Day 1 - Vancouver, B.C.


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Published: June 19th 2012
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So we're in Canada, eh? We arrived late last night (got to our room about midnight!) and took the public train to our hotel on the waterfront. The hotel is literally steps away from the cruise ship dock - in fact the staging area for the cruiselines is in the "basement" of the hotel. We received an email a few days ago telling us not to even try to board until after 2pm, since they have 4 cruise ships boarding from the same area today.

Deb got up early and went down to the hotel pool for a swim and a soak in the hot tub. The views are extraordinary! She could actually look down onto the deck of our ship from the pool area.

We packed up our luggage and headed over to have breakfast before renting bicycles and riding through Stanley Park, rated one of the top 10 most beautiful parks in the world! Once we got there, we could see why. It's about a 9km circle trip around the park, which takes several hours with stops to enjoy the sights, totems, lighthouses, cannons, rock formations, and geocaching. Yes, of course Deb had previewed geocaches in every location we plan on stopping, and there were plenty in Stanley Park. If you are not familiar with geocaching and are curious, go to www.geocaching.com for an explanation.

We stopped to see the collection of totems, and the Brighton Point & Lighthouse, and the big cannon. Further up the coast, another lighthouse and the Lion's Gate Bridge, then around to Siwash Rock. We completed the circuit and took back our bikes, then walked the seawall path back to the hotel and the staging area to board. They made an announcement that we would be leaving at 7:30 pm rather than 4 pm, so we didn't have to rush. We got on board the ship, found our cabin, then went to a bar to relax and enjoy the harbor views before we set sail.

We had a relaxing first evening on the ship, then prepared for a day at sea tomorrow (aka: goof off day!).


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Taking a break from the bike rideTaking a break from the bike ride
Taking a break from the bike ride

In Stanley Park with Lion's Gate Bridge in the background


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