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Pura Vida! Everything is Pura Vida in Costa Rica. Literally, that means pure life. But it is used for a lot more meanings in Costa Rica. We'd heard it before but never had it explained. The guide today said it had been adopted by the nation after a movie. I immediately thought of a movie we'd seen with the phrase used alot, but that was not the film he was talking about but a much earlier Mexican film.
We'd visited here before at this same port. Like before we must have been on a full day excursion because we saw little of the actual port of Puntarenas. We had no recollection of the sail in up the gulf where it sits as a long narrow sand spit. I think we must have arrived and departed in the dark last time. I know we went to Poas volcano and Sarchi last time and had lunch.
Today we met at 9:45am for our San Jose City Tour. It was an hour and 3/4 drive there. We stopped for lunch mid way. It was a good lunch. They had a tree there that we had also seen in Nicaragua and Cuba. It had a sign that read Jicara. The guide in Nicaragua swore they made some beverages from the insides and used the hard outer parts as containers or maracas. In Cuba they said it was inedible as I recall. Today the guide called the fruit a gourd and passed dried ones around that were light and hollow. The guide in Nicaragua got out of the bus and picked one and passed it around and it felt solid and heavy. Interesting. The other interesting thing was both guides talked about gallo pinto, a dish of rice and beans that the people eat 3 meals a day because they are so poor. I think it might have been more of a joke thing here though because we saw it on an art poster at a museum gift shop and on an apron at another souvenir store. Our guide today told us that all of Central America was under Spanish control until September 15, 1821. Somehow we had seen that date in each of the 3 Central American countries we'd visited without anyone making that clear. Also, we visited Antigua, one of 4 capital cities of Guatemala without it ever being explained there that it was the capital of Central America, not of Guatemala. I guess it was a good final tour for us here in that we got a lot more information to put things in context. Based on the bus and the roads, Costa Rica is more prosperous than Nicaragua or Guatemala.
In San Jose, we drove around then parked beside the National Theater, one of the oldest buildings in the capital from 1897. We visited the National Theatre building for about an hour, then waited out a pouring rain since we'd been asked to leave everything except cameras on the buses. It turns out they walk about a block or 2 to get to the Gold Museum after and they have a bag check there the guides were hoping to avoid somehow. I don't know why because each of us still had to go through a metal detector and have umbrellas held. Clay went back to the bus while it rained to retrieve ours but some people bought umbrellas from a street entrepreneur and others ignored instructions and carried everything anyway. It was awkward. They knew it had poured off and on all day. It was not unexpected and they knew about the walk while we didn't. Anyway. A blot on an otherwise good day. We toured the Gold Museum for about an hour too. We stopped midway on the bus ride back for souvenir shopping in a big souvenir store off the highway. We bought more coffee. We learned that Altura on coffee is translated as altitude. I don't know how we failed to get that before since as far as we know all coffee is grown at altitude and not at sea level.
Everyone must have been all aboard long before sundown. We were on bus 6 of our tour, so I believe we were the last bus of the day long tour. We were supposed to be all aboard by 6:30pm and sail at 7pm. But, shortly after we got to the cabin, the ship left at about 6:15pm. I think this was our earliest departure ahead of schedule.
We lost an hour tonight but tomorrow is a welcome sea day. The Captain announced during dinner that we were in for some bad weather. He was speaking during an amazing thunderstorm as we sailed for open ocean. Fingers crossed for some calm seas.
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Little Bob hits the road
Little Bob hits the road
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Friday, September 29, 2017
Nicaragua
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We made it to my 79th country today. It started out looking iffy. We certainly had tender ports scrubbed with conditions that seemed milder than today's did here.
We could have slept in since we wouldn't arrive until 11am but Clay was up before 6am. Breakfast didn't start at Terrace until 7:30am. We sat for over an hour in Horizons and saw a lot of dolphins before we could get back in the cabin.
We arrived at San Juan del Sur an hour early. The first tender was in the water by 10am. The ship was cleared by 11am. The first tour groups called to tender did not leave the ship for about another hour. It was an hour after our tender meeting time before we were called to board our tender. There were at least the 1 meter swells the Captain had warned us about. The good news was that they opened a new dock today with our arrival and it was well-protected and calm arriving ashore. The bad news is that the swells were even bigger when we returned in the dark tonight. The destinations services people promised that no one would have a truncated tour due to our late arrival ashore but that was not true. We were only gone from the ship for 7 hours. Pasted below is our tour description from O's website.
Back To The Past - Granada BY Boat & Carriage (SJS-002)
Port: San Juan Del Sur
Tour Length: Full-Day (Approximately 8 hours)
Tour Description
Cruises Visiting This Port
Spend a full day experiencing the joys of colonial Granada through an informative walking tour, a picturesque boat ride and free time to delve even deeper into its marquee attractions.
After departing from the pier, you will settle in for a leisurely one and three-quarters hour drive north through a gorgeous tropical landscape. This verdant region exemplifies Nicaragua’s nickname, the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes,” and colonial Granada lies at its heart.
Upon arriving in this historical city on Lake Nicaragua’s northern shore, you will ride through the cobblestone streets in a horse-drawn carriage. It’s a wonderfully traditional mode of transportation, and in time you will arrive at San Francisco Convent, one of Granada’s oldest buildings. Now a cultural center and museum with fine pre-Columbian statues, the convent has been rebuilt several times over ancient catacombs. Your guided visit showcases some of the most important displays and exhibits housed here.
Next, for a different perspective of Granada, you will enjoy an immensely scenic boat ride past several islands that dot massive Lake Nicaragua, the world’s only lake with oceanic marine animals such as sharks and swordfish. An enlightening walking tour of colonial Granada follows, during which you will learn about the city’s turbulent past.
Then, after a traditional Nicaraguan lunch at a nearby hotel, you will have some free time to explore further on your own. The serene central plaza is a wonderful starting point, as there is abundant shopping, extraordinary colonial architecture and inviting tree-shaded benches perfect for people watching. Afterwards, you will rejoin your coach and return to the pier in San Juan del Sur.
Please note: This tour includes approximately 1-hour of easy to moderate guided walking over mostly even surfaces; however, there may be some cobblestone surfaces and a few steps to negotiate. The tour is available to wheelchair guests who have a collapsible wheelchair, are able to make their own way on and off the coach and have an able-bodied companion to assist them. Those with mobility concerns are cautioned to carefully evaluate their personal level of stamina and ability. Light clothing to include a sweater for the coach; sun cap; sunglasses; sunscreen; a bottle of water from the ship; and flat comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
Our tour order was obviously different since we got to Granada around 2pm. We also had an unscheduled stop at Playa La Virgen to a beach viewpoint of twin volcanoes forming an island in Lake Nicaragua. We went directly to lunch. It was good. We bought a bag of coffee there as we'd heard and seen a lot about it and it and pottery were for sale in the hotel/restaurant. It turned out that and the pestering/following horde of street peddlers were our only shopping opportunities as the hour of free time was eliminated at the end of the tour. Clay also had the opportunity to buy a $3 Tona beer at lunch. Clay spent the entire tour without his extra camera lens as when we arrived the guide advised everyone to leave things they didn't want to carry in to lunch locked on the bus. He didn't specify that we would see the bus again until we reloaded it for the drive back to port! So after about 30 minutes at lunch, we walked 4 blocks down the plaza to the museum in the old convent where we spent about another 30 minutes. We crossed the street on exiting to board our horse-drawn carriages for about 40 minutes. We were dropped at Lake Nicaragua and the boat launch where we had about an hour ride among islands. When we got back to the landing, the bus was waiting and we were told that was the end of the tour, they were elimating free time in the Plaza because of late arrival on shore and it was getting dark. It is full dark here by 6pm. We headed back and were onboard by 7pm. The last tender is at 8:30pm for 9pm sailing.
It was a good tour and we were happy that we got to visit Nicaragua. We had a much newer and nicer small bus than the rattletrap we had in Guatemala. The roads were in much better shape. It was clearly a poor place here. Guatemala was much poorer and trashier looking though the guide did not mention poverty in Guatemala. Both guides talked about the problem of criminal gangs in Guatemala coming from El Salvador and Honduras. According to today's guide the Nicaraguan army tightly controls the border and so they don't have the gang problem in southern Central America.
Today was hot and humid with a good deal of rain. Fortunately it didn't rain on us when we were out because we had been told there was no chance of showers today so we took no umbrellas for one and secondly even if we'd taken umbrellas they'd have been in Clay's string pack which spent the entire tour on the bus.
photos
We made it to my 79th country today. It started out looking iffy. We certainly had tender ports scrubbed with conditions that seemed milder than today's did here.
We could have slept in since we wouldn't arrive until 11am but Clay was up before 6am. Breakfast didn't start at Terrace until 7:30am. We sat for over an hour in Horizons and saw a lot of dolphins before we could get back in the cabin.
We arrived at San Juan del Sur an hour early. The first tender was in the water by 10am. The ship was cleared by 11am. The first tour groups called to tender did not leave the ship for about another hour. It was an hour after our tender meeting time before we were called to board our tender. There were at least the 1 meter swells the Captain had warned us about. The good news was that they opened a new dock today with our arrival and it was well-protected and calm arriving ashore. The bad news is that the swells were even bigger when we returned in the dark tonight. The destinations services people promised that no one would have a truncated tour due to our late arrival ashore but that was not true. We were only gone from the ship for 7 hours. Pasted below is our tour description from O's website.
Back To The Past - Granada BY Boat & Carriage (SJS-002)
Port: San Juan Del Sur
Tour Length: Full-Day (Approximately 8 hours)
Tour Description
Cruises Visiting This Port
Spend a full day experiencing the joys of colonial Granada through an informative walking tour, a picturesque boat ride and free time to delve even deeper into its marquee attractions.
After departing from the pier, you will settle in for a leisurely one and three-quarters hour drive north through a gorgeous tropical landscape. This verdant region exemplifies Nicaragua’s nickname, the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes,” and colonial Granada lies at its heart.
Upon arriving in this historical city on Lake Nicaragua’s northern shore, you will ride through the cobblestone streets in a horse-drawn carriage. It’s a wonderfully traditional mode of transportation, and in time you will arrive at San Francisco Convent, one of Granada’s oldest buildings. Now a cultural center and museum with fine pre-Columbian statues, the convent has been rebuilt several times over ancient catacombs. Your guided visit showcases some of the most important displays and exhibits housed here.
Next, for a different perspective of Granada, you will enjoy an immensely scenic boat ride past several islands that dot massive Lake Nicaragua, the world’s only lake with oceanic marine animals such as sharks and swordfish. An enlightening walking tour of colonial Granada follows, during which you will learn about the city’s turbulent past.
Then, after a traditional Nicaraguan lunch at a nearby hotel, you will have some free time to explore further on your own. The serene central plaza is a wonderful starting point, as there is abundant shopping, extraordinary colonial architecture and inviting tree-shaded benches perfect for people watching. Afterwards, you will rejoin your coach and return to the pier in San Juan del Sur.
Please note: This tour includes approximately 1-hour of easy to moderate guided walking over mostly even surfaces; however, there may be some cobblestone surfaces and a few steps to negotiate. The tour is available to wheelchair guests who have a collapsible wheelchair, are able to make their own way on and off the coach and have an able-bodied companion to assist them. Those with mobility concerns are cautioned to carefully evaluate their personal level of stamina and ability. Light clothing to include a sweater for the coach; sun cap; sunglasses; sunscreen; a bottle of water from the ship; and flat comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
Our tour order was obviously different since we got to Granada around 2pm. We also had an unscheduled stop at Playa La Virgen to a beach viewpoint of twin volcanoes forming an island in Lake Nicaragua. We went directly to lunch. It was good. We bought a bag of coffee there as we'd heard and seen a lot about it and it and pottery were for sale in the hotel/restaurant. It turned out that and the pestering/following horde of street peddlers were our only shopping opportunities as the hour of free time was eliminated at the end of the tour. Clay also had the opportunity to buy a $3 Tona beer at lunch. Clay spent the entire tour without his extra camera lens as when we arrived the guide advised everyone to leave things they didn't want to carry in to lunch locked on the bus. He didn't specify that we would see the bus again until we reloaded it for the drive back to port! So after about 30 minutes at lunch, we walked 4 blocks down the plaza to the museum in the old convent where we spent about another 30 minutes. We crossed the street on exiting to board our horse-drawn carriages for about 40 minutes. We were dropped at Lake Nicaragua and the boat launch where we had about an hour ride among islands. When we got back to the landing, the bus was waiting and we were told that was the end of the tour, they were elimating free time in the Plaza because of late arrival on shore and it was getting dark. It is full dark here by 6pm. We headed back and were onboard by 7pm. The last tender is at 8:30pm for 9pm sailing.
It was a good tour and we were happy that we got to visit Nicaragua. We had a much newer and nicer small bus than the rattletrap we had in Guatemala. The roads were in much better shape. It was clearly a poor place here. Guatemala was much poorer and trashier looking though the guide did not mention poverty in Guatemala. Both guides talked about the problem of criminal gangs in Guatemala coming from El Salvador and Honduras. According to today's guide the Nicaraguan army tightly controls the border and so they don't have the gang problem in southern Central America.
Today was hot and humid with a good deal of rain. Fortunately it didn't rain on us when we were out because we had been told there was no chance of showers today so we took no umbrellas for one and secondly even if we'd taken umbrellas they'd have been in Clay's string pack which spent the entire tour on the bus.
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Thursday, September 28, 2017
Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
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The alarm woke us before sunrise this morning. As predicted it was cloudy and rained off and on. Fortunately it never rained on us. Breakfast at Terrace started at 6:30am and we arrived as they opened. We ate a quick breakfast. Back to the cabin to use the bathroom, brush our teeth and pick up our bags and tour tickets. Antigua at a Glance tours met at 7:35am. They went in buses of about 16 passengers each. There were a dozen or more buses. I think I mentioned before that Oceania had a poor tour selection here. One to a macadamia nut farm, one to coffee and one to a safari zoo. The only excursion to Antigua is the one we took and the only promised stop after the 3-4 hour roundtrip drive was to a Jade Factory/Museum/Store. We drove through miles of bananas, coffee and sugar cane. They grow shaded coffee and we bought some at the big stop after they gave out samples. The tour was expanded by 45 minutes after ticketing for free time to eat (or whatever you chose). We got Clay a Gallo cerveza, me a frozen chocolate drink and we shared big meringues and a cinnamon raisin bun. We visited a plaza in front of an old cathedral for that free time. We also had a visit to La Merced Church, the Santa Catalina Arch and 15 minutes of free time. Clay bought another Gallo to take back to the ship. The guide gave us worry dolls, I won a fiber ball and more worry dolls during the ride back. He gave us all maps. The Antigua map does not list Maya Jade as a point of interest, btw. Our impression was that the tour company (and perhaps Oceania) were paid to deliver us for the hour or so visit there. There was enormous shopping area spread around the port entry. We had about 30 minutes to walk through from the bus to the ship. I bought a blouse for $35. It wasn't what I had in mind and it still seemed expensive but it wasn't the $60 they were asking in Mexico.
We tried to go to Waves for lunch but there is only seating for about 30 people there and all the hundred plus just back from Antigua were trying to eat there. There is more seating in Terrace but they weren't seating in there. So we went down to Baristas and ate some cold sandwiches.
We were all aboard on time since I assume there were few if any passengers independently touring here given O's strong warnings against it and the remoteness of the port. The Captain made a warning announcement about the sea swells and the tender conditions tomorrow. I took it as a heads up that the port would be canceled and bypassed. Clay disagreed. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. We booked this cruise for San Francisco sail in and out, Catalina Island (already canceled), Guatemala (not a well scheduled port stop excursion-wise) and Nicaragua. So, if we miss Nicaragua too, I will be sorely disappointed in Oceania. Needless to say, we have not booked a future cruise while onboard.
We'll plan to have dinner at Terrace tonight if it is calm enough otherwise we'll have to endure the menu and slow service in the Grand Dining Room. I'll post this now since I have Internet and I'll assume nothing else noteworthy will happen.
photos
The alarm woke us before sunrise this morning. As predicted it was cloudy and rained off and on. Fortunately it never rained on us. Breakfast at Terrace started at 6:30am and we arrived as they opened. We ate a quick breakfast. Back to the cabin to use the bathroom, brush our teeth and pick up our bags and tour tickets. Antigua at a Glance tours met at 7:35am. They went in buses of about 16 passengers each. There were a dozen or more buses. I think I mentioned before that Oceania had a poor tour selection here. One to a macadamia nut farm, one to coffee and one to a safari zoo. The only excursion to Antigua is the one we took and the only promised stop after the 3-4 hour roundtrip drive was to a Jade Factory/Museum/Store. We drove through miles of bananas, coffee and sugar cane. They grow shaded coffee and we bought some at the big stop after they gave out samples. The tour was expanded by 45 minutes after ticketing for free time to eat (or whatever you chose). We got Clay a Gallo cerveza, me a frozen chocolate drink and we shared big meringues and a cinnamon raisin bun. We visited a plaza in front of an old cathedral for that free time. We also had a visit to La Merced Church, the Santa Catalina Arch and 15 minutes of free time. Clay bought another Gallo to take back to the ship. The guide gave us worry dolls, I won a fiber ball and more worry dolls during the ride back. He gave us all maps. The Antigua map does not list Maya Jade as a point of interest, btw. Our impression was that the tour company (and perhaps Oceania) were paid to deliver us for the hour or so visit there. There was enormous shopping area spread around the port entry. We had about 30 minutes to walk through from the bus to the ship. I bought a blouse for $35. It wasn't what I had in mind and it still seemed expensive but it wasn't the $60 they were asking in Mexico.
We tried to go to Waves for lunch but there is only seating for about 30 people there and all the hundred plus just back from Antigua were trying to eat there. There is more seating in Terrace but they weren't seating in there. So we went down to Baristas and ate some cold sandwiches.
We were all aboard on time since I assume there were few if any passengers independently touring here given O's strong warnings against it and the remoteness of the port. The Captain made a warning announcement about the sea swells and the tender conditions tomorrow. I took it as a heads up that the port would be canceled and bypassed. Clay disagreed. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. We booked this cruise for San Francisco sail in and out, Catalina Island (already canceled), Guatemala (not a well scheduled port stop excursion-wise) and Nicaragua. So, if we miss Nicaragua too, I will be sorely disappointed in Oceania. Needless to say, we have not booked a future cruise while onboard.
We'll plan to have dinner at Terrace tonight if it is calm enough otherwise we'll have to endure the menu and slow service in the Grand Dining Room. I'll post this now since I have Internet and I'll assume nothing else noteworthy will happen.
photos
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Sea Day 8
We had planned to sleep in this morning, but Clay woke me with the light from his tablet in bed at 6:45am. I got up and shaved my legs. The bathroom is so small, the shower is so small, on these R-class ships that you can't shave your legs in the shower. I use the bathmat, the sink and a towel on the toilet lid. It was tricky because as the Captain said at noon, "we are experiencing some pitching. Hold on." We have been sailing along in sight of the coast of Mexico all day. We have had some of every weather except cold. It has been hot and sunny, foggy and rainy, all with starboard broadside swells. Other than land off the port side and a few ships, there hasn't been much to see. Clay thought he might have seen a sea turtle. We've watched 3 TV movies today. It has been a quiet, lazy day for us. We had breakfast in Terrace and lunch in Terrace. We have dinner reservations at Toscano tonight. We have one more reservation each in Polo and Toscano before the end of the cruise.
A few nights ago, when it first got really warm and clear we went out on the top deck and tried to star gaze. The next night after lights out we went out on our own balcony and had a much better view of stars. The moon has been gradually growing from a tiny sliver. But the real news is that the last time from the balcony, I could swear I'd seen the Southern Cross. I dismissed it as wishful thinking since I didn't think it was visible in the Northern Hemisphere. I was wrong. It is visible south of 25 degrees latitude. Who knew?
Tomorrow we have to set an alarm. Our tour meets at 7:35am. This is for Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.
Ironically the Destinations Service Manager gave her televised port talk about it and said the reason for stopping at this port is to visit Antigua. Unfortunately, Oceania canceled both their all day shore excursions at this port a couple of moths ago. Even though they moved all the tour departure times from 10 am or so to 7:30 am or so, they did not put the full day tours back on offer. We booked the Colonial Antigua at a Glance which was originally a 5 hour tour and they have now altered to a 6 hour tour. I suppose the onboard destinations people had to deal with the customer fallout and that was the best they could do. I am very disappointed that this will constitute my first, and perhaps only, visit Guatemala. Oh well. This will be my 78th country visited.
I will assume that nothing else noteworthy will happen today and post this now.
A few nights ago, when it first got really warm and clear we went out on the top deck and tried to star gaze. The next night after lights out we went out on our own balcony and had a much better view of stars. The moon has been gradually growing from a tiny sliver. But the real news is that the last time from the balcony, I could swear I'd seen the Southern Cross. I dismissed it as wishful thinking since I didn't think it was visible in the Northern Hemisphere. I was wrong. It is visible south of 25 degrees latitude. Who knew?
Tomorrow we have to set an alarm. Our tour meets at 7:35am. This is for Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.
Ironically the Destinations Service Manager gave her televised port talk about it and said the reason for stopping at this port is to visit Antigua. Unfortunately, Oceania canceled both their all day shore excursions at this port a couple of moths ago. Even though they moved all the tour departure times from 10 am or so to 7:30 am or so, they did not put the full day tours back on offer. We booked the Colonial Antigua at a Glance which was originally a 5 hour tour and they have now altered to a 6 hour tour. I suppose the onboard destinations people had to deal with the customer fallout and that was the best they could do. I am very disappointed that this will constitute my first, and perhaps only, visit Guatemala. Oh well. This will be my 78th country visited.
I will assume that nothing else noteworthy will happen today and post this now.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Acapulco
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I was up this morning without Clay waking me so I had a good night's sleep. We had to sail all morning to reach the dock in Acapulco at noon. We were sailing in very calm water within sight of land all morning. We had breakfast in Terrace and sat in Horizons until after 9:30am. We had an early lunch at Waves Grill. It was acclimatization for the heat ahead. Clay had his surf & turf, hold the surf and they gave him double turf. He seemed pleased.
Our O tour today was Historical, Picturesque & Cliff Divers. As we had an excellent day here in 2006 we weren't too worried about missing anything here but it was a pretty good tour. The tour description warned that there were a couple hundred stairs to negotiate between La Quebrada and the Peace Chapel. We still wound up with 2 canes and a walker in our 8-passenger minivan. I guess it was just luck of the draw but it might also have been the law of averages. We started with the cliff divers, then crossed the street from La Mirador to an air conditioned shop where we were provided beverages and restrooms. We reboarded the van for the Flamingo Hotel where we saw the former house of Johnny Weismuller and sat on the seafront terrace for another complimentary beverage. Next we drove around the bay and up through the new expensive homes area of Las Brisas to the Peace Chapel. It was closed for renovations but it was a spectacular sight with great breezes and views. Last stop was the Diego Fort Museum. I don't know what the actual temperature was today but it felt much hotter than the average of upper 80sF. We really only expect it to get hotter from here.
Dinner tonight was Mexican buffet in Terrace. The food was good but service was poor tonight. They seemed seriously understaffed and had several butlers filling in as waitstaff. We don't sail until 9pm tonight so I don't know if they gave a lot of people the night off thinking there wouldn't be a lot of people eating onboard or what. They closed the GDR for lunch today.
We moved the clocks back 1 hour tonight. I assume we'll have to give that hour back before Miami. Tomorrow is a sea day followed by 3 back to back port days. This cruise will be over before we know it! Of course, we filled out our disembarkation form after the first sea day after San Francisco.
photos
I was up this morning without Clay waking me so I had a good night's sleep. We had to sail all morning to reach the dock in Acapulco at noon. We were sailing in very calm water within sight of land all morning. We had breakfast in Terrace and sat in Horizons until after 9:30am. We had an early lunch at Waves Grill. It was acclimatization for the heat ahead. Clay had his surf & turf, hold the surf and they gave him double turf. He seemed pleased.
Our O tour today was Historical, Picturesque & Cliff Divers. As we had an excellent day here in 2006 we weren't too worried about missing anything here but it was a pretty good tour. The tour description warned that there were a couple hundred stairs to negotiate between La Quebrada and the Peace Chapel. We still wound up with 2 canes and a walker in our 8-passenger minivan. I guess it was just luck of the draw but it might also have been the law of averages. We started with the cliff divers, then crossed the street from La Mirador to an air conditioned shop where we were provided beverages and restrooms. We reboarded the van for the Flamingo Hotel where we saw the former house of Johnny Weismuller and sat on the seafront terrace for another complimentary beverage. Next we drove around the bay and up through the new expensive homes area of Las Brisas to the Peace Chapel. It was closed for renovations but it was a spectacular sight with great breezes and views. Last stop was the Diego Fort Museum. I don't know what the actual temperature was today but it felt much hotter than the average of upper 80sF. We really only expect it to get hotter from here.
Dinner tonight was Mexican buffet in Terrace. The food was good but service was poor tonight. They seemed seriously understaffed and had several butlers filling in as waitstaff. We don't sail until 9pm tonight so I don't know if they gave a lot of people the night off thinking there wouldn't be a lot of people eating onboard or what. They closed the GDR for lunch today.
We moved the clocks back 1 hour tonight. I assume we'll have to give that hour back before Miami. Tomorrow is a sea day followed by 3 back to back port days. This cruise will be over before we know it! Of course, we filled out our disembarkation form after the first sea day after San Francisco.
photos
Monday, September 25, 2017
Sea Day 7
I had trouble with the tremor letting me go to sleep again last night and so I was still asleep at 8:30am today when Clay started turning on lights to wake me. If I'd slept much longer we'd have missed breakfast.
The ship has been rocking pretty good all day though as the Captain predicted we skirted TS Pilar. We could see it ahead before sunset last night and it looked scary but it was traveling away from our path. Lucky.
We had breakfast in Terrace. Killed time in Horizons. Had lunch at the Asian buffet in Terrace. We went to the big screen popcorn movie in Regatta Lounge at 1:30pm. Julie James was our CD on Sirena for circle Australia and she did these afternoon sea day movies then too. The last CD on Regatta didn't do them. I can't imagine a good reason not to show the popcorn movies on sea days.
We have a reservation at Polo Grill at 6:30pm. Bad news is that it is aft on deck 10 so we'll really feel the rolling.
I broke the clasp on my diamond pendant necklace the other day. I also recently noted that the front stairwell carpet here is red and the rear stairwell carpet is blue. That is a good way to remember which end of the ship you are in. I don't know if it is true on the other O ships. If it is we can't recall from earlier this year on Sirena.
It has been a quiet and lazy day. Tomorrow mid-day we arrive at Acapulco, our last Mexican port.
The ship has been rocking pretty good all day though as the Captain predicted we skirted TS Pilar. We could see it ahead before sunset last night and it looked scary but it was traveling away from our path. Lucky.
We had breakfast in Terrace. Killed time in Horizons. Had lunch at the Asian buffet in Terrace. We went to the big screen popcorn movie in Regatta Lounge at 1:30pm. Julie James was our CD on Sirena for circle Australia and she did these afternoon sea day movies then too. The last CD on Regatta didn't do them. I can't imagine a good reason not to show the popcorn movies on sea days.
We have a reservation at Polo Grill at 6:30pm. Bad news is that it is aft on deck 10 so we'll really feel the rolling.
I broke the clasp on my diamond pendant necklace the other day. I also recently noted that the front stairwell carpet here is red and the rear stairwell carpet is blue. That is a good way to remember which end of the ship you are in. I don't know if it is true on the other O ships. If it is we can't recall from earlier this year on Sirena.
It has been a quiet and lazy day. Tomorrow mid-day we arrive at Acapulco, our last Mexican port.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Cabo San Lucas
photos
Today was another return port for us. We have been everywhere before since Astoria. Today's port would have been unrecognizable since our last visit except for El Arco at Land's End. There has been a lot of construction here since 2006. Also there was a lot of recent mud flooding damage still evident from a tropical storm a couple of weeks ago.
We slept in again, or I did. We had breakfast at Terrace. We arrived at anchorage while we were sitting in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We are tendering from the starboard side today. We are in the shade but the port side has the arch view and the view of the tender port. Lunch was not served in time for most of the tours to attend. We had to be in the Regatta Lounge at 12:05 and earlier lunch was Waves Grill at 11:30am. We had snacks from Baristas and I had a frozen coffee from about 11:30 to about noon. We got called to our tender shortly after 12:05pm. We were bus 10. They had a lot more tours here. We went to San Jose del Cabo on the Art District tour. We were 43 people on a bus. Our guide said he had never had more than 24 people on this tour before. We are traveling Oceania style. We started with a beer sampling at Puerto Paraiso mall. It is the 3rd location of Baja Brewing. The other 2 are closed due to mud flood damage and remodeling. They gave 3 very small samples to everyone and 2 slices of pepperoni pizza. We were not told about the pizza before hand or we'd have all worried less about missing lunch. Clay bought me a full-size root beer for $8USD! Nothing was cheap here. I looked at an embroidered Mexican blouse that was about $60USD. Clay has drunk his 4 beers from Vancouver and thought he'd have a chance to buy some here but they weren't selling. I guess because their facility was closed by 8 feet of mud 2 weeks ago. Clay found a convenience store in the mall where he bought 6 Mexican beers for $6USD. A deal! We visited an art gallery at the mall before busing to San Jose. We visited a mission church that is old but not the original there from the 1700s. Then we visited another gallery that specialized in Huichol art. We had about 40 minutes of free time but not much was open because of the storm damage and renovations. We were back onboard by 5pm. Last tender is 5:30pm and sailaway is 6pm.
Last night we got a note that our Guatemala excursion has been increased to 6 hours to allow free time to sightsee or eat in Antigua. Finally a ray of common sense from the excursions department. Originally we had signed up for one of 2 7+hour tours to Antigua. They canceled it and a couple of days later they canceled the 2nd one. This originally 5 hour tour was the last left to Antigua. The remaining tours were a safari zoo, a coffee tour or a macadamia nut tour. The port stop is not long enough to get to any of the Mayan ruins which Guatemala is known for. We are increasingly bothered by this pattern of short, or worse shortened, port stops by Oceania. You look at an itinerary and like it only to find by the time you're booking shore excursions that you can't do what you wanted there.
If the seas aren't too rough, we eat up at Terrace. Fingers crossed. We move the clocks ahead another hour tonight. Good news is tomorrow is a sea day so we can sleep in. Next port is the last in Mexico, Acapulco. This is another return port for us. We toured independently in Acapulco in 2006 and had a great day. This time we'll be on another of our 7 included Oceania tours at $199 or less, The Historical, traditional and picturesque tour. It will go to cliff divers and the fort museum which we've seen before but also to a chapel that we haven't.
The Captain came on the loudspeakers as we were leaving Cabo to let us know that we'd be sailing within 50 nautical miles of TS Pilar and hoped we wouldn't notice. I hope so too. We saw a group of big black dolphins swimming north as we sailed south.
photos
Today was another return port for us. We have been everywhere before since Astoria. Today's port would have been unrecognizable since our last visit except for El Arco at Land's End. There has been a lot of construction here since 2006. Also there was a lot of recent mud flooding damage still evident from a tropical storm a couple of weeks ago.
We slept in again, or I did. We had breakfast at Terrace. We arrived at anchorage while we were sitting in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We are tendering from the starboard side today. We are in the shade but the port side has the arch view and the view of the tender port. Lunch was not served in time for most of the tours to attend. We had to be in the Regatta Lounge at 12:05 and earlier lunch was Waves Grill at 11:30am. We had snacks from Baristas and I had a frozen coffee from about 11:30 to about noon. We got called to our tender shortly after 12:05pm. We were bus 10. They had a lot more tours here. We went to San Jose del Cabo on the Art District tour. We were 43 people on a bus. Our guide said he had never had more than 24 people on this tour before. We are traveling Oceania style. We started with a beer sampling at Puerto Paraiso mall. It is the 3rd location of Baja Brewing. The other 2 are closed due to mud flood damage and remodeling. They gave 3 very small samples to everyone and 2 slices of pepperoni pizza. We were not told about the pizza before hand or we'd have all worried less about missing lunch. Clay bought me a full-size root beer for $8USD! Nothing was cheap here. I looked at an embroidered Mexican blouse that was about $60USD. Clay has drunk his 4 beers from Vancouver and thought he'd have a chance to buy some here but they weren't selling. I guess because their facility was closed by 8 feet of mud 2 weeks ago. Clay found a convenience store in the mall where he bought 6 Mexican beers for $6USD. A deal! We visited an art gallery at the mall before busing to San Jose. We visited a mission church that is old but not the original there from the 1700s. Then we visited another gallery that specialized in Huichol art. We had about 40 minutes of free time but not much was open because of the storm damage and renovations. We were back onboard by 5pm. Last tender is 5:30pm and sailaway is 6pm.
Last night we got a note that our Guatemala excursion has been increased to 6 hours to allow free time to sightsee or eat in Antigua. Finally a ray of common sense from the excursions department. Originally we had signed up for one of 2 7+hour tours to Antigua. They canceled it and a couple of days later they canceled the 2nd one. This originally 5 hour tour was the last left to Antigua. The remaining tours were a safari zoo, a coffee tour or a macadamia nut tour. The port stop is not long enough to get to any of the Mayan ruins which Guatemala is known for. We are increasingly bothered by this pattern of short, or worse shortened, port stops by Oceania. You look at an itinerary and like it only to find by the time you're booking shore excursions that you can't do what you wanted there.
If the seas aren't too rough, we eat up at Terrace. Fingers crossed. We move the clocks ahead another hour tonight. Good news is tomorrow is a sea day so we can sleep in. Next port is the last in Mexico, Acapulco. This is another return port for us. We toured independently in Acapulco in 2006 and had a great day. This time we'll be on another of our 7 included Oceania tours at $199 or less, The Historical, traditional and picturesque tour. It will go to cliff divers and the fort museum which we've seen before but also to a chapel that we haven't.
The Captain came on the loudspeakers as we were leaving Cabo to let us know that we'd be sailing within 50 nautical miles of TS Pilar and hoped we wouldn't notice. I hope so too. We saw a group of big black dolphins swimming north as we sailed south.
photos
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Sea Day 6
By my count this is our 6th sea day though that counts Hubbard Glacier day so some might not. If we couldn't get off the ship, I define it as a sea day. Today is also the half way point of our days aboard until Miami, counting Miami which technically shouldn't count as we'll be off before 9am. Anyway. That's where we are. It looks like the next segment has even more sea days if you count the Panama Canal crossing day which I guess by my definition it is. We like lots of sea days. They're relaxing. So we picked a nice mix. The only bad news is the 3 Central America ports all together with no sea days in between. I am still sad that our days in those ports are so short that we won't really get to see anything of note in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Oh well.
Today was a beautiful day weather-wise and in sailing terms (for those who don't like rough seas). The Captain said in his noon announcement that the weather was like yesterday's but, and I quote, "Thank God the swells are gone." Amen!
We moved the clocks forward an hour last night so got a short night's sleep. We slept in and went to Terrace for breakfast after 8am. There were very few people there so I guess everyone was off to a late start. We spent an hour or more sitting up front in Horizons. Saw nothing, absolutely nothing, but sea and sky. Brianna had gotten in new cosmetic sized needlepoint kits and I got one. I may have done this pattern before as it seems familiar. I don't think it matters. We rewatched a movie in the cabin before lunch. We went back to Waves Grill for another outdoor lunch. They were having an Italian Buffet in Terrace and Italian theme in GDR. Clay wanted the Surf N Turf sandwich. We recall Waves serving a steak sandwich but now there is surf & turf. He didn't like the ratio of lobster to steak. He took the lobster off and ate it separately. Now he says he'll order it again without the surf and double turf. I don't know when he plans to do that. I don't love Waves and we are not booking a future cruise with Oceania. We'll see.
I took a long nap this afternoon. Clay went to use the treadmill in the gym. He said he immediately saw 2 whales blows. He sat on the balcony with binoculars and studied the ocean for more but no luck. It has been days since we have seen any sign of sea life other than the sea lions at Ensenada and sea birds. It can be hard to imagine the vast stretches of ocean are teeming with life when for days and miles we see nothing.
Tonight we have reservations at Toscana. That is why we were avoiding the restaurants at lunch so as not to eat pasta all day. I will assume nothing else noteworthy will happen and post this now. I am sure that Clay has no photos today.
Today was a beautiful day weather-wise and in sailing terms (for those who don't like rough seas). The Captain said in his noon announcement that the weather was like yesterday's but, and I quote, "Thank God the swells are gone." Amen!
We moved the clocks forward an hour last night so got a short night's sleep. We slept in and went to Terrace for breakfast after 8am. There were very few people there so I guess everyone was off to a late start. We spent an hour or more sitting up front in Horizons. Saw nothing, absolutely nothing, but sea and sky. Brianna had gotten in new cosmetic sized needlepoint kits and I got one. I may have done this pattern before as it seems familiar. I don't think it matters. We rewatched a movie in the cabin before lunch. We went back to Waves Grill for another outdoor lunch. They were having an Italian Buffet in Terrace and Italian theme in GDR. Clay wanted the Surf N Turf sandwich. We recall Waves serving a steak sandwich but now there is surf & turf. He didn't like the ratio of lobster to steak. He took the lobster off and ate it separately. Now he says he'll order it again without the surf and double turf. I don't know when he plans to do that. I don't love Waves and we are not booking a future cruise with Oceania. We'll see.
I took a long nap this afternoon. Clay went to use the treadmill in the gym. He said he immediately saw 2 whales blows. He sat on the balcony with binoculars and studied the ocean for more but no luck. It has been days since we have seen any sign of sea life other than the sea lions at Ensenada and sea birds. It can be hard to imagine the vast stretches of ocean are teeming with life when for days and miles we see nothing.
Tonight we have reservations at Toscana. That is why we were avoiding the restaurants at lunch so as not to eat pasta all day. I will assume nothing else noteworthy will happen and post this now. I am sure that Clay has no photos today.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
photos
We had an early start today. Terrace started serving breakfast at 7am. We got there around 8am. We left Regatta around 8:45am. We were to meet Cali-Baja/Shore Excursions at 9:15am ashore past 2 security booths. We were not sure how long it would take so we got there at 9am. They were already there waiting with their bus so we got to wait out of the sun and sitting down. We were their only 2 Oceania passengers. Celebrity Imagination was docked here today too and they had about 40. Bad news/good news was that there was room for us because the date on our tickets from Shore Excursions was August 22! I know what happened. We had booked a Catalina Island excursion with them that I had to call and cancel when O changed the port to Ensenada. Then I couldn't book the Calafia Valley Wine Tour to replace it because Shore Excursions didn't have Ensenada in their system yet so I had to call back again. The rep I spoke with twice canceled one and booked the other but I think the date I called was August 22 and I didn't notice when a week or so later the e-ticket arrived in email that the tour date was wrong. As I say, bad news, but the good news was that they could take us anyway. Still not impressed enough with Shore Excursions Group to recommend them. I can recommend Cali-Baja tours for working with us and for their tour but I don't think they have a website so I am not sure you can book directly with them.
We drove about an hour north of Ensenada to Calafia Valley. We visited 2 wineries. The first was beautiful and had a lot of character and great food. It was La Casa de Dona Lupe. You could choose any of their wines to have 4 samples. We didn't like any of the wine. We bought Mexican Altura coffee and vanilla there! The 2nd winery was the largest in Mexico, L. A. Cetto. They provided a formal guided tour of their winery. It was interesting as they were receiving truckloads of grapes and unloading and crushing them while we were there. It was very sterile and industrial. They provided 2 white and 2 red samples, but they picked them not us. They also had olive oil, olives and bread and cheese. Ordinarily they stop on the way back for tacos if everyone agrees. We agreed but had to be all aboard about 2 hours before the Carnival crowd. We agreed to the stop as long as we would be back by 3:30pm our all aboard time. We ran into a wreck with a long traffic backup just outside town so no tacos for anyone. They dropped most of the bus off in town before returning us and a few remaining Carnival people to the port. Port security came on the bus and checked every cruisecard and photo ID before letting the bus in. It was still quicker than walking. There was a big building right beside the ship with all the souvenir shopping you'd have needed. Ensenada port is all new since we were last here and it looked like they'd built a nice waterfront walkway from the port to the giant Mexican flag where at mid-day they had dancing fountains running and lots of horse carriages waiting for sightseers. It looked nicer than we remembered. Downtown this afternoon looked like Spring Break though. We were happy with our trip to Calafia Valley. It was a scenic drive.
We ate outdoors at Waves Grill for the first time this cruise when we got back aboard. The pool deck was more full than we can ever remember seeing one on any ship we've ever sailed! It looked like most of the passengers had stayed aboard today. O only ran 5 tours here today.
No special plans for dinner tonight. If it isn't too rough we'll go to Terrace. If it is I guess it will be Grand Dining Room. Fingers crossed for calm seas. Tomorrow is a sea day and promises to be lazy.
Talked to Mom today and she got her power back on shortly after we spoke from San Francisco on the 20th. She was very pleased by that and moved right back home. She was happy to have been back home for the last 2 nights.
photos
We had an early start today. Terrace started serving breakfast at 7am. We got there around 8am. We left Regatta around 8:45am. We were to meet Cali-Baja/Shore Excursions at 9:15am ashore past 2 security booths. We were not sure how long it would take so we got there at 9am. They were already there waiting with their bus so we got to wait out of the sun and sitting down. We were their only 2 Oceania passengers. Celebrity Imagination was docked here today too and they had about 40. Bad news/good news was that there was room for us because the date on our tickets from Shore Excursions was August 22! I know what happened. We had booked a Catalina Island excursion with them that I had to call and cancel when O changed the port to Ensenada. Then I couldn't book the Calafia Valley Wine Tour to replace it because Shore Excursions didn't have Ensenada in their system yet so I had to call back again. The rep I spoke with twice canceled one and booked the other but I think the date I called was August 22 and I didn't notice when a week or so later the e-ticket arrived in email that the tour date was wrong. As I say, bad news, but the good news was that they could take us anyway. Still not impressed enough with Shore Excursions Group to recommend them. I can recommend Cali-Baja tours for working with us and for their tour but I don't think they have a website so I am not sure you can book directly with them.
We drove about an hour north of Ensenada to Calafia Valley. We visited 2 wineries. The first was beautiful and had a lot of character and great food. It was La Casa de Dona Lupe. You could choose any of their wines to have 4 samples. We didn't like any of the wine. We bought Mexican Altura coffee and vanilla there! The 2nd winery was the largest in Mexico, L. A. Cetto. They provided a formal guided tour of their winery. It was interesting as they were receiving truckloads of grapes and unloading and crushing them while we were there. It was very sterile and industrial. They provided 2 white and 2 red samples, but they picked them not us. They also had olive oil, olives and bread and cheese. Ordinarily they stop on the way back for tacos if everyone agrees. We agreed but had to be all aboard about 2 hours before the Carnival crowd. We agreed to the stop as long as we would be back by 3:30pm our all aboard time. We ran into a wreck with a long traffic backup just outside town so no tacos for anyone. They dropped most of the bus off in town before returning us and a few remaining Carnival people to the port. Port security came on the bus and checked every cruisecard and photo ID before letting the bus in. It was still quicker than walking. There was a big building right beside the ship with all the souvenir shopping you'd have needed. Ensenada port is all new since we were last here and it looked like they'd built a nice waterfront walkway from the port to the giant Mexican flag where at mid-day they had dancing fountains running and lots of horse carriages waiting for sightseers. It looked nicer than we remembered. Downtown this afternoon looked like Spring Break though. We were happy with our trip to Calafia Valley. It was a scenic drive.
We ate outdoors at Waves Grill for the first time this cruise when we got back aboard. The pool deck was more full than we can ever remember seeing one on any ship we've ever sailed! It looked like most of the passengers had stayed aboard today. O only ran 5 tours here today.
No special plans for dinner tonight. If it isn't too rough we'll go to Terrace. If it is I guess it will be Grand Dining Room. Fingers crossed for calm seas. Tomorrow is a sea day and promises to be lazy.
Talked to Mom today and she got her power back on shortly after we spoke from San Francisco on the 20th. She was very pleased by that and moved right back home. She was happy to have been back home for the last 2 nights.
photos
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Sea Day
Seas have been rough enough that you never forget you are on a ship at sea. I guess for some that is a good thing, but honestly I'd rather be able to forget. We slept well and I slept longer than Clay. We had no where to be and nothing to do so it didn't matter.
We had breakfast up in Terrace. There was definitely some kitchen turnover as well as quite a few new servers in addition to all the new passengers. I think the number of passengers on the extended trip Vancouver to Miami must be small.
We killed time in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We walked across the pool deck! First time the weather has been suitable and there were already people on pool loungers. I got a new small needlepoint kit. Brianna says she has new cosmetic cases on order so I will hope for one before the cruise ends.
We went up to Terrace for the Mexican buffet lunch. It appeared to be a repeat of last cruise's but it was a failure. The panini presses they used last time to make burritos were not working. The tortillas were close but the meat and bean fillings were around the corner. The 2 girls that made burritos last cruise were just screwed. It must be new chefs.
We watched TV movies and Clay spent a lot of time in the sun on the balcony. They have free drinks this evening for an hour or so due to the Captain's welcome reception. We have 6:30pm reservations at Polo Grill. I'll assume it will be the same and nothing to report.
Tomorrow is Ensenada and we have an independent wine tour. We'll see. I still haven't had a satisfactory response to my complaint about Victoria from Shore Excursions Group. They delayed long enough that we were not able to cancel any upcoming excursions booked with them. We'll keep our fingers crossed that what happened in Victoria was an anomaly.
We had breakfast up in Terrace. There was definitely some kitchen turnover as well as quite a few new servers in addition to all the new passengers. I think the number of passengers on the extended trip Vancouver to Miami must be small.
We killed time in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We walked across the pool deck! First time the weather has been suitable and there were already people on pool loungers. I got a new small needlepoint kit. Brianna says she has new cosmetic cases on order so I will hope for one before the cruise ends.
We went up to Terrace for the Mexican buffet lunch. It appeared to be a repeat of last cruise's but it was a failure. The panini presses they used last time to make burritos were not working. The tortillas were close but the meat and bean fillings were around the corner. The 2 girls that made burritos last cruise were just screwed. It must be new chefs.
We watched TV movies and Clay spent a lot of time in the sun on the balcony. They have free drinks this evening for an hour or so due to the Captain's welcome reception. We have 6:30pm reservations at Polo Grill. I'll assume it will be the same and nothing to report.
Tomorrow is Ensenada and we have an independent wine tour. We'll see. I still haven't had a satisfactory response to my complaint about Victoria from Shore Excursions Group. They delayed long enough that we were not able to cancel any upcoming excursions booked with them. We'll keep our fingers crossed that what happened in Victoria was an anomaly.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
San Francisco, CA
photos
Last night we got a sheet with the first cruise's mileage. 2815 Nautical miles from Vancouver through Alaska to San Francisco.
We arrived under the Golden Gate Bridge before sunrise but we didn't get docked or cleared until after our scheduled 7am time. They requested everyone be out of their cabins by 8am and stopped serving breakfast at 8:30am. It was pretty rushed and they had everyone disembarked by 9am.
We were off on about the same schedule. We crossed Embarcadero before calling Uber because there were about 100 people waiting right outside and maybe double that at the taxi line. Our ride came across the street within 5 minutes and charged us about $25 for the ride to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. It was a nice drive and convenient but double what the estimate was an hour earlier when Clay first checked. He said it was because no shared rides were available after 9am. We got to the WDFM a half hour early and sat on the porch to get out of the mist as we waited until 10am. I talked to Mom on the phone during that time and learned that she is still without power. She also informed us that Aggie, a family friend, had died this morning. She will be missed and our thoughts are with her and her family.
We enjoyed the Walt Disney Family Museum. It was $25 for me and $20 for Clay. I would rank it a must do for any Disney fans. The back of the building near the end of the tour is all glass and would have been a fantastic Golden Gate view but it was in a cloud most of the day. The cloud was especially dense while we were at WDFM! We called Uber again when we were done around 12:30pm. We took a shorter ride (and cheaper) to Ghiradelli Square. We shared a tall chocolate & marshmallow sundae. We bought some chocoalte. We walked down Beach St. to the Fishermans Wharf In n Out and shared a burger. We walked down Beach to Jones and caught the next trolley to Pier 27/Sansome St. It was $2.75 for me and $1.65 for Clay. One of the trolley cars we saw in the morningn on that E/F track had El Paso/Juarez on it. The Uber driver said San Francisco had bought and restored trolley cars from all over to run here. Those trolleys were long gone when we lived in El Paso, but how cool.
We were back onboard in time for the mandatory life boat drill at 4:15pm which was nearly over by theh time 4:30pm all aboard happened. I am not sure who scheduled that. We got seats up front in Horizons for the sail out. Clay went down and asked and learned that our Concierge Level keycard affords us entry to the forward facing private spa terrace so he was happy to get photos there during sailaway. You have to go through the Canyon Ranch Spa and through the gender appropriate dressing rooms to get out there.
We have a new cruise director now, Julie James. We enjoyed her earlier this year on Sirena on Circle Australia. That's it for now. Off to dinner in Terrace I think.
photos
Last night we got a sheet with the first cruise's mileage. 2815 Nautical miles from Vancouver through Alaska to San Francisco.
We arrived under the Golden Gate Bridge before sunrise but we didn't get docked or cleared until after our scheduled 7am time. They requested everyone be out of their cabins by 8am and stopped serving breakfast at 8:30am. It was pretty rushed and they had everyone disembarked by 9am.
We were off on about the same schedule. We crossed Embarcadero before calling Uber because there were about 100 people waiting right outside and maybe double that at the taxi line. Our ride came across the street within 5 minutes and charged us about $25 for the ride to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. It was a nice drive and convenient but double what the estimate was an hour earlier when Clay first checked. He said it was because no shared rides were available after 9am. We got to the WDFM a half hour early and sat on the porch to get out of the mist as we waited until 10am. I talked to Mom on the phone during that time and learned that she is still without power. She also informed us that Aggie, a family friend, had died this morning. She will be missed and our thoughts are with her and her family.
We enjoyed the Walt Disney Family Museum. It was $25 for me and $20 for Clay. I would rank it a must do for any Disney fans. The back of the building near the end of the tour is all glass and would have been a fantastic Golden Gate view but it was in a cloud most of the day. The cloud was especially dense while we were at WDFM! We called Uber again when we were done around 12:30pm. We took a shorter ride (and cheaper) to Ghiradelli Square. We shared a tall chocolate & marshmallow sundae. We bought some chocoalte. We walked down Beach St. to the Fishermans Wharf In n Out and shared a burger. We walked down Beach to Jones and caught the next trolley to Pier 27/Sansome St. It was $2.75 for me and $1.65 for Clay. One of the trolley cars we saw in the morningn on that E/F track had El Paso/Juarez on it. The Uber driver said San Francisco had bought and restored trolley cars from all over to run here. Those trolleys were long gone when we lived in El Paso, but how cool.
We were back onboard in time for the mandatory life boat drill at 4:15pm which was nearly over by theh time 4:30pm all aboard happened. I am not sure who scheduled that. We got seats up front in Horizons for the sail out. Clay went down and asked and learned that our Concierge Level keycard affords us entry to the forward facing private spa terrace so he was happy to get photos there during sailaway. You have to go through the Canyon Ranch Spa and through the gender appropriate dressing rooms to get out there.
We have a new cruise director now, Julie James. We enjoyed her earlier this year on Sirena on Circle Australia. That's it for now. Off to dinner in Terrace I think.
photos
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Sailing the Pacific Ocean
The seas overnight were just as rough as the Captain promised. We made quick work of our dinner on deck 10 aft at Toscano and went to bed early as advised. We were told the worst would be between 9pm and midnight. About 8:30pm, I took a Dramamine to knock myself out and when I woke up about 12:30am it was not as rough. It has continued pretty rough all day though. At noon, the Captain announced he'd be making a slight turn east about 4pm and instead of the wind and swells hitting us broadside, they should be more from behind us and the sideways movement would be reduced for the front to back rocking. He also says since he has been speeding to escape the conditions that we'll get to San Francisco hours earlier than expected. I think he said Pilot station by 4am and under the Golden Gate bridge by 5am. Since it will still be dark then, I guess we'll miss the sail into San Francisco. He predicted no rain tomorrow so we'll hope for a good sailaway at 5pm.
Since it is a rough sea day, we slept in today. The plan for me is to stay low in the ship all day. We had breakfast in the GDR on deck 5. After breakfast, we returned to the Destinations Services desk as requested and learned that we had been booked on the only Guatemala excursion left uncanceled to Antigua. Antigua at a glance will actually be 30 minutes of free time to get a glance at Antigua. It is a 90 minute drive each way with a visit to a jade factory. I still have no idea why O canceled the 2 full day tours there and neither did the woman at the desk. It is what it is but I don't give Oceania any credit for spending 5 hours in Guatemala when they sold the cruise originally as having 8 hours there. In other news, she told us she would deliver our excursion tickets tomorrow, but she had a package already prepared to be delivered regarding all available excursions after San Francisco. She said she could just give it to us if we'd like. We took it. I found a surprise inside the tour booklet. Originally, at the end of the cruise we had 2 sea days followed by Key West and Miami disembarkation. Now we have a sea day followed by Georgetown, Grand Cayman then a sea day then Miami. That makes sense but the first sheet in the package was title Additional & Adjusted Tour Descriptions and it had no mention of the schedule or port changes. We aren't impacted as we had made no firm plans for Key West and understand why we can't go there now. We've also been to Georgetown, Grand Cayman before and so we're making no firm plans for this visit. The excursion cancellation being resolved now we know we have only the original $200 shipboard credit available which we had planned to use to pay for the Guatemala excursion. That meant Clay went shopping at the boutique today. They have been putting their end of Alaska season merchandise out in the hallway on sale on sea days. Today Clay bought an Alaska fleece jacket for about $30 or half off. We have invested $8 in laundry tokens and a bit more than that for Clay's Alaskan Beer one night. The credit is nonrefundable so we either spend it or lose it. We'll see.
We went to lunch in GDR and hated it. Service is slow and frequently unpleasant. None of our food came as described on the menu. This is why we'd just prefer to eat at Terrace buffet on Oceania to avoid the hassles and surprises and to save our time. But, I think we'll still have dinner in GDR tonight unless it gets a lot calmer sailing that the Captain predicted.
We've laid low all day and watched a couple of movies on TV. The ride did smooth out a bit after 4pm or so as predicted. We'll still probably eat dinner in the GDR. I see 3 courses I can eat on the menu.
Tomorrow San Francisco. We plan to Uber to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. Anything else will depend on time and how we're feeling.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Return to Astoria, OR
photos
We spent a couple of days and a night here during/around a Cruise West Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise and road trip less than a decade ago. So, like Sitka we had seen and done most of what there is to see and do. There is a Fort Stevens outside of town that we missed last time so we had booked O's excursion there today but it was canceled. We planned to buy a local transit pass described on Astoria's tourism/cruise visitor website but they did not charge today. Route 11 ran complimentary. That was nice but also reasonable since it only stops right downtown and at the Maritime Museum and the ship. It rained pretty much all day and it turns out they don't run the waterfront trolley in the rain. So it was mostly walking for us. We took the free shuttle to downtown and then walked all the way out to 39th Street and Rogue Ale. I wanted to see the sea lions and once we heard them, we kept walking. By then, we were only .32 miles from Rogue Ale so we kept walking while it wasn't raining and we ate lunch there and it was good. Clay had halibut fish & chips which was good. I had a cup of chili and a root beer float, both good. Along the way we missed the worst of the morning rain taking a grand tour of the Liberty Theater which we had not been inside before. We were in and out of the mostly thrift and antique shops along Commercial St. We bought some chocolates at one shop. I took a hard fall today. Fortunately in muddy grass so it was mostly a soft landing and I just skirted the raspberry brambles. The wind took my umbrella and I chased it. I fully understand now that not only are my dancing days over, but also my fast walking and running days. I caught the umbrella by stepping on it, sliding and then falling on top of it. So, no matter how this ended the umbrella was a loss. I should have just let it go but that would have been terrible littering so I went after it. I am a little scraped up, hands and arms and will probably have some bruises but I am OK. I bought a new tiny umbrella at the Maritime Museum as we waited for the shuttle bus back to Regatta. We got back to the ship around 4pm and saw 3 available washers in the laundry room. By the time we returned, there was only 1 left but I squished 2 loads worth in there without separating colors and whites. It turned out fine, no harm done. Dryers take twice as long as washers so that is a problem. I just took all our clothes out when our 30 minutes on high was up and now we have laundry hung all over the cabin. The captain has just announced that the weather is really bad in our onward path and to be very careful as we leave the Columbia River and sail south on the open Pacific Ocean. He was talking about 13 swells like they were 30 foot swells. Clay says it is because he said the big swells and high winds were going to hit us broadside on the starboard side. He told us on the starboard side to positively keep our balcony doors shut! In other bad news, we have dinner reservations at 6:30pm (a half hour after sailing at Toscana on deck 10 aft. At least it is on the port side.
Last night we had dinner at Polo. I love the fruit jellies they give there. Tonight in Toscana I love the selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars they give with bread. It is the only time I eat bread onboard. I will try to get online and post now.
We spent a couple of days and a night here during/around a Cruise West Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise and road trip less than a decade ago. So, like Sitka we had seen and done most of what there is to see and do. There is a Fort Stevens outside of town that we missed last time so we had booked O's excursion there today but it was canceled. We planned to buy a local transit pass described on Astoria's tourism/cruise visitor website but they did not charge today. Route 11 ran complimentary. That was nice but also reasonable since it only stops right downtown and at the Maritime Museum and the ship. It rained pretty much all day and it turns out they don't run the waterfront trolley in the rain. So it was mostly walking for us. We took the free shuttle to downtown and then walked all the way out to 39th Street and Rogue Ale. I wanted to see the sea lions and once we heard them, we kept walking. By then, we were only .32 miles from Rogue Ale so we kept walking while it wasn't raining and we ate lunch there and it was good. Clay had halibut fish & chips which was good. I had a cup of chili and a root beer float, both good. Along the way we missed the worst of the morning rain taking a grand tour of the Liberty Theater which we had not been inside before. We were in and out of the mostly thrift and antique shops along Commercial St. We bought some chocolates at one shop. I took a hard fall today. Fortunately in muddy grass so it was mostly a soft landing and I just skirted the raspberry brambles. The wind took my umbrella and I chased it. I fully understand now that not only are my dancing days over, but also my fast walking and running days. I caught the umbrella by stepping on it, sliding and then falling on top of it. So, no matter how this ended the umbrella was a loss. I should have just let it go but that would have been terrible littering so I went after it. I am a little scraped up, hands and arms and will probably have some bruises but I am OK. I bought a new tiny umbrella at the Maritime Museum as we waited for the shuttle bus back to Regatta. We got back to the ship around 4pm and saw 3 available washers in the laundry room. By the time we returned, there was only 1 left but I squished 2 loads worth in there without separating colors and whites. It turned out fine, no harm done. Dryers take twice as long as washers so that is a problem. I just took all our clothes out when our 30 minutes on high was up and now we have laundry hung all over the cabin. The captain has just announced that the weather is really bad in our onward path and to be very careful as we leave the Columbia River and sail south on the open Pacific Ocean. He was talking about 13 swells like they were 30 foot swells. Clay says it is because he said the big swells and high winds were going to hit us broadside on the starboard side. He told us on the starboard side to positively keep our balcony doors shut! In other bad news, we have dinner reservations at 6:30pm (a half hour after sailing at Toscana on deck 10 aft. At least it is on the port side.
Last night we had dinner at Polo. I love the fruit jellies they give there. Tonight in Toscana I love the selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars they give with bread. It is the only time I eat bread onboard. I will try to get online and post now.
Victoria, British Columbia
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We lost an hour by changing the clocks last night. On top of that I couldn't stop the tremor to fall asleep last night so it was a bad, short night for me. It was 7:15am and time to get up before I was ready. I spotted a lot of humpback whales as soon as I opened the curtains, so there was that. Yesterday, I forgot to say that my fever had broken so I must be on the mend. I am feeling a lot better.
We both agreed that we had not enjoyed the protracted breakfast we had in the GDR yesterday so today we went back up to Terrace buffet. Better. We spent an hour or more in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We learned that we would be a half hour or so late arriving to Victorica. Our instructions from Shore Excursions Group said we should allow 20 minutes to walk to CVS Tours kiosk outside Customs and to arrive at least 10 minutes before our 1:30pm start time. So, we should still be fine. When we arrived we found that CVS Tours was not at the cruise pier and would NOT come. We were instructed to come to the kiosk outside the Empress Hotel downtown. This is not what we paid for. We missed the first complimentary shuttle bus and the 2nd one. We made the 3rd one that left at 1:20pm when no one from CVS had arrived. We got to the Empress Hotel and the CVS Tours kiosk by 1:30pm. There we learned that the Castle Tour & City Sightseeing we had booked departs from that spot daily at 10am and 2pm. They charge $40CAD pp. We paid Shore Excursions Group $59USD pp. Clearly we are not pleased. We have 2 other tours booked through Shore Excursions Group. They need to do a lot better job for us to be able to recommend them. We cannot recommend them in Victoria. We chose them based on our TA's recommendation, btw. The tour was fine in any event and after some confrontation and argument, it was agreed the bus driver would return us to the pier. As predicted it started raining as we docked and the sun came out at 5:45pm as we prepared to sail away at 6pm. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia. It was a pretty and historic city. We saw mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway and have ideas for a future road trip.
We had dinner tonight at Polo and it was better than last time. This time we had a little whale watching since we were on the side and not over the ship's wake at the back.
Tomorrow is our return to the US and Astoria, OR. We've been warned in writing and verbally about re-entering the US tomorrow so we don't expect it to be a timely arrival. Also, Oceania has always sold this cruise as Astoria being a docked port, but the Port of Astoria has shown it as a tender port from the beginning, so we'll see how much time we wind up with there. Rain is predicted again. They need the rain out here so we don't feel too bad about it. Our ship's tour here was canceled. We had spent about 3 days and 1 night here previously so we don't have any plans other than wandering. If it is really raining, that may be abandoned too. We'll see. Last news is that the pilot for Astoria will be delivered by helicopter about 6:15am tomorrow in case the noise wakes us up. We've had that happen at one other port at least and it usually promises drama and a rough arrival. That's why they don't arrive by pilot boat!
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We lost an hour by changing the clocks last night. On top of that I couldn't stop the tremor to fall asleep last night so it was a bad, short night for me. It was 7:15am and time to get up before I was ready. I spotted a lot of humpback whales as soon as I opened the curtains, so there was that. Yesterday, I forgot to say that my fever had broken so I must be on the mend. I am feeling a lot better.
We both agreed that we had not enjoyed the protracted breakfast we had in the GDR yesterday so today we went back up to Terrace buffet. Better. We spent an hour or more in Horizons waiting to get back in the cabin. We learned that we would be a half hour or so late arriving to Victorica. Our instructions from Shore Excursions Group said we should allow 20 minutes to walk to CVS Tours kiosk outside Customs and to arrive at least 10 minutes before our 1:30pm start time. So, we should still be fine. When we arrived we found that CVS Tours was not at the cruise pier and would NOT come. We were instructed to come to the kiosk outside the Empress Hotel downtown. This is not what we paid for. We missed the first complimentary shuttle bus and the 2nd one. We made the 3rd one that left at 1:20pm when no one from CVS had arrived. We got to the Empress Hotel and the CVS Tours kiosk by 1:30pm. There we learned that the Castle Tour & City Sightseeing we had booked departs from that spot daily at 10am and 2pm. They charge $40CAD pp. We paid Shore Excursions Group $59USD pp. Clearly we are not pleased. We have 2 other tours booked through Shore Excursions Group. They need to do a lot better job for us to be able to recommend them. We cannot recommend them in Victoria. We chose them based on our TA's recommendation, btw. The tour was fine in any event and after some confrontation and argument, it was agreed the bus driver would return us to the pier. As predicted it started raining as we docked and the sun came out at 5:45pm as we prepared to sail away at 6pm. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia. It was a pretty and historic city. We saw mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway and have ideas for a future road trip.
We had dinner tonight at Polo and it was better than last time. This time we had a little whale watching since we were on the side and not over the ship's wake at the back.
Tomorrow is our return to the US and Astoria, OR. We've been warned in writing and verbally about re-entering the US tomorrow so we don't expect it to be a timely arrival. Also, Oceania has always sold this cruise as Astoria being a docked port, but the Port of Astoria has shown it as a tender port from the beginning, so we'll see how much time we wind up with there. Rain is predicted again. They need the rain out here so we don't feel too bad about it. Our ship's tour here was canceled. We had spent about 3 days and 1 night here previously so we don't have any plans other than wandering. If it is really raining, that may be abandoned too. We'll see. Last news is that the pilot for Astoria will be delivered by helicopter about 6:15am tomorrow in case the noise wakes us up. We've had that happen at one other port at least and it usually promises drama and a rough arrival. That's why they don't arrive by pilot boat!
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Saturday, September 16, 2017
Cruising the Outside Passage
There was land visible on the port side until about 1pm, but we are on the starboard side. So we only saw it when we were out of the cabin. That said there was some rolling, but not too rough seas all day. I saw a lone puffin struggling mightily to escape the ship's wake when I first opened the curtains this morning. Clay saw a school of porpoises and later we both saw 2 porpoises out the cabin door. The sun shone most of the day and visibility was good but not much to see. We watched multiple movies. I picked up another needlepoint kit.
We had breakfast downstairs today since it is Saturday and a sea day. We really don't like to spend that long getting a meal and still prefer Terrace buffet. On Sirena, the GDR turned into Jacques Cafe or Bistro at noon, so we went today for lunch. The menu outside was not the Jacques we remember from earlier this year on Sirena so we went back upstairs to Terrace. Terrace has an Alaskan Fish & Chips and Beer dinner tonight so that is what we plan. I'll hope for a pasta or stir fry I can eat. Hopefully Clay will enjoy it. He is in the gym on the treadmill now.
That's about it. It has been an easy, lazy sea day. Tomorrow we should be in Victoria, BC from noon to 6pm. We have booked an independent excursion through Shore Excursions Group from 1:30pm that lasts 3.5 hours and visits Victoria Castle with City Sightseeing. It is predicted to rain the entire time of our visit. We'll dress accordingly and hope for the best. I'll post now and assume nothing else noteworthy happens today.
We had breakfast downstairs today since it is Saturday and a sea day. We really don't like to spend that long getting a meal and still prefer Terrace buffet. On Sirena, the GDR turned into Jacques Cafe or Bistro at noon, so we went today for lunch. The menu outside was not the Jacques we remember from earlier this year on Sirena so we went back upstairs to Terrace. Terrace has an Alaskan Fish & Chips and Beer dinner tonight so that is what we plan. I'll hope for a pasta or stir fry I can eat. Hopefully Clay will enjoy it. He is in the gym on the treadmill now.
That's about it. It has been an easy, lazy sea day. Tomorrow we should be in Victoria, BC from noon to 6pm. We have booked an independent excursion through Shore Excursions Group from 1:30pm that lasts 3.5 hours and visits Victoria Castle with City Sightseeing. It is predicted to rain the entire time of our visit. We'll dress accordingly and hope for the best. I'll post now and assume nothing else noteworthy happens today.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Return to Sitka
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We slept in again and were already docked at Old Sitka dock about 7 miles from town. Oceania provided a half-hourly complimentary shuttle to and from the Centennial Center. It wasn't quite as bad or time consuming as tendering. We were here from 7am to 4pm but since we're so far from town the last shuttle was at 3pm and we sailed a bit before 4pm.
We spent about 4 days in Sitka around our Alaskan Dream cruise and only had one thing left undone/unseen here. The Fortress of the Bear. We took the shuttle, caught the blue line of The Ride public bus and went out to the last stop at Gary Paxton Industrial Park. From there you walk uphill on Sawmill Creek Rd. about 100 yards or less than 10 minutes and cross the road around the bend from Silver Bay Seafood Processing to Fortress of the Bear. The fare was $1 each way for Clay and $2 each way for me. The only downside of public transit is that it only runs once an hour but we had a timetable for the stops I had printed from online and it was accurate and we never really waited. We did barely make the return bus that we walked back down to Whale Park to catch. I'd have been happy spending an hour there exploring and whale watching but I guess Clay wanted lunch.
So we caught the 9:45am bus out and paid our $10pp to enter the Fortress of the Bear. They house rescued bears and had 4 brown bears and 3 black bears that we saw. It turns out we had seen both types in the wild on our last visit to SE Alaska. Since we had seen and the bus driver pointed out that there were humpback whales in Silver Bay/Sawmill Cove, I really wanted to stop at Whale Park. It is a point of land that is a whale watching park. I had thought about stopping on the way out but didn't want to pay extra bus fare in a day pass so we didn't. When the bus driver pointed out the whales on our approach after I had pointed one out and we saw the distance and mostly downhill walk we decided to leave the bears pretty quickly and walked along the waterfront back to Whale Park. We spotted a female bald eagle as close as we've ever seen one in the wild. As we approached the first parking lot/photo spot we heard a big noise and it was a prodigious humpback exhale! We'd been watching for 20 minutes and had only seen seals/sea lions. We saw maybe a half dozen humpbacks breaching/breathing and maybe 4 tails all told. We also saw one or more big seals/sea lions catching and thrashing and eating big salmon. It was very dramatic and very close to us ashore. We did not see any whales near Whale Park but we didn't enter the park to look or linger as we caught the bus as it arrived at 12:09pm.
We had lunch at BayView Pub. We had eaten there the last time we were in Sitka too. We shared a BLT with fries and a carnitas taco plate with chips. Not very Alaskan, but Clay had an Alaskan Amber Ale. It was all very good with great harbor views. We walked up and down the main street and did some final Alaskan shopping. It appeared that St. Michael's was closed for restoration. In any event we never saw it with eagles atop the crosses this visit which seemed sad but we also did not have any rain today so a good trade off I suppose.
We caught the shuttle back about 2:15pm. We walked through the shops at the dock then used their Internet to Skype a call to Mom. The power is still out at her house after Hurricane Irma. The good news is that Mom & Matt both had no flooding or house damage in the storm. Matt got his electric back after about 3 days and Mom relocated over there for now. She has been advised by her power provider that they expect to restore power by 22nd. Fingers crossed for sooner. But they got by Irma pretty lucky.
Things I love about Oceania. The Illy frozen coffee and the daily caneles at Baristas. But is that enough?
Destination Services reopens today at 5pm. Since we slept in we missed them this morning. We will either try to replace our canceled Astoria excursion with one in Guatemala or with the $100 pp nonrefundable shipboard credit assuming it is good past San Francisco onward to Miami. If they won't do either, I guess we're just out of luck. Back and they say won't know until the 19th if we can book a Guatemala excursion to Antigua. If not, they will apply the $100 pp shipboard credit then.
We have dinner at 6:30pm at Toscana. I will go ahead and try to post this now assuming nothing else of note will happen today.
Internet was down for a while. Back now and it looks like we may be in for a rough outside passage southbound. Tomorrow is a sea day. Sunday is Victoria, BC.
photos
We slept in again and were already docked at Old Sitka dock about 7 miles from town. Oceania provided a half-hourly complimentary shuttle to and from the Centennial Center. It wasn't quite as bad or time consuming as tendering. We were here from 7am to 4pm but since we're so far from town the last shuttle was at 3pm and we sailed a bit before 4pm.
We spent about 4 days in Sitka around our Alaskan Dream cruise and only had one thing left undone/unseen here. The Fortress of the Bear. We took the shuttle, caught the blue line of The Ride public bus and went out to the last stop at Gary Paxton Industrial Park. From there you walk uphill on Sawmill Creek Rd. about 100 yards or less than 10 minutes and cross the road around the bend from Silver Bay Seafood Processing to Fortress of the Bear. The fare was $1 each way for Clay and $2 each way for me. The only downside of public transit is that it only runs once an hour but we had a timetable for the stops I had printed from online and it was accurate and we never really waited. We did barely make the return bus that we walked back down to Whale Park to catch. I'd have been happy spending an hour there exploring and whale watching but I guess Clay wanted lunch.
So we caught the 9:45am bus out and paid our $10pp to enter the Fortress of the Bear. They house rescued bears and had 4 brown bears and 3 black bears that we saw. It turns out we had seen both types in the wild on our last visit to SE Alaska. Since we had seen and the bus driver pointed out that there were humpback whales in Silver Bay/Sawmill Cove, I really wanted to stop at Whale Park. It is a point of land that is a whale watching park. I had thought about stopping on the way out but didn't want to pay extra bus fare in a day pass so we didn't. When the bus driver pointed out the whales on our approach after I had pointed one out and we saw the distance and mostly downhill walk we decided to leave the bears pretty quickly and walked along the waterfront back to Whale Park. We spotted a female bald eagle as close as we've ever seen one in the wild. As we approached the first parking lot/photo spot we heard a big noise and it was a prodigious humpback exhale! We'd been watching for 20 minutes and had only seen seals/sea lions. We saw maybe a half dozen humpbacks breaching/breathing and maybe 4 tails all told. We also saw one or more big seals/sea lions catching and thrashing and eating big salmon. It was very dramatic and very close to us ashore. We did not see any whales near Whale Park but we didn't enter the park to look or linger as we caught the bus as it arrived at 12:09pm.
We had lunch at BayView Pub. We had eaten there the last time we were in Sitka too. We shared a BLT with fries and a carnitas taco plate with chips. Not very Alaskan, but Clay had an Alaskan Amber Ale. It was all very good with great harbor views. We walked up and down the main street and did some final Alaskan shopping. It appeared that St. Michael's was closed for restoration. In any event we never saw it with eagles atop the crosses this visit which seemed sad but we also did not have any rain today so a good trade off I suppose.
We caught the shuttle back about 2:15pm. We walked through the shops at the dock then used their Internet to Skype a call to Mom. The power is still out at her house after Hurricane Irma. The good news is that Mom & Matt both had no flooding or house damage in the storm. Matt got his electric back after about 3 days and Mom relocated over there for now. She has been advised by her power provider that they expect to restore power by 22nd. Fingers crossed for sooner. But they got by Irma pretty lucky.
Things I love about Oceania. The Illy frozen coffee and the daily caneles at Baristas. But is that enough?
Destination Services reopens today at 5pm. Since we slept in we missed them this morning. We will either try to replace our canceled Astoria excursion with one in Guatemala or with the $100 pp nonrefundable shipboard credit assuming it is good past San Francisco onward to Miami. If they won't do either, I guess we're just out of luck. Back and they say won't know until the 19th if we can book a Guatemala excursion to Antigua. If not, they will apply the $100 pp shipboard credit then.
We have dinner at 6:30pm at Toscana. I will go ahead and try to post this now assuming nothing else of note will happen today.
Internet was down for a while. Back now and it looks like we may be in for a rough outside passage southbound. Tomorrow is a sea day. Sunday is Victoria, BC.
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Hubbard Glacier
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We slept later today since it was essentially a sea day. Clay saw a school of something jumping/rolling by the ship when I was in the shower. We saw some more from Horizons Lounge while we sailed through more fog. We arrived at the bay to Hubbard Glacier around noon. We were probably in front of it from about 1 to 3pm. We had a good port side view from Terrace Cafe and went down to our starboard cabin just as they were turning the ship to face on that side. I had forgotten how loud glaciers are!
At 5:45pm in Regatta Lounge they had the past passengers reception. There were more people at that than at the Captain's Welcome Reception! They said they had invited almost 400 Oceania Club members which impressive for a ship that only holds a little over 600.
We got a letter today inviting us to Alcatraz & Saulsalito excursion on turnaround day in San Francisco for $209. We will stay with our original independent plans. We also got a letter telling us that they had canceled the 3rd of our 3 included excursions on this segment. They offered us another Astoria excursion or $100 pp nonrefundable shipboard credit. We'd like that if we can use it after San Francisco but it isn't clear they will. We'll have to go to Destination Services tomorrow sometime I guess.
I had a new favorite dessert that neither of us remember seeing on Oceania before. We'd have remembered! I had a vanilla and raspberry vacherin. Clay wasn't sure since we didn't know what it was but I figured I liked to 2 flavors in the name and I ordered the petit four tray to be sure. The vacherin was a disk of vanilla ice cream topped by a disk of raspberry sorbet topped by a hard meringue disk and surrounded and garnished by meringue bits garnished with fresh raspberries. I loved it. It seemed like the kind of dessert the Aussies would have loved but we didn't see this dessert earlier this year on Sirena doing the circumnavigation. Go figure. The menus have been very similiar otherwise.
It was a pretty good day in SE Alaska. Now we are southbound. Tomorrow is a return to Sitka.
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We slept later today since it was essentially a sea day. Clay saw a school of something jumping/rolling by the ship when I was in the shower. We saw some more from Horizons Lounge while we sailed through more fog. We arrived at the bay to Hubbard Glacier around noon. We were probably in front of it from about 1 to 3pm. We had a good port side view from Terrace Cafe and went down to our starboard cabin just as they were turning the ship to face on that side. I had forgotten how loud glaciers are!
At 5:45pm in Regatta Lounge they had the past passengers reception. There were more people at that than at the Captain's Welcome Reception! They said they had invited almost 400 Oceania Club members which impressive for a ship that only holds a little over 600.
We got a letter today inviting us to Alcatraz & Saulsalito excursion on turnaround day in San Francisco for $209. We will stay with our original independent plans. We also got a letter telling us that they had canceled the 3rd of our 3 included excursions on this segment. They offered us another Astoria excursion or $100 pp nonrefundable shipboard credit. We'd like that if we can use it after San Francisco but it isn't clear they will. We'll have to go to Destination Services tomorrow sometime I guess.
I had a new favorite dessert that neither of us remember seeing on Oceania before. We'd have remembered! I had a vanilla and raspberry vacherin. Clay wasn't sure since we didn't know what it was but I figured I liked to 2 flavors in the name and I ordered the petit four tray to be sure. The vacherin was a disk of vanilla ice cream topped by a disk of raspberry sorbet topped by a hard meringue disk and surrounded and garnished by meringue bits garnished with fresh raspberries. I loved it. It seemed like the kind of dessert the Aussies would have loved but we didn't see this dessert earlier this year on Sirena doing the circumnavigation. Go figure. The menus have been very similiar otherwise.
It was a pretty good day in SE Alaska. Now we are southbound. Tomorrow is a return to Sitka.
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Juneau, AK
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I had a bad night but never noticed the Captain’s promised
hour of rough seas. I woke to the fog horn constantly blaring, drowning in
yellow snot and with a fever.
Not a great day. We had such an excellent trip to SE Alaska
with Alaskan Dream Cruise that any mainstream line would fare poorly in comparison.
But, Oceania seems like they are trying to do poorly or else they care about
something else like profit over customer satisfaction.
Our day was to begin here at 11am today. That was true well
before final payment. It was sold and scheduled as a docked port from day one
to the day we arrived onboard. If you looked at the destinations brochure or
your tour tickets that day, you learned then that we are tendering in Juneau.
There were 2 ships here when we arrived and a 3rd was docked before
we left. That left plenty of dock space for us as the smallest ship, but
presumably it was cheaper to tender. Then there is O’s Regatta Lounge wait for
a tender ticket policy. It took us about an hour to get ashore this morning. Which
gave us plenty of time to meet our 12:55pm tour but little else. On the way back
we arrived to a tender just casting off and were asked to step aside and leave
a path as the next arriving tender had a medical emergency on it to be removed
to an ambulance. That tender went back without any passengers on it. We waited
longer for the original tender to tie up and prepare for us. We waited almost
an hour from the moment we walked up to under way. If there was an emergency,
then why didn’t Regatta drop a dedicated tender to handle it instead of letting
100 people stand in the cold for an hour? The tendering when there was dock space
was slap in the face enough, but then in an emergency to not think first of the
passengers. Unbelievable.
We got off to a bad start when we left to room at 7am to
find breakfast didn’t begin until 7:30am. Then our cabin didn’t get serviced
even though we stayed out until 9am. I wanted to watch Kong:Skull Island on TV
since we had missed it. So we changed the service sign and stayed in until
10:45am when tendering was announced thereby missing the end of the movie anyway.
We had set and watched the fog shifting from Horizons Lounge for over an hour
after breakfast.
It was cold all day today. It was supposed to reach 60F but
the sun never burned through. We had another O included tour here. It was
Flavors of Juneau. We went to Mendenhall Glacier for an hour. Since we had gone
to the waterfall last trip we walked up to the Visitor’s center and watched the
18-minute film. We had about 10 minutes left over to walk to the bear viewing
area where we had seen a couple of red salmon last time as well as a baby
porcupine. Nothing today. We did see several bald eagles today though. Next we
had an hour long cooking demo of salmon and blueberries served with local
Chardonnay. Finally, 20 minutes to visit Alaskan Brewing for 3 tastings. Clay had
all of both of ours and liked all but the Smoked Porter.
Back aboard now and Clay is ready for dinner. I need to save this and get changed. I will post now and assume I find nothing else to
complain about the rest of the evening.
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Ketchikan
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When I woke up and looked out a little after 6am, the skies were clear with a rosy glow and I could see a long way. By the time we got to breakfast and nearing Ketchikan we were inside a cloud with almost zero visibility. Originally rain was forecast but the newest predictions this morning were for no rain. I didn't believe and wore raingear thus guaranteeing a bright sunny day. It was one of the warmest days all summer per locals and a rare rainfree day. They said they'd had 45 inches of rain this summer. They said the salmon spawn started about a week and a half ago. We saw thousands!
We walked a self-guided tour that I had printed from online, but we picked up a better copy at the Visitor's Info center.There were 3 ships in town today. We were the last to arrive and the last to leave. It was divided into 2 walks. We first did the one in the old town since it was closest to our dock. It was also the more interesting and scenic and accurate one. We stopped for a break at New York Cafe where we had a chicken kabob lunch with salad, pita and hummus for $15 that we shared. It was delicious. Clay had a 4 beer flight for $8 and he hated all of them. We walked until it was time for our Duck Tour at 1:55pm. Ketchikan is the 4th largest city in Alaska!
We have a 6:30pm dinner reservation tonight at Polo. I will post this now as I am hopeful that dinner will not be comment worthy.
We had a mandatory disembarkation form due back by noon tomorrow for San Francisco! I don't understand short cruises! This was after embarkation day, sea day 1 and first port stop and they want you to get ready to get off.
photos
When I woke up and looked out a little after 6am, the skies were clear with a rosy glow and I could see a long way. By the time we got to breakfast and nearing Ketchikan we were inside a cloud with almost zero visibility. Originally rain was forecast but the newest predictions this morning were for no rain. I didn't believe and wore raingear thus guaranteeing a bright sunny day. It was one of the warmest days all summer per locals and a rare rainfree day. They said they'd had 45 inches of rain this summer. They said the salmon spawn started about a week and a half ago. We saw thousands!
We walked a self-guided tour that I had printed from online, but we picked up a better copy at the Visitor's Info center.There were 3 ships in town today. We were the last to arrive and the last to leave. It was divided into 2 walks. We first did the one in the old town since it was closest to our dock. It was also the more interesting and scenic and accurate one. We stopped for a break at New York Cafe where we had a chicken kabob lunch with salad, pita and hummus for $15 that we shared. It was delicious. Clay had a 4 beer flight for $8 and he hated all of them. We walked until it was time for our Duck Tour at 1:55pm. Ketchikan is the 4th largest city in Alaska!
We have a 6:30pm dinner reservation tonight at Polo. I will post this now as I am hopeful that dinner will not be comment worthy.
We had a mandatory disembarkation form due back by noon tomorrow for San Francisco! I don't understand short cruises! This was after embarkation day, sea day 1 and first port stop and they want you to get ready to get off.
photos
Sea Day 1
Alaska Inside Passage, North bound. It was a nice morning when I
opened the curtains. We were very close to land and you could see an active
current in the narrow channel. It was cool and clear. I spotted a small whale
breathing several times near shore and then a whale tail. I saw one seal or sea
lion pop up and look around. By the time we got to breakfast it had clouded in
and was raining. We went up front to Horizons to get my cruise needlepoint kit
at 9:30am and it was pouring. We didn’t see any other sealife just lots of
floating logs.
By lunch time we were in open water and big swells. It
stopped raining by afternoon but it was a rough ride. While we were at lunch
they had distributed barf bags throughout the ship. I opted for a nap and slept
hours. When I got up to dress for the Captain’s reception I spotted a small
porpoise jumping in and out of the waves and swells by our starboard side.
We went to the Grand Dining Room tonight since we were
already dressed and on deck 5. It was a familiar menu from earlier this year on
Sirena around Australia.
We had a good day. Tomorrow is a new port for us,
Ketchikan. We have been without Internet
all day. We’ll see how long this lasts. I will post when I can.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Boarding Regatta, Leaving Vancouver
photos
We were up early this morning worrying about Mom & Matt facing Hurricane Irma in FL. It turned out OK as the predicted storm surge did not happen. The storm was a direct hit on Bonita Springs, but it weakened quickly and did not produce the predicted flooding. It is still a mess but it could have been so much worse.
We got our first really nice weather today. It was about 70F and partly cloudy. Visibility was much improved as well today and we could see clearly across the harbor most of the day.
We called for service and got our 2 checked bags removed to be taken to Regatta before breakfast. They were waiting outside our 7051 cabin when we arrived after 1:30pm. That couldn't have been more convenient. Not so for the rest of the experience. We had decided to board after 12 noon as our documents instructed. Thinking we'd go back out between 3 and 6pm to get Clay's happy hour at Chewie's Oyster Bar if it did not conflict with the life boat drill. So after breakfast, we set off through Gastown to Chinatown to tour the Chinese Garden. I am not too sure about it. I didn't love it and found the guided tour more tedious than informative. I think I'd have been as happy just visiting the public park half with the house tour. Oh well. We got back to the Pan Pacific about 12:15pm and by 12:30pm we were checked out. At 8am this morning, there was a line of O passengers through the lobby entered a ballroom that was designated for checking in O passengers between 8am and noon. I can't imagine why anyone would want to check in that early. Our Concierge cabin was not promised to be ready before 1:30pm and normal cabins not until 3pm. They had shut down the lobby operation after noon. We were sent downstairs and to the far side and back of the building. Finally we found Regatta's check in room. Once quickly through that process we were sent into a giant room with zigzaging roped off paths with thousands of people. They mixed all 3 boarding cruise ships through one security clearance area followed by the same process through US Customs and Border Control. We thought it looked like in transit passengers were only by passing the line at security as we got tracked to their screening line, then they queued with all the rest for US Customs and Border Control. I asked the BP guy who was directing people there if we left the ship after boarding if we had to go through all this again to get back aboard and he said yes, that we'd be crazy to go back out and his advice was to stay on the ship. So, today there was no adventage to being on a ship with 600 or so passengers if there are another 5000 or so in line with you! We'd have boarded much later and made better use of our last day in Vancouver if we'd known. So, it was about quarter of 2pm by the time we got onboard and we had to insist we go directly to our cabin instead of being directed to the lunch buffet. Our room was ready and our luggage was outside the door so that was the upside of the hour plus it took us to get aboard. We did go to the lunch buffet. We drank our welcome champagne on the balcony as we waited for the 5:15pm life boat drill. All aboard was 7:30pm. Sailaway was scheduled for 8pm but we were away about 7:40pm. By 8pm we had sailed under the bridge to leave the harbor of Vancouver.
So far we are dismayed by the little differences between the Sirena and the Regatta. We had expected them to be more alike than different. We really still like Marina best of the Oceania fleet we've tried so far. Tomorrow is a sea day.
photos
We were up early this morning worrying about Mom & Matt facing Hurricane Irma in FL. It turned out OK as the predicted storm surge did not happen. The storm was a direct hit on Bonita Springs, but it weakened quickly and did not produce the predicted flooding. It is still a mess but it could have been so much worse.
We got our first really nice weather today. It was about 70F and partly cloudy. Visibility was much improved as well today and we could see clearly across the harbor most of the day.
We called for service and got our 2 checked bags removed to be taken to Regatta before breakfast. They were waiting outside our 7051 cabin when we arrived after 1:30pm. That couldn't have been more convenient. Not so for the rest of the experience. We had decided to board after 12 noon as our documents instructed. Thinking we'd go back out between 3 and 6pm to get Clay's happy hour at Chewie's Oyster Bar if it did not conflict with the life boat drill. So after breakfast, we set off through Gastown to Chinatown to tour the Chinese Garden. I am not too sure about it. I didn't love it and found the guided tour more tedious than informative. I think I'd have been as happy just visiting the public park half with the house tour. Oh well. We got back to the Pan Pacific about 12:15pm and by 12:30pm we were checked out. At 8am this morning, there was a line of O passengers through the lobby entered a ballroom that was designated for checking in O passengers between 8am and noon. I can't imagine why anyone would want to check in that early. Our Concierge cabin was not promised to be ready before 1:30pm and normal cabins not until 3pm. They had shut down the lobby operation after noon. We were sent downstairs and to the far side and back of the building. Finally we found Regatta's check in room. Once quickly through that process we were sent into a giant room with zigzaging roped off paths with thousands of people. They mixed all 3 boarding cruise ships through one security clearance area followed by the same process through US Customs and Border Control. We thought it looked like in transit passengers were only by passing the line at security as we got tracked to their screening line, then they queued with all the rest for US Customs and Border Control. I asked the BP guy who was directing people there if we left the ship after boarding if we had to go through all this again to get back aboard and he said yes, that we'd be crazy to go back out and his advice was to stay on the ship. So, today there was no adventage to being on a ship with 600 or so passengers if there are another 5000 or so in line with you! We'd have boarded much later and made better use of our last day in Vancouver if we'd known. So, it was about quarter of 2pm by the time we got onboard and we had to insist we go directly to our cabin instead of being directed to the lunch buffet. Our room was ready and our luggage was outside the door so that was the upside of the hour plus it took us to get aboard. We did go to the lunch buffet. We drank our welcome champagne on the balcony as we waited for the 5:15pm life boat drill. All aboard was 7:30pm. Sailaway was scheduled for 8pm but we were away about 7:40pm. By 8pm we had sailed under the bridge to leave the harbor of Vancouver.
So far we are dismayed by the little differences between the Sirena and the Regatta. We had expected them to be more alike than different. We really still like Marina best of the Oceania fleet we've tried so far. Tomorrow is a sea day.
photos
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Vancouver Day 2
photos
We both slept soundly again last night. Today there are 3 cruise ships around us. We have a big Princess ship out our side. HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam is on the other side and from across False Creek we saw a 3rd smaller ship, maybe a Seabourn. Tomorrow when we board O's Regatta there will be 3 new ships here besides Regatta will be Celebrity Infinity and HAL's Noordam. It is a bustling place.
It poured rain today all morning and a cold front came through overnight so it was markedly cooler today. It is still low visibility from wildfire smoke and today you could smell it. We have surely not seen Vancouver at its best. We had a much calmer morning today at the breakfast buffet. We chose to ride the Vancouver Trolley today instead of the Westcoast Sightseeing. We regret our decision. The trolley people had less capacity as well they were not running in the advertised 20 minute cycle. We waited while 4 Westcoast big buses came by the Granville Island stop and it took over 45 minutes for a trolley to come. They only had 6 available seats while there was a line of more than a dozen people waiting. They had hard wooden bench seats as well that were uncomfortable. I leaned toward the trolley because they included a free False Creek Ferry ticket which we did use to get to Granville Market. Still Westcoast was probably a better choice and that would be our recommendation.
The St. Roch is here in Vancouver at the Maritime Museum. We'd have gone if we hadn't spent nearly an hour in a parking lot under a bridge waiting for a trolley. Oh well, we caught a glimpse of it through the windows. It was first ship circumnavigate North America in 1950. It was also one of the ships to make the North West Passage and did it twice, once in each direction. St. Roch is my hero ship and I'm sorry to have missed it. It is unclear if I'll every get all the pieces covered to circumnavigate North America. I still have hopes of an opportunity to do a North America circumnavigation in one go if some cruise line offers it.
We had lunch today at the Granville Island Public Market. It was huge. Bigger than we expected. We ate lunch there. We shared a bratwurst sandwich, a steaming bowl of cheddar & potato mini-pierogies and a maple crepe. It was all good. We also shared some beautiful artisinal chocolates.
Clay has chosen Mahoney & Sons for dinner. I'll finish this post after dinner and get it published. Mahoney's was close by on the waterfront and excellent. We were there before 6pm and it was busy but not too noisy and we were seated right away. I had bangers & mash and got 3 big sausages. It was way too much! Clay ate a lot of sausage with his more modest serving of salmon. The food was delicious. Clay had also planned to have a beer flight and he did to the envy of everyone in the room, who must have missed it on the menu. I had my first glass of wine this trip. They had a good selection of British Columbia wines and I had a smalll (6 oz.) Riesling. It was very good. I hope the box of NZ Riesling I bought to drink for the next month is close to that good. We'll see.
Our thoughts have been and continue to be with my family as Hurricane Irma continues to make a course directly to their homes in SW Florida. Fingers crossed that they get through with as minimal damage and inconvenience as possible.
We have plans for tomorrow taking advantage of our Pan Pacific cruise package to transfer our luggage and check out late. Given O's past record of boarding delays we aren't in any hurry to be there for our noon embarkation and if it's 2pm or after that would probably be better. So after breakfast, we'll surrender the checked bags then go over to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden for the 10:30am guided tour and finally to Chewie's Steam & Oyster Bar since Clay realized he had forgotten to have oysters. Hopefully we can fit that all in before checkout deadline of 2pm. Should be able to and hoping for a rain free day but we'll see. We heard the garden is better in the rain with some kind of singing water drainage system that you miss if you're there on a clear day. Either way.
photos
We both slept soundly again last night. Today there are 3 cruise ships around us. We have a big Princess ship out our side. HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam is on the other side and from across False Creek we saw a 3rd smaller ship, maybe a Seabourn. Tomorrow when we board O's Regatta there will be 3 new ships here besides Regatta will be Celebrity Infinity and HAL's Noordam. It is a bustling place.
It poured rain today all morning and a cold front came through overnight so it was markedly cooler today. It is still low visibility from wildfire smoke and today you could smell it. We have surely not seen Vancouver at its best. We had a much calmer morning today at the breakfast buffet. We chose to ride the Vancouver Trolley today instead of the Westcoast Sightseeing. We regret our decision. The trolley people had less capacity as well they were not running in the advertised 20 minute cycle. We waited while 4 Westcoast big buses came by the Granville Island stop and it took over 45 minutes for a trolley to come. They only had 6 available seats while there was a line of more than a dozen people waiting. They had hard wooden bench seats as well that were uncomfortable. I leaned toward the trolley because they included a free False Creek Ferry ticket which we did use to get to Granville Market. Still Westcoast was probably a better choice and that would be our recommendation.
The St. Roch is here in Vancouver at the Maritime Museum. We'd have gone if we hadn't spent nearly an hour in a parking lot under a bridge waiting for a trolley. Oh well, we caught a glimpse of it through the windows. It was first ship circumnavigate North America in 1950. It was also one of the ships to make the North West Passage and did it twice, once in each direction. St. Roch is my hero ship and I'm sorry to have missed it. It is unclear if I'll every get all the pieces covered to circumnavigate North America. I still have hopes of an opportunity to do a North America circumnavigation in one go if some cruise line offers it.
We had lunch today at the Granville Island Public Market. It was huge. Bigger than we expected. We ate lunch there. We shared a bratwurst sandwich, a steaming bowl of cheddar & potato mini-pierogies and a maple crepe. It was all good. We also shared some beautiful artisinal chocolates.
Clay has chosen Mahoney & Sons for dinner. I'll finish this post after dinner and get it published. Mahoney's was close by on the waterfront and excellent. We were there before 6pm and it was busy but not too noisy and we were seated right away. I had bangers & mash and got 3 big sausages. It was way too much! Clay ate a lot of sausage with his more modest serving of salmon. The food was delicious. Clay had also planned to have a beer flight and he did to the envy of everyone in the room, who must have missed it on the menu. I had my first glass of wine this trip. They had a good selection of British Columbia wines and I had a smalll (6 oz.) Riesling. It was very good. I hope the box of NZ Riesling I bought to drink for the next month is close to that good. We'll see.
Our thoughts have been and continue to be with my family as Hurricane Irma continues to make a course directly to their homes in SW Florida. Fingers crossed that they get through with as minimal damage and inconvenience as possible.
We have plans for tomorrow taking advantage of our Pan Pacific cruise package to transfer our luggage and check out late. Given O's past record of boarding delays we aren't in any hurry to be there for our noon embarkation and if it's 2pm or after that would probably be better. So after breakfast, we'll surrender the checked bags then go over to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden for the 10:30am guided tour and finally to Chewie's Steam & Oyster Bar since Clay realized he had forgotten to have oysters. Hopefully we can fit that all in before checkout deadline of 2pm. Should be able to and hoping for a rain free day but we'll see. We heard the garden is better in the rain with some kind of singing water drainage system that you miss if you're there on a clear day. Either way.
photos
Friday, September 8, 2017
Day 1 Vancouver
photos
We slept like logs on the 12th floor of the Pan Pacific. We had booked an Alaska Cruise Package for 3 nights which cost $1308CAD. It includes breakfast each morning, luggage transfer to the cruise ship and 2pm checkout. Mostly it is convenient if a bit pricey. The room is comfortable and a nice size. Down side is the keyed minibar. Coolest feature is what Clay described as a "dual-purpose bathroom door." It closes the bathroom off from the entry hall swung one way and it is hinged to close off the toilet room in the bathroom when swung the other way. I am not sure I appreciate the functionality but I do appreciate the design and engineering and thought behind it. Celebrity Millenium was docked on our side of the hotel this morning and a Royal Caribbean ship on the other side of the hotel. The Cruise Terminal is in the basement of this building under the convention center. It is a convenient and bustling location. The buffet was good and extensive but we wouldn't have paid the $37CAD they were charging. The coffee was surprising bad and capuccino was an extra charge I suppose you could argue we have but I don't know what the room went for without it. It is convenient anyway and we skipped lunch after the huge breakfasts we ate.
We were planning to take self-guided walking tours today since the chances of rain are higher on Saturday than today, Friday. It poured rain as we ate breakfast and watched people leave their cruises. It was still raining lightly off and on all morning as we made a half-assed walking tour attempt. When we hatched this plan, Clay told me he had downloaded an app to his phone that had 2 offline GPS only self-guided walking tours nearby Pan Pacific to Gastown and Chinatown. I never saw them, I still haven't. Before breakfast, he asked me if I had printed anything out about the walking tours. No because there was nothing to print out... He didn't have an app. He couldn't find an app. He vaguely remembered saying he'd taken care of it. It was business as usual. Our plan for the day is we have no plan now. We asked at the concierge desk and got a map and Clay found some online maps with descriptions of highlights between those and the maps and signs on the streets and buildings we saw most of Gastown and some of Chinatown. Neither were very photogenic today. It is overcast with low visibility due to smoke from wildfires. It was only supposed to be a high of 71F today but it was really muggy and felt a lot hotter. We both were dressed to warmly today given the humidity or else it got a lot warmer than predicted with no sun all day. The coolest thing we saw was the steamclock which had cool works moving balls around inside a glass case and a calliope-sounding steam whistle out the top every 15 minutes. Worth the walk.
Tomorrow we plan to take one of the HOHOs in town. There are 2 here and both are about the same. We can't pick a clear winner. Tomorrow will tell probably by the first bus to appear in front of us with seats.
We ate a red bean bun and a Portuguese egg custard tart from a Chinatown market for a midday snack. Clay had a gelato for Bella Gelaterio nearby. It is supposed to be the best gelato in North America. I didn't have any and I think he wouldn't go that far though he said it was good and creamy.
We did our beer and wine shopping for our 28-day cruise today complicated by the fact that Canada has strict alcohol sales laws. But we went to the state run BC Liquor Store across from the Water Front Station nearby for a 3-L box of Riesling-Gerwurztraminer wine for us. Clay got 4 beers at the Steamworks Brewery across the street. If we like them, they will be excellent values for us versus Oceania drink prices. Clay paid $10.59CAD for his beers and $36.99 for the wine.
Clay had 3 places picked for our dinner. I picked up a brochure with menu for one, De Dutch. It closes at 4pm, so that leaves 2 places. Lucky as we have 2 dinners to eat here. One is Mahoney and Sons, a pub, and the other is Hapa Izakaya, a Japanese place. Both are nearby. When we walked out of the Pan Pacific to watch the Celebrity Millenium sail away and then to dinner, Clay announced he'd left his phone in the room. Since we didn't know the address of Mahoney but we'd walked by Hapa and gone in to see the menu earlier that is where we knew where to go and went. We got there during happy hour as Clay had planned but apparently it wasn't clear what that actually meant or else he misunderstood. They had 1 draft beer at $2 off and 1 white and 1 red wine at a couple dollars off. Neither of us would drink anything on special. Clay bought his choice of $6 regular price beers and I had a glass of ice water. The dinner menu was not available until after happy hour was over after 5:30pm. There was a limited Japanese tapas menu available until then. We ordered and ate cold Edamame beans, hot cream cheese spring rolls, 2 chicken tacos and 1 fish taco. The tortillas of all tacos were burned. It was not a satisfying meal. The restaurant was extremely noisy. Neither of us would ever recommend Hapa Izakaya or return there. It's been done. We walked down to Tim Horton's after for something to treat ourselves. We waited in a long line. We walked to a convenience store to get Clay a Coke Zero after. I thought the coffe and tea making supplies in the room were complimentary and had said I would have coffee in the room after this morning's nasty buffet coffee, but as Clay and I reread the card by the ice bucket and kettle we failed to find any language indicating that it was included or complimentary but in fact discussed the minibar at the same time implying it was for sale but the supplies were not listed on the minibar price list. In the absence of a firm statement that coffee/tea was complimentary, I will just have to do with the nasty buffet coffee in the morning. 'Til then.
photos
We slept like logs on the 12th floor of the Pan Pacific. We had booked an Alaska Cruise Package for 3 nights which cost $1308CAD. It includes breakfast each morning, luggage transfer to the cruise ship and 2pm checkout. Mostly it is convenient if a bit pricey. The room is comfortable and a nice size. Down side is the keyed minibar. Coolest feature is what Clay described as a "dual-purpose bathroom door." It closes the bathroom off from the entry hall swung one way and it is hinged to close off the toilet room in the bathroom when swung the other way. I am not sure I appreciate the functionality but I do appreciate the design and engineering and thought behind it. Celebrity Millenium was docked on our side of the hotel this morning and a Royal Caribbean ship on the other side of the hotel. The Cruise Terminal is in the basement of this building under the convention center. It is a convenient and bustling location. The buffet was good and extensive but we wouldn't have paid the $37CAD they were charging. The coffee was surprising bad and capuccino was an extra charge I suppose you could argue we have but I don't know what the room went for without it. It is convenient anyway and we skipped lunch after the huge breakfasts we ate.
We were planning to take self-guided walking tours today since the chances of rain are higher on Saturday than today, Friday. It poured rain as we ate breakfast and watched people leave their cruises. It was still raining lightly off and on all morning as we made a half-assed walking tour attempt. When we hatched this plan, Clay told me he had downloaded an app to his phone that had 2 offline GPS only self-guided walking tours nearby Pan Pacific to Gastown and Chinatown. I never saw them, I still haven't. Before breakfast, he asked me if I had printed anything out about the walking tours. No because there was nothing to print out... He didn't have an app. He couldn't find an app. He vaguely remembered saying he'd taken care of it. It was business as usual. Our plan for the day is we have no plan now. We asked at the concierge desk and got a map and Clay found some online maps with descriptions of highlights between those and the maps and signs on the streets and buildings we saw most of Gastown and some of Chinatown. Neither were very photogenic today. It is overcast with low visibility due to smoke from wildfires. It was only supposed to be a high of 71F today but it was really muggy and felt a lot hotter. We both were dressed to warmly today given the humidity or else it got a lot warmer than predicted with no sun all day. The coolest thing we saw was the steamclock which had cool works moving balls around inside a glass case and a calliope-sounding steam whistle out the top every 15 minutes. Worth the walk.
Tomorrow we plan to take one of the HOHOs in town. There are 2 here and both are about the same. We can't pick a clear winner. Tomorrow will tell probably by the first bus to appear in front of us with seats.
We ate a red bean bun and a Portuguese egg custard tart from a Chinatown market for a midday snack. Clay had a gelato for Bella Gelaterio nearby. It is supposed to be the best gelato in North America. I didn't have any and I think he wouldn't go that far though he said it was good and creamy.
We did our beer and wine shopping for our 28-day cruise today complicated by the fact that Canada has strict alcohol sales laws. But we went to the state run BC Liquor Store across from the Water Front Station nearby for a 3-L box of Riesling-Gerwurztraminer wine for us. Clay got 4 beers at the Steamworks Brewery across the street. If we like them, they will be excellent values for us versus Oceania drink prices. Clay paid $10.59CAD for his beers and $36.99 for the wine.
Clay had 3 places picked for our dinner. I picked up a brochure with menu for one, De Dutch. It closes at 4pm, so that leaves 2 places. Lucky as we have 2 dinners to eat here. One is Mahoney and Sons, a pub, and the other is Hapa Izakaya, a Japanese place. Both are nearby. When we walked out of the Pan Pacific to watch the Celebrity Millenium sail away and then to dinner, Clay announced he'd left his phone in the room. Since we didn't know the address of Mahoney but we'd walked by Hapa and gone in to see the menu earlier that is where we knew where to go and went. We got there during happy hour as Clay had planned but apparently it wasn't clear what that actually meant or else he misunderstood. They had 1 draft beer at $2 off and 1 white and 1 red wine at a couple dollars off. Neither of us would drink anything on special. Clay bought his choice of $6 regular price beers and I had a glass of ice water. The dinner menu was not available until after happy hour was over after 5:30pm. There was a limited Japanese tapas menu available until then. We ordered and ate cold Edamame beans, hot cream cheese spring rolls, 2 chicken tacos and 1 fish taco. The tortillas of all tacos were burned. It was not a satisfying meal. The restaurant was extremely noisy. Neither of us would ever recommend Hapa Izakaya or return there. It's been done. We walked down to Tim Horton's after for something to treat ourselves. We waited in a long line. We walked to a convenience store to get Clay a Coke Zero after. I thought the coffe and tea making supplies in the room were complimentary and had said I would have coffee in the room after this morning's nasty buffet coffee, but as Clay and I reread the card by the ice bucket and kettle we failed to find any language indicating that it was included or complimentary but in fact discussed the minibar at the same time implying it was for sale but the supplies were not listed on the minibar price list. In the absence of a firm statement that coffee/tea was complimentary, I will just have to do with the nasty buffet coffee in the morning. 'Til then.
photos
To Vancouver, BC, Canada
We booked our flights on Air Canada back in May. It was one-way given the cruise to Miami. We paid $614.14USD for economy class for the 2 of us. The economy class seats weren't bad. We were in 2 seat side rows on each leg and the planes were partly to mostly empty. The bad news was the delays. The first flight was delayed enough that Clay was concerned about the connection in Toronto. But, here's the thing. The boarding pass we got printed at RDU when we checked our bags through to Vancouver showed a 4 hour long delay in leaving Toronto but the ticket agent did not mention it and neither of us noticed it until we were in Toronto! I don't know what proper protocol should have been but we were never notified by phone, text, email or in person about the 4 hour delay. The flight should have taken off at 6pm and it took off about 10:30pm. It was after midnight when we arrived in Vancouver or about 3 am Toronto/RDU time. It made for a long day. Air Canada said the flight was one of many delayed due to equipment repositioning due to rescue flights in the path of Hurricane Irma. I don't fault them for that but for not notifying us. We could probably have made an earlier Vancouver flight out of Toronto if we'd known and been given the option. Anyway. We're here and tired and our luggage arrived so all good.
I know Clay took some photos and I don't know when or if he'll post and link them here. Stay tuned.
I know Clay took some photos and I don't know when or if he'll post and link them here. Stay tuned.
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