Viking Cruises

30 | Viking Explorer Society News e home of writer Louisa May Alcott has been wonderfully preserved as she lived there, down to her sewing kit with her name embroidered on it PHOTOS: © ALAMY well as joining the organised excursions, many of which are included in the fare. Our voyage began in the Big Apple, walking the streets made so familiar by many US television shows, craning our necks up at the lights of Times Square, strolling in Central Park and taking a boat trip to see shoreline highlights, such as the Statue of Liberty. We got to see Lady Liberty again later as Viking Sea left its moorings and set off on its 13-day voyage north-east along the Massachusetts coastline to Nova Scotia in Canada and down the St. Lawrence river to Quebec and Montreal. Mandy and I stood on the bow deck, wind ruffling our hair, as our ship passed under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and out to sea. Being on board Viking Sea again felt like coming home. Having been on one of her first cruises, from Venice to Barcelona in 2016, everything seemed familiar – the little clutches of chairs, the reindeer pelts on the backs of sofas and the comfortable Explorers' Lounge with its artificial flames. We spent one of the first nights on board by the main pool watching Breakfast At Tiffany's on the big movie screen, while eating freshly made popcorn. It was the first time I'd seen the film – and the first time I'd ever watched a movie under the stars on a ship – so a memorable experience on both counts. Our first experience with Viking was in 2013 on the Rhine, retracing a cycle ride I did at the age of 17. Since then, we've enjoyed other voyages on the Danube and Mekong, so we were thrilled when Viking launched its first ocean ships while continuing to keep the best features of river cruises and adding so much more. As regular Viking guests know, the ships are just the right size – not too big and not too small. The atmosphere is refined, relaxed and informal. While not bumping into the same people all the time, we also didn't feel crowded at any point on our cruise. Bigger ships towered above us at the Manhattan cruise port but we were happy to be on our nine-deck home. On our route to Boston, we passed along the Cape Cod Canal, making our 930-guest ship seem more like a river boat as we watched the scenery glide by, such is the versatility of these vessels. Our first stop in Canada was at Halifax, where we took a tall ship tour of the harbour and a hop-on, hop-off bus round the town, including the graveyard where many of the Titanic victims are buried. What's less known is that Halifax was also the scene of a huge blast that killed more than 2,000 people in 1917 when a Norwegian vessel collided with a French cargo ship laden with high explosives. It was a sobering thought as our tall ship passed near the scene before returning to shore. Reboarding Viking Sea, we sailed to our next port of Gaspé, a city with a population of just over 15,000, where we saw the autumn colours at their best – the turning leaves put on a wonderful show for us. On a visit to Forillon National Park, we stopped to admire swathes of trees coated in bronze, yellows and reds. Our school bus transport also stopped at the Hyman House and Store, a historic trading post from where fishermen sailed to the Channel Islands. Clockwise, from above: Orchard House, home to author Louisa May Alcott; the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple; the boardwalk at Halifax, Nova Scotia

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