Journal of My New England/Canda Cruise

Day 3

Portland, Maine

Today was our first port of call - Portland, Maine.    After eating an early breakfast at the Windjammer we headed out on deck to view our arrival at the port.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day with sunshine and brisk winds on deck.  With camera in hand I was able to snap a shot of the Portland, Maine Headlight Lighthouse.  The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and I was excited about seeing Portland.   I had booked our trolley and cruise tour on line (http://www.portlanddiscovery.com) prior to sailing.  The trolley tour took us past the childhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Victoria Mansion, beautiful old homes and the Old Port District.

Architecture - Old Homes

Portland Maine Headlight

Portland, ME Museum

After the morning tour we stopped at the Portland Lobster Company and I had a delicious lobster roll.,  YUMMY! 

Lobster Roll

Our final adventure of the afternoon was to take a Lighthouse Harbor Tour.  As we cruised past the Bug Light suddenly we heard a loud "crunch" from the bottom of the boat.  The captain of the boat announced that we had apparently hit a lobster crate and it had broken the steering shaft of the boat.

Bug Light

The Coast Guard came with siren's screaming and the captain announced that everyone on board had to put on their life jackets.   The boat was then tugged back to shore.  Unfortunately that took the remainder of the afternoon.  Once we got back to shore we collected our refund from the tour operator and headed back to the ship. 

Mom in LifeJacket

Rescue Boat (2)

Journal of My New England/Canda Cruise

Day 2

A Day At Sea

There's not much to tell you about Day 2 except that the one thing I did do was RELAX!  

Here's what I did

• Eat breakfast
• Relax with a book in the Solarium
• Eat snack
• Eat lunch
• Walk the ship's pool deck
• Eat some more
• Read
• Sleep
• Eat some more
• Enjoyed a class of wine before dinner
• Eat dinner
• Watched the show
• Sleep again ... .

Not much to report here ... unless you'd like to hear about everything I ate.  LOL
Tonight was our first formal night in the dining room.   Dressed in formal attire for the evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. 
I guess you get the general idea of my day at sea!

Journal of My New England/Canda Cruise

Day 1 - Baltimore, Maryland -

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Lunch on Pool Deck

Francis Scott Key Bridge

Unpacking

Baltimore Port is a wonderful place to embark when cruising.   We pulled into the parking lot around 11:15 am and we were on the ship in 30 minutes or less.  Diamond Members of RCCL do have priority boarding which is a nice benefit!  Once on board we headed straight for the Windjammer to eat lunch and relax on the pool deck.  The weather was absolutely beautiful.   Around 1:30 pm the rooms to the cruise ship passengers were opened so we headed down to the room to start unpacking.    At 4:00 pm we set sail through the Baltimore Harbor and it was absolutely amazing to watch the ship go through the Francis Scott Key Bridge.    Amazing ... it actually looked like we were going to hit the top of the bridge.  It takes approximately nine hours for the ship to go through the Chesapeake Bay out into the Atlantic.    After dinner at 8:00 pm in the "My Fair Lady" dining room it was off to a show and early to bed.    I was looking forward to the next day!