April 17, 2006
Jan's Voyage to British Columbia
Cruise West ... up-close, personal and casual from the marketing department’s perspective. This is a log of my very first Cruise West sailing experience to our Pacific Northwest Coastal Escape to British Columbia onboard the Spirit of Endeavour.
With a warm smile and a welcome handshake our trip began. Our land crew (in Cruise West blue) took our bags and led the way to our first check in, chatting easily with a smile on their lips. Moments later with name tags attached, passports checked and coffee in hand we board the bus leg to the Spirit of Endeavour.
The SOE waits patiently while Captain Mike Fleming invites all aboard…returning passengers get hugs while new and excited passengers handshakes, top of the 
gangway Hotel Manager Mark shows us in and demonstrates direction to the right cabin. It all feels so friendly and warm! The whole process is smooth, fast and extremely friendly…already I see how this up-close experience feels good.
This is the Pacific Northwest and it is spring so water drops are softly falling but the spirit is strong and the journey gets underway. Business comes first, we all gather for a safety program and life jacket demonstration in the main lounge, followed by crew introductions and first mini lecture from Meriwether and Copper, the Exploration Leaders of the trip. It takes but two minutes before Copper is on the mic giving a running historical commentary of the Ballard Locks as we pass through on the way to the Puget Sound.
Before dinner we socialize and get to know each other a little as we listen to plans for the following day. A trip by bus into Vancouver to visit the Museum of Anthropology, Gas Town, Granville Market and Capilano Suspension Bridge. Dinner is a delightful menu of options, something for every taste, being the big meat eater I go for Prime Rib!! After dinner there is a little more social time and sharing of natural history from Meriwether. The intercom in your cabin will pick up the programs so if you would rather relax in your cabin you can still share in the information.
Funny how the alarm still goes off in your head at 6:00 am… coffee is already in the lounge with muffins and bagels and by 7:00 breakfast is being served in the dinning room. Vicki and Jay, a husband and wife team, came aboard to share their wealth of information about Canada’s First Nations. Ready to
see Story Poles and native carvings we load for the tour and we are on our way, jackets, hats and umbrellas a must. Only a couple stay back on the Endeavour everyone else ready to explore and try new and different. Vicki and Jay led the way as we all crossed the suspension bridge many, many feet above the gorge below…holding the hand rail was a must as the bridge swayed high in the air. Across on the other side we wander the new tree top pathway taking the squirrel view of the treetops. This area of Vancouver has the oldest trees some as old as 1000 years. The oldest trees in the Capilano park are 500 years old, Vicki shared that these magnificent Cedars trees were the main stay of the First Nations, used for canoes, clothing (bark), long homes, baby bassinets, story poles, cooking and eating bowls to the specially carved home that the chiefs were laid to rest in.
Lunchtime gave us options; we could go back to the vessel for lunch and then back out to Gas Town and the museum or disembark at Granville Market for a couple hours of exploration and lunch on our own. We chose the market a vibrant area of food; boutique stores and live street entertainers.
I’ll stop now since this blog is getting very long and return tomorrow with adventures anew… Monday we travel to Jervis Inlet and Princess Louisa Inlet we are hoping to have a dry day to take the DIBs up into the inlet to visit the sights of the British Columbia fjords.
Best for now…Jan Sheeley, Director Marketing Communications. Cruise West.
Posted by Jan on April 17, 2006 11:13 AM
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