Vancouver

Today we are leaving from Vancouver to Los Angeles on the Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady. We just dropped off our bag and we are now going to meet Christine for lunch before boarding the ship. The ship doesn’t actually leave the port until 2am.

I’m definitely looking forward to some relaxation. What we aren’t looking forward to is visiting the United States but it’s a necessary evil this trip.

The last cruise was amazing but it was go go go so I’m excited to do some reading, and working out of office.

We didn’t know what to expect leaving from Vancouver. But really, it couldn’t have been easier. We were thinking there might be some complications just because it’s not a regular port that Virgin comes to, but it was very well organized and speedy.

We dropped off our bags, checked in and got our bracelets, showed our passports and left to go for lunch.

We showed up 30 minutes before our scheduled boarding time, but it was dead, so they let us go on right away. We went through security, which took three minutes, at customs we just had to look at a screen. It gave us a green dot, and we continued to walk on. We didn’t even have to talk to anyone.

We watched the safety video, checked in at our muster station and I’m now comfortably gonna have a nap in the hammock. It is just like being at home! But on a ship. With a view of Vancouver.

So after a 10 p.m. nap, we made our way up to the deck to watch us leave the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver. We had to leave that late/early in the morning because the tide has to be low enough that the ship can fit under the Lions Gate Bridge. It was cool (temperature) but manageable, and we spent an hour watching us pull out via tugboat backwards into the narrows and then shifting into gear and sailing under the bridge out to the strait.

I can see why they need to wait! Our smokestack was metres away from the bridge!