Well, we're back from a 3-night stay in Vancouver followed by an 11-night cruisetour on the Legend of the Seas. We had such a wonderful time. Although the Legend is older, I found her to be quite nice, with new upholstery and carpeting, and an extremely professional crew. We even got to see Hubbard Glacier (something that I've heard doesn't happen often with RCCL)! The following is a day-by-day review of our entire trip, from the first flight to last night. Here it goes...
Day 1 Washington - Chicago - Vancouver (Beginning of Vancouver leg of trip)
When we first reserved our airline tickets, (we got two free with miles. YAY) we were booked on Air Canada 699, wich was a non-stop flight from DC to Vancouver. However, we later found that AC699 had been cancelled, so we now had a 3-hour layover in Montreal. This was not good. We wouldn't even get into Vancouver until 4 Pm, and we wanted to spend as much time there as possible. So we called United, (who we booked the ticket with) and they rebooked us on a United flight through Chicago. Although we had a tight connection, everything worked out and we arrived in Vancouver dazzled by the beautiful airport. Yes, the Vancouver airport. Although there were long lines and relative chaos at the Baggage Claim area, a porter helped us (and our 9 bags) through it. But on the walk to immigration, we really liked the nice touches of the airport, such as the raised walkways, glass jet-bridges, waterfalls, and nature areas. I'm sure it also helped that we arrived on a day where no cruise ships were leaving. We got a taxi driver (much nicer than the ones in other parts of the continent) and were driven to the Vancouver Marriott (Delta) Pinnacle. Now, here's the story with our hotel choice. We had been booked at the Fairmont Waterfront, but switched to the Pinnacle simply for price reasons. We thought we had booked one of the big xx19 rooms, with the corner wraparound windows (the room was described as a "corner view room"), but were supervised to find a room with a city view and a little corner facing the harbor. We explained what had happened, and the switched our room to on overlooking Canada Place, Stanley Park, and everything in the harbor. It was a little small, but the view was great, the hotel staffers were extremely professional (left over from the Delta chain, a Canadian luxury hotel chain), and the hotel was in a great location right near Canada Place (even though our ship wasn't leaving from there). That said, next time I would probably stay in the Fairmont Waterfront or Pan-Pacific. Their locations right on the water seemed dazzling. Anyway, after exploring the city a little that first day, we ate at Romano's Macaroni grill at the Mansion. Very good restaurant with excellent food and a nice setting.