It’s always a little sad when you reach the last day of a cruise, there’s packing to be done and the crew seem more interested in the passengers joining tomorrow than those leaving. It therefore seems a good time to reflect on the holiday.
The weather has been superb, aside from a short sharp shower in New York (while we were safely in our cabin), we have had no rain. The thick coats and cagoules that we had packed have not been used and I, perhaps unsurprisingly, have worn shorts every day. Considering we have spent eleven days sailing on the Atlantic the sea has been relatively calm, with the ship only moving around on a couple of occasions.
The ports of call, the main reason we choose this cruise, have been varied, from the small provincial towns in Canada to the hustle and bustle of New York and Boston. They have all lived up to their promise. Our favourite was Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island and the Anne of Green Gables Experience.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of cruising is the different people that you meet around the ship. Several on this trip stick in the memory. On two separate occasions we have sat with ex police officers who have served at Bedworth police station. The first was a lady who was a cadet here in the 1960s , followed by a male officer who was there in the 1980s. Sylvia was able to share tales of some of the pupils she had taught with the families being familiar to the officers.
On a more important note we met the “Man who Saved the World”! At several of the musical trivia quizzes, which were numerous, we sat near to Graham and his father who generally did quite well. Graham was a DJ and a film and TV extra who has had small roles in some blockbuster movies such as “Spider Man – Far from Home” and ” Wonder Woman”. His biggest claim to fame though came last New Year when he played a cafe owner in Dr Who, whose microwave was used to destroy the mutant Dalek, thus saving the World. Thank you Graham.
Food always plays an important role on any cruise and although there has been one or two moans, the meals on this trip have been good, both in quality and quantity. Of course if you feel you’ve eaten too much you can always take some exercise. We prefer the table tennis but some choose the well equipped gym. We sat with one man who explained to us he visited the gym on only two occasions. Firstly at the beginning of the cruise to weigh himself then repeating the task at the end of the holiday to check whether he has got good value for his money . Perhaps he had seen this sign in Newport Rhode Island.
While talking of food, here’s a fun fact about MacDonalds in Canada, all the big M signs have a maple leaf on them. This must be very important to Canadians as we were told this repeatedly on all our shore excursions.
Overall a great holiday on a lovely ship visiting some beautiful places, with perhaps the only disappointment being the lack of autumnal colours due to the lateness of the Fall season this year. Now to start planning the next trip!!
