Denise T

Some quick observations. 1. Rooms: Small and minimal storage. The closets are big for hanging stuff but there is little drawer space. There are drawers but these are very small. We are in an aft balcony, and it is not very big. Two adults can strategically move about. There is no Haven but there are a few suites that if you want more space, choose those. 2. Bathrooms are small with not much storage. You can make it work. There is a tube shower with shower curtain. 3. Many on the NCL forum have said that crew are sometimes rude and nonresponsive. I have read complaints that it was hard to find a table in the buffet because the tables are not clear. This has not been my experience. The crew have all been extremely friendly. My room steward checks in frequently. In the buffet there are many crew members bussing the tables. I find the ship to be clean and crew working very hard to clean it. 4. Because it has been rainy, most people are indoors. This makes getting into some venues a challenge as there are no seats. If the weather was better many will be outside. My sister and I learned when to get to the venues to find a seat. It takes some planning. 5. There is a lot going on. Trivia, games, and music. Two of the bands Aura and Natural Mystic are very good. They play a variety of different music genres. I have not gone to the theater as of yet. 6. A huge thing to remember is to be patient and kind especially for those in the United States. We left from Quebec, which is an international city. Many nationalities are on board who may or may not speak English. They have different cultures which means that they do things differently than in the U.S. There are many elderly on board as well. They are slower and need a little more time. Again, pack your patience and be kind. 7. I like the food. There are hits and misses just like in any restaurant. The buffet is small so you will not have the same variety on bigger ships. What we have eaten has been tasty and we are finding many options. Alas, no cookies though.

Saguenay was a nice walk around the harbor. Chilly and cloudy and of and on rain. Dress warmly and in layers if going at this time of year. We just walked the harbor and watched the NCL Gem sail in. The Sky got the dock. There was a great little show at the dock. Lots of artisan shops and a pretty church. When we returned, we played some 80s trivia and did better than we thought. We had lunch at the buffet, listened to music and had snacks later. I will come back with evening activities.

Updating pictures. Here are some from Quebec.

Sliding into Saguenay today gray and rainy right now. Nothing planned today, just walking around. More to come.

Dinner at Cagney's was wonderful. I had the crab cake, the petite filet mignon, baked potato and broccoli. It was delicious. For dessert I had raspberry creme Brulé. After dinner went to Bliss to listen to the band Aura which was great. Went to the casino but it didn't stay due to smoking. Anyway, we are finding that there are lots to do on board. Tomorrow will be Saguenay, I will try t get some pictures up.

We are underway. Embarkation was somewhat smooth. Be patient with the check in staff. Many are learning the ropes. We arrived at the port early because the Uber driver was early. luggage drop-off and security were a breeze. We were actually on board by 11:30 am. We went to the Great Outdoors and had lunch at the outdoor buffet. We had several drinks and walked around the ship stopping a few times to listen to music. Cabins were ready a little after 2 pm. I met our room steward, and all of our luggage has been delivered. The sail away party was moved into Spinnakers due to rain. We have an aft balcony. So far, everything is awesome. The ship is clean, and the staff has been so friendly. We will be off to Cagney's for dinner. More to come.

Its cruise day! We are getting to the port at 1100. Board is supposed to be at 12. I will post later today.

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Its Cruise Day! All set. We get to the port at 11:00. I will be posting pictures on my live in the NCL forum. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

A few sights form Quebec.

Happy Tuesday from beautiful Quebec. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Spent the morning sightseeing. It is chilly here, but the colors of the trees are magnificent. Hoping to get some pictures on my live in the NCL forum. We are having a blast. The Sky is already docked so we went to the port to visit. She overnights and then we board tomorrow. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

First day in Quebec! Beautiful day. My sister and I went first to the port and saw the Sky disembarking. We got so excited! Viking Mars is in port as well. We then walked around the port and then through the little streets of Quebec. We went to the upper city and strolled around the Hotel Frontenac. Just know that when there are multiple cruise ships in port the really touristy areas will be crowed. For lunch we ate a cute little place called The Chic Shack. The food was very good. They make their own sodas so there are no name brands. I had a delicious veggie burger, raspberry soda, and homemade chips. We then went back to the hotel to rest up as we want to go to the port and see the ship again. We are staying at the Auberge Saint Pierre hotel. It is a cute little boutique hotel. It is important to know that the entrance of this hotel is through the entrance of Hotel 71. Both hotels are connected and are also connected to the Matto restaurant. The rooms are nice. The beds are comfortable. Very nice hotel. Resting a bit now. may download pictures soon.

After 12 hours of travel, we have made it to Quebec. The flights were fine and on time. Airports are typical airports. Confusing at times. As weird as it seems, traveling to Quebec is my very first international flight so it takes getting used to that announcements are in French first. Great way to learn the language. It took 20 minutes to get to the hotel by taxi. The hotel is Auberge Sainte Pierre. Very cute little boutique hotel. A little confusing as it is several buildings connected. But the room is cozy with beautiful hardwood floors and very high ceilings. The trees are beautiful. The colors are amazing. We got to Quebec after a large rainstorm passed through. It is chilly here and there is a frost advisory. The plan for tomorrow is just to go out and explore.

Happy Monday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Made it to Philadelphia Airport on my way to Toronto then Quebec for a few days beofre the cruise. Everything went smoothly. Had a brief scare yesterday as my sister's TSA precheck did not show on her boarding pass. We looked and discovered her birth year was incorrect. We corrected it and all is right with the world. Got checked in and through security quickly and with no problem. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

I got my first email with the safety video as did my sister. She was somewhat disappointed as she expected more in the video. I am sure will have to watch it again tomorrow.

Happy Sunday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Weel, the adventure starts tomorrow. We fly out to Quebec tomorrow. Have to get up at 4:00 am. That's the yucky part. Check in for flight today and will be completing declaration documents on ArriveCan so we can speed through immigration tomorrow. Cats and Fancy safely at the vet. I almost cried dropping them off. I already miss them. Last minute stuff to do today. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

3 days until the cruise. Tomorrow, I rise at the ungodly hour of 4:00 am and will have a car service at 6:00 am to get to the airport to head to Toronto and then Quebec. We will get into Quebec after 5 pm. Expecting rain in Quebec when we get there. If anyone has recommendations for a nice casual restaurant near the Auberge St. Pierre let me know. We won't feel like getting dressed up for dinner after traveling. Tuesday looks to be a nice day for sightseeing. Wednesday, cruise day looks good today. Today I received the first of what I am sure will be many, emails to remind me to watch the safety video. I complied of course. I will check in to the flight today and complete the declaration forms through ArriveCan. Almost time!

4 days to go. Pets are going to the vet for boarding today. I will miss them terribly. I know they will be taken good care of. Got an email from my Quebec hotel stating that the elevators are being worked on so there may be some congestion during peak times. Not a big worry. I fly to Quebec on Monday. Lots to wrap up today. It's getting closer!

Happy Saturday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Busy day. Dropping car off for inspection. Pets are all going in for boarding today. 😌I will miss them terribly. Laundry and then finish up last minute class stuff. My sister has yet to start packing. Oh well. Got an email from the hotel in Quebec that they are working on the elevators so there may be some delay in getting to our room. Again, oh well. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

Happy Friday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. Setting up all my classes for the two weeks I am away. What is sad for me is that we are taking the pets in tomorrow for boarding as they are not open Sunday. I will miss them terribly and worry that Fancy, who is a rescue dog might feel abandoned. They are boarding at the vet we take them to and the staff have always taken great care of them and they love little Fancy so I am not worried about the care they will receive. I could have had someone come to the house, but I heard to many stories of pet sitters not showing up for days. I know they are going to be safe. I did get my medication filled. My pharmacist worked it out, so I am good there. So, now, its just the waiting. Happy birthday @JazzyV! Happy anniversary @Cruzin Terri! Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

Happy Thursday. Thanks for the daily and fleet reports. The destination of the day made me so happy as I will be in Quebec starting Monday and cruising the St. Lawrence. I will have many photos, I am sure. I am all set. Picking up my meds today as the pharmacist was able to get them filled early. Wrapping up some last-minute stuff with work. The excitement is building for sure. This is a much-needed vacation for both me and my sister. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

6 days to go! 4 days until I fly to Quebec. Just a few last-minute items to take care of. Picking up my meds, wrapping up some work, all that good stuff. It looks like rain in Quebec on Monday. We won't get to the hotel until after 5 pm. Hopefully the rain will have slowed down as we will want to go out and get some dinner. We will be exhausted having gotten up at 4:00 am. I do feel the excitement though.

Happy Wednesday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. 7 days to go! Got an email from NCL about some port time changes. No big deal. One hour less time in Boston. Otherwise, I am all set to go. Winding down things for work so I will have to do less of it. Also keeping an eye on the weather. Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.

8 days out. Let's get this live started! First, I just received from NCL an itinerary change. Changes were highlighted for Saguenay, Charlottetown, Portland, and Boston. Saguenay we are leaving half hour early. Charlottetown we are arriving and leaving 15 minutes later. Portland we are arriving half an hour later and Boston leaving an hour earlier. Hmmm. Less time in Boston but we shall see. I am doing the hop on hop off there so we can make that work. So, first thing I will start with here is my flight to Quebec City. Can I say that I love the Air Canada app. Answered all my questions. I booked the flight through United, but the plane is operated by Air Canada. I was unsure about who to check in with and whether or not we have to collect bags in Toronto and go through customs and security. On the Air Canada app, it tells us exactly what we need to do in a step-by-step manner. Get on the plan in Philadelphia. Disembark in Toronto. We do not collect our bags. Just go through customs and then get on the next flight to Quebec. Easy peasy. I am going to use ArriveCam for the Declaration forms which will make things quicker as well. I feel a little bit less anxious with this knowledge. We will probably take a taxi from the airport to our hotel in Quebec. Depending on how we feel after flying, we may go out and find some dinner. But that may change. More to come!

Happy Tuesday. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports. I continue to wrap work up. I am planning ahead so I don't have to do too much while I am away. As online faculty, I am expected to be present in the classes, but my plan is to do what I can ahead of time. This weekend will be last minute packing. My sister has not started packing. We are very different humans. I plan and get ready ahead of time, she procrastinates. Oh well. The only thing really left to do is that I am using ArriveCam for our Declaration forms to enter Canada. Doing everything, I can in order to avoid long lines for customs. 8 days to go! Thinking of all on the care list. Celebrating with all who are celebrating. Have a safe and healthy day.