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.