SURPRISE LIVE! - MS Zaandam - Boston to Montreal

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just getting caught up on your reports.

 

Lobster Rolls  -- love them -- especially the ones that are all lobster with no fillers.

 

Great reports and pictures.

[fatcat04]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Just getting caught up on your reports.

 

Lobster Rolls  -- love them -- especially the ones that are all lobster with no fillers.

 

Great reports and pictures.

I'm right there with ya. No need for anything else.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

We haven’t had this yet.  We bought it as our boarding celebration bubbly but there was no cooler or ice or anything in our room so we had to wait for the room steward to bring a wine bucket with ice.  It arrived yesterday.  I think we will just hang onto it and take it to the PG for our last night.

 

 

I love crement! I haven't had that one, but I'm sure it will be good.

 

 

[erewhon]

Thanks for your report, what are "Funnel" cakes?

[IllinoisGirl1978]

7 hours ago, erewhon said:

Thanks for your report, what are "Funnel" cakes?

It’s a carnival treat traditionally doused in powder sugar or ice cream with some kind of sauce like strawberry or chocolate.  The batter is slightly thinner than pancake and poured through a funnel 

[puppycanducruise]

That lobster roll and fries look fabulous. 

Hope the weather improves.

[yerdua]

16 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

We disembarked and followed the boardwalk till we got to the Marriott Harbourfront to pick up our rental car.  During tourist season they have an outlet at the port but we are in shoulder season so the Marriott it is.  Peggy’s Cove is only 28 miles away but your first hurdle is getting out of the city.  Then you take a scenic drive along winding roads and beautiful scenery until you get to the cove.  We were lucky to arrive just as all the tour busses were leaving so it was SO quiet and peaceful.

 

We were hungry by now so we stopped for the BEST lobster roll I have ever had in my life.  The lobster guy told us where to find the best French fries ever.  And then I saw they sold funnel cakes so it was game over for us.  Luckily we were sharing everything because it was like we’d gone to the fair and we weren’t leaving till we puked.  

 

See the young girl in the food truck window?  She and her husband were the sweetest people ever!

 

we're on this cruise next week and I've been following your thread closely. Thank you so much for the detail you've provided. Love me some lobster rolls and was wondering if this food truck was located at Peggy cove or down by the waterfront in halifax. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, yerdua said:

 

we're on this cruise next week and I've been following your thread closely. Thank you so much for the detail you've provided. Love me some lobster rolls and was wondering if this food truck was located at Peggy cove or down by the waterfront in halifax. 

 

If you're not venturing beyond Halifax, don't worry. When I was there last fall, there were two kiosks with lobster rolls on the walkway along the harbor. And there's a good vendor (or two) in the market building at the port. (And the Mickey D's  near the public garden has McLobster, although that wouldn't be my first choice)

 

[lunedemiel17]

Hello Miss G,  thank you for the report and the pictures.  We will be on that cruise on june 15.  4th cruise but first time with  HAL...    My husband and I wondering if the signature beverage package is worth it.   Do you think is possible  to

see an update price list.  All  I found  on the internet is  one of 2018.  Sorry English is not my first language.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Lunedemiel17. 

[lunedemiel17]

I just found a list that seems to have been updated : http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-beverage-menus.

[*Miss G*]

19 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Miss G 

 

So glad you have a great Pinnacle Manager.  Does he have a name?

We found nothing very good in reds in Cellar #2.  Disappointing! Lots of good whites, though.  Such an unbalanced set of offerings in these packages!  I agree, bring on what you like and pay the corkage for the extras. Your champagne will be great for the Pinnacle!

 

 

I have been trying to get the spelling of his name but keep missing it.  It is pronounced Thice (as in nice) but I believe it is spelled Thies.  I will verify before we leave.  He is such a lovely lovely young man.

 

 

19 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

No rush but have you been able to find out if they have any Spellbound Cabernet Sauvignon by Mondavi on the ship?

 

Great pics.  Too bad about Bar Harbor.  Such a lovely place when the sun shines.

 

Sorry but I haven’t seen it at all.  Even when I perused the tablet.  But I can safely say that the 2014 Silverado Cab Sauv is nice.

 

 

19 hours ago, Cajuntraveler said:

Thank you Miss G.  I just made the final payment for my August cruise and was having second thoughts based on some reviews of the ship, so I appreciate the good comments that I've read on this feed.

 

I will post pics from around the ship.  It really is lovely.

 

 

17 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I love crement! I haven't had that one, but I'm sure it will be good.

 

 

 

The resident wine expert noticed us carrying it and thought we were wine experts too!  Haha.  He said we had really made an excellent choice so we are looking forward to trying it.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, lunedemiel17 said:

I just found a list that seems to have been updated : http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-beverage-menus.

 

Yes, @Crew News keeps things very current on his website so you have found the right list!

[*Miss G*]

DAY FOUR - SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA

 

Today is brought to you by Cape Breton Island.  There is quite a brisk wind and not much to do in town.  We wander the shops and make some purchases.  We have to wander the shops because they are varnishing and painting the windows on our side of the ship and the fumes are killing me.  Today we found out where the Library is so we could get away from the chemicals.  It is huge!  And oh so comfy.  I see why people love this ship.  (Pictures in the next post.)

 

I have also discovered an amazing ladies room.  There are advantages to being forced out of your room.  (Pictures below.)

 

We stopped by the Pinnacle Grill to cancel tonight’s reservations.  Who wants a nice meal when you have a migraine and nausea?  But it is Sel de Mer night so that makes me sad.  I think it’s a sign from HAL never to go to a Sel de Mer popup.  The last time we cancelled was fumes from a HAL excursion.  I am never meant to go I guess.  But how am I going to recover lying in a room full of fumes?  I am in a quandary.  🙁

 

[*Miss G*]

The Library is in three sections.  You will find it behind the Explorations Cafe.

 

[*Miss G*]

[Been There, Planning That]

12 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

 

I have also discovered an amazing ladies room.  There are advantages to being forced out of your room.  (Pictures below.)

 

 

 

Pack up your duvet, find a temporarily closed sign and hunker down in that amazing room.  Should cure anything that ails you.

 

[*Miss G*]

[3rdGenCunarder]

Sorry to hear about the fumes. That would get to me, too. Maybe relax on a comfy sofa or chair in the library and hope the fumes in your cabin dissipate? Or crash in that ladies room--that's certainly posh!

 

 

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Did you find the great napping chairs? I found them by accident after kayaking in Haines, Ak.  

 

Did you alert guest services about the awful fumes? I’m so sorry 

[lunedemiel17]

Thank you for the beautiful pictures.  The ship looks better than i Thaught. 😀

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, yerdua said:

 

we're on this cruise next week and I've been following your thread closely. Thank you so much for the detail you've provided. Love me some lobster rolls and was wondering if this food truck was located at Peggy cove or down by the waterfront in halifax. 

 

Yes, the food truck was at Peggy’s Cove.  But I have heard that the rolls in the terminal are delicious too.

 

 

5 minutes ago, IllinoisGirl1978 said:

Did you find the great napping chairs? I found them by accident after kayaking in Haines, Ak.  

 

Did you alert guest services about the awful fumes? I’m so sorry 

 

Do you mean the ones that lay back with the footrest like a Lazy Boy?  Those are awesome!!

 

After 3.5 hours of fumes we visited Guest Services.  I thought maybe that would give even time for them to dissipate.  Apparently not, so we did a little walk around the port.  That’s when we noticed them working on the windows.  When we got back to our room there were 3 ship’s officers at our door, so the response was good!  They weren’t sure what the problem was so I mentioned the workers outside and they went “Ohhhh.”  Nothing has been resolved because, really, what can be done?  It’s only time that will make it pass, sadly.

[lunedemiel17]

50 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Yes, @Crew News keeps things very current on his website so you have found the right list!

 

Thank you.  I think we are going to buy the package.  It will be a good value for us.

  😀

[semibeater]

It looks like the water level is still too high at T1 and under the Jacques Cartier bridge as the bus schedule has been set from T3 to T1 on this trip on June 1. I hope that it goes down soon.  T3 is a dreary place😥

[geocruiser]

Sorry to hear about the fumes.  Did you report this to guest services that you can't stay in your cabin because of this.

 

FYI I went to the lake today.  Lake Ontario.  It is flooded.  The lake road was closed in some places, the water is over the road (NY side).  Waves were about 3 feet or so.  Nor too high.  But crashing on the shore into people yards and homes.  If they decide to let more water out of the lake, then the St. L. river will have a higher water level.  So, you might not be making it to Montreal by ship.

There was massive flooding here in 2017 on the lake.  The water level is now about the same as it was then. 

https://ijc.org/en/loslrb/lake-ontario-likely-exceed-2017-water-levels

 

Enjoy your cruise.  The food and the ship look wonderful.

[fatcat04]

Oh my. You poor thing. I can relate. Even pumping gas and getting a big whiff of the fumes can give me a blistering headache. Paint thinner or varnish and I am down for the count. I hope it dissipates before bedtime. 

That bathroom is luxurious. I remember when I was a kid a local department store had a swanky ladies room complete with cushy sofas in the lounge and a uniformed attendant. Lol. It was such a novelty to little me that I always made sure mom and I stopped there when we went shopping. Just something about a fancy bathroom.