Vancouverscape, a Vancouver based blog covering travel, tech, and lifestyle

It’s time to set sail! This has been a summer to remember on the West coast, with what seemed like non-stop heatwaves and hardly a drop of rain to soothe our skin and plants. Small-ship luxury cruise line Windstar Cruises offers a refreshing adventure at sea with their 10-day West Coast Epicurean Extravaganza, sailing from Vancouver, BC to San Diego.

I’ll be boarding this luxury vessel tomorrow at Canada Place in order to experience all that the Star Breeze – and its recent 2020 multi-million dollar makeover – has to offer.

Windstar has partnered with the James Beard Foundation to make dining on their luxury fleet a feast for the senses. Chef demos, market tours and gourmet meals will complete the picture in what will certainly be an enjoyable, relaxing journey down the coast.

On this particular sailing, we’ll stop in Victoria, BC then continue across the border to Seattle, the fourth busiest port in the US.

After a couple of days exploring the city, the 312-passenger Star Breeze will spend two days at sea before docking in San Francisco (one of my former homes), and with one day there, we will be spoiled for choice between cruise excursions and self-guided walking tours through popular neighbourhoods such as Noe Valley, Haight Street, The Mission and Nob Hill.

On day 10, we will enjoy a day on Catalina Island, where several tours will be offered, ranging from an eco tour into the rugged interior of the island to a dolphin and sea lion boat tour.

There’s even a late 1920’s casino that’s been fully renovated to its original design to embody Santa Catalina Island’s glamorous past. The cruise will wrap up the following day in San Diego.

Until my return, you can follow some of my adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.