Tree_skier

I remember when Krispy Kreme came to the Vancouver area back in early 2000. I told my wife when I first heard about it that it wasn't going to make it. They opened to much fanfare. The franchisee did a big interview on a local news talk radio station. He talked about his plan to open 17 more stores and that he expected the brand to dominate Tim Hortons eventually. I remember the radio interview like it was yesterday because, while driving alone listening, I actually laughed out loud. It was a strange location to begin the Canadian domination of Tim Hortons. It is a free standing pad in a strip mall on the North Surrey/Delta border. For those that might be familiar with the area it is heavily dominated by folks from the Sikh community. The store itself was directly across the street from the big Guru Nanak Temple and half a block away from a Tim Hortons. Upon opening I went and waited in the massive line like many others for my taste of America. My wife commented to me that it looked like I was wrong. It was so busy it was sure to be a success. I told her "wait for it". Sure enough, within two weeks the crowds were gone and within a few months it was a ghost town most of the time. There was never a second store opened in Metro Vancouver let alone the 17 that franchisee predicted. The Tim Hortons down the road never slowed down and was as busy as ever. That Krispy Kreme, surprisingly, is still there to this day. However, it is never busy and must just be barely surviving. That was just such a weird location with a demographic that simply was never going to fit market that Krispy Kreme targets.

duplicate

I like Freddies... I discovered them for the first time up in OKC about 6 years ago. The Turtle Sundae is the bomb.

I've never seen an In N Out that didn't have a massive line. They are incredibly popular.

Whataburger is my go to fast food when I'm in Texas. They are great. I like Blue Belle but I love Braums when I am in that part of the country.

Canadian A&W's serve good poutines 🙂 After our Alaska cruise a couple of weeks ago we drove up to our old home in Canada first two stops were A&W for lunch and Tim Hortons donut dessert. 😉

You can enter the US by land without proof of vaccine. It is only if you are flying into the country that is it required.

I'm with you... I'd eat almost anything over White Castle tried it twice just in case the first time was a mistake. Give me In N Out any day of the week. I can't for the life me understand people fascination with those tasteless little burgers.

It worked on for us on Navigator two weeks ago. We were able to get lattes debarkation morning with our diamond vouchers.

If I wanted to do it on my own and not use the NCL's post cruise excursion what could I do with luggage?

Yeah I wondered to but it came precisely at 14 days from embarkation. I requested it 2 months out.

You should have followed. The video footage would have been absolutely viral on Youtube and made you a tonne of money.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in and around the NW, I second this recommendation!

Mine showed up in my cruise planner 14 days before my cruise.

We just did this with our teenage unvaccinated grand kids on Monday when we boarded Navigator. When you check in online with app at 30 or 45 days (I can't remember which) you list the vax status for each person on the reservation. Upon arrival at the terminal they ask to to see the test for the unvaxxed. We showed pictures on our phone of each grand child's test. The picture was given a cursory glance and they moved on to the next step in the process. They didn't check the date of the pic and they didn't care that there was no proof that the test was actually taken by my gs or gd. I had the actual lollipop test in my electronics back just in case they wanted to see the original. It was unnecessary. It was a simple and painless process Enjoy your cruise!

Absolutely love this and will be following along. I'd love to do the same thing. As a former Vancouver guy (Almost 50 years) if you want any info about your few days there be sure to ask.

Yea they looked at the photo on my phone. That is all.

Correct

Boarded Navigator today with unvaccinated teens. I had a picture or their negative tests on my phone. They were checked to confirm they were negative but that was it. Embarkation was very quick and painless

4 so far and haven’t caught COVID on any.

Sorry for the long delay in my clean up post. I've been in a conference since I got off the ship. Debarkation was a bit of a zoo. Long lines waiting to get off and long lines in the embarkation hall. The line to get off the ship was long and slow. Once you got off the ship and into the embarkation hall you understood why. Both our ship, with 4100 passengers, and Celebrity Solstice, with however many were on their ship, ended up emptying all the passengers into the same spot where 3 immigration officers slowly processed all the debarking passengers. There was no organization to the process at all. There were ropes to form lines. Once you got into the embarkation hall there was just a mass of humanity slowly moving forward toward the vastly understaffed CBP officers. People joined the lines from all points. Some joined at the back and other pushed their way in from the side half up. It was the worst debarkation process I have experienced in my 4 post pandemic cruises. A couple more CBP officers and a few ropes on poles creating a proper flow of passengers and the whole thing would have been completely different. This isn't Royal's fault but it would behoove them to lobby CBP for a couple officers to smooth the process out a little. Overall it was a great cruise. The food and drink were exactly as expected. The service, with the exception of one night in the MDR, was exceptional. Special mention goes to my Cabin attendant Vineet who was honestly the best we have ever had. He went above and beyond several times. Our weather and shorex's were more than acceptable. I like the cool weather and it was especially appreciated since back home our weather was only slightly cooler than hell. The best part about the end of this cruise is that my next one is only a week away from today. I board Navigator for a quick sailing we are taking two of the Grandkids on. Thanks for following along. It was fun to chronicle it. I have all the Cruise Compasses etc. but will only post them if someone asks.

DW always gets one on embarkation day. It is her embarkation ritual. She has never had a problem with noise or tours or any such thing.

Jamie’s was great. I’m a steak man but, in my humble opinion, it was better than Chops.

Correction: SOB is in 270 tonight

Unfortunately he can’t give contact info out. It is against cruise critic rules.