Live from the Caribbean Princess, Oct 14 - Nov 5, 22-day Canadian and Atlantic Coast Land and Sea Adventure

[cr8tiv1]

Hope you are able to connect at each of your hotel stops.  Unfortunately, none are related or carried over.  Thank you for taking the time to walk us through your first day.  I would never had considered a land tour before the cruise....hmmmm.

[Waynetor]

When your hotel was built (late 1920's) it was the tallest building in the British Empire

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Hope you are able to connect at each of your hotel stops.  Unfortunately, none are related or carried over.  Thank you for taking the time to walk us through your first day.  I would never had considered a land tour before the cruise....hmmmm.

We asked the guy at the hotel front desk if we could get the pass code that was generated when the Concierge created our All Accor account just in case my account information doesn’t transfer to the other Fairmont hotels we will be staying at once we check in. If my new All Accor account isn’t accepted at any of the other hotels, no big deal as the internet service fee is waived if you stay in the hotel. But it couldn’t hurt to have the pass code in our back pocket so to speak. 😁

Edited October 15, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Hope you are able to connect at each of your hotel stops.  Unfortunately, none are related or carried over.  Thank you for taking the time to walk us through your first day.  I would never had considered a land tour before the cruise....hmmmm.

We did a PCL land tour around parts of Ireland back in 2017 followed by a 12-day cruise around the UK on the Crown and had a great time on that one as well.

[CGinMTL]

Welcome to Canada

I also love reflection shots 

I took one in June with the ship in my daughter's sunglasses 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 2 (part 1) - Tour Niagara Falls

  

 

The drive to the Niagara Falls on the Canadian side took about 2 hours. We saw some pretty views along the way and most importantly the rain stayed away most of the day, except for a light sprinkle a few times.

 

 

 
Once we arrived we were there for 2 hours. This was our first glimpse of the Falls from up on the road.

 
We then had a few minutes to burn while our guide went and got our boat ride tickets. So, of course, I had to check out the Flora and any wildlife we could find.

 

 

A couple of yellow and black stripped bees were having fun looking for nectar on this flower.

 

 
Also saw some Hermit Thrushes and Purple Finches playing in the flowers. 😁

 

 
Then it was time to walk down and queue up to wait our turn to board the boat that was going to basically get us up close and personal with the 3 waterfalls that make up the Niagara Falls. These were some of the views on our walk down.

 

This is American Falls.

 

 

Bridal Veil Falls is on the right.

 

 
Horseshoe Falls, sometimes referred to as Canadian Falls, which is found to the far right of the American and Bridal Veil Falls.

 

 
We were all given rain coats as they knew we were definitely going to get wet if we stayed outside near the rail, which of course was the plan! 😂

 

 

 
Then once we boarded, here were some of our favorite photos, to include going right up next to them.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
On the way back, we saw a quite a few Terns flying around the Falls.

  

 

 
There were also some cormorants hanging out on this large rock.

 

 

This used to be part of a bridge that crossed from the US over to Canada. Now it’s just a Niagara Falls lookout point on the US side.

 

 

This is the current bridge that folks use to cross over the border.

 

 
This was our last view before we went back ashore.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 2 (part 2) - The rest of the day!

 
After we got off the ship, we had about 45 minutes of free time to wander around to see the “commercial” side of the area. 
 

After we got back up top, we walked up the street and saw this street side amusement area. Definitely no shortage of fun things to do if you have the time!

 

 

 

 

  
Then it was back on the bus and off we went to drive around the area looking at the water flow above the Falls.

  

 

 

 

 
Then it was time to start heading towards our next stop, Niagara on the Lake. Along the way we saw a huge hydro power plant that provides power to a wide range of communities in both the US and Canada.

 

 
Once we arrived at our lunch stop, which was on our own, we had 2 hours to explore. Notice the amount of flowers in the little town which are still in bloom, and the leaves are just starting to turn on many of the trees. We definitely got lucky on this trip, as it just started turning cooler in the area last week and no freezes have been encountered yet. 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Then it was time for our 2 hour drive back to Toronto. Along the way we saw a bunch of grape vineyards! 
 

 

Once we got back to Toronto, we went for a walk to check out this cool fountain and take a few pictures along the way.
 

 

 

And, yes, we were able at the last minute to find the elusive but very photogenic Toronto pigeon and a squirrel or two along the way! 😂

 

 

 

 
Then it was time to walk back to the hotel to find a nice place to have a tasty dinner. We were going to check out the massive underground mall called Path, that actually had an entrance inside our hotel. But unfortunately its various stores and food services are closed on the weekends. So we had our tasty dinner again in the hotel and then headed back to the room, as we have to get up at 5 am tomorrow to start getting ready for our trip to Ottawa! 😱

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you for bringing good weather.  Now, please place a pause on the leaves turning colors until we all get there next week.  Glad you found a pigeon. Does that mean your quest is over...or one for each city?

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[Ken the cruiser]

22 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thank you for bringing good weather.  Now, please place a pause on the leaves turning colors until we all get there next week.  Glad you found a pigeon. Does that mean your quest is over...or one for each city?

 

 

The search for the elusive “local” pigeon is ongoing and will continue as long as we continue to cruise. So far the only place we have not been able to find one is on any of the Hawaiian islands we stopped at on our recent B3B from Sydney to Vancouver by way of Hawaii on the Celebrity Eclipse this past spring.

 

On our next cruise in December to the Galapagos as well as on our Antarctica cruise in January, the hunt might prove to be more challenging. But then, it’s the joy of the hunt that is always the most rewarding! 😁

Edited October 16, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[cr8tiv1]

There are so many pigeons in Honolulu.  I understand that my finding them doesn't count for your quest.  But the next time you are in Waikiki....Hang out in front of the Honolulu Zoo.....

 

What you won't find in the Hawaiian Islands are Seagulls.  No Jonathan Livingston Seagulls here.  (nor pelicans, snakes, skunks, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, and a sundry of other wildlife)

[KLM3164]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Once we got back to Toronto, we went for a walk to check out this cool fountain and take a few pictures along the way.

As an animal lover, the fountain you found is so cool and unique. If we ever get back to Toronto we will look for it.

 

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

we were able at the last minute to find the elusive but very photogenic Toronto pigeon and a squirrel or two along the way!

Oh wow, a two-fer, the elusive pigeon and squirrel in the same photo! 

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

As an animal lover, the fountain you found is so cool and unique. If we ever get back to Toronto we will look for it.

 

Oh wow, a two-fer, the elusive pigeon and squirrel in the same photo! 

I know! I had taken about 20+ pictures of various pigeons this afternoon after returning to Toronto. Then while we were at the fountain I saw this one. Then I saw the squirrel in the background! How could I resist! 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW our buffet breakfast was conducted in a private conference room both mornings rather than in one of the regular hotel restaurants, as our tour group is not a small on. There are 116 guests on this land excursion package spread across 3 buses.

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 3 - Overnight in Ottawa, Ontario

 

  
The Thousand Islands area where we’re going to go on our boat ride is near the city of Kingston on this map, which is a little more than half way between Toronto and Ottawa.

 

 
And the weather forecast doesn’t “appear to be too chilly today. 🤞

 

[vickykay]

Your photos of the falls were wonderful. So glad you took the boat trip, such fun!  Enjoying all your bird photos ( as a fellow bird lover). What lines are you doing your Galapagos and Antartica cruises on ( don’t want to miss another Ken review)?

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, vickykay said:

Your photos of the falls were wonderful. So glad you took the boat trip, such fun!  Enjoying all your bird photos ( as a fellow bird lover). What lines are you doing your Galapagos and Antartica cruises on ( don’t want to miss another Ken review)?

Thanks! We’re on a 10-day land-cruise with Celebrity on the Flora and a 30-day B2B on the Sapphire Princess. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a lot of wildlife on both of those cruises! 😁

[CruzinNoony]

Really enjoying your "live from".  Your pictures are awesome!!

 

[Senga]

The dog fountain is one of our favourites in Toronto.

[Ken the cruiser]

We had a fun and very full Day 3! The day started at 5:30 am when we had to leave our luggage out in the hallway to be taken to the bus. Then after another tasty buffet breakfast everyone was on the bus by 7:35 am and off we went.

 

First we had a nice tour through Toronto before we headed to our first stop, the lake with over a Thousand Islands!
  

 

 

 

 
Along the way we had an extended stop at the Big Apple rest stop which offered all kinds of stuff to buy made with apples plus a petting zoo we were allowed to walk around, but weren’t really allowed to touch any of the animals. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
One of the nice things about the weather today was that the skies were mostly clear with just a few clouds scattered about. That is until we started getting close to the Thousand Islands area where we were scheduled to go for our cruise and the clouds thickened up and it started to rain.

 

 

 

But when we arrived, the rain magically stopped, and we subsequently boarded our tour boat and off we went for a 90 minute tour. 😁

 

 

I spent most of my time up on the top deck taking pictures and admiring the wide variety of large and itty bitty houses on some of the more than 1,000 islands in what is the start of the St Lawrence River which flows from Lake Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

 
An observation tower that has both an elevator as well as quite the set of stairs.

 

 

 

 
The house on the left is in Canada and the little island on the right connected by that bridge is in the US.

 

 
This is Boldt Castle on Heart Island. If you’re interested as it has quite an interesting past, this link will provide all the details.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boldt_Castle

 

 

 

 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office on Heart Island.

 

 

 
We’re starting to see a trend here. The cormorants that hang out around this area, like they did at Niagara Falls, seem to like to hang out together on large rock outcroppings! 😂

 

 
After the cruise, we had a tasty lunch there at the restaurant on the pier, which was included, and then we were off on a 2 hour drive to Ottawa and thankfully with the partly cloudy skies again! 😁

 

 

But with one big change. Our hotel accommodations had change at the last minute from the Fairmont hotel in Ottawa, Ontario to the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel and Casino across the river in Gatineau - Ottawa, Quebec!
 

But no complaints here as our room is much more upscale than the Fairmont we were at in Toronto, the internet is free with no hoops to jump through to log on to, and the views from our cabin are pretty cool! 

 

 

 

 
Well, there was one shortfall. There was no variety of restaurants nearby to choose from. So the tour guides offered a shuttle bus to take folks to a nearby location that offered some nice options to choose from.
 

However, our daughter and her spouse who are traveling with found a nice alternative to try. The only catch was it was about a 3.2 km walk to get there. But since we’ve been sitting most of the day that sounded like a great idea. Get some exercise, have a nice walk around Gatineau, and have a tasty meal at a vegan restaurant! Something we have never tried before and as it turned out was quite tasty, especially when it came to trying the gluten free brownies with a scoop of soy ice cream! Hey, who said old dogs can’t be taught new tricks! 😁

 

By the time we walked back to the hotel it was 9 pm, and believe it or not, the walk back was not chilly at all! 
 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 4 - Montebello, Quebec, Canada

 

This morning after waking up and putting our bags out by 7 am, we headed off to our buffet breakfast.

 

 
The plan is to be on the bus by 7:50 am with another full day planned, which mostly includes various stops in Ottawa but with a lot less driving as Montebello is only about 50 miles away.

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just did a Wi-Fi speed test, and besides being super easy to log onto, the speeds were super fast! Something tells me the speeds on the ship, even with Starlink, won’t even come close to these. 😂
 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[CGinMTL]

Love that the description is "Montebello"

But most of the sight are actually are nation's capital 

 

Ottawa

 

Funny how the capital of a country does not get top billing 

 

Montebello is much prettier though

I am enjoying your descriptions and making a mental note to revisit these sites that are less then 2 hours from home

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, CGinMTL said:

Love that the description is "Montebello"

But most of the sight are actually are nation's capital 

 

Ottawa

 

Funny how the capital of a country does not get top billing 

 

Montebello is much prettier though

I am enjoying your descriptions and making a mental note to revisit these sites that are less then 2 hours from home

Sorry about that. My Day description in this case is where we will be arriving this afternoon and spending the night after touring Ottawa, to include 3+ hours at the Museum of History, where we’re at right now. 

[louden]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry about that. My Day description in this case is where we will be arriving this afternoon and spending the night after touring Ottawa, to include 3+ hours at the Museum of History, where we’re at right now. 

We have been following along and enjoying your beautiful photos.  So happy the leaves are still in full colour for you.  We have lived and are living in the areas you are visiting from Toronto to Quebec City and love you are sharing your experiences with everyone.  Hoping you enjoy your stay tonight and onward.  Will continue to enjoy your posts while you are sailing.  Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

 

Cheers

 

Louden

[CGinMTL]

Sorry, my comment was for your tour operator ( as per your printscreen in green )

Not with you 

.

Love these virtual trips