Today began with the lightest breakfast we could order in the dining room. Mainly, because we were invited to the Mariner Society Lunch at noontime. While sitting at a window seat at the very back of the lower dining room, we experienced much vibration and noise. So the answer to the question, would a room back here have problems with that? We would say yes to both. Especially if the ship was going around 22 knots, like they are today.
The best aspect about today was the fact that we are seeing blue skies and sun for the first time for a week. Sailing south towards Vancouver Island finds us with warmer temps and scenic cruising. But the best part are the whale sightings. Humpback blows were apparent from a distance, and we hoped to catch more of it this afternoon.
At 11:30am, we were invited to the Mariner Society awards ceremony in the BB King’s Blues Club. At the most, there were about 30 people invited. We figured they began with 4 and 5 star Mariners, and the new medal awardees. And us, of course, President’s Club, which is never advertised as a level of achievement. Why, we don’t know. A receiving line included the hotel director, the cruise director, and the Captain. There were only six people getting their bronze medallions, so the ceremony was short and sweet. We had been offered a mimosa, wine, or champagne, but we opted for one Jack Daniels and one mimosa. Canapies were passed around to all. At the end, the two of us were introduced, announcing our days, and we had our photos taken with the hotel director and the Captain .
Finally, we were escorted past the line of folks waiting to enter the dining room on deck two. Tables had been reserved for the high day group, and we had a nice one with six other people. One of the couples from Montreal realized that they have been reading our blog for some time. And another couple will be going on the 2019 world cruise, as well. Small world. And the same two couples we dined with will be staying on for the next cruise to Hawaii. Lunch for us consisted of a beer and cheddar soup and entrees of beef pot roast. Dessert was great - a chocolate cup of berry compote covered with meringue. Coffee finished the meal. Naturally, a flute of champagne was available for the general toast given by the Captain. By the way, none of the tables were hosted by staff, and the dress code was smart casual. A nice affair, we thought.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in our room on the veranda watching a display of humpback whales feeding. This is the best sighting we have ever seen coming down this part of the coast. Even though the pods were at least 100 yards off of the ship, we were able to get some good photos of their behavior while eating, blowing, and diving.
Our port of call for this evening was Victoria, Canada, a must stop after visiting USA ports on this cruise. Arrival was supposed to be 7pm, but it ended up being 7:30pm. Since we had dinner reservations in both the dining room and the Pinnacle Grill (thanks to a dining room head waiter), we chose the Pinnacle Grill. They serve killer lamb chops in there, and there was no other entrée in the dining room to top that tonight. No sense leaving the ship in this port, since we will be back here on Sunday.
We began our meal with Caesar salad, lamb chops of course, and dessert of Baked Alaska. Normally, we would keep dessert off of the menu, but lunch was so early, we were actually hungry. The best part of Baked Alaska has to be the Cherry Garcia ice cream in the middle. Rich coffee finished our meal. Expecting the room to be empty, we were surprised to see it full of guests. But then, this is the final night of this 7 day cruise, and people want to get it all in before they leave.
It was rather pleasant walking the promenade deck after dinner. Lights of the city brightened up the area, as well as the NCL ship docked across from us. Earlier in the day, two Princess ships left port, one pf which was the Star Princess. And since there was no live entertainment in the Mainstage theater, a movie, The 15:17 to Paris, was shown instead. We’ll have to watch for this to be shown again, since it looks like a good one.
Tomorrow will be a busy one, because most everyone will be disembarking in Seattle. As for us, we have a lunch date with our most favorite travel agent, Debra.
Bill & Mary Ann
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Report # 8 Victoria, British Columbia September 28, 2018 Friday Sunny and 58 degrees
