At Sea & Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

            Friday, 18 Sep 2015 – Although this seemed like an at-sea day, it was not that because we were to dock at Halifax, Nova Scotia at 7:00 PM.  This new schedule was a result of skipping Newfoundland due to the storm there, and then being unable to dock earlier at Halifax because another ship had reservations for the dock space.

            As we headed to the Horizon Court for breakfast this morning, we saw Jim and then, Gail, at a table on the deck.  Since they were going to eat, too, we selected our food and then carried it on trays to join them.  After talking for a long time with them, we went back to our cabin for a while before having our lunch/snack in mid-afternoon.

            At dinner, we sat with Gail and Jim plus two other couples: Maureen and Joe (of Long Island, New York), and John and Maggie (of Texas, but formerly of Des Moines, Iowa).  Maureen and Joe are the first people we have met who have been taking the same vacation as we have: first, the Royal Princess cruise around the U.K.; then visiting London for four nights; and finally, boarding the Caribbean Princess for both the Norwegian fiords and the current cruise.  One difference is that they cruised to England on the Queen Mary, thus avoiding flights altogether.  (Gail and Jim will fly to Seattle, but then cruise from there back to Australia, in order to avoid that long flight.)  Although it was about 8:00 PM when our ship finally docked in Halifax, there was a long line of people waiting to leave the ship.  Alternatively, we danced again to music by the Alphard Duo.

            Saturday, 19 Sep 2015 – We awoke to our alarm at 7:30 AM, and went to breakfast at 9:00 AM.  We proceeded ashore and boarded our tour bus at 11:10 AM.  Our tour guide was Ron and our driver was Paul.  (Yes, those were their names!)  We drove from the waterfront and into the historic heart of downtown, past some of Halifax's most famous historic landmarks and attractions.

            One of the first sights we passed was the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which features one of the world's foremost collections of Titanic memorabilia, including the ship's only surviving deck chair.  We continued on past the Historic Properties, a renovated 19th century district that reflects the time when merchant ships and privateers came into the harbor.  Incidentally, Halifax harbor is the second best natural ice-free harbor in the world.  (First is Sydney, Australia.)

            Our first stop was the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, burial site of 121 victims of the Titanic.  Because Halifax was the closest major port to the sinking of the ship, all of the recovered bodies were brought here along with many pieces of wreckage.  Although most of the victims are memorialized with a small gray granite marker giving their name, date of death, and marker number, some families paid for larger markers with a more detailed inscription.  However, one-third of the occupants of the graves have never been identified and their markers contain just their date of death and marker number.



View from the Citadel

For a bird's eye view of the city, we traveled up to the top of Citadel Hill for a photo stop. Citadel Hill has a renowned history.  The city was founded here in 1749 and its strategic position overlooking the harbor led the British military to build a guardhouse and fort.  A total of four forts would be built atop this hill.  The present Citadel, completed in 1856, is officially called Fort George, named after Britain's King George II, and its distinctive star shape is typical of many 19th century British forts.  From this panoramic viewpoint we looked out over the city's downtown skyline, the harbor, and the ceremonial guards at the Citadel's entrance.  Off in the distance we could see the town clock.  Commissioned by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent in 1800, the clock has kept time for the community since it began operation in 1803.

On our return trip to the pier, we continued on past the exclusive (expensive!) neighborhoods of Halifax's South End, past the universities, hospitals and parks before returning to the pier.  Since the tour was only scheduled for 1.5 hours, we were back onboard the ship and enjoying lunch in the Horizon Court by 2:30 PM.

Since Gail and Jim were not available for dinner, we joined Bill, Brenda, Ron, and Tia, all from Ontario, Canada, about 30 miles north of Toronto; and Marilyn and Lisa from Vancouver Island, Canada.  As usual, we mostly discussed our cruise experiences.  After dinner, we danced to the Alphard Duo for 45 minutes before returning to our cabin.  Before retiring, we set our clocks and watches back by one hour – this put us back to New York’s time, or EDT.