Inside Passage
We had a full day of cruising through the Inside Passage as we left Ketchikan and returned to Vancouver. Steering a huge ship through this narrow passage must be daunting. Everyone onboard commented on not just the beauty surrounding us on all sides, but also on the proximity of so many treacherous outcroppings of rocks and winding bends. We lucked out again this day with mild and beautiful weather. Whether sitting on our balcony, enjoying a coffee in the Exploration’s Cafe at the front of the ship, having lunch along the back windows in the dining room, or walking around the promenade deck, our focus was constantly on the scenery. Natural, rugged beauty unfolded like a movie along the entire route.
Vancouver
After 15 nights at sea, it was time to leave all our new acquaintances and friendly, hard-working crew. It never ceases to amaze me how hard most of these crews work and how pleasant they make the voyage. Although the Westerdam is not flashy and has a pretty subdued crowd, Hannah and I loved the experience. The main dining area provided truly quality meals. We only ate several times in the buffet, since that’s not as much to our taste, but the options were plentiful. I usually had a huge salad with all kinds of vegetables and nuts mixed into it, with a bit of sushi or roasted vegetables on the side. Hannah was still in Asian mode and opted for the Japanese or Chinese meals most of the time. By far our favorite part of the day was going to dinner and continuing our jokes and conversations with our same waiters each night.
We debated taking the Sky Train, which conveniently runs from just outside the cruise terminal, to the airport. However, since Hannah was traveling with all her belongings from 2 years in China (less “stuff” than most of us could ever manage, but still enough to fill a few suitcases), and we had already lugged them around Tokyo, we decided having porters and a transfer directly from the ship would be so much more pleasant! It was also a nice option because as we drove through much of the city and its outer neighborhoods, our driver acted a bit as a guide and gave us interesting information while pointing out some sites of interest I hadn’t seen during my last several visits to Vancouver. In the end, it was well worth about $30 pp.
Vancouver airport is really well done. I love that it’s a pre-clearance airport, so as Americans, we could clear customs at the front end of the trip and check our luggage straight through to our final destination.
This almost felt like three different trips: from the Asian flavor of Japan, to the laid-back 6-night cruising experience across the Pacific, to the Alaskan coast, we were treated to so many different types of foods, sights, tempos and styles of touring. We’d do it again in a heartbeat! If you’d like me to help you find an experience like this, just reach out to me at noelle@insightsintravel.com!
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