This port was another early and short day. The last time we were here it was raining hard, so we rode the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus but never hopped off. Today our plan was to walk around the harbor area and some of the downtown.
We started with a nice breakfast in the main dining room. We shared a table and enjoyable conversation with a couple from Tucson, Arizona.
We left the ship and headed toward Harbourside Park which is across the street from the Newfoundland National War Memorial Historical Site of Canada.
In the park, we talked to a family from Prince Edward Island who were visiting St. John’s because their daughters were competing in softball in the Canadian Games (their version of the Junior Olympics). They told us that St. John’s was going to be very crowded over the next four days. It didn’t feel crowded today.
We walked a couple of blocks uphill and explored some of the shops as we made our way back toward the ship. Once we got to the Court House we took the steps down to the port area.
As we passed by the side of the courthouse, we noticed a police car pull up and out came a guy with his hands cuffed behind his back. Then I saw that the bottom of the courthouse was the jail. First time seeing that happen when taking a walk.
Courthouse with the jail on the bottom floor
At sailaway, since the weather was so nice, the Captain opened the bow and let passengers go out and take photos.
We had dinner tonight at the Canaletto. I had the pasta with shrimp and clams. Chuck had the osso bucco. Both were very good.
We went to see the HAL singers and dancers perform “Feel the Beat.” They were very good.
The Ocean Bar Band had the night off. The Piano Bar singer was performing in the Ocean Bar tonight. We stayed for a few songs and then called it a night.
When I was putting up the laundry, Chuck realized that his gray t-shirt was not in the basket. I either forgot to list it on the form and the laundry people didn’t know where it belonged, or it may have gotten stuck in the washer or dryer and overlooked.
On some past cruises, we have gotten laundry items that weren’t ours and our items have been missing. What to do? A quick trip to Guest Services and a form to complete. If the shirt went to someone else’s room, I hope they return it to Guest Services.
We went to the Lido for dinner. I had the swordfish and some vegetables. It was so good, I forgot to take a photo.
We were going to see the pian bar player but found out she came down with COVID. We decided to go see Kenny Martin. He specializes in the clarinet but played other instruments as well. He was excellent.
We played some slots and then called it a night. When we got back to the room, we were happy to see that the gray t-shirt was on a hanger and hanging on a hook in the room. I sent an electronic thank you to Guest Services and the Laundry in the app.
I know some people find the Navigator app frustrating, but I really like the feature where you can send comments/praise/concerns in it. They do read them and pass the feedback on to whatever department is responsible. I know this because we sent a compliment about our room stewards a couple of different times and they thanked us for doing so.
Woke up at 5:00 but easily drifted back to sleep and finally got up at 7:30.
Our plan was to do a walking tour around the city using the provided map. However, it was raining so we decided to get on the HOP-ON/HOP-OFF (HOHO) bus. I had read some reviews and what caught my eye was that the buses were small and if you hopped off, it might be quite a while before you could hop back on as they stayed full.
Since we didn’t want to be caught out in the cold and rain, we just opted for the two-hour ride. Turns out, so did all the other riders. The reviews were correct. As we pulled up to the stops, there were several upset people who had been waiting quite a while for the next available HOHO bus. I think they needed to call a cab or start walking. A ride didn’t look promising.
The guide provided some very interesting narration at each of the stops. It was hard to get some photos because of the rainy/foggy windows. The time passed quickly and soon we were back at Stop 1. We looked around at some of the shops and then made our way back to the ship.
War MemorialWar MemorialSignal Hill – Cabot TowerJelly Bean houseCape Spear
Since we were having another Canaletto dinner tonight, we just had a snack when we got back to the ship. The rain had eased up, so we spent a relaxing time on the balcony doing some people watching until it was time to get ready for dinner.
FLOWERS OF ST. JOHN’S
Travel Trivia
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Existing on maps as early as 1519, it is one of the oldest cities in North America.
Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John’s.
St. John’s is home to North America’s oldest annual sporting event, the Royal St. John’s Regatta, which dates back to at least 1816. The event is important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday in August, weather permitting) is a civic holiday – one of the few weather-dependent holidays in the world.
The St. John’s area is subject to freezing rain events (called “silver thaws”), the worst of which paralyzed the city in April 1984 and April 2017.
Often compared to San Francisco due to the hilly terrain and steep maze of residential streets, housing in St. John’s is typically painted in bright colors, earning its downtown the nickname Jelly Bean Row.
