VEENDAM: June 15-22 Boston to Quebec AKA "Honey we're home"

[shrimp56]

Our only previous HAL cruise was last summer on ms Volendam in Alaska. It was love at first sail. We especially appreciated our rock star captain, Peter Bos, who, amazingly enough, was also our captain on this sailing. Talk about good omens. My husband and I were ready.

 

A very important part of this cruise was our Cruise Critic roll call "family." We were a small, but hardy bunch of sailors shepherded expertly by Cruisin_Kay_D and jplewis. We started at the Marriott Copley Place bar the night before we embarked and didn't miss an onboard "Happy Hour" from that point on. It was so much fun running into "family" in the ports and on the ship. Our core drinkers, erm...MEMBERS numbered 8-10 , with jplewis cordoning off part of the Crow's Nest each day at 4pm. (I am under an injunction NOT to post those pictures. And we trust that our Crow's Nest server, Mabel, will tell no tales. Mabel was also a rock star.)

 

BOSTON

 

We had a lot of plans fall through for June so as I was mulling options, I thought BOSTON. Let's go support them after the horrific ending of this year's marathon. Then I wondered, did any cruises leave from there.... you know the answer to that question.

 

We flew from Chicago to Boston 2 days before sailing, arriving in time to eat a delicious lunch at the Prudential Center Legal Seafoods and to find that all Boston was wearing Bruins shirts. Too bad guys, we got the Stanley Cup

 

 

Soroptomist and her mom came in later that day and we met briefly in our hotel lobby, The Lenox. The next day I connected with c2c42 and her husband at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. That evening was our pre-embarkation cocktail hour and a visit to another Legal Seafood because Cruisin_Kay_D wanted a crab cake. I had one too. YUM.

 

Museum courtyard with cafe and the installation, “To Boston With Love”

 

My husband's quesadilla on a Boston map plate

 

When do samurai ever sit?

 

Boston WAS strong.Those guys sure picked on the wrong city.

 

And the obligatory photo of Trinity Church reflected

 

(CC only allows 6 images per post so this will be in bits and pieces.)

[kazu]

I LOVE the reason you chose a cruise from Boston.

 

Great start to your review - please don't stop - looking forward to more:D

[scdreamer]

We will be on the Veendam - same itinerary - in September. Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. Any helpful hints or suggestions will be much appreciated!

[shrimp56]

ms VEENDAM

 

The next morning off to that dam ship, sharing a taxi with Soroptomist and her mom. Her mom is an amazing 93 yr old whowas a rock star too :) Embarkation was relatively painless although it took a while for them to find our key cards. WOW! Our "one star" status was on it. (Pretty pitiful, I know) My heart pitter-patted when I saw the dark blue hull... "Honey we're home." And I knew we were REALLY home when I heard Captain Bos welcome us on the PA.

 

Our merry band did get together at "sailway" at The Retreat. That's where we first saw the sad excuse for a palm tree and realized we couldn't see much from the tables. So we spent sailway running between the tables and the stern.

 

Good-bye Boston!

 

An aside: While it helped that the Veendam and Volendam are similar in layout, we found that our second cruise with HAL was very relaxing, in large part due to our knowing what we did and didn't want to do. It was also our first verandah stateroom on any ship and that view of the sea was very calming. I also liked the mellow colors used in the public rooms and the ancient artifacts. Veendam is a very elegant lady. We also were unable to get a semi-set table for "as you wish" dining. The three nights we did eat in the MDR we had a table for 2 near or on the window and our servers we pleasant and efficient.

 

Our first table plus husband

 

My carrot risotto- absolutely delicious!

 

ms Veendam atrium

[OVgirl]

Love your review so far and the pictures! Thank you.

[sail7seas]

From a 'strong Bostonian' thanks for the lovely things you wrote about our city and for the wonderful photos.

 

Loving your review and looking forward to more.....

especially as DH and I sail Veendam soon after not having sailed in her for years.

 

Thanks for sharing with us. :)

[shrimp56]

Thanks for the kind words, sail. Sorry about that cup. Actually not very :)

 

The Veendam isn't perfect, but she's a lovely warm lady. AND she has a dark blue hull

[shrimp56]

I realize that in my excitement I have things a bit out of order.

1. We embarked.

2. We went to the Mariners Lunch

3. We went to our cabin

4. "Mustard" drill, followed by ketchup I guess ;)

5. Sail away with the "family"

 

Much of our group ate together at the Mariners Lunch. I didn't order well, but jplewis' pasta looked delish.

 

 

OUR CABIN

This was our first Verandah and I now understand what the fuss is about. You don't even have to go out on the balcony to see wall-to-wall sea. The pictures below were taken at various times as when we entered our cabin after the Mariner's Lunch (*polishes her one star*) our luggage had been dumped on the bed.

 

 

 

 

Our cabin was comfortable. Our heat/ac easy to regulate, no trouble with hot water or plumbing or housekeeping. BUT we had a cracked and taped over window. Guess what? We ignored it. We didn't report it either as we figured they knew about it. Why were we so calm about it? The ship was full and this was a dry/wet dock fix. So let's just enjoy the cruise. After a while I didn't even "see" it. I did note it in the survey though. It was cabin 169 so until the next drydock if you are picky, avoid this cabin. As far as I was concerned we were on a wonderful cruise of which this was a minor blip.

 

[Barrheadlass]

I'm trying to talk my husband into this very cruise so am enjoying your posts!

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying the review of your Veendam cruise. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it and also for your great photo's. Looking forward to more.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am loving your review.

Will be checking in from time to time.

[shrimp56]

Thank you all for your kind words.

 

The real secret to how wonderful this cruise was, was our roll call "family." We spent time together ever day and sometimes shared meals. The good will was astounding when you consider how different we all were. It worked because we mattered to each other. And our assault on ms Veendam's supply of potables didn't hurt either. The cruise itself is really low key. The ports are scenic, but it's a lower key "wow" than Alaska. I think both factors helped us all relax and have a good time.

 

BAR HARBOR

 

Sailing into Frenchman Bay as we approached Bar Harbor

 

This was our only tender port and I must say it went "swimmingly." I was able to tender to shore well before my Lulu Lobster Boat Ride was to start. There were Veendam staff stationed on the dock who helped us get our land legs back and point us toward our excursions and the restrooms. I popped into Grumpy's Whale Watch Cafe for a diet coke and chatted with Mr Grumpy himself. Apparently he is a Bar Harbor institution along with the cafe.

 

 

 

Mr Grumpy, himself

 

Then I popped back out and ran into Soroptomist and her mom who were off to explore Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor is an upscale resort town, pretty in a sort of Disneyfied "down-east" way. The shopping was not of particular interest to me. (I was waiting for beach glass in Sydney, NS)

 

 

The next move was to find "mr lulu," or Capt. John for the boat ride. This was an exceptional excursion. He is entertaining, informative extremely knowledgeable and a real lobster man. This trip is doable even with some limited mobility. They help you into the boat and then you sit. They help you out. If you managed the tender this is easy peasy.

 

Capt. John

 

Our boat on the right on our return

[shrimp56]

Lulu Lobster Boat Ride

First was our second "muster drill" of the trip.

 

 

Then we went out to Egg Rock Lighthouse where we saw seals disporting and cavorting, including some cute little pups.

 

 

Next we went to one of his lobster pot areas to find our exhibit A for Lobster 101. He was a lucky lil bugger. He was just a teeny bit too small to keep so, after he was traumatized, he lived to swim another day. I learned an immense amount about the science of lobsters and how Maine and The Maritimes manage lobster fishing to ensure the long term health of the industry. I also learned a lot about lobster anatomy, including s-e-x. This was an amazing excursion and worth every penny.

 

 

 

Here Capt John is showing off the claws. The smaller one on the right indicates that it was lost and is regrowing.

 

My husband had taken the hike in Acadia, which he enjoyed, although since was run by a birding group he learned more about birds than he wanted. I asked if he would have preferred the lecture on lobster s-e-x. This was followed by my first and best lobster roll at The West Street Cafe. It's two blocks to the right from the dock in a blue building with porches. The food is excellent and the staff is very helpful and friendly.

 

As you can see the roll is traditional and perfectly toasted.

 

After lunch we headed home.

 

[scopewest]

Enjoying your review. I went to school in Boston years ago (school now long gone), and one of these days I'll cruise from there.

[Linda&Vern]

I just showed DH your Lobster Roll. I may finally know where our next cruise is going. :D

[shrimp56]

I just showed DH your Lobster Roll. I may finally know where our next cruise is going. :D

 

Happy to have helped. It's really a nice laid-back cruise.

[shrimp56]

Enjoying your review. I went to school in Boston years ago (school now long gone), and one of these days I'll cruise from there.

 

I went to school outside Boston and fyi the T still screeches as it makes that corner at Scollay Square, now "Government Center." Shades of "Charlie on the MTA."

[shrimp56]

HALIFAX

Briefly, we bailed on Halifax. We were scheduled for an excursion, but we needed a nesting day. The only problem with the itinerary of this cruise is that there is only one sea day and then the day at dock in Quebec. It was so foggy heading in to Halifax that we prayed that we would have to give it a miss, but then that isn't fair to the others on the ship. So we gave it a miss instead.

 

Breakfast in the Lido

 

My view of Halifax from the balcony

 

I wandered into a Culinary demonstration a bit late. It was part of the new "On Location" program. The recipe was salmon using maple syrup. The mumbling chef was rescued by Donna from Ireland who was the MC. She was a lovely young woman that we saw everywhere doing this and that. In general the On Location program did provide some good local experiences, but this wasn't one of them. The other cooking demos repeated what I had seen before on the Volendam. Note to HAL: change it up kids.

 

 

In the afternoon I had my first acupuncture appointment of the cruise with a lovely young woman practitioner from the UK. I discovered acupuncture on ms Volendam and now see a local acupuncturist near where I live. No pictures of me being "needled." Sorry.

 

On any day of this cruise you can assume Happy Hour in The Crows Nest with the family. We had lots of fun, including the mystery of the men's room as well as suckering 2 of our group into trying to move immovable tables. You get the idea by now I am sure. I will skip the joke about the schnauzer.

 

Dinner was our first at Canaletto. Aside from a pushy wine steward it was a lovely experience. Despite being at the end of the Lido Restaurant it was a a peaceful oasis and we thought the food was quite good.

 

Canaletto Menu

 

My spaghetti and meatballs. Delicious, but too much.

 

My husband's dessert

 

Thus endeth our day not in Halifax and today's posts.

[erewhon]

Enjoying your Veendam review.

 

You were very lucky sailing with Captain Bos.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful

A number of years ago --on one of our Canada/New England cruises, we tried the various lobster rolls in the ports. Some were better than others. Some places but too much filler in them and little lobster.

[leonidas]

Really enjoying reading your report and the pictures. Looking forward to the rest of it. Thank you!

 

Kind regards,

Gina

The Netherlands

[Keith1010]

Excellent commentary and photos.

 

Keith

[mamaofami]

I love your comments and photos. Keep them coming.

[shrimp56]

You were very lucky sailing with Captain Bos.

 

We know we were after our Alaska cruise with him.

 

A number of years ago --on one of our Canada/New England cruises, we tried the various lobster rolls in the ports. Some were better than others.

 

That had been my plan, but I ended up only having two, of which the Bar Harbor one was easily the best.

[shrimp56]

SYDNEY

The rainy, foggy start to Halifax, complete with foghorns did give way to a sunny day there. The good weather stayed with us until the debarkation deluge in Quebec. We did have a passing shower on our Prince Edward Island tour, but we were already back on the bus heading back to town.

 

 

Short version: We fell in love with Sydney.

 

From the helpful people in the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion to people we chatted with on the street we concluded that Sydney was a very friendly place. The improved weather helped I am sure, but we found the town charming and our self-tour of the various historic sites, deepened our interest to the point that we dropped in a real estate office to ask about houses.

 

Our plan was to do the walking tour available through HAL on our own. Since everything is close together it is an easy task. Doing it ourselves also gave us flexibility to spend the time we wanted at each place and, in the end, we did skip a couple stops. We started with St Patrick's Church, the first church in Sydney. It is now a museum dedicated to explaining the life of the early residents. The descriptions and images give you an understanding of how hard life was for those settlers. The sea is a cruel mistress.

 

 

 

 

Additional artifacts cover its life as a church, including its first bell, local schooling and some beautiful First Nation quill basketry. Well worth the time and the $2. We found in the Canadian ports that US dollars were welcome at par with the Canadian one, although we preferred to pay in local currency.

 

 

Our second stop was the oldest house in Sydney, now The Jost Heritage House, which was built in 1786. Our guide was a charming and knowledgeable young man dressed in the clothing of the period. I think admission was $3., but I'm not sure. In any case it was well worth it.

 

Husband trying to "lift anchor" at Jost House

 

Our next quarry had been The Cossit House, another historical site, but we decided we wanted to head generally in the direction of lunch. So, other than enjoying the leafy residential streets of Sydney and a quick stop at the first Anglican church, St. George's, which is only opened a few times a year, we walked to the business district of Sydney. Our quarries were two, The Cape Breton Craft and Design Center and The Governor's Pub and Eatery. (next post)

 

St George's church just past a beautiful old house