May 24 - Friday
Well, I'm nearing the last day now. And I've only barely touched upon each area. Perhaps after my film develops and I'm working on my scrapbook, I'll be able to detailize [okay, I know it's not an actual word and probably knew that at the time but that is the actual word I had used - sorry folks] it a little more.
Mom and I did find the game room. We played gin and cribbage [I for the life of me don't remember playing cribbage as that was something she had done with Patrick.] I won gin, she on cribbage.
We packed. We scowled. It was our last day. We went to the talent show. It was somewhat of a disappointment - not that the participants weren't talented. They were. But there were only four who participated.
I don't recall what we did after that. Read probably. We were always reading. We should[n't] have gone to the Cafe de Sol for a buffet so that we'd have room for the pasta bar offered at 11:15. [I vowed the next time I cruise I would bring a doggy bag as the food is so delicious - I wish there had been a way to preserve that]
We had to tip the waiters The head waiter, Monolo, had prepared a special pasta for our table. It was my birthday - or will be. [my birthday is on the 28] The waiters brought me a cake and sang to me.
May 25 - Saturday
We went back to the cabin so that Gaetano could clean it. We took all our luggage and waited in the Princess Theatre. I should have excused myself and gone up to the breakfast bar. But I didn't think about it until after we got home. The cruise was over. People had gone from their relaxed state to being in a hurry again. Everybody wanted off the boat. No. I didn't. I wasn't at all anxious to leave.
Well, I had hoped to spend some time with [a friend I had started writing to but had never met] as she lived in Vancouver. Each of us had been given tags to put on our luggage. We had to wait until the color of our tag was called. Grandma was very excited when they called "red" but her tags were pink. Mom and I stayed in the theatre and red and our tag color wasn't called until about two hours after grandma's was.
Approximately 10:00, we disembarked. We left the ship and entered the port at Vancouver. We were there for about an hour and a half I guess. We found our luggage and dropped it off again and waited for a shuttle
I found the phone number of my friend but got her answering machine. I told the machine where I was and how soon I'd be leaving. But they found me at the airport. She introduced me to her fiancee nance and I told them I was hungry. We strolled around and got some food. The Vancouver airport looks like a mall. I paid for my expenses in traveler checks, but the change came back in Canadian currency which I, in turn, gave to Nina - it's not as if I'll have a use for it [I remember she and Wayne rummaging through the coins to give me back ones which they thought looked cool that I could hang onto as memorabilia. And some of it was]
We hadn't visited for even two hours before they had to go as they had to return to their jobs. Mom and I went shopping and I read. Mom and I walked to the gate after that. We had to go through customs which we both found interesting.
First, we had passed a gift shop. One last souvenir - no not postcards. This time a t-shirt. Well, two, actually. My least expensive purchase of the trip.
The airport was wild. the doors on the bathroom stalls looked like a blue-green fort - the doors must have been 7 - 8 feet high. My friend, who is on the shorter side, made the comment that the doors made her feel short[er].
Our plane was late. Scheduled to depart at 5:00 instead of 4:30. Still was late after that. I called Sunny from the airplane phone. I thought that was wild.
Sidenotes:
I can't believe that I hadn't made any reference to the talking elevators. This was before Seri or Alexa but had a similar sounding voice. It would say: "Welcome to the Promina Deck" or "You are now on the Baja Deck" which in the beginning was a cool feature to almost all the passengers that I had encountered. You could see the joy on each of their faces as they got on and off. By the end of the cruise - well, that was a different story. People would get on an start to mimic in a most unpleasant way.
During our excursions to Glacier Bay and College Fjord, passengers didn't even have to leave their states to see them. Grandma and Mom chose to view from the televised devise which was in the cabin. How boring. We could stay home and watch a documentary on television. Sure, it was a bit chilly outside. But come on. Seeing the glaciers on screen is NOT the same as looking at them in person.
Though I had physically gotten off the boat, it took two or three days for my body to adjust to sea motion that really wasn't there anymore. I felt as if I appeared drunk walking on land. I could still sense the movement of the boat. Weird.
I would love to go on another cruise. I don't know if I will have the opportunity to do so again. Those who repeat cruises may earn pins. As mom and grandma had both been on cruises before, they were invited to the captains gala. I had never been on a cruise but think the invitation had been extended to me as both of my companions were going.
I had ordered a mocktail. When my drink was replaced, I think it had been with a cocktail with rum. I took two sips before I figured it out. I did not continue to drink it.
No comments:
Post a Comment