Sea Day, and a day in Sydney Nova Scotia Highlights – Canada and Colonial America Cruise – Caribbean Princess

NOTE: Photo heavy blog post!

Cruising on the Caribbean Princess was wonderful. After spending so much time in ports, a sea day was most welcome. Sailing the St Lawrence brought some beautiful views. Relaxing onboard the ship and just being pampered was a lot of fun too. One of my favorite things on the sea day was meeting people at the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. Heads of departments came to the Meet & Greet to say hello and answer questions about their area of expertise. The head of food services explained what they did on the 3rd night to vastly improve the waiting time for dinner. My afternoon was occupied by my favorite activity – Wine Tasting. I did snap a couple of shots of the “menu” of the wines we were tasting and enjoying. Not one was a clunker.

We started with a sparkling wine, Veuve Clicquot Brut from France, then Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand . Followed by Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay from California. Next up was Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma Valley, Caro, from Mendoza Argentina and finishing with Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon from California. Each wine was distinctive and lovely for it’s particular type. I love to keep a list when I go “wine shopping” in my local stores.

Of course, like every evening on board, following the daily activities a nap and dressing for dinner is the best way to begin an evening. We joined many others at the Platinum and Elite cocktail party before dinner. We were dining at 7, so we had lots of time to enjoy the appetizers that are prepared just for the party.

When we arrive just before 7 at the dining room, we are immediately escorted to our table by the lovely Ingrid.

Ingrid, dining room hostess

She always takes my sister by the arm and guides her to the same table, and makes certain she is comfortably seated, and her cane is tucked away by the curtains. Apparently, my sister remembered her from time spent on the ship during the summer and that really made a huge difference. Of course, we LOVE sitting at the same table, getting to know our wait staff, and they get to know us as well.

I love trying the wide variety of salads that appear on the menu. This night I had arugula and greens with watermelon, apple, goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. Light and refreshing. We skip the appetizers or soup a lot of times because we were munching on appetizers at the cocktail party!

Watermelon Goat Cheese salad

My sister made plans during the cocktail party on the sea day to meet up with a lady we met during the party. Kay and her travel companions had been having a nice visit together with us, and it turned out they were part of the Cruise Critic group we had met earlier in the day. When we arrived in Sydney, Nova Scotia, we met up with Kay near the “Big Fiddle”.

You certainly couldn’t overlook that meeting spot!

Sydney Nova Scotia – “The Big Fiddle”

My sister was able to rent a mobility scooter in the port facility, and that made it so much easier for her to sightsee in the port area.

It had stopped raining before we disembarked. How lucky is that.

Covered gathering spot with benches in the Sydney port area

The sky was still a little grey, but, we actually saw the sun for a bit of time. The SYDNEY flag sign was another great “meeting point” in the port.

I had really looked over the map before the trip and knew this would be a great place to walk around the waterfront. There were several hotels, and restaurants close by. Daniel, the chef, had been chatting with our little group at the cocktail party the night before and he recommended a place to go to have lunch.

With my sister mobile on the scooter, it was really just about a 3 or 4 block walk, less than 10 minutes to the Governors Pub & Eatery. It was located at 233 Esplanade and delightful. We found a ramp from the parking lot for the scooter, but we were confronted with stairs!. My sister parked her scooter and used all her energy and will power to get up the stairs into the restaurant. I had gone up first inquiring about an entry for disabled, and was told there was none. Poor planning on our part for not researching ahead of time I suppose. Her determination did win out and we were seated once inside quite nicely and took all the recommendations for food into consideration.

I chose a Lobster Roll with Salad.

Lobster roll and salad

LOOK at that filling!

Fish and Chips for Anne

Both Anne & I sampled the bread with my sandwich and the breading on her fish, then we took away some of the carbs and just ate the filling. Both meals were huge and delicious, and we decided the only way to really finish was to get rid of the roll and the breading on the fish. Our new friend Kay enjoyed Poutine. Sorry, no photo of her food. I used the ladies room down the stairs, and of course, had to snap a photo or two on the way. What a building!

Basement where restrooms are located

Basement where restrooms are located

Stairs at Governors Pub

Those steps to the basement and the restrooms were STEEP, and the iron handrail was wobbly. I told my sister it would be better to take her scooter back to the port if she needed to use the facilities. Definitely a no go for the person with mobility issues.

Following lunch we enjoyed wandering around town a little bit before finding our way to the Sydney Waterfront boardwalk. The boardwalk was nice for walking along the waterfront and covered a lot of area. Views were great. This “aft view” of the Caribbean Princess is my favorite.

Aft of the Caribbean Princess in Sydney Nova Scotia

Walking back towards the ship, we were able to make a shopping stop in the port building where there were lots of vendors selling interesting local items. I came across an author from Cape Breton NS, and had a lovely chat. I purchased her book and she signed it for me.

signed by Beatrice MacNeil

This is Beatrice’s 5th book, and I enjoyed her conversation and the discussion about “what it takes” to be published. She told the story about struggling to get the book published and the big change she had to make at the ending of the story. I asked her how she would have ended it, had the publisher agreed. She said she would have let her character take a stand toward being an independent strong woman. I can’t wait to read it and see what she had to actually write in order to go to press. Beatrice MacNeil is from East Bay, Cape Breton Nova Scotia, about 22 km from Sydney.

Before long, it was time to board the Caribbean Princess, get ready for sail away and another nice evening on board. The view from our balcony was quite nice.

Looking down into the port of Sydney and the facilities

Before you knew it, our ship edged away from the dock and we were heading out for Halifax. Last looks at Sydney –

Leaving the port at Sydney Nova Scotia

Last look at a light house leaving Sydney

Time to dress for the cocktail party and for dinner. (More food…..sigh….)

something small at the cocktail party

Of course, the cocktail party is followed by a nice walk to the dining room, and decisions about what to order. I chose this by delicious appetizer in lieu of salad at dinner.

Bruschetta at dinner

No worries about all the eating (and drinking) on this day, because our walk in Sydney burnt off a few calories and exceeded my step/mileage goal for the day!!

Fitbit goal met

Our next port is Halifax, and we would arrive bright and early. I had a tour scheduled and next travel post I will share my day!

Tour ticket for Halifax

I hope you are enjoying these travel blogs for this amazing trip from Quebec City Canada to Fort Lauderdale Florida. If you are enjoying, please hit the like and comment. I appreciate hearing from you. Next post will be about Halifax as soon as I edit more photos and get the narrative written. For all my quilting friends, more from the sewing room soon.

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Happy travels.

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