Vancouver: Anchors Aweigh!

Friday, 9th August, 2013.

On our way back from breakfast, we came across this Dog Taxi, with three guests already on board, while a fourth was being collected, all on their way to Doggy Day Care.  People in America (and Canada) are prepared to spend a fortune on their pets. 

We had some free time before our shuttle to the ship, and it was yet another beautiful day, so we had a walk around the garden-edged waterfront:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A special moment - here we are boarding the Radiance of the Seas!

Here is a part of our “state room” which features a “window”.  Having a window is up from having an inside state room or a porthole, but down from having a balcony.

I had a great dream of watching icebergs floating past from our “state room” but the only way you could see the sea from this window was to kneel up on the pillows (which we did a great deal – the sea was amazing!)  Lying in bed, you could only see the door, and sitting in a chair, you could only see the sky.

I estimated that our two-person state room was about six times the size of the four-berth cabin Carol and I shared on the Fairstar sailing from Australia to the UK in 1970.

Our “state room attendant” Iwan from the Philippines (on the Fairstar we had a cabin boy) came in about eight times a day to cater for our every need, even dreaming up needs we hadn’t thought of.  For example, at first, we left our bathmat on the tiled floor, which was rather chilly on bare feet, not twigging that this meant “please bring me another”.  After Iwan brought us four or five new bathmats every day, neatly folded on the shelf, we finally worked it out.  Then he only brought us one or two. 

 

View of the dock from our window (with a bit of pillow at the bottom).

 

Looking down from the eighth floor to the lobby.

 

Mobiles above the lobby.

 

One of the multiple dining rooms.

 

Pat on the top deck.

 

Me on another bit of the ship.

 

Anchors aweigh!

 

Goodbye Vancouver.

 

Some pedestrians waved from the Lions Gate Bridge.

 

It seemed as though we just made it under the bridge.

 

But the bridge survived intact.

 

Bits of Vancouver lined our passage out to sea …..

 

….. and up into the hills.

 

A couple of jet ski riders entertained themselves and us by darting about in the ship’s wake.

 

They reminded me of dolphins, swimming along beside the ship for fun.

 

We could see snow-capped mountains in the distance.

 

“Would you like this in small, medium or large, Madam?”

 

Is this a foretaste of the week to come?