Blackduck59

Thanks, we're almost home we are in Vancouver waiting for our flight it is delayed so an already late night will be even later.

If you're staying at the Pan Pacific check your gear with them it will be in your cabin when you board. That way you can just hang out in the hotel until check in works for you. The longest hold up we encountered at Canada Place was clearing US customs.

So we just finished our fist cruise on HAL. Our cabin stewards were first class. They kept our cabin tidy morning and evening. The entertainment suited our needs and I think enough variety to please most people. One of the biggest things I noticed was there was rarely any congestion at the elevators. There was one rather unfortunate "presentation" in the world stage that this proud Canadian took exception to, I insisted on a meeting with the Hotel General Manager, which I got, and it was very constructive. We certainly appreciated the quick response to our concerns. We tend to book by itinerary, then line. We booked another cruise on HAL mostly because of the itinerary and secondly because we hate the class of ship that Celebrity has decided to put down under starting next season.

Interesting how the topic about formal wear or not has become about ship in ship and special "suite only" spaces. We just got off of Zaandam and very few dressed up on dressy nights. There was a couple who renewed their vows and they were in Bride and Groom mode. It was cool to see them. I'm really not interested in lugging my tux on vacation and I'm glad that "formal night" is slipping away. For those who choose to dress up good on you, you look great.

I hope you get that VIA Rail trip across Canada, we have been thinking about it ourselves I think maybe in a few years when flying is less appealing.

My thoughts exactly, any such preparation should be done just before hitting the flat top, otherwise it gets mushy. And like you say why do that to salmon.

I think the more appropriate question is why couldn't they just grab a piece of salmon not bread it, cook it up separately and serve that. I know that Lynn missed the menu the night before and it seemed to be a problem to get it the next day.

So we had a rather disappointing hotel stay in Montreal last night. If you find yourself planning to stay in Montreal for any reason do not stay at L Hotel. It was nothing like what we thought it would be. We took the train from Montreal to Ottawa today, we were in one of the new cars that are just coming into service on VIA Rail. We booked business class, the seats were very comfortable. There was a nice lunch served, Lynn got a special diabetic tray that she really enjoyed. We had a cocktail and wine with lunch. We hopped an Uber to our hotel. We chose very well for this hotel. It is a very nice place we have a large room complete with a kitchenette. We are basically 3 blocks for the Parliament buildings. We chose wisely this time.

My guess is that the salmon was dredged in flour. I really don't know what would be so hard to grab a portion of salmon, not dredge it and pan fry it in butter. That seems a simple solution. I do sympathize with those who have allergies and or conditions for which certain foods can be very painful or even fatal.

I'm not sure there are that many cruisers who are on the same ship multiple times a year. Menus may get stale for those who do multiple cruises every year but is that the majority of guests on HAL?

I'm looking forward to following and finding your observations about Westerdam, we just booked a 14 day Auckland to Sydney on her for 2025.

We are now at the Via Rail station in Montreal we are traveling by train to Ottawa where we will stay 2 nights before going home to Victoria. I guess I will wrap up my observations for this cruise. I will respond to any questions asked. We truly enjoyed the itinerary, we specifically chose it because it included Newfoundland. We were glad the Royal Canadian Legion stepped up and laid on the Screech In for us, I was especially keen to have it done. I was surprised that Lynn decided to do it too, so now we're both honourary Newfoundlanders. The weather did impact our enjoyment of Halifax and Charlottetown. Although we did see and do the things that were important to us in those ports. Quebec City was lovely and we had an unexpected adventure with a pedicab, when he showed up at the perfect moment to rescue us from a long hot walk back to the ship. I think that one happy encounter was something we will laugh about when we recall Quebec City. Zaandam is a nice ship and we enjoyed the size, we never felt crowded and I was surprised that there was never any congestion at the elevators. There was enough entertainment to satisfy our needs. The food was good but not outstanding. I was particularly disappointed not to see prime rib or Beef Wellington on any menu. The Explorations Café was out of Chai Latte for most of the cruise and I know many were disappointed by that. I already voiced my concerns about the "Canadian Icons" presentation and the outcome. Some asked if we would book again with HAL, the answer is yes, and we have. We took advantage of the low deposit an OBC for booking on board, as well as the early booking HIA bonus. We booked a 14 day New Zealand to Australia cruise in 2025.

Well I have to make this observation about the hotel we chose for our overnight stay post cruise. We chose L Hotel in Old Montreal, we chose poorly. I can not recommend this hotel in any way. The rate we paid was quite high the room was very ordinary and the bathroom was barely bigger than the one on Zaandam. We came down for the "included breakfast" and there were some pastries with a sign 2 pastries included more was an upcharge. What a joke, I have never wanted to leave a hotel faster. Do not under any circumstances book this overpriced, over rated hotel.

We have had 4 Ubers today they weren't too expensive, we did choose the more premium rides. The last was the most comfortable, an Infiniti QX 60. We did a lot of walking in the heat today, then we did the HOHO bus. I'm afraid I'm not that keen on them, the busses were extremely uncomfortable in Quebec City and here in Montreal. We had hot days in both cities and unless you sit in the blazing heat of the upper deck you don't see much. I think we will cross HOHO busses off our list of things to do. Of course we are here on Sunday, the Basillica was not accepting visitors inside. Who would have thought they would be having church services in a church on Sunday 🤔. We ran into the same thing at Westminster Abbey a few years back.

The disembarkation process was absolutely painless. They asked people to pick up their tags a few days before. You could chose 3 different times (colour) and I think 3 different groups per colour. There were other colours and groups for transfers. Groups were called in order and on time. The only confusion was the Uber pick up zone and many people were frustrated, we dragged our gear over railway tracks when we didn't have to. Frankly Uber needs to sort that out.

Thanks Uncle Les. Live life full mate.

So it is our last night of this voyage. We had a very satisfactory meeting with the general manager today. I think they will be discontinuing the offense "Canadian Icons" presentation. I pointed out if you are going to discuss Canadian Icons you should treat them iconicly. So we came back to our cabin after a very funny comedy show on the World stage, opened the complimentary bottle of wine that HAL gave us and raised a glass to Canada, the true North strong and free. Pretty much everything is packed and we are ready for bed.

We are back in our cabin, our tagged luggage in the hall. We opened the bottle of wine that HAL gave us and raised a glass to Canada, the true North strong and free. The comedian tonight was Mike Robinson a good Canadian guy from Nova Scotia. It was a different show and equally as enjoyable. For us easily the best shows we saw on the world stage. We disembark tomorrow and we are overnight in Montreal. I will have observations about the disembarkation process as well as some comments about our post cruise hotel and the things we do during our short overnight stay in Montreal.

Thank you, we have a friend on board who is doing the return trip. She said she would let me know if the presentation is played on the return trip. I don't think it will be. In the meeting I said if you are going to talk about "Canadian Icons" treat them iconicly. And since when is Winnie the Pooh a Canadian Icon. The bear may have come from Canada but the stories are definitely British. For now that episode is in the wake as we head for Montreal, our last stop.

So it was a hot day in Quebec City. What a lovely town. We walked from the ship to the funicular and rode to the top. There were many photo ops as we walked around. We were able to get a table for lunch in the Chateau Frontenac it was very good but definitely not a cheap lunch. We thought we would take the HOHO bus around the city and hop off at the stop closest to the ship. Unfortunately I misinterpreted the route and that stop is virtually at the beginning of the tour, Lynn started worrying about time and we ended up getting off quite a distance from the ship. It was hot, and we were trudging back when a pedicab pulled up. We asked how much to get back to the ship "whatever you like" was the reply. So we got in the pedicab and off we went, it was a first time for both of us. About 5 minutes later we were delivered right to the gangway, we gave him $15.00 and bid au revoir, money well spent, because we were pretty exhausted. It was a lovely day, we're just disappointed the HOHO didn't work for us because we missed the Citadel and most of the tour as a matter of fact.

We had a very satisfying meeting with Leonie Henry, the Hotel General Manager this morning. Lynn had already received an apology from head office by email and we received a card from the assistant manager. We were also surprised to find a nice bottle of wine in our room when we got in from dinner last night. We will enjoy it tonight now that we have met with Leonie and cleared the air. I believe that the offending presentation will be withdrawn immediately and they will look at better ways to portray 'Canadian Icons" in the future.

Exactly the point, they use part of the facilities from the Lido. The food is prepared literally 20 feet away and when we were dining Canaletto was far from full. They should be able to serve everything hot.

Yes that is the name of it. But it was shaped more like a puck than a dome.

Dinner in Canaletto tonight, Lynn found it difficult to select anything due to her tomato allergy. She eventually chose the anti pasto plate and Spaghetti with clams and prawns. She finished with the tiramisu. I chose the langostine and tomato soup to start. It was quite good but, they threw a whole langostine in it. The shelf was intact not scored or split in any way. Getting the meat out of that thing was a messy affair. I also tried the meatballs. For the main I had the veal. Desert was the Marsipan thingy. Everything was served at lower than optimal temperature. Once again if it wasn't included in our "have it all" fare we would have been disappointed to pay extra for Canaletto. I think the Pinnacle Lunch is good value but I wouldn't pay the tariff for Pinnacle Grill or Canaletto. The food is good in both venues but not worth the upcharge.

As things get closer we will start planning the road trip. I know there will be changes from the previous 2 plans. One definite stop is Phillip Island we want to see the Penguins 🐧. The cruise has a stop in Melbourne so we'll cross of some touristy things on that day, and have a proper few days in Melbourne during the road trip.