My friend and I boarded P&O Cruises' Arcadia on 3 September 2018 in Southampton. I like these round trip sailings to America as you get a lovely week or so to relax before all the busy sightseeing, and then the same to recover. On this occasion we began with six days at sea. The weather was kind to us and the seas calm before we finally arrived around midday to a very wet and misty New York City. We could just
glimpse Mein Schiff 6 over in New Jersey as we slowly passed the Statue of
Liberty and Staten Island to our berth in Manhattan. One reason this cruise had appealed to was having over two days in NYC, together with several new Canadian ports.
We had to undergo
immigration so had booked an afternoon tour on the Ho-Ho bus and a harbour
cruise. Once cleared, we crossed the road and boarded the bus on the top deck.
We were given plastic ponchos to help keep some of the rain at bay, but in the
end I was as cold and wet as I have ever been. After driving round Lower
Manhattan, the guide said we would get off at Chelsea Market, then he said no
but some people had stood up and were nearly decapitated as the bus took off
again under a very low bridge! Finally it stopped near Ground Zero and everyone
got off to walk around the new gardens. I said I’d stay on the bus for that but
the guide wanted us all to walk to the boat stage. I was led to believe if I stayed on I’d
get driven there but in the event, we drove to the pick-up point and I had to
sit on a cold bus for an hour or more to wait for everyone to rejoin us! When we got back to the cruise terminal, I returned to Arcadia to dry off and get warm whilst some stayed on a bit longer for another part of the tour.
Tuesday 11 September New York
To avoid any problems in the city, it being the anniversary of
9/11, we had booked an all-day tour out to the Hamptons. As I had also been
watching Royal Pains on TV, I was looking forward to seeing the setting. This area
is very picturesque as the summer holiday destination of wealthy New Yorkers.
It was a long drive of 2½ hours out to Southampton which was our first stop. We
had about 45mins here to browse the gift shops and buy a lunch – turkey roll in
my case, eaten outside with a coke since the sun was shining and there was
clear blue sky. I had to laugh at the guide asking us to applaud our female
driver’s skill on these “country” roads! Our next stop was East Hampton and
then pretty Sag Harbour. A quirk of this area, aside from the lovely 18th
and 19th century architecture, are the numerous windmills built by
the Dutch settlers. Eventually it was time to return, along the main dual
carriageway, through Queens to Manhattan.
12 September New York
Today we planned to visit the Metropolitan Museum first, and then
see where the mood took us. We caught a yellow cab opposite the cruise terminal
(beware any other cabs as one tried to charge us almost double!) to the Met. I
particularly wanted to see two exhibitions there – one of weaving, which was
very small and quite disappointing, the other of fashion entitled Heavenly
Bodies, which was magnificent; beautiful designer clothing inspired by
religious artefacts, icons, vestments etc. We also explored some of the other exhibits like glowing Tiffany windows, before getting a snack in the café – yay – a corn muffin! – then finding a
painting by Edward Hopper, another favourite artist of mine.
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| The Metropolitan Museum |
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| Heavenly Bodies exhibiton |
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| Painting by Edward Hopper |
By then I was very tired
and my knees hurt. I was also struggling with the very high humidity and heat so we
caught a cab back to the ship. I went on board while my friend walked up to Times
Square. That evening we were slightly delayed in our departure by the arrival
of Oceania Cruises’ Insignia, which we watched from the East Bar balcony. Then
I stayed there, under cover as it was raining again, to watch our sail in
darkness past the new Ground Zero tower (the top disembodied by low clouds) and Statue of Liberty.
After a relaxing sea day we arrived on the 14 September at St John, New Brunswick. We woke to a lovely bright day. It was my first visit here so had
booked St Martins and the Bay of Fundy. During my time as museum curator I had
assisted in an exhibition on the proposed Severn Barrage so was familiar with
the famous Reversing Falls at the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tidal range in the world. We
set off through the town to the Falls, to see them at low tide. Our next stop
was the Old City Market, where I bought some sweets and
biscuits for gifts.
Then it was out through open countryside, (with moose
warning signs) to the village of St Martins with its lighthouse, two covered
bridges and the sea caves and beach. We had some free time here so I bought a
delicious scone with jam and cream and sat in the warm sun.
Back in the town of
St John, we again visited the Falls to see the water
flowing against the incoming tide, before our final visit to the museum and
then back to the ship. At the berth,
Serenade of the Seas was in so we had great views of her as we left.
Halifax
The following day we arrived to a bright and sunny morning in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had booked a private taxi tour with two friends. We set off through Halifax to the viewpoint over the
lake, park and tower. Then to see the anchor from the Halifax Explosion preserved where it landed miles from the docks, before
setting off to Peggy’s Cove.
It was my fourth time here so wasn’t too worried
about what I saw, but the day was glorious and very enjoyable. On the way to
the Cove we stopped at a lobster place, where we were shown the different sizes
and how to send one to sleep by stroking it on its back! Peggy’s Cove is very
beautiful and today was perfect with glassy water and bright reflections. The others
got off to walk around while I stayed in the car as far as the lighthouse and
then browsed the gift shop.
After some time there we headed back to the Titanic
graves at Fairview Cemetery and the Citadel before being dropped off outside
the brewery. We all had a drink and then, while the others walked off down the
boardwalk, I spent some time browsing the huge market in the cruise terminal. I
bought a small inuit carved brooch of a whale and calf, and a pewter shawl pin.
I thought Halifax had changed dramatically since my last time her in 2009, and
all for the better.
We had another relaxing sea day before arriving at Gaspé. Our pre-cruise research had not revealed much to see or do in Gaspé so we had
booked Percé on your Own. It was the most beautiful morning for our tender-ride ashore. This area is not so developed tourism-wise and school buses were substituted for coaches here. We boarded them for the
drive of just over an hour up the coast. Percé is famous for the rock stacks
that climb sheer out of the sea.
We were dropped off at one end of the seafront
and had roughly 2½ hours to explore – it was ample! After some photos of the
cliffs and Percé Rock, we found a small coffee shop open. We were now in French
Canada so I needed my rusty schoolgirl language lessons! There were some nice
gift shops among the hotels and cafes and I bought a Christmas ornament of a
gannet for which the area appears well-known.
Then it was time for the drive
back along the coastline, past the amazing Indian Head Rock - a natural formation that looks exactly like
a Native American in profile.
The next day brought us to Sept Iles, probably the most disappointing port of the cruise.
Firstly the gangway was incredibly steep, in fact so much so that I got halfway
(it was an L-shape with a landing) and seriously doubted I’d get any further due to my arthritic knees,
but an officer hurried up and took my arm to assist. Having got ashore though,
there were no shuttle buses or taxis and a long walk to anywhere. My friend went off and I spent
some time in the tented craft market, sampling blueberry jams, listening to
local music and admiring a table cover embroidered with forest trees and
reindeer. I bought a handmade blue leather bracelet, photographed the amusing rusty iron sculptures outside and gave up – climbing (literally)
back on board.
19 September was spent sailing up the St Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers to the town
of Saguenay. I had hoped to see some beluga whales for which this part pf the world is known, but couldn't spot any.
20 September and we arrived at Saguenay, another new port for us. Again the weather was perfect.
Whilst Arcadia was
docking, Norwegian Dawn anchored.
This was a much better experience after yesterday and, as I was slowly walking
down the airbridge with my crutch, a local man raced up with a wheelchair to
take me to the terminal – excellent service. We intended to pick up a local
tour here and found the ideal one just outside the terminal building. However,
it was not leaving immediately so we browsed the craft stalls and used the free
Wi-Fi. Made mental note to return to the wood carver when we returned.
The
tour we chose was by Tours et Monde in a small 20 seat bus and was very easy
for me to negotiate. We saw some amazing scenery as we drove out into the
countryside.
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| After four trips to Canada I have yet to see a moose :( |
We drove along a road, lined with different styles of nativity
scenes, out to a magnificent viewpoint. There, the others did a short ramble
while I took photos of the wonderful views as well as a small wren, who was
totally unbothered by me.
Another stop was beside a covered bridge which was
lined on both sides of the interior by lovely paintings. We had time for a coffee and pancake at a small cafe overlooking the bay before we returned to
the port via the Ha! Ha! Pyramid.
This is a contemporary art monument commemorating the Saguenay flood of 1996.
Located in the district of La Baie in Saguenay, Quebec, the pyramid was named
after the nearby Ha! Ha! This time, instead of a wheel chair I was taken
by golf cart to the gangway. We stayed out on deck for the sail downriver, but
again, saw no wildlife.
Arrived on 21 September to a busy and soggy day in Quebec City. Because so many other
ships were in port (Norwegian Dawn, Insignia, Veendam and us) we had to dock in
a commercial port round the corner from the cruise terminal, and had a free
shuttle to the old town. I love the old part of this French Canadian city but in view of the awful weather we were in no hurry to
disembark, but when it showed no sign of clearing we eventually took the
plunge. We explored the lower old town (it was my third time here), going into
gift shops etc, before finding a café for a coffee and cake. We had this
outdoors but under cover.
After that I decided enough was enough and caught the
shuttle back leaving my friend ashore. We had decided to forego dinner and, as the
ship was docked here overnight, booked an outing to the Sugar Shack that
evening. As we boarded the bus I noticed
Marco Polo had joined us in this dock – unscheduled due to weather diversions.
We drove out through Quebec city to the Sugar Shack – a traditional log-cabin
restaurant with an all-you-can-eat meal accompanied by a glass of caribou, beer
and local music and dancing.
After that we were taken to the small museum and
gift shop across the parking lot and got our free sample of maple taffy,
solidified over snow. It was again torrential rain with mini rivers crossing
the car park.
We were in port overnight and what a difference a day makes. This morning dawned bright, clear and DRY! Although we had
originally got two days in Quebec and were going to get the Ho-Ho bus out to St
Anne, this had been changed to half a day today, as there were new speed restrictions
in the river. As we had so little time, I didn’t bother to get off the ship.
We sailed about midday and I sat out
watching us pass the other ships. Veendam had sailed last evening upriver to
Montreal, but had been replaced with Zuiderdam. We also passed the Montmorency
Falls and the Basilica of St Anne du Beaupre. Then the river widened
considerably as we again headed out of the St Lawrence towards Prince Edward Island.
It was a glorious morning as we arrived in Charlottetown. This attractive capital of Prince Edward Island was
new to both of us and we had found a great private tour by taxi, joining up
with another couple and a solo lady. It was a very long walk to the meeting point, but
eventually we got there and set off round the town. Prince Edward Island is most famous as the setting for the Anne of
Green Gables books. We started off round the town – a lovely small settlement
with lots of Victorian buildings surviving. The first stop was at Brighton
Beach to see the lighthouse, then to Government House where we drove right up
to the front. Prince William and Kate spent part of their honeymoon here and
Princess Charlotte is named after the town.
Next we drove out into the
countryside, past many pumpkin patches, to Dalvay by the Sea. There is a
beautiful hotel there where we were able to use the facilities. Then it was
time to drive to a superb beach with Atlantic rollers beating the golden sand
and to Covehead Harbour Lighthouse a small wooden structure painted red and
white. Built in 1975, it is an
important symbol of the island’s maritime heritage as one of the most photographed
lighthouses in Prince Edward Island.
After that we travelled through the
settlement of Rustico to Green Gables, made famous by Lucy Maud Montgomery in
the classic books. We didn’t bother to pay to enter the house, but walked
around the outside and had our photo taken.
There was also a small gift shop,
with a lazy Labrador blocking the entrance, lying in the sun! We took some
country lanes back, including a very deep, rutted, sunken road where I saw a
blue jay fly over, back to the port, dropping off Denise and Brian in town first. It was a large cruise terminal but I
didn’t buy anything. Back on board I watched passengers being tendered to Star Pride, which had joined us at
anchor. The tenders looked very small and difficult to board. We stayed on deck
for the sail out past the lighthouses or Warren Cove and Blockhouse Point
towards our next port on the Iles de la Madeleine.
Tuesday 25 September and another beautiful day as Arcadia
anchored in Iles de la Madeleine. This archipelago is situated in the Gulf of
St Lawrence and is part of Quebec Province. I had chosen the South West Sights
tour. We drove out on school buses through the small port to the Borgot
Lighthouse at Étang-du-Nord – our first stop – before driving along a causeway
to the historic village of La Grave on Havre Aubert Island.
This is an artist’s
colony with small shops and a pretty marina. We watched sand art being made
before wandering the one street. I bought a pretty pendant mad from a pink
local stone. Our final stop was at a model village. It was made by a retired
fishing boat captain to explain the history of the area since it was settled by
the Acadians.
Back at the terminal, my friend stayed in town and I went to join the
tender queue. It had been an interesting day but there really isn’t much to see
here.
The weather the next day was not as good as it had been, with drizzly showers as we arrived in C orner Brook, Newfoundland. I had
chosen to repeat the tour I did back in 2004 and drive out to Lark Harbour
and the Bay of Islands. Captain Cook was based at Corner Brook in 1767 so much
of the area is named after his expedition.
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| Frenchman's Cove |
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| Bottle Bay |
The scenery is lovely and the spread
laid out for us by the Church ladies in Lark Harbour was as good as before. I
bought a pretty Labradorite pendant and earrings. While taking photos of Bottle
Bay I was a bit cross that my friend yet again managed to get into my photos – her
bright pink jacket standing out. I had to photoshop them!! This is another port
where they is not a lot to see in the port but it is a gateway to spectacular
scenery within a few miles.
Thursday 27 September and our final port of Sydney, Nova Scotia before the return sail across the Atlantic.
Again, the weather let us a down as it was drizzly rain. HAL’s Zuiderdam was berthed so we had to
tender ashore, as I had done when I visited on QE2 in 2006. My tour wasn’t until the afternoon, but I went ashore
early to spend time in the excellent cruise terminal market. After a while, I
joined the others to queue for the coach. Once
on board we had a drive of about an hour along the Cabot Trail to Baddeck, home
of Alexander Graham Bell. The trees were beginning to turn here at last and we
saw some lovely fall foliage.
Once at Baddeck, while the others set off on a
guided walk to the boardwalk waterfront, I wandered the main street and gift
shops. I bought a lighthouse candle lamp before finding a café for a coffee and
cake, which I ate with Caryll and some other friends. We then wandered back to
the car park to reboard our coach to Sydney.
It took five days to cross the North Atlantic back to Southampton. The
weather was pretty kind to us with calm seas. It had been an interesting cruise, with largely good weather and lots of new places to visit but probably not one to repeat in a hurry as several of the ports were rather thin on sights and activities.
