August 3, 2025 – Saguenay Fjord – Saguenay, Quebec – Cloudy – 76 F

August 3, 2025 – Saguenay Fjord 

Port Information. This is a maiden stop for Azamara Cruises (as are many of the ports of this itinerary).  Saguenay is located at the end of the fjord.  The city has a population of around 149,000 people.  The city was formed in 2002 by combining several adjoining towns.  Today, Saguenay is composed of three boroughs - Chicoutimi, Jonquiere, and La Baie.  La Baie is also known as Baie Ha Ha (Ha Ha means “dead end” because that’s as far as you can travel on the river.  The city is pretty much defined by the great flood of 1996. Dry conditions followed by record (biblical) rainfall resulted in disastrous flooding of the downtown area of Chicoutimi and surrounding areas.  The damage totaled $CAD 1.5 Billion and killed seven people.  One small white house survived the flood because the owner bolted the structure to the foundation.  La Petite Maison Blanche is still there and is now a museum.

Thee was no cottage cheese today and I was told by my assigned cottage cheese person that they had run out – one of the suits came over and said something about getting some more.  I’m sure I’ll survive until the cruise ends.  The pancakes and eggs over medium still made for a great breakfast.  That and the view of the Quebec coastline completed the experience.

The Saguenay Fjord is not as spectacular at Prince Christian Sound but there are tall mountain (not a lot of peaks). 

 

The Captain said there were Beluga Whales and I spotted a couple of white critters in the water.  There is also a massive statue (made of wood) of the Virgin Mary on the side of one of the mountains – fulfilling a pledge made by a drowning man, who vowed to erect the monument, if he survived.  

At the end of the fjord is the French Town of Saguenay.  A maiden stop deserves a welcoming committee and Saguenay provided a modest one.

Saguenay Cruise Terminal is a nice structure fronted by a large open area.

We are on tour today – “Saguenay City Tour and Wine Tasting”.  It’s an afternoon tour because the ship does not arrive until 10 AM. The Cruise Terminal is a short distance from where we docked.  There is a cute little beach you can see from the ship. We disembarked the ship and walked though the terminal to our bus.  I got a nice shot of Quest docked.

We found our bus and got some good seats.  The bus was comfortable and the windows were clean for photos.  Our guide (I don’t remember her name) was a retiree, who had worked for the Aluminum industry (a major part of the economy of the area) for decades and now at 71 with grown kids, was a tour guide.  Despite the French accent, she was pretty easy to understand.  The tour was mostly a driving tour with a final stop for wine tasting.  It was a little difficult to keep track of the various towns making up Saguenay but we did see the architecture of the area and the guide was very good in describing the area. 

We droved by the Sainte Francois Xavier Cathedral in Chicoutimi.

Saguenay used to be a paper producing area (lot of trees around) and the pulp process was improved by adding sulfur (which produced smell and pollution).  The pulp mills are still there but they are inactive.  

The main industry today is aluminum (started by Alcoa and then Alcan and now a new company).  Our guide was a purchasing manager for Alcan until she retired.

We drove by the "Little White House" - still standing.

The only real stop on the tour was the Domaine Le Cageot Blueberry Vineyard, which was located about 25 km from Saguenay – a 30 minute drive.  

The vineyard which grows wild blueberries (you can tell the wild ones because they are smaller than regular berries).  Right near the bus drop was a bush of wild red raspberries and we were invited to try them – I did eat one (a lot of cruise left to go) and it was good.  The guide was eating one after the other – must have been hungry.  The owner, or spokesman, came out and gave us a little history of the place.  We then went into the store to watch a short PowerPoint presentation on the town (and the flood). 

A very French looking assistant passed out wine and we toasted and drank.  I wasn’t sure it was wine but it was blueberry based.  We tasted additional blueberry wines of increasing alcohol levels – they tasted like Manischevitz but not sweet.  I also tried both the blueberry and red raspberry preserves – they were good but a just under 8 oz bottle ran CAD$9.70 or about $7USD – a little higher than Jewel or Aldi.  Passengers were buying though so that was good for the store.  The best thing we tried was a chocolate candy followed by wine.

The ride back to the pier took about a half and hour.  We passed by the Canadian Forces Base Bagotville (which has an airport) and then the Air Museum which had an incredible outdoor display of fighter aircraft.  I couldn’t get any pictures but it was pretty neat. 

Tonight is this voyage’s “Azamazing Evening”.  Not as azamazing as some in the past since it is being held aboard the ship.  The highlight is the buffet.  I was able to get to the Pasta Station before it was fouled and had a nice vegetarian spaghetti with Marina Sauce (just like on “Taste of Italy”) and along with a salad made up my azamazing dinner.  We stopped in the Cabaret Lounge to hear the local folkloric group, “A Taste of Saguenay”.  I didn’t understand a word they were saying (five musicians and two MCs) but they were enthusiastic and the theater was full and enjoying it.

It has been cloudy for much of this voyage and the sunsets have been bright red-orange – there are fires out in the west in Canada and they are putting a lot of smoke into the atmosphere. Maybe even contributing to my symptoms. I documented the Sun color from our seats in the Windows Café.

The rest of the evening was spent up in the Living Room.

Time Change: Clocks are moved back one hour tonight.

August 2, 2025 – At Sea – Labrador Sea – Gray and Cool – 59F

August 2, 2025 – At Sea – Labrador Sea

Even though the time change was only a half hour, it still threw me off.

Breakfast is still tracking along with my fixings just sitting there at the back of the cooler.  Self serve now.  Still not tired of the waffle and cottage cheese/sour cream combo.  Also got a nice table and a great view.

On a medical note, over the last few days, I have what feels like a cold – runny nose, scratchy throat, and sneezing jags.  No fever but pretty tired.  Doesn’t smell like COVID so I am not going to test – besides I have had very little contact with anybody.

My final talk of this first cruise is scheduled for 11 AM in the Cabaret Lounge. Based on our missed port, I added another talk, “Forensic Detectives: Identifying America’s Fallen Heroes”.  I figured there had to be some vets on board (I think there was just one).  The turnout for this talk was a little lower than for the others – maybe the subject matter had something to do with it.  Also, I felt that the audience was not as engaged.  Later in the day, a guest told me how much she liked this talk so maybe it was more effective than I thought. 

It's too cold to lounge outside so we continue to spend our days in the Living Room.  The ship's temperature is comfortable, the views are good and the seating is mostly OK.  We could see New Brunswick off the startboard side.

We had our standard lunch in Windows and since I had already given my presentation, a beer was part of the lunch.

Tonight is “Taste of India” in Windows and there is nothing in the Restaurant.  I did try the Mulligatawny Soup (had a V on it).  Although it was a little spicy and had some curry in it, it was essentially a lentil soup.  There wasn’t much else outside some veggies.  India Night is the toughest food theme.

Tonight was local talent night on board – at 5:30 PM, Angelina Mawad, one of the Quest singers, is in concert in the Living Room (we decided to catch her on the next cruise) and Martin is on at 9 PM in the Cabaret Lounge.  Martin puts on a good show (he only sang five or six songs) and is an excellent vocalist.  He also added context to some of the songs and gave us some more information about his background.  Apparently, before he started on Cruise Ships, he used to work in Naval Intelligence and, in a hospital during the COVID hiatus.

Songs included "The Tender Trap",

"Dream Lover"

His showstopper was “Stars” from Les Mis –

he put on his best Javert voice to sing this song, one of my favorites from the musical.

The show was great but when these late shows are over, it's time to go to the stateroom.

August 1, 2025 – St. Pierre and Miquelon, France – Cloudy – 65F

August 1, 2025 – St. Pierre and Miquelon

Port Information.  St Pierre and Miquelon is a French Overseas Enclave just 25 km off the coast of Newfoundland.  It is composed of eight islands and has a population of about 5800 people (in decline).  The economy relies heavily on fishing because the climate is not compatible with farming.  French flags are everywhere and French spoken in the town.  The currency is the Euro.  The cruise terminal is the most minimal of any we have ever seen.  There is just a small building (not used by passengers) and security is checked at the archway sign welcoming people. 

It turns out that Saint-Pierre is also the location of a Canadian TV Series (actually filmed here) about a detective who is exiled to this little island and makes life more complicated for the Assistant Police Chief (played by my favorite “Death in Paradise” actress Josephine Jobert). The plot does sound familiar.  Hoping it will get on American TV one day.

I got a nice Pano of the port area.

It’s a very short day here, all aboard is 2 PM so all excursions are early (not for us).  After another nice breakfast – Ellen is still getting excellent Room Service, we left the ship,

passed through the welcome arch,

and took the Azamara provided shuttle (a school bus) to the Center of Town (Place du Generale De Gaulle) – a short ten minute drive. 

Walking the town is made difficult by the fact that the town is situated on a hill and all the streets leading away from the waterfront are uphill.  

Population and house density is small but the homes and stores are brightly painted.  

There are lots of Boulangeries and clothing stores.  We stopped in at a pharmacy to get some toiletries but the place had minimal stock (as many European pharmacies do).  Did not find what I needed. 

A little ways up, we ran across what looked like a park or a school.  It was actually a Bocce Ball Pitch.

We also did not find any souvenirs from St Pierre. The only purchase of the day was a delicious baguette (1 Euro) that I ate while walking.  The shopkeeper would not take American dollars but would charge 1 Euro.

Near the waterfront, there is the Cathedral of St Pierre, in disrepair, 

The Post Office (a very large building I thought it was a hotel), 

Joffre Square 

with its Monument to Missing Sailors, 

and a nifty carousel (not only cars but jets on this one).

We took the school bus back to the ship and spent a little time in the outdoor seating provided – there is no terminal so no seating.  It was warm enough and people watching opportunities were available.  Flowers were also evident throughout the town - no doubt to brighten things up a big.

I did get a picture of the Marina area and fishing boats and the lighthouse in the distance.

We went back on the ship and had lunch in the Windows Café, where Pierogis were the star of the lunch. Someone who really liked pierogies snatched up the entire batch but I did get to try one.

Dinner tonight was the “Spanish Buffet” so when I finished breakfast, I went to the Discoveries Restaurant and ordered Pasta Pesto for the two of us for dinner. 

The Pasta Pesto was indeed green this time out and was very good.  A lot better choice than searching desparately for something to eat on the buffet.

We passed on Martin Kaye (seen him doing his Billy Joel show many times) and spent the evening in the Living Room. He's a good performer but has a very loud show - peace and quiet is more on our list tonight.

Time Change:  Clocks move forward 30 minutes tonight to put on the hour system again.

July 31, 2025 – St John’s Newfoundland – Cloudy and Warm– 73F

July 31, 2025 – St John’s Newfoundland 

Day 2

Port Information.  St John's is the Capitol of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Maritime Province's largest city with a population of about 110,000 people; it is the most Easterly of Canada's cities.

Our second day included blue skies early and then another gray day, but not cold, day.

After another nice breakfast - complete with a few of the city across the street,

After breakfast, we disembarked the ship and looked for a local tour operator (available on-board excursions are frightfully expensive).  Right outside the cruise pier security gate, a guy was selling tours of St John’s but they weren’t what we were looking for.  Another tour operator had not shown up yet so the first guy called him and told us that he would be here in five minutes.  There were other passengers waiting for him but one couple decided not to go so there were two openings and we took them. In a few minutes, a black SUV drove up and we met Darren Steele (Newfoundland Tours), our guide.  It was difficult for me to get into the back or middle seat (there were two other couples on the tour) but that would be temporary since the woman sitting in the front seat would soon be dropped off and I could get up front. Otherwise, I couldn’t have gone on the tour.  It was a good deal because the equivalent ship’s tour ran $209 pp and this one costs $166.40 for both of us (paid by credit card with no foreign fees). 

The tour route would take up on the Atlantic Coast of the Avalon Peninsula heading North away from St. John’s.  This is the view I had.

The SUV was comfortable (Ellen was in the crease in the second row so not so comfortable for her).  Both of our aches were an issue today so getting in an out of the car was tough.  Most of the stops along the way were scenic Atlantic Ocean coves.  Here's where we would be going today.

Our first stop was at the Ocean Science Center at Logy Bay (composed of Middle and Outer Coves).  The Center sits on a scenic viewpoint.

  

Darren said that this area was being used to film a movie about a giant squid and that the movie starred someone from “Pearl Harbor” (Josh Hartnett?) and an actress named McKenzie (McKenzie Davis?).  (Post Cruise Note: This is a real movie; I guessed both stars correctly but it’s not about a giant squid but about some other kind of marine monster terrorizing a seaside village).  We got some great shots of the cliffs at Logy Bay and walked down several flights of stairs to the Research Center.  

There were a lot of kids there today on a field trip.  There were also tanks containing sea life set up outside for the kids to look at. 

Ellen actually held a starfish in her hand. 

We left the Center and continued up the coast.  We passed a War Memorial displaying all the countries that lost soldiers. 

Our next stop was Middle Cove Beach.  

We walked a short way from the parking area to the water.  The beach was a combination of sand and glacial stones – rocks that had been polished by glacial ice to a smooth surface.  There were all kinds of stones there – we took a few home to give to the kids and to use in vases.  I found one containing iron pyrite (fool’s gold).

Off again to the next stop, which was Flatrock.  Darrin said it was named so because you could actually launch a boat from the beach (it was flat) and return the same say,

Flatrock was also known for a popular venue - a replica of The Lourdes Grotto in France and was called the Lady of Lourdes Grotto.  

It was built in 1954 by Francis Sullivan to commemorate his being cured at the original grotto.  Pope John Paul II visited the site in 1984 and blessed the place. There is a plaque commemorating the event overlooking the water.  

There were a few cars visiting the Grotto looking for cures I guess. 

Also in Flatrock, there is a mural depicting the history of that area.

Our next stop was Pouch Cove (pronounce “pooch”).  

Lots of terrific scenery and a shot of the two of us taken by Darren.  Darren told us that the last season of “Reacher” was filmed here (Post Cruise Note:  Reacher was filmed in downtown St John’s actually – that would have been a neat site to see – Darren needs to check on that).

From there, we headed back to St John’s – a 27 km ride – and our ship still docked where we left her.

Darren was a great guide – full of information about the area and about the history of Newfoundland/ Labrador in general.

The van got back to the ship around 12:45 PM – a two hour plus tour.

We went straight to the Windows Café and found a table.  I tried the Fettucine with cream sauce but it was too gooey so I reverted back to tuna salad and some carrot soup (the soups continue to be the stars of the lunch buffet). 

Tonight is the “Asian Buffet” in Windows.  There is not much to eat on the buffet so the plan is to get to the wok chef and get a veggie stir fry before the chicken and pork make their entrance.  I was first in line and although what I got wasn’t actually stir fried – more like a combination of stir fry and pad thai – in fact the chef told me that he was using pad thai sauce in my dish.  It was OK – I also had a little bit of the Fried Rice. 

After dinner, we watched the sail away from the covered area out on Deck 9 (with the big deep fluffy chairs).  

Showtime tonight featured “BritRock” – songs made famous by British stars in the 60s.  

The show opened with the Kinks hit "All Day and All Night".

song list included “Downtown” 

and “Wishing and Hoping”. 

While it wasn't really from the 60s, the show included "Skyfall", the theme from the James Bond movie.

The set was going to end with Queen and so that meant it would be loud – we left while they were singing “We are the Champions”.  The show was entertaining.

Our second day in St John's was great.