Kind of Sad Shelburne

by | Oct 6, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography

Update to yesterday’s Cape Breton post

First, I need to update yesterday’s post and give you the right contact info for our incredible guide, Dan the Man. After looking at Dan’s business card and talking to Mike, it appears that Mike booked the tour with Blackwell Tours, but Dan just contracts with them. He has his own company, Sydney Adventure Tours. His name is Dan McKinnon. Do Dan a big favor and book him on his own website (that’s the link in red). That way, he and his family get the total amount you pay for the tour as well as any tip you give him. And, of course, I know you all tip your guides very well ?. Also, if you book him there, you are guaranteed to get Dan. If you book with Blackwell or through a company like Viator you can get any guide they contract with. You want Dan.

Shelburne—the little village that couldn’t

Yesterday, we were in the tiny village of Shelburne, Nova Scotia…for about 20 minutes. In fact, I think the time we stopped there was less than the time we took to tender in from the ship. Okay, I am exaggerating. But not by much. But even in his daily talk, our cruise director said that Shelburne “is a cute little village you can see in under an hour.” He was right.

We arrived off Shelburne around 11:00 a.m., and the ship had the first tenders running into the port within minutes. Most people, like us, had lunch on the ship and let those who wanted to rush in get off before we went down to get on the tender. We headed down around 12:30. Kathleen decided to stay on board (I should have stayed too.)

Once we got to the port, we did a kind of cool thing that might be the best thing that happened yesterday. Mike had found a FREE app called PocketSites. You download it to your phone, and then it gives you free walking tours of thousands of ports around the world. Now, this isn’t going to work for big ports like Barcelona or Athens, but it might have a neighborhood walk you could take in some of those places. BTW: If you don’t want to use the app on your phone, you can also do it online. Their website explains how it works for the town and for you, the user. Besides the app is free, there are no ads. They make their money from towns that want to post tours of their attractions.

We had all downloaded the app, and when we arrived, we just started walking the route. At each historical site, we could see a photo (to make sure we were at the right place), and there was a description of what we were seeing. Some of the sights had some in-depth stuff as well. As I was reading one aloud to some of our party, a local woman walked by and asked me to repeat what I said about a particular place and then told me, “Really? I had no idea that was what it was used for.” So, the app really knows its stuff.

The entire tour of Shelburne has 24 stops. When we got off the tender, we were right in front of number 11, so we started there. The entire tour took us under an hour. Mainly because there really was not that much to see. There are a lot of historical buildings painted with really interesting colors that date back to the 1700s. There are two pioneer museums, but both charged admission so we decided to skip them. The buildings that housed them were pretty small, so we weren’t sure of the value. Others I spoke to after we got back on board had done the museum and told me we were right to skip it.

The locals did try really hard to make everyone feel welcome. A few dressed in period costumes and led tours. I kind of felt sorry for my fellow cruises who purchased walking tours here in Shelburne from Vista. They, too (like the folks who paid to get in the museum), probably did not get their money’s worth. I felt bad for the village because if cruise ships coming there were supposed to boost the city economically, it wasn’t working. There were very few shops and restaurants, and most were empty. Especially since the ship had arrived so late and people had eaten lunch before they left the ship. Usually, when I get back on a tender, there would be all kinds of people holding bags of stuff they had purchased in port. Yesterday, I saw one person with a small bag who told me she bought two small bars of homemade scented soap. Most people who got off walked the waterfront, took some photos and went back on the next tender.

And speaking of photos, I had hoped to get some super photos in Shelburne based on pictures I had seen. Sadly, many of those photos I had seen were taken from a boat in the middle of their small harbor. I didn’t have a boat, so those wouldn’t work. Not to mention the fact that the skies were the blankest shade of white. Nothing flattens out a day of photography like flat, white skies. Here are the few I feel comfortable showing you. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and feel free to look at these on your phone. They are that sad.

Pizza Night on Vista

Last night (after our Shelburne adventure), we decided to have a pizza party. In the evening, Vista’s Wave’s Grille (where you can get burgers, paninis and hot dogs during the day) turns into a pizzeria. So we decided to grab our usual table in the back of the buffet and have a pizza night. It was awesome. We started with salads from the buffet. Then we headed to the pizzeria to order. They make eight different pizzas and will customize those for you. So we ordered seven of them, plus a BBQ beef flatbread (that was amazing), some Chianti, and a beer for Mike, and we had a great meal. I have never tried so many different kinds of pizza and I have never been so stuffed. But everyone agreed it was a superb way to do dinner. Just something to think about doing on Vista.

Unless you are a pizza, the answer is yes, I can live without you. —Bill Murray

 

Internet Frustration & Fun in Cape Breton

by | Oct 5, 2023 | Photography

Internet Frustration

First up, this morning is the reason I missed posting yesterday and the most frustrating thing for the two of us on this cruise—being online. No, it’s not the speed of the WiFi/Internet connection. Oceania’s internet speeds are some of the best we have had during our time cruising. Our problem is with their stupid rule of only allowing one device at a time (per stateroom) to be online at the same time. And not only is it only one person, it’s only one device at a time.

The upfront advertisement says “free internet included,” but this is the reality. And since Kathleen and I both LOVE being online, this is pretty much a huge pain for us. Especially since due to the software I use to write a blog post (WordPress.com), I have to be online to write one. And that takes some time for me to kick her off, especially on sea days when there is not a lot to do. We could purchase an additional log-in. but the cost is more than $25 per day, and you have to purchase it for the entire cruise. Their policy is that you can’t just buy it on a daily basis. They also offer some packages that are by the minute, but that’s so last decade. I, for one, do not want to be sitting here typing and looking at a clock. That’s one of the best things about retirement—not having anything but self-imposed deadlines. We don’t need their WiFi when we are in ports, as our T-Mobile plan has free cell data around the world, so we just use our phones as mobile hotspots on port days.

I should add that Oceania is changing its internet policy. All cruises that sail after October 1 of this year (we sailed on September 29) will get internet connectivity for two included devices. But since we started our cruise before October 1, we don’t get that on this trip. But again, that’s only for two devices. What year are we in? Everyone wants to be connected all the time, right? It is a total pain that when I want to get on, I have to log off whatever device I last used to access the web.

This is another win for Viking in my Viking Ocean vs. Oceania competition to become our cruise line of choice. There, we had total internet for every device we had. I could use the phone in my pocket all day long to text others in our group about when we were meeting up, I could take my iPad to the gym to watch while I ride a stationary bike, and at the same time, Kathleen could be checking in with the kids, doing her daily puzzles/games and so on. Instead, I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning (of course, I am usually up at that hour anyway ?) to write this blog so that when she wakes up at 7:30, she can log me off to go online.

I almost forgot another thing that drives us crazy about the internet on this ship. They throttle everything unless you upgrade to their most expensive package. That means no YouTube or any other site that shows videos. If you try to go to a site that might have videos, the system scans it and then says, “(your browser name here) can’t open the page because it can’t get a secure connection,” which is crap. I get secure connections to these sites all the time.

Complaining over—On to Cape Breton

Yesterday morning, we arrived (early) in the quaint town of Sydney, Nova Scotia. We had been here on our previous New England cruise five years ago, but we had horrible colds and had elected not to get off the ship. This time, we felt great, and our buddy Mike (the god of shore excursions) had arranged an awesome tour by Blackwoods Tours called The Highland Village Baddeck Bell Museum Tour. That is both a mouthful to say and not descriptive enough for the wonderful day we had.

ADDED LATER: After looking at Dan’s business card and talking to Mike, it appears that Mike booked the tour with Blackwell Tours, but Dan just contracts with them. He has his own company, Sydney Adventure Tours. His name is Dan McKinnon. Do Dan a big favor and book him there. That way, he and his family get the full amount you pay for the tour as well as any tip you give him. And of course, I know you all tip your guides very well ?.

I first need to mention that Sydney is the first of four tender ports for Vista. For non-cruisers in the audience, when you “tender,” that means there is no place at the dock for your ship, so you get on a “tender” (which is usually one of the ship’s lifeboats), and they take you to a small dock. There were three ships in tiny Sydney yesterday, and we were the smallest. So the two big ships (one Princess and one Royal Caribbean) got to dock, and we got to tender. That said, Vista’s tenders are wonderful. We believe they are electric-powered, which means there is no diesel smell that always permeated other tender rides. The ride was smooth and quiet, and the boat was very comfortable and extremely clean. Lots of help getting on and off was very much appreciated by everyone in our party. The great condition of the tenders is due to the fact that they are so new. With Vista only being launched last May, her tenders have (as someone on the boat mentioned) that new car smell.

When it’s a tender port, there is an announcement made that we have been cleared to start tendering, and in the case of this cruise, we were to go to the theater and pick up tender tickets, which would then allow us to get off the ship. Usually, this means that those taking the ship’s excursions were allowed off on the first tender (a lifeboat carries about 60 people when being used as a tender—double that when being used as a lifeboat), and then everyone else in the order of your tender ticket. We were fortunate that the ship was cleared to start tendering early. The original schedule called for us to arrive at 9:00, but we were on our tender by 8:40, well before the ship’s tours were going to be going.

All in all, the tendering at this port was an outstanding experience. Well done, Oceania. (Is it just me, or are you totally sick of the word tender now? I mean I don’t even want to know if there are chicken tenders for lunch ?.)

When we arrived on the dock, we were IMMEDIATELY met by our tour guide, Dan (the Man). We jumped in his van (which adequately fit seven people, although since our seven people are pretty good size, we were a little tight), and we headed out to explore Cape Breton. As we left Sydney, Dan started telling us about his island. It was clear from the start that our guide was both a native who loved his home and an entertaining guy to listen to. We have been on so many tours over our years of travel where the guides spout facts in a way that just says, “This is just my job, and I get paid by the word.”

It is so great to find a guide who not only loves what they do but truly loves the place they are taking you to tour. Dan could not wait to tell us everything he knew about Cape Breton but also to tell us about the music, the history, the geography, the geology, and so much more. Looking back on yesterday, I don’t feel like we took a paid tour but more like a good friend showed us the place he loves. That’s what makes a great tour guide. We have had guides like this in our 20+ years of touring, but they are few and far between. Out of hundreds of tours, I can count them on one hand—Marcello in Naples, Sylvie in Monaco, Luigi in Cinque Terre, and Tong in Bangkok. That’s our tour guide hall of fame. Well, you can now add Dan to that list.

While telling us about the history of his island, we drove to our first stop, St. Ann’s Lookoff. This is a great place to take a photo of the start of Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail. It truly is a great place to take a quick shot and stretch your legs. With three avid photographers on board, we all appreciated the few minutes it took to get out, and of course, Dan had some great stories about what we were seeing, like how the little house in the foreground was owned by Canada’s tallest man. And, of course, Dan had an entire story to go with that fact.

Then, it was on to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, where the first telephone was invented. (I bet you thought that was in the U.S., right? I know I did.) I usually am not that much of a historical museum guy, but this one was good. There were lots of great displays, and I learned a lot of things I did not know about Bell. We also did some drive-by touring of Baddeck, a cute little village on a beautiful lake. And I forgot to mention (but you will see in my photos) we had the most beautiful and sunny day. The weather was just about perfect.

Then, it was on to the highlight of the tour, Cape Breton’s Highland Village. Back in the 17th century, a large contingent of Scottish people immigrated to Cape Breton. This village highlights their journey and life here on the island. You start with an old croft house made of stones that we had seen on our tours in Scotland, and you finish with what their houses looked like in the early 1900s. Along the way, there are structures that reflect the years in between, jumping 20-30 years each time. Throughout the village, there are people dressed in costumes that are appropriate to the era of the building they are in. Check my photos and captions for a better idea of what I mean. Suffice it to say that it was very interesting and a genuinely excellent way to learn the history of the Scottish people on Cape Breton.

After that, Dan took us to one of his favorite beaches to see the sand and the gypsum (it’s too long a story for this post as to why those matter—but they do), and we headed back to Sydney to meet the ship. On the way back, Dan not only continued to tell us about the island but played some tunes from local musicians singing about the island and its history. While I fully realize that sounds relatively dull, Dan loved it so much and told us the background of the songs and the singers in such a way that his enthusiasm was contagious.

Here are the photos I took on this beautiful day (with captions, of course). Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

This just about concludes our day on Cape Breton. All in all, we spent a great day in Dan the Man’s van!

Oops, I didn’t mention that Cape Breton is in Nova Scotia, which is part of what is referred to in Canada as “The Maritimes.” Those are the provinces that sit up in Canada’s northeastern corner and border the Atlantic sea (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island—my best Canadian friend Bob will let me know if I missed any down in the comments.)

Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it’s doing in the Maritimes.
—Tommy Douglas