Pacific Northwest Cruise: The Swine Flu Switch-a-roo

Our pre-cruise accommodation was the Courtyard Long Beach Downtown. It is located 8 miles from the San Pedro Cruise Terminal. The hotel is not posh but it served our purpose of being a clean, comfortable place to spend a night before our cruise.

The Courtyard was one of the five hotels reserved for the passengers of the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage cruise. Tom Joyner is a national R&B radio personality that raises scholarship money each year by chartering a Royal Caribbean ship and turning it into a week of R&B concerts, parties, and seminars. My wife and I had enough points for a free stay at two of the reserved hotels. We chose to use our free stay at the Courtyard because it is in walking distance of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center where the pre-cruise Bon Voyage party took place.

We had a room on the second floor with a balcony over an alley. We normally prefer rooms on slightly higher floors for security but knowing that most of the hotel guests were cruise passengers that would be checking out at the same time in the morning, I knew we'd probably be waiting a long time for an elevator to reach the higher floors. Therefore, we were content with a room on the second floor where I could walk our luggage down a flight of stairs if necessary.

Our room was clean. It passed our sniff test - no mildew or cigarette smells. The bed was comfortable. The bathroom was spotless. In other words, we were pleased with our accommodations. Our only complaint was that we discovered later that evening that the sliding door of our balcony was unlocked. Given our second floor balcony was close to the ground, our room would have been an easy target for thieves.

The hotel is in a convenient location of downtown Long Beach. There are restaurants galore in walking distance. A few blocks north of the hotel is a shopping center containing Wal-Mart and other stores. The Long Beach Harbor is within walking distance from the hotel. It was there that we ate a very satisfying dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ.

The hotel staff was friendly and helpful. My wife and I ended up spending the night at the Courtyard without of our luggage. The trucks that were responsible for delivering the cruise passenger luggage from LAX to the appropriate hotels did not deliver ours to the Courtyard. The front desk employees of the hotel helped us out by giving us tooth brushes, getting contact numbers, and making phone calls. They even helped us look through the conference room full of suitcases that the trucks had already dropped off. I ended up finding our bags the next morning at another hotel about an hour before the shuttle was supposed to take us to the cruise ship. Whew! Overall, we were happy with our pre-cruise stay at the Courtyard.

San Francisco was our first port of call. It is a great city with many fun things do. Our cruise ship was scheduled to be docked at Pier 39 for two days. Having visited San Francisco in the past, my wife and I had already done many of the attractions that I feel first-time visitors should not miss such as: Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Sausalito, Chinatown, and a city tour. As much as we enjoyed them the first time, we did not want to pay to do these things again. Therefore, during our first day in port, we wandered around Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf has been a part of the city's seafood industry since the Gold Rush days. Today, it also has many souvenir shops, stores, and restaurants. There are also some very good street performers to keep visitors entertained. Be sure to look and listen for the noisy sea lions that congregate on platforms in the water. It's fun to watch them bark at each other as they jockey for the best lounging spot.

There is a visitors' booth in the middle of Pier 39 and at least one activity warehouse on Jefferson Street where visitors can get help with booking tours and activities in and around San Francisco. Discounts coupons to many of the attractions can be found online at BayCityGuide.com.

Walking west from Pier 39 on Jefferson Street, you'll encounter more shops, restaurants, hotels, and small quirky museums. Just make sure you watch out for the Bushman during your walk. The Bushman is a creative pan handler that pops out of a fake bush on the sidewalk and yells to startle an unsuspecting passerby. This is then followed by laughter and applause of bystanders that are already hip to the game. People put tips in the Bushman's cup and wait for him to startle the next unsuspecting victim. The Bushman seems to be a local legend. I saw people pose for photos with him. I even saw a guy wearing a T-Shirt with the words 'The Bushman scared the @#$% out of me!'

We finished off our wandering that day at a Walgreens convenience store where we bought a few odds and ends. I took a walk down the snack aisle as I love to do when I'm in a different city. Because of its large Chinese population, San Francisco has some really interesting snacks such as dried squid and shrimp chips. I ended up buying a bag of the shrimp chips. These puffy crisps had a slight shrimp flavor. I munched on them in my ship cabin throughout the rest of the week.

Finally, I recommend visitors to San Francisco always have a jacket handy even if it is warm out. The temperature seems to drop drastically in late afternoon. Those who are unprepared will probably end up buying a souvenir San Francisco sweatshirt or jacket.

There are several bicycle rental places at Pier 39 and vicinity that offer the opportunity to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. It is an 8-mile ride on a mainly flat or downhill paved path that takes you along the coast of San Francisco, across the bridge, and into Sausalito. From Sausalito, you can catch the ferry back to San Francisco or you can continue another 8 miles to Tiburon and catch the ferry from there. Those who want more time on the bicycle can always bike their way back across the bridge instead of using the ferry.

We knew from our walk the previous day that all the rental places have pretty much the same rates. We chose Blazing Saddles at Pier 39 because it was close to our cruise ship. Additionally, we were able to use the online discount coupons we had printed from BayCityGuide.com before the cruise.

My wife and I wanted to rent a tandem bike. We decided to abandon that idea after the friendly rental guy let us take a test ride. My wife was on the back seat and did not like the idea of not being able to steer the bike from there. Therefore, we each rented a Comfort Model bicycle.

We were given a map, ferry tickets, helmet, and key for the bike lock. The bike had a convenient pouch for storing other items we brought with us or purchased along the way. We had to ride on busy Jefferson Street for 3 blocks before we reached the start of the bike path.

Although most of the path is flat, we did have to huff and puff up two hills before we got to the Golden Gate Bridge. The pavement on the bridge is wider than the typical sidewalk. This was good because there were several walkers and riders out that morning. Our ride across was smooth. Even with all the motor vehicles speeding by, we felt no bouncing or swaying.

The path runs out after crossing the bridge. We coasted the rest of the way down a winding road into the town of Sausalito. Fortunately, most of the road has a wide shoulder and we did not have to worry too much about motor vehicle traffic.

It was an overcast and chilly morning when we began our bike ride but by the time we reached Sausalito, it was sunny and mild. Therefore, it is best to dress in layers. The bike ride from San Francisco to Sausalito normally takes about 1.5 hours but it took us 2 hours because we stopped several times to take pictures.

Sausalito is a quaint bayside town with shops and eateries. My wife did a little shopping before we took the 25-minute ferry ride back to Pier 41 in San Francisco. We returned the bikes and settled the bill. Blazing Saddles will charge you the hourly rate ($8) or day rate ($32) depending on whichever is cheaper for the amount of time you rented the bike. I thought the bike ride was a nice, relaxing way to enjoy the bay area.

By Day 5, our ship had reach Victoria, Canada. Victoria is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island across the bay from the U.S. state of Washington. My wife and I had signed up for the 3-hour Victoria Highlights and Craigdarroch Castle excursion offered by Royal Caribbean via Gray Line Tours. The tour took us through the residential neighborhoods, to a scenic overlook, to Craigdarroch Castle, and through downtown Victoria.

The residential areas of Victoria are very tidy. The homes contain perfectly manicured lawns with colorful flower beds and neatly trimmed shrubbery. People were out golfing and playing tennis. Seniors dressed in white were lawn bowling. We rode through a park where ducks, geese, and peacocks grazed as children played. A bald eagle was perched in a tree proudly watching over her gigantic nest. The communities of Victoria appear to be among the happiest places on earth.

We were eventually driven to the top of a mountain that seemed more like a hill when compared to the snow-capped Olympic Mountains across the water. From here we were able to get off the bus and take in an elevated view of Victoria and the cruise ships in port that day. It was not the most impressive overlook I've seen but it felt good to walk around in the fresh air.

From the mountain, we were driven to Craigdarroch Castle whose construction was completed in 1890. It is located in a residential neighborhood. We were given an hour to walk through the castle. There is a lot of intricate woodwork and stained glass as well as some books and letters of the Dunsmuir family that lived there. Not paying close enough attention to the time, my wife and I had to quickly leave the castle and chase our tour bus that was pulling off one minute after we were supposed to be back onboard. How embarrassing.

When we reached downtown Victoria, our tour guide pointed out a few landmarks and then gave the option of getting off the bus to explore on our own or staying on the bus for a ride back to the ship. My wife and I chose to get off the bus to explore the downtown area.

Downtown Victoria has shops, restaurants, hotels, museums, Chinatown and the Inner Harbour. The merchants in the area will accept U.S. currency but will give you change in Canadian. After having toured the tidy residential areas of the island, it came as no surprise that downtown Victoria is very clean and upscale. Even McDonald's has an elegant chandelier hanging in its lobby.

There were several ways to get back to the ship: pay $10 for a taxi, pay $6 for the CVS Cruise Victoria shuttle, or walk. It was a bright sunny day with near perfect temperatures. Therefore, my wife and I ask for directions from the Visitor Center and made the easy 20-minute walk back to the ship. Victoria was a pleasant port.

We toured Craigdarroch Castle as part of the Victoria Highlights and Craigdarroch Castle tour offered by Royal Caribbean via Gray Line Tours. The castle's construction was completed in 1890 and occupied by the Dunsmuir family. Over the years, it has also served as a military hospital and music conservatory.

The castle is located in a residential area. We were given an hour to explore its four floors and its tower on our own. Upon entering, each person was required to use the machine at the door to clean the soles of their shoes. Doing this helps keep the castle clean.

Those who like woodwork and stained glass windows will probably find touring the castle a treat. There are many pieces of intricately carved wooden furniture, doors, and walls. Additionally, there are personal items of the family throughout the castle such as portraits, photos, letters, hand-written schedules, and books. Signs posted throughout the home explain the significance of each room and its contents.

The family enjoyed playing music as a pastime. We saw many musical instruments throughout the residence. Given most of the items in the castle are roped off to discourage visitors from touching them, I was surprised to see a sign inviting musically-trained visitors to try out the 1879 Steinway & Sons square piano. Playing piano has been my hobby since age seven; therefore, I decided to sit down and play a few bars of Chopin. The piano has obviously been well maintained over the past 130 years. It had a very nice tone even though the person playing it was a little rusty:(.

We made our way up to the circular tower where we could look out over the city. The view was nice but the more impressive thing for me was the large wooden door that was shaped to seamlessly fit the curvature of the room.

There is a souvenir shop before the exit on the bottom floor of the castle. We did not spend much time there because we realized our tour bus was about to leave without us. It would have been a $26-taxi ride back to our cruise ship if we had gotten left behind.

I cannot say Craigdarroch Castle is a must-see for every visitor to Victoria. I recommend it mainly for people who enjoy antique furniture, woodwork, and history. I enjoyed seeing the castle and thought an hour visit was adequate for my level of interest.