Note: I'll try to post some images later in the week

The travel agent handling the matter was Mr Bruce Chadwick of Chadwick's Travel, Mississauga, Ontario. Bruce was wonderful. If I ever have occasion to use his services in future I certainly shall. His number is in my Palm.

Some of the other preparations that made the trip very easy,... were to have a knowledge of where we were going in sufficient detail that we were going to make our ship and aircraft connections on time.

One of the things we made a point of doing was telephoning Celebrity Cruises and finding out where our ship would be. The information they had was "San Francicso, Pier 35" as the initial departure point and "Canada Place West, Vancouver" as the final destination.

Then son unit found his way to Yahoo Maps and found out where the air ports were in San Francicso and Vancouver. A bit more hunting and he found some wonderful people with The Port of San Francisco. He phoned them up and got driving directions from the airport to Pier 35 - It's next to the Ferry Building by the way. Now we were educated so as not to be driven in a circular search pattern by an ambitious cab driver.

In point of fact: The Cab Driver in San Francisco was Great! He knew were he was going and travelled the predicated route remarking upon points of interest along the way.

From a previous trip we already knew that Canada Place was next to, or part of, the ground that the Pan Pacific Hotel is. Those people are great. They had already listed travel information from Canada Place West to the Vancouver Airport.

Again: In Vancouver the cab driver was great!

With this information on paper and being packed one full day ahead of time we were set. We were set!

The trip was great! It was pretty much what I had expected. Celebrity Cruises really did a wonderful job of the whole thing. From Start to Finish everything was done and done properly. We were in opulence! - Actually we were in an Ocean View Stateroom with Veranda -- It's well appointed.

My only complaint is that I just can't afford to live onboard 365 days a year. I will need a lot of Epress and Globe And Mail Wins in order to make that happen. (There is a cassino aboard, but I didn't hear of any big wins happenning there and I really didn't feel like dinging husband unit's credit card too seriously.)

The Rocky Mountains were coated with evergreens and snow capped. Seeing the changes the tide leaves upon the shoreline was spectacular. (While one person who we frequently dined with did see a bear, most wildlife tends to have other things to do than watch curious tourists sailing on by. Consequently if one wants to see wildlife, one really should take an inland excursion.)

We had four wonderfully warm and bright days that we used the balcony to watch the west coast go by. :) It was wonderful!

The meals were excellent and beyond belief. Again, I wish I could have the full galley staff and waiters, etc,... drop in everyday for Breakfast, Lunch & Super! I didn't wash a plate during the entire event although I did clean up everything :)

The only warning I have regarding the food aboard the ship is to be careful to watch the waistline. It's good and there's always something to attract the passengers with, eg. Gourmet Pizza, Afternoon Tea and Frozen Yogurt were some of our favourites during the non-dining hours. Of course room service is available 24 hours.

The Theatre was great! Both in terms of size and quality of the performances :)

Aboard there was a spa, a hair salon, a bunch of shops, a flourist - I purchased two beautiful arrangements of artificial flowers :) I found the prices to be fair.

If Buckingham Palace is as well appointed as Celebrity Cruises's Infinity then H.R.H. Elizabeth II is doing pretty good :)

I think most by now know that I was delighted to meet Sue, misagnes2000@yahoo.ca from the Contest Canada mailing list. Sue has more than just excellent taste in what coffee shop to pick out :) - Murchie's on Goverment Road. When in Victoria we highly recommend meeting Sue! You'll be happy you did. Next trip to BC -- She is my first call :)

Probably my second call will be to Kathy Fowler,... katfowler@hotmail.com, another contest winner -- I wish that scheduling had allowed us to meet. Hopefully that will happen in future.

While on her lunch she was able to grab a few snapshots of the Infinity coming into Victoria. They appear below courtesy of her.

Click On Image To See A Full Size Picture

Some will find this odd, but some of the people aboard ship I remember most are the service staff. They were always fun and helpful - even when they were busy polishing, shinning, making the ship sparkle or just plain vaccuming up :)

They earned every tip they made :)

At one point myself and another woman saw one person on staff making decorations from Marzipan. When asked if she could take the time to show us how to do such, she did. If you wanted something out of the ordinary the staff would figure out a way to make your wish a reality.

Of the other guests aboard the ship,... the people who I remember most are the people we typically had dinner with. Seated at our table were some very fine people. I enjoyed everyone's company. Probably the most memorable was Linda and her husband Walter. They were probably the couple we have most in common with :) Before departing Linda gave me her e-mail address and I shall start corresponding with her shortly.

• First Cruise Vacation.

• The ship cleared the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver by 18 inches - aboutl ½ a meter. First time the Infinity entered Vancouver and it's the closest I've been to the Lion's Gate Bridge without being on the bridge :) It was special to be on deck and see the whole thing happen smoothly :)

• Watching Whales North of Vancouver

• First Time in San Francisco. By the Way, the Inifinity cleared the Golden Gate Bridge by six feet - about 2 metres.

And again

And Yes! I'd do it again!