Cruise #1: Baltimore, Greenland & Canada
Our departure day, September 6, 2024.
We left San Diego at 4:30 AM before the sun (or anyone in the neighborhood) was up.
***PREAMBLE: We’re now six weeks into our yearlong cruising journey… and loving it! We have a bit to catch you up on, as we’re still navigating our writing schedules and internet-at-sea woes. Thanks for your patience as we work to bring you up-to-speed on our adventure.***
Since our departure from San Diego on September 6, we’ve visited Baltimore, MD (our first departure port), taken three cruises (one detailed in this post, a second to Bermuda, and a third to the Bahamas), then returned briefly to San Diego for a precious four-day-visit with family. All of those details still to come, but for now, please enjoy a recap of our visit to Greenland and Canada:
After boarding the Carnival Pride in Baltimore, Maryland, we set off for Greenland with five days at sea to relax and explore the ship. Our cruise director, Dustin, kept things lively with plenty of shows, games, and talks. One lecture by geologist Richard Monroe stood out; he shared some eye-opening facts about shrinking icebergs and glaciers, without getting too heavy on the politics of global warming.
On the sixth day, we reached Nanortalik, Greenland, but couldn’t dock due to thick fog (definitely better safe than sorry — the waters were chock full of icebergs)! Luckily, the next day we made it to Qaqortoq, a small town with Dutch-style buildings. We enjoyed wandering around and spent time in a local museum learning about the Vikings and Inuit culture.
After another sea day, we arrived at St. Anthony, Newfoundland, and were tendered to shore. The locals were friendly, but there wasn’t much to do, so we walked to Viking Mall, checked out the shops, and headed back to the ship.
Next up was Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where we took a bus tour. We stopped at a lookout point to learn about Captain James Cook, visited a small fishing village, and enjoyed lunch at a local church. The church ladies were so sweet, serving up homemade sandwiches and desserts, plus some cute handmade souvenirs for sale.
Our last stop in Canada was Sydney, Nova Scotia. We did a self-guided walking tour, hitting the highlights like the post office (where we mailed postcards to family), and St. George’s Anglican Church and graveyard. One of the parishioners provided a group of us with a very detailed narrative of the history of the church’s construction in 1783, including a story about Queen Elizabeth having visited there three times, and her father having visited twice. It was very interesting!
After Sydney, we sailed back to Baltimore and prepared for our next sailing to Bermuda. Our preparation was minimal this time around, as we would be sailing back-to-back aboard the Pride once again. We did have to pack our luggage for a stateroom move; but other than another passport verification, we were spared the trouble of disembarkation and embarkation a second time. Definitely a time and stress saver!
One of the other fun perks of back-to-back cruising: you get a chance to know the staff on a more personal level. We really loved our dining room staff, and were lucky enough to get to know our ship’s captain, Captain Vito. He was so personable and kind, even posing for a variety of photos with us.
Our assessment of our “Sunset Cruising” adventure so far: it’s definitely a lifestyle we can get used to!
