Re-Embarkation Day-Sunday

On Saturday night as we were going to bed, the captain announced an emergency stop in Victoria for a medical emergency.  Despite the time that took, we made it to Vancouver on time.  Sunday morning we enjoyed watching the approach to the port from our balcony.  Charlie was very impressed with the flawless parallel parking of the ship and took this photo:

We felt very smug, as we didn't have to rush to exit our cabin or the ship with the other passengers.  A small group (about a dozen of us, including some jovial German guys) gathered in the Main Dining Room at 9:30 for the back-to-back cruising process.  We had to wait quite a while for everyone else to exit the ship -- apparently, there were some lolly-gaggers.  Finally, the Loyalty Ambassador led us off the ship, past a group of newly-arrived crew members who were boarding, and into the terminal.  Fortunately, all we had to do was step up to the camera at Passport Control, then we were led back to the area for boarding. We did have to wait quite a while there, as a sick passenger was being taken off on a gurney. 

After that, it took Royal Caribbean some time to set up the technology for scanning Sea Passes, which even included having to throw a long network cable from the ship, down the walkway, to the terminal.  Very low-tech! But finally, we were allowed to reboard.  We checked in at our muster station, the same one as last week, conveniently located in Schooner Bar. We took that as A Sign and had glasses of champagne at about 10:40.  Nikki, our Diamond Lounge concierge, later explained that since Royal Caribbean doesn't own the Vancouver terminal (shared by three ships that day), the back-to-back process isn't as smooth as at other ports. Still, it was nice to be back in our cabin before lunch.

We had lunch AND dinner in Chops Grille yesterday, thanks to a scheduling issue, but we enjoyed both meals. Lunch was quite busy, with most tables filled, but dinner was very quiet.  My favorite lunch there is a filet atop a Caesar salad, and I chose the spicy jumbo shrimp over mashed potatoes for my dinner entree. We did splurge at lunch and shared a hefty slice of red velvet cake, which is truly delicious! Here's a pic we remembered to take a few bites in:

We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of naps, Netflix, and (k)nitting before adjourning to the balcony for sail-away.  Vancouver is really beautiful!  You can't see them in this shot, but we spotted a few trees starting to turn yellow.

At Happy Hour we returned to the Diamond Lounge and enjoyed chatting with a man from Malaysia who had just finished a conference in Vancouver. He said he always adds a cruise to his itinerary when he visits North America.

This morning we had our usual walk starting about 6:45.  As we walked through the empty casino, we saw a man sitting there smoking (strictly forbidden when the casino is closed). Fortunately, a crew member was just behind us and told him to stop.  You know that did my rule-following heart good!

Also this morning was the Top Tier Event.  Readers will be impressed to learn that we are among the top 45 cruisers on the ship this week! We've never seen that few Pinnacles aboard.  Nikki also told us yesterday that there are significantly fewer kids and teens on board this week, probably due to school starting in most areas.

Here's today's photo for Sydney -- a tapestry of a lion, hanging at the entry to the Safari Lounge.  The art on most Royal Caribbean ships is extensive, and this one seems to have quite a collection of interesting pieces.

It's after lunch now, and Charlie has gone to try his luck in the casino for a bit.  Tomorrow we'll dock in Sitka, and the weather looks promising, so we may get off the ship this time.  Thanks for reading and commenting!