Were we in Banff?

Just returned from four days of the 2009 Ensemble Conference at the majestic Fairmont Banff Hotsprings Hotel.  Luckily we had this fantastic view from our room - otherwise we wouldn't have seen anything else of this beautiful spot.  The Conference was great though!

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES CRUISE-SEPTEMBER 25 2009

How sad, just as I was really getting to know my way around the NCL Pearl it was time to go :(  This really was a great trip and I was truly not wanting to leave...not yet!!

All in all, I think NCL Pearl is a great ship. It's perfect for first time cruisers, families, singles, couples..really anyone! The food was excellent, and there was a lot to do onboard.

I will be taking a group on the new NCL Epic on November 13th 2010. Please see more details here:  http://www.epic.ncl.com/ .  I hope to see everyone who's reading this on the ship! I've already suggested closing down Steele's Travel for a week ;)

I decided to keep my own luggage in my room, and just walk it off. This was the easiest way to disembark in my opinion, as I could leave whenever I wanted. There was no need to wait for my 'colour' to be called, etc.

It was VERY difficult to get a taxi or shuttle when we disembarked. I saw people that had reservations for super shuttle and they were not getting preferental service. I would suggest if you have a large group to consider taking a limo as it's not much more than the shuttle but saves you having to wait around for hours.

LAX was about a half hour drive away from the port, and I arrived with lots of time to catch my flight (and a few zzz's while waiting).

Thank you NCL/Steele's Travel and Encore Cruise Escapes for such an amazing time!!

I've included all my 'misc' pictures below.

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES CRUISE-SEPTEMBER 25 2009

Ah. Last full day of the cruise, and a relaxing day at sea. What to do, what to do......... EAT!! and eat I did. Breakfast and lunch at the amazing buffet, some WII wall sword fighting to work some of the food off and then our group's final dinner *sob* at 'Indigo', which is the other main dining room. There really was so many dining choices, it was hard to fit everything into 5 nights. There's also a Shabu Shabu, Teppanyaki, Italian, French and even just eating at the buffet for dinner. The best part is you don't need any reservations, and if they do happen to be full they give you this beeper that works anywhere on the ship to let you know when your dinner's ready.  They really have a great system.

That night we went up to the top deck to the 'Spinnaker Lounge'. I believe we attempted to have a meeting in this area previously on the cruise but it was so rocky that day that being that high on the ship was unbareable! The cruise staff had a little talk show/comedy routine that was hilarious, and then we played this really fun game where we seperated into teams and different team members were asked to run up to the front if the possessed the item that was asked for. For example, I ran up when they asked "We need a lady in guys pants"... so I put on some strangers pants over my skirt and ran up as fast as I could. It really was a fun game.

After that, we headed to the Bliss Lounge for a Toga party. The staff was at the entrance, and very happy to give us our oh so flattering togas.  I stayed up for as long as I could, as I was very sad to be leaving NCL :(

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES CRUISE-SEPTEMBER 23 2009

San Francico Day!! When I looked at the weather forcast before departing on my cruise it said that it would be 30 degrees. It might've been in some parts of the city, but definitely not the warf. Needless to say, as usual, I didn't dress for the weather. Had so much fun just walking around the city for the day, and I even managed to find a really sunny spot in an area called 'Mission'.

Arrived back on the boat, and decided it was about time to go for a run on the sports deck. After much calculation and thought, I decided that if 5 1/2 laps was one mile, and I wanted to run 10kms, then I should run around the deck 38 times. I still have NO idea if this is correct, but this is what I did. I'm a very dedicated runner *please read, had too many drinks and was absolutely necessary to run in order to stay in shape*

I forgot in yesterday's entry that I went to watch 'Second City' in the theatre. They're a very famous improv comedy troupe and so hilarious! I really enjoyed watching them, and I'm actually looking forward to my next cruise with NCL so I can see them again.

Tonight I watched a very funny ventriloquist, who's puppet was supposed to be Nadia Cominich, the Olympic gymnast and famous coach. Funny thing is, she actually was my coach at Canadian Adventure Camp when I was younger. Again, sooo funny!! I really enjoyed these shows.

That night, I spent some time at my favourite hang out, Bliss Nightclub and then headed off for bed.

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES-SEPTEMBER 23 2009

First day at sea!! Woke up to another lovely breaky in the buffet and decided to go for a run in the gym. I ran 10kms on the treadmill, and it was a LOT different than running on the sea wall at home. I kept thinking I was going to fall over, and it was hotter than a sauna in there, but I ran..and ran..and ran.

After that, back to the buffet for more food. Thank goodness it's open all the time!! You never know when you'll be hungry :)

I met up with a few people from our group that afternoon to rock climb. This was the first time for most of us, so made for an interesting experience. You'll notice that my pictures start out with me wearing shorts (short shorts) and my prized 'Goonie' shirt. After watching the first few climbers go up, I made an executive decision that the short shorts were not going to be a good idea, so I ran to my room to change. I made it quickly up to the top, but getting that last step up and ringing the bell was another story. First of all, I'm a super chicken and SO scared of heights, and second of all my whole body was shaking. After trying to give up about 10 times, I FINALLY rang the bell and began my descent. I really think this is a great activity to have on a cruise ship, would definitely do it again.

My afternoon was spent shopping, playing WII on the big screen, and lounging in the Bliss lounge. Very relaxing, and it was nice to be able to stay in my track pants and very loved shirt and not feel out of place. NCL is very casual, and you always feel comfortable no matter what you're wearing.

That night I met up with some friends from the group for dinner at the 'Asian Fusion' restaurant. This was at a cost of $15/person as was SO worth it. The food was amazing, and we ate as much as we possibly could. I felt like I was going to burst when I left the restaurant.

We went back to the Bliss lounge that night, as usual for some dancing and fun. After that, to bed to sleep off my dinner/drinks and prepare for a big day in one of my favourite cities..San Francisco

You'll notice at the end of this post, I put some pics of a room. I wanted to show the difference between an inside cabin and an outside cabin. The inside cabin seems SO much smaller, and the bathroom doesn't have the seperate rooms so it appears much smaller as well. Definitely worth it to go for the upgrade!

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES CRUISE-SEPTEMBER 22 2009

My first whole day on the ship!! I started off my day with a really great breakfast in the buffet. Again, I was very impressed with the quality and the selection of the food. It was at least 4* in my opinion, and I liked the fact that there was a lot of different seating options. You could sit in booths, at tables by the window or even outside on the deck.

We had a meeting with Stephanie Vasquez that morning to update us on all we needed to know about NCL. My favourite part was when we discussed the NCL Epic which is launching in Summer 2010. They're going to have Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soliel, and even an Ice Bar on the ship!! I'm currently holding 20 cabins, and I can't wait to start promoting this group.

We were tendered in Astoria, so needed to take these neat little boats into town. They were a bit small (and smelly) and I'm a bit clausterphobic but was informed by the staff that 'they could tip right over and they'd tip right back'... so I was somewhat calm..haha.

Astoria is a great port to spend the day in, and much to my surprise it was the location where they filmed 'The Goonies'. This is one of my favourite all time movies, and I was more than excited to visit the house and the jail where they did the filming. This was #1 on my bucket list, and is now complete thanks to NCL!

The main street of Astoria is filled with cute little shops, and there's lots of historical museums if you like that sort of thing. I think it's a great place to spend the day, and you definitely don't need to do a shore excursion. The only thing is that if you wanted to visit some of the Oregon beaches (Cannon or Seaside) then it's best to take a shore excursion as it's over 30 miles by bike (I enquired about this as I thought I'd have enough time to bike there..no chance). #2 on my bucket list was buying my vintage 'Goonies' shirt. I found it at a comic book shop, and was very pleased with myself.

That night I met up with some of my fam-mates for dinner. We decided to try one of the 'a la carte' restaurants, called Mambos. It's a Latin Tapas restaurant, but I'd say it's way more Tex-Mex than Latin Tapas. The charge was $10USD/person, and the only real difference I noticed between eating at this restaurant and the main dining area was that there was more choices. This was not my favourite of the speciality restaurants, but if you really like Tex Mex it might be a good option for you. They also gave us a free margarita which was a bonus!

After dinner, my roomie and I decided to go bowling in Bliiss lounge. This was at a cost of $5/person/game. I would recommend that you try to bowl with more than one person because the game ends too quickly otherwise. It was definitely interesting trying to bowl with the ship rocking back and forth. Just thinking about it now makes me dizzy. Don't you LOVE my shoes???

After that we headed to bed to prepare for our first 'day at sea'

NCL PEARL/ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES CRUISE-SEPTEMBER 21 2009

Boarding began at 1pm. Thank goodness I asked Carla, our office Cruise Specialist what was the easiest way to get to the pier, because much to my surprise Vancouver has another port besides Canada Place!! My pier was located in East Vancouver, and was about a $20 cab from downtown.

I felt a bit silly standing in line by myself, and I had many comments from people standing around me, such as "are you travelling alone?" and "wow, you're brave to be taking a cruise alone".  I also got some funny looks, but this only added to my excitement. I later found out that our tour leader, Stephanie Vasquez was line stalking me, as she was too standing alone and figured I must be on the fam. Too funny.

NCL had a computer problem, so it took about 2 hours to get onboard. They were very apologetic, and at each check point (security/check in) they were very efficient. I would say they handled the problem well, and we were able to leave just a bit behind schedule.

I found my cabin quite easily, keeping in mind that the fish on the floor swim to the front of the ship (this came in handy later after late night Martini's). I was quite impressed with my outside cabin. The window was a nice size, and the bathroom was great! I liked how the shower and the toliet each had it's own room, and for once I didn't feel like I'd be getting ready in a box.

My highlight of this day was sailing underneath the Lion's Gate Bridge. It really was spectacular to see Vancouver drifting away (and the Steele's Travel office..haha. I waved at you guys, but you didn't see me).

I took a walk around the ship to get aquainted with everything. I was very impressed with the number of treadmills in the gym (which was about to become my best friend as I'm training for a marathon), the Spa was beautiful and there was definitely a lot to do with a bowling alley and a rock climbing wall!!

That night, I met my fam group at a Encore Cruise Escapes Cocktail party. We exchanged stories, and well..got aquainted with the help of some cocktails. After that we had dinner at 'Summer Palace' which is one of the two main dining rooms that you can sit down and order food from a menu. Did I mention you can sit with whoever you want? and show up whenever you want?? This was a great perk!! The dining room was beautiful, the food was really yummy and the service was excellent.

That night, we headed off to Bliss Nightclub. It's a really cool nightclub with beds and lots of comfy seating and bowling alleys!! We watched a Cabaret show, and shortly after headed off to bed.

Up next, Astoria Oregon and my chance to cross off some items from my bucket list. More about this
tomorrow.

P.S- I'll explain the Hippo picture. On each floor there's pictures of animals in the staircases. I again, became really good friends with the stairs because of my upcoming marathon..so I saw a lot of these animals, and the hippo was my favourite!

All in all, a great first day.