QM2 New England & Canada Sept 17, 2004

[Darrell6t]

This turned out to be quite an exciting cruise. Mostly terrible weather for our stop at Newport, RI with heavy rain and some wind. The tender service was suspended for a few hours and many of us had to stay ashore longer than expected. Then we hit the high winds and big waves on the way to Nova Scotia and missed the next two ports. But the QM2 rode the weather very well.

We made it into the St. Lawrence a day early and there it was calm and beautiful as we sailed up to Quebec City a day earlier than expected. But as was reported on other threads, we got a glorious welcome. Thousands of people along the banks of the river starting miles from the city. Hundreds of small boats. A fire boat spraying water. Very festive. It is amazing to see all the flashes of cameras as we sailed along in the early evening.

From then on, we had great weather until the last day at sea. We sailed into the bay at Sydney, NS a few days late. It was easy to see they had had a strong storm with tree limbs and leaves down. Our local guide said her new fence had blown away. But our day there was beautiful.

Then came Halifax, where Cunard was founded. Again there were thousands of people and hundreds of small boats to escort the QM2 up the river to the bridge, where she made a U-turn and sailed to the pier. We had pipers onboard and on the shore and there was a little ceremony as we tied up. I felt bad for the people who came to see the QM2, because there was no place to get a good view after we were tied up, unless you took a boat trip.

The next stop, in Bar Harbor, it was a smaller crowd. But it is just a small town. And a perfect late summer day. There were bands and a special post office and an antique car display and very crowded streets.

Our final day at sea was dark and foggy and we were about an hour late getting to the pier in Manhattan. This meant some delay in getting everyone disembarked. The worst part was standing in line for a taxi. The pier just doesn't have the facilities to deal with so many people all at once. Not a great way to end an excellent cruise.