twangster

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 - 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.

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.  
 

Oooo what a lovely plate of treats to find waiting for you...

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 - 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.

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.  
 

Day 3 - Dinner
MDR Menu

I ate in the Windjammer - Italian Night.
We've entered a dead satellite coverage zone.

Some channels continued to work such as BBC News and The Weather Channel that is temporarily available while Hurricane Michael is in play.  Royal worked out a deal with it's TV provider Global Eagle and The Weather Channel to allow this channel, not normally part of the TV channel lineup, to be available on some ships (according to James Van Fleet, Royal's in-house Chief Meteorologist).   
Our progress and location where satellite coverage is absent.

I checked out the Las Vegas Tenors in the main theater, pub singer, Schooner Bar piano player and the silent disco in the Viking Crown Lounge which was surprisingly well attended.   
After that it was time for bed.

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 - 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.

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.  
 

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.  
 

Day 3 - Dinner
MDR Menu

I ate in the Windjammer - Italian Night.
We've entered a dead satellite coverage zone.

Some channels continued to work such as BBC News and The Weather Channel that is temporarily available while Hurricane Michael is in play.  Royal worked out a deal with it's TV provider Global Eagle and The Weather Channel to allow this channel, not normally part of the TV channel lineup, to be available on some ships (according to James Van Fleet, Royal's in-house Chief Meteorologist).   
Our progress and location where satellite coverage is absent.

I checked out the Las Vegas Tenors in the main theater, pub singer, Schooner Bar piano player and the silent disco in the Viking Crown Lounge which was surprisingly well attended.   
After that it was time for bed.

Day 3 - Midday
Here from near the center of the Gulf of St. Lawrence I wandered around and grabbed some more photos.

Following seas from the 20 knot tail wind makes for very smooth sailing with little wind on the helipad.

There was a request for some Sports Deck photos so here they are.  Starting with mini-golf at Adventure Dunes.




 
This is a two level mini-golf that starts on deck 13 and ends on deck 12.

I talked to the sports deck crew and they don't operate the flowrider or slides below approximately 10°C or 50°F.  Since we are right on that bubble they are currently closed.  They call to the bridge who advises them on weather and they make a call go/no-go.





Main pool deck.



Time for lunch at Cafe Promenade.  Noted a pulled pork BBQ special.

Updated pizza selections.


A couple of turkey sandwiches, a slice of BBQ chicken pizza and a pulled pork BBQ sandwich.  All were quite tasty.  I'm ready for a nap.

Meanwhile, back in my cabin...

Elevator upgrades are underway.  They are manufactured by Kone, a big name in the elevator industry.  They have Kone employees on board doing the upgrades.  I saw this on Mariner a few weeks ago as well.
Old elevator signs are being replaced.

New indicators are bigger and easier to read.  My guess is that there is more to this upgrade than just signage.  I'm betting old control systems are being modernized and newer controls will allow intelligent adaptations to respond to peak times and other such things. 

Spotted a ship in the distance.  It's the Oceania Insignia out of New York.  

There is also some work being done on the ping pong tables.

Slides and flowrider are closed despite the cruise compass times listing them as open.  It is pretty cold out there.


Despite the cool temperature it's a beautiful day.

 

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.

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!.

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.

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.

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.