Leaf Peeping Canada/New England Cruise September 2014

 Me and my traveling monkey, Elliott

You know me!  I can't let grass grow under my feet, especially when there's traveling to be done!  And what better way to travel than to cruise?  You unpack once, visit lots of interesting & fun places, let the Captain do the driving and enjoy scrumptious meals and delightful entertainment! 

We've been to the Caribbean numerous times; we've been to Europe numerous times & will be back there on a river cruise in summer 2014, we just completed a trip to the Pacific Northwest so an autumn trip to New England and Canada seems to fit the bill perfectly.  
We just booked this fourteen day Canada/New England cruise that departs September 21, 2014 on Celebrity Summit.  My motto is the more, the merrier... so why don't you join us for this North American trip of a lifetime?  We'll do some leaf peeping, lobster eating, fishing, whale watching, otter spotting, maple syrup tasting and more!  The only time that Canada and New England cruises are offered is in the fall when leaf peeping season is at its peak so I jumped right on this one. I've got some great group pricing, so give me a holler.

Cruise Itinerary

Sun. Sept 21	Cape Liberty, NJ – depart 4 pm
Mon. Sept 22	At Sea
Tue. Sept 23	Bar Harbor, Maine 7 am – 4 pm
Wed. Sept 24	Halifax, Nova Scotia  8:30 am – 6 pm
Thur. Sept 25	Sydney, Nova Scotia  9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Fri. Sept 26	Charlottetown, P.E.I.  9 am – 6 pm
Sat. Sept 27	At Sea
Sun. Sept 28	Quebec City, Quebec  arrive 8 am
Mon. Sept 29	Quebec City, Quebec,  depart 6 pm
Tue. Sept 30	At Sea
Wed. Oct 1	Corner Brook, Newfoundland 9 am – 6 pm
Thur. Oct 2	At Sea
Fri. Oct 3	Portland, Maine  10 am – 8 pm
Sat. Oct 4	At Sea
Sun. Oct 5	Cape Liberty, NJ  Arrive 7 am

San Francisco with Flowers in My Hair!

I just can't get that song out of my head!  "If  you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair"... I am singing it now!  Ah, San Francisco!  All I can say is that we most definitely needed much more time in this beautiful city by the bay!  

Seeing THE Golden Gate Bridge is something to behold!  We cruised under it at sunrise and cruised under it again as we departed at sunset.  Beautiful!  Awesome!  Am I really here?  Pinch myself!

We were so fortunate to have our own personal tour guides, Steve and Mary, who met us pierside and had a really fun itinerary set up for us!  As they say in the South, "Bless their hearts".. they got up at 5 am to meet us at the pier at 8!   We disembarked shortly after 8 and found them right where they said they'd be!  Oh my... it was chicken soup for the soul to see those two!  It's been much too long since we've seen our dear friends (& traveling companions)!  Anyway, the weather was a bit lackluster if you know what I mean.  The good news is that it went from lackluster to perfect in the scope of a few hours!

  My tour guide, Esteban, and me!

We followed Steve for our breakfast and Irish coffee stop at the Buena Vista Cafe.  Yes, Irish coffee for breakfast can't be beat!  And Irish coffee at the Buena Vista is to die for!

Along with my yummy breakfast that included corned beef hash (yes!), I think I enjoyed two Irish coffees!  LOL!

Here's the group (sans me who was the photographer!) by the bay!

As we departed Buena Vista Cafe it was "pouring down rain"!  I was so happy to have my newly purchased Helly Hansen jacket!  Steve had arranged a Bay boat tour for us and it was delightful!  We saw lots from the water, learning some of San Francisco's history and grabbing lots of opportunities for some great photos.  Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and more... wow!

 Alcatraz - all I can say is that you wouldn't want to be locked up in solitary confinement there!

The rain altered our plans a bit... as we disembarked our tour boat, we wandered around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where I loved the sea lions!  I never saw so many sea lions in one place in my entire life!  They sort of bark like dogs and jump in and out of the water.  There were big ones and even babies!  Photo op!!!

The weather took a turn for the better and what an awesome, unique and special treat awaited us!  The America's Cup race was to start at 1 pm and there we were!!!

USA Oracle Team--- WON!!!

Paula & George watching America's Cup race

 Susan and Al watching America's Cup race

What happens after all this race excitement is heaven in a bowl!.. could it be a sourdough bread bowl?  or a real bowl with sour dough bread as accompaniment?  I think I must've had the best clam chowder in the entire world!  (Yes New England, even counting you!)... The chowder was divine, filled with large chunks of clams and potatoes.  That, along with a glass of my requisite pinot grigio, completed my lunch!  Thank you Steve and Mary!!!!!  We dined at Pier Market Seafood Restaurant at Steve's recommendation and were all smiling campers.  Yum! Here are the chowder eaters! (we lost Ken & Paula & George amongst the sea lions!)

After a fantastic day in San Francisco, highlighted by being with great friends, we sailed away, cruising under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge!

  Thanks to George Burn for this photo!

Astoria, Oregon

Whenever I mentioned that our cruise would stop in Astoria, I consistently got a quizzical look and the question, "Why Astoria"?  To be frank, I don't really know why!  I think I would have preferred Seattle as a port call rather than Astoria but we really did enjoy our brief time in Astoria.

The welcoming committee of volunteers provided booths to provide information and roaming volunteers to answer questions and give directions.  Pierside, there were also lots of local venders with everything from art to local produce for sale. 

We had booked a seafood and wine tour and were escorted to a local school bus!  Yes indeed, our bus driver was the school bus driver for a local school!  How sweet is that?  We boarded and drove the shortish distance from the pier to downtown Astoria where our tour group of about 28 was split into two groups.  Half would enjoy the wine tasting first and half would partake in the seafood cooking class first and then we would reverse.  Unfortunately, we weren't with our traveling companions for this as they divided the bus in half and we were in the wrong half! 

I LOVED this tour.  We did the seafood class first and this was one of the highlights of our cruise for me.  We were lucky enough to join Baked Alaska restaurant’s Chef Christopher Holen (aka Chef Daddy) at the Oregon State University Seafood consumer center exhibition kitchen for a seminar, demonstration, and tasting of the foods of the Pacific Northwest. Chef Chris  filleted fresh chinook salmon and told us all about the seafood and foods of the Pacific Northwest.   

He next demonstrated the proper way to cook salmon and made a quick aioli sauce for accompaniment. While the salmon was baking, he made a vegetable souffle that was divine!  It's so easy that I couldn't believe it.  He says that you can make this with almost any veggie that you have on hand.  For our tasting, he used fresh northwest kale and mushrooms.  Once the salmon and souffle were ready, we had a tasting and I was smitten with Chef Holen and his recipes and the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest!

Chef Holen brought along some of his secret ingredients (I confess that I purchased Chef Daddy smoked salt and Chef Daddy fry salt!)   This was much more than just a cooking demonstration as we were entertained, educated and inspired!  This was another highlight of my cruise!

Next up was a wine tasting at Cellar on 10th... which was unbelievably nice.  We sampled a variety of red and white wines of Oregon and got a great education on the vineyards, growing conditions including soil type and climate, and tasted some wonderful wines!  Another hit!

Then back to the ship for sail away and dinner!

Victoria,BC, Canada

I was excited about visiting Victoria again; it's been a long time since we were in this beautiful city. Once again, we opted to "do it ourselves" without a pre-planned excursion.  We walked from the pier along the harbour walkway and headed into town.  It was about a 25 minute leisurely and beautiful walk.  We stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for a few minutes.  I loved the interesting floating houses!

Though the weather started off a little chilly, it warmed up quickly and the coats disappeared!  Here are Paula and George enjoying our harbour walk.

 And here are Susan and Al, whom I positioned in front of that interesting bonsai type tree!

Ken and me on the harbour walk.... still wearing jackets, but it won't be long til they come off!

The harbour and marina are quite interesting, especially the float planes that are landing and taking off almost continuously!

Well we made it to "town" and were greeted by the most incredible view of The Empress Hotel! 

The flowers are so beautiful in Victoria and everything is so clean!

After all this walking and sightseeing, it was time for lunch!  Victoria is known for its pubs so we chose the Bard and Banker!  The black cod clam chowder hit the spot! Oh yum!  That and a glass of white wine made me smile.  Needless to say, the beer is quite nice in the pub!

Susan and Al posing in front of Bard & Banker!

We lost Paula and George along the way and discovered that they had hopped one of these adorable water taxis! (thanks for the photo George!)

After lunch, we were on a quest for a bar of soap.. yes you heard me correctly!  The only soap available on the Norwegian Sun was a liquid gel and hubby MUCH prefers a bar of soap, so we were lucky to find 3 bars for $4.00 CAD... Ken bought one for each couple!  Thank you KJ!

What can I say, but Oh What a Beautiful Day!  This is a be-back kinda place!

Sightseeing in Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Though Nanaimo is a hop, skip, and jump away from Vancouver, it took us from 4 pm to 7 am the following day to get there!  From our research, we had expected bands to greet us upon docking but they were nowhere to be found!  Perhaps that was just for the first few cruises ever to stop at Nanaimo...?  We did not book a tour here as we had planned to wander around for some sightseeing, shopping, and perhaps lunch.  We jumped onboard the trolley that takes you around to four stops and got off at the second stop, the historic town center.  It's small, quaint, and a little hilly.  I found some Pacific Northwest art in a local art shop and even found some outdoor furniture that I loved that was made in British Columbia!  (I brought the catalog home).  I almost forgot to mention that we even got to sample the famous Nanaimo bar!

We saw otters and seals in the marina waters... so cute to watch!  Otters floating on their backs and seals diving and playing made a fun sight to see!  Here are Al & Susan doing some otter spotting!

Canadian Mounties are awesome!  I grabbed the best looking one for a photo-op! 

And here we are at the pier with the Norwegian Sun in the background... Ken had to tear me away from my otter spotting activity!

Paula and George took a Cowichan Valley wine tour and thoroughly enjoyed that so all in all everyone enjoyed their brief time in Nanaimo.  Here's a photo of the beauty of the area as we departed at sunset.

Pacific Coastal Cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles

The day finally arrived to embark our ship... floating hotel and resort for a week!  After a week of planes, trains, and automobiles... and schlepping luggage... getting on the ship was just what we needed!  As we were a group of 6, we hailed a large van to take our luggage and 3 of us to Canada Place where we would board the ship.  Three of us walked and we all met up at the cruise terminal only to discover that our ship was late arriving and boarding would be delayed about an hour and a half.  After waiting in a very long line for an hour or more with no seating, the line finally started to move and we were indeed onboard by 1 pm or so. 

 Playing games on IPhone while waiting in line!

First on the agenda:  lunch!!!  To avoid the chaotic embarkation buffet mass of people, we opted for the main dining room where could sit down and be served.  Our rooms were ready for us after lunch so we dropped off our carry on bags and explored the ship, made specialty dining reservations, got our beverage package validated, and had a glass of wine!  Sailaway from Vancouver was absolutely gorgeous!
 

 Departing Vancouver.. beautiful city, dramatic clouds (photo courtesy of George Burn)

The Norwegian Sun, is one of Norwegian's older ships and I must say that it showed its age.  The service could not have been better and that was a huge plus.  Our stateroom with a verandah was small but well laid out.  The verandah needed to be refurbished a bit, in my opinion.  The bathroom was fine; my only pet peeve with NCL is that the shampoo and soap are not individual, but are in large bottles that are attached to the shower wall.  Ken doesn't "do" liquid soap so top of our list was to purchase a bar of soap in our next port of call!

The specialty dining that we experienced was top notch.  Le Bistro and East Meets West Steakhouse were excellent; in fact we ate at the steakhouse twice. 

My dinner at East Meets West Steakhouse - Yum!

Food in the main dining rooms (there are two:  Four Seasons and Seven Seas) was OK.  Nothing special or even worth mentioning.  I didn't have anything that was excellent but I didn't have anything that was awful.  Service was again excellent. 

We had breakfast most days in the Great Outdoors, which was less busy than the main breakfast buffet. Omelettes made to order were excellent.. I especially loved my combination of spinach, tomato, onion, peppers, and cheese!

A highlight of the ship for me was the special Chef's Dinner.  As we knew this would be a sell-out, we booked this early on embarkation day.  The Chef prepares a nine course dinner with wine pairings for a small group.  We were greeted by ship's officers and introduced to our executive chef.  Oh What a Night!  If you get the opportunity, do this one! 

Having purchased beverage packages on previous cruises on other cruise lines, we opted for Norwegian's Ultimate Beverage Package.  We purchased this in advance and upon embarkation had to run around to get it validated.  It was not automatically associated with our key/charge card.  I would have to say that it is most definitely NOT an ultimate package as it was very restrictive, not including special coffee drinks, water, and fresh squeezed juice.  It was also a bit annoying as we had to sign for every single drink and could not "run a tab".  That being said, however, the bar service was fine and we were served without waiting.

I have cruised seven times prior to this cruise on Norwegian.  I was disappointed in the ship, the food, the shows, the entertainment for the most part, and of course the beverage package.  I am going on the Epic in January and hope that my past NCL experience holds true as I really enjoyed all of those past 7 cruises!