Dave’s Live from Veendam 14-day Canada-New England, October 3-17, 2015

[hpf]

Just watching you coming in to dock at Halifax. The other ship that is already there arrived late yesterday and is scheduled to leave today around noon.

Have a nice day in Halifax.

Helen

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, October 15, Halifax

 

We are back from ashore, but I realized I did not post today’s On Location, so I will post those pages before I organize my notes and photos from Halifax:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

Edited October 15, 2015 by RetiredMustang

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, October 15, Halifax (Cont.)

 

After breakfast, we got lattes from the Explorations Café and took them to the Crow’s Nest to watch the sail into Halifax. We were in the channel, approaching Halifax, when we were overtaken by a Canadian Navy frigate, the HMCS St. John’s (FFH 340), which moved in front of us and led us the rest of the way into the harbor:

 

 

 

 

We moored starboard side to at Pier 20, just behind the Liberty of the Seas. There was a Saga ship at the Cunard pier, but it appeared to have been replaced by another ship when we returned in the afternoon. Welcoming us to Halifax were a piper and drummer:

 

 

 

 

I took the shot from the Sports Deck, deck 12. By the time I got down to deck 6 and the outside walking area, they were gone.

 

We waited until later in the morning to go ashore. We have been in Halifax before, and had done the excursion to Peggy’s Cove last week, so did not book anything for today. It was cloudy coming into port, but the day got sunnier as it went on. Even though there was a breeze, we only took jackets ashore for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront.

 

I took photos of some fall/Halloween displays at the Farmers Market and Bishop’s Landing on the way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, October 15, Halifax (Cont.)

 

We continued along the boardwalk to the Historic Properties. I took a couple more shots of some colorful trees along the way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then turned inland for a while. We stopped at the Scotia Mall to get a few things from Lawton’s drug store, and then walked about downtown, past the Grand Parade and St. Paul’s Church, Province House, etc. We noticed a large amount of construction going on, as older buildings were being torn down or new ones being built.

 

We then returned to the waterfront, and browsed the shops at the Historic Properties, and then went to lunch. We have eaten at other places before, but several people on CC had mentioned Salty’s, so we decided to have lunch there. I had a bowl of PEI mussels (didn’t get enough yesterday, seemingly), and DW had brie baked in puff pastry, which we enjoyed with a glass of ale each. Thanks to all who recommended this restaurant, as we had a very nice meal.

 

We then slowly made our way back to the pier. I got a shot of one of the Halifax passenger ferries, which DW said remind her of PushMe-PullYou. When I got closer, I also got yet another shot of Veendam:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was a relaxing, pleasant sunny day in Halifax.

 

More later,

Dave

[cruz chic]

Sounds like you had an enjoyable day ashore. Thx for the update.

[kazu]

wonderful pics as always Dave. thanks so much :)

[RetiredMustang]

Thursday, October 15, Halifax (Cont.)

 

Tonight was the second Gala night for this cruise segment, and we dressed for dinner in the MDR. They had something tonight that they had had once before, but I did not mention because I thought it might have been a one-off. But, tonight, they also brought round a shot glass of pureed veggies. The first time was pumpkin or such, and tonight was carrot and cinnamon. I’m not sure why they are doing this, but I’m not much of a fan; maybe a shot of rum would help the vegetables go down better. Here is a photo of tonight’s veggie sippy cup:

 

 

 

 

For dinner, I had the shrimp cocktail for starter, while DW had the chicken and orzo soup. We both ordered the surf and turf, but I ended up with a surf and surf and turf; DW passed me her lobster tail. For dessert, we both ordered the flourless chocolate cake, but it seemed a bit drier than usual – basically, it was a brownie, although a very good one. Here is the menu:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[PSR]

Can you still order the steak, chicken or salmon "everyday" items in the restaurant on Gala Night? The choices on the menus you've posted don't show those items like the daily menus do. I know some people that wouldn't have an item to choose on the Gala menus, such as DH. Even the soups and salads seem "fancy". Not a problem for me, but.....

 

Thanks for any info,

Penny

[cruz chic]

Can you still order the steak, chicken or salmon "everyday" items in the restaurant on Gala Night? The choices on the menus you've posted don't show those items like the daily menus do. I know some people that wouldn't have an item to choose on the Gala menus, such as DH. Even the soups and salads seem "fancy". Not a problem for me, but.....

 

Thanks for any info,

Penny

 

The gala menus are very poor now. I think you should be able to order off the alternate menu. I'm a Caesar salad fan and I know I've ordered that on gala night. That said, it likely varies by ship.

[cruz chic]

Dave, you are hilarious! Veggie sippy cup. I am a veggie fan but that doesn't look appetizing. Maybe they ordered baby food and no one used it so it turns into an appie :D;).

[Copper10-8]

...................Here is a photo of tonight’s veggie sippy cup:

 

 

[...........................................More later,

Dave

 

Did you wear a bib with your sippy cup, Navy dude?

[Jolie_Cruiser]

Thank you for sharing your cruise thoughts and nice pictures with us. It is always nice to see somebody to whom I answered a pre-cruise question to give back so generously to the CC community.

 

Not 100% sure, but I believe that what was served to you in the shooter glass was a "verrine" from the French word "verre" which means glass.

 

More explanation in this Wikipedia link:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verrine

Edited October 16, 2015 by Jolie_Cruiser

[RetiredMustang]

Did you wear a bib with your sippy cup, Navy dude?

 

I asked, but the only ones they keep in stock and have any call for come with an eagle, globe and anchor. :D

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor

 

Today is our last port call before arriving back to Boston. The forecast for Bar Harbor is partly cloudy and mid-50s F/12C. Clouds are OK, but we would prefer no rain, since we are booked for a two-hour hike along the shore in Acadia National Park.

 

We got notes that, since we have an early shore excursion, we will be among the first to go through CBP screening this morning. We received a letter last night with our numbered tour stickers, which we are supposed to wear to the screening line, so they can run us through first, after which we muster in the Wajang Theater for tenders.

 

Reports have it that the last few times CBP did this here in Bar Harbor, they were pretty smooth and quick, so we hope to get ashore near our scheduled tour time.

 

I will report later on how it went. Here are today’s On Location pages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[chengkgoingalaska]

Hello all,

 

I’m doing another “Live From” blog, this time from MS Veendam on a 14-day round-trip cruise from Boston to Quebec and back.

 

Here is our itinerary:

- 3 Oct, sail from Boston at 4 p.m.;

- 4 Oct, Bar Harbor, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.;

- 5 Oct, Halifax, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.;

- 6 Oct, Sydney, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.;

- 7 Oct, Charlottetown, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.;

- 8 Oct, cruising Gulf of St. Lawrence;

- 9 Oct, Quebec, arrive 8 a.m.;

- 10 Oct, Quebec;

- 11 Oct, Quebec, depart 4 p.m.;

- 12 Oct, cruising Gulf of St. Lawrence;

- 13 Oct, Charlottetown, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

- 14 Oct, Sydney, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.;

- 15 Oct, Halifax, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.;

- 16 Oct, Bar Harbor, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

- 17 Oct, return to Fort Boston at 7 a.m..

 

Here is a map of our itinerary:

 

 

 

We wanted to do a cruise to Canada and New England, especially during the time when we had higher odds of seeing fall colors in the trees. We chose Veendam over Maasdam because of the two nights stay in Quebec, which would give us lots of time to explore that city; Maasdam continues on to Montreal before heading back.

 

We have not been on Veendam since the late 1990s, well before her modifications. It will be interesting to see the changes.

 

I hope we do get to see some of the leaves in sunshine. It is looking less like this will be a “Travels with Jaoquin” blog, although Bermuda is now in the hurricane’s path which is hard on them. But, there is enough unsettled weather in New England and eastern Canada just from routine lows and nor’easters. We don’t really mind the wind and rain, but would prefer to have at least some sun on the trees now and then.

 

We are due to visit Bar Harbor tomorrow, and there is very little rain forcast. But, there is a bit of wind. Since that is a tender port, I hope the ship will be able to run tender operations safely. But, the nice thing about doing the round trip is that we have a second chance to visit on the way back if the first opportunity is missed.

 

When we made final payment, our PCC was able to get us the OBC for shore excursions, the Dine-Around package and some other bennies. She did explain that the OBC was available to be applied to any charge, since we had already booked most of our excursions; I will report on how that goes, but as others have posted that it applied to anything, I expect we will find the same thing. I have also read on CC how the dine-around works, so DW and I have discussed what nights won’t work, and I will go try to change if the reservations they give us are inconvenient. We have dinner reservations ashore in Quebec for Friday, so that night for example would be a non-starter.

 

This is a port-intensive itinerary, and while I intend to post at least once a day, I may get behind sometimes.

 

I will post this now, and check in again later.

 

More later,

Dave

 

 

 

Thank you very much for your most kind review. It is extremely helpful!

[Copper10-8]

I asked, but the only ones they keep in stock and have any call for come with an eagle, globe and anchor. :D

 

Dave

 

Good one! :)

[cruz chic]

Thanks for timing your cruise properly. I'm in transit to Fort Lauderdale so I'm happy not to miss anything. Hope everything went well this morning.

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor (Cont.)

 

The CBP screening and shore excursion tendering went just as advertised. The CBP arrived early. The had us line up on deck 8, in the casino, and we went aft into the Explroation Café to have our ship cards scanned (presumably to know who had been through immigration and so a card would alert at the gangway if the owner had not), and then our passports checked.

 

We then went to the Wajang and waited for our number to be called. We were ashore just about on time. There were only a total of eight of us on the hike excursion, and we boarded a van. We were driven to the Sand Beach, which we visited, and then returned to the parking area to pick up the coast trail.

 

It showered off and on during our two-hour walk/hike from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff, where we were met by the van. The walking path went alongside, or veered off now and then but not far from the park’s loop road. But, being on foot, we could take time to appreciate the views, stop and learn about some of the plants, birds, history, etc., and generally go at our pace and not at the pace of a bus. You should be reasonably fit to take this excursion. There are some steps and some rough spots here and there, but it is not really strenuous or difficult to someone who is not mobility-challenged.

 

The trees had really changed colors since we were here 12 days ago, and were nearing their peak. I tried organizing my very, very many photos into categories such as “Pix of the Path”, “Views of the Coast” and “Wow, Colors”, and decided just to post some (not all) of them in the chronological order that I took them. In a way, that may give you a feel for how the walk went along.

 

So, in the next several posts, here are my photos of a walk in Acadia National Park in October (it is clear with bright sunshine now as I post, of course):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor (Cont.)

 

Post 2 of Acadia walk photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

[Copper10-8]

Awesome pics, as usual, Dave!

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor (Cont.)

 

Post 3 of Acadia walk photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor (Cont.)

 

Post 4 of Acadia walk photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Friday, October 16, Bar Harbor (Cont.)

 

Post 5 (and final) of Acadia walk photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[pv girl]

Beautiful color pics, but what a shame it was rainy/cloudy - would have been awesome in full sunshine. And bravo to you for continuing the tour in spite of the weather..

[dfish]

Great pictures of your hike. That is one of my favorite trails in Acadia.

 

Debbie