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.

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

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.

Anita Desai

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.

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.

Lin Yutang

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.

Charlottetown PEI

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We had another pleasant day for our stop in Charlottetown. Unfortunately, we passed under the Confederation Bridge at night so we couldn’t see it. We did take a short walk along the port area. A vendor was giving away oyster samples and he had plenty of willing samplers. Lobster was available at several restaurants near the port.

There was a large market on the pier and they were doing a brisk business with passengers from the four ships in port. The Zuiderdam and the Emerald shared the dock while two smaller ships tendered. All four ships left the port shortly after 4:30. A couple of the ship’s tours ran a bit late so we had passengers coming to the dining room at 5:00 directly from embarkation.

Over the past two days there has been comedy club running with several standup comics. As usual, some get better audience reaction than others. We saw a couple of them and got a few chuckles. One assistant cruise director probably got the biggest laugh by introducing one comedian as coming from misery rather than Missouri. One would think they’d check things like that but apparently not.

We had an interesting experience visiting one of the many hot tubs. Sitting in the water chatting with another chap and the pump shut down. They are on timers so that was not unusual. The pump would not restart. That was unusual. Even more unusual was the water began to drain. We took that as in invitation to vacate, so we left, since the second tub at that location was covered with netting, the normal way of indicating a closure.

The dining room food on this cruise is stunningly mediocre. It is quite apparent that they are trying to reduce food waste with smaller portions and discouraging over ordering. There are now at least five extra cost food services including a steak house, Italian restaurant, pub style eatery, sea food speciality and bar-b-que specialty. Never-the-less we don’t have to prepare it nor do the clean up. One of the best aspects of the food and beverage services is the number and variety of people we meet. We are also at the point in the cruise where we are beginning to meet the same people for a second or third time simply because we have similar eating schedules. The passenger list is dominated by Americans with Canadians a distant second. We come across Brits, Australians and New Zealanders quite frequently.

Next stop will be Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Lao Tzu

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.