Pre-Cruise Stay on English Bay

We flew up to Vancouver a few days ahead of embarkation day, giving ourselves some time to explore and recover before boarding our next cruise.

While waiting on a delayed flight out of SeaTac, we started chatting with fellow cruisers at the gate. Two were heading out on an upcoming Princess cruise, while four others were sailing on the same ship as us! Travel makes for such an easy icebreaker. Ask someone where they’re headed, where they’ve been, or what ship they’re boarding and suddenly you have plenty to talk about.

Our arrival at YVR was seamless. Customs was smooth and efficient, with plenty of e-gate kiosks, AND we didn’t have to wrestle our luggage through the process first. 🙏🇨🇦 Thank you, Canada, for making it make sense.

From the airport, we grabbed a short Uber to our condo in English Bay, where we’d be staying for the next few days. By then, we were ready to call it a day. Well, after Korean chicken delivery and a much-needed supply of water. Uber Eats to the rescue!

Travel days seem to wear us out more than anything else. To be fair, even though we checked our three suitcases, my carry-on backpack was loaded with meds, two laptops and other necessities. It clocked in at 21 pounds and felt like I was hauling around a small child. A solid reminder of why I desperately need to return to the gym.

The next day was devoted to wandering around our neighborhood. We stopped for snacks at Bisou Café, which was delicious, walked along English Bay, visited the pharmacy one too many times, and explored Robson and Denman Streets.

One of my anticipated stops was the Hello Kitty Café on Robson. I was surprised by how tiny the café was! We ordered coffee, strawberry swirl ice cream and little Hello Kitty-shaped waffle bites that were almost too cute to eat.

Almost.

The waffle bites were decent, but neither of us was particularly impressed with the rest. The strawberry swirl ice cream tasted artificial, my coffee tasted slightly burnt, and Justin’s iced chocolate milk wasn’t especially chocolatey. Meh. We paid for the experience.

I was also tempted by a Vancouver Hello Kitty Café hoodie until I saw the $90 price tag. 😭 Heartbreaking, but I couldn’t do it.

Shopping went a little better elsewhere. I found a unique sticker and sparkly magnet from a local artisan gallery, which made much better souvenirs. We also stopped at MUJI. I’d hoped to find a few things here and potentially cross MUJI off my shopping list for Japan, but the clothing materials felt too scratchy for me. My growing requirement for everything to be butter-soft or lightweight and moisture-wicking is becoming a serious limitation during my already limited shopping excursions.

After plenty of walking, we returned to the condo for a midday break before heading back out for dinner at Cactus Club Cafe. Our chef/driver had recommended it, and the English Bay location gave us a beautiful view of the sunset over the beach while we ate.

So far, Vancouver has been an easy transition between our Pacific Northwest family visits and the next part of our journey. A walkable neighborhood, beach views, cute treats, a little shopping, good food and enough downtime to recover before embarkation day.

Exactly what we needed before heading back to sea.Read more