First Cruise - New England to Montreal

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Great idea!

 

Let's form a start-up company to raise funds to build a giant zip line to PEI.  You can wear your fairy costume and give people rides back and forth.  I'll bet you could get $50 a ride.  Wouldn't take long at all to make our money back and then it's all profit.

 

I'll handle all the ticket sales and money. 

 

TCD

 

Hey Judy, you've got your first hijack on your hands here.  :rofl3:

[Judy in Texas 150]

Hey Judy, you've got your first hijack on your hands here. :rofl3:

I'm honored! Two of Fort Fiends's favorites hijacking my TR.

:thewave1:

PS: I'm call "Dibs" on the first zip line ride as long as it is summertime.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 I'm honored!  Two of Fort Fiends's favorites hijacking my TR.

 

:thewave1:

 

 

PS:  I'm call "Dibs" on the first zip line ride as long is it is summertime. 

 

There you go, Dave, our first customer.

 

Now, we just need to find a castle on the mainland, 8 miles of wire, a tree on the island to tie it off to, and a mattress to slow you down at the end.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We don't need no stinkin mattress.  This is Canada we're talking about.  A simple snowbank will do the trick. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We don't need no stinkin mattress.  This is Canada we're talking about.  A simple snowbank will do the trick. 

 

Judy said she wants to go in the summertime.  Will there be snowbanks then?

 

I guess, so, its Canada, Eh?

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Dave, have you noticed that TCD is proposing you do all the hard work?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Dave, have you noticed that TCD is proposing you do all the hard work?

 

Story of my life.  Little does he know, I plan on using him as the snowbank during warmer months.  I hope Judy doesn't hurt him when she slams into him. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Dave, have you noticed that TCD is proposing you do all the hard work?

 

Hey.  Stay out of this.  I was on my way to easy street.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Hey.  Stay out of this.  I was on my way to easy street.

 

TCD

 

In your dreams!

[Judy in Texas 150]

OK guys.  Let's reel this highjack in. 

 

TCD and DaveInTn:  Please take the planning offline (I hate that word).

Pick 3 people to join your team and start the planning process.

Let me know when you are ready to test.  I'll even pay for my own plane ticket. 

Make sure one of the people on your team is techy enough to set up webcams so everyone else can keep track of progress.

 

:thumbsup1:

 

 

 

OK... where were we...

 

We just said goodnight to the show put on by the Indonesian crew members.

 

We headed back to the cabin, checked out the view from the veranda and said good night.

 

One comment about the configuration of our cabin.  We had twin beds with our heads toward the back of the ship and our feet toward the front.  The movement of the ship was side to side.  The result... we were rocked to sleep evey night.  It's been a long time since I've slept so well.  We also had three pillows on each bed.  Soft feather, medium and firm.  I LOVED the soft feather pillow.   Holland America sells their bedding online.  That pillow is on my Christmas list.  

 

 

Day Six - a sea day

 

We were up early and to the Crow's Nest to watch the sun rise.  

 

 

We saw a ship off in the hazy distance:

 

 

We sat there with our binoculars for several hours and our patience was rewarded.  Thar she blows!

 

 

While we never saw a whale breaching, we saw several spouting.  The ship's captain then made an announcement that there was a pod of about 5 whales in front of us.   It was worth the wait.

 

Not much for pictures today.  One mission was to find the deck at the very front of the ship that we could see on channel 40.  It took quite a while and several failed attempts; but, we were finally successful.   No pics from the deck... here is channel 40. 

 

 

Channel 44 gave us a map of our route highlighting our ports, listing speed, wind, apparent wind (wind plus speed) temperature, etc.

 

 

 

We ate...

 

We sat in on the presentation by "Chris, your shopping consultant" on the Quebec City shopping scene. 

 

We ate...

 

We joined "Your Cruise Director Bruce" for a lively game of Trivia.  We got question one right: 

The largest one-site employer that opened in 1971. 

Guesses anyone? 

You should all get this one right.

 

We ate...

 

We went to the evening show at the Showroom at Sea.

 

All along the St. Lawrence Seaway we had pilots coming and going:

 

 

We sat on the veranda and went to bed.

 

It was a wonderfully laid back day.

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Sounds like a great day!  I loved our sea day on our cruise....but I bet the trip up the St Lawrence was beautiful. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The sea day sounds like it was so relaxing.  I like that Crow's Nest.  Looks like a great place to sit and watch the water go by.

 

Can you explain a little more about how the dining works?  I understand that you elected to go to the buffet restaurant for dinner.  I assume that you had the option of going to a dining room.   If you wanted to eat in the dining room, how would that work?  Would you just show up and be seated- or did you have to make reservations, or what?  And, what do they expect of you with regard to tipping?  On the Disney ships, and the other cruises I've been on, you have an assigned team of servers in the dining rooms.  You are expected to tip these servers at the end of the cruise.  I'm curious what Holland America expects of their guests and tipping, since you really don't seem to have a dedicated dining service team.

 

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

Holland America adds $12 per day per person to your room tab and it is split between everyone who serves you.  I stopped by "The Front Office" to ask if it is appropriate to tip extra to people who go above and beyond and they said yes, to put $$ in an envelope and hand it to the person directly.  I gave the room steward a tip.  He works a split shift, mornings and then afternoons, 7 days a week. It's a tough job. I looked up the job description and it's two pages long.  I also made sure I knew by name who was always showing up to see how I was doing...  who, when they saw me by myself, asked "is everything OK with your friend".  I listed them in the post-cruise review.  

 

This is a relatively small ship with only one main dining room.  If you don't sign up for a dedicated dinner seating and then decide to eat in the main dining one night, reservations are highly recommended and it's best to make them the day before. They will ask you if you want your own table or if you want to join a table with other diners.   If you just show up, especially between 6:00 and 8:00, you will probably have a really long wait.  

 

PS:  That got me thinking... there was personalized stationery in our cabin.  I wonder if it was meant to be used for the "above and beyond" tipping?   I'll need to do a bit of research. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

$12 per day per guest is what DCL recommends too, but they suggest how you should break that down between your room steward and the dining room team.

 

So, you have to decide before the cruise whether or not you want a dedicated dinner seating?  Is that how it works?

 

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

$12 per day per guest is what DCL recommends too, but they suggest how you should break that down between your room steward and the dining room team.

 

So, you have to decide before the cruise whether or not you want a dedicated dinner seating?  Is that how it works?

 

TCD

 

Yes, you decide before the cruise if you want dedicated dinner seating. 

 

For HAL, the $12 per day per guest is actually charged to your room.  I asked partway through the cruise for a breakdown of the charges so far and they were listed by day. 

 

From the HAL website:

 

"Is There A Hotel Service Charge (Gratuity/Tip)?

Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as Dining Room wait staff and the stewards who service your stateroom each day. There are also many others who support their efforts whom you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge is automatically added to each guest’s shipboard account.

 

The daily Hotel Service Charge for suites is US$12.00 per guest per day, and US$11.50 per guest per day for other staterooms. (The charges are subject to change without notice)

 

If our service exceeds or fails to meet your expectations, you are free to adjust this amount at the end of each segment and/or voyage. The Hotel Service Charge is paid to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their compensation.

 

A 15% Bar Service Charge is automatically added to bar charges and Dining Room wine purchases. In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices."

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Actually, DCL isn't much different.  They require each cabin to have a credit card on file, and they now charge that card for the recommended tip amount during the cruise, unless you go to guest services to ask that it be changed.

 

It's interesting to see that Holland America mentions galley and laundry staff as getting a cut of the tips.  As far as I know, all of the tips on DCL go only to the room steward and three members of the dining room service team.  Other employees don't get a share.

 

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

Day 7 - Quebec City

 

Time on a cruise ship isn't the same as time when you are working every day.   A nice touch in carpets in the elevators that tell you what day it is.  Today is:

 

 

We're up early again in time to see the sun rise. 

The prominent building in the middle of the picture is Chateau Frontenac. 

Epcot's Canada pavilion is supposed to be based on it.

 

 

 

I liked this building and later learned that the section with the green roof is the US Consulate.

 

 

Ever have trouble parking your car?  This is our gangway...

 

 

...and the captain has to put the ship RIGHT HERE!

 

 

We decided not to do a Holland America shore excursion in Quebec City.  Instead, we printed out a map, highlighted the things we wanted to see and headed out before all the crowds. 

 

Nothing was open yet so we had the quiet streets all to ourselves. 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting mural with people from Canadian history:

 

 

It had a legend:

 

 

 

We had our choice of going  up to the next level by stairs...

 

 

...or by Funicular.  The Funicular has Fun it its name so that's what we did.  From inside:

 

 

Looking down from the top:

 

 

Looking toward the harbor and ship:

 

 

 

The building in the right side of the last picture has a glass exterior.  Nice reflections of the pine trees:

 

 

In interesting building that looks to have been added on to multiple times:

 

 

A stop sign in French:

 

 

Next we head to the Citadel and to the Parliament building.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The pictures keep getting more and more spectacular. 

 

Funicular!  That's a great name!  Except I can imagine using it in snarky ways.  "That Bob has a terrible funicular!" 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wow, Quebec is beautiful.  Love your photos of the sun hitting the fronts of the buildings.  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am looking forward to more Quebec City photos.

 

I got to visit Quebec when I was a kid.  It was the only place in Canada that felt like a foreign country.  It is beautiful.

 

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

Day 7 Quebec City Part Two

 

It was early yet - The Changing of the Guard at The Citadel didn't start till 10:30 - so we headed to Parliament.

 

 

I was surprised to see that the gardens are edible: fruits, vegetables, herbs, even edible flowers. I asked the gardener who gets to eat the fruits of his labor and he said the representatives:

 

 

 

 

 

Then we headed to The Citadel.  We had a few minutes to wander through the museum.  This cannon was interesting. It is from the Battle of Bunker Hill:

 

 

 

The guards are getting ready...

 

 

Lovely backdrop:

 

 

 

They even have a ceremonial goat:

 

 

OK... see the black speck in this picture.  In the left center? 

 

 

Guess what it is?  Let's zoom in...

 

 

A drone!!! They had several flying around the edges of the parade field.  Do you think they use facial recognition?  

 

There are lots of horses/carriages:

 

 

This is a horse drinking fountain.  I missed the picture of the horse walking up to the fountain, stepping up on the curb, getting a drink and then going on his way. 

 

 

We head back toward Chateau Frontenac and here's another surprise.   The original Le Cellier!

 

 

The Chateau courtyard:

 

 

The Chateau lobby.  Nice!

 

 

The streets are now bustling:

 

 

Lots of flowers:
 

 

Short electric busses:

 

 

The ship is getting a touch up while in port;

 

[alexwyattmommy 181]

My eldest wants to own Canada.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, what a day!

 

A ceremonial goat, a drone and the original Le Cellier?

 

Awesome.

 

Especially the ceremonial goat.  Why do they have a ceremonial goat?

 

Canadians.  (shrugs shoulders)

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

More stunning Quebec pics!

 

We have friends in Quebec who have repeatedly invited us up to visit.  We didn't know what we were missing!  But years ago they warned us never to visit without being with them.  They said even though the people can speak English, they refuse to do so to tourists.  They can be very cold toward American tourists.

 

I'm guessing that since you were relatively close to the cruise ship and they people were expecting visitors from the ship, they welcomed you with open arms (hoping you would open your purse).

[DaveInTN 3,247]

All right, Judy.  It took you several pages, but I have to tell you...that drone is creeping me out!  It looks like a giant spider in the sky.