Today we are back to Vancouver where the Zaandam slipped under the Lions Gate Bridge around 6:25am. Just as the Captain said. We were docked at 7am, with the Island Princess in our regular spot and the Coral Princess on the other side of Canada Place. The temperature was 54 degrees with 92% humidity. The winds were slight at 3 mph. The skies were as clear as could be.....the nicest we have seen it here in a long time. There was not a cloud in sight and it stayed that way all day.
Breakfast began at a very early time of 6am in the Lido, 6:30am for the dining room and the same time for us in the Pinnacle. We did go closer to 7am to find we were among the first there.
The various luggage tags were called around 7:15am, after the expedited guests left the ship. We waited until 9:30amm before we departed. That was about the same time the deck crew came through the verandas to hose and scrub them. We made sure the door was locked before leaving the room.
Today we hiked further towards Stanley Park, but had to turn around at Vancouver Rowing Club. Since the all aboard time was early at 1:30pm, we had to be back to make it to lunch, then have enough time to go through USCBP at Canada Place. Last week, this process was quick and easy. Today? Not so much.
Our destination for lunch was the same as last week.....the Steamworks Brewery. We made it there by 11:30am and were seated by the same waitress we had last week. She remembered us and also recalled our itinerary. Pretty good. Of course, we ordered their delicious Hawaiian pizza and a few Lions Gate Lagers, one of their most awarded beers. Relaxing for an hour was quite nice.
Time to go, we headed back to the terminal to a "zoo" of guests destined for three ships. The earlier boarding time was the difference from last week. We had a different security person, who would not let the "in transit" guests in the crew line. Last week we were let into the shorter line without even asking. Today? Nope, it was not happening. The xray point was the hold-up, so once through that, we had to pass the facial recognition check. We had to bring our passports with us today, but there was not any time that we were asked to show it. When we debark for the final time, we will need it then.
Back in our room, we had our President's Club gifts of flowers and 20 Coke Zeros. New shipboard credits had been added to our account...always nice. Then we played the safety video on our TV, but we were not required to go to the muster station this time. We completed the full drill last week, so we should be good for 30 days.
Captain Willems came on with his 1:30pm talk explaining the muster procedure. Then he continued with the upcoming plan for this cruise where we start with two full sea days. Really fine with us.
The ship left around 2:15pm where we watched from deck six forward. After sailing under the bridge, he picked up the speed and it was downright cold. We did stay long enough to spot some whales about 100 yards in the front of the ship. The bow had been opened for viewing, but the majority of people had left before the whales appeared. Since all of the guests were watching the starboard shoreline, they missed seeing the whales.
Back on our veranda, we took in the sun and were treated with more whale sightings as we left Vancouver. Was so nice with the sun shining we passed going to the brief cocktail party in the Lido poolside at 6pm. Dinner had begun at 5pm, so we had doubts that many folks would be there.
The sun was just going down by the time we left for the dining room. One of us had the French onion soup which was nice & hot, while the other tried the cod slider. Both good. Then we added one Caesar salad and one plate of tomatoes with mozzarella cheese slices. Mains were lasagna and pork tenderloins with lingonberry sauce. Normally we do not do dessert, but tonight we ordered on berry tart and a dish of double chocolate chip ice cream. For the first night of a cruise, the dining room was about full. This group appears to be older than the previous two 7 day cruises.
There was one show tonight with a preview of what's to come on this18 day trip. Sure looking forward to two days at sea on the way to Sitka.
Bill & Mary Ann
