Carnival Cruise: An historic city with industrial charm

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Unfortunately, our movie experience was a bust. At 9:30 Kristen and I were the only two on deck, lying beneath large towels on lawn chairs as a fog swirled along the deck. We began watching Eagle Eye on the jumbo screen. Slowly, more people began to join us. The fog horn, which had been blowing all day, was only a minor nuisance through the first half of the movie. However, at around 10:30 the volume suddenly increased dramatically, shaking people with heart-racing fear and stinging the eardrums. By 10:45 we had had enough and retreated to the club areas of the ship to watch an “R-Rated Adult Humor” show (Marvin Bell). It was entertaining, but for someone who watches a lot of stand-up comedy, few jokes trekked into unfamiliar territory.

The next morning we crawled out of bed, having had little sleep. Our stateroom is an interior cabin, and so is nearly pitch dark when the lights are turned out no matter the time of day. While this makes afternoon naps easy, it gives no indication of the time when you awake - it could be 3 a.m. or noon. Also, there is no alarm clock in the room, and so we have to depend on wake up call service.

After grabbing our cameras we made our way down the gangway out into a cold, mist-soaked Saint John, New Brunswick. Most people come here to witness the Reversing Falls, a phenomenon in which the tide rises so high that it reverses the flow of the Saint John River. From reviews I’ve read, it sounds much more compelling than it is to witness, and so I decided to focus my attention instead on the city itself. As we did so, it was soon readily apparent that we were in Canada by not only the presence of bilingual signs (English and French), but also of the very pro-royalty landmarks that peppered the city, revealing its Loyalist past. The city was founded, mainly, by Loyalist Americans from New York who fled the succeeding revolution in order to maintain close ties with the British Empire. It is located in the Bay of Fundy and is the oldest incorporated city in Canada. Street names include King St., Princess St., Prince William St., and Duke St. Memorial plaques commemorate rare visits from royalty, including Edward VII and Princess Diana. This was all very curious, as much of Saint John felt like other North Eastern American port cities, though in some ways distinctly cleaner. However, being an American, I couldn’t help but chuckle and smile at the contrasting histories.

We walked along the harbor to the Market Square and the New Brunswick Museum. There we found out that today was New Brunswick Day, a provincial holiday, and though many shops would be closed, the museum was free and various celebrations would be taking place. It was at the museum, which was worth just a quick walk-through, unless you are keenly interested in 19th Century shipbuilding, that we tried a local and traditional treat - dried seaweed. While I can see a lover of seafood and the salty taste of the sea liking this treat, no doubt packed with nutrients, it left a land lubber like me finding the nearest garbage receptacle and discreetly tossing in the chewed green jumble.

We next headed up King Street to find that the weather had begun to clear and that a flea market had sprung up along the sidewalk. Most of the items held little interest for us, especially the incredible amount of used VHS tapes that could be seen being sold in various shops throughout the city. Interestingly, many of Saint John’s shops carry second-hand merchandise, from antiques to used CDs to books to (happy geek-time) comic books. We then explored the City Market, which was built by shipmen in 1876 with an original ship’s hull roof design, and now serves as a friendly place to buy local foods, chocolates, and crafts. It is the oldest continuously running farmer’s market in Canada. We were unaware before we saw a sign here that Market Square and City Market are connected by an underground passage, which the locals told us, is of tremendous help in avoiding the cold winter winds.

As we emerged from the other end of the market we found ourselves at King’s Square, a town green with commemorative statues (one for the world speed skating champion) and a large bandstand. From there we walked through the Loyalist Burial Ground, where many of the most prominent Saint John families are laid to rest, and which serves as a picturesque jogging park in the city center. We then snaked our way down the historic streets, some of which seem to have clearly seen better days. Indeed, Saint John is still emerging as a tourist destination and is still very much a working class, blue collar city. This, actually, is one of the aspects that interested me in seeing it.

We visited the Trinity Anglican Church, an impressive structure perched high on a hill, and spoke with the priest, who told us of the church’s construction after the Great Fire of 1877. A bust of Queen Victoria rested above the door.

We then walked to the other end of Germain St. to the Loyalist House museum, which fast became my favorite attraction in the city. It sits a few feet above the present city, at the original height of the hill, before it was blasted and shortened to make it easier for horses (we had seen the same thing in Lexington, VA). Built by a very wealthy Loyalist in 1810, the house has served as a museum since the 1950s, tours of which are led by knowledgeable young women in period clothing. The place being sadly quite devoid of visitors, we received a private tour and I was able to indulge in history-geek-speak with the tour guide, mainly about the odd and often fatal habits of the 19th Century. The tour also gave me a chance to ask certain questions that had begun to crop up in my mind: What is the current relationship between Canada and England, as the royalty still appears on the money? “There are still a few British positions of authority, but they’re mainly symbolic.” How do the people of Saint John see the royal family today? Is there still a reverence? The tour guide explained that her grandmother’s generation was very much enamored with the royalty; however, her parents’ and the present generation see them as either curious celebrities or an arcane oddity. It appeared, then, that our generation has much more in common than the previous ones.

Our tour ended in the parlor, where delicious desserts were available with tea and punch. The tour cost $5, however, I would gladly have paid more after speaking to the people who run the museum. We sat in the formal dining room talking of the town and museum. Our tour guide pointed out the cracks in the walls from the chimney, which had begun to separate from the house. Numerous leaks and structural problems, coupled with underfunding and a meager number of visitors, have all threatened the future of the house. The juxtaposed office building adjacent to the property, owned by the telephone company, would love the spot for a parking lot. A new police station is being built along side it. Progress threatens history. I asked the old man who headed the museum if the new appearances of the cruise ships have helped their plight. He shook his head and said no, but he does get more money from cruise passengers than locals. I can only hope that that trend continues and strengthens. Truthfully, Saint John is a nice little destination for some authentic working class atmosphere; however, if it does not preserve its past, there will be little worth seeing for travelers. Wishing them luck and thanks, we headed to explore more streets. Returning to the harbor, we found traditional music being played, sponsored by the local brew, Moose Head Lager (this town really plays up the moose, with plush toys, hats, and numerous other souvenirs). The band played both English and francophone music on drums and fiddles.

That night, back on the cruise ship, we ate at the regular sit-down dinner, but our Southern dinner companions were not there. Later, we saw a magic performance by two guys named Kevin and Caruso, whose illusions were interspersed with scantily-clad dancers (great for both eye-candy and a distraction from the slight-of-hand). It was your usual magic fare. Afterwards, we went to a midnight “adults only” burlesque show choreographed by the same dancing girls, which the magicians hosted and offered some further performances. The burlesque performance was great, with sexy routines and some impressive up-close illusions - definitely my favorite so far. I don’t just say this because I’m a guy, although the fish-net stockings didn’t hurt.

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Photos

Loyalist House
You can see how high above the street the original height of the hill was.