2018 Canada New England T-Shirt
2018 Canada New England T-Shirt
click to enlarge

A Diary & Photos for our 2018 Cruise - Quebec City to New York!
An 11 day cruise with an optional 3 day New York City stay

Below is some information on where the 2018 Spirit of the West Cruise is going. We hope you enjoy the diary as we head from Quebec to New York City. See the map below (or scroll down). We will sail on Royal Caribbean's "Adventure of the Sea" - below is a photo showing what she looks like.

See the map below (or scroll down).
Go to the Itinerary below (or scroll down).

Billie and Hugh
on holiday! Billie and Hugh on holiday!
click to enlarge

Royal Caribbean's Adventur of the Sea   We will sail on Royal Caribbean's Adventur of the Sea

Royal Caribbean's "Adventure of the Sea"


Diary for September 14th to October 2nd, 2018

We're here in Quebec and enjoying the 17th Annual Spirit of the West Cruise!
The following photos will all enlarge if you click on them.


September 16th


Le Chateau Frontenac - the most photographed hotel in the world


Cannons everywhere in Old Quebec City inside the walls


The Train Station - amazing old buildings


One of the old sections of the wall that surrounded Old Quebec


There were restoration projects all over town


One of the gates to get inside the walls of Old Quebec


OK ...you never know what you might see in Quebec


Inside the footings of the Chateau - an archeological dig


The view from the Plains of Abraham - our ship and our hotel


The walls that surrounded the Citadel


Nice to see this; fat and healthy horses, the shade roof and the water


Jim and Karen with Kathy meeting folks at the airport

September 17th


Erabliere (Sugar Shack) le Chemin du Roy - our first group outing!!


Lunch inside le Chemin du Roy ... food & beverage made with maple syrup


front to back (L) Karen, Kathy, Billie, Hugh (saying Grace :-) (R) - Corky, Jean, Gwen and Mike


Entertainment through lunch (we miss Don & his fiddle this year)


Richard Preston ... the percussion section :-)


The fiddle player taught this group a dance - Glenna & Coralee Bonham leading


Now on the Adventure of the Seas ... Chateau Frontenac in the distance


The view from the ship ... the Plains of Abraham and the Citadel


Our first happy hour on the Adventure of the Seas


First birthday on the ship ... Marilyn Leonard (Olds AB)


The welcome reception ... slide show and next cruise announcement


2nd year crusiers get a denim shirt - this is Annette & Steen Jochumsen (Airdrie AB)


Bob Gowans (Kamloops BC) with his 2nd year jean shirt


Shirley & Harold Turner (Pritchard BC) 2nd year shirts


Hugh & Marion Kennedy (Turner Valley AB) 2nd time cruisers


Hugh making the annoucement as to where next year's cruise is going ...

The 2019 Spirit of the West Cruise
Join in on the 18th Annual Cruise
Book now - Call Toll Free 1-800-530-0131
The 2019 cruise destination .... Ireland & the British Isles

See the Cruise page for details

September 17th & 18th


... Ireland and the British Isles !!! Wow !!!


Au revoir Le Chateau Frontenac and Vieux Quebec


The first jam ... too windy and cold for under the stars so we moved ...


... to the skating rink ... an awesome venue with great sound ...

September 18th, 19th & 20th


... and a great audience!! Over 150 of our group.


Kathy and Bill Reimer (Anola MN) with the 2019 cruise flyer :-)


Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jim Dibben


Hello Charlottetown PEI ... nice green farm land & red beaches

September 20th


the only thing that could have been better is the weather ...


... but it was still great - note the red beaches


Lyn and Billie pose by one of the local artist's sculptures.


Its not hard to get everyone to smile when you're in a winery :-)


Panmure Island Lighthouse - the oldest wooden lighthouse on PEI (1853)


A view from the lighthouse back along the beach we had walked earlier


Jim and Karen checking out the solar light in the lighthouse


We stopped at Red's for a pre-ordered lunch, Newfie Fries and Taco Fries ...


... plus other yummy food ... despite the weather (Lyn & Doug bundled up)


Hugh reciting a poem for Gus as we head to the riding stables


Hugh on Archie & Kathy on Cody looking between Mark's Bertha's ears


Hugh warming Archie up for the beach race later in the day :-)


Lyn on Lexi warming up before the ride.


(L - R) Lyn, Hugh, Billie, Doug, Kathy, Jim & Mark (where are you Karen?)


Everyone on the beach and riding on the sand and in the water


A great day on horseback even in the rain (which wasn't too bad)

To see a short video of the beach race click here. Thanks Ambyr!!


Hugh trying to catch Mark ... Mark on a Ferrari & Hugh on a dump truck


Mike, Hugh & Ed at the sing-a-long by the pool


Look at the smile on Morgan (centre) and the winter hat !!


The diehards out by the pool despite the cold ocean air!!

September 21st


Ed and Diane Peake heading for town in Sydney, NS


Lyn Deleeuw & Doug Halliday head for town as well


Like a lot of others Kerri Clarke & her mom Irene Wasylik head ashore


This is one big ship!! We were so lost when we first boarded

September 21st & 22nd


The floor manager hamming it up with Larry Speer's hat. Rick & Anna Paquin (Sherwood Park, AB) behind


Rhonda and Greg Curry (Buffalo, AB) socializing after another awesome dinner!


Halifax, NS ... Brenda and Roger Watters with the S of the W sign


Over 150 in the group being herded to four buses that wait for us


One of four buses that took our group to Oulton's Farm


Novadawn (daughter-in-law) and Mike Oulton (owner).


Bob and Colleen Gowan talking to Mike - all hereford breeders


A pen of yearlings - the cows were out a little too far to see


Listen for this interview on an upcoming Spirit of the West radio show


The King and Queen of this particular rock - an irresistible picture


They had 3 kinds of deer as well as elk (and a ton of other animals, too)


The buses then dropped us all off at the Hant's County Fair (oldest in Canada)


The cattle barn was one of the biggest exhibits on the whole fair grounds


A great variety of breeds and lots of animals - impressive!!


and then there were the steam engines and working machinery displays


Brenda Watters enjoying the view as we sail away from Nova Scotia


Billie & Hugh, Renie & Ron Hanson, Lorraine Miller, and Jay Goin ...


Gay Goin, Gary & Vicki Hetrick - all 5th year with S of the W ... and ...


Jim & Karen, Larry Speers, Brian & Rhonda Roberts, & Bonnie Speers ...


Kathy & Bill Reimer, Doug Halliday, Lyn Deleeuw, Kathy & Mark McMillan

September 23rd


St John, New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy - and sunny skies!


6 of us took a taxi tour & look who's photo we saw in a window!


Rockwood Park - 860 hectares. Jack (taxi driver) drove us through


A beautiful park with lakes, forest, and recreational sections


Through one stretch in the park there was a site for each of Canada's Provinces


Hugh reading up on Fort Howe, a great lookout over the Bay of Fundy


The view of the Bay of Fundy and the Adventure of the Seas


Jack took us to the lookout, and explained the Reversing Rapids - awesome!


Wolastoq Park ... carved wooden statues of all their famous people


Carleton Martello Tower was built as a defence tower during the war 1812


The Bay of Fundy ... the ferry coming in is from Digby, NS


Jack talking to Kathy, Lyn and Doug. Billie and Hugh walking off

September 23rd & 24th


Jack dropped us off at 236 yr old St John City Market - a great lunch!


Bar Harbor, Maine ... a very nice and very historic town


Every street was lined with really nice old heritage buildings


This waterfront house had amazing views in the back yard


Another one of the many beautifully restored old houses


and another view through someone's yard to their back yard view


Even downtown was clean and tidy and nicely showed off it's history


The waterfront view from the other side as we tendered back to the ship


the left side


the center section of the 178 folks in our group photo!


the right side


Karen & Kathy stretch out the banner and we're almost ready!


Way up in the ship's bridge the photographer got some great shots


Another anniversary ... congrats Les & Ruth Pfahl from Hanna, AB


After the photo, shirts on for a sea of orange, in the dining room


after the photo & dinner the next sing-a-long followed at the poolside stage

September 24th & 25th


Morgan dancing with Gene Leonard, Dave & Ellen Brown and Larry & Bonnie Speers behind


Billie, Annette Jochumsen, Renie & Ron Hanson enjoying the sing-a-long


South Station, main bus & rail terminal in Boston, MA


Huge historic buildings lined the streets in Boston

September 25th


Some of the first of the fall colours starting to appear


One of the main walking tours in Boston is the Freedom Trail


and another anniversary - congrats Connie & Bryan Matson


Byron & Laura Palmer with Mark & Kathy (taken by the waiter)

September 26th


Lots of boats of all sizes in the harbour as we pull into Portland, Maine


Once alongside in Portland, Maine the crew did a life boat drill


Some of our group took in the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co & Museum


It looked liked there were 1000 people on this schooner tour

These are photos from Jim that span the past week


Jim got this selfie back in PEI at the top of the old lighthouse


Hugh with Lisa Hines, President of the Hants County Exhibition


Everyone's happy for Billie & Hugh that Hugh didn't have to use this!!


Billie & Hugh greet folks as we are about to line up for the group photo

September 27th


A little mini Vegas strip ... right on the ship!


Hard to believe this is on a ship ... note the car, too.


Lorraine & Dean Miller & Renie & Ron Hanson saw me point the camera


Pubs, lounges, restaurants, stores of all sorts ... and on & on


Ed talked to Hugh and bingo! - another sing-a-long


At the farewell party Ed Curry got up and did a poem


The Spirit of the West Cruise Band's last performance ...


... to a very dedicated audience of close to 178 people


Billie draws a name for one of the prizes at the farewell party


Hugh, sitting after an interview, with Byron Palmer and Ron Warner


Surprise, surprise, - Happy 80th birthday to Ed Dupuis!!!


and another happy BD to Matthew Pfahl celebrating with his family


The station manager in the restaurant talking to Lyn, Doug, Colleen & Bob


and posing with Karen and Flossie Bodell after dinner


Jersey City is where we disembarked and got on the bus


Heading towards New York on the bus we passed this golf course


In NYC one bus load gathered to listen to the tour guide


The American Express building & a memorial for employees killed on 9/11


The World Trade Center, Ground Zero ... amazing!!!


The Survival Tree, dug from under the rubble of 9/11


One side of this bridge over the street in Brookfield Place survived


A massive city on one side of the road & Central Park on the other


Radio City and Music Hall ... in New York City!!


Arriving at our hotel, The Sheraton New York ... an awesome experience


The whole group had vouchers for breakfast at Applebees every morning


A big part of our group had dinner at Rosie's the first night


and most of us went to the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway ...


where we saw the Broadway Show "Come From Away" ...


from amazing mezzanine seats in this 1080 seat theatre


A Braodway Show ... a super evening that everyone enjoyed


Then a walk through Times Square in a city that never sleeps!


At the morning Applebees breakfast Audrey was joined by family


We also had tickets good for 24 hours on the Hop On - Hop Off Bus


From the upper deck we had a super view of New York City!


One of the many museums, and historic buildings in New York City


Back at the Sheraton New York before another walk into town


A view of the Hudson River from the High Line footpath ...


... and the subway yard with the city towering behind


The High Line footpath was an old elevated railroad bed


One of the tunnels through Central Park, barely big enough for a bus!


On our way to the ball game we passed miles and miles of grave sites


At the ball game we saw folks eating dinner out of their trunks & tailgates


Citi Field ... home of the NY Mets baseball team - a 50,000 seat stadium


Our group in our orange tee shirts ... turns out it was Met's colours :-)


We were lucky - David Wright came back after 2 years to play his last game


The third baseman had been off for two years with back problems


Never made a run, got walked, but the crowd went crazy just because he was there!


Good and comfortable seats despite the fact we were with 50,000 people!


The Empire State Building backed by a blue sky and a 70 F degree day


The view from the ESB gave a whole new perspective of NYC and it's metropolis


On our way up to the 86th floor (OK ... we started the stairs on floor 80)


Jim and Karen taking in the breath taking view from the 86th floor


The Hop On Hop Off top deck was a great way to see NYC - note the congestion


Jim and Karen at the back of the bus ... they were full and busy all day


Apartments starting at $1,100,000.00 (that's the no view floors 1st & 2nd)


Morgan, dressed for dinner, with Billie & Hugh ... she always has a big smile!!


Hugh & Marion Kennedy join Hugh singing in the lobby before we head out to dinner


The tail end of the line of our 86 people heading in to Del Frisco's steak house


One of the 10 tables that our 86 person group filled for dinner


We all enjoyed a super steak dinner and a great visit at last night together!



For more photos see the Spirit of the West Support Crew web site diary page at: www.MeadowSprings.com.



Our Itinerary!         Top of Page

Day

Date

Port

Itinerary

Day 1

Sept 15th

Vacouver or Calgary

Folks will make their way to Calgary or Vancouver for a flight out to Quebec tomorrow.

Day 2

Sept 16th

Quebec City

The Spirit of the West Cruise group arrives in Quebec City today. Jim and Karen and/or Mark and Kathy will meet air arrivals and direct them to their hotel shuttle bus. We over night in the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac (the world's most photographed hotel).

Day 3

Sept 17th

Quebec City

We check out of the Frontenac after breakfast and transfer to the Sugar Shack. 11:00 am local entertainment and lunch. At 1:30 pm we transfer to the terminal and board the Adventure of the Sea. Now hopefully we will have time for a third day exploring Quebec City. 5:30 to 6:30 Welcome Reception in the Imperial Lounge.

Day 4

Sept 18th

Quebec City

Our forth day here ... very unusual for our cruise group to spend so many days in one spot - really looking forward to this! Another day touring Quebec City prior to boarding before 3:00 pm and set sail at 5:00 pm and head down the St Lawrence towards the East Coast. 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm sing-a-long under the stars on the pool deck.

Day 5

Sept 19th

Cruising the St Lawrence

Cruising the St Lawrence on our way to PEI. We'll be looking out for the Gaspé Peninsula that we've heard was so nice.

Day 6

Sept 20th

Charlottetown, PEI

Arrive 8:00 AM ... enjoy the day here ... small-town ambience, maritime heritage and Victorian style. Set sail at 6:00 pm. 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm sing-a-long under the stars on the pool deck.

Day 7

Sept 21st

Sydney, Nova Scotia

7:00 am arrival. Sydney, the gateway to Cape Breton Island. Mostly rural Cape Breton has a rich cultural mix of Gaelic, Acadian and indigenous Mi'kmaq peoples. 3:30 pm set sail.

Day 8

Sept 22nd

Halifax, Nova Scotia

7:00 am arrival. 8:30 am our group will board a motor coach and transfer to Victor Oultons Windsor Farm. At 11:30 am we depart the farm with an expected arrival time of 11:35 pm for lunch at the Hants County Fair - the oldest continuously run fair in North America at 252 years young! At 1:30 we depart for Halifax and board the ship at 2:30 for a 4:00 sail away.

Day 9

Sept 23rd

Saint John New Brunswick - Bay of Fundy

10:00 am arrival. Famous for the Reversing Rapids at the Bay of Fundy. Home to splendid Victorian architecture, quaint shops and a vibrant arts scene. The gateway to New Brunswick's scenic villages and seascapes. Depart 7:00 pm

Day 10

Sept 24th

Bar Harbour, Maine, USA

7:00 am arrival. Explore the rugged beauty and serene parkland. Depart 7:00 pm. 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm sing-a-long under the stars on the Lido deck.

Day 11

Sept 25th

Boston Massachusetts, USA

8:00 am arrival. Explore the oldest city in the USA. We may be able to visit Paul Revere's house. Depart 7:00 pm.

Day 12

Sept 26th

Portland, Maine, USA

7:00 am arrival. Explore the lively Old Port of narrow cobblestone streets and restored brick warehouses. Depart 7:00 pm.

Day 13

Sept 27th

At Sea

Cruising the East Coast of the USA on route to Cape Liberty. 2:00 to 3:00 Bon Voyage Cocktail Reception - Imperial Longe. Here we'll receive our New York City package and instructions.

Day 14

Sept 28th

Cape Liberty, New Jersey (New York)

7:00 am arrival. Those not taking in New York City will have an 8:15 am transfer to the airport. Those of us with the 3 day add on will board a coach at 9:00 am and get a guided 4 hour tour of Manhattan - including an authentic Ben's Deli Lunch Box! At 1:30 we arrive at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel. We will receive passes for the Hop On / Hop Off and have the rest of the day at leaisure. Tonight those of us that selected the Broadway Show option will take in the "Come From Away" hit in a special reserved group front mezzanine section!

Day 15

Sept 29th

New York City

The second day of New York City post cruise stay will start out with breakfast at Applebees then we'll have full day Hop On / Hop Off passes. We meet back at the hotel at 3:40 for a transfer to City Park where we'll take in the ball game - New Yorks Mets verses Miami.

Day 16

Sept 30th

New York City

The third day of New York City post cruise stay also starts out with breakfast at Applebees and full day Hop On / Hop Off passes. The day winds down with a 6:00 pm group dinner at Del Friscos Steak House!

Day 17

Oct 1st

New York City

Breakfast at Applebees and then fly back to Vancouver or Calgary! The airport shuttle is at 8:30 am.

Day 18

Oct 2nd

Home Sweet Home

Back to reality!!

Top of Page

Here is a map - showing the Quebec to New York cruise stops. click to enlarge.

2018 Group T-Shirt
2018 Group T-Shirt
click to enlarge

2018 Quebec City to New York Cruise
2018 Spirit of the West Cruise - Quebec City to New York!
click to enlarge

2017 Group T-Shirt
2017 Alaska T-Shirt
click to enlarge

Top of Page


This website built and maintained by MSR Web Design