We generally try to book our cruises quite far in advance – usually a year or more. It may not afford the best pricing (although we try to keep on top of price changes and our Fabulous Travel Agent helps us with necessary reconfigurations), but it does provide the best choice with respect to cabin availability. However it also keeps that calendar date all but invisible.
But…here we are! Less than 2 months to go before we jump into the air bound for Montreal. I mentioned above about keeping abreast of price changes and once again we scored a deal. We managed (with help from our TA) to get an upgraded room (now a mini-suite) for $200 LESS than we paid initially for our standard balcony! Doing more in Canada (more time in Montreal and less in Boston) along with the extra $200 savings doesn’t really hurt my feelings at all.
Originally we were going to spend a few days in Boston after departing the ship. However, with What’s-His-Problem creating soooooo many issues down south we decided to spend more time (and less money!) in Canada and only an overnight in Boston. Which is too bad as we really wanted to have some time in Boston to do some wandering around and exploring. There’s lots to see and do down there, but given that even a 3.5 star hotel is $500/night (USD!!!) vs Montreal at less than $400 (CDN and even less given SaveOn points benefits) it wasn’t a hard change to make.
The East side of Canada is not one we have really visited before. A couple of days in Toronto (many years ago) and Ottawa (much the same time frame) and that’s about it. Nothing on the coast and certainly NO time when the fall colors were out. Couple that with the food scene in the areas and the wineries that are rather plentiful, the choice became even easier. A lot more information about all of the above will follow, rest assured. 🙂
Our garden is producing (tomatoes galore and peppers slowly beginning, Swiss Chard is now big enough to pick with leeks, celery and beets well on the way).
Those Pink Delicious (above top left) are an Heirloom type. Funny looking to say the least but they do get PINK, they are Delicious and Very Meaty. Great for sandwiches. 🙂 Zebras and Carolina Golds appear to be quite prolific this year. I think we’re going to have our work cut out for us trying to get all harvested and pulled out before we leave. Our return is close to mid-October and it’s impossible to say what the weather will be like at that time here at home. Could be warm and sunny or 3 feet of snow on the ground. More likely…somewhere in between but not sure we want to take the chance.
Stay tuned…September 26th is fast approaching! YAY!!! 🙂 🙂 Yeah yeah yeah…the date on the side says September 29th. That’s date the actual cruise starts.