Moving, But Not Going Anywhere

Saturday, October 12, 2013 (Ville Quebec)

The morning dawned early enough, and I had a quick shower in order to meet Mom in time to head down the Funicular to pick up the souvenir t-shirt she found the day before but could not decide whether to buy.  Overnight she decided she really wanted it, so I went down the hill with her while Dad and my brother stayed at the hotel to finish packing and organize all the gear and paperwork for us to board the cruise.

Our cruise documents indicated that we could board after 1:00 p.m., but check-out time at the hotel was 11:00 a.m.  We had been on a cruise out of this port before and knew that there was ample space to sit and wait, and the port offered free wifi, so we’d have stuff to do during the wait, so we opted to head to the port early.  The hotel was helpful and got us a taxi large enough for all four of us and our luggage and we were at the port in less than 10 minutes.  We handed our luggage over to the stevedores and they attached the tags that indicated to which cabin the bags were to be delivered and headed in to wait until 1:00 p.m. for check in to begin.  We were surprised when we were allowed to check-in immediately.  Less than half an hour after arrival at the port, I was in my cabin dropping my carry-on luggage and heading off to find lunch.  My cabin was the same one my parents had on our first cruise on this ship, and it was just perfect for what I want in a cruise cabin -- a window where I can have the curtains open overnight, a bed for sleeping, a bathroom with a shower not a tub, and low enough down so as not to be too affected by motion, and forward enough to hear the anchor and docking noises.  My parents had a balcony cabin 6 decks up from me, because they love to sit out on deck chairs with their books.  I’m not an outside deck chair sitter.  I prefer to read my books on a comfortable couch or chair with a view out, rather than being outside as such.  But the balcony is perfect for them, and it gives me a great overlook for sail-away!  My brother’s cabin was a forward facing cabin 5 decks up from me, on the port side -- but interestingly even though his cabin is on the port side, he is in my lifeboat (usually life boats are on the same side of the ship as the cabin).

After dropping our carry-ons, and checking out our cabins, we headed in search of lunch.  We found the buffet was open and we took advantage.  I had a couple of shredded beef soft tacos with rice and beans.  Then I indulged in raspberry sorbet in a waffle cone for dessert.  We discussed the plan for the rest of the day and went our separate ways.  I wanted to take pictures around the ship before too many passengers came on board and made it seem as though I was taking pictures of them rather than the ship.  My parents wanted a lie-down and to read their books.  And I am not sure what my brother did.  I stopped by my cabin to get my camera (yes, I still use a dedicated digital camera rather than an all-in-one smart phone for most of my vacation photos) and headed off in a planned, yet still somewhat random, trek around the ship to take pictures.  And it being the first day, areas of the ship that are usually restricted access were open to all passengers.  That was fun -- to be in the special restricted areas.

I am not sure how long the pictures took, and in truth it didn't really matter.  I knew it was time to finish up when more people were milling about and there was no real angle to get pictures of the rooms with no people.  When I got back to my cabin, my cabin steward had just delivered my luggage.  Since I wanted to change clothes for dinner, I decided to unpack then.  While I was unpacking, my Mom buzzed up my cabin to tell me that her luggage had been delivered as well and she would be down with my new skirt as soon as she finished unpacking.  She ended up being delayed because my brother’s luggage had been delivered as well and he wanted someone to talk to him while he unpacked.

By the time the luggage was all unpacked, it was nearly time to head to dinner, so that’s what we did.   We opted for fixed early seating dinner, so that meant our dinner time was 5:30.  We were all four assigned to the same table, which is nice -- no need to talk to the maitre d’ to get us re-arranged or to table-hop during the meal.  I was hoping for a table along the window for a nice view, or at the railing overlooking the lower level of the dining room so I could look down in judgement on the diners on the level below, but as it turned out, our table was in neither of those locations.  But my position did have a view out the aft windows, so I could see the sun setting as the meal progressed.

In all honestly, I do not remember what I had for dinner that first night, other than I opted for pan-seared rainbow trout and ice cream for dessert.  My cold was getting worse and I was beginning to feel worse so I really wanted just something to eat.  I knew I wanted ice cream to help my throat feel better.  I know my parents tried the pork chops, but they were both too tough and too undercooked for their tastes, so they sent them back in favor of other choices.  That got our table a reputation, as it turned out, and the dining room manager checked every night of the cruise to ensure our meals were to our taste and there were no issues.

After dinner, I headed back to my room for an early night.  And I was happy to discover I could access the port’s free wi-fi from my cabin.  That meant I didn't have to go fight the crowds to sign up for an on-board internet plan that first night.  

The ship had an overnight in Quebec City before setting sail on Sunday, so I fell asleep in the shadow of the famed Chateau Frontenac.