On Our Way to San Francisco

We put more photos online including some of San Francisco where we
spent three very good days at the end of the cruise.


Final Days of Cruise

We saw a pod of dolphins today. That's the third dolphin sighting for
Harry,  first for me.

Harry and Mum going around the track on Deck 10

Did I mention we enjoyed the Celebrity Liars' Club in the Regatta 

Lounge on Tuesday evening?  Four "celebrities" ( like the ship's doctor) 

made-up hilarious definitions of weird words like "Wiliwili", "Williwas", 

"Bablitrice" and "Flagatation". Only one celebrity had the correct 

definition in each round. The audience had to vote for the most likely 

definition. Lots of laughs.

This morning we went to a culinary demonstration complete with 

samples of the food. Like most presentations on the ship, this happened 

in the Regatta Lounge. We had some trouble understanding the thick 

French accents of the two chefs but no trouble with the samples.

Mum and Margaret in the library

This afternoon, Mum and I went to hear Dr. Paula Smith speak on the 

topic, "And you thought Prince Charles had problems" which sounds 

like a lesson on the scandals of Royals in history. It should have 

been good for a laugh. After 45 minutes and wasted potential for 
entertainment, humor, or real controversy,  the speaker had progressed
from William the Conqueror to royal scoundrels in the 15th century.  
We left the theatre and went to the Horizons lounge for high tea, an 
improved use of our time.

 The captain and first mate during docking in Astoria

 Our stateroom, 7038

During most of this trip, Harry skipped the exciting evening entertainment, 

preferring to work out or to go to the library. All three of us passed on the 

big crew farewell extravaganza last night.  The crew have been fantastic 

but we frequently tell them that so attending the finale would have been 

redundant.

--------VICTORIA----------

Victoria was in its glory on Tuesday. The sun was out in full force. We 

walked along the harbour trail from the pier at Ogden Point to the 

legislative buildings and back, on the way paying a visit to Emily Carr's 

birthplace where we had a tea break. 

Many cruise buses went to the Butchart Gardens but we preferred our 

plan on this trip. Another time we'll revisit the gardens, not with such a 

crowd.

The pilot boat picking up the Victoria harbour pilot

-----------ASTORIA--------

It was a beautiful day in Astoria, OR, a very popular destination for fisherman 

who know about the abundance of fish at the mouth of the Columbia River. The 

parking lots in Astoria were full of FWD vehicles and boat trailers and the 

river was crowded with large and small boats.

Astoria bridge, as seen from old trolley

Early in the morning, all passengers had to go through a check by US Customs 

officials. We were called by deck to the Regatta Lounge. Officials checked 

everyones' passports and ship ID. It sounds as though some excursions were 

screwed up by the delay caused by Customs. 

Short walk along shore trail in Astoria

Our tour was not affected. While Mum stayed on board and had a nap, Harry 

and I took the trolley along the waterfront and through the town. The trolley 

drivers are volunteers who work on restoring the trolleys in winter and in the 

summer, drive them. Their humour and enthusiasm made that outing the best 

bargain in Astoria ($1 each way).

------Readying to Disembark-----

Tonight we have to pack our bags and place them outside the stateroom door 

tonight for pick up. Our pyjamas will have to go in the day packs in the morning. 

As we disembark in San Francisco tomorrow morning, we'll pick up our suitcases 

before heading to the car rental office and our hotel.

Passing Alcatraz

Finally, the Sun

Sunday

We arrived in Prince Rupert BC about 8AM on Sunday. The ship would be 

in port until 7PM so we took our time leaving the stateroom. Instead we 

watched other passengers head out in the rain.  Soaked.

Prior to lunch we donned our raincoats and went out. At the end of the walkway 

to shore we showed Canada Customs our cruise ID card as well as government 

issued photo ID. They would require both cards on our way back to the ship.

Luckily we didn't have to deal with the rain for long because we headed indoors 

at the nearby Museum of Northwest British Columbia. The museum was well 

worth the visit. Built in the heavy style of cedar longhouses, it also featured

long carved glass walls reminiscent of the water that nourishes this community

from every direction. Inside the museum, we saw an impressive collection of

artifacts, photographs, and displays. On our way back to the ship, the sun was 

trying to emerge.

In the evening, after our Grand Dining Room meal. we went to see Swing, a 

musical presentation followed by the comedy of Tom Drake who made the 

audience laugh the whole show.

We slept very well Sunday night, that may have had to do with our staying 

up late or possibly to do with the rocking of the ship as we enter open water 

to the north and west of Vancouver Island.

------------------------------------------

Monday

The sun will shine, finally.

After breakfast, we went to hear the captain do a presentation about modern
piracy. He was the captain on the Nautica, sister ship to the Regatta in
November, 2008 when that ship was chased by pirates off the coast of Yemen.

The amount of piracy in the area between the Gulf of Aden east to India and
south toEast Africa is particularly targeted by pirates. In the last two years they
have garnered $415 million in ransom, making it the most profitable occupation
in the area. The captain said that some of that money is being used to upgrade
their ships and weapons.  The cruise and cargo ships passing through the worst
zones for pirates have a variety of strategies for combatting the pirates including
LRAD, razor wire, onboard Israeli security teams and an internationally protected
corridor within which to travel. Cruise ships are not allowed to carry weapons.

The crew of the Nautica were able to outrun the pirates who actually shot
toward the ship.

Mum and Harry saw a large pod of dolphins pass right outside our verandah.
I was in another past of the ship and missed the spectacle.

Mum had a giant strawberry milkshake and an enormous burger with huge
fries at Waves, the outdoor cafe. She thinks she's gaining weight :)

The sun is shining as we sit in the Horizon Lounge to watch for more
dolphins, whales or seals. We are west of Vancouver Island today.

Hard to Believe

It's impossible to believe that we've been on the Pacific Ocean for
almost a week. We've posted some pictures at
http://picasaweb.google.com/margaret.stimson

Thursday

Our ship approached the Hubbard Glacier early in the morning on 

August 18th. We were early enough to find port side seats with a 

good view in the Horizon Room, a spot with many windows and 

comfy chairs on Deck 10.  Just as we were getting settled, an argument 

erupted amongst the passengers along the front windows on the bow. 

Seems someone was saving three seats which would remain unoccupied 

for the half hour prior to our arrival in the bay nearest the huge tidewater 

glacier. A tall robust woman with a long cane seated behind the saved seats 

took issue with the male passenger's effort to save good empty seats and 

in the end she got her way. Drama!  I saw a couple of other passengers 

cheering her on.

The Hubbard Glacier has been a highlight of this trip so far. As we 

circled the bay about a mile and a half from the glacier, one of two 

resident experts, Dr. Paula Smith, who has been lecturing in the theatre 

each day, gave a commentary on glaciers, global warming and Alaskan 

geography.  Within three hours or so, the captain steered us past the ice 

floes and bergie bits back into open waters. We headed south toward 

Juneau.

After his large lunch and breakfast, Harry skipped supper. Mum and 

I didn't. We thoroughly enjoyed a visit with a couple from Columbus, 

Ohio, once again underlining the fact that it is easier to engage with others
when you are a couple, not a family. Another delicious supper past, we went 

to the Movie Night show where ship's musicians matched music to movie 

clips and slides of popular movies, ranging from the silent films to recent 

musicals. 

--------------------------

Friday

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was shrouded in fog and rain when we 

arrived this morning. I heard a rumour that the sun did shine here earlier 

this month.

We dressed in our rain gear and headed into the part of town nearest the 

pier. Around the pier of Juneau there is the usual cluster of souvenir and 

jewelry stores dressed to look like 19th century shops complete with a 

(cement) boardwalk.  Luckily the boardwalk/sidewalks were handicap-friendly 

so we were able to move the wheelchair past them with no problem. Our outing 

included a trip to one of the Juneau bookstores for Harry who wanted to buy 

The American by Martin Booth.

In the afternoon, back in our stateroom, Mum and I tried to watch a 

dvd of the BBC version of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park but the 

production quality was so poor we enjoyed Jane Austen's Emma (2004) 

instead . They have a collection of 300 dvds on board giving us lots to 

choose from. 

Dinner in the Polo Grill was fabulous, especially because of the combination 

of exceptional service, fine view and one double martini. These perfectly 

prepared foods landed on our table -- crab cakes, escargot, Cobb salad, 

French onion soup, filet mignon, grilled asparagus, grilled tomatoes, creamed 

spinach, baked potato, potato au gratin, key lime pie. Neighbouring diners 

were celebrating an anniversary. The dining crew assembled around their 

table and sang, then two Filipino crew members and her husband serenaded 

the wife with a love song. That was fun. 

Mum and I went to the show in the Regatta... Maestro, a musical revue that

featured the music of Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Fats Waller.

Just before dark, the captain came on the public announcement system to tell 

us that the ship is being diverted to Wrangell instead of Sitka due to rough 

weather conditions. In the late night, we experienced a bouncy ride before 

we reached the sheltering islands of the Inside Passage and the pier at 

Wrangell, Alaska.

Third and Fourth Days

Ketchican and rain seem to be strongly connected evidenced by the fact
that no one was surprised that it was raining when we arrived there.  Harry
and I grabbed our rain gear and two umbrellas, headed out for a walking
tour of the part of town that is nearest the pier, and eventually reached the
Totem Cultural Center.

We looked in a few of the stores, mostly t-shirt and jewelry stores designed 

to capture the quick tourist dollar. One of the best of a struggling batch of 

retailers might be KetchiCandies where the pervasive smell of warm 

chocolate is enough to recommend it.

While we were exploring Ketchican, Mum stayed in our stateroom where 

she was warm, dry and comfortable.

We attended an afternoon lecture about some of the communities we'll 

visit in the Inside Passage, Hoonah, Sitka and Juneau. Hoonah, a small 

native village is the stop on the fourth day out.

In the evening, after our delectable meal in the Toscana, we enjoyed the 

Boogie Nights show that included a very funny comedian named Tom 

Drake. Our theory that we will sleep better if we stay up for at least two 

hours after a big meal has yet to be proven.  We'll test that theory again 

in the next few nights.

----------------------

Today is Wednesday, August 17th and we are bound for Hoonah. If we 

want to go to shore we'll need to take a tender to get there. None of us 

is enthused even though the sun is shining.

At breakfast today we sat with Terry and Barbara, a retired school 

administrator and a teacher who have traveled on thirty cruise tours. We 

learned a lot. Harry said that he missed conversing with other passengers 

on this cruise. We think that fewer long conversations with other passengers 

happen when you travel as a trio rather than as a couple, probably because 

many tables accommodate just four people. We happened to be at a table for 

six today.

Harry has gone for another walk around the ship's outer spaces 

and Mum and I have migrated to the Horizon Room that is full of people 

with their cameras and binoculars. Here's the rule…if you see people 

jumping up and going closer to the windows, you do the same. I saw the 

whale that way but didn't get Mum's chair to the window quickly enough 

for her to see them this time.

Right now we appear to be playing "chicken" with two fishing boats in the 

strait. The bridge has sounded the horns twice. Too close. Our ship tried to 

manoeuver around the two fishing boats and ending up heading close to 

shore. Now they have dropped anchor about a hundred yards from an 

unoccupied shore. Harry tells us that they are dropping the tenders so as

to transport those who want to go ashore at Hoonah, around the corner.

Just heard this .."Code Mike" "Code Mike on Deck 9" .. I'm going to ask
what it means when they announce that on the speaker system. Within half
a minute, everything is seemingly back to normal. Just asked  about "Code Mike"
It's a call for medical help.  When Harry rejoined us, I told him that he should
come right back to us if that alarm is called because we don't want to worry
about him.

On Our Way

We had priority embarkation on the Regatta at the Canada Place pier in 

Vancouver. Once past the line at USA Customs & the check-in line 

where we got our Oceania ID & room cards, we were steered toward 

the Terrace Restaurant to enjoy our first meal on the Regatta. Around 

3PM we were able to go to our stateroom where we sat on the sunny 

verandah and watched other passengers board.

At 5 PM when everyone was on board, we had to grab our life jackets 

and head to our assigned muster station which in our case was the Regatta 

Lounge where evening entertainment usually happens. Crew with numbered 

signs herded passengers and took attendance then guided us to the lifeboats. 

About a dozen passengers failed to show up for the practice. I wonder what 

happens to them? You'll be happy to know that as we are with Mum who is 

riding in her transporter/wheelchair we'll be in the first line to board the life 

boats if anything should happen. 

We've learned that there are a few impediments to wheelchairs, mostly at the 

thresholds or small ramps between decks and hallways. A person in a 

wheelchair would be better to have someone pushing or pulling them 

over these spots, as Mum does. 

Once settled we headed to the large windows in the Horizon Room to 

watch the departure from Vancouver, under the Lion's Gate Bridge and 

out into the bay. As we watched, we visited with couples on either side 

of us, both of whom had been on this ship previously, same as us. 

And once in the strait, we gave Mum a tour of the ship. 

We packed it in early and slept well. We worried needlessly about Mum 

getting up at night on her own. Turns out, we all had to get up in the night 

so it was a coordinated event.

-------------------------

We spent time in the lovely library yesterday and today. Mum and I have 

already finished one book each.

Harry went for a workout and a jog around the 9th level short track. He's 

also been using the stairs at every opportunity. 

Today, our second day out, we attended a lecture on the biology of the ocean. 

Even though Mum snoozed quietly through some of it, we found it to be very 

informative.  In the late afternoon, we went for high tea featuring scones with 

fresh preserves and clotted cream. Tonight we're going to skip the Captain's 

welcome reception complete with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. Instead, we're 

sipping wine in our room and relaxing before dinner.  We're thinking it would 

be a good idea to attend the show tonight as we napped between chapters this 

afternoon.

Tomorrow - Ketchican, Alaska.

Cruise Ship Terminal

Today we scouted the embarkation point, Canada Place.

Cruise Cam
http://www.northvancouver.com/webcams/cruisecam/