Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Goodbye Canada, USA here we come again!

As we sailed out of Victoria, Canada this afternoon it occurred to me that this was our last day of sightseeing and our last port before we arrive in San Diego. From there we fly home.....our trip is coming to am end.
As we returned to the ship today I got some good photos of the Disney Wonder too so I have posted these below.
I have also included some lovely shots as we were leaving the harbour, the Carnival Miracle shared the port with is today.

The Disney Wonder:


The Carnival Miracle:










Excursion Review: Victoria, Canada Craigdarroch Castle and CityHighlights


Today we arrived in Victoria, Canada to a sunny day. We hopped on our tour bus and did a drive through the city before heading to a castle style Victorian manor home.
Here are some photos.
Reminds me a bit of Downton Abbey just a little smaller.





















A nice morning.










Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Today we boarded our Disney Cruise Ship, the 'Disney Wonder'

Today we boarded our cruise ship the
Disney Wonder for a 4 night cruise before we head back to Australia. The cruise takes us to Victoria, Canada and then we have a few sea days before arriving in San Diego.
Our 1 bedroom suite is really nice. Stateroom 8602, here are my photos:

Huge balcony:

1st bathroom:
2nd bathroom:
We were greeted with a reception for suite guests where the concierge explained everything to us and made us feel very welcome.
We are about to go to the mandatory emergency drill and then we head off to dinner at Animator's Palate.  This restaurant is unique as the walls are covered in Disney cartoons in black and white and as the dinner progresses, they turn to full colour! 













Monday, September 8, 2014

Excursion review: Vancouver to Whistler Rocky Mountaineer Trip

Today we are on an excursion I booked through Viator.
We were picked up at 6.50 am at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver where we are staying and transferred to the train station where we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train to go to Whistler. 
It's a lovely sunny day here with a forecast   temperature of 27 degrees. 
The train trip is a very picturesque ride through the fjords and mountains.
On the train they served us a nice breakfast of yoghurt and a ham and cheese croissant along with tea, coffee and juices. Very nice.
The trip to Whistler takes 2-3 hours. 

Here are some photos taken from the train as we made our way through the fjords and up to the mountain.
When we arrived in Whistler we had four hours free time before we had to meet our bus to go back down the muntain.
We had a nice lunch at The Blacks Pub. Heaps of Aussies everywhere!

Then we went on a cable car trip up to the top of Whistler mountain where we would get on a gondola to go 'peak 2 peak' between Whistler mountain and Blackcomb mountain. A bit scary but awesome. Here are soma shots we took.

These little cable cars take up to 6 people. 
This was just the cable car up the mountain. It took 25 minutes so you can imagine how high we had to go. As we approached the top of the mountain, the views became more majestic as snow topped mountains came into view. I can only imagine this place in winter with snow everywhere. I can see why this was the location of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Then at the top of the mountain we got on the gondola to go across to the other peak. Here is a photo of the gondola car. This one seats up to 24 people.
Just awesome.
Then we did the same trip in reverse to return to the base.
After this we went to meet our bus and started on the 3 hour rude back to Vancouver.
We got back to our hotel after 7.00pm so we were super tired. We had been out six 6.00am.
A great excursion, big day. Tomorrow we board the Disney Wonder!!
























Saturday, September 6, 2014

Hubbard Glacier

On the cruise we spent two days at Hubbard Glacier. The ship goes right up to the glacier and spins around a few times so everyone gets a good look.
The whole day is spectacular as you sail up to the glacier, the anticipation builds. Get a great spot on your balcony or on deck, grab a hot beverage and prepare to be dazzled. At this place it is like all the worries of the world are forgotten. It is very cold but worth every moment.
As you sail up to the glacier the water is more and more littered with glacier ice. The sight of this glacier and the sounds of it cracking are eerie and this is an awesome experience.
Photos below