LIVE from Radiance of the Seas Alaska September 22nd 2023

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 5

 

We got a pretty late start that morning to do some laundry. I hadn’t been away for that long, but I wanted to have a clean start for the cruise. Luckily for me, the YWCA Hotel where I’m staying has coin-operated laundry rooms. It’s 2$ each for washing and drying. You can buy detergent from the lobby vending machines, but I had brought some pods with me. One of them may or may not have exploded in my toiletries bag…

 

 

When we met up at my friends’ hotel, it was past noon. We didn’t have any plans, so we decided to let the day guide us. Because their hotel is so close to Davie Street, that’s where we started. Perhaps the mothership, La belle patate, was calling me.  

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 5 - continued

 

Eventually, we picked a random street and headed towards downtown. 
 

 

 

 

We ended up in Coal Harbour, which I hadn’t seen yet. It was a very pleasant and flat area, an excellent spot for a walk. From the waterside promenade, we could see that there were three or four cruise ships docked at Canada Place, so we headed that way to investigate, enjoying the art along the way. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by laurieal

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 5 - continued

 

We had dinner plans in the English Bay area with the same friends from the night before. Because we were heading uphill, we took a bus that dropped us off close to the laughing statues I had seen the day before. We played the game where we have to pick a statue and mimic its position, which resulted in very flattering portraits. 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we found a bench on the beach from which we could watch the sunset. It was a perfectly lovely end to the day 

 

 

 

 

Once the sun had set, we went to dinner at The Three Brits. I wasn’t very good about taking pictures that day, so I have nothing from dinner. The food was nothing to write home about, but the location was ideal and we had a fun evening.  

[perfect match]

Laurie, I’m glad to see you back here today and enjoying your friends in Vancouver. It’s a good thing there was no major damage to either you or your chair when you fell out of it. I had just been looking at the texture of the surface of the path you were on and saw that some of them looked like bricks or other types of paver stones with gaps in between them. I didn’t know how well your chair would handle that type of surface. Unfortunately, not very well, or so it seems. Anyway, I’m glad you’re ok and will be ready to cruise. I can’t wait to see Alaska through your eyes!

 

[Bailey & Sophie]

 

Love your review.

YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION!

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6

 

We were all up bright and early on that day, because we had something really fun planned: we were going to Grouse Mountain!

 

I took the SkyTrain from my hotel to the Waterfront Station where I met up with my friends. Then, we hopped together on the SeaBus and headed to North Vancouver. 
 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

The 236 bus going to Grouse Mountain was already waiting right outside the SeaBus exit.

 

 

It’s approximately 25 minutes from North Vancouver to Grouse Mountain. Despite taking three different modes of transportation to get there, I found it was a very easy process. Grouse Mountain was the last stop on the 236 route and it dropped us off right outside the ticket office. 

 

 

There are stairs to the ticket office, but you can go around the building and enter through the gift shop. There are still stairs in the gift shop, but one of the ticket people can go up there and sell you tickets. If you need to go, there is an accessible restroom outside the gift shop. 
 

 

There are also stairs to get to the cable cars entrance, so you will need to go around through the parking lot. Just follow the signs for the accessible entrance. 

 

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

There is a small gap and a 1 or 2 inches step to get in or out of the cable car, but I’m assuming the person manning the station could help if needed. It’s a fun ride up the mountain if you’re not afraid of heights or swinging cable cars. If you are, then it’s probably not. Either way, the view is great!

 

 

 

 

I was pleasantly surprise to find some paved roads on top of the mountain; it made rolling around so much easier. When there wasn’t pavement, it was packed gravel so pretty easy to roll on. 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

Not too long after we arrived, there was an owl talk. In case it wasn’t obvious from all the seagull, pigeon, or goose pictures I add to my reviews, I love birds. Absolutely love them, especially their little feetsies. So yeah, I loved the owl talk. 
 

 

Then, we got a seat for the lumberjack show. As I believe is tradition for those shows, it was full of cheesy jokes and puns. It was pretty funny. 

 

 

 

Then, my friends left to take a chair lift to the Peak of Vancouver. That’s definitely not wheelchair-accessible, so I headed to the bear enclosure to meet their two rescue grizzlies: Grinder and Coola. 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

They were both rescued as cubs back in 2001. Coola’s mother had died and they found Grinder alone so they never found out what had happened to his mom. I was so smitten, I could have watched them for hours. They have ranger talks about the two bears that are not to be missed for anyone who wants to learn more aboute Grinder and Coola. 
 

 

 

I finally pulled myself away from the bears when my friends came back from their chair lift adventure and we headed over to the Birds in Motion presentation. Did I mention I love birds? It was very informative and I loved seeing all the birds fly. 

 

 

 

At that point, we had done everything we wanted to do, except grab a BeaverTail. Unfortunately, that was not to be as the place was closed.

 

 

 

We started to make our way back to North Vancouver. First the cable car down the mountain, and then the 236 bus.

 

[laurieal]

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

We met up with our other two friends and had a look around the Lonsdale Quay Market. I had seen the market a few days earlier, but most of the shops were closed at that time. It was fun to see the market with everything open. 
 

 

 

 

 

We had an early dinner at the Tap&Barrel restaurant. I forgot to take pictures of the food, but I had a spicy passion fruit margarita which was delicious and a PB&J burger. That may sound weird, but I loved it. It had bacon jam with chipotle peanut butter. Very unusual, but very delicious. 

 

 

 

On the way to the restaurant, I had spotted a Lee’s Donut food truck, so I stopped there on the way back to get a pumpkin spice donut for the next day’s breakfast. Then, we said goodbye to our Vancouver friends and took the SeaBus back to Waterfront Station. My other two friends left to see people looking at a clock and I took the Expo line back to my hotel where some packing was waiting for me. 

 

I was going on a cruise!!!

[Sunshine3601]

I just joined.  I am currently sailing on Serenade and having a lazy night in the cabin and catching up on CC.  

Always love your reviews.  

Hope you have a wonderful sailing with some great weather.   

[SUESEABE]

 

Thanks you for posting live thread. I am enjoying it. We will be on Radiance in March of 2024. Fair winds & calm seas!

[Coralc]

56 minutes ago, laurieal said:

Pre-Cruise in Vancouver Day 6 - continued

 

They were both rescued as cubs back in 2001. Coola’s mother had died and they found Grinder alone so they never found out what had happened to his mom. I was so smitten, I could have watched them for hours. They have ranger talks about the two bears that are not to be missed for anyone who wants to learn more aboute Grinder and Coola. 
 

 

 

 

I finally pulled myself away from the bears when my friends came back from their chair lift adventure and we headed over to the Birds in Motion presentation. Did I mention I love birds? It was very informative and I loved seeing all the birds fly. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grizzlies are adorable. Do you know what sort of bird that is? His plumage is gorgeous! 

 

Your review and photos are wonderful. So interesting and entertaining. You roll more places and for a longer distance than I could walk. ☺️I agree with @Bailey & Sophie Laurie, you truly are an inspiration. 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Coralc

[perfect match]

 

6 hours ago, laurieal said:

I love this picture! Looks like you could reach out and pet that bear! Ok, that’s probably not such a good idea.

 

I think that Grouse Mt. is now on my list of things to do when I finally manage to get to Vancouver. I started making that list way back when the Olympics were held there, but so far the warm tropical ocean keeps winning out. 

[laurieal]

15 hours ago, Coralc said:

 

The Grizzlies are adorable. Do you know what sort of bird that is? His plumage is gorgeous! 

 

Your review and photos are wonderful. So interesting and entertaining. You roll more places and for a longer distance than I could walk. ☺️I agree with @Bailey & Sophie Laurie, you truly are an inspiration. 

I’m sorry, I don't remember. We saw too many beautiful birds!

[laurieal]

Cruise Compass Day 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Cruise Day 1

 

I had a check-in time of 10:00, but I left the hotel a bit after 9:00 since I knew my luggage would be slowing me down. I said a last goodbye to the Stadium-Chinatown station that had served me so well and I squeezed myself and my luggage into a very full train car. 
 

 

If you’re arriving from the Expo Line at the Waterfront Station and are heading for Canada Place, you should look for the Howe Street exit. If you are in a wheelchair, ignore what I just said and get in the elevator for the Cordova Street exit. It wasn’t fun dragging that suitcase uphill to Canada Place, but I managed. 

 

 

At Canada Place, I found someone in a bright vest who was directing people down the outside promenade, so I followed a bunch of people with RCI tags hoping they knew where they were going. 

 

 

 

 

Luggage drop-off and check-in were in the same big room in the Convention Centre and it didn’t take more than 10 minutes to get those two done. Then, we were given a green ticket as proof we had done our check-in were and directed downstairs for US customs. 

 

 

This step took a while. The lines weren’t moving at all at first, but once we started moving it was quick. What wasn’t as quick was the next room where we were playing cruise ship musical chairs. Chairs are in multiple rows, you sit in a chair, when they call your row you get on the ship, and once chairs are empty new people sit in them and wait for their row to be called. 

 

Unfortunately, one of the gangway’s alarm went off and they had to…I don’t know…turn the gangway off and then back on again. Luckily for us, we were all sitting and our row was the first to be called once the gangway was ready. All things considered, it was still a relatively smooth process for us. Based on the roll call group it wasn’t the same for everyone and some people had to wait hours to board. 

[laurieal]

Cruise Day 1 - continued

 

But now, we were on the ship and we had some serious ship business to take care of. First, we went to the dining room to link our MYD reservations. If you have anything dining-room related to inquire about, you have to go to the right deck (4 for MTD and 5 for fixed seating). 

 

Then, we went to Chops to make a reservation for Samba Grill. My muster station was in the Schooner Bar, so I thought I would check-in real quick while I was there. I ended up getting the whole speech and life jacket demo despite having watched the video in the app that morning. Once that was done, I ran to Chops where the rest of the group was waiting for me. 

 

Two of us in our group are Diamond Plus, so we are each including another person as part of our BOGO dining, which leaves the man of the group to fend for himself. It’s my first time sailing as a Diamond Plus and I have friends to share the BOGO with, but what about next spring when I’ll be sailing solo? Do you know if I can use the offer on myself (pay for one specialty restaurant and get another night in another specialty restaurant free)?

 

After taking care of so much business, we needed a drink. Since we were already in the Schooner Bar, we settled in a nook and had a look at the menu. I was pleasantly surprised to see the menu had been upgraded with some new drinks I had never seen before and was excited to try. I started things off with a Desert Pear Margarita. I liked it a lot; it was fruity and sweet, but not overly so. 
 

 

 

Then, I tried the Irish Peach. It was absolutely lovely and a must try if you enjoy that artificial peach flavour (which I do). 

 

 

Once we were done with our drinks, the staterooms were ready so we all went our own way to check them out and drop off some weight.

 

The radiance is an older lady, so of course the stateroom is showing its age. The feature I am going to miss the most from the newer ships is the outlets next to the bed, but I should survive for the week. 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

It’s trivia time! I’ll post the rest later unless my multiple trivia prizes are weighing me down too much 😉 

[Husky1987]

1 hour ago, laurieal said:

It’s my first time sailing as a Diamond Plus and I have friends to share the BOGO with, but what about next spring when I’ll be sailing solo? Do you know if I can use the offer on myself (pay for one specialty restaurant and get another night in another specialty restaurant free)?

 

I can't recall who has done it, but I'm pretty sure there are a few CC folks on here who can confirm that's exactly how the solo BOGO dining works.

[Coralc]

23 minutes ago, Husky1987 said:

 

I can't recall who has done it, but I'm pretty sure there are a few CC folks on here who can confirm that's exactly how the solo BOGO dining works.

Definitely. Solos can do it that way. And pay for your first meal at the less expensive restaurant and use your 'free' dining at a more expensive one. 

[laurieal]

Just now, Coralc said:

Definitely. Solos can do it that way. And pay for your first meal at the less expensive restaurant and use your 'free' dining at a more expensive one. 

That’s a very good tip, thank you!

[laurieal]

Cruise Day 1 - continued

 

I like how the cruise lines used to do the shower benches: big! Look at that bench, so much space for both cheeks! The grab bar right behind the bench will be a bit of a bother, but with such a large bench it will be completely manageable.

 

 

 

Getting on the balcony seemed nearly impossible at first, until I realized the door handle was in the locked position. I was able to open the door after I switched the position of the handle, but it still required a lot of strength on my part. Good thing I have these well-defined, muscley, almost god-like arms. 

 

 

 

We were meeting up in the Windjammer for some pre-sailaway snacks, which I forgot to take a picture of, but my plate was all fruits and cheese so nothing too exciting. 

 

 

 

 

[laurieal]

Cruise Day 1 - continued

 

After our snack, it was time for another drink, this time from the pool deck. To continue the peach vibe, I had a peach lava flow which was nice and festive. You can probably tell from the pictures, but the weather was very lovely. Perfect, really. The pool deck has hopping and a lava flow felt appropriate. 
 

 

 

 

 

We took our drinks to the Solarium, where I spotted that the Park Café that’s in there seems to be serving the famous kümmelweck sandwich. At one point we were just sitting there and one of the waiters randomly brought me a bowl of strawberries. I’m not one to object to random strawberries appearing in front of me, so I was quite pleased and ate all of them happily.