Day CS5, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, Saint John, New Brunswick

Queen Mary 2 is at sea enroute to Boston

The day started with a bit of a technology hiccup. One of the first things I do in the morning is download the latest Reflections and Dinner menu. There was no online Reflections until about the time we were cleared and I hope people who do not get paper Reflections were not too inconvenienced. I also did not check the day on the menu and it was not until I was in the dining room that I realized I had downloaded the Monday menu.

I was up about 5:30 and down to the Bistro for coffee about 6:10. I went up to Marketplace for breakfast about 7:30 and the sun came up on the aft lido deck just a little later.

We docked in Saint John a little about 8:30 behind Liberty of the Seas. That was supposed to be my first ship of 2023 out of Fort Lauderdale in late April but I cancelled it since I was then still in recovery from Pneumonia. It is a huge ship which dwarfs Serenity. It is just a bit larger than Queen Mary 2 (5%) but carries 40% more passengers.

We had the weekly crew about 10, and while there were a number of announcements, I don’t think the drill ever involved any passenger areas. I left the ship about 10:30. It was a much easier disembarkation than Halifax, with a relatively short ramp to the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal. On the way out I passed a very interesting model of the Original Queen Mary which the caption said was a real remote controlled model which could actually float. While I have never sailed Queen Mary I have visited her a number of times as a hotel in Long Beach.

My only plan for Saint John was lunch at Tim Hortons. It looks like the one I have visited in the past is now closed and is now inside the Skywalk at Brunswick Square. It is up a steep hill from the waterfront but the Skywalk has elevators which make the climb easy. It was small but had all the essentials for my lunch of Chicken Noodle Soup and Steeped Tea.

I walked down by the street and it was a steep drop, and then headed back to the terminal. I left Canadian soil for the last time about 12:35, and headed up to the Lido for skim milk and Ice Cream.

It was a bit of a busy afternoon. Afternoon tea was at 3:30. After my tea and scone I stopped at the library and picked up the latest Sudoku.

All aboard was 5:30 but at 5 I had my Zoom meeting with my church’s finance meeting. I left the meeting at 5:45 and when I went out on deck we were already moving. We started moving forward past Liberty of the Seas before finally turning out to sea. Louis sang at 6:12. Sunset was officially 6:48 but I caught it dropping below the clouds about 6:25.

There were only me, one other guest, and 2 Ambassador Hosts at the shared table for dinner. My choices for the evening were Beef Consume, Torchietti Al Pesto, and Lemon Tart.

There was no evening program in the Galaxy Lounge. Sara Combs had put on a show in the Stardust Club while I was on deck for Sailaway. I spent a little bit of time with Joel Spire in the Avenue Saloon, catching most of his first set. I did not try for a photo until the end of the set while his wife was with him at the piano.

By the time I left the Avenue the White Party had started in the Crystal Cove. I did not stay there long.

We gained an hour as we returned to Eastern Time but most of it was spent at the computer and I headed off to bed about 10PM new time.

My parting shot today comes from an email I received today about a friend from the Holland America forum of Cruise Critic. The friend was an avid World Cruiser and I always followed her writings and we finally met in person on MS Prinsendam’s final Grand Voyage in 2019. While I dined early and she late Kathi sometimes joined us for dinner on special occasions. She boarded a Holland America ship for a planned extended journey but started suffering leg pains and discovered just before the start of the 2023 World Voyage that it was due to a severe cancer diagnosis. We had not heard from her but another Holland America friend who had taken on one of her duties finally caught up with her after over 10 months. Kathi is slowly trying to regain her strength but it is a long struggle and her long cruising days are definitely over. Best wishes to Kathi for the best recovery possible. Thank you Leanne for your diligence in following up. And for those who will be soon to retire, I urge you to see the world while you have the time, stamina, and health to be able to do so. My cruising time is winding down but I am joyful to have been able to get in many good years of seeing the world while still possible.

Roy

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mary

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