Sea Days and Canada

So I think that I am finally caught up on sleep and getting back to my normal routine after a great vacation last week. Since I have already posted blogs from Disneyland® and San Francisco, I won’t repeat all of the details on those days of my vacation. After leaving San Francisco, we enjoyed a relaxing two days at sea as we steamed north towards Victoria, Canada. Now, unlike the Caribbean cruises that I am used to doing, I totally misjudged the weather and temperatures outside and ended up breaking down to buy a sweatshirt on the ship. So exactly how bad was the weather? Well, as you can see from the below photos, it was sunny and clear but, we had find and 18 foot seas. Anyone for surfing in the pool?

So with it being almost too cold and too rough to really sit at the pool, what does one do while at sea? Read of course. I think I saw more copies of The Hunger Games and more Kindles/Nooks than I have ever seen in the past and people seemed to find almost any spot on the ship to just curl up. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and taking in what ever world they were transported off to while reading. I managed to read the first to Harry Potter books for the first time and I can now honestly say they are quite good and much better than the movies.

Now even with the seas, it was still a nice time to catch up with my friends ont he ship and explore more of the life below the waterline and life in general on the high seas. I even took the time to treat myself to a nice 75-minute hat bamboo deep tissue massage. I had been eying this one for several cruises and with the right offer this trip, I decided to do it. Let me just say, you can’t get any more relaxed than I felt after this one. Well worth the money.

Our first stop in Canada was Victoria, British Columbia. I’d been to Victoria twice before with the family and now going back on my own and on the best weather day of the trip, I fell in love with this town. I can’t explain in words just how beautiful this down is. It’s modern yet has an old English town feel. It’s just a great place to visit if you have the chance. Also, while in port, Efrain was able to arrange for me to have a special tour on the ship, the Bridge. I feel honored that I was able to see this special part of the ship and with a little encouragement from the Captain, I think I might have found a new calling. What do you all think?

After a perfect day in Victoria, it was time for a nice and slow journey to Vancouver. Vancouver is one of those cities that I have heard so much about and have always wanted to visit and in fact, was one of the main reasons why I booked this cruise. We pulled in at 7am on Sunday morning and were in port for a full 24-hours to explore this amazing city. I decided it was best to book an excursion to start off with from the ship which took us around town, to Stanley Park and then to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This by far was worth the cost of the excursion. Such amazing views and trails in this park to explore and a really cool walkway along the cliffs to boot! If you don’t like heights, you might not want to do this one but, the views were worth it.

After the morning exploring the forests and town, it was back to the ship to meet up with Efrain after he got off work where we then went back in to town to have a great meal with some of his friends. After dinner, it was back to the ship to finish packing and enjoy one last night aboard the Disney Wonder before returning back to Florida on Monday.

Overall, I am really glad I booked and did this cruise, even if I was traveling alone. I had an amazing time on this trip and mark it down as one of the best cruises I have taken thus far with Disney Cruise Line. I especially want to thank Jason for taking the day and taking me around San Francisco and Efrain for going above and beyond on the ship to really give me the greatest experience and allowing me to see in to his life at sea. I also want to thank the many other Disney Wonder crew members that went out of their way to get to know me and show me a good time, Daniel, Justin, Robin, Steven, Jilly, Lance, thank you all again for a great cruise. Until next time.