September 10, 2018

   In the morning, the overcast rainy weather continued with a very light fog, the temperature was about 14°C., the average high temperature would be 25°C.  The ship was so far away from the coast, that there was nothing to see anyway.  In the Captain’s 10 a.m. announcement he mentioned that the waves were about three meters high this morning and you could feel the ship rolling a bit. The ship’s stabilizers are keeping the roll to a minimum.

    It was a Sea Day aboard Celebrity Summit. Since the ship left Cape Liberty, New Jersey, it cruised east and during the afternoon the ship’s course changed to northward past the eastern side of Cape Cod en-route to Boston.  The ship’s speed is only 11 knots (18 km/hour) in the 3 meter waves. There is less than 200 nautical miles to cover during the afternoon and night for arrival in Boston around 6 a.m.

    A little bit of seafaring information according to the Britannica website: 

“From the days of the steamships in the mid1800s a system of rules and lights was adopted in a conference of most maritime nations.  Red coloured lights were placed on the left side (port) and green coloured lights were placed on the right side(starboard),  and at the top of the foremast a white light. Other ships could gauge to size and direction of a nearby ship. In 1855 there was general acceptance of the recommendation for separate lanes for eastbound and westbound steamers in the heavily traveled North Atlantic.  Further the danger of running aground was lessened by a worldwide system of lighthouses, lightships, buoys, bells, and channel markers.” 

    After breakfast in the dining room with an American couple and Alan, also American, we walked on deck 4, walking through the Rendez-vous Lounge, which was set up for an Art Auction with over 100 paintings on easels crowding the room; the Fortunes Casino which was open with more people playing the machines with every circuit; and the photo gallery showcasing the photographs taken yesterday as people boarded and around the ship in the evening.  The rain made the promenade deck and walking desk to wet for safe walking.       Steps 5971

   We attended a “Beyond the Podium” presentation by Dominique Lavigueur entitled “Boston-Walking on Water”. It was an interesting talk explaining Boston’s history and development. In the early 1600s, there was a very narrow causeway, called the Boston Neck, which led to the original site of the town of Boston on a peninsula surrounded by the Charles River. In 1634, within the old town, Boston Common was a community pasture and there was a stone gateway at the entrance to the causeway. It controlled the approach to the town and was closed at night.  But by 1711, the Boston Neck was part of a street system with little trace that there had once been water on either side it. Between 1630 and 1880, Bostonian developers removed hills to fill in the territory between the old islands of Castle Island and Governor’s Island that straddled the harbour entrance.  Castle Island and some of the surrounding land now is the location of Boston’s Logan Airport. Governor’s Island and some of the surrounding land is where Fort Independence was built.  There was a wharf which had to be doubled in length, as sailing ship trade from the Caribbean and Europe expanded. Dominique showed pictures of many of Boston’s historic buildings and explained how several hills were lowered to provide material to fill in the Mill’s Pond for new housing to be built. In the Trimount area, Beacon Hill was reduced in height, Pemberton Hill and Mount Vernon disappeared 1837. As late as 1932, hills were still being removed.  The old names like Mill’s Pond and Mount Vernon still survive as neighbourhood names or shopping mall names.  

    It was time for lunch in the dining room, before attending the lecture “Pirate Trails Dastardly Deeds & Last Words” by Ken Rossignol.  He had researched the pirates and privateers of the 1600s through 1800s.  The privateers were usually pirates sanctioned by the English king or colony governments to annoy and capture the Spanish Armada or other nations’ pirates.

   The usual daily newsletter, by country, for guests has been discontinued.  It is something that a lot of guests expect and many will add a comment about its demise on the post trip survey. The afternoon remained rainy and foggy, but as the ship cruised north the waves dropped to about a meter high. The afternoon was quiet, good for reading and getting ready for the first “Evening Chic” dress code for dining room dinner.  People are encouraged to dress up, but not necessarily to dress formally.  We danced to the music of the house band, Elite before dinner.

    We joined Audrey and David for dinner. We met them at last evening’s dinner.  There was still fog and rain outside the ship. The main course choices at our table were Lambs chops or Shrimp Scampi and the popular dessert was apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.

    After dinner we went to the Celebrity Theater to watch the 7 p.m. show called “Life”, which was danced and sung by the dancers and singers from the Celebrity musical cast.  They will perform two more musical shows during the voyage.  Following the show, we went to the Evening Chic Officers’ Soirée, a Meet & Greet for passengers to see the ship’s officers, including Captain Charis, and talk to them.  

In the Rendez-vous Lounge, the band Dancing Town were playing and we danced to their music.  There were up to 15 couples dancing on a 4 meter by 4 meter dance floor.

   When we returned to the stateroom, the little chocolates were on the pillows of our turned down bed. There was also a vase with a red rose in it on the cocktail table. The daily activity bulletin for tomorrow was on the bed and a Canadian Customs form to be completed for the arrival in Quebec City.

   Total steps 12691

No photos today.