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Friday, June 15, 2007 Ken and Rocky, Dave's parents, met us in Dixon at around 8:30 AM so we could drive to SFO for our 1:00 PM flight. by 9:00 AM we were on the road and drove to long term parking. Unfortunately the long term parking was full so they sent us to short term for the long term price. They gave us a voucher with very little explanation. Once in short term we had no idea how they were going to know how to give us the long term price, since everything is automated and you don't deal with people. We had to park with faith that all will work out in the end. We ate lunch at the airport and boarded our flight on time at 12:30. The two hour flight to Vancouver was smooth and efficient. We moved through customs and immigration, stopped at the ATM to get some Canadian currency and secured a limo for our transportation into town. Ken had never ridden in a limo before so it was a nice treat. We stayed the night at the Hampton Inn by BC Place. Once checked in we walked down to Gastown and then over to Canada Place. We continued on the sea walk to Carderos for dinner. Carderos is a happening restaurant in the Coal Harbor yacht area. While waiting for our reservation we had drinks in the very busy bar and watched for our reservation flag to be hoisted to signal us for our table. Dinner was excellent. Rocky had the salmon burger... something she had looked forward to for quite sometime... She said it was excellent. Dave and Ken both had one of the seafood wok dishes. Ken had the prawns and Dave had the mixed seafood. I tasted one of Dave's scallops and it was sweet and tender... yummy. I had the halibut which was very delicious. We all had a wonderful dinner. After dinner we took a taxi over to the Edgewater Casino and played for about an hour. We then walked back to the Hampton Inn to retire for the evening. Saturday, June 16, 2007 We had the complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Once breakfast was finished, Dave walked downtown and got a car rental so we could do a bit of sight seeing. Unfortunately for us it was cold and rainy. We started by driving to Queen Elizabeth Park. The gardens were beautiful. Even in the rain. We then drove over to Stanley Park and saw all of the sights. Our last stop was Granville Island. We ate lunch at one of our favorite restaurants called the Cat's Meow. After lunch we drove Ken and Rocky to the Ballentyne Pier. It was hard to navigate our way there but we finally made it. We dropped them off with their luggage and returned to the Hampton Inn to get our luggage. We dropped off our rental car and they took us to the pier. We breezed through check-in, security, and yes, immigration. We were finally on the ship by 3:00. We checked out our suite (1536) and then went to look for Ken & Rocky. After hunting around we finally found them. Now the cruising could begin. We were supposed to embark and set sail at 5:00 but we didn't actually sail until closer to 6:00. As we were sitting down for dinner, in the main dinning room, we were sailing past Stanley Park and out past the Lion's Gate Bridge. We sat at a table of 8. The other 4 people were also a family. They were from Saskatoon. Saskatchewan... Very nice folks. After dinner Ken & Rocky went to the show. Dave and I returned to our room to see if our luggage had arrived. It had so I unpacked and we relaxed for the rest of the evening. Sunday, June 17, 2007 (Father's Day) Day at Sea We awoke and met Ken and Rocky at the Windjammer for breakfast. After breakfast Dave and I explored the ship. We started on Deck 13 and made our way down to Deck 4, seeing the sights along the way. We met up with K & R at 10:30 for Bingo. Ken won the cover all game for $222.... quite appropriate for father's day! After Bingo, Rocky and I went to a scrap booking class and discussed our plans to get together once we are home and create our books together. At 1:00 we had lunch at the Seaview cafe. We then listened to a lecture on glaciers. We skipped the afternoon session of Bingo and took a nice nap back in our stateroom. Since this was a day at sea, the evenings dinner was formal. We went to the Captain's reception at 5 and then to dinner at 6. After dinner Dave and I went to the concierge lounge for an after dinner cocktail. We visited with some diehard cruisers from Scotland. We met with K & R for the evening show at 9:00. He was a pianist and the show was very entertaining. His name was Glen Smith and it was a refreshing and entertaining show. After the show Dave and I made our way to the Vortex lounge for a nightcap. Dave ordered Margaritas that were supposed to have Patron tequila in them. On both drinks the bartender suspiciously walked around the corner to pour the tequila. Dave suspected that he didn't use the Patron. Neither drink was very good and they were supposedly a premium drink. We ended our evening by getting pizza in the Solarium. We did like the pizza..... yummy. Monday, June 18, 2007 Icy Strait Point We arrived and had to tender over to the dock. Dave and I walked around for a bit and then we tendered back to the ship. Ken and Rocky did the bear tour. They didn't see any bears but they said the guide was interesting and talked about lots of the culture. Dave spoke with the Asst. Beverage Mgr regarding the incident from last night. He really didn't seem too concerned and said he would "check into things". We never heard back from him. Tuesday, June 19, 2007 Hubbard Glacier We awoke to sunshine at 4:00 AM in the morning. As we sailed into the bay we hit a fog bank and Dave was afraid the day was going to be a bust. As we sailed further into the bay the fog cleared and we were able to sail fairly close to the glacier. We order room service for breakfast and enjoyed the awesome view from our balcony. After we sailed away from the glacier we went down to listen to a talk by a native who had ancestors who originally came from the area. The rest of the day was just sailing and relaxing. Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Skagway We awoke to bright sunshine again. Exactly what we had been looking forward to all week. We ate breakfast at the Windjammer because we had booked the White Pass Railway tour. The White Pass Railway was built over the Chilkoot trail. This trail was used by the gold seekers in 1989 to travel to the Yukon to find their fortunes. The train takes you up the mountain, switches engines, and then take you down the same way. The scenery is beautiful. Unfortunately Rocky bumped her leg on a seat and got a fairly serious cut on her shin. When we returned to the ship Ken took her to the ship infirmary. Four stitches, an IV of antibiotics and $900 later she was almost all better... a bit sore but cautiously better. She will have to follow up with the doctor tomorrow for more antibiotics and to change the dressing. Dinner was just so-so tonight. Since we have a busy day tomorrow we called it an early evening and skipped the show. Thursday, June 21, 2007 Juneau (First day of summer) We woke up early and had a quick breakfast. We need to get to town early to check into our tour with Orca tours. We started with a helicopter tour up to Herbert Glacier, part of the Juneau Ice Field. Coastal Helicopters was the tour company. Our pilot was Robert. He flew us up to the glacier and we were able to walk around and explore. To think that we were walking on glacial ice that is hundreds of years old is fascinating. When we flew back, we flew over a canyon that was as deep as the one the glacier presided in. It is amazing that ice can accumulate that much. Once back to the airport we waited for our transportation to take us to the harbor for whale watching. Our boat was the Awesome Orca. We saw several humpback whales and calves. We also saw bald eagles and sea lions. The seas were calm and the weather was beautiful. By the time our whale watch tour was over it was time to return to our ship. We wished we would have had more time in Juneau. We really didn't have time to see the town at all. Ken and Rocky did the Mendenhall Glacier and Gardens tour. They really enjoyed their day. They didn't really see town either as Rocky needed to see the doctor for her leg in the afternoon. This was our last formal dinner night. We thought this was the best meal of the week The entertainment for the night was Bowser from Sha Na Na. His show was nostalgic and amusing but he is bit past his prime. What we didn't realize was that we has trained as a classical pianist. He is really quite good on the piano. Friday, June 22, 2007 Day at Sea Today was our last day. The last day is bittersweet. On one hand you want to relax and take in all the view and activities on board. On the other hand you have to pack and have your bags ready to go by 11:00 PM. We ate breakfast in the dining room with Ken and Rocky. Breakfast is very different from dinner. You are seated at large tables with people you have never seen. Your waiters are not your usual waiters and it is an impersonal experience. We all agreed that the Windjammer was fine for breakfast... casual. We attended the captain and crew lecture about the ship. It was very interesting and entertaining. We had our last lunch at the Seaview cafe. Because it was a day a sea it was much busier than usual. We preferred the Seaview because you could order (sandwich fare), sit down and then be served. Dave and I spent the rest of the afternoon packing. We then dressed for dinner and had our before dinner drink in the concierge lounge. We said our good-byes to Maritza, the concierge. Dinner was also bittersweet in that we had to say good-bye to our table mates. Lorraine and Jim and Kirk and Mary from Saskatoon. They were such sweet people and we all had quite a bit in common. We also had to bid farewell to our wonderful wait staff. Ernie, our head waiter, had such an out-going personality. He kept everyone entertained. Andy Wells, our waiter, was from Trinidad and Tobago. He always put 100% into his job and with a smile to boot! If you ordered his suggestions for dinner you were for sure not to be disappointed. Herman, our assistant waiter, was quiet but very efficient. The evening show was a song and dance by the RCCL dancers. It was a review of musicals that had gone from stage to film. We all thought the show was very well executed. After the show we had to return to our room to pack up those few last minute things so we could put our luggage out by 11. Saturday, June 23, 2007 Vancouver - Going Home We woke up early so we could take in the views as we approached Vancouver. We ate a quick breakfast in the Windjammer. We had to vacate our room by 8:00 AM and we were off o the ship by 9:30 AM. We had signed up for the airport shuttle package. We breezed through Canadian customs and boarded a bus to the airport. Once there we claimed our luggage. Ken and Rocky were flying United and Dave and I were flying Air Canada. We split up to check-in and planned to meet in the duty free shop after check-in. Dave and I made it through just fine but Ken and Rocky were held up and didn't get through.... Some 3 hour rule where they won't let you check-in early. Dave and I went on up to the Maple Leaf Club to relax and check email. Ken and Rocky met us up there once they made it through immigration and security. Dave and I arrived in SFO about 1 hour before K & R. This gave us time to pick up our luggage and get a quick bite to eat. Our only snag on the way home was an accident on the Bay Bridge, so we took the Golden Gate home. It added to our time to get home but it was better than sitting in traffic. Thoughts on Alaska - The scenery was breathtaking. Cruising is the way to see the Alaskan coastline. The Inside Passage makes for very smooth sailing. I usually get sea-sick but didn't on this trip. - Since we took tours in Juneau and our ship left at 3:00, we really didn't get to see much of town. We felt we could have spent more time there. - Icy Strait Point really didn't have much to it. We also had to tender to port so it really wasn't too convenient. I'd skip that port.
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