- The start of a 3-night Vancouver to San Francisco Star Princess repositioning cruise
- Day 2 on Star Princess repositioning cruise, stop in Victoria
- The end of our Star Princess repositioning cruise
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(thanks to my girlfriends for providing some of the pictures!)
Star Princess was docked in Victoria Saturday morning. The five of us signed up for the English Tea at Butchart Gardens shore excursion in advance. I hadn't been to the gardens since I was a teenager so it was nice to see it again.
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After breakfast in the buffet, we got off the ship and boarded the bus for our excursion, which was scheduled from 8:30am to 12:30pm. It took about 40 minutes to get to Butchart Gardens, driving through the Saanich Peninsula.
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| a camouflaged utility box! |
It was wonderful to visit the gardens during springtime! I have never seen so many tulip varieties in one place (until I make it to the Netherlands...). The spring blooms come in so many vibrant colors. All I remember from my past visit (in summer) was a lot of red flowers.
We had an hour to explore the grounds on our own before meeting up at the Butchart family residence for tea. This place is a photographer's dream. There wasn't a bad shot to be had. A couple who was touring the garden at the same pace as us was so gracious to help take pictures of all of us every once in a while.
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By the time we arrived at the Butchart family residence, the multiple tables were occupied in a way that no one could even offer to move to make room for the five of us. We ended up splitting three and two. If it is important for you to sit together as a group, I would suggest arriving a bit earlier than the appointed meeting time to secure seating.
The tea service was very efficient and there were so many delicious delicacies to eat. We ended up taking the remainder back to the ship; the servers were passing out take-away boxes to every table before we even thought of asking for one.
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We boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. The weather just started to turn, so we were very lucky to have visited Butchart Gardens before it rained.
Mere hours later, it was time for dinner...the eating never stops! Tonight's menu was very tasty. We ordered multiple entrees as usual. Our waiter didn't bat an eye.
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| Karen and her mom enjoying a pina colada soup |
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After dinner, we participated in nighttime activities, including a Balderdash-type game where the assistant cruise directors each gave definitions for obscure words, and you had to guess which were correct. Our group got the most words right and received a bottle of champagne.
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| our combined brain power got us a win! |
What a day (and night)! I'm glad tomorrow is a day at sea so we can unwind. Stay tuned!
