Planning for Canada/New England Cruise: Restaurants, Hotels, Tours, and More

I have been a bit delayed in posting updates because of summer activities!  With everything from a river cruise to checking in on  my Dad in assisted living, we've been quite busy.  But the time has come to make plans and I have done just that!
 
We are staying at the Hyatt on the Hudson in Jersey City for two nights prior to our cruise.   We chose this hotel because it's convenient to Manhattan as well as Bayonne, where our cruise departs.  The PATH train or the ferry to Manhattan are convenient to the hotel and the views of Manhattan are touted to be awesome! 

As we want to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, I booked tour tickets online at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.  The Memorial is complimentary, but there is an entrance fee to visit the museum and you can purchase tickets online up to three months in advance.

Following our early morning visit to the Museum, we'll spend the day in the city, finding a fun spot for lunch, shopping, sightseeing, museum hopping and more!

Next on my agenda is to decide what we want to do in our ports of call.  We generally love to wander on our own, wining and dining, seeing the sights and chatting with the locals.

As Ken hails from New England, he is looking forward to those yummy fried clams that are prevalent along the coast.  Me?  I can't wait for lobster anyway... broiled,steamed, baked & stuffed, grilled, and of course the delicacy of Maine.. the lobster roll!  So in our Maine ports of call, Portsmouth and Bar Harbor, we are definitely wandering on our own.

Ken has been doing some "restaurant research" and has come up with restaurants for lunch in our ports of call.

Bar Harbor:  Galyn's,, just up from the pier gets great reviews on Tripadvisor... and they serve lunch... AND lobster!   Another option that gets great lobster reviews in Bar Harbor is Stewman's Lobster Pound, about a 5 minute walk from the pier.  Note that Bar Harbor is a tender port.

Halifax, Nova Scotia: There are several restaurants for lunch that get great reviews on Tripadvisor.  There are a couple of Irish Pubs:
Old Triangle Irish Alehouse and Durty Nelly's Irish Pub
and a few seafood restaurants including the casual Salty's, McKelvies, and Five Fishermen

In Sydney, the place to go for some good Irish food & music is the Governor's Pub.

Quebec City
Panache, across the street from the cruise port

Portland, Maine - Portland Lobster Company and Becky's on Hobsons Wharf
Charlottetown, PEI - Lobster on the Wharf

Entertainment and Shows for Our Upcoming Cruise

We're going to have some great entertainment during our cruise!  Here's the info that I got from the Captain's Club:

9/21 Jack Walker - vocalist (from Scotland)
9/22 Production Show
9/23 Alan Chamo - magician
9/24 Gary Arbuthnot - violinist
9/25 54 Below (she didn't know who the performer is)
9/26 Band Artistique - variety
9/27 Production Show
9/28 Doug Cameron - contemporary violinist
9/29 Dan Wilson - comedian
10/1 Variety
10/2 Mark Preston - vocalist (former singer of The Letterman)
10/3 Production Show
10/4 A Voyage to Remember http://www.jackwalker.com/

Fall Canada & New England Cruise!

  

Elliott is ready to cruise again!  He’s unpacked from his European river cruise and is now ready for some cooler New England and Canadian weather!

River cruise – check!  Canada/New England cruise – upcoming!   I’m excited that we will soon be cruising for 14 nights aboard Celebrity Summit, departing from Bayonne, New Jersey.  We will experience the magical changing of seasons from summer to fall along coastal New England and the maritime provinces of Canada. Culture, history, lighthouses, quaint fishing villages & picturesque ports, with the backdrop of a blazing palette of color are just a few of the things that enticed me to book this cruise.   I can’t wait to savor regional specialties such as lobster rolls, clam chowder, juicy Maine blueberries, and Prince Edward Island mussels.  We’ll enjoy leaf peeping, lobster eating, whale watching, otter spotting, maple syrup tasting and more!  To top it off, we overnight in cosmopolitan Quebec City where Frommer says “café culture reigns supreme”.  

 

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

River Cruise Vacation Here We Come!

Windmills, Vineyards & Paris on Avalon Poetry II – July 2014

Oh Zoey, I will miss you!!!  After a year of anticipating my first river cruise, the day finally came that we were to depart for my first river cruise, first trip to Paris and first trip to Amsterdam!  Though I’ve been on more than 30 cruises (one of which was a ½ way round the world cruise), somehow Paris & Amsterdam escaped me.

Our flights on Delta were on time and as comfortable as they could be, since we were seated in Economy comfort seats.  The comfort seats are an additional cost, but are well worth it for the extra leg room & priority boarding… especially for a long overseas flight.