Day in Halifax

We had some weather last night.  That storm did come in and we were a rocking last night.  Because of the weather and the rough seas, and therefore needing to slow down throughout the night, we are an hour late to Halifax.

At 9 am the ship (suppose to be there at 8) is cleared and everyone starts heading off.  For us we are not in a rush, our tour is not until 130 with Ambassador Tours for a sail on the harbour.  Check out their website as they have a lot of tours. 

When we are ready, we head ashore.  Currently it is a light sprinkle. More of a nuisance than anything.  A light rain jacket is required, maybe even an umbrella.  Our mission, if we decide to take it, is to get to the grocery store. 

There are 2 grocery stores close by.  We head to Atlantic Superstore which is basically right in line with the ship but there are train tracks in the way.  So your options are to turn left when you exit the port and walk to the tunnel under the tracks then turn right and walk to the store.  

Or turn right when you exit the terminal and walk around the hotel and the tracks to the store.  

just a bit of rain and me being goofy

Both are around 10 minutes on flat terrain but the 2nd will be busier with people. 

We pick up some bars of soap.  Although princess provides gel soap we much prefer bars of soap in the shower.  We forgot ours.  Also we decide to pick up some sleep aid to help me get a good night sleep.  Lastly we pick up a few treats for some of the crew.  We are back on board as we have a few hours to kill before our tour.

Down to the International Cafe (IC) for a coffee and we sit at the bar and chat with Jigs the bartender at Good Spirits. What an interesting man, and boy is he adventurous.  He tells us how his parents live in Saskatoon, a brother in British Columbia, but he is married with a child living in Manila.

As we sit there I get an email that our tour on the sailing ship has been cancelled.  We are not surprised.  The wind has picked up and it just would not be safe to proceed.  Heck even the promenade deck has been closed all night and day onboard for safety reasons.  We are disappointed we won't see our nephew who works on board but we know we will see him soon once we are back home.

Oh and later on the skies open up and it just pours!  Glad I wasn't on a sailing ship in the elements.

Because we now are free, I know this is my chance to get a nap in and I do just that.   Bernie heads back out to do some walking and just to give me some time to rest.

Later in the day around 3 pm, feeling rested and after a quick bite in the buffet I  grab my book and head aft to the top deck.  It is nice out, still overcast but not raining anymore - looks like the storm has passed.  I take two pool towels and dry off the lounge chair and read my book for 2 hours.  Ahhhh  another reason I love to cruise, I get uninterrupted time to just read, and not feel guilty about it.

Back to the cabin to shower and get ready for dinner.  First stop is for a pre dinner cocktail and to say hi to Dominique.  We chat with a couple from Ohio for the longest time.  Also see some guys who attended my lecture and commented how they loved it.  

Had to giggle as one guy says "why did you identify your husband as your partner and not your husband".   My response is he is my partner in life and I like to use partner as it is inclusive and represents what our relationship is.  Not sure if he understands, but I think it is new for some older people, but he still laughed. We chatted for a while longer.

I do later think, you saw my lecture, you liked it, but the one thing you comment about is that I used partner instead of husband.  Hmmm 

I met up with Hutch the Destination Expert on board as he wants to do a few more lectures on different topics to add to the sea days.  So he let's me know the topics to make sure we don't overlap.  But we are all good. 

Now getting a dinning time is hard.  All dining rooms are open but the crowds dine early.  So if you want an early dining time make sure you reserve it way ahead of time to guarantee it.  

We tend to not like having a set schedule and a more go with the flow of each day.  Sometimes we want to eat in the dining room, sometimes we don't.  We head to the Palm dining (deck 6 aft) room for 730 and we are sat right away and a table with another couple from Denmark.  We really really enjoyed the conversation with them and learned a whole lot.

After dinner we head to Good Spirits Bar and we enjoy a cocktail before heading to musical bingo.  It was a lot of fun.  

But it is time for bed.   Sydney tomorrow.

Halifax Sail In

Well I did crash very early!  But at 1 am after 4 hours of sleep the rocking of the ship and all the creaking that comes with it woke me,  yes there is movement.  I have done this itinerary to Halifax numerous times.  Today we are experiencing a bit of weather which makes the sailing a little rough.  Now I say a little rough but I am sure many would it is really rough.  

Drawers would slide open, bathroom door creeks open and slam closed.  Until I am tired of hearing it and get up and close it.  Bu truly the feeling of being rocked to sleep is very comforting to me.  And trust me I have experienced much much worse seas.

So I lay in bed, as Bernie softly snores.  I am jealous of how easy he can sleep through anything.  I read!  Love that I cam read undisturbed on a cruise and I anticipate a few books being read this voyage.

But I put the book away when my eyes start to get heavy.  But!  Do you think my mind would shut off?   Nope.  I am running thru parts of my lectures in my head.  Ideas to add to them enter my thoughts.  No I can't add more, or could I.  I will need to find some wifi to figure some things out but if I can I will.  

I do dose off for a while longer but the next time I open my eyes it is 6 am so I quietly gather a few items, dress and sneak out.

We don't dock until 8 am but I have never been awake for sail in so I thought I would like to get some pictures.

Light rain is falling but the wind on the open decks in the open ocean is brisk!  

I walk thru the World Fresh Marketplace, grab an egg (which sadly was cold) and a roll and a mango fruit smoothie.  I take a seat in the aft area as it is very quiet here and I want to leave the prime seats for the guests.

Once again the crew are so attentive and helpful.  My coffee cup never sees the bottom as it gets constant refills before I can even ask.  I forgot to get ketchup but the lovely waiter says no sit, I will get it for you.  Oh, can I take them home with me.

The sun (I know it is there somewhere) slowly rises.  But rain is in the forecast.  But the earth is happy to get it after such a long period of extreme heat.

Halifax Bound for Two Nights

 

We are up early and packed up the car.  I made a reservation at a lovely restaurant for brunch today.  All local food and it did not disappoint.  It is called The Flying Apron in Summerville.  Check out these amazing eggs Benedict. 

Here is our routing today.  

We booked two nights accommodation in Halifax at the Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites.  It is located right across from the Halifax Gardens and they had a great rate for Nova Scotians.

I did upgrade to a Garden Suite that had a separate living area and a view of the Gardens across the street.

It was a lovely room and we so enjoyed the air conditioning.  Again we are going through a heat wave at the moment.

Right away I notice two things.  There is only one remote, but each room has a tv.  Also the internet WiFi signal is almost non existent.  Kind of reminds me of the old days on cruise ships (or at least not any I have been on in a while).

I call down to the front desk to report both issues.  They promise to resolve both right away and to call the IT guy.

The remote appeared soon, but the internet signal was horrible.  You can see in the picture below the door to the suite.  I had to stand at the door just to get one or two bars.  Sitting on the couch or in the bedroom I had no signal.  I could see that the router was in the hallway about 40 feet away, but there were a few doors and an alcove in between that I am sure was causing issues.  

We walked down to the waterfront and enjoyed a lovely meal and a stroll.

We went out for dinner and when we came back the signal was still nothing.  I will deal with it in the morning.

The next morning I notice that there is a sign on the desk for the guests from the manager.  It states if you have any issues please email her or call her and then her details.  So I phoned and left a message.

We then went out for the day.  We did some shopping, some touring around and then again because of the heat we were wiped out.  Back in the room around 3 pm and still no signal.  By now I am frustrated.  I emailed the manager and no response.

At 5 pm I called back down to the front desk and stated my ongoing issue.  Of course they had no record of it.  I asked for a WiFi booster to be installed.  The IT guy appeared (who was also the guy that checked us in)  He agreed the WiFi signal is poor and installed a booster at the desk.  

I am disappointed that the hotel did not deal with the issue on my first two requests.  This style room obviously needs a booster and the fact that they promote this room for business trips where you can work from the room is sad.  

The hotel overall was lovely, the rooms were very clean, the location was great and staff wonderful.  Would I stay here again? Maybe, but probably just in a regular room.  

We had a great time in Halifax.  We have a lot of friends and family here in the city but this trip we decided to just focus on us. There will be other trips to the city.

I know there are tons of great things to do in Halifax.  We have cruised here four times. We have stayed here numerous times and played tourist.  Make sure to search the blogs for our previous stays here and what you could do if you only had a night here.

On the Tuesday morning we were up at a crazy hour!  Like 4 am!  We both were awake and decided well we may as well head home.  We actually were missing home.  In the car by 5 and home by 9:30 and that included a stop for breakfast.

We had a great staycation in Nova Scotia.  We really really really like the Valley and plan to go back.  For now we are going to focus on the house, the garden and preserving all the food that the garden is putting out.

Thanks for following.

Halifax

We arrive into Halifax at 9 am and boy is it ever a full house here!  Four ships -- us, a Silversea ship, and Aida ship and our sister the Regal Princess.  But because of this crowding we are relegated to a berth further away (I believe it is pier 31).  This is part of an industrial area and a shuttle bus is required to take us to the main port area where the other three ships are.

Today I quickly get ready as I am heading off on my own at first to meet up with Janice David a friend I first met on my page when we did our first Canada New England Cruise.  Since then our friendship has solidified and we have met up with her and her husband Jim a few times and we certainly keep in touch on line.

We meet at a really cute coffee shop close to the ship called the Wired Monk.  The time flies by as we catch up and talk about a lot - but mainly travel and cruising.  A like minded addicted cruise soul!

We walk back together to the pier where I meet up with Bernie and as I am standing there I see a familiar face.  Well a familiar face to me, but he doesn't really know me.  Eric Ripper - John Ripper's son.  I know John through my page as well and we have talked on line for a long time (another travel addict - see a theme).  

I think Eric was in shock that I recognized him but when I told him who I was and he definitely knows my cruise page.  I filled him in that we were the couple that your parents knew on the Royal when they went to see him (as he was suppose to be on the Royal but got shipped to another ship).

Bernie and I then headed off in search of a Thai Restaurant we had heard about.  You see in Cape Breton it is not that easy to get different ethnic restaurants - the population base just does not warrant it.  So we take off inland (about a half hour walk) to the restaurant and boy was it ever good.  Nothing fancy but it hit the spot.

With tummies filled we wander back to the boardwalk and I am back taking a lot of pictures.  I am hoping to get a contract next season for port lecturing for Canada New England and so I busy taking pictures that would be needed for my presentations from a cruise passengers interest.

My real goal today was to get to Pier 21 to go through it again as it is one of my favorite museums.  It is the gateway to Canada where immigrants arriving by ship went through.  Basically Canada's version of the US Ellis Island.  The museum is right beside the port.  In fact you can walk right through the shops at the pier to the end and the museum is right there.

But I was so tired!  I got maybe three hours sleep last night and I knew I needed to have a nap.  So once back on board I crawled into bed and banished Bernie from the cabin (are we the only couple that does that?) as it is not big enough for him to be in and be quiet and for me to get some much needed sleep.  I sometimes wonder how crew do it, especially if they are on different schedules.

After a two hour nap we both get ready for the evening activities.  It starts with the Captain Circle Party (note there will be 3 parties this voyage).  

It was nice to enjoy a drink and see some friends.  There was someone recognized for their 500th day Milestone.  None of the top three were in attendance at this party.  And what I thought was odd was that they did not even mention the top three and their days so I can not report on that.  I know that we are number 6 and 7 most travelled passengers (I am the 6th as I have one extra cruise than Bernie).  

After the party we head down to Explorers where I enjoy one of my new favorite drinks the Aviation made by Johanthan from Peru who was on her last Summer.

Dinner was very yummy tasting and we finished off our wine.  Again no supervisor came around to the tables in our section.  I know we saw others walking around nearby sections but none to ours.  Our waiters seem off their game tonight.  Their section is full and unfortunately is has meant that so has the service.  Last night was phenominal but tonight we ended up leaving the table before even our dinner plates were cleared as we were tired of sitting and didn't want dessert.

Explorer's Lounge is hosting 70s night and we dance up a storm, so much so we need to cool off with a cocktail.  We love the Explorer's bar and wish the newer ships had it.  It is big enough to accommodate a lot of people and the bar is large and then throw in music, dancing or a game show and it is perfect for us.

We attended the show called Comedy Magic of Naathan Phan in the Princess theater.  Again the show was packed.  

Naathan was very very good.  Great singer, quite funny and his magic blew us away.

DuVal the Cruise Director came out at the end to thank everyone and he did announce that they know about the crowding issue in the show and they have listened and they are now going to have three shows whenever they can.  But even better they will not be the shortened versions but the full show but the three shows will be over two nights!  Yeah!  Great work you guys - big should out to Entertainment Director too.

Oh I forgot to mention that the Captain did come on to announce that we would be leaving Halifax late because of the traffic which also meant they couldn't get a pilot at the time we needed so we are leaving an hour late.  This will then mean we may be late tomorrow into St. John.  But he hopes to make up time.

Halifax

I set the clock for 8 but I must of slept right thru it as I didn’t get up till 8:45 and I am meeting Janice at 9:30 so up I get and a quick shower.  Don’t know why I even tried to do my hair, the weather is overcast and sprinkles and the wind at the water is brisk.  As soon as I get outside the hair is a mess.

I meet up with Janice from my fan page who has come over to say hi to me and we head out to grab a coffee and get to know each other.  It is such a treat to connect with fans from my page, and of course chat cruising!

At noon I meet up with Bernie and our niece Nancy at the Red Stag Pub which is part of the Alexander Keith’s brewery.  I wish I could give it a good review but it was truly bad.  The food was really not good, none of us finished what we were given.  Bernie had the lobster chowder which he found very salty.  But we rarely use salt so we thought well maybe it is just this.  Nope… I ordered the honey chicken which was a big chicken breast which was moist but the rice and vegetables were very bland and the chicken still had the skin on and was very fatty.  All in all it was poor food, service was non existent and the prices were high because of the connection to the brewery.  Of course when we were trying to pick a place to meet we could only think of this place as it is some place we knew of. 

But we were so happy to spend time with our niece Nancy even if it was just for a few hours.

Bernie decided to wander back to the ship and I did more exploring.  I am going to write a blog report just for Halifax with maps and things to see cause it is a great port to explore.

I did stop in at pier 21 which is right beside our cruise ship pier and went in.  It is an amazing museum all about the people who came in and out of this port.  Mainly immigrants and soldiers.  It is sort of like Ellis Island of Canada.  The cost is minimal – just under $9 per person.  Make sure you watch the video that runs every hour.  It is very well done and gives you a great perspective of the entire museum.

I walk thru the museum building which is connected with the Pier 22 that our ship is at.  There are lots of shops selling tons of different things here – and I am shocked I didn’t buy a thing!

I am back on board at 5 pm and Bernie is just finishing up with Trivia – for which they did not do well.  We are back in the cabin and I am putting my pictures on my computer and catching up with my blog and messages.

Tonight is formal night (note last week it was held Wednesday night, this week it is Thursday).  It isn’t my favorite menu.  Normally I would just skip the dining room but we love seeing Douw and our wait staff.

Halifax

View from near Peggy's Cove

 We set the alarm for 8 and head down for breakfast – today they have the special of scrambled eggs/cheese with asparagus.  One of my favorites.

We dock at 9 am and we got clearance about 5 minutes later.  But again there is only one gangway and long queues that snake around the atrium.  Why don’t they have two gangways I don’t know. 

As soon as we exit the pier area we see Bernie’s brother Paul waiting for us.  So nice to see him again it has been a few years since I have seen him and for Bernie it has been a year.  He drove down from Cape Breton (four hours away) to share some time with us today.   How nice.

Lobster Roll

Memorial for those who have passed on the sea

Lunnenberg

where we ate

The Bluenose - seen on our dime coin

We drive out to Peggy’s Cove and walk around.  Boy is it busy here, there are numerous tour buses here and the crowds!  But it is beautiful but a bit too many people for me.  I know we will be back some time as Nova Scotia is a place we visit often.

We then get back in the car and drive a bit further to the Swiss Air disaster memorial, which we found to be very lovely and not busy at all and beautiful views.

A further drive along the water and we head to Mahone Bay – now this is a beautiful town but we don’t stay as we are on our way to Lunnenburg.

Another lovely town and the views to die for.  We stop and have a meal at a restaurant called the Old Fish Factory.  I had a lobster roll and it was so good and tons of lobster and a nice view.

We walk down the street to look out at the Blue Nose and it is so cool to be looking at the ship considering how often I look at it on a dime.

We drive back to Halifax and we are at the pier around 4:30.  There are numerous shops in the pier area with lots of different items.

 

We didn’t have a lot of time to explore Halifax but we are back next week and we will do more then.  Plus we have been here before and seen quite a bit then.  It has grown quite a bit and look forward to coming back.  In fact this is one city we think about retiring to, so you just never know.

We set sail at 6 pm tonight and the Showtime is a Tribute Act Horizon that will be performing Motown and More.  Movies Under the Stars is Star Trek into Darkness.