Come Sail a Way with us LIVE as the Westerdam meets the Sail a Way Gang

[kazu]

Great photos.

Which hotel did you stay at in Vancouver?

Thanks.

We stayed at the Renaissance Inn By Marriott. I still have Vancouver to finish and if this dam cold permits, will get it done today.

[megr1125]

oops...you did this already. pass. the. coffee. will read later.

blush

Edited May 22, 2015 by megr1125

[kazu]

apologies as I found behind with this cold/flu whatever it is.

 

Our second day in Vancouver we took advantage of our hip hop on and off to do some more exploring. We were on our way to Stanley Park

 

 

 

 

what a pretty spot it is. a huge, huge park. The ho ho stops in several places in the park permitting you to explore. It was a cloudy day at the beginning but it was a great day for exploring.

 

 

 

 

there were lovely views of Vancouver dock from this area of the sea wall in the park.

 

[kazu]

After our time here, we headed to the famous totem pole area in the park.

 

The totems are quite extraordinary.

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

time to hop back on and see some more. The sad thing as with other on and off buses that you had to choose your spot wisely where you got off. If one vehicle was full you could have a wait so you wanted a nice spot.

 

Since there was a stop at the Fish House, we decided to have a look around and possibly a bite to eat.

 

 

I would highly recommend. We split an order between us and it was a good thing we did as we could not have each eaten everything on our plate.

 

Nice food with good service and a delightful spot.

 

 

 

It would be soon time to head back to our hotel. DH wanted to see the pro boxing match and we had found a sports bar close by (thanks to the hotel

staff) that told DH if he arrived at X time, he should be able to get in to watch it despite the fact that the reservations were long ago sold out.

 

Once he had his bracelet DH came back to let me know he was successful (and a very happy camper) and was off to watch. I wandered around and then sorted out the bit of packing that we had to do as we planned to have an early start the next morning for our flight home.

 

We were originally going to share a ride with another roll call member who had stayed on at a different hotel, but the Marathon was on and streets were being closed, so we mutually agreed it would be best to take our own vehicles.

 

Our taxi driver that picked us up at the port was back to take us to the airport. We had left early enough to avoid issues and it was a smooth trip.

 

After the usual airport stuff and a long ride home with a lot of time changes we were home. The trip had ended and we were back to the dreary life of making our own beds, cooking, etc. And you know that a vacation is over when you have to take care of the terrible trio.

 

But they were very glad when they got home too. and instantly relaxed...Kazu..

 

 

Marley our Sail a Way Gang mascot taking his bed back.

 

 

It was a fabulous trip with a fabulous roll call. We had a tremendous time and consider ourselves to have been very lucky to be on this sailing.

 

Thanks so much for sailing along with all of us.

[summer slope]

Again, thank you for taking us on your cruise with the fabulous group. Wonderful pictures.

[hcij2015]

What a great wrap-up to an enthralling

thread.:) Your dogs look very happy

to be in their own beds.

[kazu]

thank you both for your kind words.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed sailing along with the Sail a Way Gang.

 

One of the things I liked on this live thread was the roll call members coming on and sharing their experiences, thoughts, impressions.

 

It was a very special cruise with special people indeed. DH and I consider ourselves privileged and lucky. :)

[Mtn2Sea]

Jacqui, your thread has been wonderful, from start to finish! Having other Gang members add their experiences to yours made for a fantastic report. Hope your withdrawal pains aren't too severe.

[Dismomx5]

I've followed and enjoyed all of the information, posts, and stories. Thanks!

[Traveling Dot]

Thank you for your reports and pictures. I wish we could have been on your cruise too. We enjoyed our Panama Cruise from San Diego to Boston but we didn't stop at as many places as you did on this cruise. Maybe some day we can be part of the "Sail Away Gang" tool.:)

 

Also we didn't have unlimited internet packages on our cruise. :(

[Folk Singer]

Thank you for all the Time you put into this thread for us and best wishes.

[kazu]

It was all of our pleasure to share with you.

 

Glad some of you enjoyed reading and sailing along and thank you so much for the warm words :D

[diann744]

I usually don’t read “live” threads until they’ve come to an end for the same reason I don’t watch most TV shows until they’ve taped the finale – I just can’t stand waiting for the next installment. (Why should I learn to be patient? I want to be patient NOW!)

 

So when I saw this thread this morning, I figured it would be safe. At 90+ pages, there’s my Saturday gone. So what if my house isn’t clean, the errands never got done and the cats are hungry? I cruised through the canal today! (And gained 8 pounds doing it.)

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this one of the best trips I never took. :)

[Vict0riann]

I usually don’t read “live” threads until they’ve come to an end for the same reason I don’t watch most TV shows until they’ve taped the finale – I just can’t stand waiting for the next installment. (Why should I learn to be patient? I want to be patient NOW!)

 

So when I saw this thread this morning, I figured it would be safe. At 90+ pages, there’s my Saturday gone. So what if my house isn’t clean, the errands never got done and the cats are hungry? I cruised through the canal today! (And gained 8 pounds doing it.)

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this one of the best trips I never took. :)

 

You are funny! On the strength of your post, I decided to go back and read the whole thread over again, and I couldn't do it. Just too much! However I did enjoy living part of it all over again. I only got to something like page 50.... but it seemed to me there was some food porn missing - didn't Kazu post the Master Chef's dinner?

[kazu]

You are funny! On the strength of your post, I decided to go back and read the whole thread over again, and I couldn't do it. Just too much! However I did enjoy living part of it all over again. I only got to something like page 50.... but it seemed to me there was some food porn missing - didn't Kazu post the Master Chef's dinner?

 

 

I posted it later on as Scrapnana had posted it on her blog right away, so only added it towards the end :)

[Vict0riann]

Thanks, Jacqui, I don't know if I'll get to it, it's like reading GWTW all over again!

[Banditswife]

We really enjoyed your review, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. I admit that I didn't start reading it until it was already 75+ pgs. :eek: But since your itinerary was very similar to ours next year- it became a "must read." I think (know) I learned more from your & 1of4s reviews than I did reading a travel guide. Again, thanks for the time & effort you all put into it.

[kazu]

I usually don’t read “live” threads until they’ve come to an end for the same reason I don’t watch most TV shows until they’ve taped the finale – I just can’t stand waiting for the next installment. (Why should I learn to be patient? I want to be patient NOW!)

 

So when I saw this thread this morning, I figured it would be safe. At 90+ pages, there’s my Saturday gone. So what if my house isn’t clean, the errands never got done and the cats are hungry? I cruised through the canal today! (And gained 8 pounds doing it.)

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this one of the best trips I never took. :)

 

thank you for the very kind words from all of the Sail a Way Gang.

 

We really enjoyed your review, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. I admit that I didn't start reading it until it was already 75+ pgs. :eek: But since your itinerary was very similar to ours next year- it became a "must read." I think (know) I learned more from your & 1of4s reviews than I did reading a travel guide. Again, thanks for the time & effort you all put into it.

 

Glad it was helpful :D thank you.

[roadbeagle]

I just finished reading your thread. We were out of town for three weeks and I just caught up. I really enjoyed all the pictures and posts. Thank you for sharing your trip. I can't wait to sail on the Westerdam.

[bjarrett7]

Kazu, thanks so much for this thread! You helped me with my first HAL cruise on this board and now I am gearing up for my second on the Westerdam this August! This has been so much fun to follow! We have a lot of on OBC for this cruise and were thinking we would wait and use it for specialty dinners and book them on embarkation day... Do you that's ok? Or do you think there's a chance they could be booked up?

[kazu]

Kazu, thanks so much for this thread! You helped me with my first HAL cruise on this board and now I am gearing up for my second on the Westerdam this August! This has been so much fun to follow! We have a lot of on OBC for this cruise and were thinking we would wait and use it for specialty dinners and book them on embarkation day... Do you that's ok? Or do you think there's a chance they could be booked up?

 

no right answer to this one. It really depends upon the sailing. If you get there right away usually you can get some reservations, but I have seen the Pinnacle sold out very quickly if not immediately. If you have special dates in mind, you might want to book some on line. Don't forget your obc can be used for lots of stuff, including the hsc :)

[Scrapnana]

Hello, Sail-Away Gang!

 

I received an interesting letter from HAL today and wondered if any others got it.

 

First of all it told me they had sent me a welcome home letter on May 18 (I didn't get an e-mail or snail mail letter from them:confused:) with my Cruise Day credits in it. The purpose of this second letter (dated May 29) was to apologize for the wrong information in that first letter. They went on to say that the "system error" had been fixed and then gave my correct Mariner info.

 

We discussed the wrong info on another thread but wondered if anyone else got either the first or second letter? I'm wondering if the first letter (that I did not get) was the one with the promo code for booking a future cruise.

[Vict0riann]

Hello, Sail-Away Gang!

 

I received an interesting letter from HAL today and wondered if any others got it.

 

First of all it told me they had sent me a welcome home letter on May 18 (I didn't get an e-mail or snail mail letter from them:confused:) with my Cruise Day credits in it. The purpose of this second letter (dated May 29) was to apologize for the wrong information in that first letter. They went on to say that the "system error" had been fixed and then gave my correct Mariner info.

 

We discussed the wrong info on another thread but wondered if anyone else got either the first or second letter? I'm wondering if the first letter (that I did not get) was the one with the promo code for booking a future cruise.

 

Nothing here - at least not yet. We never even received the surveys. We did get the welcome home email about 2 weeks after we got home. (By then, I had already booked our Alaska cruise and asked for the ZPM promo, which we got.)

[kazu]

Hello, Sail-Away Gang!

 

 

 

I received an interesting letter from HAL today and wondered if any others got it.

 

 

 

First of all it told me they had sent me a welcome home letter on May 18 (I didn't get an e-mail or snail mail letter from them:confused:) with my Cruise Day credits in it. The purpose of this second letter (dated May 29) was to apologize for the wrong information in that first letter. They went on to say that the "system error" had been fixed and then gave my correct Mariner info.

 

 

 

We discussed the wrong info on another thread but wondered if anyone else got either the first or second letter? I'm wondering if the first letter (that I did not get) was the one with the promo code for booking a future cruise.

 

 

Dh got that email a couple of days ago. Apologizing for the error and breaking the news that he was 4* at 497 days and not 5* as they originally reported. LOL - they were giving us more and more credits until they got it fixed.

 

I didn't get one as I was still 5* I am assuming.

 

We did get the welcome home letter but we already have a cruise booked.

 

Vict0riann, we did get the surveys, but by the time DH got to his (he hates the internet), it was too late. Far prefer the option to do them onboard.