9-14 September leaving Vancouver and five sea days

Friday 9 September

After a leisurely breakfast and farewelling our hosts, we took a cab to the cruise terminal. Check in was pretty smooth and soon we were catching up with our friends, Anita and Jim. When our cabin was available, we dumped our things and went exploring. Our luggage arrived during the afternoon and we were unpacked and ready for dinner by 6.30pm.

Our roomy aft balcony

Settling in

View of North Vancouver from our balcony

Celebrity Solstice was also in port and leaving with us

Sporting my new Seahawks jersey

Catching up again after two years

Sailing under Lions Gate Bridge

Dinner was to become an enjoyable affair, particularly on sea days (of which there are many on the long voyage across the Pacific). Our wait staff, Eliseo and Uputu, were very attentive and very soon became used to our likes and dislikes and looked after us very well.

Saturday 10 September to Wednesday 14 September

Although there are lots of activities on board during sea days we tend to just relax and sit around the ship in the lounge areas as well as walking on deck while it was still cool. Once we reach the tropics that will come to an end. It’s just too hot on deck.

We did get a chance to do a tour of the bridge which was fun. I observed all the various flags the ship has to carry, but was puzzled why, in addition to the flag of Australia, there was a flag for Tasmania, but no other States.

When I asked the question I was told that the ship sails to Tasmania. When I replied that Tasmania was part of Australia and I know the ship also sails to all the other States, he had no answer. I'm wondering if this occurs on other ships.

Looking down on through the flying bridge. The captain is able to see every line of the ship.

I wasn't aware Tasmania had gained independence!

During the cruise we attended a series of lectures by a Hawaiian native who also happened to be one of the musicians on board. He was given the task of talking about Hawaiian history. He painted a very disturbing and thought provoking picture from the point of view of the native people and what their relationship with America is. There is more to the arrival of US troops in the early part of the 20th century than meets the eye. The same story reverberates around the western world where native peoples were overpowered and overtaken by colonial forces.

A map showing the path taken by Japanese forces when Pearl Harbour was attacked

The beautiful Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour

We do get to enjoy some wonderful sunrises from our aft balcony as we head west across the Pacific.

We also enjoyed our formal nights on board. Although we were on My Time Dining (enabling us to choose our hour of dining) we still made an effort to 'dress' for dinner, though not to the extent of bygone times when evening dress was de rigueur.

Pre dinner drinks with Anita and Jim

An unexpected pleasure during the cruise was to find a waiter who had been our server on our Alaska cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas in 2012! Freddie was always entertaining and he has certainly not changed.