46 Days in North America(4): 10-Day Cruise October 3-12, 2014

Part 4- 10-day Cruise Quebec – Nova Scotia – Newfoundland – Quebec

The Atlantic Provinces comprising Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, is an interesting region with spectacular scenery, history and culture. Bing and I took a 10-day cruise and visited Quebec City, Sydney, Halifax, St John’s and Saguenay.  Unfortunately, we missed Saint-Pierre owing to bad weather.

Day 1 October 3 Friday: Montreal – Quebec City, Quebec

We got up early and took the 8am train to Quebec City ($77 pp). The journey was pleasant and we saw some maple trees. We arrived at the old train station after midday.

The world seems to have changed: everything is in French with slow pace. Though our boat Legend of the Seas is next to the station, we had to take a taxi and queued for 15 minutes.

Bing who cannot stand a room without window, has booked a junior suite with a balcony. I am a budget traveler and prefer to spend as little as possible on accommodation. It is therefore my first time travelling with Royal Caribbean and staying in a room with a balcony. Legend of the Seas is about 20 years old with ten decks.  Our junior suite is located on Deck 8.

Sunset & Bing in the balcony

Many people love cruising. There is no need to change hotels; food is abundant; there is entertainment on board and one can visit the ports on call without hassles. On this ship, there are two swimming pools on Deck 9 and a walking trek on Deck 10. Food is served in the Romeo and Juliet Dining Room, Windjammer (buffet) and Park Café (light meal/snack). There are also two restaurants which guests have to pay.

The Centrum, Deck 4

The boat is catering for passengers looking for fun and entertainment: there are half a dozen of bars, an entertainment theatre for 800 passengers, a spa and fitness centre and a large casino. There is always something going on in the Centrum on Deck 4 i.e. music, shows, dance etc. But there is no cinema nor library.

Life on a cruise ship can be busy. The first thing all passengers have to do is to attend a compulsory muster drill. We have been arranged to take our dinner at Table 18 at the 5pm and met five guests who are all retirees (Virginia and Antoinette from Montreal and Bill, Buri and Shane from USA).  There are two shows in the theatre every evening at 6 and 8pm.

We were hungry and enjoyed our first dinner. The first performance ‘Magic Rush’ featuring dance champions Roman and Svetlana was delightful.  The rhythms and the movements are beautiful and awesome: they dance and swirl around so fast that I can hardly follow their movements!

Day 2 October 4 Saturday: Fist Day at Sea

I was tired and did not get up till 8:30am. We went to the Romeo and Juliet Restaurant and discovered that it was 10am and not 9am as on our watch. It was our fault: we had not put forward our clock by an hour. We had to go to Windjammer instead. The place was packed and noisy: I did not enjoy my first breakfast on board.

We spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out the excursions for all ports of call. The tours are not cheap. As I have already overpaid for the cruise (by at least US$1000), I decide not to waste more money on the trips.

Time passed quickly. I attended a lecture on how to relieve back pain. But the speaker’s main objective is to sell foot support for over US$250 a pair. I should have gone for a destination presentation on Nova Scotia.

Greg London

After dinner, we watched the first aerial show with two aerialists performing around two chandeliers. The purple lighting and white costumes with romantic music create a harmonious and charming ambience.

At 8pm, we watched a show by Greg London, a master musical impressionist who is said to be Las Vegas entertainer of 2010-12. The theatre was packed and I had to stand for an hour. He sings well and is indeed a good musical impressionist and entertainer!

Day 3 October 5 Sunday: Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney located at the eastern end of Cape Breton Island, is rich in Gaelic, Acadian and indigenous Mi’kmaq cultures. The area is known for its scenery of highlands, forests, coastal trails and a large inland sea – the Bras d’Or Lake – at its centre. Many music lovers also come here for an annual music festival in October.

We arrived in Port Sydney at 9am and disembarked at 9:30am. Sydney was founded in 1785 by a group of Loyalists from New York who hoped to start a new life in the brand new capital of Cape Breton Island. Coalfields were discovered shortly after their arrival and Sydney became a centre for mining and steel.

Today, many tourists arrive on cruise ship to discover Cape Breton’s heritage. Five tours were offered including a trip to Louisbourg France’s most important stronghold and seaport in Atlantic Canada and a thriving fortified French-colonial town from 1713 to 1758. Mi’kmaq of Cape Breton (the natives) numbered approximately 250 came here to trade and visit friends and relatives. Following territorial losses to the English in Newfoundland and Acadia (Nova Scotia) in the war of the Spanish Succession, it declined. By 1760, Louisbourg was in English hands and its fortifications were destroyed. The fortress today is a national historic site and the largest reconstructed 18^th-century town in North America.

We decided to go to Louisbourg on our own. As we had not done enough homework, we did not realise that Louisbourg is 35km away. A taxi for two would cost $170 (or $180 for four). Fortunately we met Jackie and Hank from Waterloo at the tourist information centre. We shared a taxi and they are very friendly.

Our driver-cum-guide Winston has spent his whole life in Sydney. We had fantastic weather with clear blue sky and a scenic drive to the fortress. We hit our second pot of gold today: our friends have an annual pass to museums and got us two free tickets. Wow we saved $16 each!

Visitors are given a good map with indications of 62 buildings. We began our tour at a museum (No 33) with a model of the town in its heyday. We visited the fortress (No 26-30) which has a guardhouse, Place d’Armes, King’s Bastion Barracks and Governor’s apartments. A walk on the ramparts is atmospheric.

We explored the rest of the town stopping at a few places which were open. We saw the icehouse (No 25), artillery storehouse and forge (No 12-13) and Frédéric Gate (No 45. Most of the houses on the main street (No 41-44) are now turned into restaurants, cafés and gift shops.

We walked to the far end where the Dauphine Gate stands. Inside the Dauphine demi-bastion (No 2-8) are barracks, a powder magazine and a sentry box. We had a fantastic view of the town from here.

On the way to the car park, we visited the Ordonnateur’s Residence (No 50) with many remarkable exhibits showing the daily life in the past. Winston looks knowledgeable but has not said much about the place at all. If I had more time, I would love to follow the 2.5-km ruin trail which takes me round to see the remaining three-quarters of the 18^th– century Louisbourg!

At Hank’s request, Winston drove us to see Canada’s first lighthouse on the way back to town. The foundations of the two lighthouses lay next to the present-day lighthouse.

We arrived in Sydney after 2pm. There are only several main streets namely the Boardwalk, Esplanade, Charlotte St, Bentinck St and George St. As it was Sunday, all shops were closed. The churches were also closed after the Sunday service/mass. Only the craft market and two heritage houses (Jost and Cossit House Museums which charges an entrance fee of $2 and $3 respectively) on Charlotte Street were open.

We had a leisure stroll along the Boardwalk and saw an enthusiastic old man showing off his vintage painted car!

There is free Wi-Fi at the cruise pavilion. Bing and I took this opportunity to check emails and read news on students’ protest in Hong Kong till 4:25pm! We were the last passengers to get on board.

We invited Jackie and Hank for a drink to thank them for taking us to the museum. As we only had a sandwich for lunch, we appreciated an early dinner. Tonight we had a show by Les Vitamines – two Canadian guys who are comedians and acrobats. They are strong and perform some difficult acrobatic acts which are very demanding. They use body language and show off their masculinity!

Day 4 October 6 Monday: Halifax

It was a nice and hot day. Two cruise ships were already at the quay. Halifax, founded in 1749, was chosen by the British coloniser as the new garrison town owing to its fine harbour (measuring 35km in length, up to 3.2km in width and 76m in depth) and strategic location. Halifax has a rich in history: immigrants especially those from New England following American Revolution brought with them vitality, skills and wealth to Halifax. Pier 21 where over a million immigrants arrived between 1928 and 1971 is now a museum.

Our pier is close to the train station and within 30-minute walk to the Citadel. We disembarked around 9:30am and walked along the nice harbour front, which remains the focal point of activity. There is plenty of interpretation materials on Halifax’s involvements in the 1812 War, the First and Second World Wars. We walked past the Old Town Clock (1803) a gift from Prince Edward before reaching the Citadel (1828-1856) which has a commanding view of the harbour.

It was noon and we watched the noon-gun ceremony. We spent some time in the museum which has a lot of exhibits on the First World War. I learn something about the involvements of the Canadian Corps making their assault during the Battle of Vimy Bridge which formed part of the Battle of Arras.

After spending over an hour in the citadel, we rushed back to the pier to join the 2pm bus tour ($60 pp) to Peggy’s Cove a small fishing village located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret’s Bay, 43km from Halifax.

Founded in 1811, Peggy’s Cove with a population of about 700 is now primarily a tourist attraction.  It caught the world attention when Swiss Flight 111 crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay in September 1998 with the loss of 229 persons on aboard.

We had an hour-long scenic drive to Peggy’s Cove which is picturesque with rugged and spectacular rocky coast and an iconic lighthouse.

According to our guide, over 10,000 tourists descend upon this tiny village a day during the peak tourist season. I find the huge car park with dozens of coaches and private cars/taxis an eye-sore ruining this charming village.

It is challenging to walk on uneven rocks. The reflections of colourful houses, boats and fish nets in the cove are perfect for photography. Before I had time to enjoy the scenery and take some photos, I had to rush back to the bus. What a shame!

The final stop was the Titanic grave site at Fairview Lawn.  Titanic on its maiden voyage struck an iceberg at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912 and sank a few hours later at 2:20am. Halifax played a significant role in the recovery and burial of the victims. Of 2,223 persons on board, some 1500 died. Three boats which were dispatched from Halifax recovered 306 bodies: 116 were buried at sea and the remaining bodies were buried in three Halifax cemeteries, most at Fairview Lawn.

The Titanic tragedy has become world famous as a result of the romantic film ‘Titanic’ in 1997. Today, thousands of tourists visit the grave site a day. Some leave toys and flowers at the grave of an unknown child!

We had a busy evening. First, we had an hour’s performance by the singers and dancers of Royal Caribbean. The highlight is the ballroom dance by Vira and Val from Ukraine. This couple has been performing together for over ten 10 years: their performance is superb and impressive.

At 9:15pm, there was a 70s’ disco night at the Centrum. It’s hilarious and jolly to see silver-hair ladies and men waving their hands singing ‘YMCA” and dancing away when ‘Saturday Night Fever’ came on. Wow, another full day!

Day 5 October 7 Tuesday: Second Day at Sea

The weather was fine and I had a busy day. I enjoyed the presentation by Dominque Lavigueur on St John’s Newfoundland in the morning and on Saint-Pierre et Miquelon in the afternoon. I knew nothing about the latter before this cruise.

St John’s has close relationship with Ireland having half of its population with Irish root. The people of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon originally came from the Basque country, Brittany and Normandy in France and from Acadia. At present, there are 6,081 and 614 living in the islands respectively and the economy is based on a variety of sectors such as fishing and processing industry, agriculture and tourism. The town of Saint-Pierre is said to be the only remnant of the former colonial empire of New France.

We watched the second aerial show ‘Sun’ featuring three aerialists (one lady and two men). Both the lighting and music are good. Jerry Goodspeed, a comedy ventriloquist (possibly in his 70s) gave a fantastic performance with his three puppets. A passenger was invited to act as a puppet. This guy took up the challenge giving a superb performance as a ‘life’ puppet!

Today, I brought two paintings by David Najar, an Israeli painters. One painting is a wood with green trees and a purple carpet of wild flowers. The other one is a forest with full foliage colours.