My first experience of cruising came out of the blue back in 1985 when a friend who had just joined a Royal Caribbean cruise ship as a musician/singer called me up after just 4 days into the job. He called me from Jamaica and said "do you want a job playing drums on a cruise ship?" I said "yes"without hesitation and celebrate that fact every day of my life since.
Luckily, back then, I could play drums after a fashion and was gung-ho to travel. I had been teaching drum students in my home-a cottage industry even though there wasn't a cottage for miles as I was in London, England (not the other one) living in leafy Dulwich, a neighbor of Mrs M Thatcher.
I spent a total of 44 weeks at sea in 85 and 86 before coming ashore to live in the USA. I was on the ship that helped Royal become the 2nd biggest cruise line in the world, behind #1 Carnival corp. That ship was the Song of Norway. Royal has become the Cruise Industry Trend-Setter over the years.
I took a couple of cruises with Carnival as a passenger-Caribbean including Grenada, San Juan and Venezuela in the very early 1990s and then forgot about cruising for almost 20 years during which the industry grew in terms of number or ships and lines and the size of the vessels.
Over the years, sitting by the fire outdoors, I would regale Carol with tales of life at sea. Even though I was part of the ship's crew I was able to mix and mingle with the passengers and ate with them in the formal dining room so I had a good impression of the fun they were having on the islands which were Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Labadee (Island of Haiti)
Carol is a good listener.
So it was in 2011 when we decided to cancel a week in Munich as it was Oktoberfest and our favorite hotel was booked, Carol said "let's go to Alaska on a cruise!"
I set about looking into doing just that. I looked at Royal Caribbean and Holland America, two cruise lines that I was familiar with from the past. I didn't think of Carnival as they have no reputation in cruising Alaskan waters unlike the other two. I went to their websites and also found cruising's greatest resource-Cruiscritic.com. There was no Web back in 1985. CC has 1,000,000 members (free) and that includes me. If anything happens on a cruise ship you will find out about it here....
Cruisecritic.com
There are at least 200 cruise ships at sea 365 days a year, seldom a rest. Like airplanes, the ships are run constantly day in and day out, unless maintenance is needed. There are a couple of hundred more not at sea, but rather on the rivers of Europe and Asia (China mainly). Many options for those seeking relaxation and adventure. People like us!
We decided to let a Travel Agent help us and we made an appointment to talk to one in Chicago.
Just before we left I was surfing cruises and came upon a ship I liked the look of and an itinerary that would have us start our adventure in Alaska (Anchorage) and a week later dock in Vancouver, Canada- a city we had visited before and were fond of. The ship was called Coral Princess and Princess Cruise Lines was the operator. So in the Travel Agent's we focused on that.
I found in the interview that I was more knowledgeable re the ship and Alaska (from reading) than the TA but we told him what we wanted and he held a cabin for us. When I got home and looked at the deck plan of the ship I found out that the cabin reserved had no balcony which was #1 on our wish list. I sent the TA an e mail and thanked him for his time and picking up the phone and calling Princess direct I booked exactly what we needed.
The cruise on the Coral Princess was Carol's first and exceeded both our expectations. That was August 2011 and in January 2012 we took another Princess cruise on the Crown Princes to Aruba and Curacao. Another home run! So August 2012 we wanted to return to Alaska and take the cruise in the opposite direction- from Vancouver to Alaska (Princess' own port of Whittier, 65 miles South of Anchorage.)
If you are someone who has never cruised I hope that what follows will give you a flavor of the experience and make you think about booking a cruise. Seasoned cruisers may find themselves realizing that it's time they added some Alaskan fridge magnets to their collection.
In looking back on my two Alaskan cruises since August 2011, I preferred the Vancouver to Whittier one as it left the glaciers until the end of the cruise rather than right at the beginning.
One important thing- get to your ship on time as they won't wait for you! In our case "on time" means the day before she sails but if you can only fly/drive in on the sailing day, leave yourself a few hours of a cushion as delays may occur. Weather is always unpredictable and airlines are not the Swiss Railway!
The first step one our cruise was to get a seat on one of these things with a ticket that said Vancouver.
Canada is a foreign country (unless you are Canadian) so you will need a Passport and you won't get on your ship without one.
Boarding tickets for the ship and tags for your luggage will already have been made available to you through Princess' web site. You can book your excursions (more on those later) in advance without being charged and your tickets will be waiting in your stateroom which is what your cabin is called.
This is part of the immigration line at Vancouver airport which is one more reason why you want to allow for delays in getting to your ship. Once you get to the Border Control agent don't say anything that will delay things further. No "jokes" about the hand grenades in your suitcase. Everyone carries those in these troubled times. The last words you should ever utter is something along the lines of "hey, do you know Wayne Gretzky?" You'll be holding up the line forever and the beating you'll receive as you wait for a taxi will be fully justified.
If you are cruising after landing look out for uniformed people holding up signs that say things like Princess Cruises/Royal Caribbean Cruises/Holland America cruises and so on. You will already have paid them for your shuttle to the port. We take taxis as we are there a day early.
So, flying in a full day earlier allows one to take delays in one's stride. We were able to sit back and enjoy the 25 minute cab ride down to Vancouver harbor as our hotel was right where the ship docked.
The rounded white building to the right of center is the Pan Pacific Hotel and we were on the 19th floor overlooking the water.
We got to our room and looking out the window I saw the Royal Caribbean ship Radiance of the Seas casting off her lines, preparing to leave...
North Vancouver as the backdrop as the Radiance heads towards the open sea
In the interim I had made contact with him. He was no longer in the band so I didn't have to endure the Blarney Stone and escaped having to listen to Irish music which is my least favorite. He had been playing a residency in the B.Stone for 29 years and it is burned into his psyche.
So I had arranged to call him once I was settled in at the Pan Pacific. He lived in North Van so would take 30 mins to get to the Pan once he got the go signal. When I called him from the pier outside the hotel and told him I had arrived he said "I can see you". I looked across the street and even after 35 years recognized him. It was my old friend Terry.
It was a mid-80s day and there was an Anime festival taking place in the hotel so hundreds of young people in fantastic colorful costumes were milling around -a bit surreal but Terry and I were soon oblivious, sitting by the water catching up after all these years. After a couple of hours I brought him up to the room to meet Carol.
Terry declined our offer of dinner in the hotel's 5 Sails restaurant but joined us by the pool for a pre-dinner drink.
Yes, that's grass growing on the building nearby
We parted ways after an hour by the pool and will meet again next time we sail from Vancouver.
Now it was time to eat!
A great view accompanied a stellar meal.
Arctic Char I believe
Scallops on a cauliflower puree
Lobster Tortellini
Seafood platter
It was dark by the time we arrived at the espresso and Sambuca course...
After dinner a stroll through Gastown, an area filled with restaurants and bars right by the hotel.
It was still 80 degrees and the streets were packed with tourists and locals. My plan was to be up early in the morning to watch our ship return from Alaska-it was sailing South from Whittier that week and would turn around in Vancouver and retrace it's steps.
So I wanted to be in bed by midnight so I could be up again by 5 a.m. to see the Diamond Princess for the first time.
If our trip had ended that evening I would have been happy. Beautiful weather in a beautiful city by the water. An old friendship affirmed and a delicious memorable dinner-but our trip was about to take on a whole new excitement as in the late morning we would step aboard a beautiful ship that would take us in comfort on a great adventure!
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