Tag: PEI

B2B: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Monday, September 2, 2024

We didn’t have any plans for Charlottetown today. We decided to treat it as another sea day.

Our first stop was the main dining room for breakfast. We shared a table with a couple from California and a couple from Canada. We enjoyed the leisurely breakfast and conversation.

We decided to use one of our Mariner Benefits and try out the Spa’s Thermal Suite and whirlpool. My understanding is that there are limited number of passes available for this area. If all the passes are not sold for a cruise, people can opt to get a day pass for any given day. We were each allowed one free day pass but the caveat is that we could only use it on a port day when the area is less prone to be busy.

You give the spa personnel your room key and you get a special key that unlocks the doors of the suite and the whirlpool. We each headed for our respective changing area with lockers and robes to use. We met back out by the thermal suite area.

The thermal suite had some heated ceramic loungers in front of a big picture window. It also has a dry sauna, rain shower area, and a wet sauna area. We were in there with one other woman. If nobody is waiting, I guess you can stay on the loungers as long as you want. Otherwise, I think you are supposed to relinquish yours after about 20 minutes. Chuck thought they were uncomfortable even with the rolled up towels to put behind your back and head. I thought they were okay, but we left after about 30 minutes.

We went to the whirlpool. It is not as big as a swimming pool but much larger than the regular hot tubs. It was warm and bubbly. We were the only ones in there. I could have swum around it all day. Again, after about 30 minutes, Chuck was ready to leave and go back to the room. I opted to stay for a while longer and then my intention was to go back to the thermal area and try the dry sauna.

However, when I went back, two other women were in there on the loungers. I sat on one of the loungers to dry off more and ended up talking with them until I was ready to leave. They were leaving too as they had a late afternoon excursion to see the Anne of Green Gables farmstead. It looked like they were going to get nice weather, so I told them I hoped they got to enjoy the gardens that we missed last week.

I’m not sure that I would pay for a pass to this area, but I will definitely try to use my one free pass each cruise.

The weather did get much nicer in the late afternoon, so we spent the pre-dinner time out on the Sea View deck.

We were having another dinner in the Canaletto tonight. We had the same waiter as we did last week, and he remembered our names and wine order. Impressive. I couldn’t remember my own wine order from last week. This time Chuck chose the braised short ribs for his main course, and I chose the casarecce pesto Genovese as mine. We had the same appetizers and dessert as the last time. Everything was very good.

Our evening was once again spent in the casino and the Rolling Stone Lounge.

Tomorrow: Sydney, Nova Scotia

B2B: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

We arrived at Charlottetown at 9:00 but our tour was not until 1:45. While Chuck slept in, I got a latte and walked around the ship’s promenade. I took some photos and listened to the musician channel his inner Jimmy Buffet. I may have been his only audience as most people were rushing into the visitor center to start their day in Charlottetown.

Singing his heart out with an audience of one who had to use the zoom lens.

The last time we were in Charlottetown we took a food/history walking tour of the historic area.

Today our plan was to see the countryside of PEI. And you can’t see the countryside without a stop at the Anne of Green Gables farmstead.

Google stock photo

HAL Tour Description: Explore PEI — Canada’s tiniest and perhaps most charming province, famous for its red earth and white beaches.

A panoramic drive takes you through the historic streets where the Charlottetown Conference led to the Confederation of Canada. Enjoy picturesque views of the rolling hills as you head through the countryside to the North Shore.

You’ll stop at Green Gables — the farmstead that inspired the setting for L.M. Montgomery to create her beloved tale of a red-haired orphan, Anne of Green Gables.

Visit Prince Edward Island National Park to savor incredible scenery, and you will pass through pastoral farmland en route back to the ship in Charlottetown.

We ate lunch in the Lido before getting ready for the tour. We packed our rain gear because it was getting very overcast, and rain was predicted around 2:00.

The bus was comfortable, and the guide was enthusiastic. She told us a lot about Prince Edward Island and some of its famous residents including Lucy and Lucifer – two ducks who for many years laid their eggs in the grocery store parking lot and would get police protection while they sat on the eggs and then a parade when the ducklings hatched, and the family made their way back to the pond.

Of course, it started raining just as we arrived at the Green Gables farmstead. There were a lot of Anne of Green Gables fans on the bus. I have to admit I don’t remember ever reading the books. I was more of a Nancy Drew girl myself. I was mostly interested in the tour to see the countryside. I was definitely in the minority.

However, I enjoyed learning about the author and seeing the house furnishings. I was disappointed that it was raining so hard that exploring the gardens was out of the question. We got an hour at the house and museum, but the docents move you through the house pretty rapidly and the museum was small so, in my opinion, we were there 30 minutes too long. But, if we had a chance to go through the gardens, an hour would have been about right. Who knows – maybe I will read the series to see what I missed.

Lego model in the museum
Author as a young girl
Author in her prime
Wish I could have walked the paths

On our way back to Charlottetown, we did a short drive through the National Park. It was still raining so we didn’t leave the bus and my photos out of the rainy bus windows were poor. Would be nice to spend more time there.

We got back to the ship right before “all aboard” time. Since it was a HAL tour, I was not concerned that we were cutting it close.

After a late night yesterday and a long day today, we ordered room service and stayed in for the evening. It is nice that HAL still offers a pretty extensive room service menu that doesn’t require an extra charge. It took about 30 minutes to arrive, and the BLTs were hot and fresh. So good, I forgot to get a photo. Sigh

Tomorrow – Cruising the St. Lawrence River