Diamond 6/12 Review (Part 9 of 11)

Friday, June 18: Victoria

Being that it was the last full day on the ship I decided that I should walk around and take pictures of all of the different areas. What a day! People were actually lying out by the pools in bathing suits and going swimming! Quite a change from the cold windy day at sea that seemed like much longer ago than Sunday!

People were scrambling to buy pictures, last minute souvenirs, duty free alcohol, and the like. There were "fire sale" art auction announcements. The lines at the purser's desk snaked through the lobby. And all too soon, the undeniable sign that the cruise would soon be coming to an end - luggage left outside the staterooms.

We pulled into port as we were having dinner in Vivaldi - the only PC dining room we hadn't experienced yet. I liked the ravioli trio that I had as an entree, but the chilled pumpkin soup was not nearly to my liking as much as the hot West Indian version I'd had on other cruises.

We took our time getting off of the ship in Victoria since we didn't have any set plans (for once!). We met up with our new friends Donna and Jack, from south Florida, and took a cab to the downtown district. We walked down the main street, Jack and I joining the other men waiting outside on the sidewalk while our wives went from store to store. Occasionally one or both of us was summoned inside to provide an opinion, or more often, a credit card!

We came upon a rather inviting looking pub where we formulated a new plan - Jack and I would go inside and have a beer and the ladies could shop unencumbered. That one worked to perfection!

Victoria looked like a lovely city, it would have been nice to see more of it, but after a couple of hou[rs of walking around we were ready to beat the rush of folks heading back to the ship. We boarded, then decided we'd go up to Skywalker's for a drink, and to watch all of the stragglers rushing back to get onboard (it was relaxing to not be in that group for a change).

Donna and Jack still needed to put their bags out, so we made plans to see them at breakfast, and then took one last stroll around the ship. As we neared the Wheelhouse Lounge we heard music that we really liked. We went in, sat down, and heard the last half of the last song that this jazz combo played for the week. We never did really check out many of the clubs this cruise - we were always either busy, tired, or both. Bert Stratton usually had a crowd gathered in his little nook on the Promenade Deck, but I think they needed a full time piano bar for him. The pianist and the string quartet that played in the atrium lobby were quite good, and we did get to spend some time listening to them when I was on the internet, or on the one or two occasions that we took a little time out to just sit down and relax. Since the ship seemed pretty deserted we headed to bed.

(End of Part 9)

Link to Part 10: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=48311

Is there anything more sobering than the luggage in the halls? Really spells over doesn't it, sitting here at home I can feel my heart sink just thinking of it.