Guy Gadwa

Day 13 - Port Canaveral, continued...
Sail away.
At 6:35pm the Captain announced we were waiting for two more guests.  All aboard was at 6:30pm.



Finally the Captain signaled our intention to depart with a blast of the ship's whistle and we were off the pier.


Several mildly interested spectators looked on.

Our escort this evening courtesy of the local Sheriff's department.

People were out enjoying the local beach.

As we continued towards our final stop the local pilot boat positioned to pick up the pilot.

Hail to the pilots!  Day after day, ship after ship, they guide us safely into their home port.

The Carnival Sunshine was making her way in, now in the darkness of the night.

Final night festivities were underway.

Our progress so far...

We've crossed the 3k milestone.  Total cruise distance so far... 3,074 nm.  
Final MDR menu

Day 13 - Port Canaveral, continued...
Crew life raft drill in the pool this morning.  New crew and every two years crew are required to go through several safety drills and be certified.  In this case they were learning how to right an upside down life raft.  

My day started off slowly.  I relaxed and enjoyed a lighter ship with a few hundred guests having disembarked and many others on excursions.
I headed down to Grills bar for a beer and a bite to eat.

Grills is that patio you see right behind the ship for the many Royal ships that use this berth. 


I didn't have a plan really, I just walked around the port area.  Here is a fishing charter just back with the crew cutting up their catch for them.



Continuing the history theme experienced in previous ports, here is some history for Port Canaveral.


A view across to the Disney Fantasy and Carnival Breeze.  





Yep, we are not in Boston any more.


We used terminal 1 today, the same terminal that Oasis uses as her current home port terminal.

It was hot and humid and back on board it was time... Kraken Lavaflow.

In other news... I mentioned earlier that Kone contractors were on-board doing elevator upgrades.  For anyone familiar with Voyager and Freedom class ships there are four elevators that service the Viking Crown Lounge.  Two of the four elevators have been down for the entirety of this voyage as they are upgraded.  With over 1,200 diamond lounge eligible (plus suite guests) trying to reach deck 14 the two remaining in service elevators have been crazy busy. Finally, a sign of life as the displays are coming to life for the two being upgraded.  They aren't in service yet but it must be close.

At 4pm the slides and flowrider opened.  No pictures as I was in slide mode and managed several runs having them all to myself.  I was on Mariner a few weeks ago and tried those new slides.  I have to say Adventure's slides are faster.  These slides also have a distinct drop at the very end that dump you into the trough of the watery landing zone absent on Mariner.  Sorry Mariner, Adventure's slides are better.

Day 13 - Port Canaveral
I felt the subtle rumble of bow thrusters and ventured up to deck 12.


The familiar sight of a ship with a mouse problem.


The sun was thinking about rising.



Good morning Canaveral, we have arrived.
No plans today, I was just here for my Enchantment cruise and I'll be back after Thanksgiving for another cruise.
I'll probably head down to Grills for a beer in the afternoon.

Day 12 - Evening
Dinner menu

In the Viking Crown Lounge the food and beverage team was doing a presentation for us.

Dinner in the Windjammer.

Main theater entertainment wasn't working for me.
To the pub!

Dancing in Boleros.

At 10:30pm the Quest was on...

No words.

As the saying goes... "What happens at the Quest, ends up on the internet"

Late night music.

Finally, in the realm of unicorns and pink elephants, the diamond lounge was empty.

Day 12 - Sigh Day... I mean Sea Day
I'm getting really tired of taking sunrise and sunset photos.  Seriously.   
Sunrise this morning.

Coming back from lunch I spotted some people getting ready to do some scuba instruction with the on-board PADI 5 star dive shop.  It's beginning to look like a normal cruise again!  7am and people are sitting on loungers by the pool!

By noon it was full cruise mode with people in shorts and bathing suits, swimming, sunning, having fun.

This may seem all right and normal to anyone reading this but after 12 days of cool weather with no one outside day after day, this is very different!  It's a cruise!

People were lined up for the flowrider.  People, plural.  More than one.

Not quite sure what move this is but I took this just before...

Looking at our progress it just now dawns on me how much of the U.S. East coast we have covered.

Pretty much all of it by the time we finish.

Just about at the FL/GA border.

I hear rumors that several hundred are disembarking in Port Canaveral tomorrow. 
Could it be true?  Might I have a chance at a seat in the Diamond lounge after all?  Only time will tell...

Day 11 - Sea Day
I woke to an overcast day.  The ship had a small swagger to it, or maybe that just me walking the hallways as if I'd been drinking already.  Nothing too bad, just a subtle shimmy like riding on a train.  
The outer decks were not calling my name so it was an inside day.  The Captain had hugged the coast throughout the night to avoid some rougher stuff farther off-shore.  
Weather improved throughout the day and I've stopped wearing a jacket if outside briefly just to take pictures and look around.  Tomorrow should be even better.

Day 11 Dinner Menu
Formal Night, lobster night.

Pretty sunset tonight.





Our progress so far...

We are in Grandeur waters.
Distance traveled 2,446 nm.  

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.

Day 7 - Saint John, New Brunswick
Beautiful sunrise this morning as we make our way to Saint John.

Windy today and all outer decks are closed.  Seas and ship are smooth, just windy.

The Captain just addressed our revised port times.  Saint John requires some extra time to set the lines so our planned time to be ready to leave the ship is around 1:30pm.  All aboard time will remain as scheduled at 6:30pm since the area is tidal and we must time our departure to avoid low tide.  
Our progress so far...

The journey so far has been 1449 nautical miles.

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 8 - Bar Harbor, Maine
Arrival in port at 7am however we have to be processed by U.S. Customs and Immigration and this is a tender port.   We anchored near 7am but a letter dropped in my cabin stated to be in the MDR on deck 5 at 9am based on my deck.  Non-U.S. Citizens were instructed to go to the Imperial Lounge for processing.  Permanent residents were to go to the MDR with U.S. Citizens.
I ventured out to the Peak-a-boo bridge to see what I could see.  A first glimpse of Bar Harbor.


A look towards the town.

Lots of these islands dot the waters.



I assumed some excursions where picking up from the ship but it turns out they used these excursion boats as tenders for us.


Walking to the Windjammer I saw they had set up chairs as barriers in the Promenade.

After breakfast I went back to my cabin to get my things together and kill time until it was my time.  At 8:35am I thought I'd venture down and see what lines were like.  They were pretty short so I jumped into the queue where they scanned my SeaPass card (for attendance purposes) and then an immigration officer inspected our US passports.  It went pretty quick and they marked my SeaPass to indicate I had been processed.
With that I headed down to the tenders and walked right on one waiting for me.

Very pleasant ride over to Bar Harbor that lasted maybe 10 minutes.  Our boat had an excursion guide who pointed out items of interest such as this original single mast lobster boat that would have been used back in the day.

A four masted sail boat was waiting for guests. He also suggested that fall colors were beginning to peak.



By 9:10am I was on the pier.

 

Approaching sail away and sunset I went up to deck 12 to see what I could see.

Those smoke stacks are the Mill at the Reversing Falls.

We spun around 180° and headed out of Saint John harbor.

While subtle in this photo, I could see the river had reversed course and was draining into the harbor and the sea.









When can I come back?
With that our departure was underway and we escaped with the tide that was once again draining from the river into the sea.
Our progress...

Total cruise distance so far,  1,527 Nautical Miles.
Clocks go back one hour tonight.

Back in the tent I immediately smelled the fudge. 
Okay @monctonguy  since I am in your home Province and a mere 90 minutes away from Moncton, I've had enough of your Canadian ...

And keep your Moose stuff ...

to yourself.
??

Once I walked down the hill on the sidewalk beside the road I reached river level and found a nice riverwalk along the shore.

The ship remained in sight for most of the walk at this point.

It's a really nice walk.  Why didn't I come this way going to the reversing falls?


There are nice areas along the path that are designed for children and are educational in nature.


Art work also can be found, including this cargo container.

"Wind and Water"


This path is part of The Great Trail, also known as the Trans Canada Trail that reaches from coast to coast and is some 24,000 km long (15,000 miles).  I walked part of that trail near the other end in Victoria, British Columbia when I was on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog group cruise in June on Explorer of the Sea to Alaska.

Getting here by cruise ship I imagine is infinitely more enjoyable compared to walking the entire 24,000 km of it.
Continuing towards the ship there is an opportunity to approach the river and rock hound.

Continuing, there is a nice boardwalk where the shuttle boat I saw playing under the bridge departs from. 

It's a very family friendly area and inviting.

As the slogan goes, "Find your beach".  Set up for beach volleyball this looked like a great mid-summer thing to do.


Walking along the sidewalk back to ship shows what a clean, pedestrian friendly city Saint John is.

The restaurant has great views and while I often avoid restaurants tied to a scenic attraction (CN Tower,  Space Needle, etc)  I was glad I stopped here to eat.



Like any decent restaurant in the maritimes, live lobsters were available. Real lobsters.  


First, I needed a Barking Squirrel.  

All beer served here is from the Moosehead Brewery which is right across the road behind the Mill.  I'm very familiar with Moosehead beer having grown up on it although just the one lager that is typically shipped out of province.  
Watching the water flow upstream was quite mesmerizing.  It's really moving!

My Canadian Elk burger was fantastic.  

Followed by a Moosehead Pale Ale.

To give you an idea how much water is flowing upstream, here is a time lapse video as I ate an Elk.
If I was able to stay longer, you would see the flow reversing and the river returning all that water towards the sea.
Here is the Moosehead brewery as seen from the restaurant.

With that it was time to head back to the ship.  I chose to follow the road across the bridge and downhill towards downhill.  I used the river as my guide so I basically followed it to the ship.

There are now two bridges over the river, one for trains and one for cars.

Looking back towards downtown our ship was very prominent on the city skyline.

The first attempt at a bridge many years ago met with disaster.  So did the second attempt.  The third time is a charm and that bridge remains.

On the opposite side is a restaurant and the Skywalk.

The current in the river, still flowing the wrong way, was very strong and distinct.  Small whirlpools formed and disappeared.  It was very mesmerizing to watch.

Across the bridge is where an excursion is more likely to drop you off.



Our ship remained prominent in the background.

There are steps and a path down to a viewing platform closer to the river.


I spotted a small boat approaching from the direction of the harbor.

It's motor had failed it was being sucked into the rapids - just kidding.



I watched it play in the current for a while then my hunger (and thirst) over came me.

Day 7 - Saint John, New Brunswick, continued....
Eager for our arrival I headed to deck 12 to find very strong winds as we continued across the Bay of Fundy towards Saint John.  I went down to the Solarium on deck 11 where windows can be opened, even if briefly, to take a photo.  It was pretty windy and the flags raised by the crew were snapping in the strong wind.
Our first real glimpse of the entrance to the harbor.

The Bay of Fundy has the greatest tidal changes of anywhere in the world.  I noted the rocks in water indicating the tide was leaving the harbor as we sailed into the Saint John harbor. 

In some ways the entrance to the port appears somewhat industrial as first glance so I was glad to see the indications of a nice looking community on our port side.

Even now, close to land, the winds were strong and kept the flags snapping.

Until this point the upper decks were too windy to be safe but finally the land sheltered enough wind so we could venture up to deck 12 and see more of our approach than we could from the Solarium. 

The cruise terminal waiting our arrival.

A familiar face was ready to assist but not needed on this day.

This is a bridge over the Saint John river that ends as it empties it water into the harbor and through it into the Bay of Fundy and the sea.  I'll later be walking along this area and spending much of day close to the river.

The terminal was pleasant but we quickly made our way out of the terminal into a tent structure where shops are set up. 
Upon entering the tent I encountered the most cruel entrance to a port city I've ever encountered.  The wonderful smell of fudge and other goodies being heated for our temptation and enjoyment.  

The wonderful smell is coming back to me hours later as I write this.  Must.  Resist.
Outside (without fudge in my teeth) I started walking along the sidewalk and saw my familiar friend once again.

Like other ports up to this point, Saint John has some beautiful architecture.

I was on a mission to walk to the Reversing Falls, approximately 45 minutes away by foot.  I've gotta keep my step count up to beat @ellcee on her Anthem cruise.
My GPS app led the way and I walked through some very nice looking residential areas.

After some time I received affirmation I was on the right path. Looking up the Saint John river as it flows towards the sea.

I came across Riverview Memorial Park with a monument to soldiers who lost their lives in South Africa from 1902.

I was left with the impression "This is a city I could call home".
Not long after I made the turn towards the Reversing Falls.

Across the river is a mill which no doubt is a great source of employment for many locals.   The river had some flow which was very distinct but it occurred to me something wasn't right. 
It was flowing upstream.   

A vert distinct current upstream from the direction of the harbor on my left towards land and points upstream to my right.  Weird, most rivers flow towards the sea.
A bridge over the river was to my left.  More on that later.


As I mulled about and took photos, it occurred to me the flow was increasing and rapids were starting to form, still flowing upstream.

At its lowest the water here can be up to 15' lower and the river flows over waterfalls towards the sea.  At this point though, it was flowing very clearly and strongly in the upstream direction.


To properly experience the Reversing Falls you either have to come at multiple times as the tides change or be very patient and hang around for hours to see it yourself live.  I was getting thirsty.  I noted a visitor's center at that bridge, time to make my way there.  

After I walked along the shore near the cruise terminal.

Hallelujah!  I finally found the place where ships go to get fixed up!

Like our previous ports Portland contains interesting architecture.


This place seemed popular.


Since I'm not that much into seafood, I jumped in a Lyft ride to the Bissell Brothers Brewery.


The Substance Ale

Followed by Nothing Gold.


Beer can art.

With that consumed it was time to head back.  An Uber ride cab to the port was $8.  Both drivers commented how business was up substantially because the cruise ships were in town.  The NCL Gem followed us into port and the combined numbers really drove business.  Both drivers said the ships were a huge boost to tourism and businesses.
I stopped at a local bakery for a bite to eat.

That's the Gem in the background.

Tide was rising, the deer's legs had grown shorter.

Not quire ready to re-board I walked up the shore a bit.

There is a narrow gauge railroad museum here.





Finally it was time to head back.

While I was near the railroad museum I saw parents dropping off their kids for something.  Sailing club.  They were practicing maneuvering by following the leader in and around the many moored boats in the marina next to the ship.


Since I was in the area I dropped into the Viking Crown Lounge a few minutes before Diamond happy hour began.  They were already lining up while they continued to set up the bar.  Not a seat to be had with another hour until all aboard time.

Portland Maine, continued...
I worked for a few hours in the morning.  A client reached out and it never hurts to help pay off the next cruise, so...
Around 11:30am I ventured off the ship.
There is more than one cruise terminal in Portland but this one involved a decent walk from the ship to the terminal.


It's a small terminal, no shops inside.  A much smaller ship was embarking today and there were some boarding crowds queuing up for it.

The grounds are very nice in the area.

An old tugboat propellor with local history was on display.

Local art included two deer placed on stilts on old posts left over from days gone by.


Walking uphill with no particular destination in mind...

What do you know, I came across a brewery.

They had a tasting bar with $6 flights.


Winning numbers in today's beer lottery... 4,5,7 and 14.

Yum.

Day 9 - Portland, Maine
I woke early and headed top side having seen the lights of a city on the horizon.

Behind us was the makings of a glorious sunrise.

Looks like an old fort or something in the harbor, will have to look into that.

Portland was growing larger as we approached the pier.





We began making a 180° turn.

The sun was starting to rise above some clouds on the horizon.



With the city started to be bathed in sunlight I could pick out some interesting architecture.





Our progress so far...

We had changed time last night which meant it was noon where we had come from.  Time for a beverage and some lunch.
Leary's Landing Irish Pub seemed about right.  They had Guinness on draught.  That's always a good sign.

A Rising Tide IPA from Maine seemed appropriate.

Haddock Fish and Chips.

Earlier when we first arrived and set anchor the Captain had warned us that rain would move in later in the day.  It was beginning to cloud over so I decided to head back to the ship.
Remember the Bar?  And the warning about getting stranded on Bar Island?  Someone didn't read the sign.  Tide was coming in.  

They aren't walking on water.  They are walking in water.



As the tender pulled out and headed towards the ship the Bar was once again almost completely submerged.

One last look towards the shore of Maine.


Here are the salt and pepper grinders I have as a memento of my trip here today.

Bar Harbor is a quaint little town.  I didn't have any plans or an excursion so I just started walking.




A whale jumped onto the pier to greet me.  Just kidding.




Continuing through town...


I came across a sign for Bar Island Path so I took it.

I noted this warning.  



This is the 'Bar' in Bar Harbor. A sand bar.

As luck would have it we were nearing low tide.

 Lot's of birds looking for a meal. 

Apparently they were finding one.



Along one edge of the bar is a natural raised beach of rocks that makes for a great walking path.


Once across the bar you reach Bar Island.

Bar Island is part of the Acadia National Park.

Tidal charts posted and a dire warning for anyone that thought parking on the bar would be a good idea.  Someone had a bad day.



I didn't have my park pass with me so I didn't enter the park.
Looking back towards the mainland. 



Walking back towards land the shore was very beautiful lined with trees displaying their fall colors in the sunshine.









With that complete I started back towards the harbor area.





Fishermen at work. Beyond the boat you can see the bar and the Bar Island path.  Looks like the tide is rising.




Here in America they didn't feel the need to point the cannons at the ship like they did in Canada.


Walking through town a lot of stores had end of season clearances going on.  T-shirts and sweatshirts for $10, etc.  

I found an interesting store called "In the Woods" with wooded items carved from fallen trees.




I ended up with a salt and pepper grinder set.