Von & John

Joining for some Pubs & Pints

Woo Hoo you’ve made it onboard Cheers to an Amazing Cruise!!

Pan Pacific & Waterfront are great We stayed w/ Marriott @ the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites back in 2019 before our TransPacific. Fabulous views & saw our Ship in the morning. We walked over to the Terminal rolling our luggage. This states it's 0.2 Miles to the Cruise Terminal... Loved the location - we only had the one night prior for this trip - so we made the most of it... It looks like rates have gone up in the past 4 years... I just searched for tonight - your specific dates may have different rates...

Yes to all of the above @YVRteacher

We will fly in & out of Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA) or West Palm Beach (PBI) - whichever has the best value - Departure/Arrival Times, Duration & Price... We travel from Alaska - so Departure/Arrival Times & Duration have a huge impact on our decision... We fly in a minimum of 1 day ahead... We've spent time in both Fort Lauderdale & Miami Our only cruise from Tampa we flew in & out of Tampa 🙂 Our two cruises from Port Canaveral we flew & out of Orlando 🙂

We did a TransAtlantic on Getaway OCT-NOV 2019 Copenhagen to MIA to New Orleans Vibe was not open

On our 2 Alaska Cruises - we loved to sail the Inside Passage in the Hot Tubs - no Vibe at the time. It was wonderful - we enjoyed the warmth, cocktails & watched the scenery float by...

Do you have a price range for the room?

No Perks for Me on the one time I did the Meet & Greet & inherited the Roll Call... As I mentioned earlier - we had an extremely active Roll Call. Basically with the Meet & Greet - the organizer(s) act as the Emcee and keep the meeting going - there may or may not be activities (few or many). In our case we had many activities during the M&G. Others hosted the activities throughout the cruise & we all had a Great Time. I had volunteered to do the Meet & Greet on our 19 Night TransPacific - b/c no one else did. Then the Roll Call Originators had to cancel & asked if I'd take over the Roll Call as well. Great Experience on both!!! We have attended Meet & Greets w/ Multiple Organizer(s) with different peeps doing different things. Ultimately, I believe only (1) worked w/ Special Events however...

Not sure if I posted previsously We were on the Sun - 20 Days April & May. We had a fantastic Steward... Although the once a day cleaning did require some adjustments - he alternated which end of the hallway he started each day - so no cabins were always late in the day. We generally keep our room picked up & tidy - we are not High Maintenance, so that may help. He also was respectful of us & our activities - there were times he'd watch our coming/going to jump in as needed With the high number of Sea Days - He did a great job of juggling the rooms needs & I believe he was able to follow his working schedule. Maybe some are more talented at this than others. Our next door neighbors were rarely seen & generally had the Do Not Disturb sign on... I think they just didn't want anyone in their room. However, with the DND sign - there were a few "Welfare" Checks on them - they were usually out & about all day. Do I miss turn-downs & chocolate? Ummmm Yes 🙂 Did our Steward do a Great Job? Ummmm Yes 🙂

Yes -- I believe it was Arturo's... Name sounds correct & definitely the old style white table cloths! Yes - prices on alcohol have definitely increased and the big Agave Freeze sky rocketed the price of Tequila... I no longer drink the quantities I used to - so purchase as I need it vs. the stocking up method... I have to say paying Texas duty plus the price of the Tequila was a steal in the old days. It was about a quarter or fifth of the price as purchasing elsewhere, at the time. And - I am a "little" more particular about my tequila these days 🙂 Thanks for the Arturo's memory! Cheers -- Von & John

Wow -- I binged late into the night... It's been a fabulous cruise - up until the "hooligans" / "thugs" / "hoodlums" / "Future Prisoners 3002654, 3002655 & 302656" entered the picture. Megan - Thanks for a Fantabulous Live (although I missed the Live part this time) once again! Cheers to the Great Memories You Made. As for the PUNKS - That's some Crazy Entitled *****... Hope all is well in your world & hope to see your recap soon. Cheers -- Von

Megan - Dang somehow I missed the cruise -- Just starting page 1... Only 54 more to go 🙂 Hope you had a Fantabulous Cruise! Cheers -- Von

The Rose Garden may be the old Patio... I'm not sure that was the official name or rather one Dad & Cronies made up... Location sounds fairly accurate & there were flowers everywhere! I don't recall the name of the restaurant we used to love... It was also on the left side of the street - I am thinking first block or so - I know it was b/4 The Patio. This was the first place I had "true" Queso Flameado - topped w/ brandy & served flambe table side. We always walked across - one time I was hauling lots of tequila (it was still inexpensive then & much cheaper than I would find in Shreveport-Bossier). I had a GREAT bag I brought along for just this purpose 🙂 Wow - left Shreveport in 1998 - so just a year or 2 ago... My visits to them in Mission, w/ day trips to Progresso or Reynosa, lasted until a few years before they sold their place. I haven't been back since.

Yes... Straws & Whataburger Ketchup make an appearance - I was starting to lose hope!

The water slides were removed on the renovation end of 2018/2019. Our TransPacific was the 2nd to last cruise b/4 renovation - if I remember correctly. On our final night we made use of the slides - just b/4 they closed the pools for the evening w/ one of our Peeps we met on the ship... The slides were old & worn - many expressed frustration w/ the equipment. As a life-long water rat... I didn't have any troubles w/ keeping the momentum going by accelerating w/ my hands. Terry had some challenges on the first couple of runs (including stopping) - but then I showed him the solution... Our spur of the moment obstacle course of slides, pools & hot tubs was quite fun & a great memory... Happy we did it 🙃 The Pool Crew & our Fave Bar Teams joined in the laughter & fun - I will neither deny nor confirm if there are pic's & video's of us

We played Gaelic Football on the Ice... First Official Gaelic Football on the Ice Since the guys didn't allow the women to play Rugby - we didn't let the men play Gaelic Football... Played w/ the Kiwis - McMurdo & Scott Base 🙂 I had never played previously - but Jean registered everything to make it official.

OK - I Have to ask... I've caught up 29 pages in the past 2 days - up to page 50 & no Whataburger packets... First no monkey - now no Whataburger - what's happening to this world?

LOL -- Dad & his wife had a winter place in Mission, when I lived in Corpus - actually for many more years than I lived in Corpus... Anywho... We'd cross over to Progresso & have $0.25 beers at "The Patio"... Which was simply a dirt courtyard & you'd buy the beer out a back door & sit on a folding chair. These visits/trips lasted much longer than I lived in Corpus Eventually "The Patio" started upgrading - the courtyard had tables & chairs - beer went up to $0.50 They added paving stones - beer went up to $0.75 They added an outdoor bar - beer went up to $1.00 I don't recall in my visits the beer going over the $1.00 mark - however I am sure it went up in time. It's been years since I've been there - I wonder if "The Patio" still exists...

7 Drinks or 7 Double Drinks?

I have to admit - we live in Alaska & we loved the 2 Alaskan Cruises we've been on! First - Southbound (Diamond Princess) - Whittier to Vancouver 2nd - TransPacific (NCL Jewel) - Vancouver thru AK to Petropavlovsk, Russia onto Japan & disembark Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan Hoping to do the TransPacific next Spring Yokohama (Tokyo) back to Seward...

MMMM... What - no slice of the Cheese Block 🙂

LOL - Ice Worms are Real... However, here's a little Cheechako Humor for you... Ballad of the Ice-Worm Cocktail: https://www.yukon-news.com/opinion/origin-of-the-ballad-of-the-ice-worm-cocktail-uncovered/

Not bad for Alaska... Of course it costs less to get to the product to Anchorage than many other areas / regions...

Greg -- Knik Glacier (kuh-nick)