Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

Reports about cruises on Arcadia
User avatar

Suekersh
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1562
Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#26

Post by Suekersh »

melsea wrote:
Hi Sue
All sounds good even if the weather is not playing the game.
Quick question, did you have to get a Canadian Visa for this trip as I have just learnt that visitors now need a passport but I think it's different for cruisers. It's only 7 dollars anyway.
Look forward to hearing more.
Melsea
We didn't need a visa because we arrived and depart by ship.
In Qubec day. Lovely city and the sun is shining although chilly out of it. Definite Autumn weather.

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#27

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Halifax Nova Scotia

The sun and clear blue skies greeted us this morning. An Autumn chill in the air but at least we didn't get wet today.

We were docked in the Paupers Dock and surrounded by crates, cranes and other machinery. The Oceana Regatta and the Aida ships had been allocated the prime spots. The port did lay on a shuttle to get us out of 'No Mans Land' to civilisation or the boardwalk as it is known here.

It is a huge port area and has one of the worlds finest natural harbours more than 16 miles long and shaped like a spoon and is Canada's principle Naval Base. The Scottish influence can be seen with many tour guides in their kilts.

The port buildings were full of craft stalls and farmers markets. Free wi Fi all the way along the Boardwalk and it was a lovely walk with great views around the harbour.

Our Plan for the day was the Maritime Museum to see the Titanic exhibition. We picked up a map from the tourist board and the directions were easy. Just stay on the boardwalk. It was about a 25 minute walk and we passed lots of traditional shops in Historic buildings, public gardens, Art gallery and a brewery before we finally reached the museum.

This was on two floors and we headed first to the Titanic exhibit. Halifax was the closest port to the disaster and it was from there that the boats set out to rescue and clear up the debris from the tragedy. The stories were told on boards and were very touching. There was an original Deck chair behind glass but they had copied it and it was there for visitors to try out. There was a charge of 4 shillings a day to use the deck chairs which were only available to 1 st class passengers. A pair of childrens leather shoes and adult gloves in perfect condition told another story. Other memorabilia from the 1 st class area as well as 2 nd and 3 rd were on show.

We spent most of our time in the Titanic area but there were lots more to see with models of the early Cunard elegant passenger liners, an exhibition on the Halifax explosion in 1917, the Convoy exhibit which revealed how Nova Scotia helped in the struggle to supply Europe in the face of submarine attacks during WWll. It would have been very easy to spend all day here and still not see everything this place has to offer. I was amazed to learn that Nova Scotias waters are strewn with over 10,000 shipwrecks.

Our ticket also included a visit to the CSS Acadia which is the first hydrographic research vessel built to chart Canada's Arctic and East Coast waters.

We retraced our footsteps back towards the port area. The sun was now very strong and hot. We stopped off for a local beer and sat outside enjoying the views and the sun. Such a difference to the torrential rain
Yesterday.

Back at the port area we mooches around the craft stalls and farmers market before heading back to the ship. Once again the Captain had parked the right way round for the sun to be on our balcony.

The show in the theatre was a group called the Blue Jays. One of the best we have seen on P & O. Very lively Rock and Roll music from the 50s and 60s.

Tomorrow is a relaxing sea day before we reach Quebec at lunchtime on Monday.

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#28

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Sea Day to Quebec.

It was nice to have a relaxing sea day after 7 consecutive busy port days. The weather was dismal as we rounded the headland into the St Lawrence River.

I went back to the 7 am exercise class followed by the fab abs. It was hard work and I could tell that I had not been for almost a week.

When I arrived back at the cabin after the Sunday special breakfast of scrambled Egg and smoked salmon the 1/2 bottle of champagne had been delivered. Thank you P & O.

The sun broke through and the skies cleared. It warmed up when the sun was out but as soon as a cloud covered it the temperature dropped significantly.

Battle of the sexes was earlier due to the football and the ladies got trounced.

Our 4 th formal night, canapés and our third basket of fruit were delivered.

After pre dinner drinks in the East Bar with stunning views of the sunset as we sailed up the St Lawrence river we went for a later dinner than usual. That is the beauty of freedom dining being able to dine when it suits rather than at a fixed time.

Dinner was a Marco Menu with the P & O special port marinated Stilton to finish. By the time we left the dining room the formal ball in the Globe was in full swing with the group Inspiration playing favourite Dance music.

The headliners were in the theatre performing Reel to Reel but as we have seen this so many times we decided to stay in the Globe.

The hour went back again during the night as Quebec is in the same time zone as New York.

We don't arrive in Quebec until 2 pm tomorrow.

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#29

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Quebec - 1 st day

A beautiful clear sunny morning for our sail up the St Lawrence river into the heart of Quebec. The scenery was stunning and finally we saw the Autumn colours in the leaves particularly on the higher trees.

After the Monday special of Eggs Benedict for breakfast we donned fleeces and sat on the balcony just watching our progress up the river.

The Captain announced he was leaving the ship in Quebec and Captain Ashley Cook was taking over the command. We docked at 2 pm but it seemed to take forever for the ship to be cleared and the gangways opened.

The shuttles were ready and although we were once again in the Paupers dock the shuttle dropped us in the upper part of Quebec and saved us quite a walk to the funicular. We just had time to get our bearings and a quick look round before we had to head back to the ship to get ready for our evening trip to the sugar shack.

The trip was great but completely disorganised as has become the norm for the organised trips. No stickers were given out on arrival so there was absolutely no order as to who arrived first or last. Lots of whinging from pax who had arrived early when they realised that pax arriving later were being given tickets and sent straight to the coach. It didn't matter as everyone had a seat on a bus and a place at a table in the sugar shack. Some seats were better than others but the very best seats in the house were reserved for the non paying tour escorts.

The food was plentiful and although very basic was edible. A glass of red sherry type wine was passed to everyone and then a further free drink of either beer, wine or soft drink was included in the price. The food consisted of bean soup and bread to start followed by ham, chicken, meat pie, coleslaw, beans, egg custard, fried potatoes, pork crackling and as much as you could eat. Desert was pancakes with maple syrup and Apple pie.

There were 2 men playing local music whilst we were eating and then we were invited to play the spoons, followed by country dancing. All good fun especially after a few drinks. I had a go at both playing the spoons and a country dance.

Towards the end of the night we were taken to the place where the maple syrup is made and given a short demonstration before the shop opened for sales. The prices were very good compared to the maple syrup we had priced up earlier in the day.

The final part of the trip was the Taffy on snow. We were given a wooden flat stick, then the hot maple syrup was poured onto ice. We had to wait 10 seconds then roll the stick in the maple syrup to make a lollipop. Probably the most calorific lollipop ever but absolutely fat free.

We just had enough time to look around the stuffed animals, bears, foxes squirrels etc etc all local to the area. There were some very big bears in there and I wouldn't have wanted to meet one of those on the way back to the coach.

I don't think I would repeat this trip as it all felt very rushed and the food was very basic and not what we would normally choose to eat. The cost for the two of us was over £100 and we could have had a nice meal in Quebec for the same amount.

Tomorrow we have a full day to explore Quebec.

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#30

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Quebec - 2nd day

I didn't sleep at all well after the food last night but we were up early as usual. The weather was absolutely grim. Wet, cloudy and freezing cold. It had got down to minus 2 degrees last night and there was snow on the hills.

We went to the spa for an hour hoping the weather would improve but it didn't.
We had planned on going to the waterfalls close by and it was so wet that we wouldn't get any wetter but decided against it as it would probably be muddy and slippery. Instead we got off the shuttle and headed for the funicular which took us to the bottom of Quebec City near to the port area we should have been docked. It was 2 dollars 50 about £1.50 for the single ride down. The entrance was through a touristy shop and the same at the other end. It was only slightly larger than a lift on the ship but the views were amazing even through the rain.

The shops at the bottom were less commercialised than at the top. Some very quaint individual crafty shops. Garry was looking for a men's shop that sold Tilley hats as he wanted another one for the World cruise. As these are made in Canada we had expected to see many shops stocking all of the different styles. He eventually found what he was looking for so that's his birthday present sorted.

We spent the rest of the morning at the bottom end then took the funicular back to the top. By this time we were drenched and cold so found a coffee bar to take a break. The HOHO buses were doing a good trade but as the top decks couldn't be used it was standing room only on the buses downstairs and the queues to get on them were horrendous.

We decided to call it a day as the weather showed little sign of improving. The rain stopped for a while to be replaced by a howling cold wind, we made our way back to the shuttle bus stop disappointed that we hadn't seen Quebec at its best but looking forward to a hot shower.

The sun finally broke its way through the clouds at about 4:30 pm. As it was back on board for 5:30 it was too late to venture out again. We sat on the balcony in the sun enjoying the views of Quebec bathed in late afternoon sunshine. It was quite warm as we were sheltered. We could hear the sailaway party but there didn't seem to be many people braving the freezing wind.

Captain Cook announced that we would be a little late departing as due to the strong wind he was waiting for a tug to help us get away from the dockside.

We had been invited to a friends suite for pre dinner drinks and then we dined with them. Their suite was lovely and I was very envious of the masses of wardrobe and storage space. The balcony is a wraparound one at the aft of the ship on D deck. It was huge but as it was fully covered they got very little sun. We had an extremely entertaining evening with them and hope we get chance to meet up with them again before the cruise ends. We still have a week left but only one more port of call then the long trek back across the Atlantic.

We have a sea day tomorrow followed by Sydney Nova Scotia which is a tender port.

User avatar

Meg 50
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 2266
Joined: January 2013
Location: sarf London

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#31

Post by Meg 50 »

I hope you are sending in feedback from each problematic tour - either immediately or at the end of the cruise
Meg
x

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#32

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Sea Day to Sydney Nova Scotia

Typical of the weather this cruise we woke to clear skies and calm seas, after the appalling weather in Quebec yesterday.

The scenery was stunning as we made our way back towards Sydney.

During the Battle of the Sexes the Bridge announced that a pod of whales were close to the ship on the starboard side. Everyone moved to the windows and the whales entertained us for about 5 minutes before disappearing under the ship.
The ladies won the round of the Battle of the sexes but we are still behind by about 60 points.

After lunch we spent the afternoon sat on the balcony in the sun. Not swimwear weather but very pleasant.

The 5 th formal night of the cruise and we had a reservation in Sindhu for dinner. It was much busier than last time we ate here so much more atmosphere. The food was excellent and the service attentive except for the refilling of our wine glasses. The waitress soon pounced though when I decided I would pour our own.

After dinner we went to the Formal Ball in the Globe with the dance instructors hosting and Inspiration performing.
Whilst waiting for this to start Garry got into conversation with the senior bar manager. I had spotted that although not on the wine menu an old favourite Spanish rosé wine had been served at the Ligurian lunch. The bar manager made some enquiries and found that they had about 30 bottles left. He agreed we could purchase these and he would save them for us for our World cruise. Result. The rosé wine that replaced our old favourite Spanish rosé is French and tastes like rose hip syrup.

Tomorrow we arrive in Sydney or at least that is the plan. Not even the Paupers Dock for us, worse than that we are tendering so very much weather dependent.


Whynd1
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1832
Joined: February 2013
Location: Gower, Swansea

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#33

Post by Whynd1 »

Hi Sue

Sorry the weather has not been better for you both.

However you can now look forward to enjoying all that rose wine !!


Lindsey

User avatar

qbman1
Captain
Captain
Posts: 12153
Joined: January 2013
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#34

Post by qbman1 »

30 bottles of rose will barely see you to Australia - what will you do on the way back ?!

User avatar

Suekersh
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1562
Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#35

Post by Suekersh »

The bar manager came back with 36 bottles of the Rose.QB you know me too well, we will also order the Captains package as and when for the Stoneburn Sauvignon Blanc and the Billy Billy Shiraz.

The trips for the World Cruise were released today so we spent most of the sunny sea day researching and booking the tours.

User avatar

qbman1
Captain
Captain
Posts: 12153
Joined: January 2013
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#36

Post by qbman1 »

I think we got through that many on our Caribbean Transatlantic last year but at least it's a start! We only have 16 nights this Christmas but a huge OBC so I had better make sure the cellar is well stocked!

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#37

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Sydney Nova Scotia

Sydney is part of Cape Bretton regional municipality. There are a lot of Scottish influences here due to a large influx of immigrants in the early 19 th century. Sydney played its part in the war carrying vital supplies to the UK.

It has a very scenic harbour and we could see signs of the Autumn colours.

Unfortunately it was another wet windy and cold morning. We didn't even have a paupers dock as today we were tendering. Captain was not a happy man when he made his early morning broadcast, having been told by the port authorities that tendering could not begin until the Celebrity summit had docked. The Captain estimated that we had to float around for about an hour. I could tell from his tone that he was spitting feathers about this but can only imagine the conversations going on. Within 5 minutes the Deputy Captain announced that tendering was commencing so Captain Cook obviously saved the day for Arcadia as lots of trips were due to leave at 9 am.

We didn't rush off as it was still raining but the promise of better weather to come was made by one of the port officials.

The tender crossing was cold, wet and very bumpy. The seat I was sat on was wet so I ended up with a wet bum all day.
We were greeted in the port by locals dressed up but even they were taking shelter from the horrendous weather.

Where the tender dropped us there was a huge bow and fiddle 60 ft tall, made of solid steel and weighs 10 tons.

In the port building there was a craft market and various boutiques plus free wi Fi and a cafe. We decided to spend some time here before braving the weather which still showed no sign of letting up.

Eventually we just set off with our map and walked into Sydney which was about 20 minutes away. The wind was bitingly cold and the rain persistent. There wasn't much there to see but on the plus side we found a booze supermarket and bought the gin as I had run out last night, next door was a supermarket and we found small tins of Schweppes tonic. Result! It made the sortee out worth while. When we were ready to return to the port area the rain was still teeming down so we called a taxi to take us back to the port.

We mooched around the craft stalls whilst waiting for the weather to improve but gave up and caught the tender back to the ship. Many disillusioned passengers on board who had booked an early trip and had seen very little because of the weather. Another pax had been on the walking tour and had abandoned it. The tender once again was cold wet and bumpy.

Sods law as soon as got back to the cabin the clouds started clearing and it was a lovely afternoon. The people who had booked afternoon tours certainly got the best out of the port.

We now have 5 sea days to Southampton.

User avatar

kaymar
Senior Second Officer
Senior Second Officer
Posts: 761
Joined: January 2013
Location: Ellan Vannin

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#38

Post by kaymar »

Well, you've certainly sold this cruise to us over the last couple of weeks, Sue, and still five sea day in the cold, wet and choppy Atlantic to enjoy :!: :) Fortunately we did this trip five years ago and, apart from one damp morning in New York and some mist in St John's, it was lovely.

Seriously, you would appear to have been very unlucky with the weather and not had the opportunity to enjoy some lovely ports of call - what a shame. Never mind, I'm sure you can do it all again - better luck next time and thanks for the reports, warts and all.

Safe journey home and enjoy your world cruise.

User avatar

melsea
Senior Second Officer
Senior Second Officer
Posts: 576
Joined: February 2013

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#39

Post by melsea »

Sue,
Your report brought back wonderful memories of when we did this cruise on Aurora in 2013. We loved Quebec City, I liken it to Paris without the attitude and how so unlucky you were with the weather, I wont mention ours.
Safe journey back. And I see someone mentioned you are doing a World Cruise how lovely you will enjoy that which ship are you sailing on.
Melsea

User avatar

wolfie
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1029
Joined: January 2013

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#40

Post by wolfie »

We also did this on Aurora in 2009 and I have enjoyed reliving our cruise whilst reading your blog. You were very unlucky with the weather but we were very fortunate on that front. It's a cruise that we would do again, if only we could.

User avatar

Topic author
Dennis The Menace
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1096
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bash Street

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#41

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Morning all, nice to see some old faces following Sue's reports, hope everyone's good :

Friday 30 Sept. - 1 st Sea Day to Southampton.

The sun had decided to show itself again and it was blue skies and sun all day. A bit chilly sat out as we are so far North.

We went to the Spa for an hour then spent some time with the passenger services manager who had offered to give us some advice on the best tours for our world cruise. He was very informative and helpful especially as he knew which tours sell out quickly due to limited spaces. We spent the rest of the morning mulling over the tours on offer and booking the must do ones. We have so much OBC on the world cruise that we will book some on board as well to use that.

At noon the clocks went forward an hour so noon became 1 pm in the blink of an eye. I went to Battle of the Sexes were the ladies won the round again and we are closing the gap with the men.

The ocean started getting rougher at about 4 pm.

It was the Black and White formal night and the Peninsular cocktail party. We decided the weather was only going to get worse so went for an early dinner and then attended the 8 pm party. By that time it was difficult to stand up.

The Headliners were supposed to be performing Killer Queen in the theatre but it was too rough for the dancing so they just sang the songs.

There was no way we were going to risk trying to dance so we retired early again and watched a film in the comfort of our cabin.

The swell worsened through the night with drawers opening and doors banging throughout the night.

Saturday 1 st October - 2nd Sea Day to Southampton

We woke to grey skies and the sea conditions as bad as last night. It was difficult to get showered and dressed.

I didn't really want to leave the cabin but I went for breakfast and Garry braved the spa so that our lovely cabin steward Renjith could get in to service the cabin. Lots of Do not Disturb signs were out and the ship was very quiet with many pax opting for a duvet day.

The sun came out by 9 am but the swell didn't improve.

I stayed in the cabin until it was time for The Battle of the sexes where the ladies lost again by 10 points.

It was the Crew show in the afternoon which I would have loved to see but decided I preferred to be horizontal my bed. The sun was out on the balcony and it was quite warm until it disappeared behind a cloud then it was Baltic.

The weather worsened again later in the afternoon and it took a great effort to go to dinner, but straight after we returned to the cabin to watch a film.

We had so nearly booked a similar cruise when the 2018 cruises were released and now so pleased we decided against it. It is far too late in the year to be travelling from the very North Atlantic. If we do this cruise again it will be in August. It was supposed to be to see the fall in New England for which we were 2 weeks too early anyway. I am not a cold weather cruiser and although I have in the main enjoyed the ports and seeing different places I would have enjoyed it more with hot sunny weather and a calmer sailing.

Sunday. 2 October - 3 rd Sea day to Southampton.

We suffered an extremely rough night. 8 metre swells and force 9 gales. Our cabin curtains were opening and closing of their own accord as were the drawers under the sofa. Glasses rolled off the dressing table and luckily didn't smash.

It had rained heavily during the early morning hours but the sun came out during the morning and a bright but uncomfortable day cruising. The captain broadcast just before noon that we could expect another 24 hours of rough seas then the wind and swells would reduce.

The ship is extremely quiet with most passengers staying in their cabins. I ventured out to breakfast and the Battle of the sexes but ordered lunch back in the cabin and stayed there until dinnertime. The sun was on the balcony and I was able to get some fresh air.

It was Country and Western night in the Globe, a saxophonist in the theatre and Inspiration were performing in the Rising Sun. It was still too rough to risk going to the dancing in the retreat.

User avatar

melsea
Senior Second Officer
Senior Second Officer
Posts: 576
Joined: February 2013

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#42

Post by melsea »

Sue
You have been most unfortunate with the weather. The seasons seem to have shifted these days, so there is no longer a definitive time when the fall occurs. In recent years this cruise has begun in late August so maybe try it again when it does. Although I must say that for me Arcadia doesn't sail as well as Aurora or indeed the QM2 which of course is built for the transatlantic.
Which world cruise are doing? Sounds like you are getting well ready for it. Will look forward to reading your reports. Good that you have got a good whack of OBC, very handy for those excursions. Although if you are pre booking them, the OBC wont be used yet, which you know already. Good you are booking those that will undoubtedly get booked up. I made a mistake on our half world earlier this year when I had forgotten to log on to my CP while in Hong Kong and book a trip for China. I knew there were places but I just forgot. A lesson to be learnt me thinks. I guess because I so rarely book them I'm not in that thought process.
Safe journey back.
Melsea

User avatar

Suekersh
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1562
Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#43

Post by Suekersh »

Now back home. Thanks to DTM for tendering my reports.

My last 3 reports.

Monday 3 October

Another creaky bumpy night but not quite as bad as the previous night.
The sea is now looking much calmer and we have partly clear skies and the wind speed is now down to 5 knots.

It is Garry's birthday today and a card arrived in the post box from P & O signed/ stamped by Captain Cook. No chocolates this time.

Unbelievably the sun came out mid morning and the seas calmed. It was hot hot hot. I was going to invite a few friends round but because of the rough weather decided not to bother wish I had arranged it now.

We had lunch in the dining room then sat out in the afternoon drinking champagne and eating birthday cake. Some friends called round with a card and then another two friends arrived so we had his little party after all sat in the sun on the hottest sea day of the cruise. They say that the sun shines on the righteous .

We had booked Ocean Grill for dinner. The food was fabulous as usual but the Maitre D had considerably overbooked the restaurant. We had booked for 7 pm already there were many tables filled. We waited over 40 minutes for our starter followed by 45 minutes after we had finished our starter till our main course arrived and then 30 minutes until our desert course. We don't like to be rushed at dinner but this was ridiculous by the time we had had coffee dinner had taken 2 1/2 hours . Many guests were complaining and looking at their watches. One table asked to speak to the manager who was not around as we left the restaurant.

We went to the last formal night ball in the Globe and said our goodbyes to the dance instructors and the fabulous group Inspiration. Such a shame they won't be on Arcadia for our world cruise.

Final sea day

As has become the norm for this cruise one beautiful day turns into a rainy, windy, cold one.

Overnight the cabin rattled and the ship groaned and when we woke up the weather was horrendous again.

I was feeling very unwell after the champagne in the afternoon, wine with dinner and the extremely rich food. I decided I would stay in bed until later in the morning.

We packed after Garry returned from the spa and I chose not to have lunch. I went back to bed and didn't get to the Battle of the Sexes.

The captains 6 pm announcement was bad news. Due to the bad weather and a technical problem Arcadia would be arriving late into Southampton and all the information we had been sent re disembarkation times should be disregarded. New info would be sent out and delivered to the cabins.

By dinner time I still didn't feel like going to formal dinner so we had our last meal of the cruise in the Belvedere. It wasn't great but served its purpose.

We returned to the cabin and put the cases out before settling down to watch a film.

Disembarkation

We finally docked at 8 pm and as we had priority disembarkation we were off the ship by 10:10.
Lots of taxis waiting at the Ocean terminal and within half an hour we had collected our car from the Elizabeth house loaded up and were on our way home.

The motorway was busy but only a couple of hold ups and we were home just after 3:15 p.m.

We now have 3 months at home to research, prepare, and lose the weight we have gained in readiness for our World cruise on Arcadia commencing 2 Jan 2017.
We also need to sort out Chinese visas and any vaccinations we require.

User avatar

melsea
Senior Second Officer
Senior Second Officer
Posts: 576
Joined: February 2013

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#44

Post by melsea »

Welcome Home.
Pleased you got back in one piece and not too drenched out from your cruise.
So you are doing the Arcadian World Cruise. Looking at the itineray you wont need any vaccinations. We have been to most of those ports and have never needed any. One good news is you only need 2 visas, one easy and one not so. Timing is everything especially the Chinese one. Deep breath and it will go okay. The itinerary looks good and boy what a long cruise 114 days!!
Good luck with the packing and organising of your preparations, have fun.
Melsea

User avatar

Kenmo1
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1963
Joined: January 2013

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#45

Post by Kenmo1 »

Hi Sue - welcome back. We were having breakfast on Aurora yesterday morning about 7 am before disembarking and we wondered why Arcadia was only just coming up Southampton Water at that time of the morning

Sorry about your weather. We have done this trip twice but always opted for the early leaving dates and have been fairly lucky with the weather each time so it might be worth doing end August/early September if you do it again. I read in the Horizon that PO are putting 2 ships back on in future but can't remember if it was for 2017 or 2018.

It was great to read your review - it brought back lots of lovely memories. Years ago we did a coach tour which took in Quebec and the surrounding area but my most vivid memory of Quebec is of sitting in the Crow's Nest on the Aurora which was moored immediately under the beautifully lit up Chateau Frontenac at midnight and thinking what an amazing sight it was and how lucky we were to be able to see it.

Hope you haven't put on too much weight - my diet starts today. This is when I miss Onelife's diet.

Maureen

User avatar

Gill W
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 4897
Joined: January 2013
Location: Kent

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#46

Post by Gill W »

Thank you for your reports, which I read with great interest.

You were very unlucky with the weather. I sympathised with some of those sea days. We had a couple of those days in February when we went to the US on Oceana. All you can do is lay down as its not worth trying to do things.

I'm doing this cruise on Aurora in 2018. We started cruising in 2001, and I've wanted to do the USA and Canada cruise ever since, and the opportunity has now arisen.

When I research the ports in more detail, I'll return to this blog

Thanks again
Gill

User avatar

qbman1
Captain
Captain
Posts: 12153
Joined: January 2013
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#47

Post by qbman1 »

It's on our list too, Gill - but I'll need to retire first !!


colin parry
Second Officer
Second Officer
Posts: 389
Joined: February 2013
Location: Mold

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#48

Post by colin parry »

Very interested to read your reports Sue. You really were unlucky with the weather. We did that cruise on Aurora in 2010 and were very lucky with excellent weather throughout. It was also a music cruise which made the crossings even more enjoyable.For me the most enjoyable ports were Newport ( the Brick lane pub especially ) and Bar Harbour which now seems to have disappeared from the itinerary. I agree about Quebec City, fabulous. Once again thank you for the reminder of a special cruise.

User avatar

Suekersh
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1562
Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#49

Post by Suekersh »

colin parry wrote:
Very interested to read your reports Sue. You really were unlucky with the weather. We did that cruise on Aurora in 2010 and were very lucky with excellent weather throughout. It was also a music cruise which made the crossings even more enjoyable.For me the most enjoyable ports were Newport ( the Brick lane pub especially ) and Bar Harbour which now seems to have disappeared from the itinerary. I agree about Quebec City, fabulous. Once again thank you for the reminder of a special cruise.
We were supposed to be going to bar harbour but P & O cancelled it a few weeks before we departed due to too many ships in On that day and we would have to tender.
Much discussion about this on the ship as some pax had written to query this with the harbour master who had apparently said that P & O had cancelled the port due to the port charges and there was only one ship in Bar Harbour on the day we were supposed to call.

All gossip and rumours and of course no one had any proof that this was the case. Unfortunately Saint John's which replaced Bar Harbour was wet and miserable which only fuelled the unrest.

We are hoping to visit some of the ports in the future but it will be a summer cruise rather than an Autumn one.

User avatar

Suekersh
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1562
Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Sue Kersh's Blog - Arcadia to US & Canada

#50

Post by Suekersh »

melsea wrote:
Welcome Home.
Pleased you got back in one piece and not too drenched out from your cruise.
So you are doing the Arcadian World Cruise. Looking at the itineray you wont need any vaccinations. We have been to most of those ports and have never needed any. One good news is you only need 2 visas, one easy and one not so. Timing is everything especially the Chinese one. Deep breath and it will go okay. The itinerary looks good and boy what a long cruise 114 days!!
Good luck with the packing and organising of your preparations, have fun.
Melsea
Thanks Melsea,

We don't think we need any vaccinations but may need Malaria tablets. The advice from P & O is to ask for the doctors opinion
And as we have our flu jab on Monday we will take the itinerary in to the surgery and leave it with them.

We need to sort 3 visas. USA, AUSTRALIA and Chinese although from 1 October there is new info and it appears we may not need one for China after all. P & O are clarifying this at present. The USA one was done earlier this year for our cruise to America in April and lasts for 2 years. The Australia one is done online very quickly. The rest of the visas are sorted whilst on board by P & O. We now have 12 weeks before we cruise again so plenty of time to sort it out if it transpires that we still require it. We can go into Manchester and DIY. I remember last time we did segments of the world cruise getting uptight about the Indian Visa and in the end it was a simple painless (other than the cost) process.
We are enjoying researching the ports and I have started a packing list.

Return to “Arcadia Cruise Reports”