Category: USA

From Saint John NB

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After Boston we heard complaints about the boarding but no actual facts about the reason for the delays. The occasional rumour pops up about possible Coast Guard involvement or an unknown person on board. The truth will remain forever a mystery.

The overnight voyage to Portland ME was uneventful. We awoke to a bright sunny day. Quite a contrast to the rainy day in Boston. There was still very little colour change visible from the port. There was nothing of interest near the port so we remained on board. Later we made our regular trip to the hot tub then later to the dance floor. Princess has been trying to create a comedy club in the aft most lounge. Last night’s comedian was one of the better performers. He got a lot of laughs pursuing two themes; “happy wife, happy life” and “if mama’s not happy, no-one’s happy”.

Overnight we chased our partner Enchanted Princess up the coast to Saint John, NB. Canada Border Services took our paper declarations, performed 15 random inspections and that was that. The weather cooperated for most of the day. Rain began about 3:30 and our departure will be between 6:00 and 7:00 PM so some tours will have a wet ending.

During our walk along the waterfront we encountered the typical port shops but with a twist. The stores were constructed from shipping containers. The village consisted of about 25 shops including a performance stage with a live performance. The shops ranged from food services to souvenirs. Some travellers could even try Beaver Tails.

Henry Rollins

A great way to learn about your country is to leave it.

You can’t make this stuff up

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A second post from Boston and as Paul Harvey used to say, “now for the rest of the story”.

Boston is the first US port on this itinerary thus the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) has to make sure all is in good order and we are all good folk. Debarkation was carefully planned. All passengers leaving the ship were assigned colour coded times to visit CBP and then to disembark the ship for their onward travels. The proceedings were to begin around 9:00 AM and culminate around 11:45 when the few of us remaining with the ship would go through what is referred to as an “InTransit” process.

Now there is a person on the ship who is responsible for assuring that there is no-one but crew members left on board. Until that moment no passengers may begin the boarding process. As each person is processed off the ship they are tagged electronically until the count reaches the magic ZERO, when finally, boarding may begin, starting with the “InTransit” passengers, Us.

Remember all the clever organization by time and colour code? Perfect, until CBP doesn’t start processing until two hours later than scheduled. That’s when panic mode hits. Panic among passengers who are now not going to get to their flights on time. panic among crew trying to make new order out of a broken schedule and, I’m sure, confusion among future passengers arriving at the cruise terminal which undoubtedly is filling to overflowing with folk who cannot yet board the ship.

For us, knowing that our 11:45 schedule was impossible, decided to go to the buffet to grab a bite to eat before our time in line for CBP processing. Ahh, but it was not to be. We had just filled our plates and were about to be seated to eat when we were arrested (sort of) by a crew member sent to locate us and escort us to our CBP screening. From his demeanour it seemed that the future of the Emerald Princess was to be determined by how quickly we got to our CBP screening. When we arrived on the deck where CBP was working there was clearly a long line of passengers exiting with luggage. Not “InTransit” passengers. What a relief. We were not the sole determinant of the disembarkation.

Gail played her “I’m diabetic, I have to eat or I’ll fall down and it will be your fault” card. It always works. we were allowed to grab a sandwich. When we returned to get in line we discovered there was no urgency as there were a dozen more “InTransit” passengers sitting calmly with a Princess crew member monitoring the situation. Finally, an hour after we were escorted from what would have been lunch, we were taken as a group to our CBP interview. A very pleasant chap asked his questions, took your photo and checked our passports.

Next, the lot of us checked out of the CBP area, then checked out of the ship (although we never really left the deck), waited until some chap saw the magic ZERO then we checked back on board. We did return to the buffet where we had left our plates during our abduction. They remained where we had placed them. The staff would not, however, let us reuse them. Rather we were to take new plates.

Now there ought to be some sort of prize for any reader who actually followed what they just read. There isn’t. Just marvel that this isn’t the first time we have had such an experience.

Paul Theroux, The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road

The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown.

Boston Turnaround

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No, you haven’t missed a post. Sydney, Halifax, St John to Boston and barely a leaf changed colour. Those who came specifically to find fall colours must be terribly disappointed. One can’t rush mother nature. Having visited most places in the region on previous trips we have not repeated tours.

Our stop in St John should have been good for tours of the bay since a low tide coincided with our arrival and we remained long enough to see a full change. Even at our berth in St John the ship must have risen at least 20 feet over the tide cycle.

This morning Boston is bleak. Fog shrouds the city such that only the profiles of tall buildings defines the horizon. The rain is falling sometimes harder than others. In the open areas staff are busy mopping up rain water or pushing it toward drains.

We will need to visit US Immigration at some point today but on the basis of announcements we have heard the process is running about two hours behind schedule. Meanwhile room stewards on five decks are busy recycling cabins to receive passengers boarding. Until every arriving passenger and crew has been processed through US officials no-one will be boarding. Turnaround days are always interesting.

I will post a few more photos and hope to share some colour change with you on the return trip.

Bill Bryson

I love the feeling of being anonymous in a city I’ve never been before.

Sailing back to Canada on our Anniversary

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Saturday, September 23, 2023 was, apparently, the autumnal equinox, thus the first day of autumn or Astronomical fall. Meteorological fall, I am told, began back on September 1. For us, neither date carries as much significance as September 24 which is today and the 57th anniversary of September 24, 1966. Our wedding day. I know Gail will be proof reading this so if I got it wrong I may need a CARE flight home.

Since we left Ketchikan last evening we have made good time. This morning we emerged into the open ocean south of Haida Gwai. There has been a strong wind and moderate seas. I’m convinced there are pot holes in the ocean too and every so often we hit one and the ship shudders. Looking at the waves beside the ship I can see the foam caps on the waves being blown away as mist. It’s a pretty sight with the sun making the foam and mist almost glow. We move south between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, most of which is mountains and fjords. The sea appears calmer as we get more shelter from the island. We will weave through an archipelago of smaller islands as we make our way south. Our scheduled arrival in Victoria is 09:00 Monday morning. We are hoping for a nice day ashore but the weather forecast has not been promising but the current forecast is now suggesting the rain will end during the morning.

I have not mentioned much about the Crown Princess, our ship for this voyage. She first sailed in June 2006 but had an extensive refurbishment in 2018. The design of the ship marks its age and telltale signs of her age can be seen in stateroom decor and an occasional bit of rust. She sails well regardless of weather conditions and provides passengers with a comfortable ride. Crown Princess, indeed no Princess ship carries entertainment such as waterslides or carnival rides. The exterior decks feature swimming pools and hot tubs. There is also a large movie screen outdoors which is extremely popular in tropical locations but less so with conditions this trip.

There are three large dining rooms in use for dinner meals but only one is operational for breakfast and lunch when the ship is in port. There is a large buffet area with three serving areas. two of them operate slightly different hours to accommodate changeovers from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner. There is a third serving area that seems to provide speciality items. One day it was the “Crab Shack” and today it is serving a huge array of desserts. There are numerous other areas serving food. A burger place, pizza place, Ice cream shop and a cafe serving a variety of sandwiches desserts and fruit. So far everything is included as part the fare for all passengers. Bars serving juice, soft drinks and alcohol are not included but can be purchased individually or in packaged offerings. A Gastro Pub, Steak House and Italian Restaurant are available for a fixed cover charge again, individually or as part of a package of offerings. 

On to the staterooms. Many comedians on cruise ships focus part of their performance on staterooms and rightfully so. Staterooms come in several classifications; inside (no windows), ocean view (windows), balcony (windows that open), mini-suites and suites with various sub-classifications depending upon where they are on the ship. Much humorous focuses on the vacuum toilet systems which can be rather surprising if it’s a first experience. The reality on ships (and planes) is that extra weight costs passengers so big pipes are a no no. Thus a vacuum system that sucks human waste from your toilet at mach 1 (that is what it sounds like). Target two is the showers. Traditionally, inside, ocean view and balcony rooms have been equipped with shower stalls. The humour suggests that the only way to use them is to soap up the walls than cram your body in and rotate. It’s not quite that bad bud if you are taller or heavier than average, they will feel cramped. The third target is often water temperature or pressure. Most often water pressure is fine but occasionally not so. Temperature, on the other hand, can be challenging. Princess showers have two controls, one for water volume and the second for temperature. Sounds perfect. Not so much. On this ship turn it up to full volume then adjust the temperature. The temperature is too cool starting from the cold end until you reach 95% of the way to the hot setting at which the flow becomes lobster boiling temp. Now when the temperature knob is turned back to cold the temp stays sizzling until it gets 95% of the way to cold. Now you spend the next few minutes doing from too cold to too hot until you find the sweet spot. Having found it you might expect that turning the water off and leaving the temperature setting alone that tomorrow you would not need to re-adjust the temperature—and you would be wrong!

Ships today have health and beauty spas and gyms with exercise machines and various group classes as well as individual services offered. Trivia is a common entertainment targeting music, theatre, geography and history to name only a few topics. There is almost always karaoke sometimes competitive versions. Almost every bar provides a venue for musical entertainers. Typical complement is a ship’s orchestra of six or eight pieces, a “party” band of three or four, a couple of duos vocal and instrumental plus one or two solo musicians. These groups rotate through the numerous venues. There is usually a main theatre stage hosting guest musicians, comedians, Vegas style shows that includes a small song and dance troupe. Dance floors associated with the bars are becoming less and less common. 

On this cruise we came across a lovely husband and wife duo performing as Plus 2. They appear to have adopted us and encourage us to dance. Tonight after a really good steak dinner at the Crown Grill we went to the Wheelhouse Bar to dance for an hour with Plus 2. They made too big a thing announcing our 57th anniversary but we smiled. We also allowed a couple of the ship’s photographers to take a few posed pictures of us. Tomorrow we will see if they are worth taking home.

I have only a few photos of the trip today which I well try to post with tomorrow’s collection.

Mark Twain

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.