Embarkation

After our rapid tour of Vancouver’s sights yesterday, we had a morning to fill in the gaps before we headed for the dock. We walked downtown, along Granville (the main north-south street) – it was now a normal street, having been converted into a mall for the weekend. We made a quick stop at the Telus store to sort out our SIM card – this Canadian mobile phone company sells pre-paid SIMs, but their internet site only accepts refills based on a Canadian credit card!

Then off to have a look at the Vancouver library, based in an interesting modern building with a circular theme. We had a stop for a coffee, before continuing to wander. We headed south, which took us through the Yaletown district. Apparently once an area of warehouses, it is now a much more up-market domain of apartments and restaurants – certainly it seemed the nicest inner-city area.

Following a cheap lunch at a Yaletown Chinese (which produced the only pork chow mien that could ever be described as vegetarian), we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and get a taxi to the wharf, which is adjacent to the main downtown area.

There were three boats leaving that afternoon which made for quite a crowd. You drop your bags for your boat and join the queue to get through customs. That took about 60 minutes, followed by another 30 minutes to book into the boat. No stress – just go with the flow.

Aboard we found our cabin and had a brief look around, before the mandatory safety drill. At least, they take the drill seriously (mandatory, no drinks or food, silence please), but do it in good spirit. OK, so we are evacuation station E, lifeboat 9 (the evacuation station is printed on the mag card that is our room key and our charge card – there’s no cash on the ship). Out cabin is great – I’ve stayed in smaller hotel rooms. A double bed, a compact bathroom, a couch, plenty of storage, TV, fridge, coffee maker and a glass sliding door to a balcony.

Firstly, this is a seriously big ship. It’s about 78000 tons, with 2000 passengers and nearly 1000 crew. It has 12 levels (though passengers use levels four to 12). First rule for us – stairs are mandatory; lifts are out; so that we can try to offset the food and wine. Passengers seem to be mainly US or Canadians, but a big mix of others (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Spanish), with many age groups.

The corridors go on forever!

There are bars and restaurants everywhere in a maze spread over 8 levels. We found a bar and had a few drinks, watching as the ship slid out of the berth and glided out of Vancouver harbour.

Later, we found our way, with some guidance, to our dinner reservation in the Italian restaurant. It has a great location with tables against large windows. The food was fine (not brilliant, but OK) and the service great. The waitress even arranged to send the deserts that we didn’t want to our room for later!

We are still trying to sort out how the ship works, but it all seems OK. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem at all crowded, though the ship is fully booked.