Minion Fam Jam: New England Cruise with Holland America

Train to Boston

Today we start the second part of our journey which is a cruise with Holland America. However, we’ll need to make our way to Boston in order to board the boat. We wake up bright and early, check out and head to Penn station to catch a train. It’s an early morning train, so while still sleepy, we grab coffee and settle in for the three hour journey.

Boston

Upon arriving in Boston, we have a few hours to kill before its time to set sail. So we take a bit of time to walk around the waterfront area. Aside from a brief overnight layover, I’ve never been to Boston. But the small glimpses I see makes me want to visit again sometime in the future!

Boston Eats

Even though our time is short, we did want to try a few things whilst here. On the list is a Boston Cream pie. And the Sister scoped out a place nearby to pick up a slice from Flour Bakery.

Another thing on our list is to have some Boston clam chowder. For this, we have a light lunch at Row 34. We also share some mussels along with our chowders for the family.

Holland America Canada and New England Cruise

When we originally did the planning for this trip, a cruise was always in the cards. Routings like the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and even European cruises were thrown around. Eventually we stumble on this Canada and New England Cruise. It serves multiple purposes for us. It allows us to visit a city like New York to allow Mama Minion to check a few items off her bucket list. It’s in a region that’s relatively easy for all of us to travel to without very long plane rides. And a majority of the ports of calls are places that different parts of the family have visited before. This last point might seem odd, but a big purpose of this trip had been for us to all spend time together. And we all felt that taking the pressure of having to “explore” or “discover” a new place off could better facilitate that. So that’s why we went with this cruise.

Our Cruise Ship, The Volendam

After lunch, we decide to head onboard and get ourselves settled in our cabins. The Sister and I decide to wander the cruise ship and explore our home for the next few days. The boat is a bit dated and smaller than some of the modern ships. But we’ll later find out why that’s an advantage. But for now, it has a homely feel and already the ship starts to grow on us!

Soon its time to so The Sister and I head outside on deck to see our cruise set sail. One of the cool things about the port is that it is right under the flight path of Boston International Airport. So while we’ll be cruising away, we do so while watching a lot of planes fly over on approach to land! We spend a good amount of time enjoying the sailing festivities and seeing as its a beautiful sunny day doesn’t hurt either!

Soon enough, Boston is in the rear view and we are well on our way. There are a few organizational activities to get acquainted with the ship in the afternoon and soon we find that its time for dinner. Instead of going to the main dining room, we decide to go casual and head to the Lido Market which is the more casual dining option onboard. We’re all in good spirits looking forward to these next seven days since it will give us a lot of time together!

Night Photography?

Before turning in for the evening, there were reports that the Aurora Borealis activity in the North America is particularly active. Given we are in the middle of the Ocean with very little light pollution, we decide to attempt and capture some of it. Sadly, nothing really comes of it, but it’s still kind of a neat to try and take night photos on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

Bar Harbour

After a great nights rest, we wake up to beautiful views of Bar Harbour! We all meet up on the Lido deck for some breakfast as we take in the sights and get our day started. One of the things I’m really digging about Holland America Cruises is the serving of congee for breakfast. Being Asian congee is such a comfort food for me and seeing it available on a cruise ship is such a treat! I’m pretty sure this will be my breakfast every day of this cruise!

Tendering

Because Bar Harbour is a small port, we need to take tenders into the port instead of docking. This gives us a refreshing morning ride over the water into town! After getting to dock the family is all smiles as we set out to explore the town.

Exploring Bar Harbour

From the dock, we don’t really anything we need to see or do. So we just wander along the water and take in the beautiful scenery. Bar Harbour is a beautiful little town. I believe it gets super busy in the summer time. It was just the one cruise ship in the harbour today but during peak season I can’t imagine what the town is like when its packed. Thankfully for us though it’s just “us” and even though a few things are closed, we enjoy the tranquility and calm.

Side Street Cafe

Today is actually Mother’s Day! And while the option to return to the ship and have a meal there is available. We decide to celebrate Mother’s day at a local restaurant. And what better way to do it than over Lobster rolls and chowder! We find a cool place called the Side Street Cafe and celebrate Mama Minion in style. With some tasty drinks, and very yummy lobster inspired dishes we settle in to enjoy our meal.

Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream

For Desert, we pop down the street to Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream. We sample a few flavours before getting ourselves a generous helping of Ice cream.

Afternoon Cruising

Before we know it, its time to head back to the boat. It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon, so we spend it admiring the scenery as we pass it by. We even catch a glimpse of the local pilot stepping off our boat and riding off into the horizon!

One of the things our family loves to do is play games together. And part of booking a cruise is the downtime that affords us the opportunity to play games together. So during the afternoon, we find a lovely spot on the ship. And we get a good game of Phase 10 going. This will end up being a common theme for us throughout the cruise and a source of numerous memories!

Mother’s Day Dinner

As evening rolls around, our thoughts turn to dinner. But before dinner, we make our way to the auditorium where the Captain is doing a champagne toast. I think the family is probably more keen for the free champagne than we are for the speeches, but nonetheless we find ourselves here for the toast!

From there, we head to the dining room where have our first dining room experience of our cruise. It’s nice that even the cruise has a Mother’s day themed meal. We all chow down on our different food orders as we reminisce on the day’s events. Even though its just the first day, a lot has already happened on this cruise! It just fuels the excitement for the next few days!

With full tummy’s we head out to explore the various activities the ship has to offer in the evening. We check out the entertainment and even head back up to the Lido Market for late night snacks. Soon we find ourselves back at our cabin settling down for the evening. Tomorrow we will be in Halifax.