An Excellent Eastern Expedition! Day 9 & 10... & Home!

--An Excellent Eastern Expedition--

DAY 9 & 10 (& Home!)

(Previously: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8)

Day 9

I woke up about 7 and went down to enjoy my hotel's continental breakfast. I was half-asleep as I wandered into the breakfast room. A sign, in French, said something about choosing your own table. As I passed the sign, a hotel employee stopped me and said something to me in French. 

Let me pause and say that while I was able to figure out most French signs and can understand quite a few words, I can't understand mumblespeak French any more than I can understand mumblespeak English. Especially at 7am before I've had a drop of coffee.

In English, I asked the guy to please repeat what he'd said. He then pointed behind me and said I needed to check in with an attendant. I looked behind me and saw that I'd totally passed by this guy sitting at a table by the door. Apparently he needed my room number. I turned back, apologizing, and gave him my number. He rifled through a packet of papers and made a tiny check mark. And that was it.

The funny thing was, I realized afterward that the sign that said "choose your own table" had a second message written on the back. You know, where you likely wouldn't see it until you were leaving. It read (you guessed it) "Please check in with the attendant." And as for choosing one's own table, over half the tables had "Reserved" signs on them, though there was no one sitting at them.

This place was just weird, is what I'm saying. 

Breakfast items offered were: cereals, juices, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, bread (for toasting), various cut fruits (melons, pineapples, etc.), slices of American cheese, pastries, mini croissants, and coffee. You could also order hot foods (eggs, bacon, etc.) but they cost money. I guess that was one of the reasons the breakfast place had "attendants" -- a reason other than just making me feel bewildered, I mean.

I left the hotel around 11 and stopped at Tim Horton's for an iced coffee and a box of Timbits (aka donut holes.) 



Then I began to walk in the direction of the Museum Of Fine Arts, thinking I'd stop at the Barbie museum on the way. The website for the Barbie Museum had been vague on the hours, so I wasn't sure when it actually opened. To complicate things further, today was a Canadian holiday (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, or Fête Nationale), but as it was also a Sunday, some things were closed but some things were to be closed on Monday instead (when the holiday was observed). It was all a little confusing.

Anyway, the Barbie museum was not open as I walked by, and I didn't see any hours posted. So... onward to the Museum Of Fine Arts. It was about a 2-mile walk from the hotel.

The Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts consists of several buildings, all connected by underground passages. The adult ticket price was $15. 

The museum is huge -- possibly the largest one I've been in yet. But the place is like a maze. They had maps available, but those basically just gave a general overview of the buildings. Getting from one building to another was apparently something you were supposed to figure out. 

There was a special Picasso exhibit going on, but it cost extra, and I didn't do that.

I saw many cool things...

I stopped for lunch at the museum's cafe (I bought pre-made pasta salad; quite good.) After lunch, I continued to look around the museum. I spent about 4.5 hours there total. 

As I was about to leave, I noticed that the skies had turned dark. When I stepped outside, I realized it was pouring rain! I had brought my windbreaker along that day, which was great, but I had definitely worn the wrong pants (jeans) and shoes (sneakers). On the walk back, everything from my waist down got soaked.

I stopped at Tim Horton's and grabbed some dinner, which I brought back to the hotel.

Back in my room, I hung up my wet clothes and got warm & dry. I settled in for what I hoped would be a relaxing evening. Unfortunately, I started getting a bad headache, and even though I took something for it, it didn't let up for many hours. Woe.

Blame it on the rain.

Yeah, yeah.

Actually, another weird thing that was happening was that I was experiencing what some call "land sickness," the feeling that the ground is moving or that you're unsteady on your feet, after getting off a boat. It came and went throughout my days in Montreal, but I definitely felt it. After my previous two cruises, I got on a train almost immediately after disembarking. I wonder if the transition from boat to train, and then train to land, helped in those instances?

Going straight from boat to land was like... whoa, no.

Your mileage may vary.

Day 10

Homeward bound today.

I got up around 8. Breakfasted. Packed. Went down to the lobby and bought some Canada postcards & some stamps for sending a few of them. 

After checking out of my hotel, I literally had to just walk across the street to catch the shuttle bus to the airport. (The bus is appropriately numbered 747). Cost: $10. I'd checked, and a Taxi would have run me about $60. The ride took 30-40 minutes. Once at the airport, it was a little confusing trying to figure out where to go, but eventually I figured it out.

I printed my plane tickets at one of the kiosks. You know how it asks you to scan your passport or credit card? I scanned the latter and then almost left it in the machine. I'm still kind of haunted by that "almost." There were no blinky lights or reminder messages on the screen, so I wonder how many credit cards get left behind...

Next I proceeded through security and customs. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Crossing the border, I mean. In the past year, I've crossed the US/Canadian border roughly ten times, via bus, boat, train, plane, and bicycle. 

I was at the airport by 1pm, but my flight didn't leave till nearly 4. I got some lunch from Starbucks Cafe (that's what they call it there, bless them). I also purchased some snacks for my flights, successfully using up the rest of my Canadian coins. 

The first flight was relatively short. We landed in JFK on time. My connecting flight was in a different terminal, so I had to take a shuttle from one to the other. I figured out where to catch that, but the employee who was in charge of people traffic wasn't friendly. She told me to wait behind the rope, which I did. But the next person to approach had to be told the same thing, as the person after that, and she was grouchy every time she had to tell people to wait behind the line. (Here's a novel idea... SIGNS.)

As the shuttle crossed the tarmac, I could see the New York City skyline! I'd only been through NY once before, via train, and by train you mostly just see... underground stuff. So this view was cool. The airport was so crowded, though! Masses of people everywhere. Huge lines for food. Lines for the ladies' room. Lines for the shuttle that backed up the downward escalators (imagine being stuck in line while on a moving staircase.)

While waiting for my flight, I was able to call my mom. She would be picking me up from PDX around 11pm her time. But I had a 6-7 hour flight to make it through, first.

My second flight -- from New York to Portland -- boarded & took off on time. It was a large plane, and they said it was relatively new. There was in-flight entertainment, which I wasn't expecting, but it was super helpful in distracting me during that long flight. (No, that's not the longest flight I've ever been on, but it was still about 5 hours too long for me!)



Where's our plane now? Let's check the monitor! Why, we're currently flying over Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and part of Ontario all at once! And it appears we're headed for... Seattle??

Dinner was good. There were three free options to choose from, but as I'd indicated "vegetarian option" on my reservation beforehand, when the flight attendant came to me she didn't ask what I wanted but simply handed me the veggie wrap option. I had actually been leaning toward the cheese tray, but I took the veggie wrap because it would have been rude not to. Thankfully it turned out to be delicious, so that worked out well. 





If you ever take a westbound Delta flight, you, too, should try this veggie wrap.

I watched several episodes of HGTV's Good Bones (a house-remodeling show) and I also watched Black Panther, which I had not seen before.

Our flight landed in Portland earlier than we'd expected, but once again, we had to wait for a gate to become available. What is up with that new trend? It happened twice on this trip and I don't recall that ever being an issue before, having to wait on the tarmac for a gate. 

At last we deplaned, and it felt good to be back. Sure, in the weeks since, I've thought, "I need to go on another cruise!" because cruises > real life, but being home is nice, too.

Some final thoughts...


What would I do again?

All the cities I visited were great in their own way. If I were to take this exact same cruise again, I think I would probably book different excursions in each port, for the sake of "trying new things." Maybe I'd book an excursion in QC; maybe go up to Montmorency Falls. Perhaps I'd go on a "lighthouses" tour out of Bar Harbor. But I'd also be happy seeing the Anne & Gilbert musical again and going on either of the horse & trolley tours again. Even just sitting on the opposite side of the trolley than I did would make that ride different. The weather could make those rides different. 

I would not likely return to the Fortress Of Louisbourg unless it was "in season" with everything open. 


What do I wish I'd done differently?

My unfortunate embarking experience left me feeling a bit... unwelcome on the ship, I'll admit. Perhaps that prevented me from being as bold as I would've otherwise been. Then again, maybe I would have felt the way I did anyway. The truth is, I just never felt like going to the sit-down dining room. It just seemed so formal, and I wasn't feeling it. Now, looking back, I think... maybe I should have? Even just once? Just to try it? Okay, we'll call that a "plan for next time."

Also, I do wish I could have had more days at the beginning of my trip to sight-see, and then come home right after the cruse. I mean, I loved Montreal, but it's hard to do things in that order. I prefer land then sea vacations. But... this was the way it worked out. Just a note for next time.


Overall impressions of HAL?

Forget the idea of Holland America being an Old Folks' ship... yes, there were older people. Probably more than on DCL. Fewer families with young kids, certainly.  But there were a lot of young couples, a lot of middle-aged couples and groups, and, as I mentioned a few posts ago, a fair number of gangly teenagers.

The activities on board didn't really interest me. There were a quite a few seminars on technology, but they were things like "Getting to know Windows 10" or "Learning To Take Great Digital Photos" and I wasn't compelled to go.

I did like the fact that this ship had a lending library as well as DVDs for rent.

The food was comparable to DCL. Some of it was mediocre, but some of it was superbly delicious. 

I was asked to take a survey by the cruise line a few days after I returned. One of the questions asked was if HAL would be my "first choice" for booking my next cruise. I would certainly travel with HAL again, but "first choice" is a bit laughable. More important to me would be price and itinerary. I hear Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian are all good lines, and who knows which one I'll try next?


Favorite thing I saw?

Sunsets.

Thanks for reading my trip report! Until next time... (When will that be? I wish I knew.)