twangster

Day 3 - Sea Day Our progress so far has us entering the Gulf of St Lawrence and beginning to make the turn South-East. At 22.5 knots we have to be pretty near full speed ahead. The ship is very smooth though. I noticed on the card left with the D+ Champagne the voyage number is 888. I wonder if this is the 888th sailing of Adventure? We changed times last night, we are now on Atlantic time. The Northern shore of the Gaspe Bay Peninsula. Voom is non-existent. I've ventured up to the Viking Crown Lounge to eek out a small 3G signal from the tip of Quebec to write this.

Welcome to the message boards! Diamonds are a resilient bunch. Many have seen it or done it. No one, including myself seems to be overly concerned just yet. That doesn't mean some won't whine but arguing with Mother Nature is mostly futile.

As a business traveler who often spends weeks on the road, I can tell that travel expenses adds up fast and a week on the road even at a modest hotel with a corporate limiting meal plan, the cost to be in a hotel and eat 3 meals a day is way up there. I'm not talking lavish take clients to dinner so eat great for free business trips, I'm talking places that are 'meh' but you have to go anyways. Companies today don't tolerate that 'anything goes' travel plan anymore. With that always in my mind I find great value in cruising. Is it what it was 10 or 20 years ago? No, but neither is airline travel when I could lie down in a empty row of seats on plane and sleep. That just doesn't happen anymore. While you may see it a room 'up-charge' I work the system to find great deals on rooms to cruise even cheaper. I still enjoy the same amenities and outside of the room no one knows I am in a 4D balcony compared to the big shots who paid more for a 6D balcony. Yes, times have changed but once you get back into the flow I think you'll find it's still a great vacation experience. Choose to pay more for certain items like drink packages or photo packages or just cruise like you used 10 years ago before they existed.

Day 2 - Dinner Here is the MDR menu I had an overseas work call so I missed my MTD reservation (again). To the Windjammer! British Night. I went with Fish and Chips and a Cottage Pie (I skipped lunch). The Sheppard's Pie looked good and tempting but I resisted. Bangers and Mash also available as well as several other British style items. In other news the whole Viking Crown Lounge was the Diamond Lounge. Oddly they were still asking to see cards to enter the Diamond Lounge while the temporary bar on the dance floor of the VCL was open for anyone to walk up to. I guess they figured there are so many D/D+ why not? Seating was hard to come by so off to the pub. Entertainment was not inspiring me tonight. The pub was about to become karaoke. Viking Crown was still recovering from the Diamond Crush game. Trivia in the Schooner Bar. Comedian is my mother's age and last night targeted my mother's age group with her jokes. I'm sure in 20 years I'll be rolling on the floor, but not tonight.

The rest of day 2 was pretty much the same. Raining, overcast, gloomy. I stayed on board and worked. Muster at 4:30pm. At least I was in the Imperial lounge. Seating went quick so I was glad I got there early to beat all those old people to the seats. Just kidding. Soon after our sail away. Typical escort out of port. It's kind of weird. Tomorrow is day 3 already yet we just sailed away. Yikes! Only 10 more days!.

Just when you thought strange creatures are the figments of imagination of the mad, I've been saved! There is a child on board! I'm guessing 10ish. I'm not the youngest! Woo-Hoo! It was a M&Ms moment... "He does exist!" Although this does mean I won't have the water slides to myself...

I suspect this may be a cruise dream for any one seeking Flowrider time. Just bring a wetsuit. It's a bit chilly out there.

I don't think all cruises here are this way, but it's two weeks long in October when few working types can or will use that much vacation for a cruise. Plus it's one way. It's marketed as a "Snowbird Migration" so that alone says a lot. That's okay, I hope I can keep on cruising as long as some of my fellow guests are. I'm sure there are some younger types on board.

Day 2 - Quebec City Still in place I woke and worked for a bit. Around 9:30am I headed to the Windjammer. My plan was to avoid the peak breakfast crowd. Outside was gloomy which resulted in everyone staying on the ship and all of my parent's friends had parked themselves in the Windjammer. Playing cards, using laptops, talking, a few were eating. The only seat was at the bar in the Windjammer where a few other's had resorted to eating. A scan of the room confirmed my earlier age observation. I'm a baby on this cruise. I think I saw some old ladies checking me out. At least I know I can out run their husband's... walker. Not sure about scooters, those things can go pretty fast! I'm glad I spent as much time as I did exploring Quebec City yesterday. Today wasn't nearly as nice.

The menu is identical in all main dining areas. The overall ambience is identical. The only difference is sitting with the same assigned guests every night, served by the same wait staff at the same time every night.

After dinner I used my 3 happy drinks at various bars. The Diamond lounge was a zoo. As I stood in line for a drink I overheard speculation there are 85 Pinnacles on board and something like 1,200 Diamonds. I may attend the top tier event later in the cruise to confirm. It was beginning to dawn on me why they call this the "Snowbird Migration" cruise. In my fifties I am one of the youngest on board. I realized I haven't seen one kid yet. I'm basically cruising with all of my parents friends and they are all Diamond or higher. A light rain had set in. I headed up to deck 12 to see what I could capture. Time to find a local bar with good local beer. Calling @mpoole3... Midnight approaching it was time to head to bed.

Dinner in the My Time Dining room. I'm not sure I'll do this for all 13 nights, but here is the day one menu. Caesar Salad: Prime Rib I got the evil eye from a Pinnacle (proudly wearing his pin) who apparently didn't like me taking pictures of my food. He raised his arms in the air for at least a minute and glared at me. Oh well... No dessert. I can't do 13 nights of desserts.

I think it only applied to the full voyage plans. Maybe Voom sales were slow in the cruise planner so they pulled this out of the closet. If they keep this up, I'm going to need to revamp my spreadsheet.

Some other ships photos as I returned from my afternoon walk. Free Sushi in the Promenade! I knew it was getting dark and wanted to catch some twilight or golden hour city photos despite the rain that was now falling. Our guide at the Citadell has said rain was moving in. He was right. The Viking Star also in port today was making its departure. It was docked around the corner way past the Citadell. Yikes, I'm late for my 6pm MTD reservation. Better get moving.

Here is something new, at least for me. A free day of Voom Surf and Stream if a full voyage plan is purchased onboard on boarding day.

Finding my way back to the ship is much like in San Juan. Find the general direction and walk downhill. Quebec City has a European flair. Avoid the jet lag and come here instead. Back to the Chateaux Frontenac. Found this spot I may revisit once it's dark for a night photo of the ship. Note to self. Don't get a balcony on the starboard side. At this point the Silver Wind was departing on it's way to Montreal tomorrow. There were two or three motorcoaches at the terminal. It seems people were still arriving approaching 6pm. Once through security transit guests like myself could skip the check in lines. The waiting area used at this time by off-duty crew checking email and making calls home.

Times in the cruise compass state 2-5pm but I never ventured back there to confirm.

The Citadelle de Quebec was built by the British with the original goal of preventing the French from trying to take this area back. As it turns out it was a different enemy that tried unsuccessfully twice to take it. The Americans. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and remains today an active base for the Canadian Armed Forces for the Royal 22e Regiment for French speaking troops. It also has a museum for over 300 years of military history and is secondary residence for Governor General of Canada. Since it is an active base you are required to participate in a guided tour at a cost of $16 CAD or around $13 USD. The Dalhousie gate to the old city is the only gate in it's original condition. Other gates I have taken photos of were modified for automobile traffic. This is how the gates really were back in the day, minus the speed bumps. Je Me Souviens is the official motto of the Province of Quebec. It translates to "I remember" and pay homage to those that served and gave their lives in the defense of Canada. It's greater meaning includes not forgetting the ancient past and traditions. This building served as a military hospital. The Governor General of Canada's second official residence (the first is in the nations capital in Ottawa). The Armstrong Gun or cannon was technologically advanced for its day in the 1800s and reaching 2 to 3 miles made it a formidable weapon (for the period). It's placement here meant they could pick off enemy ships long before the enemy could ever attempt to fire their cannons back. The tour included a couple of building where we were not allowed to take pictures. All in all it was a very interesting tour that provides a lot insight into Canada's history. Leaving the Citadell and I found myself at a familiar gate that I took pictures of during my walk from the hotel the previous evening.

Out into the city I walked along the waterfront in the direction of the Chateaux Frontenac. There I came across some inviting shops and restaurants set into old stone buildings. Fall decorations in place. Note you can see the bow of the ship between the buildings for reference to location. The crowds began to thicken. I must be on the right path. I was trying to find the Funicular and it looks like I succeeded. The funicular is $3.50 CAD. They don't accept credit cards and U.S. cash is taken at par without any exchange rate provided. The Funicular station at the top. With that I was at the base of Chateaux Frontenac, a luxury hotel. Samuel De Champlain who discovered the area for France in the late 1500s. Wonderful views of the St. Lawrence River. The Consulate General of the United States: There is a paved path up the hill or these stairs The Plains of Abraham where the British defeated the French in 1759 that led to this becoming a British territory. The paved path up to this area. The imposing cannon of the Citadell de Quebec. More on this in the next post.

I take pictures as soon as cabins open and before I explode my suitcase all over the room. Yes, it is tight. In reality I ask them to separate the beds which was done later for me. Much better access that way. This cabin has two bunks that lower from the ceiling. In theory it sleeps four but that would be cozy.

Muster is on day two at 3:30pm. We are just a floating hotel up until that point.

Wood fired bagels and smoked meat. A Montreal tradition since I was in high school and visited the area. Yum.

Time to head back out into the city. On the way I spotted the Silver Wind who received the water cannon salute earlier in the day. We shared the cruise terminal with her. Transit guests, those already checked in had a separate exit down to street level. You can see the check in counter through the glass. Hanging above the escalator and sloping down with it were what appeared to be native dream catcher like feathers suspended above us. It is a cool effect and nicely done as they slope downward to match the slope of the escalator maintaining a consistent height above your head as you descend. I had a hard time capturing it with my camera while in motion. It is a very nice and modern cruise terminal.

A first look across the river from the ship. Hard to do it justice in a photograph, the fall color coming into the trees was very pleasant and obvious even from a distance. The waterfront near the pier is fresh and modern with fountains bubbling up and mist occasionally popping out in other places. Adventure berthed at the best possible location. I settled into the Viking Crown Lounge where I wrote some of this blog that I posted yesterday. Looking down I saw what appeared to be a tour. Local travel agents I suspect. Adventure now follows the practice of using your SetSail pass to board the ship. I had my printed SetSail pass in my bag but wanted to see how the app based SetSail pass worked so I used it exclusively. Terminal employees just did a brief "Ok, okay" and no problems. At check in she scanned the barcode on my phone and no issues, I popped right up in the system. When I boarded the ship, the ship security crew manning the scanning station asked "Where is your boarding pass?" to which I said this is my boarding pass again holding the phone out. "Don't you have it printed?" she asked quizzically. She looked at my phone skeptically and with great hesitation she scanned it and the familiar tone beeped and my picture popped up. I think she was quite surprised. "Welcome aboard". I only mention that now because the whole 'seapass pass card outside your stateroom' was really freaking out a lot of people. I heard the crew say over and over "it will be outside you cabin" and "you can use your setsail pass to order drinks". Over and over. They begin to announce it ship wide over the PA system. In the Viking Crown Lounge there were a lot of upset people over this. They couldn't get into the Diamond Lounge without their card to swipe at the door. Apparently this was ruining the entire cruise and we all had been on board for just an hour. Finally someone opened the door and the entire Viking Crown Lounge made a dash for the Diamond Lounge, except for me and one other couple. For those that don't know, the Diamond Lounge isn't that big and nothing is offered during the day. Happy hour drinks don't kick in until 4:30pm. I found it odd that there were so many people clamoring for lounge access, at noon, on boarding day. More on that later. Cabins available at 1pm. Making the walk from the aft forward along deck 6 I spotted my bag well down the hall from my cabin. At this point they were just getting the bags to the right floor for delivery by cabin attendants later so I grabbed my bag and rolled it to my cabin. Interior deck 6 forward, cabin 6535. This is how SeaPass cards are distributed now. One at the door outside you cabin in an envelope, the rest inside the cabin.

The walk back to the ship was very pleasant. The rental drop off is within the old city which is elevated above the riverfront, part of what makes the old city a natural fort. I didn't need to walk uphill to reach the ship but it looked inviting so I did. Cannons everywhere! With my detour complete I started down towards the river using a cobblestone street. Along the way I came across this interesting water feature laid into the sidewalk. It is excavated slightly so it slopes from the front and water ripples over the pavers with an embedded channel or mini-stream through the middle left to right. Not exactly a waterfall but very nicely done. Not long before I was at the cruise terminal. Typical security check upstairs followed by check in area. The terminal is aft of the ship so it's a bit of a walk through a covered walkway that runs nearly the length of the ship. This leads to the gangway ramp and eventually to a briefly uncovered section connecting to the ship. With that I was on board at 11:15am.