Even though today wasn’t really a sea day, it felt like it because we didn’t get in to Victoria, BC until 7:00 PM. We had Reese’s cake for breakfast and it was deliciously light and fluffy. The weather had improved, so we were able to eat out on the balcony without freezing. After breakfast, Reese headed back up to the kids club to hang out for the day and we continued to back our bags.
Around lunch time we went down to one of the dining rooms to track down one of our waiters. She’s from Ukraine, is Orthodox, and wanted to see pictures of our wedding. We did manage to catch up with her and, I think, made her day with the pictures.
From there we went up to the passenger services desk to make sure our accounts were correct. We had some minor billing errors on the last cruise, and didn’t catch them until it was almost too late. This time we took care of it early. While the girls were sorting something out, I did a little shopping and found a good deal on a Citizen Eco-Drive watch. Nothing too flashy, but it looks good and will never need batteries.
Later in the afternoon we had high tea, which was interesting. There were some nice finger sandwiches as well as some good brewed tea, as well as some fun conversation with the people we shared the table with. After that we went and sorted through our pictures, placing our orders for prints and a thumb drive with the digital versions.
We pulled in to Victoria, BC on time and Reese and I got our paperwork together and headed off the ship for his first visit to another country. Once we cleared Canadian immigration, which amounted to walking through a building with no paperwork checks, we popped over to the local information kiosk to get some information on local restaurants and pubs. While waiting in line we ran in to the stereotypical ugly American, who was upset that his mobile phone wasn’t working. I asked him who his carrier was, but he didn’t know. So I asked him who he paid his bill to, he said he didn’t have one and that he just bought minutes when he needed them. To that I replied that he was out of luck because none of the prepaid carriers would have negotiated any meaningful kind of international roaming. His response was to tell me that he didn’t like my answer. At that point we were all sick of him so my response was that whether he liked it or not didn’t make it any less right. He stormed off in a huff, probably to make someone else miserable.
We got our information, including a suggestion for a local restaurant, and shared a cab in to town with another couple. We got dropped off close to 10 Acres, the restaurant recommendation from the docks, and got our names on the list for a seat. The menu wasn’t something Reese would enjoy so we walked down the street to a burger place and got him fed. It was perfect timing because we walked in 10 Acres just as our table became available. I ordered a local IPA and had their charcuterie for dinner. The food was amazing, delicious meats, cheeses, pickles, and this chicken liver spread that was absolutely fantastic. This place deserves a visit if you’re in the area.
After dinner we walked around town, did some souvenir shopping, and some picture taking. Since it was such a short stop, we didn’t do too much, but we got to walk around town a bit before taking a cab back to the docks. We got back before Heather and Sandy did, but they were doing high tea at the Empress Hotel, so that was to be expected. I actually got to see them walking back down the dock from our balcony. We finished the last of our packing and got to sleep at a reasonable hour. We’re getting off the ship pretty early tomorrow, so having everything squared away tonight was a must.