On to Vancouver, and the Coral Princess

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Geo: 49.2605, -123.114

We were not rushed in the morning, but with the three-hour time change, alas we were all up well before the sun. We had our choice of coffee houses for breakfast as they are – quite literally – on every block, often with two or three in a row. As we headed out with our bags, headed back to the airport to meet our tour, our elevator stopped and – in one of those cliché "small world" moments – a guy I work with, who was called back to active duty and has been in Iraq since Summer 2008, walked on with his wife. We stared at each other in disbelief, with me hoping the woman he was with really WAS his wife. She was. Turns out he grew up in Washington, had just completed his tour, and was having a weekend with his wife while his folks watched their kids. I saw him at work today, and we're still both laughing about it.

Anyway, we had to return to the airport to meet up with our tour. We checked in with Princess, gladly gave up our bags, and were shortly on a bus transport over the Canadian border to meet our ship – the Coral Princess – in Vancouver, British Columbia. The day was beautiful but the drive less than spectacular, but several of the venues for next year's Winter Olympics were pointed out along the way. We were on the ship and in our stateroom by 3:30pm, with enough time for a quick run around the ship before the obligatory lifeboat drill. I credit Princess with having a unique system, whereby you don't have to stand on the deck wearing your life vest, but rather congregate in a specified lounge for a safety lecture.

The ship was quite beautiful and absolutely sparkling from top to bottom. Even with a full passenger complement of almost 2,000, things were always clean and tidy. We explored some more and met our dinner companions at 5:30pm. Though they give you the option to dine when and where you want on board, we opted for the traditional fixed seating with specified guests. This worked out very well for us. They often say that your dinner companions can make or break your cruise, and in this case we were very fortunate. We were joined by four ladies traveling together from Washington State, and two sisters from Florida. Yes, I WAS the token male at the table. Nonetheless, they were all very well traveled and very nice companions – Anna, by her own admission, looked forward to “dinner with the ladies” each night.

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Photos

Anna on her Bunk
This third bunk actually folded down from the ceiling. Our steward would use a key to lower it each evening, and it worked out really well.