On September 19, 2021, we flew up to Boston in preparation for our cruise on the Celebrity Summit.  We spend 2 days with our cruising friends Barb Decourcy and Van Heffernan.  They showed us around their area in Rockland Massachusetts just south of Boston.  One day we went into Boston and visited the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum and took a Duck Tour around Boston.  We also visited a nice seafood restaurant and Italian restaurant while we there.  It was nice spending a little time with our friends!
 
Our cruise departed on September 21st on the Celebrity Summit, and we had 4 people joining us on this cruise:  Brendinah Regts and Loni Willanzheimer in addition to Al and Margaret Schriber.  Besides our friends on this cruise, we were the on-board hosts for the Distinctive Voyage Program that had 140 passengers on this ship.  Our responsibility was to host a cocktail party for the group in addition to escorting them on a tour in Halifax.  Because the group was so larger Joe and Karen Shamus joined us a secondary host who we had previously worked with on another cruise.
 
Our first stop was Bar Harbor, Maine where 4 of us had booked some rental bikes for the day to go around the Acadia National Park.  The Schribers had elected to do a narrated bus tour in the park.  Acadia National Park was one of the first national parks in the country with land donated by the Rockefellers.  This was a park where carriage roads were built through the park to allow the ultra-rich people of the time to stroll through the beautiful, hilly forest.  We chose a bike route that followed along the coast to visit Sand Beach and Thunder Hole.  The biking started out easy in relatively level ground.  Two of us (Bremdinah and Greg) elected to take electric bikes and the other two (Sharon and Loni) took regular bikes.  Sand Beach was nice.  It offered a large rocky sand beach that people could enjoy the ocean washing down to the shores of the forest with many beautiful rock croppings all around.  Thunder Hole turned out to be quiet although you could hear the water rumbling in the underwater caves at times.  At high tide the water is supposed to “thunder” as it sprayed the walkway that people walked on to see the water crashing into the caves.  As we continued to ride and enjoy the nature around us, the hills got higher, and the biking go more difficult.  We had been doing so much sightseeing and were now 10 miles out of town, that we decided it might be better to start heading back since we had to be back to the tender by 3:30.  As we biked back, we took turns helping Loni with her bike as the hills were taking a toll and we needed to share the load to get back in time.  We made it back in plenty of time and decided to stop at the Thirsty Whale for a little celebratory drink for making it back in time.  A couple people tried the local brew while Sharon tried a blueberry margarita since this area of the country is famous for their blueberries.  We made it back to the tender by 3:29 and were the last people back – just in time!
 
That night we hosted a cocktail party for the Distinctive Voyage cruisers.  It was a good time to enjoy a few drinks and sit down with fellow cruisers and discuss our travels.  The main purpose of the cocktail party though was to explain the Distinctive Voyage program to everyone, so they knew what to expect. 
 
Our next stop was Halifax where we had our 3-hour Distinctive Voyage tour scheduled.  It was a short 3-hour tour that ended up at the Maritime Museum along the Halifax Wharf which is a beautiful place to walk.  Getting off the ship turned out to be difficult because there was only one small walkway available and since we had arrive a little later in the morning, everyone wanted to get off the ship at the same time.  It took us an extra 45 minutes to get our entire group off the ship to meet our guides.  We broke up into 3 smaller groups with the 3 guides and went off on our tour.  We were disappointed that the guides portion of the tour only lasted about an hour walking along the wharf before we were dropped off at the Maritime Museum to explore on our own.  We were disappointed in this tour and felt responsible because we were the hosts.  Fortunately, the Maritime Museum is a great place to visit and learn about the Titanic sinking and rescue operations.  Halifax was where the rescue operations were headquartered to try and recover as many people from the sinking ship as possible.  It is also where many of the people were buried that were found.  The museum does a great job in learning about the Titanic and what happened.  Besides learning about this well known ship disaster, there is also a great story about a massive explosion that occurred in the harbor when an ammunition ship collided with another ship and blew up during World War I.  It is a fascinating story and an event that reshaped what Halifax looks like today from all the rebuilding that occurred after the explosion.  After the museum our small group of 6 went to visit a church 3 miles from where the explosion occurred that still has shrapnel that embedded into the church.  Unfortunately, the church was closed and we couldn’t see inside.  Instead, we went out in search of a good lobster roll and have a little lunch.  We went to Dave’s Lobster where we had been before, and the food did not disappoint.  Everyone got a little different seafood dish, and we enjoyed it looking over the harbor.  We also found an ice cream shop that our guide recommended, and it was quite a unique dessert with cotton candy decorating our sundae.  At that point we headed back to the ship.
 
The following day we arrived in Sydney, Nova Scotia where we had been a few weeks ago on a different Viking cruise.  We had a arranged for a private tour through Tours By Locals to take us around Cape Breton on what is called the Cabot Trail named after the famous English explorer who founded the area.  We were hopeful of seeing some nice fall colors, but it was still too early in the year, and you could only see a few patches of colors here and there.  We had a great guide and he told us about the area.  We stopped at many scenic places to take pictures.  We saw a lodge built at the end of the cape which was where many rich and famous people came to relax and enjoy the nature in the area.  Even the English Royality came to the lodge. They were in the process of building a ski slope in the area and for now the “soon to be slope” was used as a nice hiking trail.  On the way back we went across a river on a small ferry that only accommodated around 9 cars at a time.  It was interesting to learn that all ferries in Nova Scotia were free and paid for by their taxes.  We stopped at a small restaurant and once again many people had lobster rolls while others had different seafood offerings.  It was an enjoyable tour, after which the guide took us back to the port where we did a little shopping at the indoor crafts shopping area before heading back on the ship.
 
The next day was a sea day and then our arrival in Quebec City which was one of the primary reasons we chose this cruise.  It did an overnight stay in this beautiful city.  On the morning we arrived we were given an invitation to watch the arrival on the helicopter pad which is on the front of the ship and provides clear, unobstructed views to the front in addition to both the right and left sides of the ship.  This was especially nice since we were going down the St. Lawrence River which isn’t that wide and there are good views on each side.  It was enjoyable to see our approach into this city which we had visited once before.  When we did dock, we got off the ship and walked around the port area a little admiring all the fall and Halloween decorations.  We then went in search of a bike rental shop to rent a bike for the following day.  This time we rented 3 electric bikes and Sharon was the only one to stick with a regular bike.  On the next day we would do a 5-hour bike ride in the morning before our ship departed.    After making these arrangements we went back to the port to meet a Tours By Locals guide that we had pre-arranged.  He was a strange mixture of French and Irish background but a really nice guy who had lived in the area his whole life.  He walked us all around the old city and into the La Chateau Frontenac which is the iconic picture you see of Quebec City with a huge, impressive building looking out over the city’s cliffs.  It was built in the very early 1900’s and was the home to many historic meetings in history.  One of the most famous meetings is where Churchill and Roosevelt met in the Blue Room and made the decision to invade the Germans at Normandy.  After spending a full day walking the old city, we decided to have a little lunch and drink at a local pub our tour guide suggested.  It was nice to relax a little and enjoy a drink on the bar’s outside tables and watch all the people in the area.   October is a great time to visit Quebec because they do such an outstanding job of decorating the city with pumpkins and Halloween decorations.   We were also shown on this trip some different artistic decorations and sculptures that are created each year for the city.  Most of these creations are removed after one year but some become popular enough to remain for many years to follow.  This year they had added some reflective foil to the sides of some of the buildings in a very interesting geometric pattern and it gave a fascinating view both in day and night.  We would vote on this art to continue for years to come.
 
On Day 2 in Quebec City we got up early to have a little breakfast in a restaurant our guide had recommended.  From there we went over to the bike rental shop and picked up our bikes.  As we biked along the east side of the river we would stop and take pictures.  There were many interesting sights and sculptures along the way.  Our ride along this side of the river came to an end at an old historic bridge that is not used for too much car traffic anymore since they had built a new modern bridge above it.  We rode across this bridge to the other side where our bike ride continued.  On this side we went through some old neighborhoods that had some fascinating architecture and some spectacular landscaping.  We even saw a mail man delivering some packages using a pull wagon. We made a short stop for a bite to eat at a restaurant that seemed to cater to bikers.  We continued biking down the coast through many nice parks and eventually reached the ferry that we needed to take to cross the river back to where our cruise ship was docked.  As we got off the ferry on the other side our bike rental shop was right across the street.  After dropping off our bike we went back to our ship to enjoy a nice sail away from this fascinating city.
 
The next day we arrived in Charlottetown which is in Prince Edwards Island.  This city was most famous for being the birthplace of the author of the Anne of Green Gables children’s books.  During our tour we drove by the farm where the author had grown up and wrote her books.  Once again, we had arranged a Tours By Local private tour for our small group of 6.  We were picked up at the port and as we drove out of town, we were amazed at all the scarecrow decorations around town.  Evidently, they were having a scarecrow festival, and everyone seemed to participate.  We learned that the city constantly had festivals each month to help encourage tourism in the area.  As we drove out of town, we were shown all the potato farms.  Prince Edward Island is Canada’s “Idaho of the US” with regards to growing potatoes.  Evidently the soil is perfect for potato growing and three of our fast-food chains (MacDonalds, Wendys and Chick fil a), get their potatoes exclusively from this area.  Besides potatoes the area is also well know for their lobsters, mussels, and king crabs.  We were shown many of the traps as we drove around in addition to the fisherman out on the water bringing in the traps.  The fishing season was just ending and soon many of the rivers and bays would be frozen over.  After our tour we headed back to town and invited our guide to join us for lunch at his favorite seafood restaurant.  Some of our group had the mussels which the restaurant was famous for, while others had lobster rolls, oysters and other seafood dishes.  It was an excellent meal, and no dinner was required on the cruise ship that night.  We had another great tour and took a leisurely walk back to the ship.
 
Our final stop was Portland Maine where we didn’t have any tour scheduled.  We had decided to do a short train ride on a historic train in the area.  It was an enjoyable tour and allowed us to learn about some history of the area.  On the way back from the train we walked through an area that had some old historical houses.  We stopped at a recommended seafood restaurant and had another great meal.  It is amazing on how many places we stopped for seafood on this cruise!  Before going back on the ship, we walked along the hargor and was amazed to see all the lobster traps and fishing boats in the area.  We walked back to shore for our final leg of the trip back to Boston.  It was a great cruise and we enjoyed spending it with our 4 friends!
 
We always let people know about our upcoming cruises in case anyone wants to join us.  Here is a list of our planned trips over the next 2 years.

• Vietnam/Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong cruise in January 2024
  • Two back-to-back cruises available
• Wonder of the Seas Caribbean cruise in February 2024
  • Over Winter Break in Fayette County GA
• Kenya/Masai Mara Safari in July 2024
  • Availability still for one couple
• Viking Christmas Market River Cruise in December 2024
  • Group rates available – limited stateroom availability
• Amazon/Brazil cruise in January 2025
  • Miami to Rio de Janeiro on Oceania
• Transatlantic to Cape Town cruise & Safari in February 2025
  • Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town on Oceania
• Northern Lights cruise in March 2025
  • Viking cruise from Bergen, Norway to London
• French Polynesia/Hawaiian Island cruise in April 2025
  • Distinctive Voyage
• British Isles Cruise in July 2025
  • London to Edinburgh
• Tahiti/Bora Bora Cruise in September 2025
  • Out of Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin Cruise Line
  • Pre-cruise extension to Swim with the Newborn Whales

Let us know if you would like to join us on any of these cruises.
 
Regards,
Sharon and Greg

Facebook: ​Fun times in Boston with Barbara and Van and then boarding Celebrity Summit cruising to Canada/New England! 1st stop Bar Harbor.

Our first trip to Greenland started off with a beautiful scenic cruise of the Prince Christian Sound in the Southern area of Greenland.  This was the second new country we have been to this year if you count Antarctica which is a continent but not really a country.  Our initial view of this northern country was spectacular as we cruised down several large fjords and looked at many glaciers on the mountains and waterfalls running down the steep cliffs.  We were told we were the first cruise ship to be able to navigate Prince Christian Sound this year since ice blockages prevent many ships from getting through.  Although we saw many small icebergs in the water, we did not see anything that seemed too intimidating.  The glaciers we were seeing are either part of, or off shoots from, the world’s second largest ice sheet – the Greenland Ice Sheet.   This massive ice sheet is second only to Antarctica’s and is  larger than the entire state of Alaska.  It is 2 miles thick in some areas and if it were to melt all the oceans would rise 25 feet around the world!  It was a great morning to cruise and see this beautiful country made up of so much ice.  The water was a crystal clear blue and the fjords we went through were majestic.
 
Early in the afternoon we stopped at Nanortalik which is a very small town on the Southern tip of Greenland.  The name of the town means “Place of Polar Bears” and there are only around 1000 inhabitants.  Unfortunately, once again we didn’t see any polar bears.  There were not a lot of available tours in the area, and we spent most of our time walking around this small town.  There were certainly many colorful houses in the area.  Most of these homes had been built 80 years ago and some had been turned into museums.  When World War II came along, Greenland changed dramatically with many US military bases being built there and the native people, the Inuits, saw an entirely different type of lifestyle.  Following the war they began building houses and educating their children more formally than prior to the war.  They built more factories for the fishing, whale, and seal industries.  Although many of the Inuit traditions remain, their lifestyle was changed forever by seeing how other people in the world lived.  We enjoyed our walk around the town and walking through the museums which just showed how their lives had changed over the last 100 years.  Off the shoreline you could see small icebergs floating in the water.  We even saw one larger iceberg “calve” why we were watching it and a huge chunk of ice fell into the water causing a mini tidal wave that washed ashore.  It made a large sound when it cracked, and we wished our camera had captured what happened, but it caught us by surprise.  After a few more pictures we headed back to the ship because this was really our first day of rain during this cruise.  It was a light steady drizzle but with the temperatures in the 40’s it wasn’t a great day to stay out too long after you started getting a little wet.
 
The following day we arrived at Qaqortoq and although it was supposed to be rainy, it turned out to be a very nice day.  We started off the day with a tour of the Seal Factory called the Great Greenland Furhouse.  I am not sure what we expected but it was really a strange experience to see them process seal fur.  It was extremely sad to find out how many seals were hunted by the Inuits.  It was their way of life and they used everything from the seal for food, oils for lighting, and fur for clothing.  The factory was created to start a seal fur export business which seems to be successful although it is very interesting to see how many countries will not allow any of the products to be imported.  There still are many countries that want their products, but we are proud that the US has said no to importing seal fur.  We saw all aspects of how they processed the fur and even made various products out of the fur.  Although we were repeatedly told that no baby seals were hunted or processed in the factory, many of the skins seemed very small.  It was an eye-opening tour, but we probably would have preferred being a little more ignorant of this factory.  After leaving the tour, we walked around the town.  This was a “large” town in southern Greenland and had 3000 people living there.  Because it was the largest town in the southern region, it was also the main educational center where children from the entire region would come to go to high school and trade school.  All high school students were boarded at the school until graduation.  The town was built on the side of a small mountain and walking around this town required some real climbing.  The houses at the top of the hill had some great views but they had a LONG walk to get to the downtown area and there weren’t a lot of cars in the area.  On the far side of town was a large inlet where they were constructing large office buildings and modern residential complexes.  Behind where all the schools were located was a large cemetery where every grave had a large white cross.  It was amazing how many crosses ran up along the hillside.  We missed the kayak demonstration they were having but ran into the person who was doing the demonstration.  He showed the local kayaks that were used for transportation, fishing, and seal hunting.  These were very light kayaks with wooden frames surrounded by seal fur on the outside.  One of their main sports there was kayak racing.   This again was a very colorful town surrounded by colorful boats out in the harbor.  Although many people think of white when they think of Greenland, the people there go out of their way to use bright colors on their homes, businesses, and boats.  It is actually very scenic.   We enjoyed our two stops in Greenland and now off to Canada for our final two stops.
 
We arrived in L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland two days later.  As we were getting ready to board the tenders the captain announced that he felt the waters were too rough to have a safe tendering operation into the port.  They canceled this port stop but fortunately we didn’t have any specific plans for this stop.  It would have been a new port for us and we were excited to see what was there.  Unfortunately, we will have to see it next time we are up in the area.
 
The following day we arrived in Sydney, Nova Scotia where we had a tour set up to see the Fortress of Louisbourg.  Although we had been to Sydney before, we had never seen this National Historic Site.  It was a fully reconstructed fort and town that was built originally in the early 1700’s.  It is very similar to Williamsburg in the United States where people are dressed up in the clothes people wore during that time.   Historically this fort was built by the French to control the Grand Banks fishing industry.  Unfortunately, the British did not like this idea and just after the fort was completed in 1745, it was attacked by New Englanders who were still British at that time.  It took 46 days to defeat the troops in the fort.  Three years later the French returned as part of a treaty agreement.  This didn’t last long because in 1758 the British were back with 150 ships and 13,000 troops to put the fortress under siege.  After the French surrendered again, the British tore apart the entire fortress and town.  It was never rebuilt until the reconstruction efforts over the last 30 years.  The village outside the fortress was very interesting to walk around seeing the people dressed up in their 1700’s outfits and looking at some of these beautiful, reconstructed buildings.  We even saw a cannon demonstration where they fired a cannon over the water.  It was a very nice tour and very educational.  When we got back to downtown Sydney, we walked around the shoreline and into town.  Sharon was able to go back to the restaurant (Governors Pub and Eatery) where she had her very first lobster roll and sure enough, she had another one.  We went back to the port and spent another hour or so shopping at the large craft area inside the port terminal where they have 20 or so local crafts people selling their wares.  Sharon found a nice shawl that she couldn’t pass up.
 
As we headed out of Sydney which was our last port stop of this 28-day cruise from Norway to Iceland to Greenland to Canada and finally to the USA, we were treated to one of the nicest sunsets we had ever seen.  The sunset was made more beautiful with the scenic view of the houses along the shoreline.  These homes could be seen so vividly with the sky on fire above them.  It was a great end to a great cruise!

We always let people know about our upcoming cruises in case anyone wants to join us.  Here is a list of our planned trips over the next 2 years.

• Greek Isles/Mediterranean cruise in October
  • No staterooms available on ship
• Vietnam/Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong cruise in January 2024
  • Two back-to-back cruises available
• Wonder of the Seas Caribbean cruise in February 2024
  • Over Winter Break in Fayette County GA
• Kenya/Masai Mara Safari in July 2024
  • Very limited availability
• Viking Christmas Market River Cruise in December 2024
  • Group rates available
• Amazon/Brazil cruise in January 2025
  • Miami to Rio de Janeiro on Oceania
• Transatlantic to Cape Town cruise & Safari in February 2025
  • Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town on Oceania
• Northern Lights cruise in March 2025
  • Viking cruise from Bergen, Norway to London
• French Polynesia/Hawaiian Island cruise in April 2025
  • Distinctive Voyage
• British Isles Cruise in July 2025
  • London to Edinburgh
• Tahiti/Bora Bora Cruise in September 2025
  • Out of Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin Cruise Line
  • Pre-cruise extension to Swim with the Newborn Whales

Let use know if you would like to join us on any of these cruises.
 
Regards,
Sharon and Greg