Alaska Cruise Day 8: Leaving the Noordam in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Travel Date: Sunday, May 8th 2016

I wake up. 

In two hours we will have to leave the cruiseline. I am actually ready to go. I am not ready for the vacation to end, but ready to go! We begin to approach Vancouver, British Columbia.

We are getting closer.

We arrive, and dock on One Canada Place.

Ah, the Vancouver skyline early in the morning!

Mark and Bonny swing by and say one final goodbye. And before we leave we say goodbye to Marcy.

After mom and I get our passports, we leave. Time to get off this ship!

Some of the crew wish us well as we leave.

We walk into security.

Get our bags.

And head back to the Vancouver Marriott Airport Hotel in Richmond, British Columbia via the Vancouver Metro system.

My sis has a high school friend in the area, so we meet up with Mario.

And we look for authentic Chinese restaurants to go to for lunch.

Kirin is filled up with reservations.

We try the Shanghai River Restaurant near our hotel. It is also packed and they have an hour wait. Apparently everyone in Chinatown is eating out for mothers day. We walk around to a near by restaurant.

We walk further away from the hotel, and finally find an opening with a shorter wait: Parklane Chinese Restaurant.

We wait and wait, and talk to the non-Chinese people. It is definitely an authentic Chinese restaurant.

Finally! We get to sit down.

There is no question it is authentic. Just look at the menu!

Annica understands Chinese very well. Actually there are small subtitles in English.

Cheers!

We order:

Steamed BBQ Pork Bun
Steamed Spare Rib & Chinese Sausage on Rice

(no pics unfortunately)

Pan Fried Chiu Chow Rice Noodle Strip w/ Beef

Deep Fried Prawn Spring Roll

Deep Fried Prawn Ball (Special)

Deep Fried Squid

Steamed Prawn Rice Roll

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

After lunch, we head back to the hotel. We share some tearful goodbyes with each other. Mom and sis leave to hang out with Mario and see more of Vancouver. I have to pack and head out to the airport.

Reflections:

It was great to have the opportunity to say goodbye to Mark, Marcy, and Bonny before we left. It was great to meet Mario, and celebrate Mothers Day with mom eating authentic Chinese food. It was hard to say goodbye to mom and sis. Hint: I am a big cry baby :-). 

I resolve to make more money, and block more time, to go on more traveling adventures with them.

Expenses in US$: $256.91

$17.80: Port Taxes (Ms Noordam)

$37.50: Hotel Service Charge: Day 1 ($12.50 per person for 3, Ms. Noordam)

$201.61: Marriott - Vancouver Airport (Mom and Sis to stay overnight)

Lunch: My sister and Mario took care of.

Alaska Cruise Day 7: Our Last Full Day on the Pacific Ocean

Travel Date: Saturday, May 7th 2016

Ah, the last full day on the cruiseline. How sad. I don't want it to end!!

We are going to be on the boat for the full day, so today is "soak up as much of this experience as I can today!"

The activities for today are:

Marcy, Mom, I, Gaby, and Nicola grab breakfast.

I walk around the ship, and run into this couple learning to play chess. So I teach them the basic moves.

Later, I go upstairs and meet up with Mark, and we try to finish up the last of the Eagle Rare Whiskey.

I spend some time looking out the balcony, and appreciating the ocean blue water, and the various islands we pass by.

My favorite time of the evening is Martini tasting time. I do not want to pass up on those $3.00 martinis.

And then for the encore, we head back to Mark's room. We both booked our trip with a tour agency, and they left us a bottle of champagne. Perhaps it was the same one.

I'm glad we are in Mark's room. In case there is any spillage. :-)

He did a perfect job opening the champagne.

Almost done with the pour.

Cheers to a great adventure!!!

It is dinner time. Everyone is back. Our last dinner on the cruise together!

We had to take two pictures. Because Mark was being silly.

We play a little game of pass the "Ciaran" around.

And then we eat. I forgot to take a picture of the menu, so the pictures will just have to do.

After dinner, we say goodbye to Matt, Riisa, and Ciaran. They live on the other side of the ship, and wanted to go to sleep. We'd hope to see them tomorrow, but it would be unlikely.

The rest of us go back to the piano bar for another session. I got him to play Hotel California as the last song of his performance. A fitting end!!!

Fortunately, there were no theatrics or incidents. I stayed out as late as I could and then went to bed.

Reflections:
Today was a very relaxing day. Just hanging out, spending time doing various things on the ship, and enjoying the great company we had for the last seven days with Mark, Bonny, Marcy, Matt, Riisa, Ciaran, mom, and sis. We really had great camaraderie and friendship! I don't know if this happens often or always on cruise lines, but I consider myself very lucky.

I really hope we all get to see each other again. Maybe, another vacation either in the U.S., Canada, or maybe Mexico. My heart is full of happiness, joy, and contentment!

Expenses in US$: $68.56
$13.80: Beverages (Atrium Bar)
$8.63: Beverages (Queens Lounge)
$8.63: Beverages (Sports Bar)
$37.50: Hotel Service Charge: Day 6 ($12.50 per person for 3, Ms. Noordam)