Blackduck59

It's been a full day in Boston, we probably didn't see much of the city but the Kennedy Library was an important place to visit for me. We had a lovely dinner with drinks and a nice wine. Lynn is bushed and has gone for a nap or perhaps she's down for the count. We board Zaandam tomorrow.

That's all well and good unless you're a Bluejays fan, or worse yet a Yankees fan 🤔 😉. Being I'm in Boston.

So we are back from dinner, we are staying at the Hyatt Seaport in Boston. It is a lovely hotel, modern an clean. While the hotel serves breakfast included in your rate, and has a licensed lounge, it doesn't have a restaurant. We chose Legal Seafood which is literally right across the street. The food was excellent and it is waterfront. We arrived for dinner fairly early maybe 1645 hrs. The restaurant wasn't crowded at that time but be aware it was quite busy and loud when we left about 1800 hrs. This was not cheap eats, but it was probably the only dinner we will ever have in Boston. I have to say Pinnacle Grill has a tough act to follow when we have my birthday dinner there tomorrow night.

We pre-booked the airport to hotel through booking dot com. That was easy, it turned out to be a Lyft ride share. Today it was 2 different cab companies. We have now pre-booked an Uber for tomorrow to get us to the ship. I'll report those observations tomorrow.

Funny thing I started the thread and I was passing on my observations. Of the state of the cab service (as opposed to Uber or Lyft or any other ride sharing service) during our precruise stay in Boston. I will also post my observations about our dinner choice during our pre cruise stay in Boston. Perhaps they will be interesting to some and Germain to the topic of this New England and East Coast Canada cruise.

My comment was about the cabs. We have just today loaded the Uber app and hope to have a positive experience. Uber is not really big in my home town but the cab companies do a good job there. I will add my observations about Uber after we board Zaandam tomorrow. Our cruise ends in Montreal and we will need transportation there so maybe Uber will be the answer there too.

So we were sort of forced to get the Uber app today. The cab service in Boston is pitiful. It took 40 minutes for one to show up this morning. If you are planning on a cab to the cruise port perhaps think about a different plan.

This isn't the thread for your inquiry, read the title.

This is the view from the Kennedy Library. It was a good museum. Getting a cab in this town is not a pleasant experience. Squishy little cars and and we had one driver today unable to read their audience. Politics is never a good subject when you don't know who you're talking to.

Safely in Boston, there was a bit of a glitch in the hotel booking. Fortunately it was easily sorted and we ended up in a suite. We are going to the JFK library today, maybe see some other things.

We're in the lounge at Montreal, there is a bit of a lay-over here. So far it has been a good flight, I slept through most of the Vancouver to Montreal leg. I think I could get used to this business class thing.

We're on the plane at YVR.

On the plane at YVR

Thanks Neil, it does feel so long ago I started this thread and we have met so many gracious folks here. We do want to meet up with as many as we can. Being that this new adventure will be after I retire there will be more time in Oz to explore. The first 2 itineraries were quite rushed for the road trip, now we will have more time to meet people. Hopefully people will be home when we get down there and not travelling in far off distant lands (like Canada? 🤔) I still think we have a better chance of running into @MicCanberra somewhere other than Oz. Cheers Mate, we're looking at 2025 there is a good itinerary that includes a stop in Taz.

Thanks Linda and Mario, the birthday is the 23rd, embarkation day. I want to try and keep that thread as observations, good, bad or indifferent; I won't be using it as a "comparison" to other lines, and of course being our first time on HAL we can't speak longingly about what "used to be" on HAL. Cheers Lyle & Lynn

Thanks, this has been a long time coming. It was a lucky coincidence that you came here on Deuce Days. We almost lost that festival, we had a bike friendly city council and they made for a bunch or red tape for the event. The organizer said the last one was the last one. Much has changed since then and the event has been taken over by a different younger group and there is a new council as well as a large group of usually quiet car enthusiasts that said "Hold on a minute" and Deuce Days was saved. I'm not sure when the next one is but it is always well attended. I tend to shy away from huge crowds so haven't attended for several years.

So it's so close now, We fly out to Boston tomorrow. I started an "Observations" thread on the HAL board. If you're interested I'll be posting there from time to time. We may book the cruise section of our down under adventure while on this cruise, it all depends on whether HAL seems a good fit for us. Wakey wakey is 0300 tomorrow (for us) 21 Aug 2023, it's going to be a long day.

This will be our first encounter with HAL. I will be posting observations here from time to time. I will not be comparing HAL to other lines we have cruised. I will give my impressions of this first experience with this cruise line. I invite others on this cruise to give their impressions as well. I will not be posting photos of the daily or any menus, if others want to do that feel free. I want to approach this as a fair and balanced group of observations, good bad or indifferent, I will write my opinion. Others may have different opinions and that's okay too. We fly out tomorrow (21 Aug 2023) and will enjoy some time in Boston before embarking Zaandam on the 23rd (my Birthday). I look forward to sharing our experience and hearing other people's experiences. Remember this isn't about comparing to other lines or even what HAL used to be, it's about HAL and what is.

For good ideas see the pie thread, lots of banter there.

Thanks Julie, There is a nice Auckland to Sydney itinerary that has a stop in Melbourne and Taz. Of course we would be returning to Melbourne and area during the road trip part of our adventure. We will be planning for more time in Oz for this trip and more time at some stops. Everything very much up in the air right now. We would have over a year to plan.

Found it. It was chicken pie for lunch today, very tasty. We will be flying out to Boston on the 21st, where we will of course have to try the "Boston Cream Pie" which bears no resemblance to "pie" at all, other than being round but we all know that some pie are squared.

So did someone kill the pie thread? Too bad if they did. We are 1 week out from Flying to Boston, we board Zaandam on the 23rd. I will start an "observations from" thread before we leave and dropping a few lines now and then during the cruise. We may take the opportunity to book our New Zealand/OZ cruise while on board. There are some early booking specials as well as booking on board extra OBC and reduced deposits. This was how we booked the original cruise on Celebrity that was cancelled what seems so long ago. We will look at itineraries in both directions, it may turn out was start with the land adventure in OZ and finish up in NZ. We are looking at itineraries from early January to early March of 2025. With any luck I will be retired, the house will be sold and we will be settled in our new place.

I have been hearing a lot about "clothes line" bacon over the last little while. While I'm sure it will appeal to many I think I will pass. I do have a bacon question though, Is there an "English" breakfast station in the Lido Market? While I don't fancy all the components of a "Full English" breakfast I do enjoy the "English style" bacon, sausage and grilled mushrooms (hold the black pudding and baked beans).

Please remember Canada Place is actually a convention centre that acts as a cruise port during cruise season. The empty space is the convention centre not leased by cruise lines for port services.

I will, I'll probably start the thread on the 19th. It won't be a "live from" just observations good bad or indifferent. I'll drop a few lines now and then and perhaps others on the cruise will throw their thoughts in too. Funny thing I just read a post by @Btimmer that his recent boarding in Vancouver was his second worst right behind Boston last year. I have boarded in Vancouver and the great long line at US customs and border security was an absolute s**t show. So I'm wondering how Boston could be worse. We have been planning this trip for over 2 years, we cancelled the first booking on another line, that was for last summer, we booked this cruise 16 months ago..