Oh Canada! Portland to Boston

The next day started with a lovely moonrise right in front of our balcony.

On the way to breakfast, Ben and I caught the production in the Piazza where the entire staff comes out and the captain speaks.  I wished I had made note of it and gotten a seat so we could watch it but it was standing room only.

Our second sea day was once again filled with mimosas and relaxation!

Those choppy waves....

We had our second formal night dinner in the dining room where it was steak and lobster night!

I finally had a decent dessert!

Once again, we ended the night in the casino.  I had switched to straight up champagne as my drink of choice!

You can never go wrong with champagne!

We were heading toward our last port of the cruise, Portland, Maine.

We were up early for our 7:00 am arrival into Portland.  We were all taking a ship excursion that was meeting at 8:00 am and included an immigration meeting in the terminal since we were officially re-entering the U.S. from Canada.

This was another day I was excited about, but unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating.

Wet hair day.

Our first stop on the tour was the famous Portland Head Lighthouse.  This was going to be my third attempt to finally get to see it and to get the iconic picture of the lighthouse.  However, as soon as we got there, the skies opened up and we had to run back to the bus!  

The best I could do.

Then we drove an hour to Kennebunkport, Maine, a town famous for its beautiful old houses that are passed down from generation to generation.  This would have been a stunning drive on any other day, but our views were greatly hampered by the weather.

This was my one decent photo I got through the window.

The famous "Bush Compound," the Kennebunkport home of the Bush family.

Luckily, once we got into town, the weather improved.

On the bus, Ben and I had looked up the closest and best place to get a lobster roll so that we could go straight there once we arrived.  We found Alisson's, which was also recommended by our tour guide, so that's where we went.  

I had wanted to get a lobster roll in Portland but everyone else was hungry so the majority ruled.  Since the weather wasn't great, eating rather than walking around town made sense.

I got a mini lobster roll with a cup of chowder.  The chowder sounded so good since I was wet and cold.  Unfortunately, it wasn't very hot.  The lobster roll was good (but not as good as Tom's!).

Ben got a full lobster roll AND a full cup of lobster bisque, which was really good and I wished I had gotten it instead of the chowder.

I've lost count of Ben's lobster rolls!

We finished it off with blueberry pie!

I wanted to get a ballcap as a souvenir so I told Ben I would meet him back at the bus.  We didn't have much time in town and since we ate lunch and dessert, getting my ballcap was all I had time for.

Luckily, Kate got a few more pictures.  Overall, the weather was lousy, the town was crowded and time was limited.  But I'm happy to say I've been there.

Back in Portland, Ben suggested we take a walk around town.  Ben was somewhat familiar with the area since he had stayed one night in Portland with his parents in 2023.

We stopped at the Portland Beer Hub for a drink.

All of the sudden, I got so sleepy, I could barely keep my eyes open.  It must have been a sugar crash from all the pie!  So I looked up a nearby coffee shop and headed over for some much-needed caffeine.

Much better.

Fueled by coffee, I decided to go back to the ship while Ben, Nick and Kate enjoyed their beers.  We had to have our suitcases set out by 8:00 pm and I wanted to get a head start on packing.

So I took a nice walk by myself back to the ship.  The weather had cleared up and it was now a beautiful day.

I texted Ben that I made it back.

I got started on the packing and enjoyed a nice sunset.

Meanwhile, Ben, Nick and Kate bar hopped through Portland, going to several local bars and having a great time! They walked through the more historic part of Portland that was really cute and charming.

Their first stop was a bar called Cuties.

The second bar was Maps.

Next up:  Mashtun.

Best buds.

The last bar was Room for Improvement.

They had so much fun in fact, that they made it back on the ship with only 7 minutes to All Aboard!

Cutting it close.

I went up to the pool deck and got my last pizza of the cruise.

When Ben got back, he went and got more pizza and took a video of the fountain show on the pool deck.  I had been wanting to see it all week so I was happy he got video of the last one of the cruise!

And just like that, we were in Boston and getting ready to leave the ship and head home.

Last cruise breakfast!

Before we knew it, we had vacated our cabin and were waiting for our bus number to be called.

All good things come to an end.

Officially off the ship.

Don't make me leave.

Headed home.

Goodbye Boston.

And then we were home, our wonderful vacation over.  Ben and I had a great time seeing a new part of the world and realized that even with the changes, we still love cruising!  

Thank you to Kate for inviting us to your retirement celebration and for allowing me to share some of your wonderful photos. We hope you enjoyed the cruise, but most of all, we hope you enjoy retirement! 

It was a great vacation with great friends. We were thankful to spend this time with Nick and Kate as they look forward to retired life and all the new adventures that await them!

Time to plan the next vacation!