Thursday
Just like our Michigan adventure, this Alaska trip was postponed year after year because of Covid. Our original group of travelers patiently waited and are now together at long last. Walter and Cleone came from Oklahoma, Cyd from Arkansas, Hettie and Ronnie from Maryland, and Barb from North Carolina. Thank you Hettie and Ronnie for organizing and then reorganizing this adventure from start to finish.

We all flew into Vancouver, British Columbia a day early and met at a downtown hotel a mile from the port. The earliest of us birds headed to the airport at 3:30 this morning followed by Dan’s and my trip at 5:30 with Barb, who did not get to the hotel until 9:30 PM, bringing up the rear.

Cyd, Hettie, Ronnie, Walter, and Cleone spent their free afternoon in Vancouver checking out Granville Island which they thought was charming and fun. They browsed the markets and shops and stopped for an early dinner before heading back to the hotel. Dan and I arrived too late to join them, but we fared really well at a design-your-own-pizza shop a block from the hotel, and Barb ate on the move.

A long day, one way or the other, for all of us with the time change and all the travel. We went to bed feeling fortunate to have had nice weather, on-time departures, and easy connections.

Friday
Sun, the promise of a 77 degree day, and clear skies greeted us when we pulled back our curtains this morning. A perfect day to set sail. We had synchronized our boarding times for Celebrity’s Millennium, so our little enthusiastic group headed to the dock in time to board at 10:00. We relinquished our luggage, showed our printed-at-home boarding passes, cleared immigration, and then waited patiently to board.

Our staterooms were not quite ready, so we positioned ourselves near the window in the buffet and began what would surely be the consumption of a regrettable amount of food over the course of the trip.

Our afternoon passed quickly as we unpacked, settled in, figured out the internet, and got organized for cocktails followed by dinner followed by a laugh-out-loud stand up act by A.J. Jamal. After the show, believe it or not, we headed back to the buffet so half of our group could have a little snack before heading to bed.

A very satisfying day one.

… What’s Not to Love About Vancouver …

The California roll, Botox, and Greenpeace have their origins here.

Vancouver is home to Canada’s only nude beach.

Vancouver is the largest port city in Canada and boasts the 4th largest cruise ship terminal in the world.

Vancouver is home to Kitsalino Pool, North America’s longest swimming pool.
Nearly the size of three Olympic pools, this saltwater, outdoor, heated pool opened in 1931.

Vancouver boasts more parks than any other city in the world. The largest, Stanley Park, is 10% larger than Central Park and has the longest (as in 13.6 miles) non-interrupted seafront walkway in the world.