Coastal Adventure # 7: The Beauty of Nature Preserved

Well, we are now in the United States, at the old resort town of Bar Harbor, in Maine.  This close-up of a t-shirt in a window clarifies the proper pronunciation of this name with an appropriate Down-East New England accent:

As a footnote, the island was originally called "Ile des monts deserts" (Island of Barren Mountains) by Champlain.  The locals still use the French pronunciation, with the emphasis on the last syllable of "Desert" as if the word were "dessert".

The famous billionaire, John D. Rockefeller, and others not only built summer homes here, and encouraged their friends and fellow plutocrats to do the same, but also saw to it that the beautiful natural environment of Mount Desert Island was largely preserved.  A number of wealthy property owners donated the land for Acadia National Park.  In particular, Rockefeller built a network of carriage roads through the woods of the island, a network which remains to this day completely separate from the automobile roads that followed.  The carriage roads are usable only by pedestrians, cyclists (non-motorized), and, of course, by horse-drawn carriages.  The segments of carriage road outside the National Park are even closed to cyclists, thanks to a couple of cyclists who were rude to the owner of the private property through which the road passed.

Apart from the town of Bar Harbor proper, a large portion of the island, and several adjacent smaller islands, are contained in Acadia National Park, which continues the original vision of nature preserved.

The environment here reminds me of nothing quite so much as the area around my old home town of Elliot Lake.  The mountains and forests certainly draw the parallel, and there are still some fall colours here.

Meanwhile, in the town, there’s a unique architectural mix of traditional New England with big money dignity, a mix which makes simply walking the streets fascinating.  And of course, like any resort town, there’s a huge and diverse community of stores, art galleries, eateries and drinkeries, and much more. 

This is the first time since September 11, 2001, that I’ve entered the USA on a cruise ship that was going to make further stops before reaching its American final destination.  Back in the 1990s, we simply gave our destination information before boarding and that was it – when we reached our first American stop (Ketchikan, Alaska), we just walked off the ship.  Not any more.  Now, U. S. Immigration authorities boarded as soon as we came to anchor offshore, and interviewed every single passenger of the ship.  There were two main rooms being used, one for U. S. Citizens, and one for all others.  The interviews began at 0700, and I was right there ahead of time, but even with a wait of some 20 minutes I still had ample time to take my passport back to my cabin and then meet my tour party at 0745.

First, the bad news.  Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak of eight on the island, was sacked in with fog.  Our bus tour went up there first, and the view was limited only by our imaginations (translation: zero visibility).  By the time I got back to the ship at noon, the sky remained cloudy but the mountaintop was now in the clear.  Moral: take an afternoon tour in Bar Harbor!

The other helpful hint: if your tour is going to drive the circle road through the National Park, most of the really spectacular views will be on the left side of the bus.  It’s easy to state that with absolute authority as most of the circle road is one way only – clockwise.  Moral: sit on the left side!

So, here is a selection of pictures from today’s adventures.  First, a pair of trees contorted by the fierce Atlantic coast weather at the summit of Cadillac Mountain.

A meadow and stream with reflections.

A stone gateway guarding the entrance to one of the carriage roads.

A typical streetscape in town.

Necessary stonework repairs on a dignified church.

A large old “cottage” (summer home of a well-to-do family) converted into a bed and breakfast inn (there are many of these in the town).

My mansion is bigger than your mansion!

Lobster boats in the harbour.

And finally, a clear view of Cadillac Mountain from the Caribbean Princess.

Coastal Adventure # 5 and # 6: Two Quick City Posts

This is going to be the quickest post of the trip -- and I'm sure the reasons why will become obvious in due course!

We docked this morning in Halifax.  I've been to this city of the sea, the "warden of the North" (Kipling) so many times now that it's almost superfluous for me to add anything.  I've also blogged about three separate visits to Halifax, and those blog posts certainly covered the ground.  (hint: select the label "Atlantic Canada" from the list, and you'll get them all in that group)

As one of my friends said, I should probably be giving tours of Halifax myself during this stop!

Although it was a chilly morning with a stiff breeze, I carried out my plan to take a brisk walk along the waterfront boardwalk from the ship to the Dartmouth ferry terminal and back (it's about a mile, or 1.6 km).  A few doors from the ferry is a branch of that renowned Canadian institution, Tim Hortons.  A big cup of dark roast and a toasted bagel were a useful antidote to the rigours of walking the Halifax waterfront on the verge of winter.

After that I went up a couple of blocks into town, and walked back along Hollis Street so I could avoid the raw wind blowing along the harbour.  And so back to the ship and back aboard.  I may or may not go out again after my nap.

But before I even got ashore, the captain had already announced that our port call tomorrow at Saint John, New Brunswick, was cancelled due to gale warnings.  Sensible precaution -- I wouldn't want to handle a big ship in the Bay of Fundy on a day with heavy winds.  With said winds expected to be blowing against the Bay's famous super-size-me tides, it's no wonder that the forecast calls for swells of 15 feet or more.  

So instead, we are staying right here, tucked up at our pier in Halifax until 0600 tomorrow morning, at which time we will sail directly to Bar Harbor in Maine.  Good thing I had that Timmy, that's probably my last chance for over two weeks!

Coastal Adventure # 4: The Triumph of Archaeology

Our cruise ship docked today at Sydney, Nova Scotia, a city I have visited several times in the past.  The tours on offer ranged over three different and widely-dispersed attractions, none of them actually in Sydney: the Cabot Trail and village of Ingonish to the northwest, the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and Bras d’Or Lake in Baddeck to the west, or the Louisbourg National Historic Site to the southeast.  I’ve been to all three in the past, but Louisbourg was the most distant in the past since I hadn’t seen it for over 30 years (1984 to be precise, on my very first trip to the Maritimes).  So that was my choice.

Louisbourg was a fortified city built by France on the southeast coast of Cape Breton Island between 1715 and 1730, and represented a remarkable achievement in terms of extreme cost and difficulty of construction by France.  Nevertheless it was easily captured by the British in the 1750s, opening the way to the eventual fall of Quebec at the end of that decade – and the end of the colony of New France.  After capturing Louisbourg, the British razed the fortifications and city to the ground, and thenceforth centred their defence efforts in Nova Scotia around the splendid natural harbour of Halifax, some three hundred kilometres to the southwest.  The site of Louisbourg was all but forgotten except by local residents, the land reclaimed by the winds and rains, the foundations overgrown with the native grasses and the stunted trees of the seashore.

The slow, painstaking reconstruction of Louisbourg by Parks Canada represents a triumph of another kind: the triumph of archaeology over shortsighted attempts to rewrite the record of history.  Using archival material found mostly in Paris, and excavating the remains of the foundations left behind, the archaeological team has been carefully rebuilding the city, building by building, on its original site.  So far, they have reconstructed a sizable portion of the city wall, two large bastions, two of the formal gateways, and four city blocks’ worth of houses, workshops, sheds, gardens, and fences.  And the work continues.

The result is a time capsule unique in Canada: a portrait of a city at the height of its brief life and power.  During the summer, costumed actors share the story of life in the city for its many and diverse inhabitants.  Even on our late fall day, there were a handful of actors recreating the life of a soldier, and the life of two quite different households.  Unlike any purely indoor museum, the reconstructed city of Louisbourg also exposes you to the natural environment of wind and rain (and snow in winter) which made life in that exposed location so difficult and indeed miserable.  That’s why it was ironic that we were blessed with beautiful sunshine and pleasant temperatures – not just because it was the first such day of the cruise, but also because such weather is something of a rarity at Louisbourg at any time of year!

So here is a photo album of a late fall day in Louisbourg.  We started in the Barracks of the King's Bastion, the largest building so far reconstructed.

Inside, we visited the Military Chapel (the seated gent was our tour guide).

The main street and Frederic Gate leading to the harbour.

A view of some backyards.  Gardens were essential to life in Louisbourg, and the scarce topsoil was carefully guarded and maintained at all times.  Food grown during the short three-month season had to last through all of the long cold winter months,

A pair of officers' homes.  The large yellow one was built by Captain de la Plagne, recently arrived from the warm, sunny south of Provence in France -- a similar latitude but rather different climate (to say the least).  Captain de Ganne, on the left, had come from Quebec and knew what was what in the New World.  Poor Captain de la Plagne may have had a very imposing house, but he had to abandon his upper floor in winter because he couldn't get enough firewood to heat it!

As always, I wanted to spend more time than our tour allowed.  Another place I need to get back to on my own time!

Back in Sydney, after lunch, I went for a walk along the harbourfront boardwalk, which has been developed much more since my last visit to the city.  In particular, there's a very powerful and moving sculpture erected as a memorial to the sailors of the Merchant Marine in World War 2.  

There were also some of the fattest ducks I have ever seen in my life -- not that I've had a really wide range of duck experiences.

Outside the new cruise terminal, the World's Largest Outdoor Fiddle greeted us, a clear reminder of the importance of traditional music in Cape Breton's lively cultural scene.

And finally, as we sailed out of Sydney Harbour, at the end of a full day, we passed a sight which I have never seen before: no less than three of the super-ferries that connect Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, all at the North Sydney Terminal at the same time.

Coastal Adventure # 3: A Tale of Two Houses

Although often called a river, the Saguenay's easterly portion is actually a wide, deep, and long saltwater fjord.   At the head end of the fjord stands a cluster of several small cities now joined together into a single unit, the urban Région de Saguenay.  This was our second stop of the cruise.

On the whole, the Région de Saguenay is not a tourism superstar like Vieux-Québec, but my day here left me with me with two indelible images – a pair of houses.  The houses themselves are not remarkable – just typical, everyday little homes of typical, everyday citizens of the Saguenay region.  More on them presently – because our day was dominated by an even more remarkable factor which almost none of us – Canadians included – had properly considered in our planning.

In the low areas next to the river and fjord, it came down mixed with rain.  As soon as we began climbing, even a short distance, there was slush on the ground.  By the time we got up on top of the ridge overlooking the fjord, it was winter and no mistake.  Our guide explained that this was appropriate because ours was the final ship of the 2016 cruise season.

Our ship docked in one branch of the fjord, the dead-end of the Baie des Ha! Ha!  (yes, that really is its name and I have never heard any two people give the same explanation of what this very odd name means).  The single-ship cruise berth is in the small community of La Baie, the easternmost anchor of the Région de Saguenay.

We had four stops on today’s tour, each one different and each one interesting.  First stop, shortly after leaving the ship, was a museum of the fjord.  There was a kitschy but well-produced show like an imaginary spacecraft voyage which took us through the evolution of the fjord over hundreds of millennia, and the peculiar natural environments found in it today.  The museum also included a small aquarium of fish species from the Saguenay fjord.  Outside, there was a view over the Baie des Ha! Ha! at low tide, with a flock of snow geese grazing on the tidal flats to build up strength for their migration south.

Just around the corner from the museum, we next visited a glass blowing studio.  We watched the master craftsman and his assistant create a beautiful multi-coloured glass hummingbird from start to finish (or at least until it went into the kiln to be cured).  It was a fascinating display of an art too seldom seen any more, and the inevitable tour of the store was lovely too, even for those who bought nothing.

There then followed a lengthy drive, some 45 minutes, west along a local road into Chicoutimi (the central city of the Région de Saguenay complex), where we crossed the river to the north side.  We then backtracked some 10 kilometres, and turned uphill to a goat farm where goats were raised to produce mohair.  That’s where all that beautiful snow in the first picture was lying all over everything.  One of the billy goats in particular was very friendly and wanted to lick everyone (apologies for the blurry picture), as well as trying to get a taste or a mouthful of my phone after I photographed him.

Back in Chicoutimi, we drove briefly past the little white house.  It’s totally unremarkable, apart from the way it perches on top of a ridge on a tall concrete foundation all by itself.  But this house was the lone survivor of a hillside of houses and other buildings that washed away during the great Saguenay flood of 1996, and it was the solid foundation that saved it.  

The natural catastrophe had a monumental impact: dozens of people died and over 3,000 had to be evacuated from homes in danger’s path.  The little white house is now a museum of the flood perched amid a decorative waterfall evoking the flood.  I’ve had to resort to an internet picture, as the bus windows were so badly messed with slush and dirt.

We then went on to the Regional Museum, housed in the machine shop of an old pulp mill, and here was the other remarkable house – inside the museum.  To get it there in 1994, they drove it on an immense float from its original location several blocks away, and then tore out the entire end wall of the building to get it inside.  The stones of the end wall were carefully numbered and marked so that the wall could be restored after.  Obviously this house had to be pretty special.

It was the home of Arthur Villeneuve, a barber of modest means who actually ran his barber shop in the front room of the house.  One day at church, he heard a sermon which fired him with the desire to paint, and it was the house on which he set to work.  Without any formal instruction, and using unfinished cans of paint, he decorated every wall of the house inside with his extraordinarily vivid, imaginative, primitive, colourful paintings of the history and life of Chicoutimi and the region.  He then decorated the front wall of the exterior -- as shown in this photo taken in 1968. 

In time, Villeneuve gave up the barbering business and devoted himself full time to painting, gaining skill and finesse all the way, and completed some 5000 independent works before he died. 

The house is now the centrepiece of an exhibition about Villeneuve’s life and work, and reproductions of some of his significant pictures are hung in bright light where they can be thoroughly studied -- like this vivid scene of life in Chicoutimi back in the "good old days" of the artist's youth.

This original -- and imaginative -- painting of the Vatican is displayed on the front porch of the house.

The house itself is kept in dim light to protect the precious pictures all over every inch of the interior.  Signs admonish visitors not to touch or take pictures inside, but I saw people doing both and wanted to scream -- every time a flash went off.

Twenty minutes just was not enough time for the Villeneuve House (the curse of the guided tour).  I want to go back, and spend more time there – and in the rest of the museum, and in the surrounding areas outside of Chicoutimi and La Baie which I didn’t see at all.  A future trip to spend several days in the Saguenay is now on my bucket list – but in the summer!

Coastal Adventure # 2: Where the River Narrows

I’ve rewritten the opening of this post several times, trying to hit the right tone. At first, I was going whole-hog on the nostalgia angle, and then I went overboard trying to explain the geography and history of Québec – until I realized that I could easily write 10 pages on either of those subjects and not even scratch the surface. So, here’s just a bit for a warm-up. 

Although I’ve whipped through town a couple of times enroute to points farther east, this is the first time I’ve actually done any serious visiting inside Québec City since coming here for a week in August of 1970. I was 16 years old, and on my very first independent trip away from home. I’d been planning this return visit for a long time, and refused to let the cold and little spits of rain get in my way.

Although Québec City (properly, Ville de Québec) is a modern metropolitan area with all the amenities of life that its population of over 800,000 people could want, most visitors see little of it – and indeed, most of the city looks much like any other city. 

The part that is of interest to visitors, the old city or Vieux-Québec occupies just the eastern tip of a long ridge parallel to the river, which is called Cap-Diamant, and the shoreline of the river below the steep cliffs. That shoreline land is now the site of several cruise ship docks, so it’s from that point – where Caribbean Princess is docked – that I would begin my exploratory walk. 

It’s the cliff that really determined the city’s location. Coming inland from the ocean, the St. Lawrence River is really more of an inlet of the sea – tidal, salt water, and many kilometres wide. Just before Québec the river squeezes around the sizable Île d’Orléans and then the channel abruptly narrows down to barely 1 kilometre across, with steep cliffs on both sides – a natural fortification point, if ever there was one. Ships also have to sail upstream in a straight line towards the tip of Cap-Diamant, the most dangerous angle of approach for a sailing warship. 

The site was settled and fortified by France beginning in 1608, and became the centre and capital of the colony of New France. In time, a wall was built completely around the city on top of the cliff. Today, it remains the only complete walled city in North America. After repeated unsuccessful efforts, a British force finally captured Québec in 1759, and with it the entire centre of the North American continent, right down to the lively French settlement of Nouvelle-Orléans near the mouth of the Mississippi River. 

Enough history, let’s get to the city as we see it today. First, a view of upper and lower cities from the top deck of Caribbean Princess. At the west end of the city, on the highest point of Cap-Diamant, is the Citadelle du Québec, built by Britain starting in the 1820s to protect against the periodic threat of American invasion. The flight of stairs leads to a boardwalk which takes you past the Citadelle to the park on the battlefield known as the Plains of Abraham. The curious old ramp to nowhere next to the staircase is actually the site of the famous winter Toboggan Slide, a thrill ride which long predates the invention of waterslides and steel roller coasters.

Right across the street from the dock is an area filled with dignified 19th-century office buildings. Turn left 3 blocks, though, and you are into the centre of the 17th century workingman’s district. The narrow houses today hold shops and restaurants, but the cobblestoned streets and all of the architecture are plainly much older than our time. In the middle is the small square known as Place Royale, with the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires dominating the open space.

At the back of this narrow urban community is the frowning cliff of Cap-Diamant. You can, if you wish, climb up the steep, twisting street of Cote de la Montagne. If you really want a workout, you can go up the “Escalier casse-cou” (literally, the Break-Neck Stairs). Or, you can take it easy like me and ascend in the funicular which dates from 1874, no less. 

At the top of the funicular, you climb one flight of steps and emerge onto the Terrasse Dufferin, a Victorian promenade atop the old city walls.

From the Terrasse, you have a marvellous view of the St. Lawrence, the town of Lévis on the opposite shore, and the cruise ship port as well.

Dominating the Terrasse Dufferin is the monumental, almost baronial Fairmont Chateau Frontenac hotel – due to its prominent location, said to be the most photographed hotel in the world.

On the north side of the hotel is the beautiful square of Place d’Armes. On the west side of Place d'Armes (left in the picture) is the Anglican cathedral, where the bellringers were practising the ancient art of "ringing the changes".

On the north is the Auberge du Tresor restaurant, whose classic French-Canadian cuisine is among the most expensive in the city,…

And on the east stands the Musée du Fort whose diorama of the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 has been a visitor attraction ever since before I came here in 1970 (I remember visiting it). 

I was going to walk back down the Cote de la Montagne, passing the Roman Catholic Cathedral and Basilica on the way, but by this time my knees were squawking from the combined effects of the cold, wet weather and 2 hours of continuous standing up (since there was no place dry to sit down!). So I retraced my steps to the funicular, rode down the cliff, and walked by the most direct route back to the ship for a well-earned and thermally necessary cappuccino!

At 5:00 we sailed from Québec. It sounds splendidly energetic, but for a ship this size it takes a good half hour to slowly move sideways away from the dock, then pivot around in the middle of the river to head downstream, all with the help of two tugboats. I watched the whole process from my balcony. But when the ship did come all the way around, we got a splendid panorama of sunset in the clouds behind the city to bring the day to a beautiful conclusion. And now we are on our way to Saguenay.

Coastal Adventure # 1: Last Cruise of a Short Season

Okay, that's enough time at home -- I'm off on another adventure.

Once again, it's a positioning cruise, from here...

to here...

...which means it's relatively cheap compared to many cruise ship prices, when you work it out as a cost per day. 

Also, it demonstrates that staying loyal to one company pays off in the cruise business as much as in any other part of the travel industry.  The members-only promotion that I jumped at, over a year ago, gave me US$700 in onboard spending money and required only a $100 deposit to hold the space until the final payment deadline.  That's an uncommonly good offer!

Of course, you can get even better prices by booking at the last minute.  Cabins are often available on positioning  cruises -- but the last-minute bookings are apt to offer cabins in some of the slightly "noisier" locations in the ship (see previous post for details).  It's a trade-off. 

The early booking offer means that I can once again afford a mini-suite with a balcony.  As the name suggests, the mini-suite is not gigantic, but it is bigger than a standard stateroom, offers more storage space, and it's certainly possible to move around some parts of it without colliding with a wall every time you take 1.4 or more steps.  Here's what it looks like, according to the company website -- and I hope it really does look like this picture because I always get warm fuzzies when I'm in a room decorated in earth tones.

This particular cruise marks the end of one of the shortest sailing seasons in the cruise industry.  Not too many cruise lines participate in the Atlantic Canada/New England cruise trade, and most of the ships that do go there only stay through the fall colour season.  After that, they need to get down south for the lucrative winter trade in the Caribbean.

So my itinerary starts on Saturday in Quebec City and finishes 14 days later in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Here's what the ship's route looks like on a map.

There were four ports on this itinerary that really grabbed my attention.  The first one is the Ville de Saguenay, on the river of that name in Quebec.  I've never been there at all.  Second is Bar Harbor in Maine.  I did get there once, back in the 1990s, on one of those wonderful summer days that starts off foggy in the morning, stays foggy through lunchtime, keeps on being foggy in the afternoon, and then finally clears up just in time for you to see the last inch of the sunset.  So I'm hoping that in the fall I will actually get to see Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island for the first time!  The third one is Newport in Rhode Island, summer playground of the New York millionaires back in the day.  And finally there's Norfolk in Virginia. 

As an additional bonus, the ship is actually staying at dock in Quebec, right by the old Lower Town, until dinner time on the day after we check in and board -- which gives me a whole day to explore the city at leisure from one of the most central locations you could imagine.  One of the bugbears of cruises, just as with organized bus tours, is not-enough-time at stops.  I can't speak about any other companies, but Princess is building longer stops like this into more and more itineraries, and highlighting those extended stops (anywhere from 18-30 hours) on their sailing calendars and brochures.  It must be a worthwhile selling point to merit so much attention.

This is going to be a high-intensity voyage in two respects, more so than any other cruise I have ever taken.  Beginning with Sydney in Nova Scotia, the ship will be making a port call every single day for eight days in a stretch.  That's a lot of stops, and (potentially) a lot of tours!  However, I am not going to take organized tours at every stop.  Quebec, Halifax, and Saint John are places I'm more than happy to just explore on foot on my own.  Indeed, as my faithful readers know, I've been to Halifax so many times that I could just about lead my own tour of the downtown and waterfront!  Norfolk will be another good place to do that, since (I think) we'll be docking right in the inner harbor next to the old town.

The other way that this is a high-intensity voyage is the size of the ship.  I'm back with my regular go-to company, Princess Cruises, but Caribbean Princess is by far the largest ship I've ever sailed on in my life.  This is one of a group of 11 ships collectively known as the Grand Class ships, all of similar overall size and related (but not identical) design, operated by Princess and by the P & O cruise line of Britain.

Indeed, she was one of the very largest ships in the cruise world when she entered service in 2004.  Now, she's less than half the capacity of the current champion.  But at 3,142 lower-berth passengers and 112,894 tons, this ship is definitely big -- and looks even bigger close up. 

By the way, the port of registry shown on the stern -- Hamilton -- is in Bermuda, and is the port of registry for all or almost all of Princess Cruises' ships.  That gives me a bit of a chuckle, because there is no way this monster could safely squeeze through the narrow channel at Two Rock Passage to sail right into Hamilton Harbour!

I still remember that the original artists' impressions of the first ship of this group showed the top-deck Skywalkers Nightclub actually hanging over the stern, suspended in the air from a huge arm like a giant crane!  In the end, a much more robust pair of supporting pedestal structures appeared on the finished ships.

I'm curious to see how this kind of mega-cruise experience strikes me after my previous ventures on ships of 45000 tons or less carrying fewer than 1000 passengers.

In fourteen days I should be able to get a good grip on the layout, and figure out where everything is hiding -- starting with the 10 eateries and no less than 14 bars (or, as a good friend of mine is wont to call them, "swilling stations").  Even more important to me are the five pools and numerous spa tubs -- and that's not even counting the pool on the bow deck reserved for the crew!

One of the real bonus features of Caribbean Princess, for my money, is the presence of an outdoor promenade circling the entire perimeter of the ship on Deck 6 -- it even goes right up to the forepeak where you can look out over the point of the sharply flared bow.  Many modern ships lack this particular touch of the good old days of ocean travel!  I'll be looking forward to some good brisk walks around that long deck to help me work off the extravagant meals.

A Few Cruise Hints

Another one of my helpful hints posts, based on personal experience.

If you're an experienced cruiser, feel free to skip this one.

Just from the theme of this post, it won't be too hard to guess what my next holiday coming up soon is going to be: a cruise.  So this is a good time to share around a few helpful hints about the whole business of cruising, especially for people who may be thinking of doing one for the first time.

Not much question, the cruise industry is the fastest-growing segment of the world travel industry today and will probably continue to hold onto that # 1 spot for quite a while.

On the oceans, new cruise lines appear regularly, operating older ships sold down the line from the top players.  The top players, meanwhile, continue adding new tonnage at a dizzying pace -- not just in numbers of ships, but in the size of ships.  Remember Titanic, the largest ship in the world at the time of her never-completed maiden voyage in 1912?  It would take five Titanics to equal the tonnage of the current largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, which carries up to 6,360 passengers.

On a far more modest scale, Seabourn's Seabourn Quest and her sister ships carry just 458 passengers in all-suite luxury, with the proportions and lines -- and ambience and service -- of a deluxe seagoing yacht.

In many parts of the world, but especially Europe with its numerous canals, river and canal cruises are also booming -- but in a different way.  Size of the ships here is restricted by the need to fit under low bridges and into narrow canal locks.  So river cruise boats are very long and thin, usually have just three decks, and typically carry no more than a couple of hundred passengers (if that) in very compact cabins.  But here the boom is in numbers, with Viking Cruises leading the way -- adding no less than 46 of its signature Viking Longships to its fleet in just four years.

North American travellers will be familiar with the names of some of the bigger players in the ocean-going cruise industry, such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian, and Holland America.  But be aware that around the world there are many other cruise lines marketing primarily to travellers in countries such as Germany, Spain, Greece, and Norway -- to name only a few.

What is the incredible attraction of cruising?  For me, it's one simple fact: the opportunity to visit and sample a number of different destinations without ever having to unpack more than once.  In effect, you spend anywhere from 3 or 4 days to 120 days (on a round the world voyage) living in the same hotel while the hotel carries you to multiple destinations in diverse countries.  How much easier than a bus tour where nightly packing and repacking are de rigeur!

So, you've decided to take a cruise.  How do you begin to choose?  The essential answer is: start with your wish list, and then do some careful research.  Look through travel sites devoted to cruises.  My favourite is Vacations to Go which rates cruise ships of all lines, gives descriptions of the ships and their amenities, and sells last-minute bargain cruises for virtually all major players in the industry.

A lot depends on what you want.  Do you want a ship with all the bells and whistles from waterslides to amusement rides to an onboard golf course?  Do you want to party all night and sleep all day?  Do you prefer a quieter, more restful experience?  Taking along small children or teenagers?  Just the basics?  Or top-notch luxury treatment?

Then, there's the choice of a route.  What region?  Particular stops you want?  More stops or more at-sea days?  Here's where Vacations to Go really helps by classifying all the sailings by region.  Or you can look them up by line, or by size of ship, or by cost.

You do need to understand that cruises are just like land-based resorts in that you always get what you pay for, one way or another.  Different cabins, for instance.  On the ships I've sailed on, the cheaper inside staterooms are about 65% of the size of an outside cabin.  With no window, these tiny cabins are not the place for anyone with claustrophobic tendencies!

Princess Cruises photo

If you're going to go for a larger outside cabin, you may just as well drop the other shoe and get a balcony cabin.  The additional cost is often not that great, but you have more space and light than a cabin without balcony, as well as access to fresh ocean air whenever it suits you.  Some of the more recent ships have balconies on all of their outside cabins.

Princess Cruises photo

Most cruise lines allow you to select your own cabin as part of the online reservation process.  The first rule to follow when choosing your own room -- a critically important one -- is to pick a deck with cabins above it and cabins below it.  Those much cheaper cabins directly above the nightclub and casino or below the jogging track are much cheaper for a reason -- noise.  The second trick is to avoid high-traffic spots like the elevators or the coin laundry room.  A hidden hazard, but one that can be very loud on some ships, is the blank space towards the stern on all decks which contains the uptake ducts leading the exhaust from the ship's engine room to the top of the funnel above the highest deck.  That roaring updraft can seem very loud at 3:00 a.m.

Here are some other important areas to consider.

Dress Codes on board:  Is your ship casual, "smart casual," "dress casual" (read: all top designer labels on your day-to-day casual clothes), or formal?  Some cruise lines require people to dress up formally (tuxedos for men and evening dresses for women) for dinner every night, others never do, and many go with one formal night out of every five or six nights.  If you don't happen to own a tuxedo (I don't), a suit is usually okay -- but many cruise lines offer formal wear rentals for the duration of the cruise.

What's included?  Virtually all companies include cabin, meals, and all on-board shows and entertainment (except the casino) in your fare.  A cabin steward will make up your room daily, turning over linens and towels as needed.  Some more expensive lines also include all shore excursions, all alcoholic beverages, and all tips in the fare, but most do not.  One or two of the highest-priced companies even include the airfare from your home airport to and from the ship!  If you plan on consuming a lot of alcohol or soft drinks and taking tours at every stop, do some serious number crunching before you choose and one of the more expensive lines may actually prove to be a better value for you.

Meals:   Almost every company does this part differently, so you need to look at the nuts and bolts of meal arrangements on the particular ship you're booking.  Generally, the trend is to offer more and more and more choices of types of food and types of eateries, but some of the upscale ones carry an upscale extra charge.  Some may only be open on certain days or at certain hours.

Tours:  Should you book the cruise line's tours or not?  Well, that depends on the port.  If you arrive in a remote location, like the island of Huahine in French Polynesia, you may very well find that there is only one bus on the island and the cruise line has chartered it for the day!  On the other hand, in a city destination like Ketchikan in Alaska, there are usually half a dozen operators on the dock willing to sell you the same tours for less than half the price the cruise line charges.  The one real advantage of the cruise line's tour offerings is that the ship will wait if the tour is a bit late getting back to the dock (as happened to me in Iceland when the tour bus blew out a tire on a remote gravel road).  If you're on your own and you're running late, the ship may well sail on time and you will then be on your own, with all your belongings on their way to the next port of call without you.

It also depends on the type of tour.  Any tour involving helicopter or airplane "flightseeing" is likely to sell out just because these are small aircraft that only carry a few passengers each.

Airport Transfers:  Do you need to purchase pre-cruise and post-cruise transfers to and from airports from the cruise line?  Again, it depends where you are.  On joining the ship I usually purchase the transfer, especially in larger ports where the ship could be in one of several widely separated docking areas.  When leaving the ship, there's a bit more flexibility.  In city ports like Miami or Vancouver, there's always a taxi rank right outside the cruise terminal and the drivers are eagerly waiting for you -- so the transfer bus isn't really necessary.  In a smaller place like Civitavecchia (the port for Rome), taxis are almost non-existent unless you pre-arrange one, and the fare to Rome -- some 75 kilometres (45 miles) away -- will be pretty horrific.

Air Fares:  Do you have to purchase air fare to and from the ship from the cruise line?  No.  Many people do because it's convenient for them.  I usually arrange my own.

Tipping:  All companies issue guidelines for tipping.  Some include tips in the fare so you don't have to think about it.  My favourite cruise line, Princess, now adds a flat-rated tip to your cabin account, and automatically puts a tip on all bar charges.  If your cruise company doesn't take one of these approaches, you need to bring a hefty wad of cash to put in the tip envelopes on the last day.  The major cruise companies that market themselves in North America all issue invoices in U.S. dollars, and so cash tips (if any) should also be in that currency.  Other than tips, all purchases on board ship are charged to your cabin account and billed to your credit card on file at the end of the cruise.

Last Minute Sales: There can be some remarkable bargains, but there are also hidden traps.  The period from September to early December is the main slack season in the industry, so the best bargains can be found then.  But be warned: you're quite possibly getting the leftovers, the cabins nobody else wanted to take -- like the ones directly above the nightclub and casino or below the jogging track -- or perhaps the outside cabin whose view consists entirely of a huge orange-and-white lifeboat.  General rule: those who book early get the best choices, and also some pretty good incentives, but do pay more for the privilege of having their favourite cabin.

Upgrades:  People who reserve early (as I usually do) may be offered, or given, upgrades if the ship isn't heavily booked.  On one cruise some years ago I was moved up three levels on the price chart with no extra charge.  On another (more recent) trip, I was offered -- and took -- an upgrade from balcony cabin to mini-suite for about 25% of the normal price difference.

Now, if all of this sounds just too complicated to figure out on your own, don't sweat it.  Find a good travel agent to help you choose.  In bigger cities, you can find agencies that specialize in cruise holidays.  Yes, you will pay more, but your chances of getting what you want as a first-timer are much better with a little professional help.