Seas2mountains

Thank you! We waved to Dad as we went under the bridge. The first drink was a Santa Margarita Pino Grigio.

We had the perfect 10/10 first day! The embarkation process was one of the smoothest of all the cruises we have taken. We had a great dinner at Cagney’s and did not take any photos. We are enjoying the beautiful views of mountains and islands while listening to a band we already love - B12. Here are some sunset photos.

Day 1 daily PDF NCL Spirit day 1.pdf

Day 1 daily will try uploading PDF too

Embarkation started at 10:45am. There was only one person with a walker and their partner who were allowed to board first. Then they started the very organized and orderly boarding process by rows of chairs based on the order everyone arrived after check-in, security and customs. We were among the first ten people to board. We went to our muster station to scan our key cards and then went to restaurant reservations next to guest services to make our reservations as they weren’t available when we booked the cruise in May. The line was fairly long and it didn’t work for me to try to book it on the NCL app. We ate lunch at Windows when it opened at 11:30am. Lunch for me included a Spinach Caesar and a cheeseburger with fries. For my husband, he had a Spinach Caesar and Cajun Chicken Pasta. We shared sweet corn hush puppies. After lunch, we waited while enjoying a drink on deck 8 overlooking the atrium. An announcement cane on at 1:11pm to announce that all statesrooms were ready. We enjoyed time in the hot tub and returned to the room a little later to find our suitcases were there. We got everything put away before 3pm. We are now sailing away and left the port a few minutes early at about 4:50pm. In Vancouver, one bar per deck can be open while in port due to Canadian regulations.

We took an Uber to the cruise port. We dropped our bags on P2 in the parking garage at about 9:15am. It was just a few steps away from the taxi/Uber/Lyft drop point. Then we took an escalator to floor G and waited in the Latitude line. Check-in started at 9:30am and then we were directed to go through security. They send you outside and then back inside where we waited in a mixed line with Holland America passengers. We did not have to dump water in our water containers but they did ask us to open it. After security, we used customs machines to clear US customs. We were then directed to a waiting area for NCL. We expect to board about 11am. There have been plenty of people to direct us where to go throughout the process and it was really smooth so far. In the waiting area, they have us sit in seats in the order that we arrived. They tell us we will board in that order.

Welcome! Feel free to ask any questions and myself or others will help you with answers. I bet you will be able to find others who play Euchre and we are also happy to meet on the ship.

Thank you for the recommendation and kind wishes. I’m sure we will be back in Vancouver again. Yes, we sail today! I hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Sun. I will also be following your review.

Will do! We have an early check-in time and hope to embark close to 11am. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I hope you have a wonderful trip! I wish we had planned to be here for at least two days or more as I really like Vancouver and want to see more.

I’m disappointed as other side is definitely more scenic. Have you done this cruise in the past?

17th floor sun deck with bar and hot tub. The large fitness center is on this floor. Check out the Veuve Clicquot theme.

Park area on 6th floor

We are staying at the JW Marriott Parq with a discounted rate. It’s a beautiful hotel but with the very discounted rate, we are on a low floor with no view unless you like looking at the wall of a stadium. We cannot complain as they allowed us to check in so early and it also was nice to stay in a different part of the city. The room is very clean and quiet. My favorite amenity is the park area on the 6th floor with the fountains. The rooftop like deck area with a hot tub and bar with food service on the 17th floor has a Vueve Clicquot theme.

We decided to go for another walk after dinner and our total step count for yesterday is…… Drum roll……23,857 steps or 9.81 miles!! That’s like a Disney World walking kind of day.

After walking around Canada Place and that area, we walked to the train station to figure out where to go as we plan to take the train to the airport when we disembark. It’s about a 2-3 block walk from the cruise port. When we got back to the hotel, we were tired and hungry and didn’t want to walk very far to a restaurant even though I really want to try Cactus Club as suggested by @YVRteacher We decided to eat at the hotel restaurant, the Honey Salt which was listed as a farm to table type of restaurant. I got the arugula salad and my husband got the Caesar salad again. We were really hungry with all of our walking and we asked the waitress for her recommendation. She suggested the beef short ribs if we were hungry or the fish entrees if we wanted something light. We both ordered the beef short ribs. The food and service were great. The best part of the arugula salad was the roasted artichokes.

After lunch, we caught the water taxi back to our hotel and took a short nap. Next, we walked down to Canada Place to see the ships in port which were Cunard Queen Elizabeth and Windstar Star Breeze.

Here is the intended post. We loved the water taxi to Granville Island as suggested by @YVRteacher. After walking around the market area which had so many yummy food options, we were hungry but wanted a sit down restaurant and seafood. We walked over to The Sandbar restaurant. I highly recommend it for the excellent food, view and service. I got the Brussel sprouts as an appetizer followed by Arctic Char with broccolini and peppers and they were all delicious. My husband got a cup of clam chowder followed by a salmon burger with a Caesar salad. He really liked his food, too. Mine was supposed to come with coconut rice or mashed potatoes but I asked for extra veggies instead. I thought the fruit stacked like that in the market was really neat. The market reminded me of Pikes Place market in Seattle but the market on Granville Island seemed cleaner and well organized.

We loved the water taxi to Granville Island as suggested by @YVRteacher. After walking around the market area which reminded us of being a week-by week , he can comer

We saw the Lee’s doughnuts and were so tempted. This time of year is when we both go for our annual physicals with our doctors. Our goal is to avoid being pre-diabetic or diabetic. I am happy to report my A1Cs are lower than last year despite all the recent cruises and the pre diabetic results are lower than last year. They look and smell sooooooo good!

Thank you so much for these wonderful suggestions! We did use the water taxi to go to Granville Island and were super impressed by the experience. The donuts looked amazing! I really love Vancouver and am excited to return in the future. We did not make it to the restaurants you suggested but will put those on the list for future visits.

Yes, I agree and I do feel bad it is heavy. But I also think the people who handle heavy bags for a job/career know what they are getting into much like I did when I was in the Army and had to carry very heavy rucksacks and equipment. It’s likely I won’t use all clothing items I used but I’m not yet regretting it but was also surprised at how much it weighed compared to a cruise a few weeks ago from Miami. Maybe it was the hiking boots, jeans, sweaters, fleece jackets and full size toiletries. Thank you for your past and current suggestions about the Spirit. It is appreciated!

We are in Vancouver! Our flight arrived almost 30 minutes early and there were very short lines to clear customs. Vancouver airport is nice and I consider it to be one of the easier airports to navigate. There can be a lot of walking in our home airport and here. We are at over 6,000 steps today just getting through both airports. it was a short walk to find a taxi for C$34 before tip which was about the same price quoted for Uber. It was no problem to pay by credit card. If you use Uber or Lyft, the pick-up area was close to the taxi line. When we got to the taxi, we warned the driver that my bag was heavy and my sweet husband always offers to put our bags in the taxi or Uber. The taxi driver said he prefers to put the bags in himself and has learned good lifting techniques to use his upper body and save his back. Our driver was very friendly and pointed out some neat looking buildings and suggested places to visit today. We were able to check in early to our hotel room when we arrived about 10:20am. I’ll post photos tomorrow. Time to explore the city!

Bags are checked and we are at the gate waiting to board. Thankfully, we can check up to 70 lbs with no additional fees. Yikes! I tend to have bags under 50 lbs when on warm weather cruises.

@YVRteacher Do you have any recommendations for Vancouver? We will stay at a hotel near Cooper’s Park.