May 8th, VANCOUVER

We had the alarm set for six o'clock because breakfast would be served at 6:30.
We were awake in time to see the ship sail into the harbour.

Our friends for evening dining ended up at the table behind us again.
There was a young man at breakfast. This was his first cruise and his first meal in the dining room. He was unaccustomed to the ordering. He asked for an omelet with everything thinking that meant everything such as onions and peppers etc. But on Princess "everything " means the omelet plus ham and bacon and sausage and hash browns. His first surprise came when the fruit selection meant an entire dinner plate full of fruit. The other shock was the size of the pieces of French toast. He just stared in amazement knowing that he could not eat it all. They do not have doggie bags on cruise ships.

The waiting area for the Elite passengers was Explorers Lounge. We gathered our things and said good bye to Pinky and headed out. They had a wonderful set up of juice and coffee and pastries. We actually could have had breakfast there.

++

We were concerned about what the taxi situation might be but there was no need for concern. We got our luggage and sailed through customs in only a few minutes. Then we were inline waiting for a cab.
It was so well organized. You got into line and when you got to the front you were told what number to stand next to. As the cabs entered under Canada Place they were directed to the waiting passengers. There were 15 spots for cabs to load.

In almost no time we were whizzing through the streets of Vancouver on our way to Kerri's and our car.



When we left 18 days ago the cherry trees were full of blossoms. On our return the blossoms were on the street and the trees were all leafed out.

Kerri was not home . We knew this because Rainbow was not barking when we rang the door bell.
We called Kerri on our flip phones and got her answering machine.
We then called Noah. Fortunately he was home asleep ( late shift) . He woke and let us in. We visited and gave him the fleece jacket that we had purchased for him. He and Ken posed for a photo in their matching tops.

We said our good byes and headed out. The traffic was perfect. We were at our door in less than an hour after leaving St. George Street.


We arrived to a wonderful sunny day and our azaleas are in full bloom. Beautiful, just beautiful.
A perfect welcome.



We will be on The Island Princess on June 5th so join us again and we explore  Alaska again

May7th, Last full day ;-(

This is the day we seldom if ever are glad to see. Packing day!!

We spent the day tying up loose ends, writing thank you notes, gathering tip money and getting ready to leave.

We went to dinner and our other guests must have been specialty dining or ??? We had the table all to our selves.+

We said good bye to the BC friend at the table behnd us and got hugs from Widi and Bayou. They were a good group and we will miss the fun and laughter.

After that we headed for Crooners Bar. We had not yet used our coupon for a free cocktail. Ken had a Mai and I had a Captain's bounty. The location was perfect to see the beautiful sunset.

While at Crooners we were entertained from below in the Atrium. There was a saprano singing and I can tell you that I have not heard anything like her voice in person ever before. I went to the railing to get a picture. I expected to see a LARGE lady with that voice. You can imagine my surprise when I saw this little bit of a girl. I am certain she could have broken every glass in the place if she had tried.

Tomorrow we are in Vancouver. !!

I am actually looking forward to getting back to my painting.

Monday May 6th, a sea day

This was a typical sea day of relaxation and enjoying our holiday.
In the morning, after breakfast I went to the art auction. I was surprised by how many were there.
I resisted temptation and did not buy anything. He was showing crazy things like pieces for 75,000.00.
I left half way through.

The exciting thing about today was the invitation to go to one of the specialty dining rooms. Here is our letter.

We dressed for smart casual and away we went. First we stopped and told our waiters that we would not be there for dinner.

The theme is New Orleans and the decor matches that theme. Our waiter Phillipe is from Mexico. He said he has been with Princess for 15 years.

The food was sensational

APPETIZERS

SOUP

MAIN COURSE

DESSERT

After dinner we went customer service and picked up recommendation forms. Then it was back to the room to write them out. None of tonight's entertainment appealed to us. We had seen it before.

Tomorrow we have to pack ;-(

Falconer

This was the day we were to meet Ken and Wendy, always a special day.

We had breakfast and when it is time to go ashore we gathered our passports and got a transit card and with to clear customs. It went smoothly and did not take a lot of time. When outside we called Wendy to report that we were off of the ship.

They picked us up and greeted us with hugs and smiles. They always make us feel so welcomed.
The big adventure today was a trip to see a falconer. They drove us to Terranea Resort.

The resort uses the services of this falconer and his birds to attempt to keep seagulls and pigeons from staying on the resort grounds. So 5 days a week John brings his birds and flies them around. I gather that just seeing a falcon or a hawk or an owl in the area convinces gulls and pigeons to find another place to roost

He was a wonderful source of information and he was very interesting.
He had an owl that he raised from a hatch-ling and we were able to actually pet it. I could not believe how soft it was or I guess I should say is.

After the falconer we went for lunch and then went to Trader Joes and then back to their home for berries and tea. Before we knew it , the time was gone and we had to head back to the ship. All Aboard was 3:30 and we got to our cabin at 3:15. Perfect timing.

We had dinner with new table mates, then I checked out some of the new stock in the stores. There are a few very nice things.

When we were back in the cabin Pinky came to the door. We are again one of the most traveled guests and because this is such a short cruise we do not get to go to a luncheon. Instead we have been given a free meal at one of the specialty restaurants. There will not be a Captain's Circle party so we have received 2 drink tickets. Our Mai Tais will be on Princess.

I will call to make a reservation in the morning. We will go tomorrow night because we do not want to leave it until the last night and tomorrow is our only choice. It will be fun but it would be better if we knew who else might be attending.

Our day came to a close.

Saturday May 4th

May the 4th be with you.

It was the usual sea day in many ways and different in others. We had breakfast in the dining room and met some very nice people.
We went to the Universe lounge around 9:30 because we wanted a good seat for the culinary demonstration. It was the usual comedy routine with lots of laughs.

It stared Saverio Brattoli, excecutive chef and Jean Paul Musiu the Maitre D'Hotel. It was a good time as usual. At the end they acknowledged some of the staff. These 2 men are in charge of 385 people who prepare and serve the over 20 thousand meals each and every day. They use 4000 eggs a day and they will load 20 tons of food stuff on board here in San Pedro. It is an amazing operation.

I am certain that Michael the head waiter is trying to make things better with us . Last night as we arrived he asked me if I liked escargo. Of course I do so we were delivered escargo for each of us. To my knowledge no one else got them. They weren't even on the menu.

Another surprise was the addition of two ladies to our table. They were on later anytime but came to our seating to ask if they could be included because they were hungry. The younger woman... cecelia I think, was performing on the Voice of the Ocean and as a result of practice etc neither she or her grandmother had had lunch.

They were very nice and very chatty.

She won!!


There was the usual parade of the Baked Alaskian and everyone had a fun time.
 Many were saying good bye.

Second very short cruise begins May 5th. I expect to see lots of people from BC.

May 5th, San Pedro.

This is the day that some people disembark and others embark. We will be continuing on to Vancouver but we have made plans to spend the day with Ken and Wendy Ard. They are such nice people and we really enjoy any opportunity to spend time with them. They will be meeting us at the dock around 10:30.
We will have lunch and a good visit before returning to the ship. There will be 2 sea days and then on May 8th we will be back in Vavcouver.

May 3rd at sea

This was a usual sea day. We slept in a little and then went to breakfast in the dining room. We sat with a couple from Alberta and a couple from the US. It appeared as if they were Trump supporters.. at least 3 of them. I was very good and did not get into an argument with them. You would have been so proud of me. "EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION".

I went to the big ten dollar sale and bought nothing.

A friend wrote and told us that a man that Ken knew many years ago was on board. We went to customer service and had them make contact for us. We arranged to meet John and Joanne for pub lunch. We had a great visit. I had my May fries. ( there sure weren't very many. I may just make this not count.

This was formal night so after catching up on the blog I began to get ready. This is the last formal night . We looked pretty good for old folks...don't you think? That fishing for compliments but so far we are so blessed with good health.

It was the captain's farewell party. Many of the passengers will disembark on Sunday and Captain Poggi goes on holiday so it really was a farewell party. They were serving rum punches and other drinks.. I got a good picture of the Cruise director Miranda. She is Canadian and she is getting married in June.

I introduced myself and told her that I was the one putting in the quotes every day. She was pleased to have a face to go with the quotes.

After the party we came back here and I watched the movie " A matter of Sex.".. it is the Ruth Bader Ginsburg story and it is well worth watching.

Ken won on the wake show and we got another wine stopper so that was great.

Tomorrow is the last day, Sunday we are in LA.