Friday, May 23, 2025

Our day began at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Last night, we slept soundly for the most part; the city noise outside our hotel room was a bit loud, but the hotel beds were comfortable and we were all tired from a day of traveling yesterday. Aden pulled back the window curtains this morning around 7:00am to reveal a view of the Celebrity Summit cruise ship pulling into port.

Today was cruise day! We were set to embark on a 7-night cruise departing from Vancouver, BC traveling to Seward, Alaska. We were all so excited!

As Andi, Aden, and I watched the ship pull into port just outside our hotel room window (Tory was still asleep through this), I texted Andi’s mom, Janie, in the next door hotel room to tell her to look out the window. She responded to say they were already watching. Andi’s dad, Jim, hadn’t left the bench beside the window since 6:00am, she said.

Jim and Janie messaged back to say they were going to walk downstairs to Tim Horton’s to grab coffee, and invited the kids to go with them. Aden jumped at the chance to buy some Timbits donuts. He dressed quickly, then joined Grandma and Grandpa a few minutes later. Tory was still sleeping. Andi and I also dressed, then went to the gym inside the hotel.

By the time Jim, Janie, and Aden returned from Tim Horton’s and Andi and I finished our workouts at the hotel gym, Tory was awake and ready for the day. The six of us decided to have breakfast at ARC, the Fairmont Hotel’s restaurant.

We had the choice of ordering a la carte from the menu, or eating from the buffet for $44/pp. All six of us chose the buffet; it looked really good. We dined on eggs, roasted potatoes, chicken sausages, sauteed mushrooms, toast, chilled meats & cheeses, yogurt, croissants, and muffins.

After breakfast, Andi mentioned he booked an appointment to get his haircut at a barber down the street. Jim said he had also hoped to get a haircut before the cruise, but his appointment had been canceled a few days before the trip. Sweetly, Andi made a quick call to the barber and was able to get Jim an appointment near the same time as his. So, Andi and Jim left the hotel after breakfast to get their hair and beards trimmed while Janie, Aden, Tory, and I headed back upstairs to our hotel rooms.

Andi text me a picture of his dad about an hour later getting the royal treatment at the barbershop. Vancouver is the 3rd most expensive city in North America so their appointments weren’t cheap, but what a treat it was to be pampered. Jim had never experienced anything like this before.

By the time Jim and Andi returned from the barbershop, it was time to board the cruise ship. I’d sent our luggage with the hotel bellman earlier this morning to be delivered directly to the cruise ship. This was such a nice service the Fairmont Hotel provided! Without any bags to carry, the six of us simply walked across the street to the Canada Place cruise terminal and walked aboard the ship.

Andi and Janie completed most of our boarding paperwork ahead of time, so we simply arrived at our designated boarding time, breezed through passport and security checks, and were on the ship in under 30 minutes. Easy peasy.

For this cruise, Andi booked our family two inside cabins, each with two twin beds and a bathroom. The cabins are a bit smaller than other room layouts on the ship because they have a connecting door between them, but this setup works well for families.

Jim and Janie have their own room down the hallway from ours. Their single inside cabin, also with two twin beds and a bathroom, is a bit larger in size than ours without a connecting door to the next room.

In our opinion, there are pros and cons to every cabin layout. Inside rooms are cheaper which is a big perk obviously, but the closeness of the rooms can also feel claustrophobic. We literally have no idea what is happening outside our cabin, haha! There are no windows. We’re probably missing some epic Alaskan views as the ship is underway.

On the other hand, the darkness in our cabin is a big benefit during Alaska’s 18 hours of daylight this time of year. All six of us have been sleeping soundly each night. When we want privacy or space to wind down away from the action of the ship, it’s very easy to find peace and quiet inside our cabins.

Once onboard the Celebrity Summit, the six of us explored the floors of the ship. Eventually we found our way to the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) with the rest of the ship. Man, was it busy in there! After circling around the dining room several times, we snagged two tables next to one another so our family could all eat together. We were all overwhelmed locating the food we wanted to eat amongst the crowds. I felt bad that this was Janie and Jim’s first impression of cruising because it’s not always like this.

After we ate, we made our way to the 11th floor & registered Tory and Aden for Camp at Sea (ages 3-12) and X Club (ages 13-17). There are 120 kids under the age of 17 on the cruise, so Tory and Aden are hoping to meet some other kids their ages.

Our luggage had made it to our rooms by the time we finished lunch, so we spent some time unpacking and settling into our cabins. New this cruise, I purchased some magnetic hooks to hand on the walls for extra storage and we brought along dry-erase white boards to hang on our cabin doors to leave messages for each other.

Next, the six of us walked outside to Deck 11 to watch the ship depart Vancouver. We lounged in the seating by the outdoor movie theatre and visited while we waited for the ship to leave.

The Celebrity Summit pulled away from Vancouver around 5:00pm. The ship narrowly passed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge with inches to spare. Geesh! That was close! Later, I read that the height of this bridge limits certain cruise ships from porting in Vancouver because the ships must fit underneath the 200 ft. tall bridge at low tide.

And, we were off! We’re all so happy and excited for this adventure.

Our group of six has a standing reservation every evening from 5:30pm-6:00pm at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant on Deck 5. After struggling to find a table at the buffet this afternoon, we decided it might be nice to have dinner in the main dining room to avoid the crowds.

Jim and Janie were so impressed by this restaurant. Our standing table reservation is in a great spot by the gigantic windows aft of the ship. We ordered appetizers, entrees, and desserts from the menu. My beet and feta salad was excellent, and Jim and Janie really enjoyed their portions of salmon. Andi didn’t realize the pork chop he ordered was fried, so we swapped entrees. Fried food always gives him a stomach ache. That entree wasn’t particularly good.

Aden and Tory decided they wanted to go to Camp at Sea (kids room) & X Club (teen room) after dinner. Meanwhile, Jim, Janie, Andi, and I spent the next few hours wandering around the ship. We attempted to go to the evening’s headliner performance, but it was a little strange. An artist on stage was putting on a show using sand to tell a story. We passed on the sand show, and went to a True or False game show in the Sky Lounge on Deck 11. The atmosphere was fun and lively.

By 9:00pm, the adults in our group were ready for bed. Andi was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. I waited up for Tory and Aden to return from the kids/teens hangouts at 10:00pm, and went to bed thereafter. Both kids said they had a great time tonight, and look forward to going back to Camp at Sea & X Club again this week.

Tomorrow is our one and only “sea day” on this 7-day cruise as we make our way to southeast Alaska. Looking forward to spending a day on the ship.