The Intentional Travelers

Cruise Port Vancouver, Canada

Gateway to Alaska cruising and a departure port for cruises to Hawaii this port has much to offer visitors.

Cruising North To Alaska?

Vancouver is a major embarkation port and a gateway for many of Alaska’s cruises.

This port is a popular gateway to many of Alaska’s cruises. While it owes much of its popularity in the cruise industry to some old and archaic U.S. law called the Jones Act and The Passenger Vessel Services Act, it deserves to be recognized as a great destination city as well. Vancouver is the largest western Canadian city with a large natural harbor and a thriving economy. Famous for a number of nearby wine regions, it has a great natural beauty and a vibrant city atmosphere.

The issue with the Jones Act/The Passenger Vessel Services Act prohibits cruise lines from picking up passengers in one U.S. port and allowing them to disembark in another U.S. port. Vancouver, Canada allows the cruise lines to avoid the problem of picking up passengers from a U.S. port.

Where Your Ship Dock

The cruise pier in Vancouver is called Canada Place and it is centrally located with a nice cruise terminal. Canada Place is also a convention center and community event venue so take the time to discover what’s going on inside. Just walking out of the terminal finds you in downtown with a tourist office within a couple of blocks of the pier. Only a few blocks walk to the southwest is Gastown, a popular historic district with lots of restaurants and clubs. A few blocks farther south is Vancouver’s Chinatown, which is home to a large Asian population replete with markets and excellent Chinese restaurants.

Wheelchair Accessibility

Disembarking – This port provides a modern cruise terminal with built-in provisions for passengers using wheelchairs like ramps and elevators.

Port City Characteristics – This port has a well developed wheelchair friendly infrastructure. The port area is flat or has few inclines. Intersection crosswalks have few issues with curbs or other wheelchair obstacles.

Transportation

Taxi – Taxis are common and fares average about $10 for trips within the central city. A taxi trip to the airport should cast about $30.

Rapid Transit – The Canada Line is Vancouver’s rapid transit rail connecting Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to downtown Vancouver in about 30 minutes. Trains leave every few minutes and run from 5 am till after midnight. Fares run about $3.00 per trip.

Bicycles – Vancouver is a very walkable city and you will discover that many locals commute on bicycles. There are a number of rental locations not far from Canada Place. Spokes Rentals is only four blocks down the waterfront (1798 W Georgia Street).

Money – A Canadian dollar is currently about US$0.80 and unlike the Eastern Canadian cities Vancouver businesses will often insist on cash being in Canadian currency. Credit cards are welcome and ATM machines are plentiful. If you spending a day or two in Vancouver a good way to pick of Canadian currency is to use an ATM.

Cruises depart by sailing under Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge

Local Sights

Gastown and Chinatown, as mentioned above are not far from Canada Place and well worth a visit. Because of the large Chinese population there are a number of restaurants featuring authentic Chinese cuisine with great dim sum. Gastown is located not far from the cruise terminal and is the old section of Vancouver. Lots of restaurants, bars and shops.

Entrance to Vancouver’s China Town

Vancouver Aquarium located in Stanly Park down the waterfront to the northeast about a mile from Canada Place. It is Canada’s largest and a great attraction especially if you are traveling with children.

Science World with its iconic dome was originally built for Expo ’86, and is home to a number of interactive exhibits as well as one of the world’s largest OMNIMAX theaters. It is located less than a mile and a half from Canada Place.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is a ways out of town but people from all over the world come here to experience this bridge and the natural beauty of the area. It is located in the Capilano area.

Todays Featured Poster • Jamestown, Virginia

Jamestown today is a historic site focused on recreations of the first English colony established in the New World on May 13, 1607. It a museum, reproductions of the original ships, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, the original fort and colony buildings along with a Powhatan Indian village. Located in tidewater Virginia near to Williamsburg and the Yorktown Battlefield National Park.

Port of Call Naples, Italy

Visiting Naples, Pompeii & Sorrento

Naples is a major metropolitan area with a number of historical sites and several nearby destinations of interest. First is Pompeii, the ancient Roman city that was buried by an eruption from Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Another popular side trip is to Sorrento. It is one of several beautiful Southern Italian seaside towns well worth a visit.

Where the Ship Docks

Cruise ships dock at a pier in Naples harbor right in the central city. There is a terminal and an easy walk out of the port area.

Wheelchair Accessibility
Disembarking – This port provides a cruise terminal with built-in provisions for passengers using wheelchairs like ramps and elevators. Leaving the port could be a bit difficult with narrow and uneven sidewalks.

Port Area Characteristics – This port has an average wheelchair infrastructure typical of large Italian cities. The port area has few inclines in sidewalks. The city’s streets do rise moderately outside of the port area and intersection crosswalks may have curbs or other wheelchair obstacles.

Transportation

Since the port is right in Naples CBD there are a number of sites and destinations within walking distance. To get out to the archeological sites or the southern coast on your own it is best to take a regional train. The central station is within walking distance of the port.

There is a Hop On Hop Off bus service for around $25 per person that includes an audio system on the bus which gives information about different sites in a number of languages. Bus tours either through the ship or from local services are good options starting at $25 to Pompeii and $100 to Sorrento.

Pompei ruins with Vesuvius in the distance

Pompeii – You can take a train to Pompeii from Naples at the Porta Nolana Circumvesuviana station only a few blocks from the port entrance. Circumvesuviana is the regional Naples train system around Mount Vesuvius with stops at Herculaneum, Pompeii and Sorrento. Go to the Circumvesuviana train ticket window and get tickets for Pompeii Scavi. The cost should be about €7 round trip. Once at Pompeii Scavi, exit the train station, turn to your right, and walk about 50 meters to the entrance to the Pompeii ruins.

Sorrento – Taking a Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento is easy since it is Capolinea, meaning the train service ends and starts in Sorrento from or to Naples. The trip takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The trains to Sorrento run approximately every 30 minutes. There are 2 types of trains. Diretto which stops at every station and Diretissimo which is faster (10 to 20 minutes). The Direttissimo is marked as DD on the schedule.

Local Currency

Like most of Europe, Italy uses the Euro (€) and credit cards are widely accepted.

Attractions

Ovo Castle – Only a short walk from the port entrance is an imposing fortress & former royal residence, with 2 towers offering views of the city.

Napoli Sotterranea – Underground system of ancient catacombs, tunnels, caverns, cisterns & hideouts accessible by tour.

Castel Nuovo – Medieval fortress near the port with 5 towers and a Renaissance triumphal arch, plus an art museum & chapel.

Anton Dohrn Zoological Station – Interesting 19th-century aquarium featuring local marine life including sea horses, squids & sea turtles.

Cameo Factory de Paola – The city of Naples is famous for its cameos and de Paola is one of the oldest being in business since 1932 and is only blocks from the port entrance.
http://www.cameodepaola.it
Via Annibale Caccavello 67/69, Incrocio Via Tito Angelini 20 – 80129 Naples

Archeological Sites – Pompeii is probably one of the most famous ancient Roman cities. Buried by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius under 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice in AD 79. Incredibly preserved under the ash the site offers a look into city life of 2,000 years ago.

Nearer the sea from Pompeii is Herculaneum another Roman city buried in the eruption and preserved more or less intact as well. Both sites can be easily reached using the regional commuter trains.

Todays Featured Poster • Alicante, Spain

Alicante is a popular Spanish beach resort city on the Mediterranean. Historically the city dates back to before 500 BC and was occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and Muslims. In the center of the city, high on top a mountain, sits San Fernando Castle began in 1808 to stop Napoleon’s conquest of Spain. The French army arrived in August 1812 but never attacked having received orders to return to France to prepare to invade Russia.

On A Dock At Sunset Eating Seafood

A Short Story and a Few Reviews

We’ve lived in Florida for over 40 years and we love the state. I spent much of my life either on the sea or under it and if you’re a water person there’s no better place to be. Beaches, coral reefs, lobsters and for years our favorite getaway place – the Florida Keys.

Back a few decades ago the Keys were pretty much half price in the summer months and our weekend destination two or three times a month.

Florida was a “snowbird” for Winter retirees and by May each year the states population seemed to drop by a third. Unfortunately nothing stays the same and with the Florida population growing from 8.7 million in 1980 when we moved here to 21.8 million in 2020 the change has been dramatic. Young families outnumber the “snowbirds” and Florida has become a full time home for many.

Many years ago one of our favorite stops in the Keys was the Islamorada Fish Company. It was actually a fish market on the Gulf side of Islamorada. A great place to buy fresh fish, shrimp and lobsters and there wasn’t much else in the area around it. Behind the market were docks where fishing boats unloaded their catches. The docks had a number of picnic tables and gas grills and we usually timed our visits near sunset if we could, so we could sit on that dock and eat as the Sun went down in the Gulf of Mexico. They grilled fresh lobster, fish, scallops and shrimp – nothing fancy and always cooked on those grills, served on a paper plate along with a Greek salad. Life just didn’t get any better than that.

We introduced friends and family to this gem and every visit was a memorable experience.

Just a few miles north of the Islamorada Fish Company was another favorite, Marker 88, a tiki hut bar on the Gulf that usually had good drinks, food and music after the Sun went down.

On one visit to the Islamorada Fish Company there was construction beginning on the lot just north of them and on the next trip we were amazed at the size of the building going up. A number of months later we returned and Outdoor World was now open on that lot. Parking was hard to find and we had to park down the road and walk back. Once we got there we realized there was a line next to the market and we were told that the wait would be well over an hour for a table. We left and haven’t been back to those docks again.

Shortly after that a condo complex was built just South of Marker 88 and a couple of years later the condo residents started complaining about the load music and the traffic at night. After a couple of decades Marker 88 had to turn down the music and be done by midnight.

Fortunately you can still find places like the original Islamorada Fish Company and Marker 88 in the Keys. Places where the seafood is fresh, the grilling kept simple and straight forward. Hurricane Hole just north of Key West is one and Ship Wreck in Key Largo is another.

A couple of years later an Outdoor World opened in Dania Beach, Florida not far from where we were living and the large attached restaurant was The Islamorada Fish Company. It’s a decent rstaurant but not exactly fresh catches grilled right on the dock. Today in Islamorada it is now a huge restaurant attached to Outdoor World* and I would expect that the food, while never as good as what was served on the docks it is probably good.

The Key’s still offer its share of fresh seafood and live music, always with a nod to Jimmy Buffet who left an indelible mark on this narrow strip of islands. But sadly nothing ever stays the same.

Some of our favorite places in the Keys include:

Lorelei’s is still drawing a crowd and The Green Turtle (the originator of Key Lime Pie) both in Islamorada have been institutions in the Keys forever.

Conch Republic Seafood Co. is right in the middle of the action in Key West with a great bar. Be sure and save your tokens.

The Hurricane Hole just north of Key West. Great seafood, good drinks served on the dock. A favorite with the locals.

Shipwreck’s Bar & Grill in Key Largo is nothing fancy but great seafood with good drinks at fair prices.

A new comer is Key West Cuban Coffee in Key West that serves great food at remarkable prices.

Capt. Tony’s Bar in Key West is also an institution that hasen’t changed much and was once Jimmy Buffets favorite hang out when he lived in Key West. It’s not far from Sloppy Joes.

*Actually there are over a dozen Islamorada Fish Company restaurants inside Outdoor World locations today.

Todays Featured Poster • Dunmore East, Ireland

The town of Dunmore East is located on the Irish southeast coast and while it has a small harbor it is most noted as a seaside resort town. The local area has great walking trails along the cliffs and the beaches. While it features amazing scenery it is also popular for its location near to the city of Waterford.

Cruising North To Alaska?

Where Your Ship Dock

Wheelchair Accessibility

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Visiting Naples, Pompeii & Sorrento

Where the Ship Docks

Transportation

Local Currency

Attractions

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A Short Story and a Few Reviews

Some of our favorite places in the Keys include:

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