Our shuttle to the Boston port from the Adams Hotel in Quincy wasn't scheduled until noon, so we had a leisurely breakfast and still had couple hours to kill at the hotel. When it was about 11:30, we gathered our luggage from the car and from the hotel room, checked out and then waited for the shuttle along with several other people. The shuttle was running about 40 minutes late because of heavy traffic in Boston, but we really didn't mind the wait. We had lots of time to get to the ship -- it didn't sail until 5:00 PM. We finally got to the port a little after 1:00 PM and the big check-in rush was already over. There were no lines, we got checked in quickly and were able to go right to our cabin. We booked a cabin low (on deck 4) and just forward of the rear bank of elevators (which is really handy). We found that these low and center to rear cabins have the least amount of movement when the seas are rough. On our last cruise Karl was able to manage well through all of the rough weather just by staying in the cabin.

We were hungry, so had lunch in the Lido buffet . When we got back, some of our luggage had been delivered, so we unpacked -- and then took a nap. We went out on the deck to watch when it was time for the sail-away. The Boston skyline was very attractive from the harbor and made us think we should do a harbor tour the next time we visit there. The ship sails out directly under the flight path of planes landing at the Boston airport and there were several planes that flew right over our heads as we sailed out.

For the rest of the evening, we had dinner in the Lido buffet (our early dinner time in the dining room was too early after our late lunch), finished unpacking, listened to the guitar player for a while (he is very entertaining) and went to the show. Right next to the bar where the guitar player was playing, were some of the shops. While we were sitting there, people began to gather in the shops, so I assumed that there was going to be a drawing for prizes of some sort. I went over to find out -- and they indeed were . I was given two tickets and one of them was a winner!! I won a bottle of Johnny Walker Platinum scotch (which sells for $110 on the ship). The show was an introduction to all of the HAL entertainers and the location team on this cruise. It was surprising that they only have 2 dancers, but have 5 singers. The port guide is Barbara (Babs) whom we had met before on the Amsterdam. This ship has a female cruise director, Christina Purcell. We have never been on a cruise that had a female cruise director before. I'd like to think this is a new trend -- certainly women should be able to do the job as well as men.

The first full day of the cruise was at sea. We got up relatively early, then had breakfast in the Lido buffet. We decided to go to the gym after breakfast and by then it was time for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. It was nice to put faces with names for all of the people I had been corresponding with to organize and join tours for this cruise. After the gathering I had just time to catch the culinary demonstration . I went to 2 lectures in the afternoon -- one on the geology of the region and one on the early history of the Vikings -- and by then it was time for dinner! Whew! The day went fast. At dinner we met our tablemates: Pat and Jim from Andalusia, Alabama and Floyd and June from the San Juan Islands, British Columbia. The show was a production show that featured Broadway tunes and Bob Macki costumes and we enjoyed it.

The second day at sea was much like the first -- but there was quite a bit of alcohol involved. We had breakfast in the Lido buffet and then I went to the port lecture about the first two ports (Corner Brook and Red Bay). The port lecture was packed and I was lucky to find a seat. I went right from the lecture to the culinary demonstration -- which I left early so I could sign up for an upcoming hands-on cooking class and still get to the Cruise Specialists (my travel agency) reception. When I stopped at our room before the reception, I found we had gotten two bottles of wine from Cruise Specialists . The reception had drinks and snacks -- Karl had a beer and I had two glasses of wine. We also got a couple of really nice tote bags from Cruise Specialists. This is an escorted cruise, so we have a couple who are our Cruise Specialists "hosts". They are available for an hour on every sea day to answer questions or help with any issues. They will also be hosting the shore excursions that Cruise Specialists have arranged. We are going on a couple of them later in the cruise.

After a light lunch of soup and salad, I went to the Navigator Wine Package tasting session. We had samples of 5 of the wines available in the packages that we can get for 50% off because of our 4 star Mariner status (200 or more cruise day credits with HAL). That was probably the equivalent of another glass and a half of wine! Needless to say, I did not have wine with dinner or an after dinner drink! We did dress up for the first formal night (so I could have lobster) and went to the show, which was a clarinet player named Pete Neighbor . He played jazz and some familiar big band tunes. We wrapped up the night with a little time in the piano bar. "Barry from Boston", the piano man, while not the best singer, is a great entertainer. I think we will be going back there often.

At the geology lecture I went to on our first sea day, we were told that the geology we could see in Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is unique. It is one of the few places in the world where you can easily see where the mantle of the earth was pushed up and over the crust, exposing billion year old rocks. I had scheduled a Holland America tour that took us there from our first port of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Our tour guide was Stewart, a local "Newfie" and geologist. He was very good at explaining the geology we were seeing, telling us about local life and keeping the group on track and on time. Our first stop was the park's visitor center where we saw a short film and some displays about the park. Next we drove to Lobster Cove lighthouse where we could see some of the cliffs towering over the shore. We had a soup and sandwich lunch in Rocky Cove, a small town in the center of the park. Since the town was there before the park, the residents are allowed to hunt and cut wood in the park. Our final stop was supposed to be Norris Point, a viewpoint where you can see the red Tablelands in the distance. The Tablelands are the ancient mantle pushed up and exposed -- technically, the northern portion of the Appalachian Mountains. We had time for one extra, unscheduled stop -- at Woody Point Lookout. At this viewpoint, we looked out across Bonne Bay to the small village of Woody Point that sits at the base of the Tablelands.

We went out on deck to watch the sail-away. It is always interesting to see how the ship is released from its dock and the harbor we are leaving. We were in a bay, so for quite a while there was land on both sides as we left Newfoundland. We decided to go to the dining room for dinner because they has Cobb Salad on the menu. After dinner we went to the show -- but we left early. Neither of us cared for the performers, The Flyboys. They were supposed to be a harmonizing quartet who sang a mix of music with a big band sound. Not only did we not care for the music they chose, I also felt they needed some work on their harmony. Oh well -- some of the other folks in the audience seemed to enjoy the show. We went to listen to Mike, the guitar player and stayed just until he finished his set at 9:00 PM. Neither of us had slept well the night before, so we decided to call it a night early.