May 21, 2012
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On Mother’s Day, I had breakfast with the family, and then headed down to San Francisco for a 2-day cruise to Vancouver!
Day 1: All aboard the Star Princess to celebrate my dear friend Kathy’s 40th birthday! Welcome aboard: Karen, Sheri, Lily, Jennifer, Sandy, Kathy, Chite, Melissa, and Karen – otherwise known as “Kathy and the BFFs.” What a great view of San Francisco … and having seen the Golden Gate bridge so many times from the highway, it felt surreal going under it!
It was quite windy, so after getting a group photo (a non-trivial task with all the hair flying), we headed to our rooms and explored the ship. Our block of rooms included 2 balcony suites and Kathy’s elite cruising status with Princess gave us access to free mini bar drinks.
First night (after the obligatory safety drill of course) included a nice dinner, followed by a show, and then … karaoke. I am a terrible singer, so I was dreading this part of the evening, but once we started dancing on stage, the energy was contagious. As we sang Mama Mia, the crowd started clapping and singing along – so fun! We stayed for the other singers. .. and while there were some great vocalists, we had the strongest crowd appeal. From then on, we’d be stopped periodically by other guests who recognized us. Celebrity status? Check!
At about 11pm or so, we headed to the night club to continue dancing. There were enough people to make it fun, but not so crowded that we were always bumping into people. I requested the song “Baby Got Back”, and I guess the DJ thought our group liked butts because after that, there were a few more songs in a row on that very topic. I hadn’t danced in forever, and had forgotten how fun it was. (Bonus: no blisters despite 4″ heels - Louboutins are quality!) I brought a book to read (ha-ha) but crashed as soon as we got back to our room.
Day 2: Despite staying up late the previous night, Melissa and I (cabinmates) made a pact to exercise the following morning. And we did! I ran 3 miles while Melissa did the elliptical. Calorie-wise, it was all downhill (a steep one) from there. We had breakfast with a few of the other girls, and then split up again to hit the pools. Then it was lunch, checking out the shops and exploring the boat, followed by regrouping all together at 3pm for afternoon tea. A bit concerning since dinner was 5:45pm, and as far as I know, only newborns should be eating full meals every 2-3 hours.
Oh gosh, and I almost forgot. We ran into a cafe between tea and dinner … they had different desserts, including a peanut butter chocolate one that Melissa had to get (it’s her favorite.) So I kept her company by eating a shrimp salad … with a side of Greek salad. No wonder my evening gown felt snug!
We had a champagne toast in Kathy’s honor during dinner – cheers to Kathy! Post dinner (which included a great duck appetizer and lots of dessert), we split up to watch 2 shows. There was a comedian who was named “Princess Entertainer of the Year” and most of the girls decided to see that. A few of the non-native English speakers had concerns about understanding a comedy show (a concern I am very familiar with after cruising with my parents a few weeks ago) and decided to watch the Showtime (singing/dancing) production instead. I decided to go with Showtime, as I figured I could go to comedy shows more easily on land. Plus my English is surprisingly bad for someone born in this country.
We met up at 10pm for an encore of Kathy and the BFFs … this time singing “Summer Nights” from the Grease soundtrack. We split into two groups based on quick assessment of manliness – so obviously I ended up in the John Travolta camp. I think there was also an underground movement to cover up the worst singers, so each side needed a decent lead vocalist. And if that shuffling wasn’t confusing enough, the karaoke video switched the male vocal to pink and female vocal to blue … and there was a few second audio-video lag. Luckily the lead vocalists (Kathy and Melissa) caught on right away, but I spent the majority of the song fuming that everyone was disregarding the video’s cues. The last few verses, I simply gave up and started dancing – and ended with an impromptu mime skit with Sheri. Pretend to be a man? Check!
Most of us went to bed after that, but Sandy and Melissa went back to the night club … where we later found out, Sandy asked a sailor to dance. Too bad Sheri and I weren’t there – we would’ve bought the guy a drink and written Kathy’s cabin number on the napkin.
Day 3: We had breakfast (loved their poached eggs over lox and bagel sandwich) and then headed out to the deck, where we had a great view of the Vancouver skyline. We passed snow capped mountains, the famous bright yellow sulfur piles, the lush Stanley park, and went underneath Lions Gate bridge to the dreaded Canada Place, where we knew our mini-cruise would end. NOoooo!
After we got off the ship, Kathy treated us all to high tea at The Urban Tea Merchant. It was walking distance, so we strolled along the bustling Vancouver streets dragging our luggage. Pretty sure it’s the best afternoon tea I’ve ever had … what a comprehensive list of teas! I couldn’t leave without picking up a container of “Happy Birthday tea” as a souvenir. After tea, we walked around a mall before heading to YVR airport … where I got to wait in Air Canada’s lounge as Kathy and Melissa’s guests. Arrived home past midnight, ready to head into work bright and early the next day.
What an awesome get-together! Fun, food, and friends? Check, check, check! It was wonderful spending time with such a great group of women. Surrounded by such successful, capable, and confident ladies, I’m thinking the 40s look pretty good. Happy 40th Birthday Kathy!!! (For Kathy’s blog on the trip: http://witwikk.blogspot.com/2012/05)
