The Norwegian Dream

What could be a better than a cruise in the Northeast, someone else making your beds and turning them down each night, towel animals on the bed, all the food you could possible eat (and more) lots of rain and fog, and the tail end of a hurricane? Actually, it was a great trip (thanks, Dramamine). We saw some beautiful things and missed others. Laughed a lot, ate a lot, spent a lot of money, spent a lot of time in airports. Yeah, it was great.

Here is a picture of our lovely ship taken from Bar Harbor (Baa Haa Baa). Bar Harbor was our last stop. This is where the cruise balled up. We had to go through immigration before taking a tender to shore. Everyone on board lined up to go through and it took forever. So half our excursion was cancelled, but we still took a bus to the top of Cadillac Mountain where you can see the entire island. At least you could if it wasn't engulfed in fog. Even so this was a fun stop. Bar Harbor is picturesque and the harbor was beautiful when the fog burned off. Julie even got sunburned a couple hours after this picture was taken. There were lots of shops and a village green, just too many people. But that was the case wherever we went . With the exception of Hailfax, these are smaller towns that just got inundated with 1700 people.

Since I've done this completely out of order, maybe I'll go back and do a day-by-day run down.

August 30 - Left Salt Lake at 3:00 after spending the morning with Lincoln. We flew to Phoenix and spent the next five hours in that airport. Next stop - Charlotte, NC. We reached Boston Sunday morning and boarded the ship. (Cassie looks like a movie star, doesn't she?) We were late for a barbecue on the top deck that evening and almost had to beg for food. They were pulling dishes right out from under our grasp. Not a good omen, but the food and service improved vastly as the cruise continued.

September 1 - Landed in St. John, New Brunswick. The best greeting ever. There must have been twenty people handing women from the ship roses and the men got pins. We took a bus ride around the town, stopped at an old market where we bought souvenirs, saw the reverse waterfall (where the Bay of Fundy at high tide meets the river). We rode the bus to St Martin while the guide talked and pointed things out. At St. Martin, Julie and I had really good sea food chowder. Cassie had chicken strips. We walked along the shore and headed back to the ship. I slept a lot during the thirty minute bus ride to St. Martin and back. A lone bag piper in a kilt serenaded the ship as it pulled away from the pier. That was pretty surreal.

September 2 - Our first sea day. I really noticed the motion of the waves here and eventually took medication. Julie did as well but she was also coming down with a nasty cold. Cassie did fine and but bemoaned the fact that the ice cream shack on the top deck was closed because of the rain. We played dice and read. Learned about buying jewelry. Very relaxing.

September 3 - Halifax. This was my favorite stop. We took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city which worked perfectly for me as we could stay longer at some stops but still have a guide pointing out sites as we rode the bus. We spent time in the Halifax Gardens (beautiful) and ate at a great Italian restaurant. Julie walked back to the ship as she was really unwell while Cassie and I continued on to the Citadel. This fort was built to guard the city from the French but wasn't finished until that threat was gone. Our guide, Corporal Steve, was a cute college kid, again in a kilt. I really enjoyed our time at the Citadel. The views were fantastic and we learned some great history about the city. Our next stop was at the Halifax Maritime Museum where we learned more about the Halifax Explosion. I was really interested in this piece of history after reading Barometer Rising, a novel which includes the tragedy.

September 4 - Coming into Sydney was beautiful, but it was a pretty ordinary town. We took a taxi ride to see the sites and saw a lot of churches and subdivisions. Odd. We did eat lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the bay and met a local walking his Westies. Cute dogs and he was fun to visit with.

September 5 - Another sea day with rain and fog. Julie was really sick this day and spent most of the day in our miniscule state room. I can't remember what Cassie and I did.

September 6 - I've already told you about Bar Harbor. I would love to see this place on a really sunny day.

September 7 - Debarked in Boston and found our way to the airport. This time we flew to DC, Phoenix, and finally Salt Lake. We were exhausted.

Dislikes: Constant motion on the ship. About two days back on land, I started feeling that motion again. Tiny room that was totally dark at night and hot. Not having enough time in the ports to really get a feel for the places, except for Halifax. The comedy show where guests told their supposedly g-rated jokes.

Likes: The food was fantastic. The Chocolate Buffet: tables loaded with different chocolate delicacies and chocolate sculptures. I loved the towel animals and the friendly crew (except those barbecue guys). Friendly townspeople. Great entertainment: The Jean Ryan Troupe of dancers and singers, a fantastic juggler, very funny comedian and so-so jazz singer. Denny, the cruise director, was an odd man but the act he and his team (The Fountains) performed at the crew talent show made us laugh so hard. Spending time with Cassie and Julie was the best.

Would I go on a cruise again? Sure, it is an inexpensive way to travel and the good outweighs the bad. I still prefer road trips because you have more options, but would love an Alaskan cruise, maybe the Mediterranean or even Scandinavia.