Cruise to Nova Scotia, Part 5
Aboard
the Scotia Prince from Yarmouth to Portland
June 11-15, 2004 (Updated July 29, 2004)
By Lewis Nolan
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June 14, 2004 – Monday
We had a 5 a.m. wakeup call from the staff of
the Yarmouth Grand Rodd Hotel to give us plenty of time to pack and return the
rental car to the Avis counter at the cruise ship terminal by 7 a.m. That
seemed way early since the boat doesn’t board until 8:30 a.m. I guess that the
Avis manager wants the car back soon enough to prep it for rental to incoming
passengers.
Lewis by little-used deck chairs at Yarmouth
Click Colored Type to Enlarge Photo
A pleasant security guard checked our luggage
in the terminal’s screening area at the entrance to a waiting area that was far
more attractive and comfortable than that at the shipping/warehouse serving
that function at Portland, Maine. (I read that Portland is planning to build a
new terminal to serve the Scotia Prince and other ships in the near future.)
The weather gods continued to smile at us. We
had a cool, clear and sunny morning. As the morning wore on, the winds kicked
up. Once aboard, we discovered that our upgraded, outside cabin (No. 308) for
the return voyage was quite a bit nicer than the merely adequate one we had on
the way out. I don’t know if it was any bigger, but it seemed to be more
spacious. After we stored our bags in the cabin, we climbed up several flights
of stairs (called “ladders” in the Navy) to the topmost deck to take
photographs with Betty’s digital camera.
We got some great shots of hundreds of
seagulls swarming a seine boat that was unloading a big catch of herring at a
nearby dock. The fish were sucked up out of the boat through a pipe perhaps 18
inches wide and funneled into plastic crates on waiting, 18-wheeler truck
trailers. A few fish were spilled during the high-speed loading process and the
more aggressive gulls got underfoot. Meanwhile, a harbor seal patrolled the
area.
Once the Scotia Prince got underway with a
huge blast from its steam horn, Betty and I repaired to the Broadway Show
Lounge. We sat down on comfortable seats at a table next to a large, picture
window to watch the ship’s debouchment from the harbor. I had a turkey-cheese
sandwich for breakfast and Betty contented herself with coffee. We visited with
a 40-ish couple from New Hampshire who were returning home after spending a week
in a rental cottage on a lonely beach to the north of Yarmouth. They were
traveling on a Harley Davidson motorcycle and had some good stories to tell.
We enjoyed a tasty, reasonably priced lunch
in the ship’s elegant dining room. I went for the Nova Scotia Fish n’ Chips and
Betty for the Vegetable-Basil soup with a BLT. The glass of chilled Chardonnay
(only $3.75) we each had helped me forget that the low-carb, Atkins diet is
calling me home.
Two expert waiters with Hispanic looks and
names, Julio and Pedro, served us. Julio (pronounced who-lee-oh) allowed that
he is from Peru, where our son is on an adventure hike for two weeks to
celebrate his graduation. Julio told us that he has worked on several cruise
ships and that the Scotia Prince has the most demanding hours for the crew.
That comes as no surprise since the boat goes back and forth between Yarmouth
and Portland during the warm months with not much more than an hour’s
turnaround time. Consequently, the crew only has roughly an hour of “shore time”
twice daily even though U.S. and Canadian Customs allows them to pass through
ahead of the passengers.
The ship’s crew is almost entirely comprised
of Third Worlders willing to work long hours for pay that is low by U.S.
standards but enviable in the lesser-developed nations. I try to overlook the
cruise industry’s dirty little secret of exploitation and tend to over-tip when
aboard ships to help compensate for my guilt (curse or blessing of my Irish heritage?) in taking advantage of these
desperate workers. Most of the crew are men in their twenties and thirties who
support families back home they don’t often see.
This ship’s crew obviously works a lot of
hours and does a good job of making travel on this aged boat with its cramped
cabins into a pleasant experience at a terrific value. 
Betty scopes out Yarmouth harbor scenery
Click Colored Type to Enlarge Photo
After lunch, we quickly tired of the
commotion from Bingo, putting contests and other time-filling activities in the
Broadway Show Lounge. We returned to our cabin to read, nap and watch the
ever-fascinating beauty of the sea being stirred up by the wake of a large
ship.
There were a lot more passengers on the
return trip to Portland than there were on the way out three days ago. The
reason is that there are about 400 new high school graduates aboard. Many were
grunge-scruffy in appearance but they all seemed to be well mannered and
demographically homogeneous. We learned that three schools in and around
Farmington, Maine, offered a cheap, over-and-back package to seniors along with
the chaperone services of several teachers and coaches.
The celebrating kids had some bad luck. The
crossing to Yarmouth from Portland was quite rough due to a storm at sea. Many
of the youngsters got violently ill after dinner. Some spent the night on the
floor of the Broadway Lounge near the restrooms rather than in the storm-tossed,
tiny cabins (without toilets) that were included in the package. They had only
an hour in Yarmouth so few even left the ship. Notwithstanding the unlucky
weather, a graduation cruise seems like a good idea since the environment is
confined and the itinerary controlled by adults.
The sea was still a little rough during the
11-hour cruise back to Portland. But I enjoyed the feel and sight of the big
ship crashing through the eight-foot swells to repeated explosions of white
foam.
Getting through U.S. Customs at Portland took
about 40 minutes despite the quick work done by six agents. One agent about my
age laughed when I told him we had purchased less than $100 worth of “junk” during our stay in Canada. He said others
(obviously coached by the ship’s cruise director) declared they bought only
“miscellaneous souvenirs.” We got driving directions from local policemen to
Marriot’s Townhome Suites in nearby Scarborough, Maine. The property that
caters to travelers on extended business had accepted my Priceline offer of $55
for a large, well-appointed room with separate kitchenette. That was about half
the rack rate.
Seagulls swarm fishing boat at Yarmouth
Click Colored Type to Enlarge Photo
After taking a wrong turn, we finally checked
in at 8:30 p.m., and then drove a short distance to a Chili’s restaurant. We
had a surprisingly good dinner of Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for me and
Margarita-marinated Chicken Breast for Betty. Her dish – served with black
beans, rice, salsa and tortilla chips – was so tasty that we got the basic
recipe from the helpful waitress for use at home.
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