Tuesday was sea day, meaning more eating and lounging around. Ship's time moved forward one hour. It was raining outside, so the interior public areas were more crowded.
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| hope it won't rain tomorrow... |
We went to the Grande restaurant for lunch, this time taking advantage of the tossed-to-order salad bar in addition to ordering off the menu. You point to whatever ingredients you wanted and the attendant would scoop them into a bowl and toss it for you.
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| salad fixings |
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| more fixings |
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| also some self-serve platters |
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| and carved roast beef |
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| my freshly tossed salad with a scoop of beans |
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| crispy pork belly |
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| lobster and seafood roll, not as good as off-ship |
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| napoleon, not the best |
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Then we headed over to the Two70 lounge to look around. The cafe adjacent to the lounge was so busy, there was a line forming down the walkway. Soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts were served there.
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| Two70 by day |
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| line for the Two70 cafe |
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I made advance reservations on Cruise Planner for the show "
We Will Rock You" at 2:30pm. The theater was packed full. It was a great show.
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| waiting for the show to start |
Dinner was at American Icon Grill, another complimentary restaurant, with of course, an American theme. The food was good.
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| steak tartare |
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| wild mushroom soup |
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| prime rib |
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| BBQ baby ribs |
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| carrot cake |
Later that night, the Two70 lounge transformed into a show called "
Spectra's Cabaret". I made advance reservations for 8:30pm in the Cruise Planner. It was an interesting show to see once.
Our towel animal for the night was maybe an aardvark? Sorry, no Day 7 Cruise Compass...forgot to snap pictures of the pages! You can see some of the first page below:
Anthem of the Seas arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Wednesday morning. It was cheaper to rent a car for the day than to book excursions through the ship for the three of us. Having a car made our schedule more flexible, so if you are cool with driving, I would recommend it.
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| more inspirational quotes on the walls |
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| light breakfast |
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| elevator floor tile changes with the day |
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| press "Gangway" and it will take you to the correct floor to exit the ship |
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It was a short walk to the car rental agency, but it was not very clear where the front door was. The gray "Deliveries" door that had 1099 on it (address of the office) was locked, but someone exited from it as we were nearby; I caught the door and entered, even though I had no idea if it was the right way or if we were trespassing. We found the Hertz office, which was in a tiny room just off the entrance foyer. It turned out that the main door was on the other side along Marginal Road, whereas we were walking down the feeder road behind the building. The Hertz sign on the sidewalk was also a good indication.
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| locked, but it says 1099...? |
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| tip: walk around the brick building to find the main entrance |
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Since we were in Canada, I didn't have a data plan to use for my iPhone's GPS, but here's a tip: save portions of Google Maps for offline use.
Here are some directions on how to do it. Before we left for the trip, I downloaded all the relevant places we were visiting in Canada. I then used Google Maps as normal, and the app found the saved maps, even with airplane mode on. Bringing a car charger is also helpful.
The weather was cloudy, but it wasn't raining. We headed to
Peggy's Cove, a picturesque location along St. Margarets Bay. The drive was beautiful; the area was so peaceful. I could imagine having a summer house here.
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| looked good, but we had other plans... |
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Near Peggy's Cove was a place called
Ryer's where we indulged in more lobster. They only serve seafood, so if you need more to fill you up, bring your own carbs. It was a bit chilly sitting outside but the view was nicer and smelled better than inside the shop. It took a while to get the food, so don't come hungry.
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| arriving at Ryer's |
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| huge 13lb lobster (not for eating) |
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| fresh mussels were so good, should have ordered more |
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| lobster!!! |
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After lunch, we headed over to
Acadian Maple Products to purchase some souvenirs. There was a small seating area where a video played, showing how maple syrup is harvested and processed. You could see into the kitchen where products are made.
We drove back to the port, returned the rental car, and re-boarded the ship for an afternoon snack at Two270 cafe.
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| Anthem parked next to Crystal Serenity |
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| this banana cake was the bomb |
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Tonight's dinner was at the Solarium Bistro, where you select a main entree from the menu and the rest of the meal was a buffet. You could choose Maine lobster for a $15 surcharge and lamb chops for $10. Overall, I liked the food at the Bistro. The ambiance isn't the same as the other restaurants (more busy, casual), but the quality and variety were excellent.
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| choose a cooked-to-order entree |
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| loved the balsamic feta watermelon |
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| salad bar |
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| cold appetizers |
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| various hot entrees |
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| desserts |
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| appetizer buffet plate |
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| perfectly grilled salmon |
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| skirt steak |
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| sweets |
Later that night, there was karaoke in the Music Hall. Normally, I wouldn't have participated as I wasn't with a large group of friends, but there was a live band...what an opportunity! Since it was rock-style, the song list was limited, but I was able to find a couple that I knew..."Unchained Melody" and "Don't Stop Believing". It was not the same as singing karaoke with CD+graphics, where the words pop up on a screen along the music. I just read a piece of paper on a stand, being counted in by the band leader. There was more stage fright involved since the music was live; my voice trembled during the first half of each song until I got used to it. It was sweet when some of the audience got up and danced to "Unchained Melody". The videos I have are embarrassing (especially when I missed my cue during the Journey song), so I've just included a snapshot. Despite the terror, it was a great experience and I'd do it again!
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| people dancing during "Unchained Melody" |
Tomorrow, we head to Saint John, New Brunswick...stay tuned!
(Missed any of the previous days? Use the Trip Index at the top of this page to read the others)
***
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