Vancouver

Greetings from Vancouver!  It's Day 1 and we're on board the ship, getting ready to sail in a few hours.

For us, the journey began yesterday with a lunchtime connecting flight to London before boarding an evening Vancouver flight.  The flights, operated by British Airways, were organised as part of the cruise package.  It is possible to book the flights independently, and many people do, but you must be prepared to assume the risk if anything goes wrong. If your flight is late, the ship won't wait!

It takes about nine and a half hours from London and the journey was pretty uneventful.  Heading north over Scotland, the aircraft passed over Greenland, Baffin Island and round the north of Hudson Bay before cutting across the Canadian wilderness to reach Vancouver. There was cloud cover for most of the journey although we did get spectacular views of huge glaciers once over the Greenlandic coast. After a few minutes, the glaciers gave way to endless miles of snow in the icy wastes of the country's uninhabited interior. There was hardly a blemish as far as the eye can see. The cloud returned again for most of the remainder of the journey, although it did break briefly whilst passing over the Rockies.  The cloudy skies and lack of views provided a good opportunity to catch a few hours' sleep.

Our seats were in the economy cabin, branded 'World Traveller' by BA. There's nothing glamorous about travelling long-haul in economy, but the airline and cabin crew do everything they can to make the journey as bearable as possible.  An evening meal and bar service is served shortly after departure, and each seat is equipped with a personalised entertainment system, allowing each passenger to watch their own choice of movies.

We arrived in Vancouver about 1900hrs local time, and after clearing the border controls and collecting our luggage, we found the Princess 'meet and greet' representative. A short time later, we and a number of other fellow passengers were aboard the motorcoach for the short journey to the downtown hotels for an overnight stay.  This is another benefit of getting Princess to arrange the flights and pre-cruise hotel accommodation.  The airport transfers, including all luggage handling is handled by Princess. After checking in at the hotel, the luggage is delivered straight to the room, leaving you free to grab some dinner or use the hotel facilities. Our one-night stay was in the four star Westin Bayshore, set near the beautiful Coal Harbour on the Vancouver waterfront. The room afforded great views of the harbour area with Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain in the distance.

It was getting late, so we decided to dine in the hotel's Seawall Bar & Grill restaurant for quickness and convenience. Great food and great service - the perfect end to a long and tiring day.

The inevitable jet lag meant we were wide awake at 6am this morning. So, after a full breakfast, we went for a walk along the waterfront.  Even on an early Saturday morning, the waterfront is a popular place with many locals cycling, walking or running along the promenade. We are always impressed and inspired by the healthy, outdoor-oriented lifestyle adopted by many Canadians.

Princess representatives established a check-in desk in the hotel lobby this morning, which meant most of the pre-boarding formalities could be processed in advance before reaching the cruise ship terminal.  Once at the cruise ship terminal, it was simply a case of passing through customs and security and we were on board in less than half an hour.

It's now less than 90 minutes to departure, and the obligatory muster drill is about to take place...