Will Gibson's South Pacific Journal

I arrived today in order to not “miss the boat” which departs on the 27th. If you can arrange to do so, I highly recommend arriving at the embarkation city of any cruise at least one day before boarding. Better to allocate funds for an overnight bed than to wave goodbye FROM the pier to a ship sailing away without you due to flight snafus.

From the window of my hotel room (The Sylvia Hotel), I can see across English Bay and on to a seemingly endless, beautiful body of water: the Salish Sea. It’s comprised of the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, and it is astonishingly serene as it is vast. Alaskan cruises from Seattle and Vancouver often take the Salish Sea, but they are often labeled “Inside Passage.”

Fall is coming on hard in Vancouver. At sea level, crimson and yellow dot the streets, while successive fronts of fog roll over the mountains bringing cool sprinkles to the city below and early season snow to the peaks above. A far cry from where I’m headed!

On a stroll through Vancouver’s West End and along the city’s seawall, I encounter again and again reminders of the city’s original peoples: the Squamish, the Musqueam and the Tsliel-Wantuth. Their traditional art can be seen throughout the city. Yes, primarily in tourist shops, but also in galleries, museums, and public art installations, both sanctioned and graffitied. They bring a revelation for me: these North American peoples’ DNA must closely match that of the South Pacific peoples I’m preparing to visit. Their artwork certainly bears strong similarities to that of Maori or Tongan art – bold, animist and close to the earth.

September 27 – 29: Departure and 2 Days at Sea

After boarding early, I darted off the boat to do some last minute shopping at Rexall, including Crazy Glue for a problem crown!  

With a capacity of 1,400, my ship, The Volendam, is one of smallest in Holland America’s fleet. It’s filled with many nooks and crannies, ie hallways that don’t fully traverse fore to aft. Initially extremely frustrating, but already they have endeared themselves to me, as they COMPEL me to slow down. LOL My cabin is on Level 1, ie closest to the water, Starboard side, furthest cabin aft. I love the location: low and near to the water and far away from the rocking bow and with a big picture window.

Overheard at dinner: There are just under 800 passengersonboard, 400 of which will disembark in San Diego on Monday!  Its not known how many may board in San Diego, but I’m hoping it will be at least 300; otherwise, we will be sailing less than half full which really limits conversation. 

The Volendam’s layout also sometimes compels one forward into very surprising and surprisingly delightful adjacencies, like tumbling out of the theatre’s balcony staircase and into the elegant Ocean Bar with its ace jazz quintet jamming on standards and its bartenders performing mixological magic with their literal “smoking cocktails.” An Alice in Wonderland for adults indeed!!