Our trip began with us almost missing our taxi ride. Glen finds standing difficult so wanted to wait for the cab (early in the morning) in the foyer of our condo where he could sit. The cab arrived but we didn't see it. The cabbie called Glen but his phone was on 'Do Not Disturb" mode. I finally went outside and saw the cab pulling away from the curb. We hailed him and scrambled inside.
We were taking a BC Ferries Connector bus to Vancouver and it left from the downtown terminal. We weren't the only one taking a cruise. Apparently, two ships were Alaska-bound from Canada Place and all but one couple on our bus were to board the Island Princess.
We chose the Princess Cruise line because Glen's Mom and Dad had always sailed on Princess boats. We thought we'd continue the tradition. My sister, Lynda, has taken over ten cruises on various cruise lines and gave us travel hints. So did our travel agent at AMA, Sylvia. She told us not to staple the paper luggage tags to our bags as they tore off. She said the ship's porter would tag it when we boarded the ship. Good point, except the bus took our luggage and loaded directly on the ship. I had put a homemade tag with our cabin number on our bag but the bus driver shrugged and said we might get it eventually.
On this rather disturbing note, we boarded the bus and made the 9:00am sailing of the ferry to the mainland. Glen couldn't get his famous ferry ice cream as the machine was out of order so settled for a cup of coffee. It was a pretty normal trip.
According to the information we had, boarding would take place after lunch. However, as the bus arrived at Canada Place, we disembarked and were ushered into the terminal, leaving our luggage for others to worry about. Due to his hobbling with a cane, staff hurried Glen through short cuts and I quickly followed him. It seemed to take no time to get our cabin key cards and permission to go aboard. Our cabin was on Caribe Deck but the man working the elevators told us that was deck 10. The ship had 16 decks and we explored 10 of them.
Long ago, we had gone a cruise with the kids. We quickly discovered the Big Red Boat was tiny compared to most cruise ships and the one that plied the waters of the Galapagos was even smaller so that experience didn't prepare us for the size of our cabin. It had a huge cupboard with lots of hangers and a king size bed. But, what thrilled us the most was the large balcony. Glen declared he'd spend all his time there. We sat enjoying the Vancouver harbour bustle amazed that this trip was finally happening.
Although we saw luggage sitting in front of other cabin doors, no bag sat near ours. We decided to explore the ship and see if we could get some lunch. We had a great buffet meal in the Horizon Court and learned that if you want beer with lunch, it's best to get it from the bar and bring it to the table. Lynda had told us to bring lanyards for your key cards as they're linked to your credit card and mean you don't have to worry about carrying wallets (Glen would not give up his) or purses (I had a small one for my phone). I couldn't figure out how lanyards would work as there was no hole in our cards. Turns out Passenger Services will punch the hole for you.
We also checked the Passenger Services desk for information on luggage without tags. Turns out there are always a few. However, ours wasn't among the ones waiting for their owners. We returned to our cabin to relax and there sitting in front of our door was our bag. Someone actually read my homemade tag. Yay!!
As I unpacked, Glen enjoyed the view of Vancouver from the balcony. Then it was lifeboat drill or General Emergency Stations as they now call it. Our mustering point was the Wheelhouse Bar which became our favourite place to enjoy before-dinner drinks. During the presentation, we learned how to behave during an emergency at sea and how our life preservers worked.
Afterwards, we headed to the Lido deck and bought a bucket of Budweiser beers (five were cheaper than four). Ensconced in some deck chairs, we waited to experience our departure. Other experienced cruisers had told us to buy the all-inclusive drink package but we weren't sure we'd drink that much. Turns out we didn't. However, if you like fancy drinks and wine, it might be a wise investment.
We left Vancouver to party music and dancing. Going under the Lion's Gate bridge was a must-do so I left Glen and headed to the bow where I was able to snap a photo among the hordes of people. The Island Princess then entered the Straits of Georgia and headed north.
Our dining room, the Bordeaux, was designed for those who didn't want a set dining time so we changed from our travel clothes and headed there for supper. We had to wait a few minutes for a table then were seated by ourselves. If we had wished to share our table with strangers, the wait would have been less. It was our anniversary cruise so we chose to dine alone.
The next day was "At Sea" and very windy so not conducive to lounging on the balcony. We began the day as we would every day while onboard with breakfast at the buffet. Horizon Court had a great view of the passing scene so was preferable to the small windows of the main dining room. Breakfast choices were varied each day but there was usually a soup choice. I ended up eating a lot of smoked salmon for breakfast and indulging in my love of soups. One day, I had soup at each meal!
There are lots of activities on board a ship but in the end, we didn't really partake in many of them. I thought I would use the fitness centre but never did. I did walk the promenade deck and took the stairs whenever I could which kept my weight gain to a minimum. We did catch a few performers as we wandered the ship, listening to a string quartet playing the Beatles one night and a reggae band another time. We tended to eat late so never did see the wonderful shows cruise lines stage.
After a day at sea, we dined in the Bayou Café. Lynda had told us if we wished to dine in the specialty restaurants, you must pay a cover charge to make a reservation. We did this and did not regret it. We were seated next to the window and could watch the sea and spouting whales as we ate dinner. I had Alaskan Salmon and a sweet potato pie for dessert. By this time, we had discovered Alaskan Amber beer--so much better than Budweiser!
You can see my "North to Alaska" photos here.
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