In my humble estimation Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities and harbors in the world. Sailing in or out of Vancouver is comparable to sailing in or out of New York or San Francisco: it is awesome! The picture was taken last year when I sailed in on the ROTTERDAM and it was gray and cloudy, but on a clear day . . . awesome!
So we come to the end of 19 days on the VOLENDAM. The VOLENDAM goes in for dry dock and then heads up for a summer season in Alaska, and then off to the South Pacific. In the fall ZUIDERDAM will replace VOLENDAM on the Panama Canal series. ZUIDERDAM is one of the largest ships in the Holland America fleet with just over 1,800 guests.
The VOLENDAM’s off to dry dock and I’m . . . off to Seattle to meet my grandson Patrick Ryan!
I’ve been in and out of Vancouver many times over the years. One of the most fun . . . and interesting times was when I brough my two girls with me on a cruise on the ROYAL PRINCESS while we owned our travel agencies. It was a dad and daughters trip, so my wife carefully packed everything we might need . . . we thought. We arrived early in Vancouver so we could take the ferry to Victoria and visit Butchart Gardens. All was well until we got to our hotel and my daughter Noelle announced in panic, “Dad, mom forgot to pack my underwear!” It was still neatly stacked on my daughter’s desk chair, which somehow in the packing process had gotten pushed under her desk . . . so no underwear. So here I was with an 8 year-old and a 10 year-old who was horrified to have no underwear and equally horrified to have to go shopping for underwear with her father . . . in Canada where they didn’t have “normal” US sizes. Somehow we survived . . . and had a fantastic cruise.
That makes it hard to believe that I’m back in Vancouver . . . going now to meet Noelle’s son. Time flies when you’re having fun!
3 responses so far ↓
George // April 30, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Editorial correction, your grandson’s name is Rian Patrick not Patrick Ryan! Just a reminder for when you meet.
Tom // May 1, 2008 at 7:24 am
You are right about how beautiful it is, but it was those endless cloudy days that drove me out. I now live in sunny Florida.
Vancouver ( from July to October) is quite possibly the most beautiful city on the West Coast
Garth Liseth // May 8, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Richard:
Let me add my compliments to both you and Cpt. Sarah. Your lectures at sea on board the Volendam were very entertaining and very informative.
You may want to check my review of the cruise in Cruise Critc (Volendam). I am using PenderBender as my call name. You might be interested in my description of one of the guests I overheard on deck during our canal transit trying to explain the workings of the locks. Methinks she should have attended your lectures or (at least) read something other than the comic section.
You may remember that I spoke with you one morning on deck overlooking the bay at Cabo San Lucas and we talked about Canadian bacon. I still don’t know what it is (after nearly 61 years of living in Canada).
Regards
Garth Liseth