Canada and New England

Author: Paul G Price
Date of Trip: November 2014

Arrived in Quebec City to stay at the Chateau de Pierre. This boutique hotel was moderately priced but well located in old downtown Quebec. The bed was too hard for our comfort, but the continental breakfast was a good buy at $6 US per person.

After embarking on the Ruby Princess, we did a self excursion of the city on the Eco-Lo-Bus. The cost of $2 per person was reasonable for each time we boarded and US dollars were readily accepted. During our walk in upper Quebec City, we used a CapitalOne Visa credit card for all purchases. This credit card does not charge for currency conversion.

Our itinerary took us to Saguenay, we were disappointed in the ship’s excursion due to a lack of real unusual things to see. It was a lackluster trip.

The next stop was at Halifax, Nova Scotia where we disembarked to shop in the ship terminal and nearby farmers market. We had been to this port, at least one other time and enjoyed a Hop-On, Hop-off bus.

The third stop was at Bar Harbor, Maine. In this town, we walked on the main street and visited different shops. It was so cold that we bought ear coverings on sale at 50% off. Other cruisers that like lobster found an abundance of restaurants offering lobster dinners and blueberry pie.

Travel Smarter! Sign up for our free newsletter.

By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Sign Up

Our fourth stop was probably our favorite place, Boston. We like the Hop-On, Hop-Off trolley that we scheduled thru Viator. We walked about 1/2 block and boarded the bus for downtown. Since the distance was not too great, we began our walk of the Freedom Trail outside of Quincy Market. This market was a great place to see every type of food offered and more. Next we finished the block by stopping in Faneuil Hall and followed the brick in the sidewalk, representing the Freedom Trail to the Old State House. At this house, we listened to the story of the founding of our country. Following the brick in the sidewalk, we located the statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of another historic building. We continued on to the church with the cemetery out front, including Samuel Adams grave and John Hancocks grave. Finally, our walk ended at a park across from the current state capital with its golden dome. We arrived at a HOHO bus stop. The complete circuit of the HOHO bus took us to places like Bunker Hill, the ship – Constitution, and beautiful old Fenway Park. We have discovered that the quickest method for us with mobility issues is to ride a narrated bus around a city.

Our fifth port was Newport, Rhode Island where we boarded another narrated bus to see the summer cottages. These mansions, built by the likes of John D Rockefeller and one now owned by Taylor Swift, were unbelievable in splendor.

Our sixth port of call was Brooklyn, New York. We disembarked the ship to discover a wonderful old pizza parlor. It was not lunch time so we did not order and we had food provided on the ship. Since we had been to NYC several times, we did not venture too far but took pictures of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

Our next port of call was Charleston; however, a surpise awaited us. The winds and waves were too high for the ship to dock, so we did not get to start nor finish this visit.

After two days at sea, we arrived in our destination of Ft. Lauderdale.

This trip was totally wonderful. Food on this ship was outstanding. Not only was there an abundance of food; but also a great variety of vegetables. In order to control our weight, we ate at the dining room when it was open. In our opinion, the meals at the dining room were apportioned properly and did not take too long. We met some truly great cruisers, along with some average ones too. What a great trip.