The Zaandam arrived to the port of Vancouver and docked along with three other ships. The Seven Seas Explorer, the Grand Princess and a smaller Norwegian exploration vessel were in port today as well. Hmmm, that is going to be a whole lot of folks departing and new guests embarking all four ships.
Breakfast was early at 6:30am, although Tina said we came come anytime before they close at about 8am. We were up at that time anyway, so we don't mind going early. On this day, usually most of the guests either go to the Lido or order room service. It was not crowded at all for breakfast.
We stayed onboard working on yesterday's photos until 9:15am. Most all of the luggage tag colors had been called off, and we knew the call for everyone was about to happen. Going off was easy….all we needed were our passports and room keys. We never had to show our passports going off, or coming back onboard for that matter. Using the "In Transit" cards, we were directed straight to the bus and taxi pick-up area.
We pretty much repeated our walk that we did last week. The big difference today had to be the weather. The fog we encountered on the way here had lifted, and blue skies appeared. How nice it was to see the sun for a change. There still was a chill in the breeze, but there was some warmth in the sun. Whatever….we will take it. Compared to last week, many more locals were walking, running, and biking the waterfront promenade.
From the cruise ship terminal, we hiked past the Vancouver Convention Center West, passing the Seaplane Terminal and the Olympic Cauldron. Walking the seawall along Burrard Inlet, we passed by Harbor Green Park where locals like to meet with their dogs. Coal Harbor Quay was next filled with small vessels and sailboats…many for sale. Stanley Park was next where we saw some Canada geese flying overhead, and two large blue herons hunting the shallow waters of Coal Harbor. The furthest we could walk today was to the Horse Carriage Tours. We have to mention that our time here was limited, due to the fact we had to be back to the terminal by 2pm. But that's another story…..
Here are some facts about Stanley Park that we missed writing about last week. This park consists of 1000 acres with ½ million trees. Among them are Douglas firs, western red cedars, western hemlock, big leaf maples, grand firs and Sitka spruce. The oldest-growth trees exceed 200 feet in height. In December of 2002, 10,000 trees fell during hurricane force winds. Another 100,000 trees died from 2020 to 2023 from a hemlock looper insect outbreak.
Park wildlife includes 500 species like Douglas squirrels, raccoons, otters, beavers, geese, greater blue herons, salamanders, and even coyotes. And do not feed the animals. If you do, you can face a fine of $500.
Finally, horses had been used over 100 years ago for hauling lumber. Today teams of Grey Shire, Clydesdale, Belgium and Percheron horses are used to pull aluminum-framed coaches with signal lights and hydraulic brakes. The well- groomed horses consume 31 pounds of hay and 15 pounds of mash. They can drink 33 gallons of water a day. Impressive.
Time to backtrack, we took our time walking and sitting on some of the convenient benches along the way. Then we arrived to the Steamworks Brewery right before noontime. Perfect timing, the place filled up within minutes after 12pm. It is popular with the local office workers as well as tourists. Once again, we enjoyed Lions Gate Lagers with a Hawaiian pizza. They make a very good apple dessert called a galette. We shared one before heading back to the terminal. What a mess we ran into this time.
Like we stated earlier, there were four ships here in transition. Our in transit cards got us to the xray checkpoint quicker. However we forgot that their xray is much more sensitive. One of us got pulled aside to do a wand-check. A wallet and eyeglasses were the culprits. Oddly enough, the knee replacement was not detected. Go figure? Then we were directed to that Disneyland line that zigzagged with 10 lanes of guests. Each lane had at least thirty to forty people. The officials had three facial recognition pads, so it took a long time screening folks. We prayed that we got the green check, or else we had to go in another line to see an agent. It was green for both of us. By the time we boarded the ship, we noticed it had taken almost an hour to get back. It's no wonder that some of the in transit guests like us never left the ship for town. They would exit the ship by 10am and wait one hour to reboard.
We had an invite to the Mariner welcome in the Crow's Nest starting at 2pm. We got there 20 minutes late, but did get our mimosas. There were only a handful of 3-4-5- star Mariners there, although the rest could still be stuck in that customs and border check. Back in our room, we had our bottle of sparkling wine on ice and a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries. Very good. Since we had already done the muster check the first day we boarded, we did not have to go today. The rule is everyone has to do this drill every 30 days.
Sail away was at 4pm, and we went to deck six forward of course. Just as we walked out the side door, we saw some action in the water directly across from the Zaandam. Suddenly we spotted the telltale dorsal fins of killer whales or orcas. They appeared to be feeding in the shallow waters of the inlet. At one point, we saw five spouts of perhaps three adults and two young ones. How lucky was that? In all of the times we have sailed out of this harbor, we have never seen such a display. In a few minutes, they headed deeper into the inlet and ended up by the Chevron island. The best thing was that the exposure was right and hopefully we got some good shots of the pod.
The bow had been opened, and filled up with folks watching the sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge. That is, until the winds got colder, sending most everyone back inside.
Tonight, dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill. Normally this venue is not crowded on the first evening. However, we were told that many of the new guests had made reservations before the cruise, but Seattle failed to communicate that to the manager, Tina. She was able to accommodate everyone, including a group of 8 or 9 officers who were dining with the Captain. Lucky for us, we got our usual table for two where we ordered the wedge salads with the clothesline bacon. This time we split a rib eye steak with baked potatoes. Cooked perfectly, the size was right. Passing on dessert, Tina wrapped up a few of the new macaroons for us to take back to the room. Sweet in more ways than one.
Once again, tomorrow will be a most welcomed day at sea. Captain Willems warned us to expect some rough seas this evening.
Bill & Mary Ann
