Finally, the finished product.

I seriously have been working on this scrapblog for a long time. Please click the link below to follow our journey, in it's entirety. Enjoy!

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=2145153

Day One, Vancouver

After downing a 20 oz bottle of half tequila and half orange juice at 4AM, and then drinking another 2 rum and cokes, mostly rum, made by a bartender named Meatloaf, Lance was as close to ready as he would get to fly. And, after a non-eventful flight, we touched down in Vancouver around 10:30AM.

(Mount Rainier in the distance from our plane)

Once getting through customs and finding an ATM in which to procure Canadian dollars, we found our way to the taxi line and were quickly whisked into the Vancouver metropolis, for about $30.

We had to wait for our friend, Chris, in order to check into the Marriott Renaissance Harbor Hotel because his name was the only one on the reservation. We checked our bags with the bell hop and went out to explore the city. We wondered down to the water, walked past the cruise port, found a great lunch at the Steamworks Pub and Grill (where Lance says he had the best Halibut fish and chips ever), and then went on over to gastown.

Above- Steph blocking the view of the bay. Top right- a damn good pub and grill with fantastic food and very tasty micro brews. Right- a clock that spews steam at the top of every hour, making hordes of tourists surrounding it cheer with glee.

After all of this, we finally went back to the hotel and met with Chris.

For dinner we went to Aqua Riva, which received a lot of accolades and recommendations, but we didn't find it to be all that spectacular. I had a difficult time ordering because of my aversion to seafood and ended up ordering duck, which I have never had before. They prepared it similarly to a Thanksgiving dinner, with mashed potatoes, etc, and it just wasn't my style.

Day One was a transition day into the vacation. Expect the next few blogs to have a lot more pictures and descriptions!

Trip Overview

Before we detail each specific day of the trip, we thought we'd give a general overview of our vacation, with a couple of pictures sprinkled in. Later, we will detail each day and post the bulk of the pictures.

Vancouver-

Spending a few days in Vancouver before our cruise was a great way to start the vacation. The city is great. The food was perfect, the views spectacular and the people friendly. There wasn't anything about Vancouver we didn't like and we would highly recommend visiting it. We'll definitely go back.

The Cruise-

This was our first cruise with Princess. Our previous two cruises (to Bermuda and the Mexican Riviera) were through Royal Caribbean. We sailed aboard the Island Princess which is a gorgeous ship.The service on Island Princess was top notch. From the waiters to our room steward, everyone was friendly and helpful. The one disappointment we had was the food. The meals in the traditional evening dining were good but not exceptional. We would definitely rank Royal Caribbean's meals as better. That being said, the ship's specialty restaurants were phenomenal.

Alaska-

Our time in Alaska, from the cruise ports to the fishing towns we explored on our own, was both relaxing and adventurous. We hiked, biked, drank, ate, scoured glaciers, and observed all that was wild. Everything we'd heard about the grand adventure that is Alaska was true. They make damn good beer, serve the freshest and heartiest seafood, and do not have an acre in their state that is not breathtaking. Hopefully, someday, we'll get to see it again.

Meet Patron, the Brown Bear. His name really is Patron. And, no, Lance did not name him.