Tuesday 21 May at sea

It was high seas last night with a lot of touching and rolling but I'm still not suffering sea sickness so am very pleased with myself. Turned clocks forward an hour and could have done with a lie in but breakfast arrived early in our cabin so we rose ourselves and greeted the day.

Initially quite a lot of low cloud but cleared up as the morning wore on. Went to our 10 am briefing with Jeffrey re departing the ship tomorrow. APT do it well, as many of the tour passengers don't have return flights to Australia until after 11pm so they have to be off the ship first thing in the morning, but they are able to leave their luggage on an APT coach, spend the day free in Vancouver and then meet back at their coach to then be taken to the airport That's a great service. I'll get off the ship with Jo in the morning and then wait at a hotel nearby for Vicki and Joe to collect me and take us all back to Hedley which will be my home for the next 3 weeks. So after our briefing we head for coffee. Jo is going through family history stuff with another couple and I head to a quiet spot on the ship to contemplate the meaning of life while I enjoy my mocha coffee. There are a few seedy looking people on board as the ship continues to sway from side to side. The captain tells us to expect swells up to 3 metres until about 3pm today. Patrice and Ian track me down and sit with me for a chat. Not long after, one of our fellow travellers Steve, comes up to us to find out if we have any Kwells, as his wife Geraldine is feeling very sick. My Disney Princess medical kit comes to the rescue.

I dose Geraldine up with one of my anti nausea tablets and within had an hour she is starting to feel better. Nurse Ratchet has saved the day yet again! Patrice and Ian come over to where I'm now sitting with Steve and Geraldine and we stay chatting with them for a while. Jo eventually joins us and then Jo and I head for lunch. Unfortunately the main dining room is closed so we have to go to the buffet. The food is okay but I'm still horrified by the poor hygiene and take manners displayed by many of the passengers. Time to head to the cafe for coffee and then back to the room where we need to seriously start thinking of packing our cases.... It's a tough job but we get it done. Bags packed as best they can be for now. Time for some reading and reflecting, then 4pm we met our group for our last hurrah together. There have been a few of them write sea sick but the sea is much calmer so hopefully they are all over the worst of it. Jeffrey conducts a raffle for different Canada marked key rings etc. We had been able to get a ticket for different tasks that he had given us during the week. It was a bit of fun and I kept ssying that if I win, I was selecting the Diamond ring. Needless to say that there were no diamondrings, but I did get a key ring and drink cup.

We had booked dinner for the Pinnacle Grill which is one of the specialty restaurants onboard. The food was revelries. I had lobster bisque and then filet Mignon. Mouth watering. Couldn't fit in dessert but our served brought us a little sweet treat anyway and I finished the meal with a single malt.

We had back to our room for the final pecking as bags have to be out by 10.30. Time for bed and the last night of our holiday in the Rockies and Alaska.

A last look from our balcony as we head to bed. It's been awesome. Hope you have enjoyed our travels just as much as I have.