"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #13 Sailing Towards Victoria, British Columbia Canada July 15, 2017 Saturday Partly cloudy & 61 degrees 15 Pictures

Finally, a day at sea, as we leave Alaska behind, and head towards Victoria, Canada, British Columbia. Although it was not advertised in the daily newsletter, there was a Mariner Reception for a small amount of guests. Specifically, the 4 and 5 star, or 300 to 500 day Mariner members were included with the passengers who were due to receive medallions. And the six of us President's Club members were also recognized.

We were escorted to the "corral" in the center of the lower lounge, where we were served Dom Perignon Champagne and a tray of canapes……..shrimp, pate, and assorted cheese squares. Captain Eversen and Bart, the hotel director were introduced. Then they awarded several folks with medallions. Many bronze were given, a few silver and gold, and only two platinum. Photos were taken of each awardee.

Lastly, the six of us were called individually as couples, to have our photos taken with the officers. Later that evening, a complimentary copy of this photo was left in our mailslot. Ginger and John just recently got inducted, followed by George and Marge who got in during the last couple of years. This is the first cruise that we had the most days, and were called last. We had to chuckle that we had Dolly's seat in the front of the group. She claims to have the most days of anyone in the HAL family of passengers. She's probably right.

Following this reception, we made our way to the lower dining room, where we were escorted to a reserved table with Ginger and John. George and Marge, who are quite elderly, passed on the brunch. The meal was light, thank goodness. Seems like we just ate breakfast. There was a choice of salad or soup, salmon, beef, or vegetarian entrees. Dessert was the best……lemon meringue tart. This was served with bottomless champagne, if we wished, and coffee. We needed to be done before 1pm, because they were setting up for a second lunch for the one, two, and three star Mariners. The staff really does an excellent job with these affairs.

At 1pm, there was another demonstration in the newly appointed America's Test Kitchen, formerly the Culinary Arts Center, which is really the Wajang Theater. We have not had the time to check out this new venue, but his morning there was a chocolate class, and later, flavors of the Mediterranean. It is possible that there will be no more guest chefs like we had had on past world voyages.

This afternoon was a perfect time for us to catch up on the last couple of days with photos and reports. Watching a movie and some of the BBC series on TV, it was time for our final cocktail party with our travel group. We joined our best buddies, Bill, Leta, and Bob at the gathering in the Crow's Nest at 7pm. It has been a pleasure being together again, especially with Bob, who does not often sail on the grand cruises when we do. Next October, we will be meeting up with Bill & Leta when they are vacationing in Honolulu. We will be on the Eurodam for a 17 day run to the islands at that same time, so we plan to meet for dinner at the Aloha Tower.

It was the final gala night, and we spent it in the Pinnacle Grill. In the main dining room, we noticed that the vast majority of folks dressed formally, just like in the past. A few people did come in more casually dressed (jeans and shirts), but they were in the minority. Sitting in the window seats in the Pinnacle Grill, we did see tons of folks coming out of the show lounge dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Obviously they dined in the Lido, which is great. In the old days (now we are sounding really "old"), the rule was you had to be dressed for the entire evening according to the suggested theme. That has gone out the window. This is simply the way all of the cruise lines are heading, if they are not there already. As for us, we like to dress up once a week, and it does not matter to us what everyone else chooses to do.

The entertainment in the Queen's Lounge was "Dance", the ship's singers and dancers performing for the last time this trip. We think they are a most talented group, and a step above the last few performers that have taken the stage. We also took note that many people go to the Wajang for the movie, which was "Split". Wonder if they still serve popcorn in there?

Looking forward to a nice day in Victoria tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

Our favorite wine steward (from the Pinnacle Grill)