Year 3 Day 149 – “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 9/28/2023. We are in Saint John, NB today. It is Canada’s oldest incorporated city.
It was really spooky pulling into Port Saint John. The city was in a cloud with a few large buildings rising out of the cloud. The water has what looks like ice cubes floating. I think it is foam though. Actually, it is foam floating on the water. We are in the Bay of Fundy. I love this port. This is the third time we have been here. It is the friendliest port out of any we have ever been to. In the Bay of Fundy, the seas foam is created by the high mortality rates of an abundant tube-dwelling amphipod (Corophium volutator) die-offs and the predation by migrating seabirds that contribute to amino sugars released in the environment.
The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. There is at least a 20-foot difference in the depth of the water between high tide and low tide in port. Farther up in the head of the bay it’s more like a 40-foot difference. The tides change every 12.5 hours in the Bay of Fundy. We were able to get off the ship by 9:30am.
There is a lot of construction going on. It is a warm sunny humid day.
After you get out of the terminal there is a small Waterfront Container Village with shops and places to eat. In the terminal you will find a tourist information desk. Last time we were here a few years ago the Waterfront Container Village was a huge tent. They have made big changes at this port. There are a lot of vendors set up along the sidewalk selling their handmade items and tours. Port Saint John has a capacity of three cruise ships, and has been a cruise ship destination since 1989. Today there are three ships in port. Us on the Liberty of the Seas, the Serenade of the Seas is docked in front of us, and behind us is docked the Norwegian Escape. Serenade has 2,476 guests, and 848 crew (2.92 passengers per ship employee), Liberty has 4,960 guests, and 1,360 crew (3.61 passengers per ship employee), and Norwegian Escape has 5,218 guests and 1,733 crew (3.01 passengers per ship employee). There are probably 10,000 tourists wondering the streets today.
We turned left after we disembarked the ship and walked through the Waterfront Container Village and down water street. The bay area is being refurbished and across the street are restaurants with their outside patio area built right on the street.
You can walk fairly easily to the Reversing Falls. Reversing Falls is a unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As the tide rises, it slows the river current for a brief period—called slack tide. The Bay’s tide continues to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river. The rapids form again, peaking at high tide. A 28-foot tide cycle is roughly 12.5 hours.
We then walked up the hill and stopped at a few stores. On the corner the Canadian Union of Public Workers (CUPE) is picketing for better wages and a new contract. They have a really loud horn to attract attention.
We walked around City Market and looked at the fresh meat, produce, seafood, grocery, and craft prices. Yes, I did buy a few Christmas presents. No pictures of those here.
After the Market we went by the King’s Square Park and then headed back down the hill towards the water. We found this little shop that sold interesting things called CDH. CDH Inc. unveiled its first Maritime location in Uptown Saint John on King Street in August 2023. It had really cool different items. This shop has six other locations out west, and two in Ontario. The shop has mostly items that you see in Temu or other stores like that from what I could tell. The store lead Katie was great to talk to. I bought a sweater for $12.00. I hope it is better than my $30.00 Boston Sweatshirt. That sweatshirt is falling apart already.
We stopped at Trinity Anglican Church which is a Gothic Revival stone church located on Charlotte Street in the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John. This church was the first established congregation in the city.
One good thing about this cruise is we only have three sea days. The casino won’t be open until 9:45pm tonight. The casino is not open while in port or within 12 miles of land. This cruise is 9 nights with only three sea days. Yes, we get to keep that money we won. Before dinner we again found ourselves sitting enjoying the views from the Oliver or Twist Lounge on deck 12. We watched the school dismissal, and the school buses fill up and leave.
Today’s product recommendations are cruising essentials (paid links): 1) It is so nice not to have to worry about stapling your luggage tags to your luggage handles and to have them rip off. We have these plastic holders on our luggage and love them. We use them for Royal Caribbean cruises and also fold the MSC tags to fit in them when we travel with MSC cruise lines. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3RAGgED 2) A lanyard is great to have. It makes it so easy to carry your seapass card and some tip money around the ship. These are really nice. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3PTVLGB 3) I have found that a nice toiletry bag is essential, and this is the one I love. Here’s a link to it: https://amzn.to/3EO2Y4F 4) Packing cubes – I can’t say enough about them. I would never go on vacation without them again. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3Rxx8AA 5) You have to have a small purse for getting off at ports or for carrying a few things with you around the ship. Great for when you have no pockets to carry the cell phone. This one is beautiful. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3ETJNpS 6) Room Thermometer- I leave one of these packed in my bag. The temperature fluctuates so much, and I like to try and keep my room at a stable temperature. This keeps me honest with myself. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/46tNoXH
#CommissionsEarned
To view the complete daily diary, click here – This starts at Year 1 Day 1: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count