On Our Way To Somewhere
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2007
1
15
20
Trip End
Sep 29, 2007
St. John's,
Newfoundland,
Canada
Monday, September 24, 2007
We had our usual breakfast at the Seaside Café. Unfortunately, other passengers have now found the hidden waffle station but the wait is worth it. Next on the agenda was to check out the "$10 Sale" at the Emporium Shops. This is hilarious...put out a sale sign and the women will flock to it, pushing their way through just to paw through a pile of merchandise while the men all stand in the background, bored to tears, wondering what the fuss is all about. As my Mom would say, "It's the thrill of the hunt." OK, so I caved and bought a beaded pastel pink shawl that I'll probably only wear once then give to Goodwill. But we also made the mistake of walking over the threshold of the jewelry store and were held captive only to be released when we each had purchased a brand new watch. There goes the healthy shipboard credit balance we had. Granted, John had been shopping for a new watch for quite some time and I had coveted a silver watch for those silver jewelry-wearing days so it wasn't like we didn't need it.
We parted ways and I worked out in the Aqua Spa using the weight machines and treadmill. I appreciate the fact that none of the machines were out of order. Throughout the day I made a point of checking at the Guest Relations desk about the status of Tuesday's scheduled port of Saint John. As long as I was being a pest, I made an appointment to book our next cruise. Lunch was eaten at the Seaside Café and John had 2 cheeseburgers with French fries. I had a salad, hamburger patty and bratwurst sausage.
By now the ocean was pretty animated again with huge swells, white caps and, of course, the ever-present wind. On one of my many treks to Guest Relations, I actually saw passengers sitting by the window on Deck 3 with camera poised waiting to capture a photo of the large waves crashing against the ship. Mid-afternoon the Captain made the long-awaited announcement that because we were behind schedule by 13 hours, the ship would be docking in Halifax, Nova Scotia instead of Saint John's. Wonderful! I had organized, booked and prepaid for a group of 12 people to tour the Saint John's area, using ShoreTrips.com. So off I went to the internet café to send an email to the tour operator letting them know our change in plans. It's pretty ironic that when we first booked this cruise, the ship was originally scheduled to dock in Halifax but at some point that port was changed to Saint John NB. We were warned that there would be 2 other cruise ships in Halifax that morning with no more dock space, so the ship would be anchored off-shore and we would be tendered in. Later in the day the ship would move to the dock.
I read most of the afternoon while John napped before dinner. (I think there's something about the relaxed atmosphere and gentle/violent rocking of the boat that lulls the body into a sound sleep.) This was to be our last formal night and special acknowledgement of the restaurant staff. John had his favorite Caesar Salad and Prime Rib. I chose Cocktail Shrimp, Mixed Greens Salad, and Marinated Chicken Breast. After the main entrée, the whole dining room was treated to the waiter parade carrying the flaming Baked Alaska desserts.
Wibawa Presenting The Baked Alaska
We chatted with our waiter Wibawa and learned that his current Celebrity contract is up so when we dock in the States, he'll fly home to India to spend 2 months with his wife and 3 small children. Then he'll return to spend a 6-month contract on the Celebrity Summit ship doing the Caribbean circuit. He told us that the cruise line pays for his way home, but the trip back to work is on his own.We decided we had had enough food for one day/night and voted not to attend the Midnight Buffet, so we retired for the evening.
