We are awake before the alarm goes off. We ordered hotel room service for breakfast as we had no idea what service in the dining room would be like. If was anything like in the bar last night we would never make our excursion.
Delivery was right on time. Food good, and arrived hot as appropriate. The only downside - the cost. I'm not sure that I have ever spent $50 for an egg, a couple of bacon strips and a glass of $orange, juice and a pastry. Before taxes and tip I might add.
While Lynn stops at the desk to check out, the cab driver takes our luggage from the hotel lobby to his cab. It is no more than 10 minutes to Canada Place where we are to start our tour. Traffic on a Saturday morning is almost nonexistent. There are a handfull of passengers appearing to be looking for the same tour. We join them.
Shortly a tour company representative comes by and affirms we are in the correct spot. The bus will arrive shortly.
Luggage to go directly to the ship and our cabins is stored in the bottom of the bus. All other carryon items must be on the bus with the passengers. Lynn's is on her lap, it won't fit in the overhead.
Once everyone is onboard, and have signed the obligatory waivers, we are missing 6 guests. We wait an extra 5 minutes but they never arrive. Too bad.
Our tour takes us around the city but primarily to stanley park, 1200 acres of well preserved 2nd growth trees now approaching 100 years of being left natural.
Land and housing are very expensive in Vancouver. A typical 2 bedroom home sells for over $1,000,000. Apartments in high rises typically cost $2000 per square foot. One of the most recently built sold out in days. 2 vacant lots totaling about 1/4 acre were recently purchased for 2 billion dollars. No that is not a typo. No wonder my breakfast cost so much.
We see the totem poles, spend time visiting a fish ladder and fish hatchey. It would take several attemps for the spawing salmon to make it up one step, but eventually they did. Nearly a million salmon are raised here each year.
I skip the part of the tour where everyone walks into the dense forest. I did not feel comfortable attempting the slippery trails.
I wait for the others at the picnic area where we all are given a snack and water. Delicious. Many locals use the park. I chated with a gentleman that has been coming here every Saturday for 20 years.
The weather for Vancouver was good. A mixture of fog, clouds and partly sunny. Often this time of year it is quite rainy.
Our tour guides were excellent. One was a local high school principal and the other a teacher. This is a part time weekend gig they have worked together for years. This is the last tour this year. No more cruise ships this season.
Our bus gets us back to the pier to board the ship by 1:00. There are no lines, but it takes almost 45 minutes to walk through the process. The Anthem of the Seas is docked with us. Passengers start out in different lines for each ship then intermingle for security, then separate. I lost count but I felt like I walked from one end to the other of the long terminal building at least 5 times.
We are some of the last passengers to board as boarding was to be completed by 1:30. We were late, but it was a Holland America tour so they wait.
At our 3:00 scheduled departure time the ship is still waiting for a few passengers. We are finally underway by 4:30.
Our cabin is exactly as expected. We were on a sister ship earlier this year so the layout of the ship quicky falls into place. Our first disappointment was to see that our favorite lounge, the ocean view bar, has been turned into a space for many slot machines. Not a product of a refurbishment, but a change made in the past 12 hours. Oh well, no profit from me with them.
This is a very mature crowd of seasoned cruisers. When I booked months ago many of the shore excursons were already sold out, and early dining was no longer available. Luggage arrives in our cabin. Everything is stashed away in our "home" for the next three weeks.
My first task was to make dinner reservations. Done 5:15.
We arrive at the dining room just after 5:00. The line is manageable. After pushing back at the hostess who wanted us to return at 7:30 despite a 5:15 reservation we are seated in a very quiet table for 2 close to the door and the galley. Our staff is excellent and we ask the maitre de to book us here every night. Problem solved. I will note there were numerous tables that were never used by 6:45 when we left.
The early dining gives us plenty of time after dinner to make the "late" show at 8:00. Yes, late show. The early show is at 6:00. Not the timing of most cruise ships, but yes this is a very mature manifest.
The show is good, most seats are full, and I don't need earplugs. It has been a long day and we retire for the night.
As we enter the Pacific to begin our 5 day passage towards Hawaii, the ship has a gentle 2 degree roll due to 6 to 8 foot swells on our starboard side. Even though I am not as agile as I used to be, the roll causes no problem. I probaby just walk less straight than usual.
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