Vancouver to Los Angeles

Our Monday boarding of the Emerald Princess involved more “hurry up and wait” than expected. Perhaps that’s because we followed the cruise line instructions to arrive at 12:30 for boarding. We usually arrive about 11:00 which often puts us near the front of the line. We were able to drop our luggage at the entrance to the terminal where the checked bags disappeared with a porter almost instantly. Gail and Jeff (Jennifer) sat with the carry-ons and waited for Dave and I to park his van. We made it to the parking garage easily but how to take advantage of prepaid parking remained a mystery. Dave was finally able to find an attendant and the riddle was solved. The next mystery was how to get back to where we had left Gail & Jeff. We guessed the wrong floor when we found an elevator. Asking for directions (sorry guys, I admit it) helped a little. Once reunited the four of us continued with the boarding process. The lines of passengers progressed slowly but continuously through the terminal, each stage bringing us closer to the ship.  

It was a pleasant day, a little cool but bright. After finding our staterooms it was time to find something to eat. Easily done on a cruiseship. The remainder of the afternoon was consumed exploring the ship and, after luggage was delivered, unpacking.

We met Ivan, our first waiter, at dinner and he got us laughing immediately. When Gail ordered a caesar salad his questions was “would you like dead fish,” referring to the anchovies used atop a traditional version of the salad. Gail is not a “dead fish” person but Dave is. That was on Monday. Today, Wednesday, we encountered Ivan as our breakfast waiter and he was equally entertaining.

Our second dinner on the first formal evening was a visit to the Crown Grill steak house. The cover charge was a gift from our CAA travel consultant Laurie. We all enjoyed it and ate more than we should have. Gail and I were able to resist dessert, Jeff & Dave succumbed. We may find ourselves here again.

The first morning on board was beautiful. It was so sunny and warm that, after doing several laps around the deck, Gail and I spent much of the morning relaxing on the lounge chairs on the balcony. It was sun tan weather off the coast of Washington state. Our second morning was much different. We are off the California coast approaching San Francisco and the ship’s fog horn has been sounding since very early this morning. It is definitely not sun tan weather today.

And now for some pictures. Vancouver is one of the more picturesque cruise ship ports.

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