Holland America Line is recognized as one of the premium segments of the cruise industry that offers more than 500 cruises annually—from one-day mini-vacations to Grand World Voyages of more than 100 days. Our mid-sized ship, MS Maasdam featured an interior motif that was inspired by the historical Dutch East and West India companies of the 17th through the 19th centuries—It was no wonder that upon setting foot on the ship for the first time I felt a kind of awe and misplaced nostalgia…with a slight tinge of dread, because of the few similar corners Maasdam had with the movie, Titanic.
On-board entertainment was never a problem and in every cruise ship, you get to experience two gala nights and fine dining options every night. Although, a smaller ship does mean that it is more susceptible to strong waves, so if you get dizzy easily like me, then I bid you to stay away from cruising or choose a route that doesn’t travel through open water that much—I couldn’t eat dinner for two days due to seasickness, which was a win for my diet, but with the “free” overflowing food (not to mention steak and lobsters!) 24/7, my self-control didn’t last long.
Our journey was a seven-day Canada and New England tour that started boarding at Boston, Massachusetts. I have to say, I love Vancouver, but if I had to choose a place to live in in the US, it would have to be Boston. The city of Boston can be explored through walking or biking with a lot of historical sites and famous establishments to experience in just a day or two. And in every port stop during our cruise, we joined hop-on-hop-off bus tours—this is a great way to see the main points of a city in just a few hours, especially since we only had limited time for each port stop. But even if you do have a few days in a new city, it is a great idea to do to a hop on/off and finish the whole tour without going down for you to be able to have an overview of the city, and then deciding which ones you prefer to stay longer at.
Our first port stop was at Bar Harbor Maine, USA; a quaint and picturesque Victorian town world-famous for their “Maine Lobsters” and acres of scenic Acadia National Park, donated by the Rockefeller family. Our second destination was Halifax, Nova Scotia, a small and lazy city but with a lot of superb sites and stories to tell—particularly the tragedy that was Titanic, it was a tear-jerking tour and made me appreciate the historical effort that was put into the making of the film. Third stop was at Sydney, Nova Scotia, where Alexander Graham Bell spent the last 32 years of his life developing his amazing inventions. The fourth port was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island—the largest producer of potatoes and home of the fictional character, Anne of Green Gables. Our fifth and most fetching stop was in Quebec, Quebec, with its European architectures and French-speaking culture; it can satiate one’s hankering for a Euro trip for a while. Finally, we reached our jump-off port, Montreal, Quebec, the location of many beautiful churches, particularly Notre-Dame Basilica and the huge Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. So, “to cruise or not to cruise?”—It really depends on one’s schedule and preferences. I, for one, still prefer staying on shore and taking the time exploring the land that lies before me without the pressures of overindulging on a smorgasbord of food.
