A Bigger Diva

 TSH and Diva were invited to dine with the Future Cruise Consultant and 4 other guests. This blog does not normally include details about other guests but for these an exception will be made.

They were from Montreal but did not appear to have heard of Leonard Cohen!!!!!   They included the Bigger Diva (BD) of the title of this post. BD dominated the conversation throughout, touching on the size of their houses, the superiority of their suites, the successes of their businesses and the extent of their wealth. Diva tried hard to join the conversation but was either contradicted or talked over by BD.  The charming Cruise Consultant was not experienced enough to retrieve the situation, although he did his best.

The situation really deteriorated when a picture of one of their pets was thrust into Diva's view. She explained her phobia and asked for it to be taken away. But the conversation about pets continued, including BD wanting to know about the phobia, until Diva had a meltdown and insisted they talk about something else. It was a horrible evening - apart from the slow-cooked goose - and the surprise is that TSH and Diva stayed until the end of the evening.

The captain comes clean

At the captain’s farewell party, he admitted that an anchor had indeed been lost. Part of the fastening was damaged in the storm, so that on leaving Qaqartoq, the rope was pulled up – no anchor attached to the end. So the officer lied, probably under orders.

Immediately after docking at Quebec, there was much toing and froing with vans and cranes as a replacement anchor was fitted.

Quebec is a beautiful city – open and clean with many impressive buildings as well as small interesting streets. TSH and Diva decided they could live there but have decided not to. The blue sky and pleasant temperature definitely helped. It was the first port where there was no tender, no shuttle bus and no need for raincoats or vests.

In the afternoon, TSH had his first ‘beer on deck’ of this voyage.

Montreal was equally attractive – fewer grand buildings than Quebec but a very impressive cathedral. Most time was spent in Old Montreal, which has cobbled streets with a lot of artists’ studios and a large square with market stalls and street performers. The continuing warm sunny weather and blue sky helped.

The day in Montreal  was strange. Early morning was full of people getting off the ship, saying their goodbyes and checking their arrangements for onward travel. The afternoon brought a new crop of guests, still in their travel clothes, with large travel bags and still-anxious faces. TSH and Diva were among the 30 or so guests staying on from one voyage to the next.