Norwaylady goes b2b Alaska+Hawaii on Eclipse

[Norwaylady]

9.September Friday 

 

First day in Vancouver, new city🇨🇦

We have booked a bike tour in the city & Stanly park/Totems + a food tour. 

So a full day. 

 

The plan was to do testing before we left on the bike tour. Unfortunately Testifly had a technical problem in the app for clients that has used them earlier. 

So on 4g and hotel WiFi it said that it was missing internet. So a minor stress attack😅

After consulting a friend that uses Testifly often, we got the instructions on how to solve the problems and Testifly send us new codes to use for testing. 

So after the bike tour, we hurried back to the hotel and did the testing🤪✔️

Before we left for our food tour, we had 1,5h between the tours. 

 

So back to our day😎

Our bike tour was a small group of 5 guests. So a good size. Bikes were good quality and in perfect condition. We cycled in the city centre, had stop’s for information and then we left for Stanly Park & the Totems. 

The totems are really good craftsmanship. 

The bike route was flat and easy to cycle. Our guide did a excellent presentation of Vancouver & Stanly park. 

After 3,5h on tour, we cycled back to the starting point.

The orange line on the map is our route for the trip. 

What’s marked as xxxx is the area we’re the majority of homeless people are staying. So it’s okay during daytime but be a bit ⚠️ in the evening/night. 

 

Food Tour in Gastown started at 15.00. We meet at the Waterfront station. Our tour went to 8 stops in 2.5h. It had beer, wine, pasta, vegetarian tofu, ice cream, cocktails, cheesecake & chicken wings on the menu. 

Our guide was fun and a good group. The tour was timed perfectly for the steam clock. So you have 2 opportunities to watch it every hour. It’s a really cool effect in Gastown. 

The clock is steaming at xx.45 light every hour and a full blowout on the hour. 

 

Back to the food. We started the tour by a beer at the brewery 🍺. (Mr Norwaylady was happy, 2 tastings for him;) 

Then we went on to watch the steam clock singing at 15.45. Our next stop was next to the clock. There we had 3 types of chicken wings+sweet potato fries. Dry rubbed and glacéd chicken. The wings was delicious. 

We had a perfect lookout for the clock as it was a full hour. 

The clock steamed a full blowout. 

 

Then it was time to move on. Our next stop was Italian food. It was choice of red or white wine. And we had a delicious pasta in creamy tomato sauce. 

 

After the pasta, it was time to have a cocktail and a vegetarian tofu bowl. The cocktail was a lychee cocktail, sweet but very well balanced. It was accompanied by a tofu bowl, like a poke style. It was seasoned grilled tofu, rice and mango, avocado, fresh coriander, red onion and a spicy majo sauce. 

You could not taste the typical tofu taste. It was really good, sweet and fresh. The cocktail was perfect together by the food. 

 

Next stop was last main course, it was a vegetarian “meatball” really delicious. Well balanced on seasoning and fresh herbs. 

 

No it was time to move on to dessert. It was 3 desserts😋😋😋

We stopped at a ice cream/ soft serve cafe. This is not DQ🙃  They use fresh milk from a special area and they have choice of regular/vanilla + chocolate. They offer a variety of toppings and sauces. 

We took one of each. The chocolate and vanilla was good. Really as the soft serve we have in 🇳🇴😋😋😋 ( Norwegians love soft serve and it must be of quality;) 

 

Next up was a Waffle House…. So I said, it will be fun, maybe it will be Norwegian waffles🇳🇴

Well I was right😂😂😂

our guide had a slightly fear in his eyes. We were the first Norwegians he had on the tour to the waffles. 

I normally do waffles 2-4 times a month or more often. We serve the sweet ones for coffee and “kos” 

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/kos-means-having-a-good-time/

 

Or we make them on oatmeal. So they are healthy and perfect to have for breakfast, lunch or afternoon meal. Then you can serve them by smoked salmon, salty salami, cheese etc. Or freshly berries😋

 

My favourite toppings are freshly shaken strawberries+ a cloth of sour cream. 

Or brown cheese and freshly shaken raspberry’s😋

Cloudberries is always a winner on waffles. 

 

They served one heart of Norwegian style waffle, striped by chocolate, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. 

The waffles was good. 

But mine is a bit better😌🇳🇴 

 

After the waffles, we went to our last stop off the tour. It was cheesecake. They served 2 flavours. Apple crumble & golden honey. 

The cheesecake was European style. That means not baked in the oven. This is how me make cheesecake in Norway🙃

So it’s fresher in the taste an a bit more sour. But we like this freshly cold taste. 

Both of the types were good. It was just like my mothers at home. 

The cheesecake stop is just next to the steam clock. So it was perfect timing to have a second chance to look and hear the clock again. 

 

I stayed to get a video and some pictures. Mr Norwaylady was keen on some more beers from the brewery. So he went to have a tasting plate and I would join him as soon as the clock was ready. 

After a tasting plate of 4x 1/4pint, we were ready to return to the hotel. It had been a packed day and the ducks wanted to take a dip in the tub🦆🦆🕺🏻

[vickykay]

The food tour looks great.  Will definitely look into it.  We’ve done them in other cities and always enjoy them.

[Norwaylady]

10 September Saturday 

 

So today we have a tour booked, North Shore Mountain discovery. 

It will take us to Capilano Suspension bridge and ride the Grouse mountain sky ride. 

So it’s a full day tour. We will be picked up at the hotel around 10.45. 

 

A MoveUp mail was in my inbox this morning🙃 it was for the Hawaiian cruise🙃 It was offered to bid on AQ cabin, Sky, and 2 more suites. 

I have put in an offer on AQ, fingers crossed 🤞🏻 I did offer a good $$$ over the minimum bid. So we just have to wait and see😎

 

Since we had a soft start on the day, we decided that we wanted to have Belgian waffles eggs Benedict avocado & black coffee for breakfast. 

We walked from our hotel to Nero Waffelbar. 

A nice walk in the morning and the sun was shining. 

The waffle was tasty and the eggs was perfectly cooked. We shared a portion. 

Jarle decided that he wanted to have a box for later by the classic small waffles. He ordered a tasting mix. So all 7 types was nicely boxed for take-away. 

(We never do Belgian waffles in Norway😝  so this is only eaten in us/can or in 🇧🇪) 

 

After the breakfast we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some items and then we returned to our hotel to get ready for departure. 

[num1crewsfam]

We are on our way to the same cruise!  Hopefully will be landing this afternoon.  We also are carrying our positive PCR results from August.  Was it a simple procedure to register these results?  Ive let this become my biggest stressor of this trip.  Thanks for any and all advice.

[Norwaylady]

9 minutes ago, num1crewsfam said:

We are on our way to the same cruise!  Hopefully will be landing this afternoon.  We also are carrying our positive PCR results from August.  Was it a simple procedure to register these results?  Ive let this become my biggest stressor of this trip.  Thanks for any and all advice.

Jarle was selected as random victim of testing on arrival. In the email we received 13.mins after arrival in Toronto, it was a phone number you need to call to register if you have a positive pcr test that are in the valid timeframe. 
it’s a automatic voicemail, so you must plot in your date for positive test and you must register your phone number you used for ArriveCAN registration. And then you must be able to verify it in documents. They might page you to check your documents in-person the next 14 days. 
 

Before they have registered your positive test and that you don’t need to test, you are receiving emails every 3-hours that you need to do testing and that it is mandatory, since you were selected. 
So a bit stressful, but they stop when it’s processed that your not being tested due to recent positive test. 
 

Safe travels❤️

[num1crewsfam]

30 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

Jarle was selected as random victim of testing on arrival. In the email we received 13.mins after arrival in Toronto, it was a phone number you need to call to register if you have a positive pcr test that are in the valid timeframe. 
it’s a automatic voicemail, so you must plot in your date for positive test and you must register your phone number you used for ArriveCAN registration. And then you must be able to verify it in documents. They might page you to check your documents in-person the next 14 days. 
 

Before they have registered your positive test and that you don’t need to test, you are receiving emails every 3-hours that you need to do testing and that it is mandatory, since you were selected. 
So a bit stressful, but they stop when it’s processed that your not being tested due to recent positive test. 
 

Safe travels❤️

Thank you so so much….I’m a bit annoyed with myself that I’ve let it stress me out this much.  💜

[silkismom]

So what happens if you are "chosen" and are taking the transfer straight to the ship??? (and sailing that day?)

[theopup]

I am glad that you are enjoying your stay in Vancouver, and particularly like the waffle story 🤣

[calicakes]

Wonderful review so far.  Very nice to see Toronto.  I lived in SW. Ontario for 8yrs and I do miss Toronto.  

[Jim_Iain]

Great start to your review.    I'm pulling up a chair and will be following along.

 

Have a wonderful time in Vancouver.   Such a beautiful city and so much to do.

 

[AndyCapn]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

Wonderful review so far.  Very nice to see Toronto.  I lived in SW. Ontario for 8yrs and I do miss Toronto.  

I lived 140 km away in Woodstock, and I think @Norwayladysaw more of Toronto in four days than I saw in 26 years. 😋

[DUTRAVEL]

Enjoying your review. We are on the Alaska leg of the cruise with you. Just arrived in Vancouver today. Hope to me you on the ship - can’t miss us - just look for the black Labrador Retriever. 
 

Dianne, Peter & Henrietta 

[henry1005]

Loving your review and pictures. You and your husband have had a lot of fun and adventures before the cruise to Alaska even begins!

We arrived in Vancouver today...all went well. Was a little concerned that we would be randomly selected for covid testing. We are feeling lucky to not have to add this to pre-cruise preparations.

Can't wait to be on the ship tomorrow!

[Norwaylady]

A packed day😎😅 But a great day🤩

It started a bit bumpy. Our tour didn’t arrive on time and we gave a good 15.mins  before we were a bit🧐… So we called the office to ask if they had a delay this morning. (We know it’s a bike race from Whistler today) 

No delays said the lady in the other end. We will check up. 

After 15.mins our tour arrived😌 The driver had forgot to pick us up🤪 We we’re the last on the list and he had forgot us😅 So he was very sorry. But we were not angry, things like this can happen🙃

 

So first stop of the day was Grouse Mountain and the sky gondola. 

The weather was beautiful, but due to the fire it was hazy all day. It was clearer in the morning then in the afternoon. 

So the view from the gondola in Grouse Mountain was not bad, but had it not been a fire, it would been perfect. 

Grouse mountain has 2 bears. They were very active during our stay. So it was fun to see them walking and taking a bath in the water. 

We took the top-lift to the top. It’s a fun ride and the view is great. 

We had 1.h 45.mins at Grouse mountain before we were travelling onward. 

It would been fun to try the zip-line. Since it’s Saturday, it was a bit crowded in our standard, but according to our guide, it was really not crowded compared to summer. 

Grouse mountain can easily be a full day activity. And they have a free shuttle from Canada place. So it’s very easy to DIY. 

 

Next on the tour was a stop at Capilano Fish hatchery for a walk in the forest. It’s a very special forest. It’s lots of old man’s beard and ferns. Really a beautiful place to take a hike. Several tracks to walk. 

It really reminded me of NZ, South Island❤️ 

 

Final stop of today was Capilano Suspension bridge. The stop was for 2.30h

So plenty of time to walk the bridge, top trees and the cliff walk. 

It was not crowded at all and it was plenty of space. 

We started by walking the suspension bridge. Fun walk on the bridge, beautiful view of the area. 

Not everyone was happy about the dancing bridge, but we had a great crossing. 

On the other side, you have a top tree walk. It’s a great way to see more of the area and study the trees and animals. We took the walk and the grand route on the ground back to the bridge. On this route you can be lucky to see owl and  falcon. We did see both. 

 

The walk back on the bridge went good. We passed some 😱😱😱 but it’s really not bad movement in the bridge🕺🏻 have you been on a boat or a ship around 🇬🇧 or coast of 🇳🇴, it’s nothing🙃

 

We hadn’t had lunch or drinks besides water, since we left the hotel. So now it was time for some lunch/early dinner. 

We decided to eat at the restaurant, they have a full menu AND they served beer😅 Mr Norwaylady wanted a beer in the hot weather….

We ordered a Caesar salad and a beef burger. Drinks arrived quickly and the food in 10.mins. The food was good and the service was great. It’s a bit pricey, but it tasted very good to be in a place like this. 

After our meal it was time to do the cliff walk. 

The walkway is not for height scare persons. It’s a fun walk and you have a good view of the bridge and river delta. We walked all by ourselves. So plenty of options for pictures and taking our time to look out. 

I can only imagine how crowded it’s during summer holiday😅🤪

 

Before we left, we needed to do the mandatory walk thru the gift shop… 

Well, I spy with my little eye………

Hello? Dale🇳🇴 knitting sweater and hats. This is as Norwegian as it can be. (And it’s made of my relatives😂😂❤️ ) 

 

Our return to the hotel went smooth, some traffic but really not bad. We were first to be dropped off and we arrived at 18.00. 

 

We decided that a dip in the pool was a great way to end a fun day of activity. 

And then we could spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the room watching a movie. No need to go out again😌 

[Redking]

Following along. Great photos. Found the answer to my @Jim_Iainlive withdrawal symptoms🤣 We sail on the Eclipse in January out of Auckland, so please take good care of her as she starts the journey "downunder". Enjoy!

[Norwaylady]

7 hours ago, Redking said:

Following along. Great photos. Found the answer to my @Jim_Iainlive withdrawal symptoms🤣 We sail on the Eclipse in January out of Auckland, so please take good care of her as she starts the journey "downunder". Enjoy!

Welcome 💃🏻
we will take good care of her❤️ If we had time, we would have gone all the way down under to NZ & Australia🇦🇺🇳🇿 
We have been to both and WE love it🤩 

[purduemom1]

8 hours ago, Redking said:

Following along. Great photos. Found the answer to my @Jim_Iainlive withdrawal symptoms🤣 . Enjoy!

+1

[Norwaylady]

11.September Sunday 

 

Rise & shine🕺🏻💃🏻🤩😎

 

What day is it????? It’s CRUISING day⚓️

 

So, we are not the guests that arrive at the terminal at 09.30am.  Yes, we are ready and looking forward😁

But we always choose a late slot for arrival. So today we have 14.00

 

We like to have the time to explore a few more hours. 

Today we will leave our bags at the hotel and go for a walk before we pick them up and walk to the pier⚓️ 
 

⚓️⚓️Sea you on the ship⚓️⚓️

 

 

[Jldevlin]

1. It is very unfortunate that the smoke from the wildfires will hamper everyones views of the mountains as you sail away... Have a great trip and will see you onboard for Hawaii!!!

[maggie.1008]

Looking forward to meeting you in 11 days. We are staying at the Pan Pacific and they will take your bags to the ship. 
hopefully we will have nice weather for sail away on the 22nd. 
Did your upgrade move up offer come through? Maybe I missed seeing that. We are still waiting. Cheers, Heather 

[Abernhar]

Ser frem til fortsettelsen av denne reiseskildringen!

looking forward to the next chapter on this story!

[Norwaylady]

1 hour ago, maggie.1008 said:
Did your upgrade move up offer come through? Maybe I missed seeing that. We are still waiting. Cheers, Heather 

We haven’t bid on a upgrade on Alaska. I have bids for Hawaii🤞🏻
 

Pan Pacific is great, luggage straight to ship is ✔️ 
But the price was 🤪 over my paying will. So budget said Coast Coal Harbour APA😂⚓️ It’s not a far walk and we have black belt in dragging suitcases around the world🙃

[Norwaylady]

1 hour ago, Jldevlin said:

1. It is very unfortunate that the smoke from the wildfires will hamper everyones views of the mountains as you sail away... Have a great trip and will see you onboard for Hawaii!!!

We know😔 Our room was like a campfire party this morning😝

and it’s much more haze then yesterday🫤

[Norwaylady]

1 hour ago, Abernhar said:

Ser frem til fortsettelsen av denne reiseskildringen!

looking forward to the next chapter on this story!

Velkommen ombord! 
veldig hyggelig med en 🇳🇴 

 

Fortsettelsen vil være på engelsk😁 

Er du/dere primært Royal cruisere eller X? 

[theopup]

Great pictures from yesterday, especially the bear ones!

Yes it is too bad about the smoke in the air for your visit.

 

Looking forward to your cruise review now