We all met up in the lobby at 10:00 to make our way to Canada Place. We called a cab and the driver took one look at our luggage and shook his head no! He was pretty surly until he dropped us off and got his tip. I miss Lyft!
By 11:00 am we were seated in the elite embarkation area.
Patiently waiting.
And at 11:40, they lined us up to board!
We were able to go straight to our
room once we boarded. Us and Ben's parents had suites across the hall from one another. We loved our wonderful room and covered
balcony!
Having a covered balcony was great since Alaska weather can be windy and drizzly so this allowed us to enjoy our balcony more than we could have otherwise.
We met our wonderful steward, Kanit. He was so great, we loved him. He always made sure we had everything we needed!
We went to the Ben's parents' room and the
flowers we had ordered for them were there along with lots of gifts from their friends.
We left Fran and Harvey to get settled and went to make our free reservation for that evening at Bayou Café. Suite guests get a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant on embarkation day which was nice since this was Fran and Harvey's actual 50th wedding anniversary.
We then went for a slice of pizza on the pool deck where I took
some pictures. The pizza was the best pizza I've had on a cruise ship.
Unfortunately I liked it so much that I ate a ton of it throughout the
week!
We were never able to use the pool because it was too cold the entire cruise and the covered pool was a screaming madhouse of kids and adults everywhere so it was never peaceful. So no pool and hot tub on this cruise but we did use the thermal suite which was complimentary for suite guests.
Ben and I had a drink at the bar called Crooners which was our favorite.
Back to the room, Kanit had brought our champagne and Fran and Harvey had been given chocolate covered strawberries so we all had those.
At some point, Fran and Harvey were on the elevator with our ship's captain, Captain Michele. They chatted with him and he asked all about them and why they were here and said he would announce their anniversary which he did right before sailaway! They had their picture taken with him too.
After the mandatory safety drill, we had our luggage and unpacked until sailaway which we watched from Deck 14. The weather was sunny and 68 degrees and beautiful!
After sailaway, we went back to the room and sat on the balcony until time for dinner at Bayou Café. I had a salad and a filet and Ben had the lobster and the shrimp and I had bread pudding for dessert. Everything was really good and everyone enjoyed their meal. Fran and Harvey shared their memories of their wedding day soooo long ago!
After dinner, we went and saw what sadly would be our only real sunset of the trip. At least it was a good one!
Ben and I went to the Crooners bar then for a drink which became our nightly ritual. My drink was too strong though so Ben had to drink it for me, something he is used to doing!
Back in the room, Kanit had turned our room down for us.
Ben decided to have a soak in the tub. I let him do the bubbles--after this I told him I was taking away his bubble privileges!
Then it was off to bed--I love sleeping on a cruise ship, it's the best sleep ever! Tomorrow we would have a relaxing day at sea!
