Monday, September 22, 2008

Report of a little excursion I took over the weekend.

It started a little after 6AM Saturday as I headed out of the condo and walked down Hornby St to Canada Place where I showed my cruise documents and then boarded a bus for Seattle with about a 45 minute stop at the border. Our bus was able to just show passports or ID and didn't have to go inside with luggage etc.

Arrive at Pier 66 Bell St Terminal and were greeted by a representative of NCL who directed us inside the terminal and into the US Immigration line where I was quickly processed and then up the stairs to the NCL check in - once again directed straight to a terminal agent who processed my cruise - produced my key card - then about a 30 minute wait for boarding - on the ship before noon - as our staterooms wouldn't be ready until 2PM I have the option of storing them in a secure room or keeping them with me - as it was only a small day pack I kept it with me.

Headed to the Garden Buffet for lunch - had one plateful of good food and then a burger and fries.

After lunch toured the ship before heading to the Bier Garten to meet up with some CC'ers for a sailaway drink - unfortunately it is raining so the outdoor BBQ is canceled.

Terry and his wife show up for a drink - I brought a bucket of beer - 6 for the price of 5 Bud's.

Then got to drop off my pack in my room - a balcony on the 9th deck - had another beer.

At 3:30PM the mandatory muster drill took place - for me the meet spot was the Aqua restaurant - some had to meet outside.

After the drill which takes about 20 minutes - returned the life jacket to my room - grabbed another beer and walked the ship - the beer was going down too well - around 5:30PM I decided to have supper in the Aqua restaurant - no wait - ordered a Caesar salad - a lamb dish and a chocolate laced dessert.

Had another beer with dinner - they are going down well.

The ship is very alive as it is a much younger crowd than I usually get on my longer cruises - a few employee groups - lots of single women having a gals night out - lots of beer being drank - probably more alcohol drank on this one nighter than some seven day cruises - well you can drink all you want because you don't have to drive home.

I passed on the show - Band on the Run - as I have seen it twice - finish off another beer and then head up to Spinnaker Lounge to catch the NCL White Hot Party - and boy was the dance floor fill and hopping - Crazy CD Paul B was whipping up the crowd to a dancing frenzy.

Spotted Terry and his wife at the Party.

In walking through the ship all the entertainment venues were busy and fill - from the 4 piece amigos band in the Grand atrium to the sound of the entertainer in Carousel nightclub to the soloist folk singer in the Gatsby lounge to another singer in the Red Lion - the place was a hopping.

Around 11PM the Casino opened and quickly filled - all the tables were busy - lots of young types taking in the poker games.

There also was some light snack food available which I indulged in.

In the course of the evening the other three ships in Seattle - the Oosterdam, Golden Princess and Millie all passed us as we slowly cruised the waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca - looking at the onboard map it look like our course was west towards Port Angeles - then across into Canadian waters outside Victoria and a slow cruise up to Vancouver.

I turned in sometime after midnight and awoke the next morning in time to catch the ship sail under the Lions Gate Bridge - the weather is still dark and cloudy so the photos ops weren't too good - not to mention that I was feeling the effects of a 6 pack of beer. My bladder was reminding me of that.

The Star then slowly made its way to the east side of Canada Place - the Voldendam was on the west side - by 8 AM the ship was cleared for disembarking - I made my way down to the Java Cafe on deck 7 to wait for clearance and was off the ship and walking home by 8:30AM.

It was a good cruise, good ship, good crew.

The one night dinner and dance cruises are vastly different than your regular longer cruises - a much younger crowd but surprisingly not many young kids and teenagers - so I guess the parents on board left the kids at home or with sitters so that they could enjoy an evening to let there hair hang down.

Despite the inclement weather the pool and hot tubs were also busy.

Most people on the cruise were either from the Vancouver or Seattle areas although I did talk to some people from Portland.

Some of the Seattle folks where busing it back and some were going to spend some time in Vancouver and take Amtrak back later in the evening.

I will do another one of these next year - just got to decide between the Star or the Pearl and try and get some of the gang interested.

The rest of Sunday was spent taking it easy, watching some NFL football, grocery shopping and supper at the White Spot as I didn't feel like cooking up anything.

That's all for the cruise and how I spent my weekend.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Guter Beitrag, nur Absatz zwei muss ich widersprechen!