twangster

Day 5 - Sydney, Nova Scotia  Sea Day
I woke to take in our arrival to Sydney.  Sunrise was supposed to occur at 7:11am although with the rain and overcast conditions it wasn't going to be a visible sunrise.  
All the upper decks were closed due to high winds but I found the sports deck was open.

I ventured towards the Windjammer for it's 6:30am opening.  Early I had some time to kill so I took some pictures of Giovanni's.



The Windjammer opened a few minutes early and I enjoyed a custom made omelet and some fruit.
The sky was beginning to brighten and I could see we were well off shore for a 7am arrival.  I sensed something amiss.  
I walked trough the Solarium and planned to take some pictures out a window since the upper deck was still closed.  The hot tub looked very enticing given the cool and wet conditions outdoors.

Those city lights barely visible on the horizon are the lower tip of Cape Breton.   

Our progress so far:

I checked the marinetraffic.com app and it confirmed my suspicions.


Sharp at 8am the Captain made an announcement. 
Winds up to 40mph at the pier.  Pier closed.  Port officials offered anchorage which didn't make sense. 
We gain a sea day and plan to keep our scheduled call into Halifax tomorrow.  As the remnants of Hurricane Michael approach us we are expecting 35-40 mph winds and 12' seas but with our slower speed towards Halifax the Captain predicts very little ship movement. 
At the moment there is very little movement.  Once in a while you feel a little side-to-side shimmy, much like a really smooth subway train ride or if riding in an airplane and you feel just a little bit of bumpy air. It's barely perceptible.  

Day 4 - 70s Party
Like other ships with a Promenade, Adventure has a 70s party.

Day 4 - Ice Skating "Cool Art, Hot Ice!"
7pm and 9pm
I showed up outside Studio B to find the doors opened early and a packed house at 8:20pm.  I managed to find a single seat while it was standing room only not long after I arrived.
Very good show but I'll let the pictures do the talking.



















Another 'don't miss' skating show.

Day 5 - Sydney, Nova Scotia  Sea Day
I woke to take in our arrival to Sydney.  Sunrise was supposed to occur at 7:11am although with the rain and overcast conditions it wasn't going to be a visible sunrise.  
All the upper decks were closed due to high winds but I found the sports deck was open.

I ventured towards the Windjammer for it's 6:30am opening.  Early I had some time to kill so I took some pictures of Giovanni's.



The Windjammer opened a few minutes early and I enjoyed a custom made omelet and some fruit.
The sky was beginning to brighten and I could see we were well off shore for a 7am arrival.  I sensed something amiss.  
I walked trough the Solarium and planned to take some pictures out a window since the upper deck was still closed.  The hot tub looked very enticing given the cool and wet conditions outdoors.

Those city lights barely visible on the horizon are the lower tip of Cape Breton.   

Our progress so far:

I checked the marinetraffic.com app and it confirmed my suspicions.


Sharp at 8am the Captain made an announcement. 
Winds up to 40mph at the pier.  Pier closed.  Port officials offered anchorage which didn't make sense. 
We gain a sea day and plan to keep our scheduled call into Halifax tomorrow.  As the remnants of Hurricane Michael approach us we are expecting 35-40 mph winds and 12' seas but with our slower speed towards Halifax the Captain predicts very little ship movement. 
At the moment there is very little movement.  Once in a while you feel a little side-to-side shimmy, much like a really smooth subway train ride or if riding in an airplane and you feel just a little bit of bumpy air. It's barely perceptible.  

Day 4 - 70s Party
Like other ships with a Promenade, Adventure has a 70s party.

Day 4 - Ice Skating "Cool Art, Hot Ice!"
7pm and 9pm
I showed up outside Studio B to find the doors opened early and a packed house at 8:20pm.  I managed to find a single seat while it was standing room only not long after I arrived.
Very good show but I'll let the pictures do the talking.



















Another 'don't miss' skating show.

Day 4 Sail away to more rain and overcast.
The typical rolling hills that PEI is known for.


Fall color is getting more intense.


Day 4 dinner menu.

I went to the Windjammer again.  I wanted a quick dinner to try to catch the skating show at 7pm.  Scandinavian Night.
@Sweety, this photo is for you.  All the Red velvet Cake you can eat.

At 6:15pm I headed down to deck3 when stepping off the elevator I encountered the longest Studio B line I've ever seen.  At 45 minutes before show time it stretched from Studio B all the way into the MDR.  I guess with a rainy day and many folks not leaving the ship they were anxious for something and they all came to Studio B.  
I'll try for another showing...

I didn't have an excursion booked so I just started walking in the light rain.  I'm glad I brought my rain coat.

I had spotted a church from the ship and it looked like a natural destination so I headed in that direction.





I can only imagine the sounds once this huge pipe organ gets cranking.


Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada in the sense that the founding Fathers from the original five colonies (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec) gathered here in 1864 to write the document that would lead to formation of the British North American Act that Queen Victoria signed into law in 1867.  That is how Canada was granted it's independence from England.  
Here are two of them.

This is set in front of The Great George Hotel which in that day would have been the premiere hotel to stay at.  Apparently some of the rooms still have the original furnishings from that period.
Nearby is the Province House where the Colonial Government was located in the day.


A memorial to the PEI Soldiers who lost their lives in the two World Wars, in Korean and Afghanistan.

The building is being restored at the moment and was closed on this day.


Continuing my walk I found the store for The Anne of Green Gables (it's a Canadian thing).

Time for lunch.

PEI Halibut and Chips and a local IPA.


With that I headed back to the ship.  First I had to get past the guard who wanted to see ship card and photo ID.

Late Night Snacks
Working on maximizing my waterslide velocity, I'm pretty sure I've got a few pounds of buffer before I'm over the slide weight restriction so this should increase my speed by at least 1-2%.
The BBQ Chicken pizza is really good late at night.

In other news, a Kraken and Diet is $8.26 including gratuity.  
 

@CruiseLifeRick just scoped after a day on Labadee and reports Labadee is fine.  No signs of earthquake damage.  

@CruiseLifeRick just scoped after a day on Labadee and reports Labadee is fine.  No signs of earthquake damage.  

Day 4 - 70s Party
Like other ships with a Promenade, Adventure has a 70s party.

Day 5 - Sydney, Nova Scotia  Sea Day
I woke to take in our arrival to Sydney.  Sunrise was supposed to occur at 7:11am although with the rain and overcast conditions it wasn't going to be a visible sunrise.  
All the upper decks were closed due to high winds but I found the sports deck was open.

I ventured towards the Windjammer for it's 6:30am opening.  Early I had some time to kill so I took some pictures of Giovanni's.



The Windjammer opened a few minutes early and I enjoyed a custom made omelet and some fruit.
The sky was beginning to brighten and I could see we were well off shore for a 7am arrival.  I sensed something amiss.  
I walked trough the Solarium and planned to take some pictures out a window since the upper deck was still closed.  The hot tub looked very enticing given the cool and wet conditions outdoors.

Those city lights barely visible on the horizon are the lower tip of Cape Breton.   

Our progress so far:

I checked the marinetraffic.com app and it confirmed my suspicions.


Sharp at 8am the Captain made an announcement. 
Winds up to 40mph at the pier.  Pier closed.  Port officials offered anchorage which didn't make sense. 
We gain a sea day and plan to keep our scheduled call into Halifax tomorrow.  As the remnants of Hurricane Michael approach us we are expecting 35-40 mph winds and 12' seas but with our slower speed towards Halifax the Captain predicts very little ship movement. 
At the moment there is very little movement.  Once in a while you feel a little side-to-side shimmy, much like a really smooth subway train ride or if riding in an airplane and you feel just a little bit of bumpy air. It's barely perceptible.  

Day 4 - 70s Party
Like other ships with a Promenade, Adventure has a 70s party.

Day 4 - Ice Skating "Cool Art, Hot Ice!"
7pm and 9pm
I showed up outside Studio B to find the doors opened early and a packed house at 8:20pm.  I managed to find a single seat while it was standing room only not long after I arrived.
Very good show but I'll let the pictures do the talking.



















Another 'don't miss' skating show.

Day 4 - 70s Party
Like other ships with a Promenade, Adventure has a 70s party.

Day 4 - Ice Skating "Cool Art, Hot Ice!"
7pm and 9pm
I showed up outside Studio B to find the doors opened early and a packed house at 8:20pm.  I managed to find a single seat while it was standing room only not long after I arrived.
Very good show but I'll let the pictures do the talking.



















Another 'don't miss' skating show.

On board:
Royal Caribbean International Wi-Fi Access Terms and Conditions
You may only use the shipboard wireless Internet access (the "Service") supplied to you, a guest of Royal Caribbean International ("Cruise Line" "We" or "Our") by accepting the following Terms & Conditions. By using the wireless network you are acknowledge that you have read all the terms and conditions of this agreement, understand them, and agree to be legally bound by them.
Onboard Wi-Fi is primarily intended to be available for the accessing of emails and low volume use of the Internet. To facilitate our ability to provide a great experience for all, we may block access to certain video streaming websites or otherwise restrict or set limits on your use of the Service.
The promotion of 'face to face' communications (Google Hangouts, Skype) also seems to violate the agreement on board, unless you get written permission first:
You will not use any type of voice application (including, without limitation, voice over Internet protocol) without written permission from Cruise Line.

I did a live blog in July from Empress
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/8865-empress-73018-5-nights-inc-cuba/
Deck 6 for sure including an aft seating area behind Boleros that's really nice.  Deck 6 forward provides access to small public decks that few people find.  No helipad on Empress but these forward decks overlook the bow area.  
Decks 10/11 are the pool decks and open the public.  

@CruiseLifeRick just scoped after a day on Labadee and reports Labadee is fine.  No signs of earthquake damage.  

Day 4 - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
The Captain was right on with his weather forecast for the day and it was cold and wet upon our arrival.  
Our first look from the ship.



The terminal building has a variety of shops and food available as well as free wifi. 



I guess the AARP cell plans don't include roaming in Canada as the free wifi area was very popular.





 
 
 
The opportunity for real lobster presented itself quickly off the ship.  Real lobster meaning not that Caribbean lobster stuff they serve on the ship on formal nights.

A short walk down the shore led me to another seafood store and restaurant.

The menu was bilingual - English and Japanese.  

The store side of the building had a pretty good supply of live lobsters sorted by weight.


Lobster was also available cooked, ready to go.

Other types of seafood also available.

I didn't have an excursion booked so I just started walking in the light rain.  I'm glad I brought my rain coat.

I had spotted a church from the ship and it looked like a natural destination so I headed in that direction.





I can only imagine the sounds once this huge pipe organ gets cranking.


Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada in the sense that the founding Fathers from the original five colonies (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec) gathered here in 1864 to write the document that would lead to formation of the British North American Act that Queen Victoria signed into law in 1867.  That is how Canada was granted it's independence from England.  
Here are two of them.

This is set in front of The Great George Hotel which in that day would have been the premiere hotel to stay at.  Apparently some of the rooms still have the original furnishings from that period.
Nearby is the Province House where the Colonial Government was located in the day.


A memorial to the PEI Soldiers who lost their lives in the two World Wars, in Korean and Afghanistan.

The building is being restored at the moment and was closed on this day.


Continuing my walk I found the store for The Anne of Green Gables (it's a Canadian thing).

Time for lunch.

PEI Halibut and Chips and a local IPA.


With that I headed back to the ship.  First I had to get past the guard who wanted to see ship card and photo ID.

Day 4 Sail away to more rain and overcast.
The typical rolling hills that PEI is known for.


Fall color is getting more intense.


Day 4 dinner menu.

I went to the Windjammer again.  I wanted a quick dinner to try to catch the skating show at 7pm.  Scandinavian Night.
@Sweety, this photo is for you.  All the Red velvet Cake you can eat.

At 6:15pm I headed down to deck3 when stepping off the elevator I encountered the longest Studio B line I've ever seen.  At 45 minutes before show time it stretched from Studio B all the way into the MDR.  I guess with a rainy day and many folks not leaving the ship they were anxious for something and they all came to Studio B.  
I'll try for another showing...

Day 4 Sail away to more rain and overcast.
The typical rolling hills that PEI is known for.


Fall color is getting more intense.


Day 4 dinner menu.

I went to the Windjammer again.  I wanted a quick dinner to try to catch the skating show at 7pm.  Scandinavian Night.
@Sweety, this photo is for you.  All the Red velvet Cake you can eat.

At 6:15pm I headed down to deck3 when stepping off the elevator I encountered the longest Studio B line I've ever seen.  At 45 minutes before show time it stretched from Studio B all the way into the MDR.  I guess with a rainy day and many folks not leaving the ship they were anxious for something and they all came to Studio B.  
I'll try for another showing...

How about the terms and conditions for Voom that suggest streaming isn't allowed despite the plan name Surf and Stream?