Sailing to Alaska on the Celebrity Millennium – Day 1
This post is a couple of days late as we had no Internet for the first 3 days on the Millennium. According to a passenger I talked to who has been on the ship since she left Miami, it hasn’t worked for that entire time.
So, back to Friday, June 1st. We awoke to heavy rain, as was forecast – this was the view from our suite at the Delta Vancouver Suites at 06:38.
We went down to the 21st floor for breakfast in the Signature Club. Good food and a great view are included in the room rate – as is ultra-high-speed Internet access.
Because of the dismal weather, we took a couple of taxis to Canada Place for early boarding. We actually arrived before check-in had started, but once the counter opened, the line moved very quickly, and we were exploring the ship by 11:30. By the time we got on board, the rain had stopped – a great bonus.
This is the new Qsine restaurant, which we made reservations for the first night.
Our cabin (#8146 on the starboard side) was ready at 1:30 as expected, and we were very pleased with it. This is the first Alaska cruise we’ve had a balcony on.
The gang is ready to cruise!! Cathy and I got a cabin on “the hump”, which angles out from the others, thus the unusual viewpoint.
Enjoying Vancouver’s scenery and harbour activity from our balcony.
Loading can be interesting at times – this dog is apparently checking for drugs among the food.
This is Blu, a restaurant that we won’t get to try, as it’s for people booked into Aqua Class and Concierge level cabins exclusively. This is the only facility on the ship with that sort of restriction.
Bistro on Five, another small specialty dining option that has a $5 cover charge.
The staircase in the main atrium on Decks 5, 4 and 3.
Cafe al Bachio on Deck 5 has specialty coffees and wonderful pastries and mini-sandwiches. There’s a charge for the lattes and such, but not for the various treats.
4:30 pm, getting ready for the sailaway on a dramatically nicer day.
A close look at the freighter Westwood Olympia sitting at the container port next to Canada Place.
“The girls” – friends for 28 years, off on a new adventure together. The boys are happy to tag along 🙂
Looking over Stanley Park at Vancouver’s rapidly-changing skyline. Four days there wasn’t nearly enough, but we can fly down from Whitehorse fairly easily to continue exploring – it makes a great mid-winter break from our snow and deep cold.
Sailing under Lions Gate Bridge is impressive.
Freighters in English Bay waiting for docking positions.
We passed a small Canadian Navy ship near the Point Atkinson lighthouse. If I was at home I’d Google it to see what it was, but at 48 cents a minute for a 200-minute block of Internet time, I’m not going to do it now.
The historic Point Atkinson lighthouse. I used to go to the beautiful park there every now and then when I was growing up in Vancouver. Whenever a captain has brought the ship this close to the lighthouse I’ve always had a good cruise. A captain who works to get his passengers a good experience can make a huge difference in Alaska, and I have high hopes for Captain Zisis Taramas.
The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is incredibly beautiful – even more so up close. Cathy and I often think about retiring there. This was shot at 6:15 pm.
We’d heard good reviews on Qsine, and we weren’t disappointed. Our main server, Tahbi, was a big part of the experience.
“Did you have fun at Qsine?” Here’s a hint 🙂 Manipulating the “Rubic’s Cube” is how you choose dessert – dinner is chosen with a multi-layered program on an iPad.
I had to leave the Qsine party for a few minutes to go outside to capture this amazing sunset at 8:25. When I came back to the table and showed the rest of the group the photos, everyone went for a long look!
Passing Campbell River at 10:10 pm.
A lovely evening to start an Alaska cruise.
In the narrow channel just north of Campbell River, the Sapphire Princess had to manouever around a very slow-moving log barge.
The nearly-full moon lights up the log barge. This was shot haldn-held at 1/4 of asecond, thus the lack of clarity.
What an excellent first day. I’ll try to catch up to where we really are (Icy Strait Point) as quickly as is reasonable.
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