Vacation Day #2 ~ Set Sail to Alaska!

My parents and I are cruising the Inland Passage of Alaska this week. Our itinerary is:

Day 2
Vancouver, British Columbia

Day 3
Inside Passage (Cruising)

Day 4
Ketchikan, Alaska
Day 5
Juneau, Alaska

Day 6
Skagway, Alaska

Day 7
Icy Strait Point, Alaska

Day 8
Hubbard Glacier (Cruising)

Day 9
Seward, Alaska

Fun facts to know and tell about The Radiance of the Seas:
Builder: Meyer-Werft, Papenberg, Germany
Number of persons: 3,360 Maximum
Speed: 24 knots (27.6 mph)
International gross tonnage: 90,090
Length Overall: 961 feet, 8 inches

Food consumption on a typical one-week cruise:
18,450 fresh eggs
4,750 pounds of rice
12,500 pounds of fresh vegetables
11,580 pounds of fresh fruit
3,500 gallons of milk
5,350 pounds of beef
5,000 pounds of potatoes
556 pounds of coffee
785 gallons of ice cream
31,345 pounds of chicken


Here we are enjoying our life jacket safety training. I was happy for two reasons: #1 Unlike my last cruise, my life jacket did not reak of urine and #2 our group lucked out and we were directed to SIT in the theatre and listen vs. standing outside in the wind. Is it odd that just before the drill they are playing music from The Titanic? I'm not even joking

We ate lunch in The Windjammer. It's the buffet that is loaded with world cuisine, healthy and not so healthy. They say when cruising you, "arrive with luggage and leave as cargo." Um yeah. this is scary ~ the abundance of food. If we don't want to eat at the buffet we can order room service, eat in the formal dining room, or the Seaside cafe. Not a shortage of weight gain opportunities here.

A little liquid sunshine as we depart. Good-bye, Vancouver!

Mom and Dad ~ 45 years of marital bliss!

Squinty eyes and the windblown look.... Mom and I

Family Bonding

Vacation Day #1 Vancouver, British Columbia

I met my parents in Vancouver, British Columbia today ~ we leave for Alaska cruise tomorrow. I had a rough start at John Wayne Airport. They canceled my flight! I explained that, "they had a problem" as I had a cruise ship departing tomorrow morning! They put me in a private car and flew me nonstop first class to Vancouver. I love air miles!

We stayed at The Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver. It's a beautiful and charming hotel and reminds me of European accomodations. Seeing as there were two twin beds, guess who got to sleep on the floor? My dad was nice to make me a nice cushy comfy bed made of down comforters and even gave me reign of the sleep timer on the remote control!

We walked around town and ate dinner at Lombardos Itailian on Smithe street. I was very excited to hear the Pesto Gnocchi was the special ~ my absolute favorite!

Downtown Vancouver has awesome shopping. I love Roots store and visited a few....

And you know that you are in a "real" cool city when there's a Tiffany! No blue boxes for me this trip.

We ate dessert at Mondo Gelato. It was so delicious. A first for my small towner parents. I think they liked it!

Tomorrow we will take a taxi to the cruise ship dock and set sail. Can't wait!