St. Lawrence Seaway - Zuiderdam - Canada/New England - June 29-30, 2025

After turnaround day in Quebec City yesterday, this cruise started with two days of cruising the Saint Lawrence Seaway.  The river is narrower closer to Quebec and then widens out into the Gulf before we reached our first port of call for this week on Prince Edward Island.

I would have enjoyed leisurely breakfasts in the main dining room both of these mornings but with an opening time of 8:00 a.m., it was just too late.  I was up before 6:00 a.m. each morning.  Even the Lido breakfast start time of 7:00 a.m. was too late.

I spent my early morning hours wandering the ship, filming footage for a ship tour video I hope to put together, editing photos, and writing.  It is my favorite time of the day on a cruise.  It would have been even better to enjoy a few sunrises but with a sunrise of 5:20 a.m. or earlier each morning (and the best colors being the half hour or more before sunrise), I just wasn't up quite that early.

I paused on The Rolling Stones stage while filming for a ship tour to take a selfie with the sparkly curtain as a backdrop.

I took the elevator up to get some elevator footage and enjoyed the day of the week carpet.  I walk the stairs most of the time so miss most days of the week.

After breakfast, I ran into my niece huddled on the promenade deck, my favorite place on the ship and so decided to join her and just watch the water go by.

On the second morning, with the buffet not opening for another hour, I decided to splurge on a specialty coffee in the Crows Nest and take advantage of the best indoor seats on the ship which are only empty at crazy hours like 6:00 a.m. on a sea day!

I paused on deck 10 for views of the sea.

Birds were flying around the ship one day so I grabbed my camera and made myself comfortable on one of the loungers on the promenade deck.  

In the afternoons, we often gathered for wine on my parents' balcony and even did some bird watching on the second sea day of this week.

Northern Gannet

A flock of Common Murres

Common Murres

A flock of Common Murres

Common Murres

Northern Gannet

Juvenile Red-breasted Nuthatch -
He must have hitched a ride when we were closer to land
because his home is somewhere in a dense coniferous forest.

And then each evening, we dressed for dinner and dined together at table five on deck three.  I love getting the chance to wear the dresses I never get to wear at home so had a new dress for each evening.

One the second sea day, my nephew and I went to see the comedian, Doug Funk after dinner.  To kill time before the show started, we wandered the ship and discovered my first cell coverage since the morning before on the forward deck in front of the gym.  It was a bit windy so I didn't do much but check a few accounts before we continued on our wanderings.

After the show, I walked the promenade a bit and watched as the sun started setting.