Alaska and the Yukon - Sailing the Inside Passage

July 26

Sailing the Inside Passage

Today is the last day of our cruise and we will be sailing the Inside Passage as we head south to Vancouver.  We lost an hour last night as we went from Alaska time to Pacific time so we slept a little later this morning.  We skipped breakfast, but did go to the Main Dining Room for a Mariners’ Brunch.  The Mariners is the Holland America loyalty program where you are awarded points for cruise days and money spent on a cruise and get certain perks for each level you attain.  We had a good lunch and then went to the casino for our last hurrah there and then back to the cabin to begin packing.  The last day of a cruise is always kind of a lost day as things wind down and you have to pack up everything for an early debarkation tomorrow.  We have mixed feelings as we will be glad to get home after being gone nearly a month plus being sick the last few days, but we will also miss the sights we have seen in Canada and Alaska.

After getting most of our packing done we watched the scenery go by as we reached the northern end of Vancouver Island.  We were particularly interested in Vancouver Island because we have traveled there quite a bit and wanted to look for some familiar landmarks.  

Our first sight of Vancouver Island

 The day had turned warmer with partly sunny skies and some dramatic clouds hanging over the island.   

We had been following a Celebrity ship all day.

 

We decided to eat in the Lido buffet tonight and went up there around 7:00 and then walked around the ship for a while before returning to the cabin.  It looked like there was going to be a nice sunset tonight so I went back to the stern of the ship by the Seaview Pool and took pictures until there was no more light and then returned to our room.   

 

A few of us gathered by the Seaview Pool to watch the sunset.

 

We said our goodbyes to our room attendants, Abdul and Dean, did our final packing, put everything outside our door for pickup and called it a night.  We arrive in Vancouver around 7:00 AM tomorrow so it’s going to be an early morning.