And We're Off Again!

Our highly anticipated trip this time is a month long, as we're taking back-to-back cruises from Vancouver to Hawaii, then on to Sydney, Australia! Royal Caribbean is repositioning Anthem of the Seas for the summer season Down Under. 

Yesterday morning at 6:15 a car picked us up to head to the airport.  An hour later, we were through Security and settled into the airport lounge.  We had worried a bit about the government shutdown's impact on TSA and/or the airport itself, but at that hour, at least, all was well.  

We tried to pack lightly for this month-long trip, but we didn't attempt to carry on everything. Here's Charlie's luggage:

And here's mine:

In Charlie's defense, his shoes are bulkier -- I only packed a pair of sandals in addition to the shoes I was wearing -- and he packed a good bit of handy stuff for the cruise ship that we'll both use.

The flight to Vancouver went smoothly, although we were a little late leaving. Consequently, our "breakfast" in First Class was served about 11:00.  Charlie also had packed sandwiches and chips for us, so we had lunch shortly before we landed in Vancouver.  I read all the way, finishing one book and reading most of another one.

Since we were in the first row of First Class, we were the first ones off the plane.  There was a LONG walk to get to Customs, which was very well-organized, and we were soon finished at the kiosk where we scanned our passports. Baggage claim didn't take too long, and an hour after we had landed, we were met by our driver who took us to the hotel. He was a chatty, interesting man originally from India who grew up in Italy, then married a Canadian woman. Their children speak three languages! The scenery as we drove was beautiful, with many of the homes surrounded by very tall evergreen shrubs. It's definitely Fall here, with lots of colorful trees.  

The Pan Pacific hotel is really something!  A bellman took our luggage from the car, and it was waiting in our room by the time we checked in.  We have a very nice room on the 21st floor with a great view. We enjoyed watching lots of float planes land and take off in the late afternoon.  

The hotel is above the cruise terminal, and our bags will be delivered from our room directly to the ship!  We're on one of the Pacific Club floors, with access to a nice lounge where they have free breakfast, snacks, and desserts throughout the day. There's an honor bar, so we had Happy Hour there.

For dinner, Charlie had made reservations at Riley's Steak and Fish in a building across from the hotel. It was gorgeous inside, and we enjoyed our meal.  We shared a Caesar salad, then I had the night's halibut special served with roasted fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, and fennel -- delicious! (Sorry for the dark photos -- the place was DARK.)

Charlie opted for the steak and frites, also delicious.

We skipped dessert there, choosing to have it in the Pacific Club lounge instead. They offered several fancy miniature desserts, which Charlie sampled, as well as a candy and cookie bar -- every kid's dream (and, honestly, mine). I had an Oreo and several peanut M&Ms! We'll go there for breakfast when they open at 7:00.

Fortunately, our room has a coffeemaker, as I was wide awake at 5:15 Pacific time. Today the forecast is for rain most of the day, so we'll save our planned trip to Stanley Park for tomorrow. We packed rain gear, so we'll explore closer to the hotel.

More tomorrow!