Happy Birthday, Canada!

Lots of passengers are seeing red! And not just because it's Canada's color. Talk about a change in itinerary! Today we should have been well on our way to New York City. Instead, we spent a second day in Halifax, the Vista docked in port and the cause of lots of turmoil. As passengers, we weren't told specifically what the “technical issues” were, whether it was due to a software or hardware failure. All we knew was that we weren’t sailing until things were back in order. For Ronnie and me, it has meant nothing but an extra day spent in a beautiful city. But for many passengers, it is caused all kinds of grief and frustration.

It's Canada Day!

Vista undergoing repairs - Port of Halifax

Unbeknownst to its passengers, the Vista limped into port in Halifax early Tuesday morning. Something was wrong, but we were not aware. We only knew that we would depart later than usual. As the day went on, rumors began that we would not sail at all. And that's exactly what happened. We woke to the same view as the day before. We knew there was a problem, but we didn't know what until the captain informed us early this morning of "technical difficulties".

When things like this happen, no one is to blame. At the same time, no one factors “technical difficulties” into their plans. As most of us know, an unscheduled problem can wreak havoc on the best laid plans, resulting in lots of frustration, hand wringing and extra expense in some cases. 

Logistics of the ship itself in terms of when and where it can make port, plus the resulting changes to the onboard scheduling are not at all simple. Also, these changes can create all kinds of logistical problems for passengers as well. Suddenly, passengers who were scheduled to disembark in New York can no long do that. Why? Because we won’t be stopping in New York. And passengers scheduled to disembark in Charlotte? Impossible! The ship isn’t making port there either. Not enough time - Oceania Vista must make port in Miami on July 6 as scheduled. 

For those staying onboard today, activities were quickly re-scheduled. Those of us who are not dealing with missed ports, car rentals, changed flights, etc had another day to enjoy mild weather in the beautiful city of Halifax. And today was Canada Day. I’ve never seen so many red t-shirts and white maple leaves! It seemed as if half the city was out to celebrate the holiday. There were flag waving citizens, many with babies, children and even dogs dressed in patriotic attire. 

 

    

view of boardwalk from our ship

street food and live music up and down the boardwalk

poutine - a classic Canadian dish 

        

 

decked out sloops in harbor

from our balcony again

I had hoped to walk the cobblestone streets of the historical part of the city this morning, but it was a lot of hill climbing and my back was not in favor of my going. So for me it turned into somewhat of a chill day while so many of my shipmates dealt with the changes in plans caused by the last 2 ports being cancelled. 

Often the ship's culinary team will make dinner with the dishes of whatever area we are in. Today I learned what poutine is - it's fried potatoes with cheese curds and gravy poured over the top. What's not to like about that? They were on the menu tonight along with mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and other local favorites. A chocolate cake was also a salute to Canada's birthday celebration.

 

Happy Birthday (& Goodbye), Canada!