twangster

Off to dinner in the Windjammer for German night (Ironic after so much World War history today). Tonight was a formal night and I just didn't feel like doing the MDR. Food in the WJ was very good. Around 6pm the Captain announced a guest was in a critical medical condition and we would need to return to Halifax to drop them off for medical attention. Unfortunate but it happens. As a result our arrival in Saint John, New Brunswick tomorrow has been pushed back to around noon. The Captain will provide an update in the morning at 8am. Just before 9pm we made our second departure from Halifax.

Back on the ship I laid down for a nap (that Canadian beer is pretty strong). Shortly after I went up for sail away and discovered the flowrider was operational. The sole participant had brought a wet suit and was pretty good. He had it to himself. The slides were also operational and I can confirm the water is NOT heated. Slide rules in case anyone is interested. As sail away got closer I saw some sail boats in the harbor. The Peak-a-boo bridge was open for the first time in many days. Down to the helipad for sail away. The pilot boat tagging along waiting to pickup the harbor pilot.

Walking back towards the ship next to the pier is a local farmer's market. Lot's of local's present today including many students from Dalhousie University here for lunch on this Saturday. Closer to the ship is a local brewery. Time for a beverage.

Walking around town is easy and pleasant. A Poutinerie. Halifax is known for it's Donairs. An authentic chicken Donair. Yum. Lot's of churches in Halifax. An old cemetery across the street. A recollection of a battle during the war of 1812 with the Americans.

The Citadel of Halifax remains never to have been attacked by an enemy. It's place on top of this hill gave it a commanding view and ability to defend the harbor along with many other forts and defensive positions located around the port. Today it is a museum operated by Parks Canada. Hmmm, more cannons pointed at our ship. It also serves as a museum for Canada's war efforts in both World Wars, Korea and Afghanistan. A section of the moat has been re-created in the form of World War 1 trenches of the Western front that Canadian soldiers fought in. "Keep your head down" Yeah, no kidding. Back to the barracks used by soldiers in the Citadel. Upstairs has been converted into a museum with exhibits. A recreation of the monument to Canada for it's role in liberating the area located at Vimy Ridge in France. Admission was $7.80 or around $6 US. Well worth it.

The Harbor walk continues and is home to many restaurants and shops. A Canadian Navy ship was leaving the port this morning. A nice playground for anyone with kids can be found along the Harbor walk. The "Last Steps Memorial Arch" is a tribute to the thousands of men who departed Halifax during World War 1 to fight in the trenches overseas. Over the course of the war over 350,000 Canadian troops departed from Halifax. A view towards the Atlantic with that Navy ship growing smaller on the horizon. Despite it's history Halifax is a very modern and clean city. City Hall. One of the oldest Anglican churches in Canada. A view up the hill toward the Citadel of Halifax. In 1917 as the World War 1 raged on, a Norwegian relief ship collided with a French munitions ship in the narrows of Halifax harbor. The French ship was carrying explosives from New York City destined for France. It burned for 25 minutes before 2926 pounds of explosives detonated. The resulting fireball and shock wave flattened two square kilometers of city. More than 1,600 were killed, 9,000 injured and 6,000 left homeless.

Day 6 - Halifax, continued... Our progress so far... Inside the cruise terminal at Pier 21 are a number of shops offering local crafts and other souvenirs. Halifax and Pier 21 has a lot of history and in the past this very pier served to be the point of arrival for many who immigrated to Canada. In that sense it's Canada's version of Ellis Island in NYC being the primary seaport used for transatlantic crossings for much of the 1900's. Plenty of hop on, hop off buses which if walking isn't your thing are a great way to self-explore the city. Halifax is another old Canadian city with lots of history. It was the birth place of Samuel Cunard whose parents immigrated here in 1783. As a businessman he formed a steamship line that would later be known as the Cunard Line sailing from Liverpool, England. A memorial to woman who volunteered in a variety of roles including during the war efforts. "The Emigrant" - In many cases men left their families in their home country to pursue work in the new world. later sending money home to them. Given the role that Halifax has played as a seaport it is also one of Canada's largest Navy ports. A memorial to those Navy ships and crew lost in World War 2. This leads to a very nice Harbor walk that follows the shore.

@TheaFromCDA - I haven't decided if I'll be live blogging Symphony. There are several cruise friends on that one and I'm not sure I'll have the same time to dedicate to blogging. Longer cruises do deviate from a normal 7 night rotation. There are the same number of shows which is one reason the entertainment cast likes the longer cruises - they perform the same number of times so they have more 'down' days on longer cruises. That being said, the shows are often the same but offered at different times.

Following! Have a great cruise!

Day 6 - Halifax, Nova Scotia I woke early to capture our arrival and I wasn't disappointed. it was nice to see sun and sky after several days of gloomy, wet weather.

Too bad it's not a parka, otherwise LuluBot would buy three.

Maybe I 'got' his sense of humor being Canadian but I don't think he was trying to be left, right or anywhere else. It's hard not to scan the TV line-up and not hear extreme rhetoric from many news outlets, Canadian or American (yes, Canadian news endures the same political diarrhea with its politics except it ends in 'eh') so I think his point was, while those stations continued their verbal diarrhea few even mentioned this earthquake or the impact to the people of Haiti while these supposed 'news' channels chose to remain babbling on.

Not that I'm aware of. I doubt it's something Royal wants to be public knowledge else it gives the competition too much insight into their customer base.

I went to the main theater but while the singer was good, it wasn't my era of music so I left from the back of theater standing room only area. It was packed. Seas have settled down quite a bit and checking the radar it seems what's left of Michael is straight off our port side several hundred miles away. Seas were quite normal and what you might expect on any cruise. It's hard to capture in the darkness but there is really nothing to show. To the pub where once again I finished off the Kraken. Where is @Matt when you need him? (or his disappointed, rejected mug?)

The Top Tier event line was longer than it was for the ice skating show the night before. Deck 3 cabins are to my back, the MDR to the right past the stairs and Studio B seemingly 3 1/2 miles to the left. I've never seen a Top Tier event attended like this one. A few minutes before the posted time they opened the door and we proceeded inside. I always like when Top Tier is in Studio B because it means the skaters will do a quick routine for us. Tonight was no exception. It starts with a fun skit with a couple in what appears to be a French restaurant with the girl tipsy with wine while her companion tries to keep her on the straight and narrow. Pulling her back at times, spins, twirls and a bunch of skating routines I don't know the proper names for while she shrieks with 'drunken' joy. Very well done. Next up an individual skater doing some more amazing skating moves. At one point she is skating backwards and does a full backflip. Nailing the landing like she did the night before. This is a very small sheet of ice. It's no where near what we see in the competition skating or the Olympics. Very well done. Next the Senior officers are presented ending with the Captain who a does short speech. I was a bit surprised when 25-30% off the people got up and walked out once they sensed his speech wrapping up. Indeed this is a strange cruise. The Captain offered there are over 10 million Crown and Anchor members now. Time for Top Tier numbers. Gold 685 Platinum 406 Emerald 225 Diamond 630 Diamond Plus 499 Pinnacle 78 That amounts to 1,838 Top Tier with 1,207 vying for Diamond Lounge access. Top cruiser 1,975 nights.

Day 5 - Dinner I decided to eat dinner in the MDR after looking at the menu. MTD reservation set for 6pm off I went arriving at about 10 minutes before my 6pm reservation. My section from a previous night full they put me in a new section. While the wait staff were friendly and well suited for the job service was slow. Possibly the slowest I've experienced in any MDR on any ship. A full twenty five minutes after being seated they came to take my order. First course arrived after another 30 minutes. To put that in perspective as a solo traveler I've frequently been out of the MDR in under 60 minutes. French onion soup Australian Bass I was careful to ask if this was a fresh water Bass or a Sea Bass. Sea Bass I was assured. For those that don't know I am not into super fishy tasting seafood. What most restaurants pass off as SeaBass is often pretty mild and I've had it numerous times. This was pretty fishy tasting. I know it's good for you and I tried, but two bites in I was done. This is what I like about cruising. Try something. If you don't like it, order something else. On this night thought I was already an hour into the meal and I knew the Top Tier event would be a zoo. I'll grab something later, dessert please! Next up, Sugar free Cheesecake. Gobbling that down off I went straight out of the deck 3 MDR into the line for Studio B and the Top Tier event.

I've done both. On Anthem I tried "getting with the program" and letting the power go off and it worked out fine. I mean that's the purpose right? To save energy. So I'd suggest trying it and if it works out for you stick with it.

With enough money you can rent whole ship so I suppose anything is possible.

Simple extensions are also banned. I've managed to get some on board most cruises (but not all). My European power adapter was questioned in San Juan and almost confiscated. (Yes Billy, I bought it at cruisehabit.com). When they asked if I was from Europe I said "Yes!" so I was able to keep it.

Just try to sleep tonight, I dare you! Enjoy your cruise!

Following!

I looked far and wide and the most dramatic TWC (The Weather Channel) moment I could find was this lounger that tried to liftoff at some point. Most outer decks remain closed. Pool deck is open as is the sports deck, but no one is up there. With a small stagger to my step I figured I might as well have a pint to justify the stagger so I went to the pub. I noted they put take-home bags for the dining room near the stairs. They must be planning on feeding us well tonight. While in the pub the ship became very smooth again. I ventured out to fog and the fog horn protocol activated. Since then, a few hours later, it's gotten even smoother and the fog has lifted quite a bit. Still raining lightly. The sky is looking distinctly brighter. Back to normal ocean conditions and smooth sailing. i suspect what we sailed through isn't related to Michael and likely just the North Atlantic being the North Atlantic. All in all the ship behaved very well and I didn't see any guests upset by the subtle rocking we experienced. Off to dinner, top tier event at 7:15pm. I suspect I better show up an hour early to get a seat.

Should I delete those 12 accounts I created yesterday? Just kidding... Congrats!

I suspect the terms and conditions on board (which look like they were copied from a residential ISP) are very old, possibly from before Voom existed and they had the old satellite system with per minute plans. I have purchased (or obtained Surf and Stream for free from being in Sky class) on every sailing. I've streamed and made VoIP calls. No lawyers knocking on my cabin door or loss of outright privileges. On Serenade I was in the top 10 of users on board, consuming several gigs of data but I wasn't in the top 3. They did slow me down to a snails pace and I couldn't stream any more. I complained and proved it was my account by having the Voom specialist log into my account on her phone. She refunded my plan since other users weren't being throttled. It was out of her control and being implemented by Speedcast, their satellite internet provider. So try it day one but if you can't stream by mid-voyage find the Voom specialist and complain.

Just one person 'buys' it. It comes with two loungers. Sort of like the Voom 2 device plan, only one person buys it. They are standard loungers with a clamshell for some shade. 'Is it worth it?' is a personal decision.