When I left the
Sapphire Princess in July after catching you-know-what on a cruise ship (again!) I wasn't sure I was going back out there. But Ed and I had a 40th anniversary cruise we needed to take so I rallied and slept (a lot) and by the end of the summer I was ready for a new adventure. Boston to Quebec City to Boston for 20 days and nights on the Emerald Princess.
We've sailed on the ship many times before but this was a new itinerary for us, hitting Canadian and US ports along the way. Unfortunately we went a little too early to see the fall foliage but we still had a nice time with spectacular weather. I spent a large part of my time onboard on the balcony with my binoculars. For Ed the trip was all about the food. Since the ship went to each port twice we had plenty of time to explore when the mood struck us. Here are a few highlights:
*Portland, Maine
When the ship visited Portland I remarked how much easier it was to travel there by ship instead of the drive we made from Idaho to Maine almost 20 years ago. This time we weren't exhausted and leisurely walked around the waterfront as Ed chased down a couple clam chowders.
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| Cape Elizabeth lighthouse |
*St. John, New Brunswick
How did I miss the ship was going to St. John, NB and not St. John's NL (Newfoundland)? I salvaged the day in St. John (New Brunswick) and explored the Waterfront Container Village just off the ship.
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| How close was the container village? Like right there! |
On the second visit we made our way to complete another one of Ed's quests. Poutine. Fries and gravy and cheese curds. I had a drink instead. Ever heard of a Dave Matthews drink? Me neither.
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| With a generous helping of black pepper added by Ed |
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| Tasty Dave Matthews |
*Halifax, Nova Scotia
Our first visit to Halifax was salvaged when the foggy day turned lovely.
With our visit being on the weekend we were able to visit the Seaport Farmer's Market near the ship. Ed tried just about every sample he could. We bought samosas for lunch as we people watched in the market.
*Sydney, Cape Breton Island
Sydney has this fiddle near the ship. A big, big fiddle. On our first visit another ship was docked in front of it and was in our way. As was the rain so we stayed onboard.
On our second visit we docked closer and explored the waterfront and saw the fiddle. Ed enjoyed a local cider in the shadow of the fiddle and I had the absolute worst roast beef sandwich of my life. Should have taken a picture. It was bad.
*Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
The chowder hopping continued with a seafood chowder and a lobster bisque. And a church visit.
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| His favorite seafood chowder ever |
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| Lobster bisque with another generous helping of black pepper added by him |
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Want to go in the church with a scooter? Gotta call a phone number at the lift so we skipped it.
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*Saguenay, Quebec
A wide swing of tides, another church visit, and helicopter flights right from the pier.
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Yay, they had a ramp to get inside
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| No helicopter for us, please |
*Quebec City, Quebec
We had three days in Quebec City and never left the ship. There were several reasons why, but I know we'll be back again and will definitely get ashore.
Yes, definitely a cruise we'd take again, but later in the fall. There's so much to see, and I can't wait to see it again.
But before then, hopefully a winter adventure is coming soon.
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| Until next time! |
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