It’s morning on day three of our 10-night, Grand Puget Sound cruise on American Cruise Strains, and American Constellation is docked on the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma, Washington, the state’s third-largest metropolis.

That is the second cruise we’ve taken that navigates U.S. waters, and when you’ve by no means tried seeing your property nation from a ship, you need to actually give it a whole lot of consideration. Perhaps you’ve pushed to lots of the identical places, or visited on a trip, however on a cruise like this one, you’ll get a complete new appreciation for what you may expertise in your personal yard.

It doesn’t harm that the ship’s employees goes out of their technique to make each visitor really feel particular, or attend to your each want. However one other plus is the information of what we’re seeing from the tour guides and specialists on board. It’s loads like seeing america by way of new eyes. And right here’s an added bonus: You received’t should put your cellphone in airplane mode.

There are quite a few tour choices as we speak, together with a “Beer Exploration,” making stops at 4 native breweries, and “The Sweeter Facet,” with a give attention to sweet and chocolate for which the town is legendary. As a lot as Pam loves her chocolate, we’re beginning the day on the Museum of Glass, as a result of we’re each followers of glass as an artwork type.

After a leisurely breakfast within the eating room, the place our adopted server Simone made some good menu options (attempt the quiche — it’s marvelous), we head for the shuttle bus that may take us to the museum. The climate is overcast, with a excessive close to 60, and no rain. We’ll take it.

ACL has organized buses (trendy, 57-seat buses)  that may make a steady loop, stopping on the Museum of Glass and the LeMay’s American Automobile Museum. You could have the choice of visiting one or each, as buses are operating all through the day.

As you in all probability know, Washington State is famend for its glass, particularly in Seattle, the place you’ll discover the famed Dale Chihuly’s Backyard and Glass exhibit. The Museum of Glass, based in 2002, includes a distinctive centerpiece — a towering cone form that homes its Scorching Store, the place you may watch glass artisans at work in an auditorium setting.

The glasswork within the exhibit areas is breathtaking, and we attempt to take all of it in, ensuring after all to depart sufficient time for Pam to browse the Reward Store. And earlier than you ask, sure — we’re bringing house a brand new piece of glass so as to add to our assortment.

Afterwards, we decide to catch the bus again to the ship to have lunch. As we reboard, this time the crew is serving up apple cider with a contact of caramel and a few Jack Daniels to provide it just a little zing. At lunch, the star was the Mac and Cheese topped with barbequed pork — undoubtedly two thumbs up, though subsequent time we’ll ask for a half portion — it was a whole lot of goodness.

A fast apart: ACL provides postcards that friends can tackle and return for mailing at no cost. We took the chance to ship one to our granddaughter. I think she’ll get pleasure from getting one thing novel that isn’t a textual content message.

Then its again onboard the bus for the quick journey to LeMay’s America’s Automobile Museum. Positioned adjoining to the Tacoma Dome and housed in a big, up to date constructing that resembles an armadillo, it’s a automobile lover’s dream-come-true. You begin on the high and wind your approach parking-garage-style to flooring after flooring of essentially the most iconic autos and motor autos ever constructed. together with their present exhibit, “75 Years of Porsche.”

Pam lingered over a classic, gull-wing door Mercedes. And earlier than you ask — no, we aren’t taking that again with us.

Very like yesterday, the solar has come out within the afternoon, and we head for the Sky Lounge to benefit from the day by day cookies that seem at 10 am and three pm, together with a beverage. The ship’s glad hour runs from 5:30 – 7 pm day-after-day, and the subsequent order of enterprise is to clean up for that and tonight’s present, a tribute to Previous Blue Eyes” by entertainer Jeff Spence.

We be taught from Spence he’s been entertaining from the age of 15, and 50 years later, he’s nonetheless going robust. The Cascade Lounge is full for his set of Frank Sinatra classics, songs from the Nice American Songbook which can be amongst his, and the viewers’s, all-time favorites. In the course of the present, servers come round with baggage of popcorn and milkshakes in all flavors. It was tempting, however fairly positive I used to be over quotient on meals for the day.

American Constellation will keep docked right here in Tacoma tonight, then depart for our subsequent cease on our Puget Sound cruise, Anacortes, Washington, early tomorrow morning. Keep tuned.

Photographs by Gerry Barker

• The Museum of Glass with its distinctive cone
• LeMay’s American Automobile Museum
• Jeff Spence sings Sinatra
• American Constellation docked in Tacoma (cowl photograph)

See all cruises and particularly this one: American Cruise Lines (cruisecompete.com)

10 Night – Grand Puget Sound .. American Cruise Lines, American Constellation (cruisecompete.com)