Antarctica, 2014

Antarctica

Few experiences can compare to the feeling you'll have as you head off on an expeditionary Antarctica cruise to a magnificent glacial continent that defies description. Your adventure begins with two nights in Buenos Aires, where you'll become acclimated to the local time – and culture – with Tauck. Then it's all aboard two of the newest of Tauck ships, Le Boréal and Le Soléal for a 10-night cruise to an arctic wonderland where the locals, from penguins and seals to myriad seabirds, welcome you ashore with friendly curiosity. Learn about their life and icy habitats from onboard naturalists who educate and inspire on our Antarctica cruise. And at night, enjoy informal chats, onboard lectures, documentary films and warm camaraderie with fellow explorers, the captain and crew.

Day 1

Your Antarctica cruise begins on land in Buenos Aires

Tauck's Antarctica cruise begins at 2:00 PM at Caesar Park Buenos Aires, Argentina. A transfer is included upon arrival at the Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport to Caesar Park Buenos Aires. Join us for a sightseeing tour that visits La Recoleta Cemetery, and Evita Perón’s grave, before returning to the hotel for our welcome reception and dinner featuring live music, tango dancers and lessons.

Lodging

Caesar Park Buenos Aires

Meals

D

Day 2

Spend the day exploring Buenos Aires

Your exploration of Buenos Aires continues today. City sightseeing includes Avenue 9 de Julio, renowned as the world’s widest avenue, Plaza de Mayo, site of Argentina’s most important historical events, the Cathedral and Palermo’s garden-graced parks – here you will find Japanese and botanical gardens, a planetarium, museums, monuments and a zoo. The remainder of the day is free for you to explore on your own. Must-see sights include the city’s charming neighborhoods, from San Telmo to La Boca, where history plays out along streets lined with antique shops, decades-old restaurants and tango halls.

Lodging

Caesar Park Buenos Aires 

Meals

B, L

Day 3

Fly to the tip of South America and embark on your Antarctica cruise

Let your imagination soar as you fly down to Ushuaia, the southernmost point of South America, for the start of Tauck's Antarctica cruise. An afternoon visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park provides a closer look at the landscapes of this frontier town including lush forests, waterfalls, glaciers and mountains – and promises to whet your appetite for the expedition to follow. Your luxury yacht is docked here, and your 10-night Antarctica cruise begins. On-board amenities include all outside staterooms, two restaurants and lounges with evening entertainment, a fitness center, and multiple observation areas.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal 

Meals

B, L, D

Day 4

Cruising the infamous Drake Passage

Find your sea legs on a two-day crossing of the Drake Passage, named after 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake who sailed these waters back in the late 1500s. While there is no land in sight during this part of your Antarctica cruise, you will have an opportunity to spot whales, dolphins and petrels from the observation decks of your yacht. You can attend on-board lectures from your naturalist team whose specialties include oceanography, ornithology and more. You may also take the time to visit the spa or the gym, curl up with a book from the ship's library or visit the bridge to chart your ship's progress.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal 

Meals

B, L, D

Day 5

Getting closer to Antarctica

One more day to go until you spot your first sight of the Antarctic Peninsula islands. Once part of a large Equatorial land mass, these islands broke off on their own more than 180 million years ago and are now home to glacial landscapes and wildlife that are awe-inspiring in every way. If you haven't yet watched one of the ship's collection of documentaries, today might be a good day to do so.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal

Meals

B, L, D

Day 6

Feel terra firma, Antarctic Archipelago-style, under your feet

Wake up to a glacial wonderland. For the next four days, you'll be able to join an expedition team leader for a Zodiac excursion to any one of a number of Antarctic islands. Due to changing weather and shifting glacial patterns, your day-to-day itinerary will vary; each new day aboard this Antarctica cruise brings something different. Be on the lookout for seals on ice floes along the shore. Look up to spot seabirds flying against a cloudless blue sky. Look down in the waters where marine animals may be seen. At night, share stories during the daily cocktail hour and enjoy the camaraderie with fellow explorers.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal

Meals

B, L, D

Day 7

Explore the world of the penguin

If conditions permit, take a shore excursion to a polar village populated by fascinating and very amusing penguins. Walk softly among them on the beaches where their rookeries are found. See them waddle and wave as they make treks into the sea and back with food for themselves and their families. Your naturalist guide will share expert insights with you about these locals!

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal

Meals

B, L, D

Day 8

The main attractions are made of ice... cruising the Archipelago

Dramatic icebergs, masterfully carved in all manner of shapes and sizes by the elements, don technicolor coats of blues, greens and snow whites and are the main event here in Antarctica. Get a closer look as you cruise among them and watch their transformation with the changing light of day. The sun never completely sets at this time of year so you can stroll on the deck late into the night and still enjoy an amazing glacial show.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal 

Meals

B, L, D

Day 9

Seabirds of different feathers

By your fourth day cruising the Antarctic Archipelago, you may have passed by Penguin Island, blessed with diverse wildlife such as chinstrap and Adélie penguins, southern giant petrels, Antarctic terns and skuas, and Hannah Point, one of the best places to see gentoo and macaroni penguins, blue-eyed shags, and Wilson's storm petrels, with the occasional fur seal or elephant seal among them. Don't worry if their names sound confusing; you will soon become a pro at identifying them with some help from your on-board ornithologists.

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal 

Meals

B, L, D

Day 10

Whales and seals of Antarctica

The wildlife experts on your ship are eager to point out the region's fur seals and elephant seals who share the frigid waters with penguins and humpback whales. You may find a fur seal or two languidly sunning or sleeping on ice floes, their faces endearing with natural smiles, in large part because there are few native predators like polar bears here. Southern elephant seals, so named for their massive sizes and trunk-like noses of the males, prefer to hang out in beach parties; look for them on rocky island shores. As your captain skillfully navigates your yacht around Lemaire Channel, you'll have a good chance to see humpback whales, always a breathtaking sight. The evening colors are spectacular too!

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal 

Meals

B, L, D

Day 11

Back through the Drake Passage 

Your ship begins its voyage back through the Drake Passage today, making it the perfect time to record the experiences you had during the past week. Your private ship log might include your thoughts about the array of icebergs and the Swedish expeditioners' hut you saw in Hope Bay, or the old whaling station you encountered near Neptune's Bellows and that dip you were tempted to make in the hot geothermal springs there. You may have had an opportunity to meet the researchers and scientists of King George Island or explore the history of Elephant Island, linked to Ernest Shackleton and his men. Your stories will make great reading back home!

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal

Meals

B, L, D

Day 12

Enjoy your last day aboard ship as your Antarctica cruise ends

Savor your last day of your Antarctica cruise as you cross the Drake Passage again. Activities include on-board lectures that enrich your new-found knowledge; spa treatments that keep you relaxed and refreshed; work-out equipment that invigorates; and card games or chess tournaments with shipmates. Your last evening aboard ship is a perfect time to toast your expedition, and celebrate what for many travelers is their "seventh continent."

Lodging

Aboard Le Boréal

Meals

B, L, D

Day 13

Your Antarctica cruise ends in Ushuaia – fly to Buenos Aires

Your Antarctica cruise ends when you disembark ship today in Ushuaia for your flight back to Buenos Aires. A transfer to Buenos Aires' (Ezeiza) Ministro Pistarini International Airport is included. Tour ends: 5:30 PM at Buenos Aires' (Ezeiza) Ministro Pistarini International Airport. You should allow three hours for flight check-in.

Meals

B

Note: Antarctica features two types of landings in the Antarctic Archipelago. Dry Landings occur when guests step from a Zodiac-style raft on to rocks or a dock. Wet Landings occur when the raft edges on to land and guests step into knee-deep water to wade ashore.

Thursday, 10/03/13 Busan, Korea

Thursday, 10/03/13 Busan, Korea

As the ship slowly made its way into Busan harbor, the view for miles was of a forest of high rise apartment buildings. Busan (formerly Pusan) is South Korea’s second largest city. The population of Busan is now 3.5 million, and that is a decline from a former population of 5 million. It seems that the corporations and the jobs are moving north in
South Korea, to the area near Seoul, where labor is more plentiful and cheaper than in the Busan area. Still, the forest of high rise apartment buildings stretched for miles.

Korea was divided in 1945, after World War II, and the division was confirmed by the Korean War 1950-1953. After the Korean War, all of Korea was desperately poor, and many thousands of people died of starvation. The poverty continued until the early 1970s, when the United States pressed South Korea to support the Vietnam war. South Korea had no military, and no money to support the United States in the Vietnam War; however, the United States offered to give South Korea the rights to all construction projects in the war if they would support the war. For the first time, South Korea had an opportunity to improve its economic situation, and they took it. As the war went on, South Korea gained knowledge and experience in construction projects, and they are still now called upon for construction projects around the world. That was the beginning of the economic turnaround in South Korea, and the country has continued its economic growth since then. It is now one of the economic powerhouses in the world. Busan is one of the top five ports in the world as measured by the number of containers processed there, and the port is very impressive. A new bridge crosses the harbor, adding beauty to the port.

Because the Korean people suffered deep poverty for so long, they now want only new products. There are very few cars on the roads that are not new, as well as the roads, the apartment buildings, the appliances and everything else. In addition, they have kept few historic sites, although they now recognize the value of historic sites in tourism, and they now are reconstructing some historic sites.

The tour included several historic sites designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The first site was Tumuli Park, the home of 20 royal tombs dating back to the Silla Dynasty, including Chonmachong, or “Flying Horse” tomb, that was excavated in 1973. The tombs of Tumuli Park are located in Tumuli Village, which is part of the UNESCO designation, and is filled with historic houses and buildings that are occupied and in use. No external changes can be made in these buildings. This site is about 1.5 hour’s drive from the port. Although the tour stopped at the tombs, one sad aspect of the tour was it did not include a photo stop at the village, and there was no opportunity to take photos of the interesting buildings there.

After this visit, the tour stopped for a large buffet lunch at a local hotel. This lunch was not the greatest; it was definitely a “tourist” luncheon. One of the items at the buffet was Kimchi, the national dish of Korea; this is a cabbage dish that is fermented and very spicy. This dish is so important in Korea that many households have two refrigerators, one used solely for Kimchi. The luncheon included a very beautiful folk dance.

After lunch, the tour went to the Bulguska Temple, a very impressive Buddhist temple that was constructed about 750 AD, and also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour guide discussed Buddhism, which has been the national religion of Korea since around 700 AD. Buddhism originated in India, traveled to China, and then on to Korea and Japan. The basic tenet of Buddhism is that desire is the cause of all pain in life, and the path to peace is letting of all desire.

One interesting tidbit that the tour guide pointed out concerns the appearance of Korean women. She said that it is often very difficult to tell the age of a Korean woman who is between the ages of 25 and 60. As an example, she asked the people on the bus to guess her age. She appeared to be 25-30, but she said that she was in fact 46. Everyone was shocked; she certainly did not appear to be 46. She was asked if she was married, and she said “no”, that she was never wanted by any man. She was very well educated, including graduate studies in America, and in Asia, many educated women are not wanted as wives because they outshine their husbands.

Busan is a very interesting city, and the tour barely touched on the interesting aspects of the city. It would be very interesting to return and spend some time there. Busan stretches for miles along a valley, and almost all of the city is in that long valley, with high rise apartment buildings rising up along the sides of the valley.

Tuesday, 10/01/13 Vladivostok, Russia

Tuesday, 10/01/13 Vladivostok, Russia

The ship arrived in Vladivostok at 4:00 a.m. and it is scheduled to leave at 7:00 p.m. Evidently, the timing was intended to prevent passengers from taking lots of photos of the Russian navy that is based here. Only a couple of destroyers were docked near the ship; although I took photos, they were not very rewarding. The weather in Vladivostok was really great -- low 70s and sunny -- perfect for walking and sightseeing.

I had not registered for a ship tour, preferring to go for a walk on the main streets. However, when I woke and looked out at the city, it appeared to me that walking all the way to the farthest church that I wanted to visit was too far. Therefore, I did as I have done so many times in the past; I looked for a taxi. Taxis were lined up in front of the train station, just outside the cruise terminal, and I quickly found one that would take American money, and who could speak enough English that he could take me where I wanted to go. He took me to every site that I had planned to see, and a few more, and he charged only $50, only about one-third the cost of a ship tour that would visit only a few sites. He was a really nice guy, and I enjoyed seeing all the sights I had planned to see.

After the "tour" I walked for a while, visiting the Victory Arch and submarine museum.

Afterward, I stopped in a nice Russian restaurant for borscht and an apple pastry. It was perfect, and I was able to pay with a card, so I didn't need to get Russian money.

After lunch I walked for another hour, and then went back to the ship, and on to the terminal building for free WiFi, so I could update my blog.

Several observations about Vladivostok will stay with me.  First, I have never before seen so many very tall, very thin, very pretty young women as in Vladivostok.  It seemed that every other young woman was very tall, very thin, and very pretty.  Virtually all of them wore very tight-fitting dark pants (I‘m sure with Spandex), and most of them wore very high heels, making them even taller.  They all had long hair; none had short hair.  The sight of these tall, thin, pretty women was truly striking. 

Second, I was struck that so many cars had steering wheels on the right, even though they drove on the right side of the street.  I was reminded of St. Thomas, where the same thing occurs.  I was told that the reason was that many of the cars in Vladivostok are imported from Japan, and the steering is not changed because it is less expensive to purchase Japanese cars with the steering on the right.  I noticed that almost all of the cars were Japanese. 

Third, the traffic was truly choking.  It was incredible.  It barely moved.  Making it worse was the lack of parking space.  There seemed to be no parking lots or garages, and cars parked everywhere.  On many streets, the cars parked two and three deep, leaving only one very narrow lane down the center of the street for traffic. 

Fourth, the people were very friendly.  So many people smiled and said hello, and even when they could not speak English, they tried to be helpful.  I really liked the people of Vladivostok, and I would like very much to return there someday.  

Update:

The ship was an hour late leaving the port because several passengers had not returned their passports to passenger services; the ship left the dock at 8:00 p.m., well after the scheduled time to depart, and in darkness.  However, as the ship sailed out of the port, I went up top to watch and take a few photos (in the dark), and I noticed that we passed no Russian navy vessels.  So the reason for the dark arrival and departure was not to prevent photos of Russian navy vessels, as there were none except for the few docked next to the ship. 

As we sailed out of the harbor, we passed under a huge new bridge that was very impressive.  I will have to look up that bridge when I get back home.

Monday, 09/30/13 Day at Sea

Monday, 09/30/13 At Sea

Another foggy, rainy day at sea between Sapporo and Vladivostok. A quiet day. Watched football games: Denver vs. Philadelphia, and then New England vs. Atlanta. Lecture on “Introduction to Buddhism.” Production show: “Piano Man,” which we saw on the Vancouver to Alaska leg of the trip, so we decided to stay in our room and watch the movie, "The Words", with Bradley Cooper.  I doubt that th emovie made money for its investors, but it was an interesting movie about the question, "How do you know what is real and what is fiction?".

During the afternoon, Rae visited the spa for her second of three spa treatments, and she was very relaxed.

Sunday, 09/29/13 Sapporo, Japan

Sunday, 09/29/13 Sapporo, Japan

Took the ship bus to Sapporo -- “On Your Own”. The seats in the bus were very small, a very tight fit for two people. Clearly, the seat width was made for Japanese people, who are smaller than average Americans. The drive to Sapporo was about two hours, and uneventful along an expressway. The scenery was mostly trees and rolling hills. Sapporo, a city of about 2 million, was the site of the 1972 Winter Olympics. Upon arriving in Sapporo, I was surprised that it was a very flat city that did not seem to have a population of 2 million; however, it is the fifth largest city in Japan. Although there were a number of high-rise buildings, there were not many, and most were not very high -- perhaps 20 floors or so for the tallest. To the west, the mountains were quite high, and it was easy to understand how the winter games could be held there.

The bus dropped passengers at the tallest structure in the city, the TV tower, which seemed to be modeled after the Eifel Tower, only it was bright red. The TV tower sits at the eastern end of Odori Park, a long, narrow park running east-west in the heart of the city. The park was originally put there as a fire break in case of fire in downtown. However, it is now a long green strip that is a very pretty park, with a pretty fountain. On this day, there was an Autumn Festival with music and food. The weather turned out to be glorious -- sunny and warm, and since it was a Sunday, many people were out enjoying the weather and the festival.

My first task was to walk to the large -- VERY large -- BIC camera store to purchase a replacement lens hood for my 24-70 Nikon lens. The previous one had been damaged when my camera strap came loose and the camera fell. Fortunately, the lens hood functioned as a cushion, breaking the fall of the camera, and the lens and camera were not damaged. However, I needed to replace the lens hood as well as the camera strap. Fortunately, a young associate spoke English, and he was very helpful in locating the items that I needed. After he learned that I was foreign, he said that I would qualify for a duty free purchase; he escorted me to a clearly marked “duty free“ cash register, and I was not required to pay taxes on my purchase.

After stopping at the camera store, I walked back toward Odori Park to look at the Autumn Festival. I also wanted to visit the large underground shopping center under two of the large downtown streets. When I found my way into the underground shopping center, I was surprised to see how large it was. It was immense, running for blocks under two of the large downtown streets. It was very modern and clean and lighted in a colorful way to make shopping a happy experience. After walking for a while, I stopped at a tea room for some tea and pastries before returning to the TV tower for the bus to return to the ship. Once on the bus, I fell asleep for a while before the bus stopped for a break on the way back to the ship.

Japan is an aging society with a shrinking population, and I expected to see an older population, as in Florida. However, the people on the streets and in the stores were almost entirely younger people. I was there on Sunday, and kids were not in school, so there were a lot of kids out enjoying the nice weather. However, it was really noticeable that there were hardly any older people anywhere I went.

One of the most interesting sights in Sapporo was the way the young women dressed. They dressed in very short, frilly skirts, with adornments to show off their legs. It seemed that most of the young women wore very short skirts, with pretty, frilly shoes, and some type of adornment for their legs. Their skirts all had frilly bottoms -- lace or other adornment at the bottoms of the skirts. Some wore thigh high nylons, with their short skirts clearly showing the tops of their nylons. Others wore garter belts with frilly straps hooked to the tops of their nylons, and clearly displayed below the hems of their short skirts. Others wore nylons that were decorated in many ways, such as a wide seam up the back of the leg, or other pattern in the nylons. Such remarkable attention to detail in showing off their legs.

Saturday, 09/28/13 At Sea Day 6

Saturday, 09/28/13 At Sea Day 6

Sun and calm seas! At last! This morning was the first morning to see the sunrise since Vancouver. Seas were “Slight” with swells of 1-2 feet (0.5-1 meters), and the temperature was 52 degrees F. Later, the seas became “Moderate” with winds of 14 knots, or 16 mph. The ship has sailed 2700 miles since Whittier, with 400 miles to go to Muroran.

Attended the port lecture on Dalian, and it was okay today -- just okay.

At one point the port lecturer, Heather, talked about the customs procedures for Muroran tomorrow. She said that everyone would be required to give fingerprints (by touching a screen), but she did not warn people to clean their fingers with an antiseptic wipe afterwards. In 2009, when I was here on this same ship, 500 people got sick after the fingerprint process because they did not clean their fingers afterwards, and the entire ship was quarantined in Shanghai. After the lecture today, I went to the tour office and told them about the previous experience and asked them to warn people to clean their fingers after the fingerprint process; however, they were very nasty to me and told me that they didn’t need any advice from me because they know how to do things. I asked them if Princess would have wipes available for people to use after the fingerprint process, and they simply repeated to me that they know how to do their jobs and they don’t need any advice from me. What jerks.

Late afternoon, I went up to Skywalkers Lounge for the predinner drinks for Platinum and Elite members. Although I didn’t get a drink, I did sit and look out at the seas for a few minutes, and the view was worth the effort -- a large school of dolphins suddenly appeared swimming all along the ship from the bow to the stern. There must have been at least 50 of them, and they were jumping in groups of up to six at a time. They seemed to be everywhere jumping all over the place. The sight of all those dolphins jumping and playing was really incredible.

Friday, 09/27/13 At Sea Day 5

Friday, 09/27/13 At Sea Day 5

Another day of heavy overcast and light rain, as every day has been since Vancouver.

Attended the port lecture for Qingdao, which again was quite poor. The port lecturer, Heather, is such a nice, pleasant person, but her lectures are not good.

After the port lecture, I watched the football game between San Francisco and St. Louis, which I also found to be boring. I was just not interested in the teams.

Another day with no Internet service -- the second day in a row with no Internet service on the ship. Princess could pay for a better satellite connection, but chooses not to do that. As a result, passengers do not have Internet access on many of the days, particularly days at sea.

Just before dinner, I had signed up for us to sit for formal black and white portraits in the “dark room”, with Korli, a professional photographer on the ship from South Africa. She was also the teacher in the photography classes. There was a special promotion on the ship for ladies to get their make up, hair and even the loan of Swarovski jewelry for the photos. Rae got her make up done by Demi, from South Africa, and she did a really great job. Rae wore her own jewelry and needed only a touch-up for her hair. Korli did a really great job, and we will look at the photos on the day at sea after Vladivostok.

At dinner, something shocking happened -- SUN!! The clouds disappeared and the sun shined just at sunset. Although the sunset was not spectacular, at least there was a sunset. This was the first time we had seen the sun since Vancouver, and many people were out on the decks to see the sunset.

The evening was formal, and we attended the Captain’s reception, where he announced that of the 2700 passengers on board, about 350 were Elite. I was very surprised; usually it seems that almost half of the passengers are Elite.

The entertainment was a production show, “Words and Music”, featuring music from Broadway musicals. 

American musicals. It was really excellent, as always.

Thursday, 09/26/13 At Sea Day 4

Thursday, 09/26/13 At Sea Day 4

During the night, the ship passed across the International Date Line, so we go directly from Tuesday, September 24 to Thursday, September 26, skipping past Wednesday, September 25. The weather continues to be completely overcast, with fog, mist, and light rain all day. Today’s seas -- “Moderate” -- with swells of 4-7 feet or 1-2 meters.

Attended the port lecture for Busan, which was quite poor; and the port lecturer continues to give inaccurate information. For example, today she said that the ship would accept foreign currency as payment for bills at the end of the cruise, and that is false -- the ship will accept only American currency as payment for bills or for any other reason, nor will the ship exchange foreign currency for American currency. Her lectures are really quite poor.

Attended the photography class -- today’s topic, “Creative Lighting.” Although the “creative lighting” part was minimal, the class was very good, and it lasted more than two hours. The class ended with a photoshoot of the atrium of the ship; the purpose was to learn to adjust the White Balance to minimize the yellow tones of the atrium. After the class, Jean-Luc, one of the professional photographers on the ship (from South Africa), took my camera and checked the settings, and suggested changing several of the settings to improve my photos, in particular he suggested putting the color setting to Adobe RGB. He said that would improve the colors of my photos.

While I was at my photo class, Rae went to the Spa for a massage.  Ummm.

Tuesday, 09/24/13 At Sea Day 3

Tuesday, 09/24/13 At Sea Day 3

After the calm day yesterday, the captain said that the ship would encounter another storm early this morning, and indeed, about 7:00 a.m., the ship began to encounter rough seas. By 8:00 a.m. the full force of the storm was upon the ship, with high winds and high seas, and throughout the day, the storm increased until mid-afternoon, when it finally began to abate. On the TV weather channel, the wind speed was 63 knots, or 72 mph; the seas were 12-26 feet, or 4-8 meters. This storm was more intense than the storm of two days ago, even though the winds were not as high. The ship listed very badly, making walking much more difficult than in the previous storm. Perhaps the difference was wind direction.

At breakfast, we sat at a large table with others, and the subject of living life until the end of life -- including travel -- came up. That led to a discussion of the amount of time left before dying, and a woman at the table, Paula, from Queensland, Australia, talked about having a heart attack at age 24, and living on borrowed time since then (she said she is now 66). She then talked about having “died” when she had a heart attack, and I asked her to describe that experience. She said that she had a feeling of such intense peace that it was completely indescribable. She went on to describe the feeling of regaining consciousness and how the feeling of intense peace slowly evaporated. She said that since then, she has absolutely no fear of dying because she is certain that death is that state of intense, indescribable peace. She was a midwife, and she talked about sitting with people who were dying, and when she touched them, she was able to transfer that feeling of peace to them. When they were very agitated, her touch calmed them and gave them peace.

Monday, 09/23/13 Quiet Day at Sea

Monday, 09/23/13 Quiet Day at Sea

After the storm yesterday, the captain altered course to find calmer conditions. He had been on a course along the Pacific Ocean side of the Aleutian Islands. To find calmer conditions, he slipped between the Aleutian Islands to the North side, the Bering Sea side, and indeed the sea conditions were calmer. He announced that he would continue along the Bering Sea side of the Aleutian Islands until he was past the Islands and then he would need to swing south toward Japan.

Aboard ship, there was a lecture by the Port Lecturer, Heather Hopkins Clement, about the Japanese port of Muroran, and Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The evening was formal, and the production show was, “Do You Wanna Dance,” with the Princess singers and dancers. The show was really excellent, as all the production shows are, with standing room only in the theater.

Sunday, 09/22/13 Storm At Sea

Sunday, 09/22/13 Storm At Sea

The previous evening, as the cruise out of Whittier got underway, the captain announced that heavy seas could be expected, and during the night, the ship began to jerk and shake heavily as the ship encountered heavy weather. In the morning, the motion grew stronger. The headline on the weather report on the ship’s TV system showed “Violent Storm”, with winds of 72 knots, or 84 mph, and seas of 12-18 feet (4-6 meters), and a temperature of 40 degrees F (about 5.9 degrees C). I had previously read that the Northern Pacific could be rough sailing, particularly in the Autumn, and this storm certainly bore that forecast out. The storm continued throughout the day with no let-up.

　

Saturday, 09/21/13 Catamaran Cruise of Prince William Sound

Saturday, 09/21/13 Catamaran Cruise of Prince William Sound

Klondike Express Cruise of Prince William Sound includes views of 26 Glaciers. The catamaran was quite large, and it was completely filled; it had the feel of passengers being packed into the boat like sardines in a can. It was quite uncomfortable. Passengers were assigned seats to prevent conflict among passengers over seats. As the cruise got underway, the weather was quite poor, with heavy overcast, fog and drizzle. The temperature was in the low 40s. The day looked very unpromising. From Whittier, the boat headed out through Passage Canal, a deep ice free fjord, and circled around Easter Island. No glaciers were seen in this part of the tour, and the only wildlife was two bald eagles that could be seen in the distance. The first hour of the cruise was very unpromising. The cruise then turned into College Fjord briefly and the glaciers that had been viewed the previous day from the ship were seen again.

Only then did the cruise turn into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, and then turn into Harriman Fjord, where three large glaciers were seen -- Cascade, Barry, and Coxe Glaciers. As the boat continued up Harriman Fjord, Serpentine, Baker, and Cataract Glaciers were seen, and then the largest glacier of all, Surprise Glacier, a glacier only slightly smaller than Harvard Glacier, seen the previous day in College Fjord. Surprise Glacier is 300 feet high at the face, and half a mile wide. It is a very impressive glacier with much blue ice. The boat parked at the face of the glacier for half an hour for full viewing by the passengers. The sight was truly awe-inspiring. Loud booms could be heard throughout our time there, and at one point a sizeable chunk of the glacier broke away and fell into the water, leaving a large hole in the face of the ice. This glacier was worth the entire price and time of the tour.

On the trip back to Whittier, the boat passed several “herds” of sea lions along the shore. As the boat returned to Whittier, one could see how small Whittier is, and the scene of the ship docked at the pier was very pretty.

The cruise across the Northern Pacific to Asia had begun -- six days at sea before reaching Japan. Clocks were turned back an hour in Whittier, and they would be turned back an hour each day for the following six days.

　

Friday, 09/20/13 College Fjord

Friday, 09/20/13 College Fjord

College Fjord is located very near Whittier, Alaska.  As the ship sailed into College Fjord, the ship passed a number of glaciers, all named after colleges -- Barnard, Holyoke, Vassar, etc, until it arrived at Harvard Glacier, the largest of the glaciers in College Fjord.  The previous day ended with a storm, and all during the night, the ship shook as it passed through the storm.  This morning dawned clear and sunny, with calm seas, a perfect day for viewing glaciers.  The snow-capped mountains shone brightly in the clear sunshine. 

Numerous glaciers flow into College Fjord, the most famous of which is Harvard Glacier.  Of the 10,000 glaciers in Southeast Alaska, only eight are advancing; all the others are retreating.  Harvard glacier is one of the eight advancing glaciers; it is advancing 6-20 feet per DAY.  Harvard glacier is huge -- over 300 feet tall and more than two miles across.  Harvard Glacier is fed by nine glaciers, which merge to form Harvard Glacier.  It is the largest and most impressive glacier that we saw on this cruise -- and the largest glacier I have ever seen.  The captain stopped the ship for half an hour directly at the face of the glacier.  It was a truly awe inspiring sight.  Although only a very small part of the glacier broke off (calved) while the ship was there, loud cracks could be heard during our visit. 

Thursday, 091913 Glacier Bay

091913 Glacier Bay

Today the ship visited Glacier Bay National Park, a World Heritage Site.  Throughout the day, the ship slowly made its way up the bay and back out again, providing close views of the glaciers in the bay.  The National Park Service boarded the ship at 7:00 a.m. and provided commentary throughout the visit.  At 9:30 a.m. we passed the first of the glaciers, Reid Glacier, and then we came immediately to Lamplugh Glacier, which the ship passed slowly, but without stopping.  Immediately after Lamplugh Glacier, the ship very slowly crept to the mouth of the Johns Hopkins Inlet to permit passengers to view the Johns Hopkins Glacier at the end of the inlet.  This glacier is the only one that is still growing; all of the others are slowly retreating.  At this point, the captain turned the ship around to permit passengers on all sides of the ship to view the Johns Hopkins Glacier and then the ship slowly made its way back out of the inlet.  As the ship returned to the Lamplugh Glacier, the captain paused the ship for very close viewing.  The captain slowly spun the ship completely around to permit all passengers to view the glacier several times.  Following the Lamplugh Glacier, the ship made its way farther into Glacier Bay until it reached the end of the bay, at which point both the Margerie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier merged into Glacier Bay.  Grand Pacific Glacier is brown from all the dust it had accumulated over the centuries; however, Margerie Glacier is truly spectacular, the most magnificent site on the entire cruise.  Margerie Glacier is about 25 stories high and two miles wide at water level, and the captain parked the ship directly in front of the glacier for a full half-hour.  A few small ice-floes broke away from the glacier as we sat there watching.  This site was by far the highlight of the entire cruise, and one of  the greatest sights in the world.  After the ship had been stopped for a half-hour, the captain turned the ship around, providing great views of the Grand Pacific Glacier, and again the Margerie Glacier before slowly making his way back out of Glacier Bay.  In the afternoon, a naturalist came aboard to lead a whale-watching time as the ship made its way back out of Glacier Bay; however, only a few dorsal fins were spotted.  While the weather was very pleasant, though very cold, for glacier viewing, heavy fog and rain returned in the afternoon as the ship made its way back out of Glacier Bay.

The evening was formal, and the show was a production show called, “Piano Man”, which would seem to feature Billy Joel music; however, the show had music from the 50s to current music.  The production shows are truly great shows, featuring the Princess singers and dancers, and this show was excellent as well.  Dinner was with a man and his wife from Denver; I had met them on the White Pass Railway, where he had introduced himself and asked me if I were Jon Voigt. Later on that tour, I took their photo at the suspension bridge, and as we talked, he asked if I would join them for dinner tonight.

 

Wednesday, 09/18/13 Skagway

09/18/13 Skagway

Today we took the White Pass Railway from Skagway to White Pass, the high mountain pass through which prospectors had to travel to get to the Klondike gold field.  At one time, the railway was used to transport all goods into Skagway, but now that the Yukon highway has been constructed, it is used only for sightseeing.  The train makes its way up the mountain from sea level to an altitude of 3,000 feet; the trip ends in Fraser, Canada, where Canadian border officials checked all passports before passengers were permitted to exit the train.  Buses then took everyone to a pedestrian suspension bridge over a creek several hundred feet below, and then back down the mountain to the ship.  As the bus passed down the mountain, it passed the U.S. border control station, where U.S. customs officials had to check passports.  At the base of the mountain, in Skagway, the bus stopped at a very pretty garden, “Jewell Garden” for lunch and a walk in the garden.  The lunch was not very good, but the garden was really beautiful.

An interesting incident occurred while on the train.  The weather was cold and raining, but I stood on the little platform outside the rail car to take photos.  At one point, two other men were standing with me, and one of them asked me if I were Jon Voigt.  When I told him that I was not, he said that I must get that question a lot.  Indeed, over the years, many people have asked me if I were Jon Voigt, and several have even gone so far as to ask for my autograph.  One man who had worked on a movie with Jon Voigt told me that he thought I was Jon and even began to talk with me as if I were him, until he realized that I was not him.  He was quite startled at the resemblance.  I don’t see the resemblance, but others do. 

Tuesday, 091713 Juneau

Tuesday, 091713 Juneau

Ship tour to watch whales -- Allen Marine Tours (allenmarinetours.com) -- a family run business conducting marine tours in Alaska since 1970.  The young woman who was the captain of the boat seemed to be either a member of the family, or someone associated with the family in some way.  She was excellent in finding whales and following them.  The weather was not good; it was heavily overcast with misting rain all day, sometimes heavier than others, with a breeze, and temperature of about 45 degrees.  It was not pleasant standing outside on the boat trying to take photos.  At first, we saw only one whale, and not well, so she moved the boat to a small island where sea lions were resting; there must have been at least 50 sea lions on the small island.  Then she moved the boat to another area where there were other boats that seemed to have seen whales.  Suddenly we seemed to be surrounded by a large number of whales, so there must have been lots of food fish in that area.  We stayed in that area for the remainder of the tour and we saw numerous whales.  Fortunately, I was able to get a few nice photos of the dorsal fins and some nice tail photos as well.  We felt that the trip was quite good. 

After leaving the whale watching, we were bussed to the Mendenhall glacier, which was very interesting.  I could not help comparing it with the Briksdahl glacier in Norway.  The Briksdahl glacier was much harder to get to; we had to walk a couple of miles up a trail to see it, where the Mendenhall glacier was in full view from a number of viewing platforms.  The National Park Service made it easy to view the glacier, and visitor center also had a really nice video and other displays that provided much information about the glacier.  We felt really good about the experience of seeing the Mendenhall glacier (as we also did about seeing the Briksdahl glacier). 

Later, we walked the one street in Juneau.  Juneau was the town built around the Juneau gold strike.  It is a very narrow town built along a river, with only one street.  Beyond the one street, a high mountain blocks further development.  The state capitol is a plain brown building with no dome.  The entire town is only about 30,000 population, and it is spread out over a wide area.  The one street is filled with the same tourist shops and jewelry shops found in so many places in the Caribbean; many of the jewelry shops are owned by the cruise lines.  Dinner was with an Australian couple and a young couple from San Diego. 

Monday, 091613 Ketchikan

091613 Ketchikan

Neets Bay bear watching.  Twelve adults and one child signed up for the high-speed boat trip to Neets Bay to watch bears in the wild eating salmon.  The day started off very cloudy and misty, but as we got going, it cleared up.  The captain of the boat was Captain Mike, and the tour guide was Bailey, a girl who had just graduated from high school last year.  She turned out to be interesting.  Her dad works for the U.S. Forest Service, and last year he had been offered the chance to be transferred to Alaska from Ohio.  He asked his wife and five children what they should do, and they agreed to the transfer.  Bailey is the oldest, and she finished high school last year.  The others are still in school.  This summer, she got the job with Captain Mike, and he taught her what to say on the boat to explain what customers were seeing. 

The boat ride to Neets Bay was about 45 minutes at high speed.  Once there, the captain watched for bears and then took the boat as near to them as possible to let passengers observe them.  For a while, it appeared that we would not see any bears, but after a time, one bear did emerge from the dense forest to walk along the water’s edge in search of salmon.  Unfortunately, we were too far from the bear to get a very close look, but I did take photos.  We also saw sea lions and seals, which also eat the salmon.  Later at the end of the time in Neets Bay, we went by a small island that was filled with sea lions and a nearby, second island that was filled with seals. 

The temperature was about 45 degrees, and we were very pleased that we had dressed warmly, with heavy undershirt, heavy shirt, sweater, and jacket, along with gloves.  We needed all those clothes, and we were still cold on the way back from Neets Bay.  On the way back to the ship, we encountered a shower, which is not unexpected in Ketchikan; the average annual rainfall in Ketchikan is 14 FEET. We were lucky that it did not rain while we were out looking for bears. 

After arriving back in town, we went for a brief walk in Ketchikan, which is very neat, and is all set up for cruise passengers, with the same jewelry shops and gift shops found in the Caribbean.  Many of these shops are owned by the cruise companies. 

Sunday, 091513 Day at Sea

091513 Day at Sea

Today was Sunday, and the Redskins were playing Green Bay on TV at 10:00 a.m.  After breakfast, I watched the first half of the game, and then turned it off.  We spent the day relaxing, reading, doing a Sunday crossword, and exploring the ship.  The evening was formal, and we enjoyed dressing up.  At dinner, we met several people who we found interesting -- a couple from New Jersey, two people from California, and two women from Australia.  The two Australian women, both grandmothers, were married, but traveling alone, their husbands didn’t want to travel with them, so they traveled alone.

The evening entertainment was a production show, “I‘ve got the music“, featuring songs of Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and Lionel Richey.  As always, the production shows on Princess are great, and this one was, too.  The theater was standing room only, as always for production shows.

Saturday, 09/14/13 All Aboard

09/14/13 All Aboard

The bellman knocked on our door at 7:30 for our luggage, although the bus would not arrive until 9:00 to leave the hotel for the ship.  We had breakfast in the hotel, and we had a feeling of elegance having breakfast in such an ornate dining room.  The eggs Benedict were wonderful.  After breakfast the wait was brief until we boarded the bus for the ship.  As the driver pulled the bus away, I asked him if everyone was on board.  He suddenly stopped the bus and made a head count, and said, no, everyone was not there.  Soon some others arrived and we were off.  If I had not asked him my question, I guess they would have been left behind.  The ferry crossing was uneventful except for one thing -- we decided to pay $12 to sit in a luxury section with comfortable chairs and snacks provided.  It was well worth the price.  After leaving the ferry, the driver took us a different route back downtown to the pier where the ship was waiting, and it was very interesting to see a different part of Vancouver.  It is a very pretty town, and so orderly and clean. 

Boarding the ship was uneventful; although the lines were quite long the process moved quickly.  When we arrived at our room, we felt “at home”.  A feeling of comfort, both physical and emotional, came over us.  We freshened up and went for a walk and a bite to eat at the cafeteria on the top deck while we waited for our luggage to arrive in our room.  At 4:00 p.m. the ship held its mandatory safety drill.  We discovered that somehow our dinner reservations were “free style”, which means any dining room at any time.  When we went to dinner at 8:00 p.m. the lines were long at the first two dining rooms, but when we arrived at the Santa Fe dining room , we were seated right away with a very interesting elderly couple who were originally from Uzbekistan.  They came to America in 1991, after the fall of communism, and lived in Pennsylvania until a couple of years ago, when they moved to Florida.  They told us about living in Uzbekistan, which they loved until Stalin came to power.  After that they said that living was very hard.  They had relatives in the U.S. but they were not permitted to visit, or ever to leave the country together; the thought was that if one was left behind, the other would return, too.  Eventually, they were permitted to immigrate to the U.S. and they have been very happy.  One of the great things about traveling is the interesting people one meets.

In the evening, we skipped the comedian, and went to sleep early.

Friday, 09/13/13 Vancouver Island, Butchart Gardens, Victoria

09/13/13 Vancouver Island, Butchart Gardens, Victoria

The bus arrived at 8:15 a.m., and we were off to Vancouver Island.  The bus driver was very informative, talking constantly as he drove the bus through the downtown area, then south past the airport and on to the ferry terminal an hour away.  The city of Vancouver is very neat, very well organized, very clean, without litter and graffiti.  The presence of a large Asian community is very noticeable.  As the bus drove out Cambie Street, the driver informed us that a subway line had been installed the under the street prior to the 2010 Olympics, and as a result, development was underway around the stations.  Indeed, we could see dozens of buildings under construction near the subway stations.  The area had formerly been residential, and houses near the stations were empty, with signs indicating that new buildings were planned.

At the ferry terminal, the driver informed us that the ferry transported both large vehicles and cars, as well as bicycles and even foot traffic.  The ferry held 410 cars and 34 large vehicles, including busses and even semi.  The bus pulled into the second deck, and passengers went upstairs to the fifth and sixth decks for seating and refreshments.  While on the ferry, I stepped outside to take some photos, and at one point, I noticed a young Muslim woman trying to take a self- photo; I took her camera and took the photo for her.  Then her companion, another young Muslim woman, came up, and I took both of their photos.  Then they permitted me to take their photos with my camera as well.  At the appointed time, passengers reboarded the bus, and when the ferry arrived at the terminal on Victoria Island, the driver was on his way to Butchart Gardens.  Travel time for the ferry was about 1.5 hours.

The driver described Butchart Gardens, now more than 100 years old.  It was formerly a shale quarry, and after the shale played out, the wife of the owner decided to install a garden in the pit and surrounding areas.  Now, after 100 years, the gardens are a national shrine.  Inside, the bus driver explained that passengers would have two hours to visit the gardens, and we were off.  We wandered about and I took photos of the beautiful scenery.  It truly is amazing how a former mine pit has been transformed into a beautiful site.  While I was taking photos, again I saw the two young Muslim women taking photos, so I took a few photos of them with their camera, and then again, they permitted me to take a photo of them with my camera.  I talked with them for a moment, and it turned out that they were visiting from Oman, attending a conference in Vancouver.   I was able to tell them about our one day in Muscat, Oman, on a cruise in 2010.  After wandering about, we stopped for gelato before reboarding the bus to Victoria.

The bus driver took a scenic route to Victoria, driving along the coast.  Eventually, the bus arrived in Victoria for a loop around the downtown area before stopping at the stately Fairmont Empress Hotel.  A large, imposing red brick building, the hotel was constructed more than 100 years ago.  It sits across from the Parliament building, constructed about the same time by the same architect.  After checking in, we went to our room, which seemed to be an original room, with little upgrading since construction.  With high ceilings, and a ceiling fan whirring, the room seemed to be out of a historical movie.  The bathroom was tiny, with very old fixtures, and even the furniture seemed very old.  We found it all charming. 

After our luggage arrived in the room, we took off quickly to walk the downtown area of Victoria for some photos of the old buildings along the two main streets in the downtown area.  Government Street and Wharf Street, along with adjoining streets, were constructed 50-100 years ago, and had been renovated, forming a very picturesque scene.  Most of the shops were tourist shops.  I took photos until the sun set, and then we returned to our room before going out again to dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the marina sitting just in front of the hotel.  After dinner, I took photos of the Parliament building which was outlined in lights, forming a very pretty scene. 

Repacking before bedtime; luggage must be ready the following morning by 7:30 to return to the mainland and then to the ship.

Thursday, 09/12/13 Vancouver

Thursday, 09/12/13

Jet lagged, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and had difficulty staying in bed.  My movements woke Rae around 8:00, which was 11:00 at home, and we got ready to start the day.  We had planned to walk the downtown area of Vancouver, getting a feel of the city.  However, after I took my shower and got dressed, I was feeling very groggy, and decided to lie back down for a few minutes.  I woke up FIVE hours later!  I was totally exhausted from the travel and the time difference.  This time, after getting up, we went downstairs to an underground food court and got some breakfast -- an apple fritter from Starbucks and coffee from McDonald’s.  Then we began our walk at noon, local time. 

The concierge at the hotel had mentioned that one of the most interesting sights in Vancouver is an area called Yaletown, in the far Southeast section of the downtown area, so we headed in that direction.  It turned out that the hotel was located in the financial district of Vancouver, and it reminded us of the financial district in New York, with many tall banks and other financial buildings.  Like Lower Manhattan, this financial district is also located on the tip of the peninsula by the cruise port, the ferries, and marinas.  Vancouver had also built an elegant convention center on the water front, with five tall “sails” on the building, denoting the five provinces of Canada.  The convention center is also the cruise terminal, and a Silver Sea ship was in port. 

Slowly, we made our way south, turning when we saw a building or street that looked interesting.  When we got to Robson Street, we turned east, toward a large indoor stadium.  It turned out that Robson Street is one of the most important streets in Vancouver, running east-west through the entire peninsula.  Businesses line the street from one end to the other.  Along the eastern part of the street, most of the businesses were Asian -- Asian restaurants (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, and others), and Asian stores.  Throughout our stay in Vancouver, we were struck by the large Asian population there; it seemed that almost half of the people were Asian, and I will have to look up the percentage when I can.  Many Hong Kong residents came to Vancouver when Hong Kong reverted to China from Britain. 

After reaching the large stadium at the east end of Robson, we turned south on Hamilton and walked through an area of high-rise apartment buildings.  Rae spotted a foot massage salon, and we went inside where she decided to get a foot massage.  While she was there, I went for a walk and discovered Yaletown, which turned out to be an area in which old warehouses along two streets had been turned into upscale restaurants and shops.  The area was very interesting in appearance, although I did not enter any of the shops or restaurants.  At one end of one of the two streets, a farmer’s market was underway.  After a half-hour, I went back to get Rae, and we walked to Yaletown again, where we wandered through leisurely.  I was pleased to have visited the area, although we did not find anything of particular interest.  We were told that the area is very lively in the evenings because of the restaurants.

We made our way back in a northwesterly direction, passing hundreds of small shops, which were everywhere in Vancouver.  We noticed that everywhere we walked, everything was neat and clean; there was no trash on the streets, and no graffiti.  The entire downtown area was very clean and neat.  Slowly, we made our way back to the northwest until again we arrived at Robson, where we decided to turn west.  Again, Robson was filled with small shops, many of which were Asian, as were many of the people walking on the streets.  And so many young people everywhere -- people in their 20s and 30s.  Vancouver seems to be filled with young people.  We walked almost to the end of Robson, stopping once for gelato. 

Toward the end of Robson Street, we turned to walk along the waterfront all the way back to our hotel, and that turned out to be a really wonderful walk.  A wide pedestrian sidewalk zig-zagged along the waterfront all the way back to the convention center near the hotel.  All along the waterfront, high rise apartments had been built, and the area reminded me of Naples Florida.  I could easily imagine living in that area.  It was really beautiful, and the green park areas all along drew people into them to sit on the lawns or benches next to marinas and all of the activity on the water.  As we walked along, the Silver Sea ship pulled out of the port and made its way out to sea.  People lined the walkway to watch. 

After the long walk, we arrived back at our hotel at 6:30 p.m., having walked for 6 ½ hours.  I did not have my pedometer with me, but I guessed that I must have walked 8 or 10 miles.  It was a really great walk, and I felt that I had really “been” to Vancouver.  Later, we went out to eat in an area called “Gastown”, another old area that had been renovated and is now an upscale area filled with restaurants and shops.  It was a really lovely area, and we stopped to eat at an Italian restaurant that was filled with people, indicating a good restaurant.  After eating, we went back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave the following morning to go to Vancouver Island, to visit the Butchart Gardens and Victoria.  We were notified that our bags would be picked up at 7:30 a.m., and the bus would arrive at 8:00.  I asked for a 6:00 a.m. wake up call, and went to sleep.

Wednesday 09/11/13 To Vancouver

Wednesday September 11, 2013

Although we had set the alarm for 5:00 a.m., I was awake at 4:30.  I rose, took my shower, and began to run through my list of last-minute “to do” items -- check email one last time, unplug computers, unplug phone so that all calls would automatically be routed into voice mail, adjust thermostat, water indoor plants one last time.  Close and lock luggage.  I had arranged for the taxi to arrive at 6:00. 

The trip to the airport was uneventful, with no delays, and airport security was quick with no long lines.  As usual, my camera bag required hand checking by security, but that process was not long.  The woman who hand screened my bag never once made eye contact with me.  Boarding was strange, as is often the case; the attendant called for rows 20-34, but after a few moments, I realized that everyone on the plane had formed a line and was being boarded; so we got in line, too.  No questions were asked, and we boarded with no problem.  The flight to Los Angeles was uneventful, and I tried to take a brief nap; however, as usual, I was not able to sleep on the plane.  During the flight, Rae read from her Kindle, and I worked crossword puzzles -- five New York Times Sunday puzzles with sports themes from a book I had.  It’s always interesting to pass over the Great Plains, with vast areas of neat farms, and the desolation of Death Valley was striking.  The arid landscape and brown air of the great basin of Los Angeles were also striking, leading me to wonder again about the vast population that continues to pour into this area.  People clearly come for the opportunity and not the geography. 

During the three hour layover, we got lunch and read a bit, and then boarded the small plane to Vancouver.  Again the flight was uneventful, and I leafed through the airline magazine.  Just before landing in Vancouver, the plane made a sharp turn to the East, and out the window we got a fabulous view of Vancouver with the snow-covered mountains to the North.  I wished for my camera, which was stowed; however, I realized that I would not have been able to take a photo because of the water and age stains on the airplane window.  Still, I enjoyed the view very much.  I was struck by the farmland so near and even within the city of Vancouver, much of which was standing in water.  Later we learned that the previous week had brought heavy rains to the area. 

The passport control process at the Vancouver airport was odd.  Passengers entered the airport at the far eastern end and then proceeded to walk through a very long hallway all the way to the far western end of the airport, where passport control was located.  The hallway was glass enclosed and on the second floor, giving passengers a view of the entire airport, which was very beautiful; later I was told that this airport had won awards as being the most beautiful city airport in North America.  The airport predated the 2010 Olympics, having been constructed in 2001.  After we got our luggage and went through passport control, the Princess Cruise Line representative, George, was waiting for us by name, and escorted us to a waiting Lincoln SUV to take us to the hotel, the Fairmont Waterfront.  When the young man brought our baggage to the room, he informed me that if I were a member of the Fairmont Presidential Club, Internet use would be free of charge.  I immediately went to the front desk and inquired about joining, and I was told that I could enroll online.  After enrolling, I was given a FPC number, which I phoned to the front desk, who deleted the charge for Internet use. 

When we first got to our room, I noticed that the time was 7:20 p.m. Pacific time, or 10:20 p.m. Eastern time; my total trip had been 13 hours 20 minutes.  We were exhausted.  After freshening up a bit, we went out to eat; the concierge recommended a restaurant nearby, so we went there – Rogue, a steak and seafood place.  We sat outside in the beautiful evening weather and had macadamia crusted halibut, while Rae had fish tacos; it was not great, but it was okay.  Afterwards, we fell asleep immediately. 

Around Australia and New Zealand -- Dawn Princess 2013

Around Australia and New Zealand -- Dawn Princess

October 11 - November 15, 2013

Date 2013	Port	Arrive - Depart
Oct 11 (Fri)	Sydney, Australia	Depart 5:00 pm
Oct 12 (Sat)	At Sea
Oct 13 (Sun)	Brisbane, Australia	8:00am - 6:00pm
Oct 14 (Mon)	At Sea
Oct 15 (Tue)	At Sea
Oct 16 (Wed)	Port Douglas, Australia	7:00am - 5:00pm
Oct 17 (Thu)	At Sea
Oct 18 (Fri)	At Sea
Oct 19 (Sat)	Darwin, Australia	9:00am - 6:00pm
Oct 20 (Sun)	At Sea
Oct 21 (Mon)	Broome, Australia	11:45am - 11:45pm
Oct 22 (Tue)	Kimberley Coast, Australia (scenic Cruising)
Oct 23 (Wed)	At Sea
Oct 24 (Thu)	Lombok, Indonesia	9:00am - 7:00pm
Oct 25 (Fri)	At Sea
Oct 26 (Sat)	At Sea
Oct 27 (Sun)	At Sea
Oct 28 (Mon)	Fremantle, Australia	7:00am - 5:00pm
Oct 29 (Tue)	Albany, Australia	12:00pm - 7:00pm
Oct 30 (Wed)	At Sea
Oct 31 (Thu)	At Sea
Nov 01 (Fri)	Adelaide, Australia	8:00am - 6:00pm
Nov 02 (Sat)	At Sea
Nov 03 (Sun)	Melbourne, Australia	8:00am - 6:00pm
Nov 04 (Mon)	At Sea
Nov 05 (Tue)	At Sea
Nov 06 (Wed)	Fjordland National Park, New Zealand (scenic Cruising)
Nov 07 (Thu)	At Sea
Nov 08 (Fri)	Wellington, New Zealand	8:00am - 6:00pm
Nov 09 (Sat)	Napier, New Zealand	7:00am - 2:00pm
Nov 10 (Sun)	Tauranga, New Zealand	8:30am - 7:15pm
Nov 11 (Mon)	Auckland, New Zealand	7:00am - 6:00pm
Nov 12 (Tue)	At Sea
Nov 13 (Wed)	At Sea
Nov 14 (Thu)	At Sea
Nov 15 (Fri)	Sydney, Australia

Post cruise hotel:  Shangri La, Sydney

Uluru:  Desert Gardens Hotel

Maui: Four Seasons Resort, Maui