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Our pre-trip review

bumperoo

By bumperoo,
in Holland America Line

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bumperoo

bumperoo

Posted
Posted

Well, it is finally here! Our glorious trip to Alaska has begun. After hours of plotting and planning, we are setting off on the adventure of a lifetime! I wanted to thank all the members of the Cruise critic community who shared valuable tips with me. I've enjoyed reading through millions of threads! Our cruise will be the first for us since Disney's Big Red Boat when the kids were barely teens. We chose to sail on the Zuiderdam doing the Inside Passage with stops in Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan.

 

Now on to what will become the Not so live review of our trip!!!

We had a power outage due to storms the night before we left which left us scrambling with flashlights to finalize packing and do a final walk through of the house. Somewhere around 11:00 after we had gone to bed to try and get some sleep, the lights did come back. My biggest fear was the alarm clock. Being the worry wart that I am, I set the alarm on my iPad as a back-up to our regular alarm clock now powered by the battery. At midnight the alarm went off, a fluke from the power outage but it did NOT go off at 3:30. Thanks to the iPad, we woke up as planned. I know I am obsessive compulsive, but having all my ducks in a row days in advance was a blessing when the power went out, and the back-up alarm was a blessing! My husband, Lou, took a break from teasing me about packing days in advance, and sorting through my folder with all our printed docs. If he had his way, we would be wearing one blue sock and one black sock that we mismatched in the dark and we would have been running to print stuff at the last minute!!

 

We left the house at 4:10 and drove to the train station. When the conductor yelled all aboard at 4:25, the butterflies in my stomach were dancing around like crazy. Check-in at the airport at 5:30 was a breeze. I had booked our flights to Vancouver with air miles and had just enough to upgrade us going out to First class. We were able to use the US air lounge while we waited for our flight. I savored every mouthful of the cup of coffee and looked in my purse for the hundredth time to make sure my passport was still there. We made our way to the gate and boarding started right on time at 6:45. We enjoyed the extra room in our seats and were feeling a little bit like We had won the lottery.

 

The Captain made numerous announcements about the loading of the luggage and we sat on the Tarmac til 7:30 waiting to taxi to the runway. We were assured that all lost time would be made up in the air. Our flight took us from Philadelphia to Phoenix with only a thirty five minute layover and then we continued to Vancouver.

 

When we landed in Phoenix, we did the airport dash from one terminal to the next, found our gate and had just enough time to visit the restroom before boarding at 9:45. We left right on time at 10:15. I couldn't stop wondering if my trusty maroon suitcase was in the cargo hold. We had a pleasant flight, the snow capped mountains out the window had me dreaming of Alaska!

 

We arrived in Vancouver at 1:30 or 4:30 Philly time. My stubborn husband finally reset his watch. The whole trip, I had to practice my math skills because he was being an aft hole (we have an aft cabin) and wouldn't reset his watch multiple times.

 

It took a half hour to clear Immigration and Customs. the lines looked so much worse than they really were. We had the option of taking the Sky train which seemed super easy or a cab. Since we were still feeling kind of like Bill and Amanda Gates after our First Class flying, we opted to take the cab.

 

We weren't sure how tired we would be, so our only plans for Vancouver were to take a False Creek ferry ride, visit Ganville Island, and visit a few brew pubs. The location of the Best Western Plus Downtown seemed perfect.

 

Our cab ride proved to not be as big a splurge as we thought. The Sky Train fare for prime time with the airport fee of $5 would have made it $9 per person. Our cab ride was $28 pre-tip. We were happy with our door to door service and the ride was only a half hour.

 

The Best Western exceeded our expectations. Our room was ready and waiting for us. We had booked through Amoma dot com and got an incredible rate of $118.90. We had pre-paid and presented our voucher (the one I printed before the power outage) and James assured us that he had a nice 10th floor room for us. There were no problems or hidden costs. Our room came with two free ferry tickets and a great walking map, and free wi-fi. James answered all our questions and we set off to find our room.

 

The room was immaculate and had a nice bird's eye view of the city. It was laid out nice with Two double beds, a microwave, coffee maker and supplies, a refrigerator, and an iPod dock.

 

We set off with our trusty map and enjoyed the glorious sunshine and 66 degree temperatures. By 3:30, we were chugging along in our ferry ready to explore.

 

We loved Granville Island. The atmosphere was electrifying. Tons of people were enjoying a glorious day. There were lots of unique shops, a farmers market, public market selling flowers to fresh seafood, musical entertainment and a myriad of places for food and drink. Our mission was to people watch and reward ourselves with some freshly brewed beers. Our first stop was The Granville Island Brewing Company. It took minutes to feel like we were regulars. The bartender was happy to welcome us to Vancouver. We had a flight of beers that let us sample seven ounces of six different beers that they brew. The beers were super cold and a reward after a long day of traveling to get here!

 

Our mission continued and we headed for Granville Island Hotel which is home to the Dockside Brewery. We continued our tradition of getting the sampler which had six seven ounce beers. We had a front row water view seat that let us enjoy a magnificent meltdown. Joggers ran in front of us and locals enjoyed beers and wine all around us. We toasted days gone by and what the future will bring. We decided it was time to start back as this is just the beginning! We stopped and picked up a 650 ml bottle of beer for the room. Made a quick perusal of the food court in the public market and decided to get a seafood sampler from Celine's.

 

We didn't need our map any longer to find our way to the ferry and back to the hotel. We pulled two chairs in front of the window and drank our beer and feasted on oysters, shrimp, scallops, squid, calamari and halibut. it was a delicious end to a delightful day! Vancouver has some great beers, fresh seafood and awesome people!

 

I was asleep by nine o'clock and slept like a baby dreaming of Alaska til 6:15 this morning!

 

There will be no live reports but when I return, I'm sure I'll have plenty to share!

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
Does anyone but me find a detailed review of the trip to the cruise a bit absurd?

You're not required to read any thread you find "absurd". The subject line should have been a good tipoff for you. Just pass it by.

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POA1 "Live from...." Rare

POA1

Posted
Posted
Does anyone but me find a detailed review of the trip to the cruise a bit absurd?

 

DON

 

DON -

 

On behalf of everyone here, please accept my apologies. We strive to create content that meets your specific needs, and yours alone. Occasionally things fall through the cracks and someone DONates a piece of writing that doesn't quite meet with your personal needs. DON't feel abanDONed. Just be kind and extend a parDON to the original poster. Bumperoo was simply being an enthusiastic traveler and wanted to share the adventure with the HAL CC readership. I DON't think he or she (Sorry Bumperoo, I can't see your profile while I post.) meant to offend you.

 

Since the post is already here and cannot be unDONe, might I respectfully suggest that you forgive and be DONe with it?

 

Thanks!

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LSEA

LSEA

Posted
Posted
DON -

 

On behalf of everyone here, please accept my apologies. We strive to create content that meets your specific needs, and yours alone. Occasionally things fall through the cracks and someone DONates a piece of writing that doesn't quite meet with your personal needs. DON't feel abanDONed. Just be kind and extend a parDON to the original poster. Bumperoo was simply being an enthusiastic traveler and wanted to share the adventure with the HAL CC readership. I DON't think he or she (Sorry Bumperoo, I can't see your profile while I post.) meant to offend you.

 

Since the post is already here and cannot be unDONe, might I respectfully suggest that you forgive and be DONe with it?

 

Thanks!

 

And the Post of the Day Award goes to...POA1! Love it!

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jbhcw

jbhcw

Posted
Posted (edited)
Does anyone but me find a detailed review of the trip to the cruise a bit absurd?

 

DON

 

No..not at all...I love it...and as I will be flying to Vancouver in September got lots of good info to use then!! Especially the seafood plare:D

Edited by jbhcw
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Fog123

Fog123

Posted
Posted

In just over a month I'll have the same giddiness as the OP. Might not write about it, but the giddiness and excitement is contagious from this post. Loving it and looking forward to reading more.

 

I am off to laminate my luggage tags that I have already printed. Found self laminating luggage tag holders at the dollar store this morning. A package of five for $1.25. Can't beat that.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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superoma

superoma

Posted
Posted (edited)
Don't encourage me.

 

Not only do we want to encourage you, but I would like to meet you in person and shake your hand. thanks also for all your "software" related posts. Always something helpful and interesting there.

 

To the OP - you have given me the urge to revisit Vancouver. I love that city. We had the pleasure of spending 6 weeks there when out first granddaughter was born and we walked everywhere. We, too, loved Granville Island and the ferry rides.

Edited by superoma
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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

Posted
Posted
Does anyone but me find a detailed review of the trip to the cruise a bit absurd?

 

DON

 

 

I do not feel that way at all. This is her first time to Alaska, her first time flying First Class and to top it off they had a power outage the night before they left.

 

It is nice to literally hear someone's excitement on these boards.

 

Joanie

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Okie1946

Okie1946

Posted
Posted
Don't encourage me.

 

Please continue to bring a chuckle, a quiet laugh or a good gafaw when we read your postings. It shows a zest and enjoyment of life. Unfortunately, some people in this world tend to take life too seriously, losing the excitement and joy out of life. I hope and pray I never lose that.

 

Also, hope someday our paths do cross. I want to thank you personally for reminding us that like is to be enjoyed.

 

OP - enjoy your cruise. Will have to read about your adventures, when we return home - we leave in 2 days and a wake up:eek: WHOOT!!! WHOOT!!!

 

Please DO NOT LOSE your excitement for your trips. The world is full of adventures and it is fun to see other people enjoy it as much as I do.

:D

 

Okie

 

 

I

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