"The" Cruise

Being greeted with a Pina Cola when I stepped onboard Explorer of the Seas, was a true indication of the good things that followed. A quick “Phil” tour of the ship revealed 14 decks, 1500 seat Palace Theatre, ice skating rink, numerous bars with live entertainment, English pub, Royal Promenade and its array of shops, movie theatre, fitness centre complete with sauna, steam room, hot whirlpool and every bit of gym equipment imaginable and an additional two sports decks that I didn’t have time to think about until later in the cruise. I later discovered these housed the rock climbing wall, roller skating rink, mini-golf course, full size basketball court, children’s adventure ocean and water slide.

Poolside Music As Soon As We Boarded

The Royal Promenade

A Great Entertainment Venue

Our nine-day cruise was an unbelievable experience for us but something Americans do regularly for their "vacations". During our conversations with people we found it wasn't unusual for people to have done 20 to 100 cruises because they only take short "vacations". There was a different show each night in the theatre. The Royal Caribbean singers and dancers (i.e. Phil’s mob) performed in the welcome onboard show, three different productions of their own, and the farewell show. Guest “headliners” performed on the other nights. One of my favourites was the Horizons – three African Americans with the most amazing sound, vigour and vitality.

Each show was performed twice a night to accommodate both the early and late diners (we were the latter of course).

We skipped the dining room dinners when Phil performed and watched both his shows each night, as there were plenty of other places on the ship to eat later (at no extra charge). One of these was Portofino’s Italian Restaurant and we had dinner there the night of Murder Mystery Theatre in which Phil played Detective Dick Simple. It was an hilarious night and we met our favourite passenger, Sadie, who at 90 years of age and drinking red wine was “vacationing” with her niece and nephew-in-law. She was an absolute inspiration (later gave me her "business" card complete with email address) and she simply loved Phil and his detective hat and we loved her glasses! We had two formal evenings and it was great to see almost all of the 3068 passengers making the effort to dress up! We had four Canadian ports of call and three “sea” days. It was a good mix. Phil came with us on all our shore excursions.

I want those glasses Sadie!

First - A Few Facts I Learnt About Canada

The population is 33 million and Ottawa is the capital. There are ten provinces (similar to our states) and three territories. Each province has a Lieutenant Governor (similar to our state Governor) and a Premier, just like we do. Prices displayed on goods are pre-tax and 14% is added for the purchase price. Personal tax is 30% of salary. Canada is in the middle of an election and thankfully the preamble is less than 30 days (USA should take a lesson from this).

Sydney

You really appreciate a portside balcony cabin as you cruise into your first port of call. The unfolding coastline of the colonial seaport of Sydney on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia was quiet, serene and very pretty. An early history of English and French battling for control of Cape Breton Island was later followed by Scottish immigration. The city enjoyed prosperity in the first half of the 20th century through coal mining and steel production. Today, tourism is the leading industry. I especially enjoyed a visit to Fort Petrie, which was used to guard the mainland from possible enemy invasion during World War II. The Fort has been kept in its original condition complete with underground bunkers, ammunition storage etc. There were countless beautiful spots for photographs as we drove around the coast.

Typical of spots along the Sydney coastline

Charlottetown

After my visit to Charlottetown, population 30 000 and the capital of Prince Edward Island (Anne’s Land), I now want to read “Anne of Green Gables” the classic book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. Apparently many of Anne’s adventures are based on the author’s own reflections of life on this small but beautiful island where micro farming is the main industry. Its earlier history is similar to Cape Breton Island, in that the English and French battled for its control. Charlottetown is extremely important in the history of Canada and through an interactive multimedia tour in the Founders’ Hall, I learnt about a weeklong meeting in 1864 wherein delegates laid the groundwork for Canada’s Articles of Confederation and subsequently the birth of the nation of Canada in 1867.

There were some beautiful homes in Charlottetown

The main industries on Prince Edward Island (Canada’s smallest province) are potato farming, tourism and fishing. Horse racing is very popular and Charlottetown is referred to as the “Kentucky of Canada”. The average winter temperature is –7 degrees celsius and the annual snowfall about 300cm (sounds like lots of snow and chattering teeth to me). It was a beautiful clear summer’s day when we visited. The island has 50 operational lighthouses. On the recommendation of our tour guide, we roamed through St Dunstan's basilica which is one of the many beautiful churches we found in Canada.

St Dunstan's Basilica

Quebec

Situated on the beautiful St Lawrence River, the name Quebec means, “where the river narrows”. Quebec city, population 650,000 and former capital of Canada, is the capital of Quebec province. 96% of the population speaks French, which is the official language (not English) although people dealing with the tourists speak English. The 7 million people living in the province of Quebec want to secede from Canada (wow)!

We roamed around old town Quebec’s cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings before we visited the powerful Montmorency Falls that are double the height of Niagara Falls. When you see them it’s easy to understand why half of Quebec’s energy is hydroelectric.

Montmorency Falls and Suspension Bridge

The main industries in Quebec are government, tourism, insurance and research and development (employing Canada’s highest density of engineers and researchers). I received some religious instruction in Quebec when I visited St-Anne-de-Beaupre basilica and found out that St Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary i.e. Jesus’ Grandma. I must be a real heathen not to have known that earlier in my life!

St-Anne-de-Beaupre basilica

Halifax

Our final port of call was Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. Halifax has a population of 378 000, and has the second largest natural harbour in the world (behind our Sydney) and as such was at the forefront as a strategic port during World Wars I and II. It is the busiest seaport on the east coast of the Atlantic and has more pubs per capita than any other city in Canada. (Must have had plenty of sailors for customers!) A large contingent of Scottish immigrants arrived early in the 20th century hence the city has a strong Scottish heritage.

Citadel Hill

We got a great view of Halifax from Citadel Hill which is an historic site built by the British to defend Halifax from enemy invasion. We also found Garrison Brewery, a microbrewery that’s been brewing for 13 years without using preservatives - great - no hangover!. They were offering beer tasting so we tried five of them – Raspberry Wheat Ale, Tall Ship Amber Ale, Irish Red (their best seller), Nut Brown Ale and Imperial Ale. The beer is only sold in Nova Scotia.

I hope I haven’t bored you with the history and facts I’ve included. Hopefully you've learnt something new like I did. Thank goodness I can still write and read shorthand enabling me to make a few notes for my blog. I’d never remember any of it otherwise.

Phil docks back in New Jersey tomorrow after a trip to Bermuda so we are meeting him in NYC for lunch. I'll post more photos once I get copies of those on his laptop.

Until my next post from New York, take care.

Love

Lyn