Maasdam Review
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Embarkation
Embarkation in Boston smooth and fairly quick. Boat was full so no upgrades were available. No welcoming drinks. I think you can get lunch in the Lido buffet. Some bars open at 1pm. Lifeboat muster at 3 pm was hot and muggy and lasted more than 1/2 hour. Ugh.
If you start in Boston, be sure to go up on deck when the boat leaves the dock as it is right off the end of the runway and planes go about 200' overhead as They land at Logan. They did not push drinks on us then or any other time.
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Bar Harbor
Tendering started at 7am and wasn't crowded except the return at the end of the day, 2:30 was the last tender run. The Arcadia National Park Tour Company has a 2 1/2 hour bus tour of the park that includes Cadillac mtn, the nature gardens, and thunder hole for $32. Get tickets at Testa's restaurant 2 blocks up Main Street from the dock and get on across the street. Lunch at Testa's was pretty good.
Town is cute and clean, but Somewhat touristy. Try some blueberry soda, and blueberry pie, and blue berry scones etc. I live on the west coast. Our blueberries come from Peru. Apparently they also grow them in Maine.
Useless Bar Harbor factoid: the biggest employer is a lab that breeds genetically modified mice for research.
Sydney (Nova Scotia)
A very compact little town. Nothing stood out. Still recovering from the loss of coal and steel industries decades ago. Several small, "amateur/volunteer" museums were cute. Lyceum museum closed. Take the walking tour if the weather is pleasant. Lunch at Governor's pub was good. Warm and breezy. Maybe we should have taken a tour and gotten out of town.
Useless Sydney factoid: the community was very ethnically diverse as employees came to the steel mill &mines from all over and stayed.
Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island)
Some shopping ,but not much in the way of museums near the ship. Did a tour that included "Green Gables", but I guess you have to have read the books for it to resonate much. The lobster lunch at PEI Preserves near GG house was lackluster.
Two new "only in Canada" foods: Chocolate covered potato chips and potato brownies. Guess what they grow a lot of there.
Useless Charlottetown factoid: the island has many, many foxes roaming free even in towns. Their predecessors were released from breeding farms after WWI when fox fur was no longer fashionable. They are the largest animals/predators on the island.
Quebec City
The newish Museum of Civilization is about 2 blocks from the boat and worth significant time. Very well done History of Quebec permanent exhibit explains the French side of things. Take the guided tour.
Then walk/ride up the hill to the basilica. The Frontenac hotel is a couple of more blocks, then the citadel is a couple more. You have sort of made a loop and are still not very far from the boat.
The above will take up your day.