Finally!! Cruise embarkation day!

We packed and called a taxi. Vancouver folk adamantly says they do not need Uber or LYFT but on Sunday, cruise day, a taxi is hard to find. There is no LYFT or Uber in Vancouver. We started calling for a taxi well ahead of our 11 am apartment check-out time. We were on hold via phone and via online sites for a long, long time. Finally, yes, we got a connection and ordered a taxi. Yes! They may be stubborn, but for my money, Vancouver could use Uber & LYFT particularly on cruise day.

We boarded our ship and got ready for the trip to begin! What a fantastic feeling it is to board a ship on Day 1 with a whole week ahead of us full to the brim of adventures, new sights, new friends and some really great family time. Wow! I mean, Wow!

The ship, the Celebrity Infinity, is beautiful as most modern cruise ships are. It appeared to be well-staffed and well-maintained but a little dated. On the first day, we did the usual things . . . we participated in the mandatory life boat training, explored the ship, bought soft drink package for Tessa and signed up for SPA giveaways. Sadly we did not win but just a couple of years ago, I did win! In fact I won a $500 gift certificate for the onboard SPA. I used every cent!! No winner today though.

We settled in and let the luxury feeding and cruise ship pampering begin!!!

We are sailing The Celebrity Infinity on an inside passage from Vancouver via the Straight of Georgia between the mainland and Vancouver island on toward Sitka and the Hubbard Glacier. All of our previous cruises have been in warm climates; we truly did not know what to expect on the waters of the Northern Pacific. Day two of our voyage was strictly at sea. Many passengers woke up with sea sickness, including Cody. The waves were not rough but the swells were huge. We found Dramamine and soon our Coco was feeling better.

Make no mistake, an Alaskan cruise is cold. Many passengers stay inside all the time but they risk seeing really good stuff going on outside in the sea. Anytime we went outside, we bundled up in hats, jackets and scarves. Not only was the temperature cold and the sky cloudy, but the wind was ferocious! In the past, like on sails in the Carribbean, days spent on the sea were some of our favorite. We'd exercise, eat then lay our fat bodies out on chairs on the pool deck and do some serious people-watching, friend-making and reading. You don't do that on an Alaskan cruise. Still, there are, amazingly, plenty of things to do. That very first day, while walking 3 miles on the pool upper deck walking track, we saw a pod of White Sided Dolphins. They put on a show for us.

Later we attended a lecture presented by the onboard naturalist, Milos Radakovich, who gave us inside information on wildlife we might see on the trip. Milos was one of the highlights of the cruise. He made presentations every day; we attended nearly all. He was knowledgeable and entertaining. His plain-spoken manner coupled with his stage-presence and incredible knowledge of science made a very engaging experience. His background is teaching university marine Bbology but his love and continued study of science was evident. In one of his presentations he talked about teachers - some are great; many not so great. He said, it's hard to learn from a not-so-great teacher. He said one of the main characteristics of a good teacher is their understanding that successful teaching involves show business. If a teacher cannot engage and capture the attention of his students, he cannot teach.