August 21: Vancouver
We arrived in Vancouver early this morning and were awakened by the front desk at 6:40 am to tell us that we had $44.52 in cash that we needed to pick up before we disembarked the ship. What makes that interesting, besides the fact that they felt the need to call us early, was that yesterday I went to the front desk and asked about our credit balance and was told it would be put back automatically on our credit card. But hey, if that's the biggest glitch of the cruise then I'm ok with that. Holland America did a superb job from start to finish. And today was no different. We'd received our packet and luggage labels yesterday afternoon and at a little before 10 am they called for our group. We walked off the ship and were quickly guided to a spot that had maybe ten passengers' luggage, all in our "color group" for disembarkation. And we discovered that because we were staying overnight, booked through Holland America all we had to do was identify our bags and they were whisked away to be taken to our room in the Pan Pacific Hotel. Once everyone had identified their bags we were led through the port center. All we had to do was present our Canadian declaration sheet and we were through customs down the hall and in the lobby of this convention center WAS our hotel. Never stepped outside. So smooth. Our room was ready (Patti's was ready within the hour). So I asked at the front desk about a good place for lunch on the water and she pointed out "The Cactus Club Cafe" about a five minute walk. We got there just as they were opening, got a water-view table and ordered our "last day of the adventure" drinks (I had a Bellini as did Patti, Kim a beer) and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Walked about two miles along the waterfront before settling in for the afternoon.
Later in the evening we walked to the Water St. Cafe for dinner. We've become "regulars" here since first being brought here by my buddy David and his wife Heather a few Alaska visits back. Not only is it a great venue for dining with wonderful food, but sitting on the outdoor patio is always a treat, AND as a special attraction, right across the street is the iconic steam clock which sounds off every fifteen minutes. The perfect end to the adventure!
Tomorrow morning we are up and out of the room by 4:00 am to get our ride to the airport where we will depart at 7:30 am......connect to Seattle and then Atlanta before touching down in Fort Lauderdale a little before 11 pm. It's been a great, GREAT trip to Alaska made oh-so-special by having our great friend Patti along.
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