Live from the Volendam - New England & Canada (May 25 to June 1)

[Rubyfisch]

Sunset:

 

[Seanat]

Congrats on the trivia win!  I was rooting for you,  I wanted to know what color tulip Volendam had. Have a few from recent Eutodam who has a dark pink. On Volendam in July so hoping to aquire some light pink.

 

Thanks for your live thread, getting me ready for July.

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

I haven't had any issues with this before tonight, but the smoke from the casino is really kind of annoying in Mix, which is were the best love music is ... It's kind of frustrating. I know people have lots of feelings about whether or not smoking should be allowed, but if it is, the casino really shouldn't be in the middle of the ship with no doors....

[Rubyfisch]

Good morning from almost Quebec:

 

[Rubyfisch]

Lido breakfast - it is crowded in here. Not much wait for food, but it was hard to find a seat.

 

[Rubyfisch]

Apparently, the river currents were very strong, so we are slightly delayed into Quebec City. We also apparently needed the fourth engine to get here.

[Grandmaanne7]

10 hours ago, Rubyfisch said:

I haven't had any issues with this before tonight, but the smoke from the casino is really kind of annoying in Mix, which is were the best love music is ... It's kind of frustrating. I know people have lots of feelings about whether or not smoking should be allowed, but if it is, the casino really shouldn't be in the middle of the ship with no doors....

Totally agree! 

 

Thanks for all your informative and interesting posts. I have enjoyed following along. 

[Rubyfisch]

Quebec:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Pilot boat (for the port pilots):

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Random musings while we await gangway clearance - I think eight nights is the best length for a cruise that fits into most people's schedules. I feel like it would be perfect if this were the second to last night, rather than the last one.

[Rubyfisch]

The upper boardwalk in Old Town:

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

I've fallen behind today ... Let me try to catch everyone up...

[Rubyfisch]

So, we ended up having to port at Quai 30, rather than 21/22. Quai 30 is the one they usually use for embarkation (it's where we stopped with the Zuiderdam last year). There was a labor protest involving an ongoing arbitration for the stevedores union that prevented us from docking where we were supposed to. They had shuttle buses, but it was a bit of a mess (worse than last year). We ended up just walking on the way there. It's a good 20 plus minute walk and there are no signs. And you have to go through a scary looking gate.

[Rubyfisch]

We took the funicular up to the top. It appears they now take cards (the used to be cash only).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Views of the St. Lawrence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

More Quebec pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Lido lunch (I might have gotten seconds on the sushi and the spring roll):

 

[Rubyfisch]

After lunch, we went swimming and then to Landmark Trivia - we won with 16 points.

[Rubyfisch]

Sailing under a bridge we supposedly cleared by only 6 ft ...

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Dinner.

 

I had the salmon trio and the tomato soup:

 

 

 

The mushroom strussle (I remember this being amazing on the last cruise - this was different, still good, but not what I remembered):

 

 

Cookie sundae:

 

 

Views during dinner:

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Sunset:

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

After dinner, we went to the game show. We did last night as well. I've never really done these even though I've been on a bunch of cruises. They are really fun.

[DeeniEncinitas]

4 minutes ago, Rubyfisch said:

After dinner, we went to the game show. We did last night as well. I've never really done these even though I've been on a bunch of cruises. They are really fun.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺Aloha!

Go and relax now!! Great reporting but now is your time! Take care and all I can say is this was great! Love all the photos and maybe sometime come over to our The Daily here!! Great people from all over the world!! I am from Encinitas California beach town near San Diego and I have a home in Kaanapali Maui so 

when you are curious or love to interact come on over!

Thankyou again!

🌺🌺🌺Mahalo,

Denise😊

[Rubyfisch]

The goodbyes have been said, the luggage is in the hall, and it's getting to the end. I'll post some stuff from Montreal if we do anything interesting, and maybe write some wrap ups at the airport on Monday morning. So we aren't quite done, but we are getting there.

[Boston proper]

Thank you so much for taking us on your vacation.  Your information and pictures are great and really helpful as I plan for my first HAL journey.  Enjoy Montreal!