Note: This is the first of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT. Our trip started in Michigan with a flight to Vancouver, British Columbia where we spent a few days exploring the central/downtown area. We then boarded the cruise ship and headed north along the inside passage to Ketchikan, Alaska. We toured Glacier Bay and then made port calls in Juneau, Skagway, and Sitka, with interesting shore excursions in each port. We then crossed the North Pacific Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands, visiting Kauai and Maui before ending in Honolulu, Oahu, again with interesting shore excursion in each port.
This post consists of 5 photos with captions and some narrative. Photos were taken by me (Bruce) with a SONY alpha 6400 or a Google Pixel 6 Pro, unless otherwise indicated. Photos by Linda were taken with a Google Pixel 6.
SUNDAY 27 August 2023 — (T1) Detroit, MI (USA) to Vancouver, BC (Canada)
The first leg of our Air – Ice – Water – Fire – Air trip was air travel from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Vancouver International Airport via Seattle-Tacoma (SEATAC) International Airport. Much like any other “vacation” travel that does not involve one of our RVs, we had the usual preparations for this trip. There was trip planning, booking the ship, arranging the flights, deciding what to take (and what not to take), figuring out how to pack it, online check-ins, actually getting to/from our home airport and parking our vehicle (we used U.S. Park for the first time, and it worked well), clearing Customs and Border check-ins, physical check-ins for flights and the cruise, and navigating unfamiliar airports, train stations, cities, and a cruise port and. All of that was work, of course, and although makes for an interesting experience, it doesn’t make for particularly interesting blog fodder.
What might be worth nothing, however, is that we originally planned to do this cruise in June 2024 from Hawai’i to Vancouver via the North Pacific Ocean and coastal Alaska. This is sometimes referred to as the “Fire & Ice” cruise and we had booked it earlier in 2023. Sometime during the year, however, we received an e-mail from NCL informing us that the cruise had been cancelled. Disappointed, but undeterred, Linda found that the same cruise was available on the same ship starting in late August 2023, but sailing in the reverse order.
On the street in Vancouver near our hotel.
Well, alrighty then, apparently we were going on our second cruise of 2023! We were excited about it, of course, starting with embarkation at the Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver would be a first time visit for us, and a place we had wanted to visit for some time. Indeed, it was the first time we would be in any Province of Canada west of Ontario. Although we plan to visit Alaska by RV in the next few years, this would also be our first time in Alaska, and we were aware that much of southeast coastal Alaska is best accessed by ship.
I have held a private pilot license since my early 20’s (a long time ago), and I enjoyed flying small planes, but I have no love for modern day airline travel, and Linda shares that feeling. Flying out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport DELTA Airlines is our primary choice because Detroit Metro is a major hub for the airline and flies almost everywhere from there. Their “service” seemed to be lacking this time, but we doubt that it’s any different/better with any other carriers. We particularly dislike the luggage “self-check” system, which still requires us to interact with an agent, of which there never seem to be enough on duty to handle the number of passengers, resulting in long waits in long lines. We do some of the work and DELTA gets to hire less people.
Adding to this annoyance is that they have special lines and agents for customers with higher loyalty levels, and these lines are often empty but the agents just stand around waiting for the next privileged customer to show up. Once through the TSA security check-point (more on that in a minute) we object to people being allowed to bring suitcases/bags on a plane that are obviously too large to pass carry-on dimensions, even after being told (by public announcement) that this will not be allowed. Add to that the small, cramped seats in the “main cabin”, a stupid loading order (front-to-back), and it’s just not much fun. In fairness, our interactions with agents and cabin crew were pleasant and helpful, as usual, and things tended to work better once we are in the plane and in the air. Until we have to deplane, which is always a zoo. But again, to be fair, the other passengers tend to “play nice” and let people out of their seats as the plane empties out.
Another street view in our Vancouver hotel district.
The TSA security check-points are always a hassle, especially having to remove shoes, belts, etc. but on this occasion we encountered a new issue. As we were getting in line (for the ordinary travelers, not those with TSA pre-check or other special security clearance credentials) the area was suddenly closed for a “shift change.” Apparently the shift change involved a 100% rotation of personnel, necessitating the shut-down of the lanes. We were directed to go through the check-point in the attached Westin Hotel; a considerable (1/2 mile) walk from where we were. Once through security, we had an even longer walk (~ 1.0 mile) through the terminal to our gate. Fortunately, we arrived at the airport plenty early to leave time for this kind of nonsense, but nonsense it was nonetheless.
A shot from the hop-on/hop-off bus. Vancouver has some very interesting skyscrapers and other architecture.
When we have to fly, we typically have two roller cases each, one that just fits within the carry-on size requirements and one that is much smaller and fits easily under the seat in front of us if needed. The airline rules do permit us to bring this combination on board, but we have taken to checking the larger bags and carrying the smaller ones onto the plane. If we are going to be away for a long time, we will take one or two larger suitcases that must be checked. As such, the smaller bags contain the essentials that we cannot afford to lose in transit: cameras, tablets, chargers, spare glasses, medications, personal toiletries, a change of underwear and socks, and our winter (down) jackets if required by the time of year and/or destinations. If our larger bags on delayed or lost, the bags and contents are replaceable given some time to deal with the situation. With that in mind, we always try to arrive at least one day ahead of embarkation for a cruise. For this cruise, we arrived three days ahead of time, giving us two full days to explore a city we had heard so much about, and were excited to finally visit.
Another unusual skyscraper as seen from the hop-on/hop-off bus.
A direct flight from Detroit to Vancouver was not available, or at least not at a time that worked for us, and we ended up flying through SEATAC Airport in Washington (State) and changing planes. Which was fine. We had a bit of a wait for the second leg of our trip, but that was fine too. Most importantly, our two checked bags arrived in Vancouver on the same plane that we did.
Once we had gathered our bags from the luggage claim in Vancouver, we made our way to the on-airport train station. Vancouver has a train that runs from the airport to the train station in the heart of downtown. The system was “self-serve,” and a bit confusing to us as first-time users, but we figured out quickly enough how to use a credit card to get through the entrance control gate and get on the correct train with our roller-cases. The train ride was novel and fun, and we got our first ground level view of the Vancouver area. Soon enough we were exiting the train at the downtown station. The station was ~0.4 miles from our hotel and ~0.1 miles from the Cruise Port (in the opposite direction), putting our hotel only ~0.5 miles from the Cruise Terminal, which will be important a few blog posts from now.
Vancouver’s Chinatown was large and felt very authentic. Vancouver is known as a cultural and ethnically diverse metropolis, and we saw clear evidence of that as we rode around on the hop-on/hop-off bus. (Photo by Linda)
Linda had selected the Coast Coal Harbor Vancouver hotel for our three (3) nights in the city; partly for the reasonable cost and partly for its proximity to the train station and cruise terminal. Rather than hail a cab or call an Uber, we walked to the hotel, rolling our suitcases as we went. (If we were younger and more physically fit we might have opted for suitcases/bags that work like backpacks, but the wheeled cases were okay). Once we arrived in what we thought was the correct location, it took us a few minutes to identify the entrance to the hotel, but once inside the check-in process was very smooth and the room, many floors up, was very nice with a view of some of the surrounding buildings. It was the first time we had stayed in a hotel that required us to swipe our key card to use the elevator to access our floor. This was true for all of the floors, not just the usual “penthouse” floor(s) at the top.
Our first impression of Vancouver was that it was an architecturally interesting, clean, vibrant city. The hotel concierge gave us some brochures and suggestions about things to see and do during a relatively short stay, including places to eat (given our plant-based preferences). He also suggested the “hop-on, hop-off” bus, which included a ferry service on False Creek, as the best way to quickly get acquainted with the city. Vancouver is a large city, but its various districts and neighborhoods were very walkable. We decided to have a first look at the city on the bus/ferry and then search out someplace to have dinner.
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