twangster

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!
I awoke... because I left the drapes open and it was beginning to become daylight.  In the daylight I could really see the old city walls that were hidden last night.

 
I immediately spotted a familiar shape in the distance.  It's Adventure of the Seas!!!

Soon after I spotted a small ship coming up the river.  It came closer, then a tug provided a water cannon salute to the pier.  That's the Silversea Silver Wind.  I wonder if this is her inaugural call at this port?  


Silversea is now part of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line family.  

Today she would berth behind Adventure while she stopped here in Quebec City on her way to Montreal tomorrow.

I consumed more Montreal bagels for breakfast and gathered my things to pack and get ready.  Tick tock, tick tock.  Did the clock just slow down?  
I had a rental car in valet so I figured that would take some time to deal with so I headed down early.  I needed to fill up my rental car with gas so shortly after 9am I headed down.   In the hotel elevator on the way down I met folks who saw my RC tags and commented that they had just got off the ship, nothing but good things to say.   The hotel lobby was packed with guests just arriving from ships. 
My GPS took me to a gas station on the way to the terminal so away I went.  That complete, my plan was to drop off my checked bag and head to Hertz to drop off the car and walk to the ship.  
Typical cruise ship drop off experience although the local taxi drivers didn't seem to understand the concept. Since I was just dropping bags and not parking I was directed to follow the taxis.  I guess with fewer ships compared to Florida these were rookie cab drivers and they had no idea what to do.  
I dropped off my luggage and started towards Hertz just 1/2 mile away.  How did we do these things before GPS? 
The rental car agency represents three companies and they were packed.  
That complete I followed my GPS back to the cruise terminal but this time on foot.

From my commanding hotel view of the area (which the picture don't do justice) I had observed a fountain lit up at night and several gates to the old city.  I din't have a specific route in mind, I just headed in the direction of the fountain.

They are placed directly in front of the Parliament buildings.

One of many gates to the fort and old Quebec City. 










That street I saw looked really inviting so I headed that way.  They have heaters setup along the sidewalk to warm folks as they walk along.

Time to contribute to the local economy.  I always like to try to a local beer.

St Ambroise IPA.  Perfect.

It was getting late to time to find my way back to my hotel.

Day turned to dark but I did enjoy much of the drive in daylight, enough to see the trees beginning to turn into their fall colors.  Not nearly at peak, but it must be getting close.  
My GPS safely guided me to the Hilton in downtown Quebec City.   Like many hotels in major cities you have to pay for parking and valet tends to be the way to go.  I was ready to get out of the car after a day of flying and a 3 hour drive.  I had used a corporate rate to get a pretty good deal because like many downtown hotels rates can get up there.  Not only that it was the Thanksgiving weekend for Canada so rates were already up.  I had thought about staying in a hotel out of the city and driving in the next day but I'm glad I stayed downtown.  

I was upgraded to a corner room with 270° views.
My room on the 16th floor:




The Brice building on the left has an apartment for the Premier of Quebec on the highest floor.  The Chateaux Frontenac is also a dominant structure on the right.  They both tower over the rest of the old city below them.  


Quebec City is the seat of the Provincial Capitol and I had a great view of Parliament buildings.

Great history in Quebec City which was established in 1608 by the French.  Britain would later win the area in a famous battle in the 1700s.   In 1867 the Country of Canada was born and Quebec City has remained Canadian since.
 Time to hit the streets and walk around a bit.

Day 0 - Pre-cruise travel to embarkation port
Landing in Montreal (YUL airport) after connecting in New York (JFK airport) and I was on the ground at 4pm.  YUL airport is a major international gateway airport for Canada and we arrived on our little regional jet from JFK in the shadow of some much bigger planes from around the world.  That meant Canadian customs would be busy, and it was.  However they have rows and rows of kiosks where you enter you details, swipe your passport and it went pretty quickly.  By 4:30pm I had my luggage and was walking through the parking.
I have a confession to make.  My decision to fly into Montreal was somewhat influenced by a desire to get my hands on a favorite of mine - Montreal wood fired sesame seed bagels.  After getting my rental car I punched the address into the GPS and within 20 minutes I was spilling sesame seeds all over my rental car.  Three down and I hadn't even left the bagel store parking yet.

Day 0 dinner complete and enough left over for breakfast in the morning, I began the nearly 3 hour drive to Quebec City.  Word of warning - in the province of Quebec turning right on a red light was illegal for a long time.  They have relaxed that but on the island of Montreal it remains illegal to turn right on a red light. 

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

I came across this cruise by accident and saw a decent fare for 13 nights on a recently refreshed ship so I had a YOLO moment and booked it.
This is a repositioning cruise, part of Adventure's migration from Bayonne, NJ (her summer home port) to Ft. Lauderdale (her winter home port).
Day 1 - Quebec City
Day 2 - Quebec City
Day 3 - Sea
Day 4 - Charlottetown, PEI
Day 5 - Sydney, Nova Scotia
Day 6 - Halifax, Nova Scotia
Day 7 - Saint John,  New Brunswick
Day 8 - Bar Harbor, Maine
Day 9 - Portland, Maine
Day 10 - Boston, MA
Day 11 - Sea
Day 12 - Sea
Day 13 - Canaveral, FL
Day 14 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
I had a hard time finding decently price flights with decent times directly into Quebec City so I looked at Montreal and found a much cheaper flight.  Adding a car rental and it was still cheaper plus I could fly first class less than coach to Quebec City so I jumped at it.  
No excursions booked, just going to wing it and work some days.  
This cruise starts with an overnight in place at Quebec City.  That is actually a really great way to start because Quebec City is a wonderful old city with great history.  While you could fly in days earlier you would have hotel and meals to cover so this way the ship is my hotel and meals are included.  
Cruising solo the fact I'll get 26 points in the C&A loyalty program wasn't lost on me.  For some folks that takes 3 or 4 cruises to achieve.  That also propels me to the point I'll get a glass block on Symphony on my next cruise.  YOLO!

The app was indeed updated, Day 5 is now marked as "At Sea" instead of Sydney. Not sure about the schedule, though.

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.

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.

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

I tried specialty restaurants once and couldn't get used to it. Dim lighting and small portions. Even MDR wasn't my thing. I try to be less formal on a cruise because that's the main point behind a vacation.
When I was on Adventure last year on my South Caribbean cruise, people used to takeout their Windjammer dinner and go sit on the deck to watch the movie while eating. I loved that experience , so relaxing ?

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 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.

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

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.