Live from the Zuiderdam - August 24 to August 31- Maine and Canada

[Rubyfisch]

Currently waiting to get on the escalator to the check in. They are doing a good job managing the crowds and the terminal is pretty comfortable (in the shade, fans blasting):

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Still waiting ... But still okay with our travel choices this morning...

[Rubyfisch]

Made it upstairs...

 

[Rubyfisch]

There security and about ready to board ... About an hour all told.

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

3 hours ago, Rubyfisch said:

Boston is my hometown (well, okay, I grew up in Waltham, but still) - so I might be a bit biased, but I think the sail away from Boston is spectacular.

The best part are the planes that are seemingly trying to land on ship deck😱😵‍💫

[Rubyfisch]

Made it!

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

4 minutes ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

The best part are the planes that are seemingly trying to land on ship deck😱😵‍💫

Absolutely!

[Rubyfisch]

Lido lunch:

 

[helby]

We are booked for next May Fort Lauderdale to Quebec City and will be following.  Interested in the condition of the ship as our two previous Zuiderdam cruises were Alaska in 2008 and Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale in 2010.

[Rubyfisch]

Best part of embarkation day, other than embarking ... Peanut butter silk pie:

 

[0106]

15 hours ago, Rubyfisch said:

• The crab cakes or the mushroom soup
• The salmon or the halibut 
• The asparagus or the spinach or the beets 
• The key lime pie or the chocolate souffle

 

*Mushroom soup- crab cakes are all filler
*Halibut-only place you can get it on the ship.  I always ask for it to be cooked”medium” since I feel they tend to overcook all the fish son the ship

*Love asparagus , spinach and beets- ask for a half portion of each.  Also the Aspatagus and mushroom risotto main dish is very good.  We order a half portion for the table.

* Chocolate soufflé- I can make key lime pie at home but never make soufflé s.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

[Rubyfisch]

We've mustered, we've watched the safety video, we've gotten our luggage, and now I'm up in the Crows Nest with an iced latte.

[dfish]

The three wild women are sitting on the aft deck enjoying cool drinks and watching the planes land.

[Rubyfisch]

Our departure is delayed until 4 pm. Apparently getting on was a mess for a lot of people.

[unclerich]

Debbie,      Kathy and Richard will be joining you on Aug 31 for Quebec to Boston. Enjoy the trip.

[Rubyfisch]

I attempted to dance at the sail away party ... Although we haven't sailed away ... It was more like arrhythmic flailing .... And then went for a swim in the Lido pool.

[Rubyfisch]

Sail away from deck 3:

 

 

Castle Island:

 

 

The Harbor police trying to keep people on jet skis from being news events:

 

 

Skyline:

 

 

Harbor islands:

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Our neighbor in port - Vision of the Seas. She's a grand older lady, and my favorite Royal Caribbean ship. I spent Christmas on her this past year:

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

We went to Pinnacle Grill tonight, but here is the MDR menu:

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

I'm pretty I'm not a specialty restaurant person ... I like the MDR and having the same waiters and all of that. I've been to Chops for lunch once on Royal and that was about it. Our night at Pinnacle didn't really change my opinion. It was good, but the portions are giant and somehow not what I want. And it was so slow ... Like, pushing an hour and 45 minutes. Also - why is it a steak house with no French onion soup ....

 

 

The mushroom soup before they added the soup ... It was very heavy and not my thing:

 

 

Salmon (very good), beets (also very good, but teeny tiny), and mashed potatoes (it had a lot of nutmeg, but otherwise good):

 

 

Petite fours (the white chocolate ones might have been the best bite of the night):

 

 

Chocolate souffle (also excellent):

 

[Rubyfisch]

The moon from our balcony:

 

[Rubyfisch]

Current position:

 

 

Current steps:

 

 

Current plan - going to sleep ....

[Rubyfisch]

I woke up around 6:30 with the sunlight streaming in.

 

A foggy good morning from Bar Harbor:

 

 

Tenders lowering:

 

 

Pilot boat:

 

[Rubyfisch]

Since I was up, I decided to do the Walk-a-Mile with the sports director. And by with the sports director, I mean it was just the two of us. I've done the 7 am stretching before, but not the walking. It was actually a really nice way to start the day. 

 

Not bad for 7:28 am ....

 

[Rubyfisch]

After that, I went to breakfast in the main dining room. At first, I was very disappointed that a bunch of the fun stuff like the Indian breakfast and the Pan Asian breakfast were missing. But then someone else at my table had a different menu. I think they accidentally gave me the departure morning menu. I had my Indian breakfast and was quite happy.