New England Cruise 2018

Needles and I were just aching for a cruise so we picked one that would take us to one of our favorite places to visit, Maine. We choose our usual cruise line Norwegian because for what you get it seems like a nice price as compared to some of the other cruise lines and also we prefer to travel with more of a senior crowd. Our ship would be the Escape the largest in the NCL fleet at the time. We choose to sail out of New York City for a 7 day cruise with a return back into New York City. We flew out of Indianapolis on Sept 15th and arrived at our hotel after a quick a scary taxi ride from the airport. Our room for the night was at the Skyline Hotel and after settling in we needed to grab a bite to eat. We decided to eat at Toto Ramen in Hell's Kitchen.

The food was very good and plentiful. I rarely eat anywhere where I have to leave food on my plate but in this case I only ate about half of my meal. After our meal we decided to take a walk down to the cruise terminal where we would be cruising out in less than 24 hours. The walking made our bellies feel better after such a full meal and we retired to our room. The hotel has an old feeling to it with its winding hallways and stairways but it was in a convenient location for our needs just .6 miles from the terminal. The next morning we walked next door for breakfast at El Original. We had a wonderful breakfast with wonderful coffee probably the best of the trip. We returned to our room to finish packing up our things and make our way to the ship. We blended in with the crowd of other travelers with luggage in tow and made our way to the terminal. We filled our appropriate paperwork and go into the long line with others that we would be cruising with in just a few short hours. The line went very fast and they kept us moving along until we made it to the check in desk where our photos were taken for our I.D.s. Our cruise cards were handed to us and after a quick photo shoot we were walking up the walkway to our ship. As our rooms weren't ready yet we found a place to set in the dinning area where we talked with another couple that we chatted with. They were from New Jersey and had been on several cruises. They had done this itinerary before and enjoyed it some much they decided to do it again. We sat and chatted with them for an hour or so until they announced our rooms were ready. We decided to head to the room to check out where we would be staying for the next seven days.

Our room was on the 15th floor and was the most forward room on the starboard side. It was a spacious room with a balcony and was larger than the rooms on our previous cruises. The one thing we noticed was the spacious bathroom with large shower and a glass shower door, much better than the small shower stall and flimsy shower curtain we had on previous trips.

Before long the ship was backing out of its birth and we were underway. We sailed past the Statue of Liberty and was almost at eye level being on the 15th floor. We cruised along watching the water traffic of sailboats, ferries and jet skis.

We headed out into the ocean and watch the land slip away in the distance. Our first night was calm and peaceful seas which made getting our sea legs very easy. We wanted to go to the opening show in the theater as it would give us a taste of the shows that would be offered to us through the week on board. 

We selected a few to try and see and after the show we made our way to the dining area for supper. After supper we decided to wander the ship and find out where things were and all the offering the ship had to offer. We wandered all over this ship before heading back to the room for the night. The slow sway of the ship rocked us to sleep that night. The next day was a sea day so we slept late and after getting ready we went down for breakfast. Needles was happy to find they offered two levels of beacon, limp and  crispy just like she likes it.We wander the ship and decided to lounge on the deck chairs and enjoy a drink. I had a Crown and Pepsi while Needles enjoyed a virgin strawberry daiquiri. We lounged in the sea wind for a couple of hours before returning to the room to plan what show we were going to attend.

After watching the show and dinner we returned to our room for the night as the next morning would find us in Portland Maine. 

It was down poring and we were escorted off the ship with umbrellas but once we were at the port terminal we were on our own. Our first mission was to secure umbrellas as we didn't bring any. After getting soaked dodging in an out of a few gift shops we secured umbrellas and then decided to slip into Bard Coffee shop to warm up and dry out. After few minutes the rain stopped and the sun popped out to make the rest of the visit pleasant.We decided to eat at a place called Duck Fat which is famous for their homemade vanilla milkshakes and duck fat fries.

The food was very good.We walked around town and visited some of the gift shops before returning to the ship.

The rest of the day was spent attending shows, wandering the ship and of course eating lots of good food.

The next day we arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine. We disembarked and was scheduled for a bus tour up to Cadillac Mountain. Unfortunately it was very foggy and there wasn't much that we could see of the distant scenery but we enjoyed the trip. We stopped off at a couple of rest stops to stretch our legs. When we arrived back to town from our tour we wanted to walk The Bar again that we visited a few years ago. We got to see the sea gulls flying around and the debris of sea life that littered the bar. It was an enjoyable hike to the top of Bar Island.

We made our way back and decided to stop off at Geddy's a really good seafood place where I got a lobster roll and Needles got a sirloin. We enjoyed our meal and visited a few shops for souvenirs before getting on line to tender back to the ship.

 We spent the rest of the day on the ship enjoying shows and eating. Sense a theme?

The next day we found ourselves cruising into Saint John, New Brunswick. We had never been here before so the city was somewhat of a mystery. There was a couple of things on our check list to do but other than that we just wandered town and soaked in the sites. We had a Big Pink Bus trip out to the Bay of Fundy.

The shear amount of water that moves through this bay daily is amazing. The walk way that bordered the area was a nice little hike to different views of the bay. We continued on back into town to explore the downtown area, stop at a Tim Hortins for a coffee, visit the market before we moved on to our next check list item.

Needles had to make a stop at a local yarn shop, Good Fibrations. The owner was there and was very friendly and Needles spent most of a hour chatting with her about the craft before our stomachs were reminding us to find a place to grab our lunch. We stopped in at the Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub. I had a really good burger and Needle got fish & chips. Before long it was time to return to the ship to relax. 

The next day were to arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is where our trip be came a little frustrating. This was our shortest time in port to explore. We know we wanted to see the Graves of the Titanic victims and see other things as time allowed. After spending almost an hour of our shore time waiting to catch a bus we headed straight there. We did enjoy the tour of Fairview Lawn Cemetery and hearing the stories of the victims that have been buried in the cemetery and the popularity of the J. Dawson grave following the Titanic movie.

Apparently grass wouldn't grow near the grave for a few years following that movie due to all the visitors. After the tour we again were to again loose time ashore waiting an hour for a bus back downtown. When we did make it back to town we decided to grab a bite to eat in our few remaining hours in Halifax. We stopped by Stayner's Warf  Pub & Grill. I had the fish tacos and Needles again had the fish & chips. The food was very good and the service was great. We headed on to the Maritime Museum only to find that with a hour left of our shore time the Museum was closing in 15 minute. I do not know why a museum would close so early with three cruise ships in port. Needless to say we were very disappointed but did not let this spoil our visit. We spent our last remaining time visiting the huge souvenir market that was located at the dock before returning to the ship.

Our next day was at sea where we could relax and remember all the good time we have had in the North East. Our last morning we were to return to New York. It was nice to cruise into port and see the Freedom Tower lite up as our trip was coming to an end.

The North East and especially Maine holds a special place in our hearts with all of its history and natural beauty. We hope to return very soon.