Yet another Live (almost) from the Maasdam Thread (Jun 9 thru 16)

[SharonN]

Is TOMC as humerous in person as he is when he writes on this board?

 

Well he tried to pretend he wasn't Tom. Actually tried to pretend he didn't understand English. But we knew better (and he had a large envelope that said Tom on it). We had a short but nice chat. Hope to run into him again but these full day tours don't leave much time.

 

 

When Father Pierce asks a question at the Homily time, does he expect the people to answer?

 

Yes he does and we apparently weren't very good last night as he had to keep starting to spell it out until we got it. Definitely makes mass a different experience.

[kazu]

Love your descriptive thread on PEI and your 'tour'. Too good. Thanks for sharing.:)

[Responder]

If it’s Tuesday, this must be Prince Edward Island I see passing by through the outside window of our Lanai Cabin. The deep reddish orange earth of the coast touching the water along the south coast of the island is unmistakable, from viewing “Anne of Green Gables” or watching DVDs from one of my favorite series “Road to Avonlea”. I spot one of the square towered lighthouses on a promontory and decide it’s time for some pictures as we make our way to port. A brisk breeze is blowing and the iron-rich soil makes colorful contrast to the many shades of green. We grab a quick bite in the Lido and make our way to Deck 3 to disembark and meet up with our tour group in the terminal at Charollottetown. Did I mention that we got to bed a little late last night due to my tardiness leaving the casino?

We’re ushered onto bus number 1 and have a tour guide named Donalda and a bus driver named Donald. Donalda has lived on the island her whole life, but in a moment you will discover why we feel she must have spent some time in the San Fernando Valley (as a Valley Girl, for sure). After starting on our way her commentary began something like this: “On the right you will see the post office, for sure. On the left is stone church that was constructed after the previous three churches burned down.” (Okay, we saw that one coming.) “On the right is the only Starbucks on Prince Edward Island; but, we have 42 Tim Horton’s, for sure. Coming up is an elementary school, for sure. Down this street notice one of our garbage trucks at work collecting the rubbish. We have most of the big stores that you have in the U.S., for sure, on the right this store becomes a Target next month. And down the street on the left is our WalMart. We’re very green here on PEI, and for sure recycling is a priority. Coming up on the left is Donald’s house, for sure. See his motorcycle out front, for sale, for sure.” Donalda was one of those tour guides that felt every moment of the drive needed to be filled with her commentary; so much of this consisted of such comments as we drove by the inconsequential.

When pressed, Donalda answered all questions, including the population of PEI of about 146,000 versus 38,000 in Charolottetown. We learned that PEI is the smallest province of Canada, with three counties, as symbolized on the province flag with three small oak trees next to one large oak tree representing Great Britain, and the relationship of the small being protected by the great. The regal lion of the realm appears on the top part of the flag. Agriculture is the main source of income for PEI, followed by tourism and followed by seafood. In fourth place and rising rapidly is the manufacture of airplane components.

We made a brief stop at a souvenir shop which featured fresh fudge and cold Coke. We decided to get three types of fudge: peanut butter and chocolate, Belgian chocolate and Maple. We had only gotten a small piece of maple fudge in Quebec City and were eager to see if this was as good. We tried some back on the bus, and believe it was almost as good, but not quite the best we’d had.

One of our stops was to see the longest bridge over frozen waters (okay, they’re not frozen in the summer). But the bridge is 18 miles long and there is a C$46 fee to leave the island (no charge to come). This compares to a C$66 ferry fee. The bridge took four years to build in the mid-1990’s and was the source of much controversy as to the negative impacts such a mainland connection would have on the island. None of the fears have come to pass, and residents take a great deal of pride in the beauty of their paradise. In the spring natives gather and clean up any rubbish, trash, debris, dead foliage that have been left by the winter so that visitors that begin to arrive in the Spring will see the full beauty of PEI.

Our lunch was at the Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular eatery that offers a lobster dinner plus all you can eat for everything else (sides, salads and desserts); but, we were here for lunch… and a lunch prepared for a tour group. While I must commend HAL for so many of the lunches I’ve enjoyed on previous tours I’ve taken through them, this is not one of them. I had been looking forward to what was a lobster roll. Now my only exposure to what a lobster roll is, is what I’ve seen on the Food Network where “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and what I saw there looked delicious. You know it’s never a good sign when the first thing you do when you get on the bus is poll passengers for their choice for lunch: Lobster Roll, Chicken Salad Wrap, or Vegetable Wrap. There were a few takers of the Chicken Salad wrap, but all other opted for the Lobster Roll. What we got was a hotdog bun with thin layer of very mayonnaise-intensive stuff that contained celery and maybe some imitation Krab (my guess). It may have contained lobster, but as for taste there was bun, there was mayonnaise, there was celery, and it all tasted like nothing. Sharon ordered the Chicken Salad wrap but was overwhelmed by the mayonnaise. I ate half of her small wrap and it was tasty, and the grilled chicken stood out, and it wasn’t bad, just as it wasn’t filling. Across the street is Annette’s, a local eatery with a small dine in section and offering a Lobster Club Sandwich for about $19. I should have tried it, but I just didn’t have an appetite.

We went to see Green Gables, the house featured in many of the writings of Lucy Maude Montgomery. LM Montgomery had taken her book to four publishers before one in Boston published “Anne of Green Gables”, and it became an instant best seller. Lucy had lost her mother to TB when she was two, and her father was out in the western provinces working, and so she was raised by her grandparents. Although she did not live in Green Gables, a distant cousin did, and so she was very familiar with the house and the grounds, giving such names to parts of the property she frequented as “Lover’s Lane” and “The Haunted Woods”. From the parking area we strolled through a large barn. There were several out buildings, plus a prominent imposing view of Green Gables, with its bright white walls and green sloping roof and trim. The grounds are immaculately maintained in this National Park. The rooms have been furnished with replica pieces from the period. A map of the two floors shows rooms used by Marilla Cuthbert, Matthew Cuthbert (her brother), and of course Anne, fictional characters in the book that has the orphan Anne come to live them (they were expecting a boy).

On the return to the ship we stopped at single manufacturing facility for Cows Ice Cream, singled out by one tourist association as the best ice cream in the world, and by Reader’s Digest for its excellence. In the facility they manufacture cow themed T-Shirts with catchy designs and sayings, such as one commemorating the visit by William and Kate on their Honey-mooooo-n. We observed the manufacture of the T-Shirts. Designs continue for 1 to 3 years, before they are retired, and never available again once depleted from their stock. They also make cheese. All dairy material used in their products are produced locally on the island. They make ice cream just three days a week, producing 3 flavors per day. When we visited, they were cleaning up from today’s work. This one facility manufactures all of the ice cream available in their 10 outlet locations. Our tour group received free samples of cheese and their top selling ice cream of vanilla, caramel, and chocolate shavings. Sharon and I each bought a scoop. Mine was similar to the free sample, but included burnt sugar, while Sharon tried the Messy Bessy ( chocolate with carmel, toffee, etc).

Again, we missed Trivia, Bingo and Sudoku, and made our way to dinner. I had Sharon order me a crunchy crab roll while I had the buffalo mozzarella, tomato and balsamic vinegar appetizer. They were delicious. I also had the Bacon and Kale Soup, which as a tasty chicken bouillon based soup. It was another fixed menu choice of sirloin steak and baked potato for Sharon. I had the gnocchi which was very tasty. We both had the watermelon sorbet for dessert.

 

We've been on this route for the 4th time last week. The time before, we took the same tour. I think it cost us $129pp?. Your drive to the restaurant sounded a bit more interesting than ours. As you indicated, the restaurant was less than bad as well as crowding arm to arm at the tables. We were promised mussels...they ran out before the first tour got there--us.

 

What we did learn was that this island has one of the highest incidences of Cancer, They even built a hospital dedicated to treating it. The Cancer goes back generations throughout the families and they are not sure why. One thought was the chemicals they used in the potato fields all these years...I think it's one of their largest crops.

 

The other interesting thing was at the Green Gables. We saw that besides those on our ship's bus, virtually every other tourist was Japanese. They have developed a cult around it. They study this in their schools. I have trouble understanding it but I suppose it became a cultural thing.

 

The final straw with our tour was that during the 90 degree day and mosquitos swarming around, the ship deployed our bus on another tour and because the restaurant was so small and another group was coming, we had to wait over one hour in the parking lot-in the sun-along with the mosquitos, waiting to be carted back to the ship.

[mamaofami]

PEI..where I had the most delicious lobster and mussels ever. I was lucky enough to stop there on the way up and then on the way back.

[canadarocks]

I almost hate to start another “Live from the Maasdam” thread since there’s no way to compete with the one that TomC is doing. As usual I’ll let John do most of the writing while we’re on board but will put in my 2 cents when necessary.

 

I want to thank you so very much for your review. While I agree that TomC is a wonderfully funny writer, I have absolutely loved reading your review so far! The detailed descriptions of your tours and the extra information about the ports has been a wealth of information. Truly great! :cool:

[SharonN]

It’s Wednesday and time for some intensive sightseeing in Nova Scotia. We docked as we were grabbing a quick breakfast in the Lido so that we could make our 8:00 on-shore meeting. So far there have been no general assembly tour orientations in the Showroom, which make sense to avoid congestion with everyone trying to get ashore at the same time. While it hasn’t been an issue on prior days this cruise, today we either were late arriving or there was some problem that delayed securing the ship, because the Captain’s announcement for disembarking on Deck 3 came about the same time we were supposed to be ashore. A crowd was already on Deck 4. Once ashore we were quickly ushered onto our bus for the Taste of the Cabot Trail tour.

Our tour guide had a running shtick poking fun at the driver, such as him having an appointment on Friday to take his driver’s test, and he’s sure he’ll pass this time. It almost became funny when he started commenting about his girlfriend following us on the bus, but more on that later. He explained how he had to sit down while he talked because the police were present and evidently he can’t be standing when the bus is moving. We started out on a very smooth highway. Fog had settled in at the port and seemed to stay with us as we proceeded on our way. We crossed a long green painted bridge over a channel connecting the Bras d’Or Lakes with the Atlantic. The only other entrance to the lakes is locks connecting the lake to the Bay of Saint Lawrence, brackish water merging the Saint Lawrence River with the Atlantic Ocean. Down to the left as we began to cross the bridge was a single lighthouse on the tip of a small narrow peninsula.

Many old functional buildings, such have lighthouses, have been acquired by individuals our guide noted, such as one lighthouse someone planned to convert to his home, but it proved more costly than he could afford. Another popular choice is the acquisition of old churches. He pointed out one such church that was someone’s current residence. Another church was converted into a doctor’s office, but he supposed that it wasn’t prudent not to have put a fence around the new medical practice. This is because arriving patients might think that the rows of crosses are part of the practice. This does remind me of something Donalda mentioned yesterday, Sharon and I had both learned something new, and it raises an interesting question now: When a church becomes a doctor’s office, does a graveyard become a cemetery? She had informed us that the word graveyard is where you bury people next to and associated with a church.

There was nothing but fog when we arrived at Saint Anne’s and so we kept driving. We then made a coffee and restroom break at the Clucking Hen. It was a cute little coffee shop and we shared a chocolate chip cookie and something to drink. It was right after this that our guide commented about being followed by his girlfriend, a patrol officer who was following the bus closely. Each turn, they confirmed that she was still there. The guide remarked how this was probably a new patrol officer and didn’t know that busses don’t have a license plate in the rear. We eventually reached our next stop to see working lobstermen ashore, selling their catch to buyers. We learned the difference between the round crab traps and the more boxy lobster traps, and how the traps have an escape hatch that allows smaller lobsters to escape. The bus pulled slowly around the building, and sure enough the officer was on foot coming over to the bus. And she was concerned about the license plate. She went back to her patrol car and called in and confirmed that while cars only have a license in the back, busses only display them in the front in Nova Scotia.

Our bus pulled into a beach area, with a small sandy beach ringed by a rock outcropping. We were told that all of the rocks were from the sea, and at high tide the sandy beach completely disappears. The fog appeared to be starting to burn off, and forecasts for a nice afternoon seemed promising.

The trees and green in the area makes this a promising place for those who come to see the colors change. The best viewing ranges from September and into the first part of October. As was the case on PEI, many lupines were in bloom, purple is by far the most common color right now, but we’ve seen pink and white as well. We drove and saw a large house on a hill and narrow isthmus that a doctor had built. When he died it became the Keltic Lodge and a golf course was added to the grounds. For a while I thought this might be a golfing tour as our guide pointed out the tee-off spots for half of the holes as we drove by. The golf course is literally chiseled out of the woods which line and separate every hole. The view of the ocean on both sides would have been spectacular if not for the limited visibility.

We next stop at a local restaurant for what was billed as a light lunch. They had a cold-cut sandwich buffet setup, many kinds of bread, roast beef, ham, and spicy salami, Swiss cheese and cheddar. Two kinds of soup were available, a hearty vegetable soup and a delicious fish chowder. The also offered all the mussels you could eat. The food was filling and quite good. The also had a delicious apple crisp for dessert.

Our time appeared to be running short, and we still had a two hour trip back to the ship which was scheduled to leave at 3:30pm. We made a brief stop on a lookout above the green bridge and lighthouse and took some pictures.

Our ship departure time was approaching fast, and our guide had already received more than one call from the ship asking our ETA. We managed to hit every stoplight in town turning red. We saw many Tim Horton’s, some even walking distance from each other. We also saw an advertisement on a local McDs for McLobster. Our guide informed us that they cost about C$6.99. I’m thinking they must be better than the lobster roll I had yesterday. We did get back to the ship and they rolled up the gangway behind us.

We had just enough time to rush up to the Crow’s Nest for Team Trivia. We met up with our two partners from two days earlier, and added two that we had eaten dinner with. We started out well, but nobody got which animal they tested the electric toothbrush on before offering that product to the public. If you said “Dog”, then you might be a trivia champion. We then rushed to the Showroom for bingo. I got to stand in the first game, and Sharon got to stand for the last game of blackout. All of the games had multiple winners, and one lady was a winner in each of the first three games.

Back to our room to change into sharp casual and then to the Rotterdam Dining room. Sharon actually found a soup she could order, eschewing the cold blueberry soup because it has seeds, and choosing instead the turkey and rice soup. I ordered the 4-cheese quiche and then the creamy carrot soup. Sharon ordered the steak with mashed potatoes and blue cheese sauce (which she avoided). The steak was cooked pink and she enjoyed it. I had the Parmesan encrusted veal with small roasted potatoes and green beans. Sharon ordered her Alaska avalanche cake with cinnamon ice cream, while I just had a scoop of the cinnamon ice cream.

We went to the casino after dinner. Sharon found her machine, but made a deposit this time. I got into a lively game of blackjack, and things were going pretty good to start. Sharon went to see the piano bar, and the guitarist, before retiring to our cabin. She didn’t want to go to the show. Things started going poorly for me, and I started making minimum bets. I lost 13 hands in a row, which topped by one the winning streak I’d had on my first night. Once I one a hand, it took about another pass through the shoe before things became more amicable. I won a couple of good double down hands, and after about an hour and a half of play I quit, over $100 ahead for the day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your live thread!!

[Labmom3]

Thank you for posting such detailed descriptions of the food and your shore excursions. I am really enjoying your review! I can't wait to go at the end of June.

[g&gtravel]

Sharon, I tried Tomc, but could not get any support, so will try you. We will be on the Maas later, and would like to know if they offer Spin classed in the Fitness Center. Could you help with that?

Thanks, GandG

[innlady1]

Thank you for such an interesting "live from" thread!

[erewhon]

A great "live from" thread.

Thank you

[SharonN]

With our latest onshore start-time for the week, we thought that we’d try to get breakfast in the Rotterdam Dining Room. There was some problem with the grill for Sharon’s French Toast, and even though we were first to be seated and order our breakfast, ours was delayed by quite a bit, almost to the point we were concerned that we might need to grab something quick in the Lido if we were to eat and go on our tour; but, our breakfasts did eventually come and we had time to enjoy them.

 

We had signed up for the Tall Ship Sailing in Halifax Harbor. Arriving in Halifax, all that we could see from our Lanai Cabin was fog… lots of fog. Then we saw a clearing in the fog and could see the shore, but that was soon replaced by more fog. As time passed, the fog did seem to be burning off, and as we stepped onto the gangway off Deck 5 we knew that it would be a nice day for sailing.

There were 13 of us signed up for the Tall Ship Tour, but only 12 showed up, and so we waited, and waited, and eventually, we started the ten minute walk to the Tall Ship we would be sailing, the schooner “Silva”. As we boarded, we were greeted with our choice of mimosas or a Caesar, the Halifax answer to the Bloody Mary made with clam-ato juice. I wasn’t thrilled with either choice, or Sharon even less so, but I did try their mimosa, and it was not as bad as the last one that I’d tried. As our schooner motored from its berth, two deck hands began to hoist the sails, holding the rope while jumping high, even appearing to walk up the mast holding the rope before allowing their weight to pull the sail higher. Some of the men also helped them pull the ropes; but, they were far less effective. All of the sails were eventually secure, with the captain hoisting the final most forward foresail (the easy one). In all, three large sails were raised, and two small foresails. The schooner now made its way towards the Old Bridge, with the New Bridge visible in the far distance. We sailed through the narrows by the New Bridge where the deadly Halifax Explosion had occurred almost a century ago. The hostess kept coming by with goodies to eat, including a yummy little crab cake, a small personal quiche, a broche with cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers, concluding with a blueberry tart near the end of the tour. Sharon skipped all of the earlier offerings, but boy did she make up for it when the tarts came out. She even made me go back and get her another one after she had already gotten seconds! She said they were very good. More were available if you wanted seconds, probably due to the small size of the passengers; in fact, Sharon felt there was more crew on board than passengers. There was the captain, his first mate, the engineer, two deck hands, the hostess, a Celtic fiddler, the cashier and the escort, so I’m not quite sure that we were outnumbered. This tour was a nice leisurely tour sailing on the water, and I use the term sailing loosely. While we were certainly under sail after departing, by the time we sailed under the second bridge (the new bridge) we resumed power propulsion as we made our turn, using power all the way back around St. George’s Island and back to the pier. There was not much wind as we took this tour, and that may be why I wasn’t that impressed by the sailing part, but it was definitely a nice and much needed relaxing tour with a two hour excursion that got us back before noon.

 

We continued on along the boardwalk from where we disembarked towards the Halifax Maritime Museum. I had also asked to Tall Ship guide for recommendations for getting a Lobster Roll for lunch. We had spotted a place just off the pier on our route that morning during our stroll to our harbor excursion; however, we couldn’t view the menu and they weren’t open yet, and we were worried its location might make it a bit too touristy. We did get a recommendation of a place in “The Warehouse”, and he had pointed out the building from the “Silva”. It was on our way to the museum so I went to check out the menu while Sharon went to sit and look at the ocean. As she was taking a seat she noticed that TomC was seated nearby so they had a short chat till I came back with my thumbs up (indicating they did have Lobster Rolls and Fried Clams).

 

Our Tall Ship guide had pointed the museum out from sea as the building ringed in paint beneath the roof perimeter in flags. The museum cost C$8.50 for adults and you get a C$1.00 discount if you show your AAA card, which we couldn’t because Sharon left it back in the safe with her wallet… oh well. The museum had an informative presentation on the Halifax disaster during WWI in which two ships collided resulting in a massive explosion that wiped out a good portion of the town that was only limited by the Citadel atop the hill. Four times more people died in this explosion than died in the earthquake and fire of San Francisco, and eight times more than died in the Chicago fire started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. Many may not have heard about this disaster, unless you’re an avid viewer of the History Channel. The museum also has a 20-minute 3-D Titanic presentation, but there is a modest additional charge for that, which we didn’t discover until we’d walked upstairs to the Titanic part of the museum (you had to pay downstairs).

 

So we then headed back to the Restaurant for lunch. I had a 20 ounce glass of Garrison’s Irish Red Ale with my lobster roll. This sandwich came on a freshly made roll filled with a lobster filling including mayonnaise, celery and most importantly lobster. You can see the lobster, and you can smell the lobster and most importantly you can taste the lobster, and it was a pretty decent sandwich. The size might have been a tad smaller than I thought it should be, but the price of C$16 was what I expected. My lunch was great, and Sharon enjoyed her fried clams and French Fries. My sandwich came with homemade potato chips that were also pretty darn good.

 

We got back and went up to the Team Trivia challenge in the Crow’s Nest. We met up with our earlier teammates on two previous occasions, and acquired one more to round out our team of five. Sharon and I should have known what structure was erected overnight in 1961 (we’re sure we heard that one before on a cruise). One popular but wrong answer was the Seattle Space Needle. I got the bonus question of how many official languages are there in Switzerland only because I lived there when I was a kid (there are four: German, French, Italian and Romansch (sp?)). Four was the answer to another question as well: How many U.S. Presidents have been assassinated… but can you name them? Our new team member got the 1952 Summer Games sight as Helsinki, Finland. Sharon got the name of the group that sang with Sam the Sham and our other teammates got the question on a battery part. So we all did our part and we came close with 11 points, the winners had 12 points and won the prize HAL mugs. In case your stumped, it was the Berlin Wall. As for the presidents: Lincoln, Kennedy, McKinley and Garfield (not necessarily in that order).

 

We had a bit of relaxation time back in the cabin before we went to play in the $100,000 Jackpot Bingo. Sharon had a difficult choice to make: whether to attend $100,000 Jackpot Bingo with her hubby, or go to mass, hmmm... Bingo, Mass. In the end I guess she figured bingo was Catholic enough for her! Sharon and I both got to stand, but unfortunately luck didn’t shine on us. We tried to meet the Luck Gods halfway by playing the 6-Game packs for $35 (versus $25 for 3-Game packs). But bingo started late and the cruise director was calling the numbers pretty rapidly and it was difficult to keep up. The winner of the first game, normal straight bingo almost didn’t get “Bingo” before the next number was called. And the bingos were more complex than the ones earlier in the week, including a double-straight bingo and a postage stamp with no Free Space. I think he was trying to make up the time because it was formal night and people needed to get to dinner.

 

It was formal dinner night and they offered Turf and Surf. Sharon and I were later than usual for our open seating, and got a sub-premium awkward table for two off the end of the serving station in the center dinning section. Sharon ordered the almond infused shrimp appetizer for me, while I ordered the escargot (not in shell) and also for me. The snails were great, buttery and garlicky the way they should be. I don’t know that I would get the poached shrimp again. Sharon had the cold sour cherry soup with kreme fraische, and I had the garlic, corn and crab chowder which was great. Sharon doesn’t particularly care for sour cherries and her comment was that it reminded her of children’s cough syrup. I tasted a small spoonful and I had the same thought. Needless to say, she didn’t finish her soup. Sharon ordered the Filet Mignon and Lobster (the “surf” of course was for me). So I ordered the Crusted Cod with Prosciutto and mashed potatoes with asparagus. The fish was outstanding, and even better with the lobster on the side. We had a chocolate cake dessert with white chocolate coating and berries, and I needed to get one of the complimentary HAL shot-glasses with a green bottom, so I ordered the cordial (Southern Comfort and Peach Liquor). Sharon wanted me to mention that a couple of days ago we finally did find out what happened to the Yum-Yum man for open seating. While he is no longer serving on Deck 7, a self-serve cart is available on the side, including the butter mints that Sharon likes.

 

We went to the Casino and Sharon allotted herself $30 today. There were just two others sitting at the Blackjack table so I sat down, and things started well. The table began to fill up and I did very well never losing more than a few hands in a row, and winning more than my share, getting more than my share of blackjacks, and winning all of my double down and split bets… And the dealer was busting more than her share which is always a blessing. I won over $150 and was able to find Sharon at the show at 8:00. I don’t think she was expecting me because she didn’t save me a seat, but I made do as she was sitting on the end in the upper tier.

The show was called Encore, and the music was very entertaining, mostly Opera and Broadway songs by two of the singers that have been on the ship. Tomorrow is our final full day on board.

[kazu]

Another great post:):) Thanks so much:) Yes, we Canadians far prefer a Caesar to a Bloody Mary - one of the reasons we like HAL is that quite often they have clamato juice;)

[hpf]

I would have taken the caesar, but that is what I prefer and others not.

Your sail around the harbour brought back memories of our 25th Anniversary as we did that on a trip into Hfx. We also had a lovely but our day was also very windy. Goodness that was 26 years ago this coming Sun.

By your discription of your lobster roll on PEI, I think if you had gone to MacDonalds you would have had a better one. It's nice that you were able to get a much better one in Halifax.

I have enjoyed reading your detailed reports and I hope you do another sometime. You could always book another cruise while on this one. LOL

Enjoy the remainder of your time aboard ship.

 

Helen

[Barrheadlass]

Enjoying your posts immensely...and I do have a what may be a silly question. Were the lobsters served at dinner Atlantic lobsters? When we were on the Statendam in Feb., they were not.

[PathfinderEss]

Sounds like your cruise is going great, thanks for taking us along.

[RuthC]

Well, it's all over except for the last supper, and the packing. It's been a nice ride down from Montreal. Glad we could give you good weather coming back to the states, and for your arrival tomorrow.

Our little way of saying "Thank you" for the on-line journal.

See you in January. :)

[SharonN]

Or as the locals might say, “Bump-ah to Bump-ah in Bah Hah-bah”. Despite gaining an hour during our journey from Nova Scotia overnight, we seemed pressed for time this morning. We hustled up to the Lido for a quick breakfast. Continental service starts at 6:30, but hot breakfasts aren’t available until 7:00. We had an 8:00 AM meeting time in the Showroom for our excursion, but needed to clear immigration first, starting at 7:30 AM. Actually it was closer to 8:00 AM before the immigration folks from Homeland Security were onboard. There were more than one disgruntled passengers waiting in line, into and through the casino and to the Explorer’s Lounge where lines were separated into the U.S./Canadian line and Other Non-U.S. citizens. We finally got up to the immigration agents, who were asking everyone where they lived… “Miami… Dallas… Kansas City…” When Sharon got to the front of the line he threw her a change up and asked her where she was born. She stifled the “Dayton” that was about to come out of her mouth, and she managed to finally come up with “Philadelphia”. The agent gave her an amused look, smiled at me, and didn’t bother asking me a question.

 

We then went to the Showroom At Sea and got our tour sticker. Pretty soon they started calling groups to board tenders and go ashore. We were in the third group, and Sharon and I were among the last four to make our tender but among the first for our group. We have a beautiful day in Bar Harbor, but it was a bit chilly on the tender. Once ashore we walked up towards the busses, then discovered our bus wasn’t there, but up the hill on a side street. We were among the first onboard the bus, and had a bit of a wait for those coming on the next tender.

 

Our tour, the “Arcadia Park and Lobster Bake” began with the bus driving down the hill we’d just climbed, and then making a sharp left turn at the corner where a new ocean-front hotel was in the final stages of construction. They had just paved one-half of the street that we were attempting to turn onto, and smaller traffic has trying to get around us, while other traffic was trying to go up the hill. We seemed to wait an interminable amount of time before starting the turn, inching forward, but then needing to reverse so that we could complete the sharp turn onto the yet-to-be paved closed portion of the road. Somehow ours did navigate the turn and once we had cleared the downtown traffic we on our way to Arcadia Park, the first National Park in the U.S. east of the Mississippi. The park is composed mostly of land that has been contributed by a list of wealthy Americans that reads like a Who’s-Who of nineteenth and early twentieth century America. Rockefeller (Jr) was the primary contributor. Ford and Kennedy had homes in the area. Martha Stewart currently has a home on the island. When cars were eventually allowed into the park (when Ford changed his mind and thought that that might be a good idea), Rockefeller had a network of Carriage Roads build and then donated land to a National Park. Horses, horse drawn carriages and bicycles are allowed; but, no motorcycles, snowmobiles or any motorized vehicle. Rockefeller stipulated that if this rule was ever changed, then the land should revert to his heirs.

 

Remember those lupines we saw in Nova Scotia… well they’re here as well even though they’re not native. There is a big brouhaha on the island about whether the Park Service should be pulling up these weeds. Some think the lupines should be removed, some should not. Meanwhile the Park Service is trying to remove them.

 

We drove up Cadillac Mountain, named after the French explorer who came here after Champlain. Later, when a small British force had captured Cadillac’s wife, they bartered that they would return his wife if he departed the island, which he chose to do and moved on towards where Detroit lies today. There is a spectacular view from atop the mountain, including an impressive view of the Maasdam anchored in the bay.

 

After a twenty minute stop we drove down the mountain and made our way back to Bar Harbor and to our Lobster Bake venue that was previously the Bar Harbor Gentleman’s Club, made up of course of all those famous forefathers. Again we were stuck in traffic as we crawled through Bar Harbour. Sharon was one of a few who chose not to have lobster, and had a ticket stub to get beef instead. As we entered the building we were directed to large round tables that seated ten people each. There was plenty of space and nobody was scrunched together like sardines, as we had been on Prince Edward Island. They had self-serve iced tea that had been freshly brewed and was the best I’d had since I’d left the U.S. The tea was very good, unsweetened, and they even provided lemon. Sharon said that two women (based on accents may have been Australians) at the table were indicating that ice tea must be an acquired taste as they tried to get it down but finally went to purchase some wine instead. In any case, it was much better than the iced tea served onboard HAL ships. I’m not sure what they serve, but it tastes something like Nestea or Lipton’s equivalent. The HAL iced tea is barely tolerable when a slice of lemon is added.

 

It was our turn to go by the buffet table (not an all you can eat buffet). I got two small boiled potatoes, a half-cob of corn and a lobster, skipping the mussels. Sharon got a very nice slice of prime rib. On our tour we had learned about lobsters. Our tour guide says that if you see a 15-pound lobster from Maine advertised, you can be sure that it’s not from Maine. There is a minimum size and maximum size for lobsters to be harvested in Maine, those not in the proper range must be set free. Lobsters must live about 7 years before they reach about one pound. Once they reach this maturity, they can mate and once the female reaches maturity she is always pregnant. Females retain offspring inside her body for one year, and then on her tail for another year. Lobster men who catch a female and see that she has offspring attached to her tail, will cut a notch in her tail and return her to the sea. Then, future lobstermen who catch her will see the notch and return her again to the sea. There are hefty consequences for any lobsterman caught with a lobster with a notched tail. And lobster licenses are not easy to get. Four lobstermen must either retire or die before a new license will be issued. The license comes with a color code, such as orange and blue, and that is the color used to tag the buoys to which lines are attached to the lobster traps. The lobster boat also has the same color tag, and whoa to the lobsterman who is caught stealing someone else’s catch (especially if caught by another lobsterman). A lobsterman may have up to 800 lobster traps, but it’s rare that one would deploy that many because they need to be checked every two days. In Maine the lobstermen can work year round. The lobsters thrive here because of the cold water which increases oxygen thresholds. This time of year the lobsters come in close to shore to shed their shells and mate. The female lobster will choose a mate, clonk him on the head with her claw to get his attention. He gets the idea and follows her into the shallow waters where she will shed her shell. The male can then mate with her. The lobster’s external shell cannot grow and so must be shed when it gets too snug. The lobster will spend its time hiding in crevices in the shallow waters until its shell is ready to protect it again, and it returns to deeper waters, feeding on the bottom.

 

I needed a little help getting the meat out of the lobster; but, that I did. We had been drawn butter for eating the lobster. The lobster was very tasty, even better than the tail I’d had in the Rotterdam Dining Room the night before. But as a filling meal, this wasn’t that. Besides what I’ve said so far, there was a small snap-container of coleslaw and an individual blueberry tart with half a strawberry… and that was it. On the other hand, the slice of prime rib Sharon ate was quite sizeable and tasty and more than she could finish. After lunch, we made our way back to the ship.

 

Back in our cabin, I went up to the Explorer’s Lounge and obtained today’s Sudoku and Ken-Ken puzzles and two Coke’s while Sharon began packing for tomorrows’ disembarkation. We did the puzzles and afterwards we packed our bags as well. Sharon went out to enjoy our Lanai lounge chairs but a few minutes later someone started smoking a few cabins down so that forced her back into the cabin. About the time she was thinking about going out again a couple walking on the deck decided to take them over. Since it’s almost time to go up for Trivia we decided to not say anything to them. This is the first time we’ve seen someone else use them but it’s also the first day it’s been nice enough to spend much time out there so I suspect many people ignore the Reserved notices.

 

We went up to play Team Trivia, sitting in our spot in the Crow’s Nest, and were soon joined by our other two team members. We should have known in which U.S. city that Martin Luther King was killed, but we couldn’t come up with anything better than Macon, GA. I knew that it started with an “M”. Sharon did know which continent 4 volcanoes were on, including Deception Island (Antarctica). We only got 7 points and were nowhere near the winners that had 12 points and got free drinks from the bar as their prize. We beat the kids again and I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t win the prize. We got back to room, and Sharon got ready for mass. The guy that was laying in our Lanai deck chair outside our cabin was gone, not that we wanted to be enjoying the pleasant breeze outside a few chairs downwind from a smoker. The fumes had flooded into our room when Sharon had gone outside to sit in the chair a bit, but promptly returned.

 

I forgot about the “no jeans” dress code, and guess I’ll have to do a little unpacking so that I can get properly attired for dinner. I had thought that this was the Master Chef’s Dinner Night, which I wasn’t that interested into attending again, and tried to convince Sharon to try Canneletto’s (which came highly recommended from her sister), but she said she wanted to get the Baked Alaska. Sharon however knew that they had started doing the new International Menu for the last night. We both ordered a Coke; but, we still have almost $15 left on the half-priced beverage card (for sodas). I ordered the Mediterranean hummus, couscous and pita appetizer and Sharon ordered me the Vietnamese spring roll. Sharon had the Argentinian tender beef soup with veggies and I had the Mediterranean creamy potato and seafood chowder. Sharon had the braised beef over cheese curd grits and green beans. I had the pasta with Italian sausage, cheese sauce and tomato with escarole. I had a very petite chocolate cake in chocolate sauce with a liquor base with which I wasn’t familiar. And of course, Sharon had her Baked Alaska, but it came with some strawberry ice cream (which never makes her a happy camper).

 

We stopped in the casino for Sharon to make a final deposit. She cashed out her card. I played some blackjack, but had to wait until they opened a second table. Things didn’t start well, but I was making only minimum bets after three hands… and that persisted for a couple of shoes. Things did turn around, and when they did it wasn’t long before I’d recouped the slow start and actually was $100 ahead. I decided to quit on a winning note and returned to the cabin to complete my packing.

[kazu]

How come you two are so organized and I am always panicking trying to get packed:confused::confused: Or is it just that i don't want to get off:D

 

Great thread - enjoyed the ride - safe travels tomorrow:)

[RuthC]

This time of year the lobsters come in close to shore to shed their shells and mate. The female lobster will choose a mate, clonk him on the head with her claw to get his attention. He gets the idea and follows her into the shallow waters where she will shed her shell. The male can then mate with her.

All in all, not a bad system. Maybe it will spread to other species? ;)

[erewhon]

Enjoying following your cruise.

Thank you for the information about the lobsters.

[IRL_Joanie]

....we had to wait over one hour in the parking lot-in the sun-along with the mosquitos, waiting to be carted back to the ship.

 

Who was waiting to be carted back to the ship, your tour group or the Mosquitos???;):D:D:D:D

 

Joanie

[SharonN]

Well we’re back from our final breakfast and a have about 10 mins of internet time left so need to use that up with a few random thoughts.

Forgot to have John put in my note from yesterday’s mass. Guess Father Pierce decided we’d gotten too many questions wrong over the week so he kept us after mass yesterday and passed out handouts with a list of about 30 books for suggested reading. He really was a character and clearly only wanted to help us with our spiritual growth. He also passed out some rosaries that someone he knew had made. I really appreciate that HAL has a priest and daily mass on board. I don’t go every day at home but it’s nice to be able to do so when on vacation.

We enjoyed our Lanai cabin in particular the layout with the bed on the side wall and the location worked out well too. We really didn’t get to use the lounge chairs much due to weather a few days and when we tried yesterday we didn’t stay long because of a smoker a few cabins down. Not sure I’d pay a lot extra for this type of cabin but if the price was right we might. It sure was convenient for the Safety drill.

The entertainment was pretty good though I’m used to more guest entertainers and we only had 1 (who was very good). The cast singers were very good but not

The service was very good as expected with only one minor exception that I witnessed. In the Lido yesterday while waiting to get my breakfast the server behind the counter rolled his eyes and made a face at both of the women in front of me. They had the plate for the first one on top and while waiting for her toast he filled up the scrambled eggs again so she asked for some more eggs (there wasn’t that much on her plate). The next lady asked for pancakes. The ones in the case had bananas in them but he got some from the area behind that didn’t. She then asked for the banana ones a couple of times before he changed them for her.

The ship is showing her age a bit but still in pretty good shape. I’ve now been on all 4 of the S class ships but think I prefer the little bit larger R class with the extra set of elevators.

Well that’s it for now. Need to pack up my laptop and final small stuff before we leave. We’re spending the day in Boston and flying home tomorrow morning. Hopefully will have a chance to see my Aunt this afternoon if she’s up to it.

Thanks for sailing with us.

[mamaofami]

I really enjoyed reading your posts. It sounds like you had a great cruise.:)

[rua642]

Thanks so much for your very informative and interesting posts. I'm glad you're enjoying your cruise. I have just one question -- on the Maasdam, where's a good, quiet place to sit and read or watch the ocean?