**Golden Princess May 14, 2011 - Vancouver To Seattle**

[gatorpwr]

I guess I will be the new guy for a while, thanks for the welcome and the cruise is now a day closer.

[kath00]

Good Morning!

 

It seems like Florida and Texas are well represented on this cruise....

 

Welcome, gatorpwr... You'll fit right in with all of us sports nuts. We're all counting the days until football starts.

 

I'm headed back to Austin at the end of the week. My DH is going to Calgary next week... Maybe he'll get a break from the heat.

 

I saw that someone booked one of the window suites next to us. At least we won't be alone!

 

Mary

 

I too can't wait for football!! I used to watch golf to tide me over till August and pre-season but with everyone choking these days, it's not that much fun either. Sigh...

[bellebaby]

I too can't wait for football!! I used to watch golf to tide me over till August and pre-season but with everyone choking these days, it's not that much fun either. Sigh...

 

We were discussing the same thing yesterday... The British Open was BORING...

 

More time to cruise....:) Or at least cruise planning....

[bellebaby]

Hope Glacier Bay is like this for us!

 

http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2010/07/19/bert%e2%80%99s-beauty-shots-glacier-bay-calvings/

 

Mary

[deej696]

We were discussing the same thing yesterday... The British Open was BORING...

 

More time to cruise....:) Or at least cruise planning....

 

I agree....with the exception of Masters, the Open is the tournament I look forward to most each year. It was cool to see a guy come from no where to dominate everyone, but it made for boring TV. Then again, I could also be biased because my guy finished 23rd. Oh well...

 

Yes football won't arrive soon enough. Can't wait for the opener in the Swamp...

[kath00]

Wow, those Glacier Bay calving photos are AMAZING! We went about 7 years ago and had an incredible day there too. I have pictures of giant chunks falling off almost all day. But that one piece in the blog is bigger than what I remember. The funny thing is that we went around the same exact time (late July if I recall correctly) and the guide told us that the calving is proportional to the heat in the air versus the ice temp. I hope that means we have warm days on our cruise in May!

 

Katherine

[LEtue]

Welcome gatorpwr! As you can see we have a great little group started here already!

 

And yes....we're all waiting for football season :D

[bellebaby]

Linda's a Michigan fan, deej and gatorpwr are Florida fans...

 

I am a Big 12 Fan (especially UT and Baylor, yes I know, lowly Baylor) .... After that, believe it or not... I am a Florida fan.

 

But, the only team I REALLY don't like is .... Ohio State! Closely followed by USC. Sorry if I've offended anyone!

 

Mary

[gatorpwr]

Linda's a Michigan fan, deej and gatorpwr are Florida fans...

 

I am a Big 12 Fan (especially UT and Baylor, yes I know, lowly Baylor) .... After that, believe it or not... I am a Florida fan.

 

But, the only team I REALLY don't like is .... Ohio State! Closely followed by USC. Sorry if I've offended anyone!

 

Mary

That's what I love to hear, Florida already took care of that Ohio State team.:)

[bellebaby]

I don't know... Ohio State looks pretty strong for 2010.... #2 Consensus in the pre-season polls behind Alabama. :(

 

Linda, Michigan needs to take care of that situation!

 

Mary

[LEtue]

But, the only team I REALLY don't like is .... Ohio State! Mary

 

Amen to that!!! :D

 

I don't know... Ohio State looks pretty strong for 2010.... #2 Consensus in the pre-season polls behind Alabama. :(

 

Linda, Michigan needs to take care of that situation!

Mary

 

We should be a much better team this year but....I'm not sure by how much :eek:

[LEtue]

That's what I love to hear, Florida already took care of that Ohio State team.:)

 

And.....Michigan seems to be able to handle Florida :p

 

We're going to have some fun here when the season starts :D

[bellebaby]

Who's going to whip Alabama? That's the real question!

 

Katherine, are you a USC fan?

 

Linda, I agree with you... we'll have a good time once the season starts...

 

Mary

[LEtue]

Who's going to whip Alabama? That's the real question!

 

Katherine, are you a USC fan?

 

Linda, I agree with you... we'll have a good time once the season starts...

 

Mary

 

I actually root for Alabama in the SEC :o I have been a Nick Saben - since his days at Michigan State....

 

I believe Les Miles will be at Michigan soon and then we will be great again :D

[deej696]

If history has shown us anything, its that Ohio State gets the early votes simply because they're Ohio State. They walk their way through a creampuff schedule, and then they get embarrassed when they play a real team.

 

There are very few teams, outside of Florida rivals, that I detest. I usually pull for USC, sometimes even Texas. I was a Michigan fan when I was a kid, but then again, thats when they were good at sports;)

 

I'm a bit nervous about my Gators. Obviously the loss of Tebow and others will be huge. But it will be fun to watch as the new QB Brantley is from Ocala. Known is family a long time, and he went to school with my brother, so it will be neat to see that.

 

Ok so I've gone on an on here. Obviously I'm bored. Maybe there is some Canadian football on ESPN3....

[bellebaby]

The reason I don't like Ohio State is not very logical, so I won't go into an explanation... USC has to do with their constant comments about Texas....

 

I'm not anti-Alabama at all.... I'd just like for someone to give them a run for their money.

 

Margie, where are you in this discussion? I need some Texas support!

 

Yep... we all need to find something to do for the next 5 -6 weeks...:D

 

Mary

[LEtue]

I was a Michigan fan when I was a kid, but then again, thats when they were good at sports;)

 

 

:eek: How can you not be a fan for life?

[bellebaby]

My husband and I were listening to Hawaiian music on Sirius tonight. He even did the hula for me...:D That was quite a sight!

 

Does anyone have fun plans for the weekend?

 

Mary

[LEtue]

Margie and I have learn how to do the hula....so we can dance as we pull into the ports :p

 

No plans here....just want to lay low if possible. But I have to watch the storm off the coast of Haiti since it may be headed this way :confused:

[bellebaby]

Margie and I have learn how to do the hula....so we can dance as we pull into the ports :p

 

No plans here....just want to lay low if possible. But I have to watch the storm off the coast of Haiti since it may be headed this way :confused:

 

I think you'll have plenty of time crossing the Pacific to practice hula dancing. Should be a blast.

 

After the storm brushes South Florida, I think it may be headed our way on Monday/Tuesday... Just what we need... More rain. I guess it beats searing, dry heat. Oh, silly me, that's Phoenix or Las Vegas! :D

 

Mary

[kath00]

ROFL Mary! We are in San Diego and it's foggy and cool here! 67 this am only and I have a sweater with me. So wierd!

 

The kids are complaining that it's late July and they have not had a chance to go swimming yet. :rolleyes:

 

Katherine

[LEtue]

Katherine, other than the fog your temps sound wonderful! I can't remember what 67 feels like :(

[ggprincess2004]

Hello Mary, Linda, Katherine, Deej, Margie and Gatorpwr,

 

DH and I just booked this cruise while aboard the Caribbean Princess. We are planning to take my niece and her friend, and my parents along. We are hoping that the timing will work out for my parents (who spend their winters in The Villages - close to Ocala), but have not finalized anything with our fellow travelers to date. We were aboard the Golden in April, for the round trip LA - Hawaii sailing, celebrating my parents' 55th wedding anniversary. We had to twist some arms to have them join us, but it was our anniversary present to them and they did relent. They also enjoyed it alot, and we enjoyed having them to ourselves for two great weeks. Now it is time to show them a bit of Alaska before shore excursions become too much for them.

 

I've enjoyed reading the thread so far. Katherine, San Diego is one of my favorite places to spend time. Right now, I would love to be there. We have had heat wave after heat wave in the mid-Atlantic, and I am ready for some cooler weather.

 

Margie, we sailed with you last fall on the Crown to New England. We had two wonderful cruises, with just about perfect weather both weeks.

 

We are planning on flying into SeaTac a day ahead, and taking the Princess bus transfers up to Vancouver to sail. We have done that in the past, and find it easy and comfortable. We'll just stay someplace close by the airport, and return to the baggage claim area to catch the bus.

 

While some might be wondering why Victoria is on the itinerary, I do hope that we actually make port there. It is a charming town, and we would love for my mother to see it. Dad has been there, as have Wes and I, but mother hasn't yet had the opportunity.

 

Someone has booked this b2b with the Sapphire coastal - I will have to take a look at that. If it looks like Wes and I are doing this alone, then starting from southern CA seems like a good idea. We enjoy the Sapphire very much.

 

Wes and I were cruising during a few majors this year, but we do enjoy following golf. We don't have the opportunity to play as much as we would like, and certainly our weather this year so far has been too hot for us to be motivated to play. I also love football - but follow the pro teams more than the college teams.

 

No kids at home anymore - just our incredible Himalayan kitty. We believe we have the world's sweetest and best looking fur baby.

 

Looking forward to chatting everyone over the coming months and meeting for sailaway!

 

Ginger

[kath00]

Hi Ginger!

 

We are doing the B2B with the Sapphire Coastal. It is such an awesome itiniary. Here is our 14 day supertrip:

 

Saturday, May 7, 2011 Los Angeles, California -- 04:00 PM

Sunday, May 8, 2011 Santa Barbara, California 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

Monday, May 9, 2011 San Francisco, California 10:00 AM 08:00 PM

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 At Sea -- --

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Astoria, Oregon 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

Thursday, May 12, 2011 Seattle, Washington 10:00 AM 11:00 PM

Friday, May 13, 2011 Victoria, British Columbia 08:00 AM 11:59 PM

Saturday, May 14, 2011 Vancouver, British Columbia 07:30 AM --

 

then...

Saturday, May 14, 2011 Vancouver, British Columbia -- 04:30 PM

Sunday, May 15, 2011 At Sea -- --

Monday, May 16, 2011 Juneau, Alaska, Usa 01:00 PM 10:00 PM

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 Skagway, Alaska, Usa 06:00 AM 08:15 PM

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 Glacier Bay Cruising, Alaska, Usa Scenic Cruising 06:00 AM 03:00 PM

Thursday, May 19, 2011 Ketchikan, Alaska, Usa 07:00 AM 12:30 PM

Friday, May 20, 2011 Victoria, British Columbia 07:00 PM 11:59 PM

Saturday, May 21, 2011 Seattle, Washington 07:00 AM -

 

Talk about a perfect cruise! I looked at Royal Caribbean's 14 day "ultimate Alaska cruise" but I think the combo of these 2 cruiseships is just way better. Victoria will be a repeat but that's ok because we LOVE it there! We'll probably just go out to dinner on the 2nd stop. The time is terrible (7pm to MN) and I think most things will be closed (like the Gardens) so I am glad we get a full day on the Sapphire.

 

The only downside is having to clear customs and change ships. But oh well, it can't be more than a 3-4 hour ordeal, right? Well worth 2 wonderful weeks of vacation!

 

Katherine

[LEtue]

Welcome Ginger!

 

If you change your mind about the Princess shuttle you can join Margie and I on the train from Seattle to Vancouver. We made the trip once before and it a nice way to travel :)