The opportunity to cruise the East Coast of Canada and the US was one which we were quite excited about. These ports were many of the places which I had always wanted to visit.

Let me start my review with where we went versus how we got there. The two experiences were very different. The cruise started in Boston. We stayed at The Langham the night before the cruise and enjoyed Boston completely. The hotel was perfect as we were close to the old city while being only minutes to the cruise terminal. We boarded the ship and the first stop was Bar Harbor, Maine. A quaint fishing village. We too a ship excursion on the Lulu Lobster Fishing Boat. It was amazing, we saw sea lions as well as caught a few lobsters. The guy who ran teh excursion was great and made the trip a complete pleasure. Then walked around teh town and had some great lobster chowder. Next up was Halifax. Another great port. We toured the town and then headed out to Peggy's Cove.. well worth the trip out there. The place was spectacular but really cold.. so bring a jacket! Then off to Syndey, Nova Scotia... not much to do there, but we met the friendliest people ever there and it made it another fine day. Then on to Charlottetown, PEI.... this place was out favorite stop. PEI is amazing and beautiful. We hired a private guide who took us to the North shore were we walked on some of the purest sand beaches I had ever seen. And then the customary stop at the Anne of Green Gables house which was fun... we even walked in the the Haunted Woods. Finally on to Quebec City after day at sea. Quebec makes me feel like I am in Europe. The sites are amazing and the food even better. As I said all the ports turned out to be as expected if not more.

That brings us to the matter of the cruise and how much Holland America has declined over the years. I should note that our first cruise was with HAL and it was a amazing experience and sold us on cruising. This time things are different. Read more