post started 10/10/15
Marian - WD8CJD and Keith - WA8ZWJ decided to take a fall color tour cruise. Our portion of the trip was organized by our local AAA group.
Our trip started on September 30th.
At 6:30 AM we boarded a tour bus at our nearby AAA office and headed towards Baltimore.
We stopped for lunch at this great cafeteria that easily handled our bus load of folks as well as many local folks! Then several other busses came in. No problems!
Along the way we did see some fall color. These shots are taken from the moving bus.
We were surprised by the fact that from this place on I-70
that either going to Baltimore or going to Washington D.C. was only a 2 mile
difference even though they are an hour's travel difference from each
other... Obviously the road splits somewhere ahead!
We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit
with Tom - W3TOM and Debbie - KA3VNF. They drove up from Accokeek to take
us to dinner in Baltimore.
We went to Double T's Diner.
What a great place!
Getting ready to order...
Group shot!
L-R Keith - WA8ZWJ, Debbie - KA3VNF, Tom - W3TOM and Marian - WD8CJD
We had a delightful visit and delicious dinner with LARGE portions at a very reasonable price! We appreciate Tom and Debbie's effort to pick us up and introduce us to some of the local attractions! Many thanks to you both!
Even though it was drizzling a bit we took a short walking
tour before our breakfast. Imagine the first thing we saw was the USS
Constellation!
Here are a couple of shots of Old Ironsides!
NOTE - I stand corrected. It has been pointed out to me that the USS
Constellation is not Old Ironsides. Old Ironsides is the USS Constitution
and is located in Boston not Baltimore.
Marian takes her turn at the helm!
After a nice breakfast we got on the bus and headed towards the cruise ship.
Here's our first look at the ship.
Here's how we board the ship.
Once on board we had some time to explore a bit before we
could get into our room. Here's Marian in an area call the Centrum - it is
in the center of the ship. We are on Deck 5.
Looking up from where Marian was standing!
As we boarded the ship we were issued our sea passes which
are our official identity cards during the cruise.
Keith by one of the windows looking out over the outside
deck along Deck 5.
One of the beautiful scenes on the wall you see as you go
up or down the stairs from deck to deck.
Looking down on the Centrum from Deck 8.
A band has started to play! The lead instrument here
is the steal drum! They were great!
Deck 10 looking out over the pool area on Deck 9.
They will show movies on the large screen later in the trip.
We are heading out of the Chesapeake Bay!
This is taken from one of the smoking areas on Deck 9.
When we got into our room our first Cruise Compass was
waiting on us. This is like a daily newspaper telling you all the things
that are going on for the day. All I have included here is the title
area. This is typically 4 pages of single spaced information!
Here is a look at the overview of where things are on the
ship.
So, 12 Decks total that passengers have access to.
Here's a map which is an outline of our proposed trip.
There are scads of activities you can choose to participate
in if you choose to.
Our AAA group hosted a Cocktail Hour Friday
afternoon. More on that later.
Once the ship got out of the Chesapeake Bay during the
night the ocean got rough with winds out of the north. The captain made an announcement early in the
morning explaining that we were experiencing 45 to 50 MPH winds and 20 to 25
foot waves. Yes, it had become a rough ride.
The captain also told everyone that motion sickness pills
were being given out for anyone who would like to have them and where to get
them!
I thought I had experienced some rough waters before but I
could not have imagined how an entire ship this size could shutter after falling
down into a trough between those huge waves! Incredible!
These shots were taken from Deck 9 during my morning walk.
As it turned out, the hurricane down south never had any effect upon our trip. These high winds were coming from the north and had nothing to do with that storm.
Here's a neat display in the Schooner Bar on Deck 6.
This shot is from the South Pacific Lounge Deck 6 looking
behind the ship.
There were a lot of paintings on display in the South
Pacific Lounge. Here's one that caught my eye!
As I passed through the photo gallery on Deck 5 during my
morning walk I saw this shot that was taken prior to our departure.
Yeah, it's blurry. The ship must have moved when I shot it.
Here's a neat painting on the wall between decks in the
stairs taken during my morning walk.
Later on some acrobats were getting some practice in on
this huge collection of hoops. Notice the guys on the lower deck holding
onto ropes to keep the hoops from swinging too much! Incredible!
Yep, the ship is still rocking and rolling!
Naturally, Marian looked away as I caught this shot of her
watching the acrobats. I was on Deck 6 and she was on Deck 5.
Deck 5 was closed to passengers because of the high
winds. I took this shot through the door.
This shot is from the Viking Crowne Lounge on Deck 11 during our Cocktail
Hour.
The red strip is the walking/jogging track on Deck 10.
Deck 10 was closed because of the high winds.
This is Dennis and Terry who were part of our AAA tour
group. I thought he kind of looks like one of my high school classmates.
Last look outside before heading down for dinner...
Formal dining night number one - Vic and Athena. Yes,
the boat continues to rock and roll! More blurry photos...
Bob and Deanna
Marian and Keith
It continues to be windy and rough. Our arrival in
Portland was delayed somewhat because of the weather. However, they
assured us that they would make adjustments on the excursion timing we had
scheduled for our visit in Portland.
This is taken from Deck 11 during my morning walk.
Looking behind the ship from Deck 6.
A neat model of the ship on display.
Ah, we are approaching Portland and it is calming down a
bit.
One of the many lighthouses...
Another lighthouse...
This was supposed to be some kind of fort but whatever war
it was constructed for was over before they finished it.
We are on land again! Here's our ship at the dock.
Another look at our ship...
We took a historical bus tour. One of the stops
included extended time at the Portland Head Light lighthouse.
If you read the inscription you will learn some interesting
facts about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
These are some of the sights around the lighthouse.
After we got back on ship I took some night shots that did not turn out so that is all the photos for today.
Tendering means the ship is out in the bay and you have to take a boat to get to shore.
Our first look at Bar Harbor...
Coming to where the ship will anchor for the day...
We are anchored and the first group is headed towards
shore.
While waiting on our time for our excursion I continued my
morning walk. For those of you who have not been on a cruise ship, this is
what it looks like going to your room. We were very fortunate in that our
room was the second on on the left. As you can see there are many many
rooms for the passengers.
Looking down another hallway.
This is Deck 5 looking aft...
This is Deck 5 looking forward...
This is as far forward as you can get on Deck 5. Here
are all the ropes and anchor chain. If you look carefully you can see how
large the links are for the anchor.
Our time arrived for our excursion and we made it to our bus for our tour of Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain.
That is a beaver damn in the water kind of nearer shore on
the right.
The beaver damn is in the distance...
That is a break water that was constructed to protect the
bay.
The rocky shoreline near the Thunder Hole.
Folks are working their way down to the Thunder Hole.
The Thunder Hole makes a thundering sound as the water
rushes in. It can be heard from quite a distance.
They said the roof of this house is original and each of
those pieces are 4 inches thick!
This is the view at Jordan Pond.
This is a post card I scanned in of what they call the
Bubbles. They were formed by the glaciers from the last ice age.
We finally found some fall color! Marian is standing
in front of the tree!
Lunch was included in our tour and it was at the Bar Harbor
Lobster Bakes!
There were four of these huge pots! Lobsters on the
left, corn on the cob in the center and potatoes on the right with muscles in
the middle.
Here's Keith's lunch! Mmm mmm Good!
After lunch we headed towards Cadillac Mountain. We
caught a look at our ship in the bay along the way.
A view of some of the many islands seen from the top of
Cadillac Mountain.
Yes, that is our ship again amongst the islands.
This is another post card - we didn't get to see this so I
wanted to include it. Although this lighthouse is unmanned, it has been
active since it was built in 1858. It is called the Bass Harbor Head
light.
Postcard - Cobblestone Bridge is one of 17 stone bridges
that highlight the 50+ miles carriage road system in Acadia.
Postcard - Heavy rains create temporary waterfalls all
along the park loop road. This one is near the summit of Cadillac
Mountain.
Last Postcard - Gate Lodges were built to control access
where the carriage roads crossed the auto road. This is the Brown Mountain
Gatehouse.
Golly! There is actually fall color in this shot!
Our Acadia excursion is over...
Back in town we saw this moose atop a building. I'll
bet it is lit at night.
At dinner this evening the wait staff did a parade for us
and we all gave them a warm round of applause!
A jazz band is entertaining after dinner in the Centrum.
We found this Lobster made out of a towel on our bed when
we finally got back to our room for the evening!
Our excursion this morning was a train ride.
Marian is getting on the train...
One of the first things we saw were the reversing
rapids. The tide here changes more than 20 feet four times a day.
When the tide comes in the water level goes up and the water flows up the
stream. When the tide goes down the river reverses and the water flows
towards the ocean.
Whirlpools are created in places. One of the unique
things about these whirlpools is that they have been seen to go both clockwise
and counter clockwise.
This is a truck dumper. He is dumping wood chips that
are basically trash from a paper plant into this collection device. They
are then used to create toilet paper so none of the wood is wasted.
Once the truck is empty the ramp lowers and the driver gets
back in the cab and drives off.
Here is a collection of Lobster traps being stored near the
railroad.
Our train ride is concluded.
Once the gate is unlocked the busses will come in and pick
us up for the remainder of our tour.
An interesting fortress that was used to defend the area
from attack.
Our bus has returned us to the ship terminal area.
I thought it might be nice to include a couple shots of our
room on the ship.
We felt it was quite nice and roomy.
Interesting looking cranes used to unload or load container
ships. Taken from Deck 10.
I am up on Deck 10 taking a walk on the track in the
delightful sunshine!
Looking aft...
Marian decided to do some shopping in town. That is
her in the blue coat walking up the sidewalk.
Near the bow looking aft on the starboard side...
Near the bow looking towards the starboard side from the
port side...
Near the bow looking aft on the port side...
Near mid ship looking forward on the port side...
Near mid ship looking aft on the port side...
A rock climbing wall as far aft as you can go...
At the gym I go to I have to walk 14 laps to do a
mile. It seems like a lot faster here than there with only 4 laps!
That finishes today's tour of Deck 10.
After my walk I treated myself to a cigar break on Deck 9!
After my cigar I went back up on Deck 10 to catch some of
the folks on Deck 9 enjoying the sunshine.
Looky there! It is Vic and Athena soaking up the
rays!
I hadn't noticed this dock earlier...
On my way back to the cabin I saw this photo taken of
Marian and I at dinner on the first formal night.
Here's our group photo from the formal dinner. Sorry
it's blurry!
This plaque is for a statue that for some reason I had not noticed during my previous walks.
It says "Peter Esdaile - Ta'Aroa, God Of The Waters -
1996"
It is a large wood carved statue. This is located at
the back of the ship on Deck 6.
In that same area is this model of a sailing vessel.
We are coming into the harbor at Halifax.
This is another look of the ropes and anchor chain forward
on Deck 5 - starboard side.
This is another look of the ropes and anchor chain forward
on Deck 5 - port side.
The casino is on Deck 5. Since the casino was closed
I took the opportunity to photograph a couple of the statues there.
We are getting nearer to shore...
Here's a tall masted schooner under power in the harbor...
As we approached the dock there was some interesting
sounding music coming from shore.
It turned out to be a bagpiper and drum. They were
welcoming our arrival! Very cool!
We docked in front of another cruise ship.
Here's a model of a tall masted schooner...
We elected to do our own walking tour of Halifax since so many things seemed
to be pretty close to where the ship was docked.
We spent some time in the Nova Scotia Marine Heritage
Museum. Marian is shopping in their gift shop.
Here's what the "Pirate's Fate" must have looked
like!
Deanna and Bob at dinner this evening.
Vic and Athena at dinner this evening.
This evening our special greeting after dinner was this owl
made out of a wash cloth.
On my way back to the cabin after my after dinner cigar I
saw a bunch of folks gathering in the Centrum for the evening's entertainment
there. Some folks were dancing to the canned music.
Later the "Village People" made an
appearance! The guy in the cop outfit is our cruise director. Yes,
they did YMCA as well as other numbers.
They had a fog machine running which is why it looks smoky in these shots.
The Captain joined the village people!
The weather Wednesday was gorgeous! Looking aft port
side...
During my morning walk I discovered this statue on Deck 8
at the Centrum. Looks like a tourist to me!
This is the Palladium Theater taken from the balcony on
Deck 6. We typically went there each evening after dinner to see the
evening's entertainment.
Some interesting trivia about the Grandeur Of The Seas.
This is the stage area in the Pacific Lounge on Deck
6. We never attended any functions back there.
In the afternoon on Deck 9 there were two teams of chefs
who competed in a chili cook off!
Marian is participating in the Origami demonstration.
Dinner this evening was formal once again. Here are
Merrill and Elaine our AAA tour guides for the trip.
Vic and Athena...
Bob and Deanna...
Keith and Marian...
The head chef addressed the group and then had all the
other chefs do a parade for us!
All the chefs after the parade...
Early this morning Marian noticed a neat sunrise happening
out of our cabin window. I ran upstairs to Deck 9 to take pictures but I
missed the early shot of the sun peaking out of that small area below the lowest
clouds.
Some of the communications antennas on the front of the
ship - Deck 10.
This was the darkest blast of smoke I had seen coming out
of the stacks during our trip.
This morning Marian attended a towel folding demonstration
in the Centrum while I was having a cigar after my walk. On my way back to
the cabin I took a few shots of the assorted towels they had folded that were on
display. Pretty clever...eh?
On our way to our buffet lunch at the Windjammer Cafe on
Deck 9 we stopped to watch a group of folks learning to line dance.
After lunch Marian enjoyed doing some reading on Deck 5 in
the nice weather.
In the afternoon the entertainment in the Centrum was a
violin and guitar duo.
After dinner I got a shot of our dinner waiter, Jesusely
and his assistant, Tong. They took care of us through the entire cruise. They were great!
The final evening's entertainment ended with a big parade
of all of the flags of the nations that were represented by guests and crew on
the ship!
The Windjammer Cafe (Deck 9) opened very early this morning so folks could get breakfast before disembarking to go home. We thoroughly enjoyed our last breakfast on the ship!
After breakfast Marian and I took a walk on Deck 10 to
watch the sun come up.
I noticed this tug boat pushing a barge across from our
ship.
The barge finally came alongside of our ship. I guess
they were going to make some repairs of some kind. We didn't see any kind
of tanks or supplies on the barge.
After a brief shower, Marian pointed out this neat rainbow
in the sky. Marian is my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Our group met in the Palladium Theater to wait for our turn
to disembark.
Disembarkation did not take long. Soon everyone in
our group was on the bus to head towards home. This is our last look at
the ship.
Here's some fall color taken at one of the rest stops.
Here's some more fall color taken through the bus window as
we proceed west.
This bus was a bit newer than the one that took us
east. It even had seat belts! The digital display showed we were a
Miami Valley AAA group.
Yeah, I know! A bunch of pictures. However, including the items I scanned in there were a total of 491 items for me to choose from. I only used 240 of them so over half ended up on the cutting room floor.
According the Trip Compass TV channel on the ship we traveled a total of 2230 nautical miles on the ship which translates into 2566 land miles.
We had a delightful time. It was great meeting and making new friends. The food was outstanding. Our service was outstanding!
Thanks for taking the time to enjoy our Mini Gathering and Cruise!
Best wishes!
Respectfully submitted by Keith - WA8ZWJ
