We woke up in Vancouver and left the ship at 9am. One of our drivers picked us up and took some of us to Granville Island. We got a water taxi to the Vancouver museum.

We took the water taxi back and explored the Public Market.

Pinkie picked us up then collected the rest of the party and drove us to the airport.

A nine hour flight is approaching.

Back in England tomorrow.

Today was our last day of the cruise, travelling from Ketchikan to Vancouver.

We attended a virtual tour of the ship, seeing behind the scenes and meeting some of the people who worked hard to make our trip so memorable.

At the end of the tour hundreds of staff poured into the theatre to take our applause. They then left the theatre to line the exit corridors to applaud the audience on their way out.

Andy and I entered a quiz in the afternoon and came second with 17 out of 18.

We relaxed with some of the friends we had made, all the while keeping an eye out for wildlife. We saw a humpback whale and two groups of porpoises.

In the evening the whole group had dinner together.

The staff sang to us all!

It has been an amazing holiday. Tomorrow we will be in Vancouver, flying back home, arriving on Thursday.

Thank you for following our trip.

What day is it today ………

Sea Day today.

I went to a talk about the best places to spot whales etc. The weather has changed and it is wet and misty today.

In the afternoon I went to a Mahjong group and played against a Chinese lady and her mother. We had 3 games and I won one!

For dinner we went to the main Dining Room rather than the buffet.

After dinner we went to the theatre to see a comedian.

Looking forward to seeing whales tomorrow!

This morning we had a lovely breakfast in the Blue Horizon Hotel before being taken on the short trip to the port.

We boarded the Zaandam and watched as it left Vancouver.

We went to a talk about what we may be lucky enough to see on our cruise.

After a ‘Welcome Aboard Steak Dinner’ we watched a talk/film about Alaska.

‘Solid Gold’ show tonight!

After a comfortable sleep in our room on the 14th floor of the Blue Horizon Hotel we joined our group for a coach tour of Vancouver.

We passed many interesting buildings, the steam clock, the Olympic Cauldron and the gates to Chinatown, before stopping at Stanley Park.

After returning to our hotel we were free for the rest of the day.

Andy and I went down to Vancouver harbour and sat and watched the sea planes taking off and landing.

For our evening meal we had a lovely steak at Chop House, sitting outside and enjoying the view.

Tomorrow we board our cruise ship!

We left Kamloops on our way to Vancouver. We passed Kamloops Lake and drove alongside the North Thompson River. The scenery was very different to that which we saw yesterday, beginning with desert like, dry areas.

We spotted Osprey, big horn sheep, several bald eagles on nests, deer and a marmot.

We stopped unexpectedly and were told that the train in front had developed a mechanical fault. It would take an hour to fix.

So we sat back and enjoyed our lunch. The food on the train was excellent.

Eventually we continued on our way, enjoying the ever changing scenery.

We were told by the train manager that we were running 3 hours behind due to the delay and to the fact that we had been travelling at slow speeds behind the other train.

We arrived in Vancouver at 9.30 and at our hotel at 10.00pm. After 13 hours on the train we are very tired!

It was a great trip though. We enjoyed every minute of it. The team who looked after us for the two days were lovely.

Update

We were so tired last night when we arrived that I didn’t quite finish the blog.

The team who looked after our carriage were great. They had worked a 14hour day but were still smiling at the end of it!

We finally arrived at the Rocky Mountaineer station to find our coach waiting to take us to our hotel.

View from our hotel room window on 14th floor.

Very exciting, but early, start to the day as we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer for the first leg of our trip – Jasper to Kamloops.

Boarding was quick and easy and the long journey through fabulous scenery began.

Breakfast and lunch were provided plus constant drinks and snacks.

The journey took nine and a half hours (during which we changed from Mountain time to Pacific time) which passed quickly as we relaxed, ate, drank and looked out for wildlife. Alerts were called out when animals were spotted. We passed bears, deer and a bald eagle in a huge nest. Unfortunately Andy and I didn’t see the bears. Maybe tomorrow!

Today we left Banff to drive 140 miles through Banff and Jasper National Parks on the Icefields Parkway ‘one of the world’s most scenic drives’.

The scenery was amazing throughout the route. Our first stop was at Bow Lake.

We drove on past beautiful lakes, mountains and forests ……

to the Athabasca Glacier, one of 6 glaciers that flow from the Icefields. We rode the Snow Coach to the glacier and were able to walk on it! It was very windy, cold and snowing but exhilarating!

Our next stop was the Athabasca Falls.

We drove on to Jasper, seeing elk on the roadside along with evidence of a devastating forest fire that hit the area in 2024.

After a night in the Forest Park Hotel we will board the Rocky Mountaineer tomorrow!

Today was a free day and our last day in Banff so after breakfast in the hotel next door, we got the bus with our free tickets, to Banff Gondola.

The eight minute trip took us up to the summit of Sulphur Mountain.

The 360° views at the top show 6 mountain ranges, with an amazing view of the town of Banff nestled between them.

Andy followed the boardwalk up Sanson’s Peak.

Many wild animals live in the area but we only saw goats.

We spent a couple of hours at the summit enjoying the views and the fresh air before setting off back down.

We had lunch in town and visited Central Park, finishing off our day with a circular bus trip.

Off to Grizzly’s tonight for some steak!

Today we set off in our comfortable, brand new coach, with our friendly driver, Cal, to have a tour of the area around Banff.

First we visited Bow Falls,

followed by a scenic drive to Lake Louise.

Lake Louise is well known for its beautiful turquoise waters …….

but not when it is still frozen! Andy is standing on the lake.

At our lunch stop I saw a pika, a small, mountain dwelling mammal found in North America.

We travelled on to Emerald Lake which lived up to its name. Here we were above the snow line and it started snowing while we were there.

Our last stop was the Natural bridge where the swirling waters have created a stone bridge.

The scenery was amazing it was a great day. On the way back members of the group saw two bears, an elk and several deer.

Free day tomorrow.