We each have a small wheeled suitcase and a daypack as we leave on our two months long trip for the South Pacific. In it, we have clothes, shoes, swim wear and a good supply of books. It’s 6 AM when we board the ferry from Salt Spring Island to Vancouver. We love the fact that we don’t need to fly anywhere for this trip!

By 11 AM we enter the cruise terminal in downtown Vancouver. With passports and boarding passes in hand, it takes mere minutes to clear customs and walk onto our home for the next 56 days: the MV Zaandam of the Holland America Line.