I had been concerned about how to get from the Vancouver airport to Victoria. It is easy..
Hotel shuttle back to the airport, where we caught the Pacific Coast bus to Victoria. The bus got on the ferry to Twassagen and ended up at the bus depot right behind the Fairmont Empress. We had the get own luggage to the hotel as we didn’t realize that we could call the Empress and they would come get luggage.
After a couple of days in Victoria, we had to get to the pier in Vancouver. Again, this was easy. Pacific Coast bus back to Vancouver Canada Place Pier. We bought tickets for this bus the previous night and were assured that we would have seats on the bus. Our luggage was ticketed for the Volendam and put into the bus. The next time we saw the luggage was in our cabin on the Volendam.
Check in process for Volendam.
Lined up to check into Volendam. There was a long line, but it moved rapidly. Some people had to wait to get in line to check in, but we did not. As we entered the ship, we gave our cabin number and were escorted to our cabin. The luggage met us at the cabin. Lifeboat drill was easy – we put on lifejackets, which were in our cabin and went to the appointed lifeboat. Women and children stand nearest the railing.
Then we went to the Sports Deck to watch the ship leave Vancouver.
1400 people and 600 crew on board, but we never felt crowded.
Crew
Our dining room steward was Indonesian as were all the dining room stewards. He is 23 and has been with the Volendam for 4 years. He had 3 months of inventive training with Holland America – both skills and English language. He has been on every continent. He is personable. The asst dining room steward remembered that I wanted decaf tea each night. Both of them took part in the Indonesian crew show. Our cabin steward is Filipino. He was quiet and never entered the cabin unless we were out of the room.
Recommendations for future cruises: Holland America with a verandah.
Disappointments: the port towns are geared strictly for tourists, so don’t plan on spending much time in those towns. Don’t pre-schedule land excursions as the weather could easily make a difference. In our case, one was cancelled and the weather was great for the others. But most land excursions go, no matter the weather. It appeared to be easy to schedule land excursions just as one steps off the ship or a brief walk into town and there are places offering excursions. Other disappointment was not seeing wild life. But as naturalist said,, we can see animals in the zoo, but the scenery can only be seen in the first person.
Disembarking
Disembarking is extremely well organized. People are put into groups based partly on when and where they are leaving Canada. Since we were staying in Vancouver, we were the last group off the ship. Luggage had to be out side our room the night before we disembarked. We had to be out of our room by 8AM. I had room service for breakfast the last day to make it less of a hassle
We walked off the ship and our luggage was there waiting for us. The hotel (Fairmont Waterfront Centre) is directly across the street from the cruise ship berth. . Even being, the last group off the ship, we were in our hotel room by 11:30AM.
Leaving Vancouver via air
To get out of Vancouver, one must purchase a $10 ticket. We purchased these at the hotel (and never used them) to avoid the lines at the airport.
Mindy - Your cabin steward was also Indonesian, not Filipino. The Filipino staff work the bars, Front Desk, Juice Bar, Java Cafe, but not the cabins or dining rooms. The Wine Stewards and the bar servers are the only Filipinos in the dining rooms.
I laughed when you said the "Ports were geared for tourists". That's right - what else did you think they were geared for? A lot of those ports can only be reached by ship or plane.
Disappointments: the port towns are geared strictly for tourists, so don’t plan on spending much time in those towns. Don’t pre-schedule land excursions as the weather could easily make a difference. In our case, one was cancelled and the weather was great for the others. But most land excursions go, no matter the weather. It appeared to be easy to schedule land excursions just as one steps off the ship or a brief walk into town and there are places offering excursions. Other disappointment was not seeing wild life. But as naturalist said,, we can see animals in the zoo, but the scenery can only be seen in the first person
From reading your posts- I have to strongly disagree. It seems, most of what you did in port was shop????? You missed out severely on wonderful excursions. There is much much more to do. You were not prepared with wildlife excursions. Bear watching out of Ketchikan would have been an option and whale watching out of Juneau is excellent. It requires a LARGE investment of time out on the front decks for marine wildlife that few passengers are willing to do. BUT you missed several opportunities. Last sailing day back into Vancouver, going through Icy Strait before and after Glacier Bay, and several hours before and after Juneau are excellent. I have ALWAYS seen wildlife- but the cruise brochures are severely misleading.
Leaving Vancouver via air To get out of Vancouver, one must purchase a $10 ticket. We purchased these at the hotel (and never used them) to avoid the lines at the airport."
I just read your review again, and noticed the above. The reason you had to purchase the $10.00 ticket is that there is a sur-charge for anyone flying out of the Vancouver airport. This was implemented a few years ago to cover the cost of building the new airport. This was NOT for "avoiding lines at the airport". I am surprised you did not have to turn in your ticket. Someone slipped up.
The Vancouver airport departure fee was waived for a period in the aftermath of September 11, as several thousand people were diverted to Vancouver [as well as many other Canadian airports]. They are now, regretfully, collecting the fee again.
As a Vancouverite and 4-time Alaska cruiser, it is interesting to read about familiar places through the eyes of someone experiencing it all for the first time. Sometimes I forget that maxxing out on wildlife was easier on the fourth cruise thatn the first. The moral is, go to Alaska [and Vancouver] again!
notes for newbie from 1st time cruiser
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