All aboard...nah, got nothing better!

---

Plan had to be to head into Granville this morning but needed to be at the ship around 2pm so decided it was better to just wander around Eagle Harbour and enjoy our last few hours on dry land. The harbour is for pleasure craft and the local well heeled residents to dock their boats. The setting was idyllic and Eagle Island is set just 40 metres across the channel but is inaccessible to vehicles so the residents all have skiffs they ferry back and forth on. Vehicles are not allowed on the island and the residents move around on golf carts. Sandy decided the family needed to relocate. I suggested we come back in the dead of winter and see if she was still as keen but she was still undeterred so I had to find other reasons to get her to reconsider. Fortunately, when she identified the actual property she wanted and which luckily for us was on the market the decision was made and we purchased it. Yep, right there on the spot I wrote a cheque out for their asking price. Yeah, right! While I was looking for just one good reason to move Sandy on, the price tag on the property gave me 36 million of them. So looks like the residents of Ayrshire Place are stuck with us for a bit longer. Saw a harbor seal while we were sitting on the beach and Sandy was planning how long it would take to pack the house up before moving. Cute little fella, the seal that is.

Bob and Jennifer of Eagle Harbor Country Mansions drove us in Sherman to the cruise ship terminal in early afternoon as I wanted to leave plenty of time to deal with the mundanities of US Customs and boarding procedures. Pretty happy with myself as there 2 and a half hours prior to boarding because there were no queues and we sailed through all the processes in record time. Brilliant. Then found out that the queues were so short because we were amongst the last to board. Bless the elderly, they needed to be aboard and ensure they didn't miss the buffet lunch. Given how pedantic about it I am now, by the time I'm 65 we'll be camping out on the dock the night before.

Anyway, now we're aboard our floating home for the next 10 days, the Celebrity Century, the gangplank comes up as our feet step off it and Skipper gives Gilligan the word and he drops the clutch and we're off. Not quite. First find our cabins, sorry 'Staterooms', which are just cabins but you can charge more for a stateroom than a cabin. These are pretty cool (remember we used to do youth hostels and flea pits) and bigger than I had anticipated. Kids are in 4118, Sandy and I are in 4116,with an adjoining door opening up to keep us together and allow what real estate agents would call 'flow' which is appropriate on a cruise ship. Each room has a large window and we are just one deck above the waterline.

The Celebrity Century is the smallest vessel in the Celebrity fleet and carries around 1,800 plus passengers and has a crew of over 800. Seems plenty big enough for our purposes.

Heading north we are looking out over the Canadian coastline and I think this is the best side to be on when we look at our actual sailing times as we will be sailing back into Vancouver during the night so not alot to see then.

Took the kids for a familiarisation walk and while this is a small cruise ship, small is a subjective issue. When you've never been on a cruise ship before and your 10 and 8 years old, this is pretty big. With pools, gym (yeah, right we'll be there....),shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, casinos etc, etc,etc...and I kid you not, an outdoor basket ball court right atop the ship on deck 14. As well as movie theatres, kids fun factory,business centre, you get the idea. Asked the kids for their thoughts on it, Caitlin said it was 'awesome', Reuben said he was 'speechless' - long may that last!!

Had first coffee on board at the Cova Cafe. Best coffee had so far in Canada. There is a standard charge for the coffee but there is a large pastry and cake assortment which is complimentary. These are all very small which makes eating two or three of them acceptable. Four is pushing it, five is really stretching it, six is outright gluttony and we noted a few gluttons. Too make matters worse the pastries are outstanding.

Then got to meet our shipmates in close proximity when the entire ship did the emergency drill just prior to sailing. An eclectic group to put it mildly. As a generous estimate we would put maybe 10-15% of the passengers as under 60. There are 24 children on board we now know. Predominantly American, some Canadians, few odds and sods others. Interestingly the family groups are almost all New Zealanders and Australians.

Had dinner in the formal dining room, still needed it because remember the pastries are very small, and it was a useful experience for the kids. Caitlin got it and liked putting on a dress and all that. Reuben just didn't get it. Food was just fantastic and a very impressive menu. And of course the scenery while dining was stunning.

After dinner, by now just after 7pm, the kids wanted to check out the kids Fun Factory, which conveniently is right outside our cabin (sorry, stateroom). Checked it out and ended up checking the kids in. Left with them both playing on a Wii and just telling us to go. So we did. And it didn't take that much insistence.

We went on deck to walk off dinner. There was a spectacular sunset and the ship was in a very narrow stretch of water with forests on either side. It was narrow enough to make out and identify roughly the birds on the rocks along the waterline. Collected the kids at 8:45 and put them to bed. We were not too far behind them. Bit of noise as to be expected but not too bad and confident will get used to it pretty quickly. First day, first impressions of boat, facilities and the scenery. Far exceeded all our expectations...

** Internet aboard is very expensive and will not upload images. Imagine reading this twaddle without pictures!! this blog published using the free wi-fi at Highliner Cafe in Sitka, Alaska - which I will write up in next couple of days - will say now it is possibly the most beautiful place we have ever seen.

---

Photos

Eagle Harbor
Everyones happy!

Not a bad view...
This is an example of what we saw for the whole first day of sailing. Photos don't even come close to doing it justice.

Home for 10 days...
Cabin (stateroom damnit) has a couple of armchairs a writing desk and 3 wardrobes as well as the tv and surprisingly good bathroom. Much better than had expected. Kids is the mirror image with two single beds.