Day 7 - Final full day on the New England Fall Colors Cruise

This has for the most part this has been a beautiful cruise.  Forget about the luggage in the Brooklyn Harbor.  The weather has been wonderful.  A couple dreary days but at least no rain while on shore.  The service on the ship has been exceptional.  Our favorites have been our steward Thanyaphat “Tan”  from Thailand and last night’s waiter Bojo from Serbia.

This ship is literally a floating city.  There is everything from outdoor movies and live stage entertainment, to bars, music, dancing to hot dogs and hamburgers by the pool all the way to fine dining prepared by award-wining master chefs.  Even the presentation of the food in the buffets is beautiful.  Attention to detail is everywhere.

There are so many people here just to serve you during a cruise.  Most everyone is so friendly and anxious to make your experience one to remember.

You can enjoy the seas from your balcony, sit in a bustling common area or sneak off to a quite area outside a bar.  Views of the sea can be found on all decks.

Now, where will our next cruise take us?

What is a blog my me without a cupcake pic?

Day 6 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 2

Tonight we dined at Sabatini’s aboard the ship.  First things first, our waiter was Bojo from Serbia.  He is definitely in the right business.  One of the best waiters we have ever had anywhere.  So friendly, knowledgeable and the perfect personality for the restaurant business.

Our dinner started with puffs of sweet bread we wrapped with thin slices of prosciutto and dipped in a sweet pepper sauce.  We were served an array of breads and crispy bread sticks.  Our waiter filled our side dish with oil and sweet dark vinegar for dipping.

For my appetizer I chose Arrosticini di Agnello, grilled lamb skewers marinated with oregano & EV olive oil over a bed of arugula salad.  The lamb was so tender and flavorful, cooked medium rare to perfection.

My husband ordered the Scaloppine di Pollo, Salsa al Limoncello, seared chicken breast, sore to lemon, asparagus, rosemary sauce, garlic, pine nuts, capers over parsley mashed potatoes.  I selected the Roman Seafood al Cartoccio.  This is a bag of seafood, grouper, shrimp, scallops, black mussels, clams, potatoes and artichokes baked in a butter and garlic sauce.  This was accompanied by two slices of garlic toast.

I could not decide on dessert so I chose the Chef’s Specialty which is a sampling of all desert.  This was to include Tiramisu.  I have a strong dislike for coffee so Bojo substituted the Rocher for the Tiramisu.  From left to right - Vanilla Panna Cotta with vanilla cream, blueberry compote, almond shortbread topped with a fresh raspberry and mint leaf.  Next the Rocher - a blend of chocolate, pralines and hazelnut ice cream sealed in milk chocolate, surrounded by crushed and candied hazelnuts and decorated with a chocolate swirl.  Third item was Zabaglione Marsala - fresh berries in a wonderful vanilla cream.

My husband had the full version of the Vanilla Pana Cotta.  This was topped with a full size shortbread and decorated with islands of marshmallow, a fresh raspberry, fresh blueberry, mint leaf and dusting of powdered sugar.  Bojo had a complete story to go with the decoration on this dessert.

#PrincessCruise #FallColorCruise #Food #Sabatini’s #Bojo

Day 6 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 1

Today’s port is Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Halifax is special to us as this is where we honeymooned 29 years ago.  We were anxious to see how much the city changed and what stayed the same.  Today is a bright sunny gorgeous day.  Perfect for enjoying all Halifax has to offer.

The Princess Regal docked at Pier 21.  This was the sign on the building outside our balcony.  The sign looks small but after counting the bricks I estimated it to be 16 feet or about 5 meters tall.  Had to throw in the metric as we are in Canada.  The sign reads that Pier 21 is one of the Seven Wonders of Canada.  We did a little research into this and Pier 21 is the front door to immigrants into Canada, sometimes compared to Ellis Island.

Our scheduled excursion for today was a bus/coach tour to Peggy’s Cove.  The tour guide described the sites along the way.  As we got closer to the Cove, many of the houses were stacking up their lobster traps in anticipation of the “drop” at the end of November.  Fishing and lobster trapping is the main occupation in this area of Nova Scotia.

There were quite a few fishing houses near Peggy’s Cove.  Interesting fact from our guide, these houses are all built on granite.  They do not have basements, foundation are above ground, they do not have wells or septics.  Some have rain collection or have water brought in.

The light house was beautiful situated up on huge, huge granite boulders.  I have included a couple pics so you can see just how massive the granite it.  It was breezy but the sunshine warmed us up.  This site is a must when traveling to Nova Scotia.

The waters are so blue and the waves constantly crash the granite shore.  Just pretty to sit and watch.

Cute bear welcoming us.  Just had to include him.

Ivan Frazier is a local known for writing children’s books.  I will have to look up the books when I get home.

He is a quirky guy.  He has a camera up the road and waits for tour busses to pass.  As they near his house he runs out his front door, grabs the giant anchor in his yard and jumps up and down.  This is his was to bring attention to his children’s books.  Notice his painted house!  Pretty amazing!

Back in the city we found lunch at The Old Traingle, a Irish Pub just a few blocks off the waterfront in the old downtown area.  The atmosphere was just perfect to bring you back to old Ireland.  Our service was impeccable.  Poutine is French fries and fresh cheese curds topped with chicken gravy.  This is an original and favorite of Canada so we had to try it (no we did not finish it all).  The addition of the cheese curds melting under the hot gravy was very tasty.

Again, my husband had the fish & chips.  These were beer batter fried and the best on the trip so far.  I had a corned beef sandwich with house cured corned beef, thinly sliced Swiss cheese, dill pickle, and grainy mustard on rye.  The grainy mustard was wonderful!

Time to walk off the poutine.  Halifax is a very steep city.  We walked up to the old Citadel and Clock  Tower.  When we were here 29 years ago, you could stand at the Citadel and look into the harbor.  Now there are so many tall buildings obstruction the gorgeous view.  If you visit the Citadel go in for the tour.

We continued walking around the city.  We really love Halifax and were glad to visit again after all these years.

#PrincessCruise #Halifax #PeggysCove #Clocktower #Citadel #Love

Day 5 New England Fall Colors Cruise

Canada!  🇨🇦. Our port today is St. John, New Brunswick.  Another chilly dreary day but at least it is not raining.  We were in St. John 29 years ago; fun to come back. We chose to get around the city with the Pink hop on hop off buses.  Our first guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of Canada and the USA.  She pointed out that she was a direct descendant of the Loyalists that originally settled in St. John and she has not quite gotten over what America did to her relatives. That set a tone for the side she took in our history lessons - George Washington, Benedict Arnold, etc.

St. John is known for the Reversing Rapids, a phenomenon caused by bay tides of the Bay of Fundy colliding with the St. John River.  We were here for the low tides but the waters were still filled with whirlpools and rapids.  It was just mesmerizing to stand and watch the rushing water.

St. John is not a bright or modern city but still has its hidden beauty.  The downtown area is filled with brick and stone buildings with all the charm of the past.  As you look around you can see charred memories on the facades of the building from a great fire from years ago.

Just like many New England cities, churches were build near the city centers as soon as the towns began to grow.  Some of the churches are the most beautiful of all the old structures.

We toured through Rockwood Park and Lilly Lake Pavilion.  This is a wonderful sprawling park full of walking paths, multiple lakes and beautiful drives.  This was our first glimpse of the fall colors.  Maples were showing colors of bright red, orange and rust.

Fish, fish and more fish.  Dotted all around the downtown streets of St. John you can find Art Deco fish painted by area artists.  Some of my favorites:

Named:  Our Roots in Agriculture - Holly McKay

Named:  Gratitude - Fabiola Martinez Rodriguez

Named:  In the Meadow and Through the Woods - Tammy Capstick

After touring the city and surrounding parks we went to the old City Market built in the 1870’s.  This was like going back in time.  This market is a very only long building with miscellaneous groceries, fresh meats, produce and a few hand made crafts.  Just quite interesting.

Tonight The Effy jewelry store had a live auction.  This is the same store that I tried on $2000 earrings the night before.  No the earrings were not on the auction but a girl can dream.  The first item up for auction was a $239,000 Canary diamond ring.  Beautiful but it received no bids.  There were many more affordable pieces.  My husband did bid on a Tanzanite tennis bracelet.

Back on the ship, we chose to dine in the Symphony room.  This time we were seated with 3 other couples.  One couple from Manhattan, one from Albany and the third was from Cincinnati.  Being seated with other couples is an option and we were so glad we did so tonight.  It was great to meet some of our shipmates and learn a little about them.

Normally at this point you get food pics.  Not that dinner was not delicious but I will only include the dessert.  This was called the Love Boat - Brownie with chocolate mousse.  The food is always delicious and the presentation is artistic.

After dinner we went to the Princess Theater to enjoy the late presentation of Fiera.  This was beyond amazing all ways, singing/dancing, costumes, set and special effects.  It takes more than 8 hours to set up the stage and props for this performance.  Fiera is a musical journey through an enchanting late 19th century European fairground and the love story between the Master of Ceremonie’s daughter and a circus performer.  Sorry - no pictures allowed.

#PrincessCruise #Fiera #BayofFundy #ILoveChocolate

Day 4 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 2

Dinner tonight was on Princess as a token of their apology for the luggage that was dropped in Brooklyn Harbor.  We dined in the Crown Grill.  This is one of the 2 exclusive dining rooms that come with a cover charge.

We both started dinner with the Black and Blue Onion Soup favored with fresh thyme, Jack Daniels and topped with a Roquefort crust.  My husband ordered the classic fillet and I opted for the New Zealand Double Lamb Chops served with mint jelly and smashed garlic potatoes.

For dessert we both had the sampler platter.  Starting on the left, was Molten Dutch Chocolate Fudge Obsession, served warm in its’ own little crock.  Next in line was a triangle of Lemon Meringue Pudding Tart with white chocolate tuile and candied lemon rind.  My favorite was the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar bordered with painted milk chocolate bark and honey roasted peanuts.  My husbands favorite was the Seven Layer S’mores Stack with beautiful spires of toasted marshmallow meringue.

When the boat is not in port, the gift shops open for non-duty shopping.  We browsed the jewelry counter and I tried on $2000 earrings.  He made us a deal that he said we could only say yes to.  We said thank you but no.

The seas are a little rougher tonight as we sail into the Bay of Fundy.  Looking forward to our first day in Canada tomorrow.

#PrincessCruise #BarHarborMaine

Day 4 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 1

Good morning Bar Harbor Maine and welcome October.  We set anchor in the harbor around 7:00 this morning.  Once again a very comfortable night of sailing.  The skies are gray today with a mist in the air.  Temperatures are in the 50’s but that is why we packed jackets.  The views from our balcony are so serene today - no houses, no boats, no people, just the dark islands of trees spotting the dark water.

After a quick breakfast at the buffet we headed to get our tickets for the tender.  We had scheduled a whale watching adventure but due to the weather it had to be cancelled.  We considered a bus tour to Acadia National Park but with the constant mist and lack of fall colors we will just wander the streets of Bar Harbor.  It is a lovely town.

Bar Harbor only has 5000 or so people and when not inundated with tourists is a quiet lobster fishing town.  Bar Harbor is know for lobster and blueberries so off we went to find the best of both.  

We wandered the streets for a few hours walking in and out of the many tourist shops.  I found the most amazing milk chocolate, blueberry and sea salt bark on a little side street called The Chocolate Moose.  

Among the shops of the Main Street we found a quaint Inn covered in ivy and surrounded by attractive colorful gardens.  After taking a pic for ourselves a couple walked up and we took a cute vacation pic of the two of them for their album of memories.

Even with the light fine mist this was a beautiful day for walking.  We found a pretty little park that gave us a view back at our ship.  It looked so out of place in a harbor filled with so much nature.  Other harbors have been dotted with personal sail boats and commercial watercraft.  Bar Harbor is more serene and quiet.

Bar Harbor offered many options for lunch.  We settled on The West Street Cafe.  I got my lobster and my husband once again tried the local fish and chips.  My lobster was not only fun to eat but quite delicious.  We shared a piece of warm blueberry pie for dessert.  Not to be negative but the prices did not match Yelp at all.  I’m sure they are quite inflated during tourist/cruise season.  This was one of the few places we have stopped so far on this cruise where the restaurants were not warm and welcoming.  We all have bad days.  No worries because the food made up for it. 

I haven’t taken the time to talk about the people on the ship.  Our ship is filled with employees from 50 different countries and guests from 37.  We have met so many fun friendly people.  I am not typically a people person buy I’m loving the community nature on this vacation.

Day 3 New England Fall Colors Cruise

Another day another port - today is Boston.  The sail during the night was so peaceful.  This is really a wonderfully comfortable ship.  We ordered room service for breakfast so we could enjoy the views coming into port.

It took a couple hours for the Captain to maneuver the turns of the harbor.  We enjoyed standing on our balcony watching the boats guide us to the dock.  We docked around 11:00 with plans to set sail around 8:00 pm tonight.  That gave us a full day to explore the old city of Boston.

Boston is filled with so much history.  Neighborhoods are filled with beautiful 3 & 4 story Victorian row houses.  These were once single family houses built centuries ago.  Now due to the high demand of housing and the expense of one family maintaining a house this size, they are multi-family condos and apartments.  The exteriors are immaculately kept with all the charm and craftsmanship of centuries ago.  Many streets are brick or stone and beautifully tree-lined.

We saw the Hampshire House known for inspiring the Hollywood set of Cheers.  Farther down the street we passed the old post office where Cliff supposedly worked.

Boston is also home to amazing churches, beautiful parks and plenty of statues.

We spent part of the afternoon at Quincy Market.  That was quite interesting.  There are 3 long buildings set in parallel rows.  The outer buildings are filled with shopping while the center building is food, food and more food.  This is similar to Fisherman’s Warf in Seattle but on a smaller scale.  Still dozens and dozens of open restaurants from Japanese to American seafood to Mexican cuisine.  There was plenty of seating outside the building on planters and steps.

We opted for the Cheers remake traditional restaurant outside the Quincy Market.  My husband had the Coach’s Club and I had Carla’s Petite Burger.  Very fun atmosphere.  A street vendor was making beignets.  Not as good as Cafe du monde in New Orleans but a good tasty snack.

We took a trolley back to the boat terminal.  Boston drivers are CRAZY!!

Tonight we dined in the Symphony Room aboard our ship.  The service was impeccable.  It seems there are 2 waiters for every 3 tables.  They take care of your every needs

Yup, more food descriptions.  I started dinner with Seafood Terrine with dots of citrus and avocado cream.  The seafood was chunks of lobster, shrimp and squid.  This was like nothing I have tasted before - so delicious.

My main course was a side of clams and linguine followed by black mussels in white wine cream sauce.   Everything was prepared to perfection.

My husband, not being the seafood lover I am, chose the roast chicken and sautéed leek pot pie nestled in a puff pastry shell.  He said it was so wonderful he would order it again.

Dessert was burned rhubarb Napoleon with nectarine ice cream for me and traditional New York cheesecake with macerated strawberries for my husband.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to a whale watching cruise off the cost of Bar Harbor Maine.

Day 2 New England Fall Colors Cruise

Good morning Rhode Island!  We had a wonderful first night aboard the ship.  It is almost erie on how quiet our room is.  If we open the sliding door to the balcony we can enjoy the cool breeze and sounds of the ocean waves.  This room is small but everything we need.  My favorite part is the spacious balcony to enjoy the amazing views.  The Newport Harbor was filled with dozens of sailboats of all sizes and styles.  We watches as groups of 15 or so went through sailing lessons and experienced sailers sailed out to sea.

After finally getting my husbands laundry from house keeping, we ventured out to find breakfast and get our reservation for a tender to shore.  Life boats are used to transport cruise guests from the ship to shore at this particular port.

We wandered the brick streets of New Port, stopping in a few shops to browse.  Thanks to Yelp we found a lovely pub appropriately names Brick Alley Pub & Restaurant.  The wait staff was beyond friendly and helpful.

I selected a cup of creamy New England clam chowder, side salad with blue cheese and baked Georges Bank Sea scallops baked in wine with a buttery Parmesan bread crumb topping.  Simply delicious.

My husband always looks for the best fish & chips and found a Rhode Island-style breaded fried cod with fries and slaw.  Also very tasty.

After a quick tender trip back to the ship it was time to explore for a bit and walk off the tasty lunch.  The skywalk during the day is breathtaking.  This suspended walkway allows views of the shore along with heart thumping views of the ocean below through the glass floor panels.

At the end of the skywalk we found a cute soft-serve ice creams stand.  Chocolatefor me and swirl for my husband.

Late afternoon we sat in the Horizon Bistro at a table by a window.  As the ship left the harbor the Captain sounded the horn to the tune of Love Boat - so fun!  We admired the mansions on the coast.  The Captain pointed out a house that Jackie Kennedy once lived in.  We plan on eating dinner at 9:000 so we had an afternoon snack of peanut butter chocolate pie and coconut cake.  Yes, cruising is also about eating.  At least the portions are very small and there is plenty of walking on the ship to reach your desired destinations

The sunset from our balcony is pretty tonight.  So peaceful with the crashing water below.

The Captain hosted a champagne toast in the Piazza Deck.  We all celebrated with a glass of champagne or mimosa.

Well the night was not over yet, so we ventured to the Princess Theatre to see Bravo, a live Broadway style show of singing, dancing and orchestra.  

It was a good day!  Tomorrow - Boston