We took Amtrak to Vancouver from Seattle. Great train rides. We had purchased cheeses, croissants and fresh fruit from Pike Place the day before and stored them in the refrigerators in our room and then placed them in those big silver freezer bags for the train ride. It worked out great. We also had champagne and orange juice!

We arrived in Vancouver about 11:45, waited in line to go through customs and then waited in line to get a cab. Remember, there were 7 of us and 22 pieces of luggage ! We needed a van and a car and it was PACKED!!!! We arrived at the Westin Bayshore (again Priceline). Our rooms were not ready so we took cabs to Granville Island and ate lunch. Next time I will skip Granville Island, not that exciting and too much like Pike Place, which we enjoyed very much. Getting a cab out of Granville was a very big challenge, but we did finally succeed. We went back to the hotel and checked in. Then it was a 10 block walk to the nearest liquor store to grab more wine (we brought some from home but you are only allowed 2 bottles per person over the Canadian border). We each had 4 bottles of wine and one bottle of liquor (gin, vodka, bourbon, etc.) We walked back to the hotel (thank GOD for those men to carry everything!), changed for dinner and went to Lumiere for dinner.

We woke up and walked to Stanley Park in the rain for our carriage ride. While on the carriage, the weather started to become more cooperative. I HIGHLY recommend this carriage ride! It was very nice and a great way to see the whole park. After the carriage ride we toured the Vancouver Aquarium which we also enjoyed. If you buy tickets at the carriage ride stand for the ride and the aquarium there is a small discount. We walked back to the hotel and went to a little deli by the hotel to grab some lunch. Then it was time to go to the ship!!!!! Read more