We were disappointed to not be able to have our tour in Hilo and enjoy the scheduled Volcano National Park tour, but we could not be too sad about that when we thought about those living there losing their homes and suffering the consequences of the volcano erupting and earthquakes taking place.
It was good the Radiance of the Seas cruise ship was able to revise their schedule and add Victoria in British Columbia to their destination after leaving Hawaii. We had been to Victoria before when we went with Bill and Karen on an Alaska Cruise, but that visit had been in the fall with the roses in bloom and this time was in the spring when the tulips were blooming.
The 5-day cruise from Kauai to Victoria, British Columbia
On previous cruises we have taken,
the ship travels to the next destination during the night
and docks the next morning where we disembark to
enjoy activities and have tours on land.
However, this cruise took five days to go between
Hawaii and Victoria, British Columbia.
After the first day or two,
we were looking forward to our arrival in Victoria.
Our waiter on the ship for our evening dinner meals on the 5th floor.
Each day, we went up to the 11th floor to eat breakfast and lunch
and always used the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
Lots of desserts from which to choose.
The main pool area on Deck 11
also had two whirlpools and a pool bar.
All pools were salt water.
The Solarium pool, which is an "adults only" pool,
had two whirlpools on each side
and a bar and pizzeria in the same area.
Bob Arno, a comedy pickpocket entertainer
and a criminologist specializing in global street crime,
provided the entertainment on the ship on May 6.
We enjoyed the entertainment on the other days of our cruise also,
but we were glad when we finally reached
Canada and docked at Victoria.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Welcome to Canada! - May 11
(Narene)
Welcome to Victoria.
After the ship docked, we went on a walking tour of Victoria.
This is the Capitol Building, which was lighted at night.
The Empress Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Victoria.
It is located on Government Street facing the Inner Harbor.
Flowers in front of the Empress Hotel.
Entertainment on the street.
A display inside Out of Ireland store.
A limo in front of the Hudson's Bay store.
The huge Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC)
took up the whole block.
Chinatown entrance
Horse-drawn carriage in Chinatown.
We returned to the ship for the night
and then went on shore the next morning
for a tour in Butchart Gardens.
A towel animal left by our room steward
on our bed on the ship.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Butchart Gardens
May 12th
We enjoyed our visit to the Butchart Gardens.
(Narene and Sam)
Here are some of the photos we took at Butchart Gardens.
After our enjoyable visit in Butchart Gardens,
we returned to the ship for a late lunch
and then left the ship again for a walk to
Fisherman's Wharf.
As we were walking along, a young lady came by
on her bicycle pulling this cart.
We thought it would be fun to catch a ride with her
for the $10.00 she charged.
on her bicycle pulling this cart.
We thought it would be fun to catch a ride with her
for the $10.00 she charged.
Our ship on the right, and a larger ship on the left.
We even watched a couple of movies on the ship.
One was about Winston Churchill, "Darkest Hour."
The other one Sam left after ten minutes of watching
"High School Musical 3."
These are some of the entertainment shows we saw on the cruise.
Greg Bonham entertained us with his
singing, trumpet playing, and personality.
Tango Buenos Aires
Another towel animal on our bed.
Parade of the waiters at our last evening dinner.
We shared a table for evening meals with these three couples:
Jack and Lynette Young
Verl and Donna Chidester
Ben and Gloria Olson
The next morning, the ship had docked at the harbor in Vancouver.
Pictures from Vancouver will be in the next blog entry.
