Canadian and Atlantic Coast Cruise

If Not by Land, then by Sea.

Back in January, I had signed up for a wonderful RV Tour of New England and Canada to leaf peep with Yankee RV Tours.  I was to have met the Boothbay, Maine, and end the tour in Vermont.  The total trip would have been six weeks long, and I would have driven around 4,000 miles.

Well, long story made short, I had multiple problems with my RV which not only cost a lot of money, but left me uneasy about travelling all of the miles never knowing if something else would break-down.  So, I cancelled that trip.  It left me very depressed.

I started looking for an alternative trip.  To my pleasure, I found a cruise which would begin in Montreal, travel along the St. Lawrence River with stops in Quebec City, Saguenay PQ, Baie-Comeau PQ, Gaspe PQ, Charlottetown PEI, Sydney NS, Halifax NS, Bar Harbor ME, Charleston SC, and ending in Ft. Lauderdale.

Perfect…It covered much of the same area, I would get to see some autumn leaves, go to places in Canada I had never been. The price kept getting lower each time I looked.  Finally, a few days before the cruise was to begin, I pressed the button and signed on.  So now I am happily aboard the Maasdam of the Holland America fleet.  This is the fourth cruise I have taken with them.

Since the ship was to sail at 4 p.m. and the gang plank schedule to go up at 3:30 p.m., I had to find a flight from Orlando which would get me there in time to go claim my luggage, go  through customs, transport from the airport to the cruise port, go through the check-in process to board at least by 3 p.m.

The earliest flight I found left Orlando at 6 a.m. and would arrive in Montreal at 11:30 a.m. with a connection in Chicago.  This meant I had to get up at 2:45 A. M.  (This is very close to the time I usually go to bed!) so I could drive to a park place where I leave my car outside the airport, shuttle to the airport, and get checked in by 4 a.m.

Well, I did all of that and had a very smooth trip all of the way with no delays, easy connections, and time to spare.  I was on board and in my stateroom with delivered luggage by 1:30 p.m.
I am a happy shipboard camper.