CRUISE BEGINS; Portland, Maine; Kennebunk and Kennebunkport; Saint John (Bay of Fundy); Sea Day

Sunday morning we ate breakfast at our hotel before taking an Uber to church. 

We attended the Cambridge 2nd Ward and enjoyed our two hours spent there before packing up and heading on to the cruise ship. 

We had several issues upon our arrival onboard the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas. 

One problem was Glen had a very sore, stiff neck during the whole cruise. Look at this guy trying to turn around and look at me for a photo. He could not move his head--only his eyes. 

Why is the stiff-necked man standing in the guest services line? Because our key cards would not open our cabin door.

We usually get a balcony cabin, but this time we decided to see what it would be like to stay in a smaller cabin and save money in the process.

We were on deck 2, down in the bowels of the ship. Another issue was we were having a hard time figuring out how to get to our room. 

We were directed down this stairwell and immediately stopped because we knew we shouldn't be in the crew area. Looked like that is what it was to us when we saw the cement floor, the pile of luggage and the "crew only" double doors wide open.

We went back up the stairs and tried another stairwell and were informed by a crew member that the only way we could get to our room was using the one stairwell we walked down the first time. WHAT??!!??

Once we went back, walked down the stairs and across the cement part, we were in a carpeted hallway that looked like all the other cabin hallways on the other decks. Who knew??!!??

Every time we stepped down into that cement area, I said, "Home, Sweet Home" because it looked so UN-inviting...!!! Although they had it all decorated with the many plaques and awards the ship had received through the years.

Now get ready for the tour of our cabin. Glen is demonstrating how big (or small) it actually was. We were happy there were two twin beds pushed together so we had plenty of room while sleeping. 

I had hoped there would be a couch and there was. The vanity area and teeny bathroom were comparable to a bigger cabin. 

Glen got his computer all set up, which is the first thing he does when he moves in somewhere. I was happy he spotted our luggage at the end of the hall waiting to be delivered to our room. It was a wonderful thing to get all our stuff unpacked before dinner. 

We found a place for everything we had brought and declared the small cabin a perfectly suitable place for us to live for the next week. 

We took a tour of the ship, admiring the tall, open centrum where lots of activities took place on the ship throughout the week. The balloons were loaded, all ready for the sail away party that evening.

I always enjoy looking at the artwork on a ship. I really liked these giraffes at the entry to the Safari Club. 

We had decided to forego lunch because it took us so long to get our issues figured out and get unpacked. So we were starving and very ready for dinner in the dining room.

Of course Glen chose prime rib which got him off to a good cruising start.

I was ecstatic when I saw spaghetti bolognese on the menu. For some reason I just really love that pasta dish. 

Glen surprised me when he ordered Boston cream pie for his dessert. He did it in honor of being in Boston.

Monday morning we went to the Windjammer Buffet for breakfast. 

It was a delight to see the carved pumpkin display there for the next few days. Until the day the bloody pumpkin sitting on the pumpkin chef's lap toppled off, rolled out onto the floor, making a mess the crew had to clean up.

Each day the crew was decking the halls, walls, and common areas of the ship with more and more Halloween decorations. That made it festive and fun.

Individual cruisers had even brought Halloween decorations to hang on their cabin door.

This was my favorite as the witch was pointing to our cabin located right next door.

Our port that first day, Monday, was Portland, Maine. We took a bus excursion to Kennebunk and walked their little main street and went in as many shops as we could just to warm up. It was a freezing cold day. 

But look at the weather!! Blue skies overhead!! We had such great weather the whole 2+ weeks of our vacation. A little bit of cold was sure a lot better than rain or snow!

I enjoyed going in the Lobstore, a Clawfully Good Gift Shop! Cute store name! It was fun to look at all the lobster-themed things they had in that store. 

It was interesting how the town of Kennebunk turned into Kennebunkport halfway across the bridge. 

We wandered around for a while seeing what both places had to offer. 

This memorial is in honor of former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara. Kennebunkport was where their family retreat home was located. 

The excursion bus took us back to the ship where we saw our first towel animal had appeared.

We had gotten back in time for lunch and then made our way to the Schooner Bar.

It was time for a trivia game. Poor Glen was trying to look at the game-hosting crew member with his stiff neck and having a hard time. 

Not only did his neck hurt, but it didn't take us long to realize how low our trivia scores were going to be on this cruise without our Morgan friends, Steven and Patricia, giving their input. 

It was dress-up evening and apparently order-lots-of-desserts evening as well. Isn't that what cruising is all about??

The ship's performers put on a colorful show that evening.

Tuesday's port was Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada. 

We had slept in a bit due to the hour we lost. We kept losing hours going to different time zones. Then we would pick them back up coming back through the different time zones. 

Then the last night on ship we gained an extra hour when daylight saving time ended. Our sleep rhythm sure got mixed up on that trip. 

The Hop On Hop Off bus tours were our go-to activity at the ports. We liked to ride the bus all around while listening to the guide giving insights into everything we were seeing.

Glen had been so sure we had missed the peak leaf changing and all we would see would be scenes like this.

There was still beauty in the bare trees.

But for the most part, we were seeing scenes like this along our way. Plenty of color.

According to Google: "The Reversing Falls are a series of whirlpools, waves, and white water rapids created by the collision of the high tides of the Bay of Fundy with the Saint John River in a rocky gorge in Saint John, New Brunswick.

"The phenomenon is unique because it occurs due to the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy. The river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy, and the tremendous rise and fall of the tides cause the falls to reverse direction of flow with each incoming tide."

And there is our ship in the Bay of Fundy.

We hopped off the bus to walk up the hill to Market Square and to see the foliage in the park. 

We learned of an old-time custom where doors were painted blue if there was an eligible, young single woman living there. Doors were painted black if there had been a recent death.

As we walked toward the cruise ship, it was interesting to see how close the ship was to the city. We didn't have to walk long at all to get back to the Jewel of the Seas.

We were greeted with a hanging towel bat when we entered our cabin. We had gotten the bear sitting on the nightstand the day before.

Wednesday was a sea day so we got to see the hospitality/hotel manager, the ship's captain, the engineer, and our cruise director on stage making themselves available to answer any questions from the cruise ship passengers. 

We had already learned Captain Tor has a great sense of humor by the morning reports he had already been giving over the intercom.

He would always begin, "Good morning. This is Tor, and I work here." Nice line for the captain of the ship by way of introduction.

The previous morning he was letting us know it was going to be a little chilly, but apparently not freezing cold weather. He called it, "Not quite woolly knicker weather." 

We were actually happy when this couple joined us for the trivia game. She was very knowledgeable in Disney song trivia. 

It was so enjoyable getting to know Dan and Bonita Richins. They live in Rich and Barbara's stake in Hyrum, Utah. She found Glen's sister and husband in her church tools app. Small world. 

The ship's entertainers were once again the entertainment for the evening. There were two comedians who had performed the other two nights, but we didn't really love those performances.

Thursday morning we were in the port of Sidney, British Columbia.

The Captain's morning greeting was "Good morning. This is Tor and I work here. Be back on the ship by 3:30, and if you hear three short blasts of the whistle, you can stop running because you just became a native."

We took the Historical Sydney Highlights bus tour. We learned the tour buses are a lot more comfortable than the Hop On Hop Off buses. 

We enjoyed the tour, but it was hard to get good photos from inside the bus. So enjoy this one and only photo I took on land that day.

This was some cute news we got from home. Caroline had thought of a clever way to ask a boy to Winters, her school's dance. For her invitation, she did a word play referring to the sport he enjoys.

Charlie, I'd be snow delighted if I could ski you at Winters with me. Caroline.

Caroline looks pretty happy with his reply:

I would be snow board w/out you @ Winters. (YES) From Charlie.