New England and Canada Cruise, Part 1: Boarding the Enchanted Princess

My most recent blog posts have been about the 9-day trip Steve and I took through upstate New York. We started in Buffalo, then visited Niagara Falls. Next was Sanborn and Lockport, then we went to the best museum I've ever seen. We explored more of Rochester, then continued on to Seneca Falls and Ithaca. Next was Cooperstown, Albany, Hyde Park, and finally West Point and Bethel Woods. It was an epic trip and so much fun. 

On Saturday, September 13, Steve and I left our hotel in Woodbury and drove to the Newark Airport. We turned in our rental car, then met up with Trevor (our son) and Jonna (our friend), who had taken a red-eye from Sacramento. The four of us took a bus to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, then boarded the beautiful Enchanted Princess for a 7-day cruise. 

New England and Canada - Enchanted Princess

I love cruising because there are so many options of how to spend your time. You can attend activities on the ship non-stop, pick and choose a few, or skip them all. You can spend every minute of port days ashore or enjoy time aboard the mostly-empty ship. You can eat what you want, when you want. Most importantly, each person in your group can make those decisions for themselves. I love the freedom for everyone to spend their vacation the way they want. 

After nine days of driving across New York and checking into a different hotel almost every night, unpacking once and floating from city to city while we slept was particularly appealing. 

Steve, Trevor, and I shared a deluxe balcony room. The couch Trevor is sitting on pulls out to make a bed. It was a nice room and would have been perfect for two people, but it was a bit tight for three adults. With the bed pulled out, you have to climb over it to open or close the drapes or to get to the balcony. 

Did you notice the bags of laundry on the bed? I've cruised with Princess enough times that I get free laundry service now, which is an amazing perk. Steve and I did the entire 16-day trip with just a carry-on, so it was imperative after 9 days of travel that we wash clothes. Back in the day, that would have meant racing other passengers to use the ship's laundromat, which is not the most fun activity to do on a cruise ship. Instead, we left it for the room steward to take. What a difference!

Time to get out and explore the ship. 

We had a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline. 

There's the Statue of Liberty. 

Sailaway was at 4:00. Here's the view from our balcony. 

And the sunset views, later that evening. 

  

It was great to have a relatively restful day, as we would visit five different cities in the next five days. I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about one of my favorites: Newport, Rhode Island.