Sunday, June 17, 2007

ReCap: Day one



Our first day was Seattle & Vancouver where we boarded the ship- Unfortunately we did not have time to sightsee-- it was all we could do to get off the train with all the luggage--At the train station in Seattle we made our first true count of luggage-- Yes we had 11 pieces to transport with four bodies! 8 real suitcases, 3 large carryons, & one camera bag- that never left my side so it didn't make the official count... the rest of the trip it was that magical 11 that my mom was in charge of making sure we had.
Amazingly-- we came home with the same luggage we left with-- 2 train trips, 4 taxi rides, 8 flights between the four of us-- and no lost luggage!

The Train from Seattle to Vancouver was amazing-- The train itself was an Amtrak train-- very roomy with Seats that laid back and had recliner style leg rests-- fold down trays to put your stuff on-- Certainly a relaxing way to start out our vacation. And the scenery was like out of a picture book-- the pacific coast is beautiful with rocks, large trees, flowers and it was where we saw the first of many eagles we would see on our adventure.

Boarding the ship was an easy process-- security was much like the airport-- everything is screened as was everyone. Once we were on the ship they handed out Champagne- certainly a nice way to be greeted! And then we took one of the many glass elevators up the Waterfall Cafe (buffet area) for lunch-- It was amazing the choices of food available. From there we went outside on deck to see the Vancouver skyline. Much like any big city-- but it was Canada--so for me it that was enough to keep me busy looking!

Then we finally made our way to our rooms. We booked the concierge class- which included little special items like champagne, appetizers each night, special room service, nicer towels, bathrobes and a staff that was at our call-- literally if you stepped out into the hall they were there! Oh and a veranda that Mike and I practically lived on.

And if you didn't get enough to eat-- Dinner was at 6pm! Main dining room-- each night 4-5 course meal...now there were other places to dine onboard-- the buffet, the grill (hamburgers and such) the spa (healthy food) but we choose the Main dining room-- Seriously our waiter Ian took good care of us... but unlike other times you eat in a restaurant-- We had our waiter, his assistant, a bartender waiter, the sommelier and the maƮtre d' all tending to us each night! Dinner was more like an event than it was a time to eat. And we enjoyed every moment of it. By luck the table we were assigned to was Table 506-- it was Aft (the back of the ship) right by the largest window on board. Our table mates were great -- they seemed to be down to earth people -a husband and wife, her sister and his Aunt- like us multi-generational- and we all agreed that rotating seats each night was the thing to do so everyone had a chance to stare off into the boats wake and see the mountains go by each night. That way no one spent the whole cruise with their back to the grand window. We truly felt lucky to have that table and spend our week dining with wonderful people.

After dinner there were shows, activities and such but we did alittle exploring and went to our room. Not the most exciting thing to do I am sure-- but we had unpacking to tend to-- and our first real chance to sit outside on our veranda.. a place we would retreat to quite often on this cruise. It was like our own private sancutary-- the ever changing view was better than tv-- theatre shows etc. We embraced each chance we got to just sit and stare off into the wilderness.

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