Brilliance OTS Oct 5th- Canada & New England Review (Lengthy & Photo Filled)

[NemoCrownie]

Wow!!! Well done. Thank you for such a fun, entertaining review.

[attitudeda]

You never told us what your husbands new toy was.

 

Doug

[Buccaneergirl]

You never told us what your husbands new toy was.

 

Doug

 

 

I was just going to ask the same!

 

Great review and thanks for all the info and pics. I really enjoyed it.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Lol. I will post a picture of his new toy when I get back home from my son's gymnastics class.

 

I didn't want the toy to detract from my review.

 

 

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[cruzinlady1947]

Great review and awesome pictures. Your son is just too cute.

 

Was nice reliving our cruise from Aug/Sept. this year. I can't believe I missed that donut shop. I have been to Portland so many times on cruises and never saw it. Or else I just walked past it, resisting temptation. But, not the next time. That will be my top priority.;)

 

Did you try the lobster ice cream in Bar Harbor? I don't like lobster, so never tried it, and never talked to anyone who had. I stick with the blueberry ice cream (and muffins)....yummy.

 

Do you think you will do the Canada/New England cruise again? We do it every year. Love the change of pace. We also did the Celebrity cruise that goes to Quebec and back from Bayonne, NJ. That is a 14 day cruise and the best cruise (itinerary wise) that I've been on. Quebec is just gorgeous.

 

Thanks again and have fun on your future cruises. I will be watching for your reviews. Sorry for all the questions. :o

 

 

Gwen :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

My husband's toy isn't really a toy. It's a new car. He's been driving his dad's old car for the last few years (his parents only use one car because they go everywhere together) and saving money to buy this thing.

 

I was completely against it at first, but he's an incredibly hard working guy and deserves to get the car he wants. He just finished paying off his parents for their business and that huge expense is now gone. I can't argue with him because he really does deserve to enjoy himself while he is still young. I have a small SUV, so that is the "family" car for the times we go somewhere with our son.

 

 

[Sunkissed Mommy]

 

Did you try the lobster ice cream in Bar Harbor? I don't like lobster, so never tried it, and never talked to anyone who had. I stick with the blueberry ice cream (and muffins)....yummy.

 

Do you think you will do the Canada/New England cruise again? We do it every year. Love the change of pace. We also did the Celebrity cruise that goes to Quebec and back from Bayonne, NJ. That is a 14 day cruise and the best cruise (itinerary wise) that I've been on. Quebec is just gorgeous.

 

 

I would have never known about the donut shop if it wasn't for someone else's review on here. I thank that person for introducing it to me! It's on 7 Exchange Street.

 

I did not try any Lobster Ice Cream. I'm not a huge fan of lobster and it was way too cold outside for me to even consider eating ice cream! Blueberry ice cream sounds good though on a hot Florida day.

 

I am not sure if we will ever do a Canada & New England cruise again. For us it may have been a one shot deal. I don't know if all the little issues bottled up for us or what it was. We definitely enjoyed the experience and we're very glad we did it. There is so much more world out there that we still want to see. My first choice for this trip was actually the repo cruise from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale. More ports, more time, and only one flight. But the time was an issue for our son and my husband. His parents left town two days after we returned so that they could go on the Regal Princess TA. They watch the shop when we're gone. We cruise the Caribbean all the time because it's on our doorstep and we don't need flights or hotels to get to the ship.

 

I would love to go back to Bar Harbor as a land vacation. I'd also like to visit Montreal & Quebec City as my grandparents were from there.

 

Some of our dream/future cruises are:

California Coastal (2015)

Southern Caribbean (oddly enough we haven't done all of it, just Aruba)

Baltics

Eastern & Western Med.

Hawaii

Edited October 21, 2014 by smileyperry

[cruzinlady1947]

Thanks for the reply......and........WOW, was not expecting a toy like that. :eek: I thought maybe some electronic man toy or big screen TV from Amazon. :p

 

Boy, how many cruises could I go on for that......;)

 

Congratulations to your husband. I'm sure he deserves it.

 

Enjoy......:D And, thanks again for doing the review.

 

 

Gwen :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Thanks for the reply......and........WOW, was not expecting a toy like that. :eek: I thought maybe some electronic man toy or big screen TV from Amazon. :p

 

Boy, how many cruises could I go on for that......;)

 

Congratulations to your husband. I'm sure he deserves it.

 

 

He's been bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day for the last week and a half ;)

 

I had the same thought as you. It's part of the reason that we have no cruises booked until next October.

[attitudeda]

My husband's toy isn't really a toy. It's a new car. He's been driving his dad's old car for the last few years (his parents only use one car because they go everywhere together) and saving money to buy this thing.

 

I was completely against it at first, but he's an incredibly hard working guy and deserves to get the car he wants. He just finished paying off his parents for their business and that huge expense is now gone. I can't argue with him because he really does deserve to enjoy himself while he is still young. I have a small SUV, so that is the "family" car for the times we go somewhere with our son.

 

 

 

WOW thats some toy. lol, Enjoy it.

 

Doug

[JessyCruises]

Now I see why he was distracted and wanted to rush home!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruzinlady1947]

I forgot to ask, what kind of car is it? Besides an extremely "cool" car.

 

 

Gwen :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I forgot to ask, what kind of car is it? Besides an extremely "cool" car.

 

 

Gwen :)

 

It's the 2015 Corvette Stingray.

I also objected to the obnoxious yellow color, but it's growing on me already.

[cruzinlady1947]

It's the 2015 Corvette Stingray.

I also objected to the obnoxious yellow color, but it's growing on me already.

Thanks......Would never have guessed it was a Corvette. Boy, how they have changed. I like the color too.

 

 

Gwen :)

[Buccaneergirl]

I thought the toy might be a car! Congrats and enjoy it!

 

Dh has a 2009 red corvette that is his toy too. :D It is actually our third vehicle, so it sits in the garage most of the time. We went to a Corvette show last Saturday and saw quite a few new corvettes. They are beautiful!

[LBumb]

great job

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I thought the toy might be a car! Congrats and enjoy it!

 

Dh has a 2009 red corvette that is his toy too. :D It is actually our third vehicle, so it sits in the garage most of the time. We went to a Corvette show last Saturday and saw quite a few new corvettes. They are beautiful!

 

I told my husband that he should really get a small car for to and from work. Right now we live 15 miles from his shop and those miles are going to add up quickly. I don't want him to burn out his engine because he uses it every day. Sometimes he ends up doing deliveries if the delivery truck is full. Wouldn't you love to have your business cards or flyers show up in a bright yellow Corvette?? ;)

[windjamming]

I would have never known about the donut shop if it wasn't for someone else's review on here. I thank that person for introducing it to me! It's on 7 Exchange Street.

 

That may have been me! Of course, Holy Donuts is SO good that I wouldn't be surprised if it was mentioned in multiple reviews! So glad it worked out. :) :) :)

 

Wonderful review and beautiful family. It's always so fun to see different excursions on a similar itinerary - it's like having a "bonus" cruise.

 

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us, and congrats to your husband on his new toy!

[Sunkissed Mommy]

That may have been me! Of course, Holy Donuts is SO good that I wouldn't be surprised if it was mentioned in multiple reviews! So glad it worked out. :) :) :)

 

Wonderful review and beautiful family. It's always so fun to see different excursions on a similar itinerary - it's like having a "bonus" cruise.

 

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us, and congrats to your husband on his new toy!

 

Yes, windjamming, it was you that brought the goodness of Holy Donuts in to my life!!! I am forever greateful :)

 

I enjoyed reading your review in preparation for my cruise. Thanks so much.

[alliebrandy]

Thank you for a wonderful review and beautiful pictures of locations as well as your family. I also would like to thank you for the most helpful hint of the use of the shower curtain and magnetic hooks, along with posting of the pics. That is such an ingenious idea.

 

I am going out this weekend to purchase those items and place them in my suitcase. We are taking our grandchildren with us on our next cruise and I have been wondering how to be able to get a bit more privacy when getting ready. As well as, no allowing the TV light to bother them once asleep.

 

Thank you again.

[dblane]

I know I'm reading a year behind but these posts have a lot of info about Boston which we are going to in Sept before Our NCL Dawn cruise to Canada.

[cobeck]

Planning a similar cruise this fall. Which of the excursions you took were through RCI and which did you book or plan on your own. We love doing our own planning but not against using ship excursions if time is tight. Thanks!

[trouble1964]

Planning a similar cruise this fall. Which of the excursions you took were through RCI and which did you book or plan on your own. We love doing our own planning but not against using ship excursions if time is tight. Thanks!

 

We did this cruise in Oct. We didn't do anything in Boston since we got in late and left early.

 

In Portland, we did a ship tour that took us to Kennebunkport and a short tour of Portland. We went over to Cape Elizabeth to this nice park that had a lighthouse and a lighthouse museum. It was about an hour's bus ride on the highway to KBP and the same on the way back, except thru rural areas (which was a lot better to me anyway). I enjoyed seeing the little rural towns, but I also enjoyed seeing the large houses in KBP and Portland, even if it was just a passing look. The bus dropped us off in Kennebunk (there is a difference), which is a little town with a lot of shops and restaurants. Nothing really very scenic except a little pond and boat dock, but the lobster was fairly cheap. I was in a walking boot, so we didn't get to walk very much, so we probably missed a good bit. In KBP we also passed the Bush residence and slowed down for photos but weren't allowed to get off the bus. Portland looked really interesting and I regret that we didn't get to spend more time there. Try to be outside at sunrise in Portland....it's beautiful!

 

We've been to Bar Harbor several times (I have family that lives about 45 minutes from there). We met up with them and spent the day together. Bar Harbor never gets old to me. Be sure and see Acadia National Park. We never make a trip that we don't go there and it's different every time. There is a free trolley that runs up there. You can find info on the town's website. Lots of little shops, but they sell generally the same things. Another nice sunrise viewing. As you are coming into BH, there are huge mansions that you can see along the coastline. Bring binoculars so you can see just how big they are.

 

In St. John, it was raining and we had also done a bus tour. We didn't get off many places because it was slippery and I was afraid of falling. It didn't seem that interesting to me though.

 

Halifax, we did another rainy bus tour. First stop was the Citadel where we got out and walked around. Next was the Maritime Museum. It was incredibly crowded and hard to read the exhibits due to people stepping in front of you. There were only a few Titanic artifacts...I would have liked to have seen more. We were taken to a restaurant next to the museum and had our choice of 2 kinds of wraps. There was a big gift shop attached to the restaurant. After that, it was on to Peggy's Cove and I was really looking forward to that. When we got there, it was raining and cold, and the wind was blowing HARD. They have a little gift shop and I think everyone from 3 cruise ships were packed inside it to get out of the rain :) You can get a passport stamp upstairs in the post office there, and the line was very long. I wish we had gone to Peggy's Cove first.

 

Check out the Ports board here, and also Trip Advisor. You can also order guidebooks from each one of the towns you stop in. I had studied them for over 6 months, then got my ankle injury and had to change everything I had planned to riding around on busses. There were alot of things I would have liked to have done, but knew that it would be impossible....so we will be going back one day!