We finally did it, we unboxed and set up the Wii.

Fortunately, we don't have any games for it other than the Wii Sports that is packed in the box. It's bad enough that the Sports games are so addictive.

 

I've gone from swearing I'd never own a console, to owning all 3 current-generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii).

 

And just in case you think I have the willpower to stay game-less, heck no. Wii Play, Zelda and Wario Smooth Moves are on their way...

(Warning: very long, sorry!)

 

This past weekend, I joined a large group (~30 total) of my extended family aboard the Mercury, a ship operated by Celebrity Cruise Lines. It was a short trip (weekend y'know) and we had all of two stops, Vancouver BC and Nanaimo BC.

 

The weekend started off terribly Friday, with confusion about what to pack, when to board, what to expect. It didn't help that in searching for the cruise parking, I turned the wrong way on Elliott, a one-way street . Fortunately, I didn't collide head-on with anybody and was able to duck into a parking lot to turn around.

 

Friday evening aboard ship was a disaster, since I hadn't completely read all of the documentation and thus hadn't packed enough "dressy casual" clothes for every dinner. My daily uniform is a t-shirt (usually logo'ed) and blue jeans. I had thought, that one dressy outfit would be sufficient, as we were expected to take family photos, and the only other cruise I've been on, had only one dressy dinner night.

 

The kids were very happy with the ship's Shipmates Fun Factory activity center. They had a ton of fun, and the cost was low (free for most hours, $6/hr for mealtimes and slumber parties, which were sign-up activities).

 

Elizabeth wasn't able to shake her cough (still hasn't, in fact) and threw up the salsa she had snacked on at the Friday night slumber party. This forced me to sleep on the floor, because Nathaniel was in the top bunk of the bunk beds. He loved sleeping in the bunk bed.

Now, have you ever been on a cruise? Cruiseships are giant floating hotels, and the shipboard activities run some 20 hours a day. To provide electrical power to a ship for 20 hours a day, you've got to run the engines. Our cabin was located in the aft (back) section, just about over the engine area.

Let's recap. I had my sleep disturbed by a sick daughter, and then had to sleep on a very hard floor, right over the engines. To say that I got no sleep and my brain was rattled, would be about right. In the morning, pulling into Vancouver at 7am, they run the engines particularly hard. Why? I dunno! They're near a pier for gosh sake. And it's 7-fricking-am.

 

Mei wanted to go into town and do some shopping (double-bad, since the dollars have hit basic parity). I was a literal zombie, just shuffling along as best I could. But I dragged myself behind her and gamely shopped Robson Street, a somewhat trendy shopping district, with hip stores and culture all over. But nowhere do they have size 42 waist slacks. Gap? 40 max. Banana Republic? 38 max. Oh, you live in the States, so you can order online, they say. Fat lot of good that does me, needing a second pair of pants just to go to dinner. I say that cruise ships should boycott the port of Vancouver, BC until their retail establishment stocks clothing that will fit the generously proportioned cruise ship passenger. They could have sold a lot more stuff, if my informal observations of cruisers' sizes was accurate. And besides, cruise ships conspire to make and keep us fat, with their always-available burgers, fries, pizza and assortment of baked treats. Alcoholic and specialty beverages cost extra, but they're so tempting with the creamy yellows and reds, deep blues and emerald greens. Even the free stuff, the apple juice and iced tea, are so packed with calories, I'd be amazed if I didn't gain 5 pounds (it turns out, after returning home, the scale says 1 pound) for the weekend.

We ended up going to Sears just off Robson and purchasing two pairs of corduroy pants, size 42. The clerk, when asked, said we were lucky to have two in stock to purchase. Darn skinny Canadians!

 

For lunch, Mei and I stopped in at Shabusen (Burrard), an all-you-can-eat sushi and Korean BBQ joint. We had been to this restaurant before, in 2002, so we were eagerly anticipating an experience just as good as before. But first, we had to overcome the basic fact that we were ordering items with "plates" in mind, but the restaurant fills orders with "eaches". So our order sheet, which was studded with 1's and 2's actually served as a sampler, since we got 2 pieces of California roll, 1 gyoza, etc. When we realized our mistake, we quickly filled out another form, because we weren't going to let all-you-can-eat off so easy. It was definitely worth spending the effort to go to Shabusen. After lunch, we waddled back to the ship, located a convenient 6-7 blocks away (downhill even!) from the restaurant.

 

Dinner Saturday night (the second night) was perhaps one of the worst service experiences I've ever had. The server was inattentive, we were dressed up, and the food was mediocre. Dinner ran so long, the kids and their cousins were crawling up the railings and we hadn't even taken pictures yet. The service was so slow, we actually caused the late dinner seating to be delayed. Amazing.

Fortunately, we gave dinner another shot Sunday and the staff made up for the previous night with sharp service and complimentary goodies not on the menu. It even appeared that the head server was handling us, since he was also the guy who took our complaints the previous night.

 

Nanaimo BC is a classic sleepy fishing village. It's so small, the cruise ship could not dock at a pier located on shore, but instead had to anchor out in the bay and run "tenders" to the piers. Once you got into Nanaimo, it was somewhat fun, thanks to the friendly shopkeepers and tourism staff. Three cruise ships a week visit there, and it certainly didn't look like they could handle the traffic though the Nanaimo tourism staff get top marks from me for helpfulness and friendliness. Unfortunately, it was Sunday, and a good number of shops were not open for business, despite the potential business of several hundred cruisers disgorged by the ship. Doug and I got some fish-n-chips from a little floating shack recommended by a local. As Rachael would say, Dee-lish!

 

Monday came, the ship docked at Seattle's Bell Street Harbor, we collected our belongings and came back to home-sweet-home. I think 4 days is about my ideal cruise experience. I'm not really a fan of cruising without a destination that I'm excited about. Vancouver is a mere stone's throw from Seattle, and Nanaimo is a very fortunate backwater. I think I'd enjoy cruises more if I were thinking about Sydney, or Maui, or someplace more like that.

 

Next time, I will: