Waking Up At Sea

Out in the open ocean my only Internet access is via the ship’s satellite. It is expensive and purchased by the minute. I’ll try and use it wisely. It’s going to make answering questions on Facebook much more difficult. I hope people understand. In the US ports there should be AT&T data and voice service for our cell phones.

And now, Day One at sea.

Good morning. I had a great night’s sleep as we head north rocking ever so gently.

The ship has a dedicated navigation and weather channel. We’ve traveled 335 miles since Seattle and are now abreast the northern tip of Vancouver Island. If you’re keeping score we’re at 50°22’ north 128°52’ west.

The sea is calm with hardly a ripple. The sky is overcast–thick, low overcast with a few sunny breaks miles east. The island’s mountainous terrain is dimly visible through distant haze. It’s unusual to see this kind of low stratus without rain, but there is none at the moment.

This kind of weather is what’s expected. The west coast of Canada and Alaska are wet! There are rain forests (not tropical) here. Last night as the Sun set we sailed alongside a well defined fog bank,

Yesterday was our departure day. At 3:15 PM, before we left, the ship held a muster drill. We’ve cruised before. Those drills are usually held at sea.
Post Costa Concordia the drill has become a scary affair! No, we aren’t scared of this ship hitting a rock and sinking, but the folks running the drills surely are! We were instructed in everything including the proper method in jumping off the ship.

We have ‘anytime’ dining. As it turned out that doesn’t work when everyone comes at once. We waited a half hour for a table with Helaine holding the kind of large beeper you’d get at Olive Garden.

The food was very good. She had fish, I had prime rib. For dessert Helaine had a soufflé and I had carrot cake.

We will eat well! In order to combat that we’ve turned the Golden Princess into our own gigantic Stair Master! We did at least 50 flights yesterday as we went to the large atrium, shops and public areas on Deck 5, the pools and casual dining on Deck 14 (there is no Deck 13) and everywhere in between.

6 thoughts on “Waking Up At Sea”

  1. Geoff, I have to ask; how do you access the internet to post your blog while under sail? We’re taking our first cruise next May and I want to be able to blog about it as you are. However, reading up on the ship and the ability to access the internet the cost seems a bit steep. Are there alternatives? (Our itinerary is Boston to Bermuda)This all has me thinking about writing it all down to be posted when we get back on terra firma.
    Any suggestions you may choose to share (after your own vacation is over!) will be greatly appreciated.
    Karen

  2. We did the Boston to Bermuda trip last month on Norwegian Dawn.The costs is expensive on
    Norwegian.You are better off waiting until you arrive in Hamilton and use the local wifi..I know it was over $100.00 on board.Not worth it….If you have a 4G smart phone try it. Some times it works, especially if you go to the Computer room.You can pick up a stray signal here and there…

    Enjoy your trip.It is fun….

  3. Thanks for the info, Freddy.
    That’s our trip/boat and we’re really excited about the whole experience.
    Glad to read you’ve been-there-done-that and can attest that it’s fun!

  4. We highly recommend you go to Hamilton via ferry. $8.00 each round trip. It takes 25 minutes.. Lots to see in Hamilton, the capitol. Stores are extremely expensive, but area is safe and lots to take pictures around… Can’t offer any more tips as it rained badly when we visited and all of our side trips were cancelled.

    If you can avoid taking the scooters.. They are dangerous and expensive as well…

  5. One more tip. In BOSTON, try to drop bags off with family member before going to the Parking facility. It is a bit of a long walk back to the ship with all those bags.
    Approximately 3 NYC Blocks long,but not straight…. I think its $16.00 per day for the parking garage…

  6. Thanks for the additional info! (I had a difficult time finding the post here where I’d asked my original question so am just now getting back here to see if there was more info shared)
    We have family in Cambridge and plan on taking the train in from CT the evening before we sail & stay with them. A cab will (hopefully) get us right to the where we load onto the boat.
    There’s a learning curve here for us; it’s our first cruise. I’m sure we’ll learn many lessons before the week is through.
    I had already read about the dangers of the scooters! We’ll happily pass and take the ferry!

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