Onboard the Holland America Line Zaandam, visiting Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, and Boston
Charlottetown, a small town of 37,000, and the capital of Prince Edward Island
In historic Quebec City
Our ship, the Zaandam, approaching Boston
The Basilica of Notre Dame in Montreal (1843)
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In 2020, a group of us planned to take a cruise along the St. Lawrence Seaway, from Montreal to Boston, stopping at a number of ports. Then, in March, 2020, Covid hit, and all cruises were cancelled. Things had improved in 2021, but still no cruise. Finally, in 2022, we got word that the cruise was on. So, on September 16, 2022, our group met in Montreal, spent the night, then boarded the Holland America Line Zaandam for "ports of call."
The group was comprised of myself, my friend and classmate, Msgr. Dennis Metzger (from Toledo, Ohio), and five of his siblings and spouses: Dennis and Karen Weber, Jerry and Debbie Schumacher, Al and Carmen Metzger, Dave and Cindy Metzger, and John and Patty Warring. I had met all of the siblings over the years, and I knew that we would have a good time together. I had been on a ship once before, many years before, in 1977, when 50 of us seminarians from all across the country met in New York City, to travel to Rome on the Italian Lines ship, Raffaello. It was a wonderful experience, and I always looked forward to the possibility of another cruise sometime in the future.
That happened 45 years later when I boarded the Holland America Lines Zaandam, a ship that was about the same size as the Raffaello (the Zaandam could accommodate 1400 passengers, while the Raffaello could accommodate 1700). The Zaandam was christened in 2000, and it was refurbished in 2018. The ship had a beautiful and elegant interior, and the service was exemplary. Needless to say, both food and drink were first class. We spent a day or so at each port, which gave us some time to debark and do some exploring. There was also plenty to do (or not do) on the ship. Dennis and I enjoyed the early evening concerts (piano and violin), but there was also a casino and a theater (I saw the movie Elvis). All things considered, it was a great trip.
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Click The Images Below—On Land, Onboard, and Cruise Highlights—to Access the Pictures
On Land
On Land—Old Town Quebec City
Onboard
On Board—A Special Dinner
Cruise Highlights (the slideshow includes captions )
Highlights—St. Lawrence Cruise