Canada/New England Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #3 (09/17/25)

 

Our last day on the ship, and we already reached a high point with the culinary challenge and galley tour.  Princess seems to do this on every cruise, and it's a fun presentation by the culinary staff of the ship.  On one side is an actual chef who knows what he's doing and does it very well.  On the other is a staff member acting as a clown, having fun and ruining a recipe for (usually) an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert.  This presentation shouldn't be missed.  Following this presentation, cruisers are encouraged to visit the galley and ask questions of the staff.

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But let's put first things first....

We were unable to do laundry last night.  So, I knew that I had to wake up bright and early to get to the laundry room and not wait for a machine.  Showering and dressing before 8 am is difficult for me (it'll be much worse tomorrow, on disembarkation day), but I made it to the laundry room by 8:05 - where 2 of the 5 washers were in use.  I asked some people to watch my laundry bag as I walked down to guest services to get some tokens.  On my return, I loaded up the washer and struck up a chat with 2 people from Canada.  It was a good chat, and I stayed in the laundry room until the wash was done.  And that's when RQS came in, saying we had to get some breakfast.  I loaded the dryer, paid another token for a 60 minute run, and it was off to breakfast.

We didn't have time for a dining room breakfast, so off to the buffet we went.  And again, I struck up a conversation with another out-of-towner wanting to see a baseball game.  Again, I was an instruction manual for someone wanting to see a game in Flushing.  Once the couple left, we decamped to the laundry room to await our dried clothes. 

Once our clothes were dry, we dumped them off in our cabin, then went to the culinary challenge.  There were no seats left, so we sat in the aisle's steps to watch the show.  RQS enjoyed it (as I expected), and then we went to the galley tour.  From there it was off to the gastropub for lunch.

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Lunch at the gastropub was pleasant.  I chose their mushroom dish for an appetizer, as the other 2 menu choices were not appetizing to me.  And then I had the signature burger - which was tasty, but over embellished with fried jalapeño peppers.  This was the high point of the meal, as the pudding like dessert was marred by the popcorn embellishments.

And then, we packed for our return home....

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At 7, we went for our last specialty dinner of the trip.  It was a good meal,  Around 9, we put out our luggage for delivery to the pier.  And then we went to see the comedian in the main theater.  He was funny, but I left just before the show ended - I was ready to pass out, and I needed sleep.

 

 

 

Canada/New England Cruise 2025 - Portland, ME (09/15/25)

 

Portland, Maine.  It's a nice place to walk around when the sun is not too high in the sky.  There is enough old architecture in the port district, that one can easily find interesting buildings to photograph. And yet, it's a relatively modern place to be in, most of the traditional seaside businesses having left the main road years ago.

When we arrived in Portland, US Customs and Border Control requires everyone to get off the ship, so that they can verify every passenger on the ship's manifest.  We woke up early, so that we could get off the ship at our appointed time.  And then, we hit a minor roadblock: someone typed my name wrong on the manifest.  My name was changed from Marian to Narian.  AARGH!  Once the CBP person caught this error, he fixed it and sent me (and RQS) on our way. 

However, this doesn't mean that Portland's nautical past has been forgotten.  Take a walk down any of the side streets and you'll see traces of its nautical past.  For example, the above establishment has been here for years.  Now, it's a full service tavern.   

At the end of the pier is the original Luke's seafood restaurant. From its humble seafood processing beginnings in Portland, it has morphed into a restaurant chain with branches around the world.   We killed a couple of hours before walking to Luke's as it normally opens at 11 am.  One problem: they had no electricity when we arrived.  (A circuit breaker was triggered, and they had to reset it.)  We appreciated this delay, as it gave our breakfasts more time to be digested.

When we finally got into Luke's, we ordered the fried clam bellies, and they were on our plates before RQS was finished in the washroom.  We feasted, and the lady at the next table struck up a conversation on cruising.  It was a nice thing to chat with a stranger about something we all enjoyed - especially our trips to Bermuda.

All too soon, it was time to return to the ship.  So we walked the mile back to the ship and decided to rest for a while before the evening's activities started.

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Tonight was dress up night, and we again donned our finest for the photographers downstairs near the atrium. I couldn't wait to take off my blazer and tie to be comfortable while dining at the ship's steakhouse.  This would be our second visit to the place, and I tried to order different things from what I ordered on our last visit.  Well, I almost did just that, but had the same dessert.  Today's main course was a veal chop so thick that I couldn't finish it all.  RQS was wearing something similar to what I would have worn had I been able to go as Marian.  (Well, there will be opportunities to do that once the Orange Snowflake leaves office.)

After dinner, we went back to our room to relax for 30 minutes, and then on to tonight's entertainment in the ship's theater. Tonight's show was a musical revue called "On The Bayou", and it was a pleasant performance of songs with a New Orleans area theme.  (Mind you, this was a little bit of a stretch, but the best way to label these numbers.)  Most of the performers did their songs justice, and in contrast to the last night's performer did her songs better.

 

Next it was off to the lounge where we saw Carlos Oscar and his comedy routine.  (Think of Joe Pesci as if he had a Puerto Rico background.)  As much as most comedians don't get me to laugh, Carlos did. Much of his routine got into the differences of men and women, but not in a nasty way.  Instead, he exaggerated how our behaviors seem, such as women flothes shopping for themselves and then for their partners.  Would I see him again?  If this show is an example, it will be on the last night of the cruise.

 

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Embarkation Day (10/27/24)

 

Today, RQS and I were to take our second Bermuda cruise.  And the day started off with us not getting enough sleep before starting to get ready for the day.

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Our alarms woke us up around 7:30 - 8:00, and we proceeded to get showered, dressed, and ready to go.  Both of us did some last minute packing before calling the cab that brought us to the train station.  When the cab arrived, there was an old lady in the car who was being taken to the local church.  Because of this detour, we missed the train we wanted to take, but barely had enough time to take the local to Grand Central.

Once at Grand Central, it was time for a bio break before taking a cab to the pier.  Traffic was fouled up more than usual for a Sunday, as the ex-president was going to have a Bund Rally at MSG later in the day. Yet, we made it to the pier by 1 pm, and were on the ship by 1:30.  After we dropped off our bags and checked in at the muster station, it was time for lunch in one of the main dining rooms.

After we had food in our stomachs, it was time for a nap. Now that we were rested, we relaxed in our room for a bit before going to the noodle bar for dinner.  Although the food was tasty, neither of us would make it a habit of going there when on the ship.  (As of 1/1/25, the restaurant will no longer be complimentary, thus creating another disincentive to go there.)  And then it was on to the main theater to see a comedy show.

In the past, I remember most NCL theater shows being 60+ minutes long. Tonight's comedy performance was only 45 minutes long, and I fell asleep during the show. All I could remember was one comedian talking about defecation (he used a more vulgar word) and being bored by his act.  While in the theater, RQS struck up a conversation with a solo traveler, and we proceeded to continue our chat after the show ended.

Both of us were getting tired, and we made arrangements to see our new friend again before parting.  Then, it was off to bed for the two of us.

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PS: There was a medical emergency that caused the ship to go back to NYC to get a passenger appropriate medical help.  This will affect the time that is needed for us to reach Bermuda.  Let's hope that it is only a short delay.

2023 Bermuda Cruise - Day 7 (Sea Day)

 

Saturday, November 25, 2023.

This would be our last day on the cruise ship, and we dreaded the task of packing to leave. A good part of me wishes we could have done a “Back to Back” cruise, but this would have been way too expensive for us at this time.

We awoke to sunny skies and a calm ocean - appropriate for a last day at sea. It’s always a little sad to know that a cruise is about to end. But this was a good cruise, and one we’ll take again sometime in the future - if it has the better part of 3 days and nights in Bermuda. 

Although the rooster in my cell phone crowed at 8:00, we didn’t get moving until 9:00 am. This would be the last day we could get up late, as we will have to be up and moving by dawn tomorrow.

RQS and I decided to get moving early enough to have breakfast at one of the complimentary dining rooms, and then pick up some jewelry she had bought. Instead of doing much in the public areas of the ship, we spent a quiet day in our cabin, taking care of final issues such as packing.

Around 7:30 pm, we went downstairs to our final dinner onboard ship.  As usual, we had a pleasant meal in one of the complimentary dining rooms, then proceeded to the ship's theater to watch a comedian that we saw the other day.  Sadly, he didn't have enough new material for a second show, and we left before the show ended. We were tired, and we were glad that our suitcases had already gone to the hold, so that they'd be on the pier for us to pick up in the morning.