SAILING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IN FALL!

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 28

Review summary

We recently returned from a lovely Fall sailing on the ACL Constellation through the San Juan Islands and along the Puget Sound, near Seattle. Embarkation was simple and quick, and soon we were seated for our first lunch, served with a nice selection of wines and always, a tempting choice of desserts and homemade ice creams! The ACL staterooms are much larger than those on most of the cruise lines, and we found more than enough drawers to easily stow all our belongings. After an entertaining introduction to the crew and dozens of excursions to consider, we had time to relax before each night’s reception/‘cocktail hour’ in the third floor lounge. We particularly enjoy the smaller round dining room tables, which make it easy to meet and chat with other fellow cruisers and keen travellers at each meal. The cocktail hour, with a well-stocked bar and friendly crew/bar tenders, is also a great time to relax and share stories with others. Though barely necessary, there are always warm appetizers available at this time - our favourites being the ones with salmon, scallops and other delicious shellfish. We noticed several new dishes on the menu, no doubt due to the charming Chef Nelson, from New Orleans. She has an infectious personality and we loved the cooking demonstrations she did once or twice, in the lounge at cocktail hour. We were disappointed when she left to join another ship, but it will be a treat for other ACL cruisers to discover her talents! We spent the next 10 days exploring cute little towns on the San Juan Islands (Port Townsend and Friday Harbour), as well as Puget Sound towns like Bremerton and Tacoma with great museums and huge harbours, all with a rich history of shipping, fishing, logging and naval exploration. In addition to local walking tours or hikes, and bus trips to go further afield, there were excursions on the water, affording an opportunity to view the coastline, and scan the shores and open waters for eagles, herons, sea lions, seals and even whales! We had a great time on a Jet Boat tour that sped beneath Deception Pass with a huge bridge connecting 2 islands. There was a day-long excursion that gave us the opportunity to sail from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C., Canada. We needed our passports, but the U.S./Can. Customs clearing was quite quick, and soon we were off to the incredible Butchart Gardens, just outside the city. We saw sites along the way and were entertained by the jovial knowledgeable driver. The bright sunshine made a gorgeous backdrop as we sailed home out of the Victoria Harbour, and back to our ship. All of the above trips and choices were well-organized and explained in detail each night before the evening entertainment. Throughout the cruise we heard good comments about ‘Kody’, our excellent Cruise Director. He is one of the best we’ve ever had on our many cruises: he was unfailingly warm, attentive, organized and so engaging and funny! Both he and our amazing Guest Speaker/Naturalist Katie, were a true highlight of our time onboard. Katie was also easy and fun to chat with and she had a depth of knowledge regarding local history, wildlife, exploration and geography that never failed to amaze, and yet she was able to make her talks sound ‘conversational’, instead of a series of facts. There was also a talented musician, Marc, who either played during cocktail hour or provided the evening entertainment with his themed music presentations, accompanied by his saxophone, harmonica, and flute! There were also onboard artists, during the week we sailed, and we appreciated being able to join in for lessons or making really nice take-home projects, even for those with little confidence in their art skills. This being the Northwest, there were some days with rain, but also much sunshine to view the trees just beginning to change color! It was never cold and even in the rain, this is a beautiful and welcoming part of the country. The Constellation is just the right size to get to know friendly people and, unlike the larger ships, we were able to explore this rich coastline in a warm and comfortable setting.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

ANACORTES, WASHINGTON

FRIDAY HARBOR, SAN JUAN ISLAND, WASHINGTON

CRUISE SAN JUAN ISLANDS

Victoria, British Columbia

Port Angeles, Washington

PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON

TACOMA, WASHINGTON

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON

Disembarkation