Alaska Cruise Part 11.....

Or, the end of one cruise and the beginning and end of another.

Last night the ship docked in Victoria. We stayed on board. We all had dinner together and said our good-byes to Deb and Jeff. It was so nice spending time with them. They are good friends and now that they are both retired maybe we'll see them more often? We also enjoyed meeting their friends, Ben and Lisa.

Dinner for me and Wanda was turkey, and as they say, 'all the trimmings'. I'm giving this some thought, 'all the trimmings' really doesn't sound very good. Let's trim the tree means take off and throw away branches. Unless it's a Christmas tree, then it could mean decorating, and that's good. Trimmings could be the fat and ookey stuff cut off meat. That wouldn't be good, I wouldn't want a pile of trimmings for dinner.

These 'trimmings' meant stuffing and potato's and cranberry sauce. It was very good, Thanksgiving dinner in September.

We walked around some after dinner. I took a number of pictures, none of them turned out. Here's where you need to use your imagination. See the beautiful Victoria harbor? Also, check out the Holland America cruise ship docked next to us, pretty nice don't you think? Oh, and here is one of me and Wanda at the aft pool, we look great.

We both used the Jacuzzi then tried, for the sixth time, to get through "National Treasure." I don't remember seeing the end of the movie.

We were booked in a balcony cabin for the overnight but our travel agent worked some magic. We will stay in this Window Suite, so we don't have to move.

After a great nights sleep Wanda was up and out walking by 5:30 AM. I woke soon after and went down for a latte. We had all of our 'in-transit' paperwork as well as our new sea cards for the overnight to Vancouver. The ship is docked well outside the downtown area so we decided not to go in to Seattle today.

It's very strange, staying on the ship while almost everyone is leaving. It's sort of like having a little secret. At this point we don't know how they will process us through customs. We have instructions to meet a Princess representative in the Crown Grill at 9:30 this morning. 

The disembarkation/embarkation process has vastly improved over the nine years we have been cruising. I don't know what things were like prior to 9-11 but from our first in 2003 to 2009 the loading and unloading was time consuming and at times, chaotic. Now it's a breeze, mostly.

Several days prior to departure you fill out a customs form and a form listing your travel plans at cruise end. Passengers are asked to vacate their cabin by 8 AM. You are given a meeting area, a color code luggage tag, and an estimated time to leave the ship (depending on your travel plans). Disembarkation starts as soon as the ship is cleared by customs, usually a little after eight. Groups are called off by color. By 10 AM, if all goes well, the ship is empty. The new group of passengers begins boarding around 11 AM. We usually register to carry off our luggage, consequently, we leave with the first groups.

The dining room as well as the buffet is open for breakfast. This entire process takes a couple of hours. It's relatively easy. You just need a little patience and something to do, or read. It's also a good idea to remember, the cruise is over, everyone wants to be the first one home.

We were staying on board Golden Princess so we had a different morning agenda. As requested, we went to our designated meeting area at 9:30. I thought more people would be doing the overnight. In addition to the six of us there were ten others. The Princess representative said we could begin as soon as all the passengers were off, which was 9:45.

We were escorted off the ship, into, and completely through the terminal. Here we showed an American customs agent our passports. Then we turned around, retraced our steps, and walked back through the terminal. We went through the Princess security scanners. Then we walked back onto the ship. The entire process took about fifteen minutes and covered about a mile. At the time it seemed rather silly but who am I to question people with guns? 

We got back on the ship and had it to ourselves for almost two hours. Ted and Catherine went into Seattle so the remaining four of us, Andi and Wil, Wanda and I, had lunch in the dining room. As the day wore on it became rather obvious, this was going to be a rowdy crowd. By five o'clock I was feeling very old. The ship was full of thirty something people. Many of the passengers were dressed to the nines, or as Andi said, undressed. After people watching for awhile we met Andi and Wil for dinner. This was the night I had salmon and it was delicious. Shortly after dinner and about ninety minutes out of Seattle, Wanda and I went back to our cabin.

The weather is beautiful, the scenery magnificent and we’re hiding in the cabin. The fruit basket has been refreshed. Room service delivered a tray of canapes. The fridge and mini bar is restocked with assorted alcohol, mix, soda, and water. 

All the entertainment on the ship tonight seemed geared toward a younger passenger mix. The MUTS early showing was (and I have no idea what this is) Pink: Funhouse and Beyonce Live from Wembley. The movie was "The Avengers." At 7:30 College football: Arizona vs. Oregon. There was dancing and music in all the bars, the casino was open from 8 to 11:30. A comedian, Rollin' Jay Moore did a show at 8:30 & 10:30. Also, the Patter lists him at 11:30 in the Vista Lounge doing, a "Quickie." I bet he wasn't the only one that night. 

It was very quiet in our part of the ship, thank goodness. Catherine said there was a group of girls a few doors down that were in and out all night, you know, a cruise ship never sleeps, but we do.

We finished watching the DVD and hit the sack around eleven. In the morning we would leave this ship for our day in Vancouver. I wonder if I'll sleep if the hotel is stationary?