Tuesday, September 23, 2014

New England and Canada Cruise 2014 Part 2

Last week we cruised on the Holland America Maasdam heading to Bar Harbor and Canada!

Day 5 (Wednesday 9/17/14 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)


Here’s the link to the pictures.

DSC_0040We walked around town on the main streets that ran from the ship and back in the morning and enjoyed looking at all the shops. Then we returned to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon we walked the streets that ran from each side of the main streets. I found the Gahan Brewery that the lady in Sydney recommended but since we already had lunch we didn’t stay. I did get her some business cards for her to give out. Then we stopped at Northern Watters Knitwear and met Bill, the owner. He was fabulous! He showed us thrummed mittens and socks which were amazing! Then he shows us the staff working on the knitting looms, piecing the parts together and then doing the finishing work. After that, the pieces go to his wife Wanda for inspection. After that, Bill recommended that we try some red beer and suggested going next door but they didn’t have any red beer so we went to the next place called Fish Bones. We got 2 very large beers (maybe 16 oz. each?) for $7 each. It was a great beer and we will look for that when we get home. After that we got back to the ship and took a little nap. After dinner we went to the comedy show of Julie Barr and then watched the Philippine Crew Show.

Day 6 (Thursday 9/18/14 St. Lawrence River)

DSC_0117Today was a sea day and we didn’t get off the ship. It was so cold outside and around the ship! After breakfast we went back to bed and huddled under the covers! Then we ate a snack on the Lido deck around 11am because we had a Mariner Luncheon at 1pm. This is for repeat guests of Holland America where they introduce the captain and hotel director and then give us a souvenir tile. After lunch we went to a lecture by a captain (H. A. Dalkman) who had been with Holland America for years and wrote a book about its history. After the lecture we had a meeting for guests who were staying on another week and then we saw the movie The Amazing Spider Man 2 which was very good. But the theater was freezing! When we changed for dinner, we asked our cabin steward for some blankets which he got for us. Dinner was formal night and we had surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail).

Day 7 (Friday 9/19/14 Quebec City)

Here’s the link to the pictures.

DSC_0079We got off the ship around 9am and a free shuttle dropped us off at the end of the Lower part of Old Quebec. We walked along the water and up tons of stairs to a boardwalk. Eventually we walked up 310 steps to the Governor’s Promenade and the Fort. Then we walked through the shops of Old Quebec and it was pretty. After stopping at the train station, we walked back to the ship. In the afternoon we watched a movie called Failure to Launch with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker which was funny. Then we went out to watch us pull out of the port and head to Montreal. We went under a bridge with only 6 feet clearance between the bridge and the top of the ship! After dinner we saw the movie which was Grace of Monaco.

Day 8 (Saturday 9/20/14 Montreal)

Here’s the link to the pictures.

DSC_0071We got off the ship easily and was given an “In Transit” card so we could return to the ship without standing in lines. Montreal was okay but I wasn’t that impressed. The city looked dirty and smelled of horse urine. We walked about 6 miles before returning to the ship for lunch. When the ship was leaving the port, Don noticed a building was on fire and it caught the attention of everyone on the ship. It looked like a really bad fire and we hope no one was hurt. For dinner we sat at the same table we had been at last week and 2 of the ladies (Agnes and Dyann) have returned also.

Things I Learned:
1. Thrummed mittens are really really warm!
2. People on Prince Edward Island are really friendly.
3. Red beer is pretty good.
4. I want to find the book that tells about Holland America’s history by the captain we talked to.
5. It was 35F in Quebec when we got there.
6. There are a lot of hills and stairs in Old Quebec.
7. Montreal was a dirty city and reminded me of New York.
8. The buildings from the Expo 67 were all around the city.
9. They charge to go into the big old churches.
10. There was a protest going by the police and firemen and other government workers and we didn’t know about it as we walked around the city.

Original Photos by Pat Hensley

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