May 19
May 20-21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25-26
May 27
May 28
May 29
May 30
May 31-June 1
June 2-3
June 4
June 5
June 6-8
After having breakfast downstairs again, we spent a leisurely morning getting everything packed up again. Check out time for the hotel is 11, yet the cruise ship check in isn't until noon.
We checked out close to 11 and had the front desk call us a cab to take us to the cruise ship terminal. He arrived as we were finishing the checkout process!
The city is well prepared for cruise ship arrivals and departures. They had traffic police controlling everything with orange cones defining special, temporary lanes, once we were within a block of the terminal! As we entered the terminal, our cab was directed to the right set of porters - separation by cruise line.
We soon arrived at the dock where they whisked our suitcases away and we entered the check in line. The terminal was handling two different cruise ships that day, Regent Seven Seas Navigator (ours) and one from Holland America.
First, everyone went through the metal detectors like they use in all the airports.
Then on to Customs and Immigration, where everyone was separated into two lines. The longer line was for non-US and non-Canadian passport holders. There were lots of people in that line, most heading for the other cruise ship in port. Peeking at the documents they were clutching, I saw a lot of UK passports.
The US/Canadian line was almost fully automated! Approach one of the dozen workstations, scan your passport, answer some questions, let it take a photo of you. Then the next member in your party, please, where the process was repeated.
The workstation printed out two short pieces of paper with our photos on them and the answers to the questions that we then took to a human along with our passports. He took a quick glance at both, handed back the passports, and we were on to the next stop.
That next stop was a health form one. They actually had a couple of tables and chairs set up for filling out two short questionnaires – mostly to rule out Ebola and other communicable diseases.
The Coast Guard was running an inspection on the ship, so it wasn't ready for boarding yet, so they had some chairs set up to wait in line in. We wound up chatting with the people on each side of us, all of whom we would see many times in the next two weeks.
Then the ship was cleared for boarding. Yet another line... This one took the credit card for onboard charges and printed our room keys. These card keys not only let us into the room, they are needed any time we leave or return to the ship – without them, we're denied passage. They also are our onboard charge cards.
(Later note - I was watching at Reception on board when someone came up to say they couldn't find their room key. Another was printed on the spot. As the lady left the counter, a crew member turned in her other key... I overheard another passenger telling how she had reported a lot key and the receptionist on duty pulled a handful of them out of a drawer to see if one of them was hers! Evidently it's a common occurance.)
It was now noon. The rooms are not ready yet and won't be until 2:30 at the soonest. However, as we board the ship, we're handed glasses of champagne and directed to the Pool Deck where lunch is being served. Nice lunch! Between the Coast Guard inspection and a couple of equipment tests, rooms weren't ready until 3:30.
And it's a very nice room! Much more room than I'm used to on a cruise ship. The suite has a large bathroom, too, with both a shower and a tub! And a walk-in closet with built-in dresser. I think this will do quite nicely for the next two weeks.
Promptly at 4:15, as advised, the emergency alarm went off and we had the “Muster” Drill. Everyone grab a life vest and head for the large lounge where we received instructions on how to wear the life vest and what to do if we heard the emergency alarm at any time that's not announced ahead of time.
Then we all filed out, in our orange vests, onto the Embarkation Deck where the lifeboats are. The drill was soon over, so we went back to the cabin to unpack. Now to remember where I put everything....
Promptly at 5pm, the ship pulled away from the dock and we were on our way.
The photo on the left shows the Vancouver skyline and a commuter dock as we pulled away from the dock.
The photo on the right is looking down at a crew member (a bow lookout?) a few decks below our observation deck on deck 12.
The photo on the left shows the Holland America ship nearing the Lions Gate Bridge. They left the dock just minutes before we did.
The photo on the right shows the Holland America ship after it has passed under the Lions Gate Bridge with a smaller boat following in its wake.
The photo on the left above shows the radar array and deck 12 of our ship as we pass under the Lions Gate Bridge. The center photo shows us steaming away from the Lions Gate Bridge. It also shows the jogging track on deck 11 and the lounges set up by the pool on deck 10, the Pool Deck. The photo on the right shows Lions Gate Bridge and Vancouver diminishing behind our wake.
The photo on the left shows the Vancouver skyline after we cleared the point containing Stanley Park.
The photo on the right shows Point Atkinson Lighthouse, one of the few lighthouses we'd get a good look at during our cruise.
Dinner tonight was in the main dining room (the Compass Rose), as it was for us every night of the cruise. It's all open seating (nice!) - more like a restaurant than a cruise ship dining room. The tuxedo clad head waiters would escort all the women to the table (with an offered elbow) and the men trailed behind... Of course, if you want to share a table with other people, all you have to do is say so!
It was a good meal complete with the recommended wines. Prawns for an appetizer, wonderful scallops for the main dish, and a light dessert.
After dinner, we visited every deck, just to get an overview of what's where before falling into bed about 10 (which is late for me).
Now, if I can just get used to the half step up into the bathroom each time I go in or out of it. I've only banged my toe once so far, but I've jolted back down a couple of times. Think, think, think. (Later note - the brain was quickly trained on this floor level difference. I don't remember tripping or jolting back down after this first evening.)
Thursday, May 21
Today is completely at sea as we pass from Vancouver to Ketchikan.
We both got a decent night's sleep, except for the down blanket and feather pillows.... Vhonaby, our wonderful cabin steward, will swap them for foam pillows and a regular blanket when she makes up the room. She's a very nice young lady from the Phillipines. Her husband is also on board (they share a cabin) and her three sons are back home with relatives.
It's a foggy morning and would stay foggy most of the day.
We went looking for breakfast about 7:15. And we really should have checked the schedules first – Compass Rose doesn't open for breakfast until 8... Up to the Veranda, which opens for service at 7:30 and has a buffet breakfast. Yummy! We watched some dolphins or porpoises frolicking outside during breakfast.
Then, back to the room for a couple of quick loads of laundry, finish getting the room settled, getting the internet access set up, getting my trip notes caught up, and downloading yesterday's photos.
It may have been foggy, but there were lots of swells. Later, we found out that a force 5 gale was going on most of the day. The deck is much too cold and wet for Carl to go jogging, so he walked the jogging track instead.
Mid-morning, I went up on one of the upper decks for some outside air while Carl was walking the track and we saw that the little swimming pool not only had whitecaps, it was sloshing water over the side onto the decking - and, ordinarily, the water level is almost 2 feet below the deck level.
I finally gave up at 11ish and took a seasick pill, then slept the rest of the afternoon... Carl was in and out and about. If you're going to have a down day, this was the day to have it.
I woke in time for dinner, feeling better. Dinner was delicious. However, I soon discovered why the seasick pills said not to combine with alcohol, not even a half glass of wine. That dinner tasted much better the first time.... I wound up avoiding alcohol completely for the next 48 hours...
I went to bed early. We watched an old John Wayne movie on the tv (North to Alaska, of course), then I fell asleep.