related
equipment, Starbucks became a local coffee bean retailer for the first ten
years in Seattle The beans they sold
were purchased from Peete’s Coffee (Starbucks bought them some years later). The
name “Starbucks” came from a suggestion that “St” at the beginning of a name
was advantageous and from the novel, “Moby Dick”.
This
restaurant was on my app so I ordered my Venti Mocha (2/3 Decaf, less ice, and
4 pumps). Picked it up inside (it was a
small store) and drank it outside and enjoyed a wonderful view of the Seattle
skyline.
A long day so lights out at 10 PM.
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