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Day 1 - Thursday May 5, 2016 - Drive to Ottawa There was an unusual twist to this cruise since we started this journey with a road trip to Ottawa. Our good friends Mary Ann & John invited us up to visit them and they offered to drive us to the cruise port in Montreal on Saturday. At the end of our cruise they suggested that they pick us up in Boston and enjoy a road trip with them to Portsmouth NH on the way back to Ottawa to pick up our car. So we took them up on their offers.
Now with any road trip across Ontario time must be set aside to indulge Brooke’s genealogical passion to locate as many of her ancestors’ graves as is humanly possible. Armed with a list of addresses for five possible cemetery sites we set off. In the end we located two of them and successfully found and photographed the gravestones for her relatives.
Day 2 - Friday May 6, 2016 - Ottawa The day was spent in a relaxed mode, with the ladies going out to do a little shopping.
John and I went off to do the same at a store featuring miniature military figures, better referred to as toy soldiers.
Later John and I went for an extended walk through part of the Gatineau Park across the river in Quebec.
During dinner we laid out our plans for driving down to Montreal on Saturday with the knowledge that the Port of Montreal was currently doing major renovations to the original cruise port. As a result of this construction we had been informed by Holland America that the ship would have to move and be berthed at piers 34-35. Over dinner we joked that there was a strong possibility that we end up driving past the ship and not see a logical way to get near her.
Day 3 - Saturday, May 7, 2016 - Embarkation Day - Weather forecast: partly cloudy - temperature: 20°C/69°F - late afternoon just before sailing wind picked up from the northwest The day started off partly sunny and cool but improved throughout the day though the clouds and cooler winds returned by sailing time at 4:00.
We
left Ottawa at 9:00 am to ensure that we had plenty of time to arrive safely in Montreal and locate the ship so that we could go through the boarding process in ample time.
The drive was uneventful until we actually got down into the area of Old Montreal and the docks in just over 2 hours time. Our joking from the previous evening came back to haunt us as we did actually have difficulty locating the ship. Fortunately HAL had set up a transfer point where passengers could catch a shuttle bus from the original berth to the temporary one. I asked the staff stationed there for driving directions to the new berth and off we went. Little did we know that where we were and where we had to be involved getting onto an elevated street. The ramps leading to that street were not clearly indicated on the maps or our GPS. Eventually we found the street we needed and headed off in the right direction eventually spotting the Veendam in the distance. But we couldn’t get to her directly; an eight-foot high chain link steel fence separated us along with several sets of railway
tracks, concrete barriers and a large parking lot to say nothing of the ever present security teams.
After driving at least 2 kilometers past the ship we found the street leading us through the chain link fence, under the railway tracks and onto the road system connecting us with the parking lot adjoining a large white tent which had been set up to serve as the temporary embarkation/disembarkation station. We unloaded the luggage and as it was extremely busy John and Mary Anne decided not to linger and drove off back to Ottawa.
Once we filled in the necessary health questionnaire our embarkation went smoothly, since as 4 Star Mariners we along with the 5 Star Mariners are provided with an express check-in line. Without any delays we were processed and boarded the ship before noon and seated in the main dinning room having lunch by 12:15. During lunch we took advantage of this less hectic time to arrange for our wine package for the first portion of the cruise and also a special wine tasting session. That session, to take place on the evening we leave Charlottetown, will include some fine Port, rich
chocolate and delicious cheeses. In addition the Cellar Master will demonstrate how to make Flaming Spanish Coffee.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship, which included, taking part in a Sparkling Wine Reception followed by the “Mandatory Passenger Safety Emergency Drill”. During our absence from the cabin our luggage appeared so upon our return we had the opportunity to store our clothes and get ready for the ship’s departure.
The ship left its berth at 4:00 pm as indicated in the schedule but it took nearly 45 minutes to safely maneuver out into the St. Lawrence even with the assistance of two large tugs tied to our port quarter and stern. The current at that part of the river, across from the former “Expo 67” site runs at about 5 knots and requires a controlled amount of ship handling/finesse to maneuver. Though the process seemed slow once free from the berth area we were off on the journey.
On this cruise we have again selected the “Open Seating” option for dinner and were amazed that we were seated almost immediately. Since a number of people had not shown
up for their early fixed seating time there were a number of tables left empty on the upper level of the main restaurant and the staff seated us in that area. Downstream from Montreal the river is fairly broad and the principle navigation channel is near the south shore of the river providing us with a scenic landscape to view while we ate our dinner.
In the early evening we attended a presentation by the Location Guide Jeremy. He provided an overview of this portion of Canada and the New England region. He provided some useful tips and information about what to see and do in Quebec City on Sunday. Later in the evening we were introduced to, and entertained by, the ship’s performers.
Before calling it a day I went for a walk around the Lower Promenade. It was so peaceful on the river that I could hear the frogs peeping and smell the aroma of wood smoke drifting in from shore. The weather started to change with the temperature dropping and it started to rain.
The Captain announced that he was intending to get to the berth in Quebec City by 4:00 am as the area is under the influence of the tides coming up river from the Gulf. At that early hour in the morning there is a period of slack tide, which will aid in the docking of the ship.
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