Lobster Bake in Boston

Peruse through your history books before you fly into Boston’s Logan Airport and your trip will mean more when you tour the city. For instance, when you cross over the bridge to downtown Boston, you will pass by a pier known as Griffin’s Wharf where the infamous Boston Tea Party took place. It was December 16, 1773 when a group of rebels dressed as indians carrying a small hatchet and a club, were ordered by a commander to board three ships and destroy all the tea onboard. The rebels took the tea and threw it overboard causing tea to wash up on Boston shores for weeks to come.

There is a lot of history that still remains in Boston. Take for example, Paul Revere’s house situated in downtown Boston. It is the oldest house downtown and contains colonial furniture, historic documents and Paul Revere’s silverware. You can tour it by yourself on a self-guided tour. Did you know that the oldest public park in the whole USA is in Boston? It is the Boston Common and it is situated right in the heart of city. The area was designated as a pasture and was used for public hangings until 1817 where the gallows were removed from 1817 to 1830.

Aside from the history, Boston has retained a lot of historical buildings and restored them for modern uses today. The Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall are used today to house food stalls, restaurants, shops and entertainment. The Faneuil Hall was called the ‘Cradle of Liberty’ because it was on the second floor when Samuel Adams and his fellow revolutionary colonists protested new taxation laws. 

Incidently, we toured Boston on May 24th and remembered passing by a lobster wholesaler. Last week, we heard there was a big fire in Boston and it burned 60,000 pounds of lobster at a business that was established in 1925. It turned out to be the same place. The moral of the story is to see as many places as you can before they disappear.

Lobster Everyday

As most of you knew, I sailed on the Holland America Maasdam cruise ship on the May 17th voyage from Montreal to Boston. They call it the Canada / New England itinerary. When asked by my brother-in-law, why I chose that cruise, I answered that we were always curious about Eastern Canada and the Eastern seaboard. Now I can say that I have been to the Maritimes and visited Bar Harbor in Maine and Boston.

I did not want to spend a lot of money on shore excursions so I kept to a budget. I also did not fall for the marketing ploy that most shore excursion desks seem to do, hurry me to preorder before the cruise sails in case a particular tour sells out. I normally wait until I get onboard, attend the port talks then decide the best tour for the value.

Here are the shore excursions that I took:

1. City Tour of Old & New Quebec – If I knew what I know today, I would have skipped this tour and walk into Old Quebec myself. The main sight is the Chateau Frontenac which you see on top of the hill when you sail in. It’s a nice walk from the ship and if climbing stairs is not your thing, you can take a funicular up the hill for a small price. 

2. Panoramic Island Drive – Charlottetown is pretty bland for our taste so if we had skipped a tour, we would have been bored. The drive was ok with the highlight being the Confederation Bridge and the souvenir shops they take you to. My advice: skip buying the Paderno cookware and save yourself lugging it home. You can buy Paderno at Winner’s when you get home.

3. Titanic Tour: The Halifax Connection – After reading comments on the internet about this tour, I was prepared to be sombre when we began this tour. They drive you through residential streets to various houses owned by passengers who sailed the Titanic then they visit the Fairview cemetery where most of the victims are buried. The tour also includes admission to the Maritime Museum where they have a collection of recovered artifacts from Titanic. We spent the morning touring the Halifax port and the Citadel on our own and left the afternoon for the bus tour.

4. Sydney, Nova Scotia – We decided to skip the tours and walk into town ourselves. One of the best sights that we saw was the Jost Heritage house located at 54 Charlotte Street. The admission fee was $2 and it was well spent because volunteers greet you and tell you some history about the house, its inhabitants and how life was back in the 1800’s. Another house up the block called the Cossit House, was not worth the $2 admission that they charge. We also visited a local craft show at a church and talked to some of the locals. (Next time around, weather permitting – visit the Bird Islands of Cape Breton to see puffins, eagles and seals)

5. Acadia National Park – For $39, you don’t get a lobster out of it but you save yourself $60 and you still see the main sights of what Bar Harbor has to offer. The bus winds its way up from the port to the top of Cadillac Mountain where you have a 360 degree view of the area. It is spectacular up there but it will be more dramatic if you go in the fall.

6. Boston City Highlights & Airport Transfer – Considering a taxi would have cost just $20 from port to airport, this tour was not worth it. They charged $71 each and for $50, we had a drive-by of MIT, Boston Tea Party wharf, downtown Boston and where the Celtics play.

Aside from the shore excursions, I would highly recommend that you skip the tours that includes lobster on the menu and order it on the ship (at the Pinnacle Grill where you get 2 tails for a $10 fee). In Bar Harbor, go to the Westside Cafe on West street and tell them you want the special that the ship advertises on their newsletter. For $24.95 (a saving of $4), you get a whole lobster, a cup of New England chowder and a slice of their delicious blueberry pie.

And you ask…how did I gain my 2 extra pounds?

 

In and Out of Boston

We arrive in Boston today and will disembark. Shortly afterwards, we will make our way to the airport to fly home. It turns out that my niece will not be meeting up with us because she left for Madrid, Spain on May 3rd. It’s unfortunate for us not to tour Boston like we thought we would. If the cruise line offered something like a city tour followed by a airport transfer, we would have bought it. But they don’t have anything. Strange. Everybody on board requiring to fly off from the airport will have to hail a cab or find a way themselves. Again, it’s strange that the cruise line did not offer anything as far as transfers to their passengers. I will think twice about sailing with Holland America again.

We will get back pretty late this evening. I plan to get in, shower and go to sleep because I have an early morning tee time on Mount Lorette in K-Country. There I’m meeting up with my old coworkers from Encana. I hope the weather there is as nice as in Boston today which is in the low 20’s (celsius).

Happy Mother’s Day

To all moms out there, have a happy Mother’s Day! Unfortunately, I couldn’t be with my mom today because we couldn’t get out to Vancouver for less than $400 each person. It was also hard to spend for two airfares this week because we are leaving for Montreal on Wednesday to sail on the Canada/ New England cruise next Saturday. It will be our first time we sail with Holland America and we will probably be among the youngest on board, as we have been told.

I was hoping to see my niece who lives and works in Boston. Our cruise will finish in Boston after visiting the Eastern seaboard. We’ve never seen eastern Canada before so we’re looking forward to seeing Montreal, Quebec City, Maritimes, Bar Harbour and Boston.

I will write about our trip when I get back. In the meantime, we are slowly upgrading our site to reflect new suppliers. Thanks in advance for being patient. My mom taught me that.

Flying into YUL

For those of you who are booked for cruises departing from Montreal, Canada and are not planning to buy a pre-cruise package from your cruise line, you might want to consider this. Cruise lines often provide their passengers, a pre-cruise package consisting of airport transfers, hotel accomodations and hotel-to-ship transfers for a price. In the case of Holland America’s Canada/ New England itinerary leaving May 17th, passengers are on their own because it is too early in the season to offer any deals. Passengers will also have to arrange their own transfers between the port terminal to airport in Boston.

If you’re flying into YUL (ie. Montreal) and plan to stay a few days to visit the city, you might want to consider the Sweet Deal Package from Tourisme Montreal. They have a list of hotels starting as low as $119 for the first night and 50% off the second night. A lot of these hotels include a deluxe breakfast, high speed internet and free local calls. For instance, you can stay at the 4-star Ritz-Carlton Montreal for as low as $189 for the first night and $95 for the second night. If you want to start the pampering off early, plan on staying at the Centre Sheraton for the same price but get a food and beverage credit of $40 per stay.

The package also includes a special gift and 2 privileges passport coupons from Casino de Montreal. 

Don’t Pay Retail for a Cruise

You would think that booking directly with the cruise line would save you the most money. But not in most cases. It is like walking into a hotel and making your way across the lobby to the reservations desk and asking for the price of a room. They will simply quote you the rack rate which is like the mrsp or the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Cruise lines operate in the same way. If you make it to their website, be prepared to pay retail prices. Unless a cruise itinerary is not popular and is not selling well, they may discount it and call it a hot deal. Otherwise, they have your attention and they are going to market their cruises to you at mrsp.

Lets put this to the test. I am shopping for a cruise to Eastern Canada/ New England, leaving from Montreal on May 17th. We have friends who live in Montreal that we have not seen for a couple of years. They have since had a baby that we would love to meet for the first time. We plan to fly in and stay a few days before boarding our ship that leaves for Boston. In Boston, I have a niece who works at the hospital as a nurse.

When I check the cruise on Holland America’s website, I see that the lowest price for an inside cabin is $1,0618.01, an oceanview cabin from $1,245.01 and it goes up from there. I will compare that with our cruise supplier and see that the lowest price for an inside cabin is only $576 an oceanview cabin from $670 and the most expensive suite is $1,328.00. (I’m ignoring the currency factor because the US dollar is almost par with the Canadian dollar). It is almost like comparing retail with wholesale prices.

I would hate to share my dinner table with someone who paid less than what I paid for, for the same cruise and possibly the same cabin category. I think it was our second cruise when we met a couple that paid less than what we paid and they had a penthouse suite on the top deck. From then on, we learned our lesson not to pay brochure prices and not to buy directly from cruise companies.

There are a number of cruise suppliers on the market. We choose to deal with one in particular because they have a price guarantee. If I find a better price elsewhere, they will match it and give me a free vacation. And as a bonus right now, they will give you the free vacation when you book a cruise with them. That should be enough incentive to get you thinking about taking a cruise this year.

Cruise for only $30.50 per night

I thought $34 per night was cheap when I recommended the Royal Caribbean cruise on the Voyager of the Seas ship to Barcelona on April 27, 2008. But today, I noticed another cruise deal. This one is from NCL and it sails on April 13, 2008 from Valparaiso, Chile to Boston, Ma. The lowest price for an interior cabin on NCL’s Norwegian Dream is only $549 and this is not for 13 nights, but 18 nights.

 

The price is unreal. At only $549, the per night calculation is only $30.50. Remember for first-time cruisers, this includes your cabin accomodations, all-you-can-eat meals, entertainment and the ship’s amenities.

 

I haven’t been south of the equator, but this cruise visits two or three places in Chile first before visiting Peru. It then crosses the equator and sails through the Panama Canal before stopping in Costa Rica. It then continues north to Key West, Florida before it touching down in Boston.

 

If you’re interested in booking this cruise, be sure to visit us.