The thrifty cruisers Canada/New England review 4/29-5/6

[Dismomx5]

13 hours ago, lissie said:

I noticed that the ciders are listed in oz? Did you notice that a lot? Canada was a metric country the last time I was there and I'm hoping to minimize the number of translations I need memorized - I've got the important one (F to C) sorted out but otherwise as we are cursing Canada/Greenland/Iceland I was hoping for all metric 

Canada is metric, but you will sometimes see both near the border. I know that my can of cider is 355 mL which translates to 12 oz, apparently.

[CGinMTL]

My reusable water bottle has both measures 

8 oz is a little less then 250 ml 

[lissie]

9 hours ago, Dismomx5 said:

Canada is metric, but you will sometimes see both near the border. I know that my can of cider is 355 mL which translates to 12 oz, apparently.

Funnily enough that was the calculation I googled - important to know! basically oz x 3 =  ml 

[lissie]

8 hours ago, CGinMTL said:

My reusable water bottle has both measures 

8 oz is a little less then 250 ml 

I used to know that 4oz was 125g /ml - because I have my mother's and grandmother's hand written recipes and 4oz is a common measure for butter / sugar etc 

[cgolf1]

Bat Harbor

 

We finally got spectacular weather and they even slightly opened the top over the pool. The Acadia small group tour was sold out prior to the cruise, but they added a tour in the afternoon and we were on that one. This was the first time in 19 cruise that we have tendered n a lifeboat. This town has a lot of money in it. The church pictured has Tiffaney stained glass window, because that person attended the church. One window is likely worth more than my house, substantially more lol. Beautiful area. Since our tender got ashore a little early we walked a bit alog the shoreline. The Acadia pictures will be in a separate post.

[cgolf1]

Acadia

 

So this tour was amazing. We had a great guide. We stopped a few times and there was ample time to take some pictures. We learned a lot which is the point of a good tour.

 

 

[cgolf1]

Last day activities and Supper

 

So we actually did a show, Planet Earth 2 in concert. Typical of this series, the camera work was just amazing. The only disappointment was the live concert part. The Holland musicians played along with the original soundtrack, and in my opinion they weren't feature enough. Regardless the video was amazing. 

 

For supper I had the sushi roll trio, excellent and the Roasted Spice Crusted Prime Rib with wild mushrooms. I have never been a fan of prime rib, and to be honest this was only a decent cut of meat. But what likely made it my favorite main of the trip, was the combination of the horseradish mustard mousse and the spices that made for an amazing bite of food. May not be for everyone, but wow! My wife had the baby beets and baked rigatoni with italian sausage, which she really enjoyed. There could have been more baby beets though.

 

We finsished off our cards game and the guys won the week, miracles do happen;)

 

I also incuded the Dive In menu

[Cocktail613]

[cgolf1]

Wow, thank you to everyone. I made it to the end in record time while providing more information than normal. This has been a fun way to relive the cruise.

 

Disembarkation 

We did the Holland transfer for our 11:20 am flights and probably sat at the gate for roughly an hour before the flight. I did put a lot of info in the Boston pre 11 am flight thread. I will say some people seemed to take there time disembarking, and TSA at Logan is unpredictable, if I am being charitable. Hopefully next flight we will have TSA Pre:)

 

The Trip

Overall despite some misses by Holland, I know there is never going to be a perfect cruise. Hopefully HAL listens to our comments, especially on the dinner seating and for sure on the gluten free. In the buffet, had I not sailed Celebrity I likely would not have been as frustrated, but for food allergens they have set the bar where it should be, I hope HAL follows there lead.

 

The main dining room food was very good to excellent. I was pleasantly surprised. I saw no reason to try the specialty dining.

 

The Ship

The layout after day 1 felt logical and while we didn't use it much due to the weather, a proper promenade deck was a welcome addition that we have really missed. The ship was well maintained and the stateroom was great.

 

Overall 

We are very lucky that in one year we will get to do 3 bucket list trips. In February we went through the panamax locks, anchored in lake Gatun, and went back out. We did this cruise and got to see some amazing stops in Canada and Bar Harbor. Next stop is the Galapagos:)

 

We will definitely sail HAL again, but right now we have bookings out to 2025, but will of course look for last minute deals like this cruise. I would also like to try a larger ship to see if the buffet experience in general and the gluten free experience in the buffet is different. 

 

The weather

Yes it was cold, but I mostly felt bad for the crew that is not used to it. With the exception of Sydney, which really wasn't that bad at all, the weather actually worked out for us and we stayed dry.

 

So that about does it, but I will be glad to answer any more questions:)

 

@coldinerie Have a wonderful trip and any last minute questions?

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by cgolf1

[BetsyS.]

cgolf1 - Thanks for taking the time to give detailed reports and beautiful pictures 

and for including pictures of you and your wife. I'm glad you had a good cruise. 

[oakridger]

I enjoyed reading your posts and seeing all the pictures.  This is an area I have been wanting to get back to, but I think I'll fly to the East Coast and rent a car for this New England trip.  I know it's a lot of work posting and sharing pictures every day and really appreciate you doing this for all of us!  

 

~Nancy

[lissie]

5 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Bat Harbor

 

We finally got spectacular weather and they even slightly opened the top over the pool. The Acadia small group tour was sold out prior to the cruise, but they added a tour in the afternoon and we were on that one. This was the first time in 19 cruise that we have tendered n a lifeboat. This town has a lot of money in it. The church pictured has Tiffaney stained glass window, because that person attended the church. One window is likely worth more than my house, substantially more lol. Beautiful area. Since our tender got ashore a little early we walked a bit alog the shoreline. The Acadia pictures will be in a separate post.

Interesting - we've always tendered in life boats - but have only cruise on one ship! What is the alternative - I thought it was normal and good practice for the crew to use the life boats. 

 

How long did it take you to clear US immigration into Bar Harbor- its our first port after Canada and  Iceland so I  was wondering if it would seriously delay things - or do the US officials come on board on your last Canada stop? 

[cgolf1]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

Interesting - we've always tendered in life boats - but have only cruise on one ship! What is the alternative - I thought it was normal and good practice for the crew to use the life boats. 

 

How long did it take you to clear US immigration into Bar Harbor- its our first port after Canada and  Iceland so I  was wondering if it would seriously delay things - or do the US officials come on board on your last Canada stop? 

US immigration took maybe 2 minutes. They just looked at our passports and said welcome back. The line for non US citizens was pretty long so no clue how long that took. This was on Bar Harbor morning and they had time windows setup for excursions and then the deck you were on. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by cgolf1

[Mary229]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

Interesting - we've always tendered in life boats - but have only cruise on one ship! What is the alternative - I thought it was normal and good practice for the crew to use the life boats. 

 

How long did it take you to clear US immigration into Bar Harbor- its our first port after Canada and  Iceland so I  was wondering if it would seriously delay things - or do the US officials come on board on your last Canada stop? 

We always use lifeboats in Bar Harbor but using local charters to assist in tendering operations is common in calmer water ports such as the Caribbean.  
 

Customs comes onboard.  Since you are neither US or Canadian you will go in the short line! The US/Canada line is very long but it is usually done in a 2 hour period (7 to 9).  Ship excursions adjust to the hours 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Mary229

[skittlebug83]

Thanks very much for your review and great pictures!! 

 

I'm on the next sailing tomorrow and it was a nice preview of what to expect! It will be my first HAL cruise.

 

For the activities and shows you saw onboard, would you recommend showing up early? I remember you mentioning the flower arranging demo was overflowing.

 

[cgolf1]

52 minutes ago, skittlebug83 said:

Thanks very much for your review and great pictures!! 

 

I'm on the next sailing tomorrow and it was a nice preview of what to expect! It will be my first HAL cruise.

 

For the activities and shows you saw onboard, would you recommend showing up early? I remember you mentioning the flower arranging demo was overflowing.

 

 

It might be a good idea to show up early for the activities. We did less than normal since we were traveling with our in laws, so I can't say all were like that. It is possible that is just a popular one. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but hope it helps a little. The lady that sings at the piano by the shops and the casino is amazing and worth a listen if you enjoy that type of entertainment.

 

Thinking about it now, if an activity other than trivia is in a bar or smaller venue I for sure would show up early just in case. The events at the world stage we never had an issue with seating even getting there when it started due to dinner. This also being a port intensive cruise, the CD said they try to fit in some normal HAL activities at night, so maybe the fact that there aren't a ton of activities had a lot of people there.

 

Enjoy your trip, it is an incredible itinerary:)

[BetsyS.]

skittlebug83 - Bon Voyage! 🥂😊 Have a great cruise!

[shack]

17 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Acadia

 

So this tour was amazing. We had a great guide. We stopped a few times and there was ample time to take some pictures. We learned a lot which is the point of a good tour.

 

 

Nice to see blue sky!

[cgolf1]

1 hour ago, shack said:

Nice to see blue sky!

 

Yes it was, and nice way to end the cruise.

[skittlebug83]

9 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

It might be a good idea to show up early for the activities. We did less than normal since we were traveling with our in laws, so I can't say all were like that. It is possible that is just a popular one. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but hope it helps a little. The lady that sings at the piano by the shops and the casino is amazing and worth a listen if you enjoy that type of entertainment.

 

Thinking about it now, if an activity other than trivia is in a bar or smaller venue I for sure would show up early just in case. The events at the world stage we never had an issue with seating even getting there when it started due to dinner. This also being a port intensive cruise, the CD said they try to fit in some normal HAL activities at night, so maybe the fact that there aren't a ton of activities had a lot of people there.

 

Enjoy your trip, it is an incredible itinerary:)

Makes sense, I will show up a bit early then.

Love live music, I will check her out!

 

[ocean sounds]

Thank you for the Review, thoughts, and all the photos!  

[beach spring]

Thank you so much for the enlightening commentary and the wonderful photos.  We will be aboard the May 27 sailing from Boston.  Our only two times on HAL were both on the Veendam so I am expecting this to be similar, accommodationwise that is.  I know much else has changed.  But any day on a cruise is better than a day weeding my flowers or fighting traffic on a groceries run.  Bon voyage on your next cruises!!!

[FreesiaE]

Thanks for the review! One quick question, was there much noticeable motion? I just need to be prepared medication wise.

[CGinMTL]

I did this sailing many years ago, the worst of it will be where the st Lawrence River meets the Atlantic. 

The rest was pretty decent .

I always have ginger pills ( just in case )

The house brand at Walmart is the one I usually get

[madera1]

Great review and I really enjoyed your photos . We will be sailing from Quebec City to Florida the end of September so will probably have similar weather. Looking forward to the cruise on the Zuiderdam.