Kenswing

Thanks. My wife is very interested in this. (Translated: We're getting a kilo or two.) Thanks for all your help. - Allan

My wife is showing the same "interest". LOL

What a fantastic day.. What a beautiful city.

Thanks for sharing it with us..

What a great report. Thank you for committing the time to write it..

Thank you so much for posting this! My DH served in the USMC and this will be a big help to our budget.:)

I too am a former Marine and got a $50 credit on two short (a 1 day and a 3 day) cruises last week. We treated ourselves to the Crown Grill.

On longer cruises the credit is more.

Everytime I fill out the post cruise survey I thank Princess for their acknowledgement of us vets..

Whoever recommended the Coast Restaurant, thank you. What a great meal.

On the way back to the Bayshore we stopped at Safeway and got plenty of Coffee Crisps to last us awhile.. :D

Thank you to the regulars who post here and give great information about your beautiful city..

Ken

Thank you both..

Never thought of Amazon..

One of the nurses my wife works with lives in Surrey I think, and she brings down a few now and again to keep me from any withdrawal symptoms..

A word of advise.. Don't try them if you haven't already.. :D

Okay, I was gonna try to blame this one on my wife but I'll own up to it..:o

I'm addicted to Coffee Crisps. There, I said it.

Is there anywhere close to Canada Place, or between the Westin Bayshore and Coast restaurant on Alberni St. that I can buy them by the box?

We're eating dinner at the Coast restaurant and will be walking back to the Westin so if there is anyplace not too far out of the way I'll be very happy.. :D

I agree with you about Cartegena which even when cloudy the heat & humidity was terrible. :eek:

 

While walking through old town & taking photos of the city we didn't notice the many human 'statues' on the sidewalks. One thought we took his photo without paying him & suddenly sprung to life chasing us down & demanding payment. We explained we weren't taking his photo & after some time he gave up hounding us & became a 'statue' again. I've never experienced such aggressive behavior in any other city so just a word of caution in Cartegena.

 

We did enjoy visiting the fort on the hill where part of "Romancing the Stone" was filmed.

I would have told him that in a photograph everyone is a statue .. LOL

Unless you really want to go to the trouble, frankly I wouldn't bother. The US$ is widely accepted in accepted in Vancouver & Victoria in the hospitality business....in fact the Canadian Post Office and our Provincial Government liquor stores accept it. From experience (albeit a half century ago) no hospitality worker is going to be slighted over receiving a tip in $US.

We're only about 60 miles south of the border.

I'm sure with all our neighbors from the north coming down to shop at the outlet mall our bank will probably have plenty.. If they don't I won't worry about it..

Yes - tip the same people the same amount that you would in the US.

 

Unless you're a cheapskate, in which case tip them more:D

 

And just in case you were about to ask, as people frequently do, US dollar tips will be accepted gracefully (at least in places close to the US border like Vancouver), but like anywhere it's always nicer to get some local currency for tipping with.

Thanks.. I think I can rustle up some of the Canadian variety before our trip..

Is tipping in Canada customary like it is in the US with regards to hotel staff, taxi drivers and restaurant wait staff?

Thanks.

I love reading nothing!

Thanks for the updates, Pia..

White spot restaurant is across Georgia St from the Bayshore. www.whitespot.ca - it's being around since 1928 and is a favorite to locals and tourists alike.

 

For something a little more upscale - more price wise than anything else there is Cardero's http://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos

which is basically next door to the east of the hotel. It is a lively place and I will be there again in May when friends from California are in town pre-cruise and want to go there for the third time.

 

Hope this helps and enjoy your visit.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Perfect! Thanks..

Ken

Is there anyplace close to the Westin Bayshore that you'd recommend for dinner?

Not looking for anything fancy or formal, just good eats..

Grub & booze

LOL.. Or to be a little more specific..

From Marc's email..

Meet the others at the picnic at the motu for chicken and fish on the barbeque and salads.

Local music with the captains.

Tables and chairs in the water or on the beach depending on the weather.

Open bar (Water, local juices, Hinano beer and rum punch)

No goodie missing allowed.. I'll move them along if need be.. :D

Your pictures and posts bring back some great memories.

Thanks for taking the time to share them..

Thanks again, Tiki..

Have you thought of applying for a job with the Polynesian Tourism Bureau? :p

Can you elaborate on the skiff rental in Bora Bora? Do we just rent a boat and explore on our own?

And are there any tours that we have already picked that you would change?

Thanks again,

Ken

We're doing the 10 day cruise on the Pacific Princess next April.

This is what I have so far. Please help fill in the blanks.. :D

We are decent swimmers but admittedly not experienced snorkelers. That's why I don't have Bruno's L'excursion on the list..

Thanks for any advice/tips/experiences

Tahiti - Roulottes and Market

Huahine - Huahine Nautique - Marc's Combo Motu picnic and 4x4 tour

Rangiroa -

Raiatea -

Bora Bora (Day1) - Maohi Nui (Patrick's) Lagoon, snorkel, lunch and 4x4 Tour

Bora Bora (Day2) -

Moorea - Albert's ATV and Jet Ski Combo

Tahiti -

We've always used Quick Shuttle. They have busses waiting at Canada Place to take passengers to Seattle.

They also have free wifi on the buses..

Glad I saw this.. We leave for Alaska next week.. I guess I'll pack enough clothes for the entire trip. Or at least do some laundry at one of the lodges before we get on the ship.

With all the radiation coming out of Japan I can't believe they're worried about our dirty water.. :(