Quick NECA Cruise Update 06 – Food and St. John

It’s been a while and truth be told, this can’t be a continuation of my Quick NECA Cruise Update posts because it lacks the immediacy of the experience. Meaning, it’s a few months later and I’m a long way away from the locale and I’m using my PC instead of the phone.

But, you know, I should probably bookend the quick updates before I do more detailed posts with better-rendered photos of the experience . . . which I’ll do after I report on our January 2019 Panama Cruise . . . which takes a back seat to me reporting on our one week stay in Long Beach (also January) . . . which I’ll do once I finish recounting our experience on our 2017 Alaska Cruise.

Meaning, don’t hold your breath.

Right; on we go.

Most of the meals I ate consisted of nibbling on as many dishes that looked like foods I might like. Nothing adventuresome and mostly predictable.

I think I mentioned it before, the desserts didn’t measure up to previous experiences on Princess Ships.

This particular evening, it was somewhat passable; they had one dessert we somewhat liked:

Anyway, we next stopped in St. John, New Brunswick . . .

I had processed some Note 8 photos for an update while on the ship, but I ran out of time (the cruise ended) before I could post them. I’m not use to let the effort go to waste, so I’ll use those photos, seeing as they are ready and all that. Plus, you can click on these and a larger version will open up in a new tab or window.

First of all, we saw some statues . . .

We then took the opportunity to shop what is billed as a famous market. They had a lot of stuff there but as most of it was food, it wasn’t as interesting as we’d hoped.

They had dead hummingbirds . . .

. . . and some equally dead butterflies . . .

For being plastic, they carried the price of glass.

Apparently, this City Market has been going for a while . . .

I’m not sure if it’s just people fleecing tourists or prices are really that high there, but lots of stuff was — in my opinion — overpriced. Of course, some will argue that . . . but, I feel I have some authority on the matter; I’m the customer, and I didn’t buy anything because it was too expensive.

I bought a few things for my sister but did so knowing full well the markup was horrendous.

I mean, it’s one thing if those were hand-drawn, but those are printed and then she colors them in (essentially, a fancy paint-by-numbers). I could see it if she had drawn the original, but there’s no indication the artist knew how to draw.

We walked around the place and went to an indoor mall; there, we were assured it will someday be a proper mall with many stores.

We stopped at a few other stores . . .

. . . but — again — the prices seemed higher than warranted. Or, we weren’t in the market for anything. Take your pick.

It’s occasionally startling turning a corner and seeing a big ‘ole ship staring back at you . . .

I felt a bit sorry for St. John . . . it tries so hard to seem like the place to be. And, it probably was . . . in 2010.

This next sight had me ponder how I should process the information . . .

I felt defensive, I tell you what!

I mean, I don’t know if the US has a Permanent Building, but, by golly, if we had, I’m sure ours would be even more permanent.

Market Square is a combination indoor shopping mall and offices (a museum and library are also housed in there, both requiring payment to visit).

There’s an interesting sculpture in front . . . one with three out of four occupied sitting places, and one inviting people to sit and pose. Not sure what to make of the skull girl headshot on the tower.

The inside of the mall has a visually striking centerpiece . . .

Those are benches and they’re cleverly integrated with the display . . . so cleverly that I’m not sure most people realize they are for sitting. Plus, the moat makes it a bit of a dangerous affair.

On the way out, I liked this piece of wood on display near the exit door.

Once outside, I saw a fake lighthouse . . .

And a real lighthouse . . .

That marks the end of the processed Note 8 photos . . . but I have a few more I intended to include in a post such as this . . .

It wasn’t convenient photographing them, but there were a number of these fish strewn about the place.

The Moosehead Beer company put up a statue of a moose thanking the people of St. John for being alcoholics (or something like that).

I was obvious those two women wanted a selfie with the moose . . . but, being either drunk or completely inept, they were having a lot of trouble framing a shot they were happy with.

After literally three-four minutes, I offered to snap a photo for them . . . no altruistic motive mine. I wanted a photo of the Moose without them in the frame.

They politely declined (not really; they were dismissive about it) and then continued for another 3-4 minutes trying every which way to include themselves and the Moose in a photo. I could tell what they were doing wrong and it was a bit like watching an accident happen in slow motion. Eventually, they got something and left.

I mean, I don’t even know why I wanted the photo. It’s not even a real moose and it’s in celebration of beer, which I loathe.

I think it was just because there wasn’t a whole lot else to photograph with the phone that even seemed worth the effort.

I mean, I got a more interesting photo once back on the ship.

For the record, I got other photos with the regular camera . . . and one day, you’ll see them.

Next up, Halifax . . . in a few days . . . maybe.

Here’s the gallery of the photos.

Tiramisu’ — not as good as Melisa’s but better than some we’ve had.

Mimosa cake — not something I’m interested in.

Amaretto Profiteroles (Gluten Free) — catering to the latest health fads and people who imagine they are somehow special and that the reason they don’t feel well isn’t because they eat too much; it’s because of that darn gluten.

Apricote Pie — I like apricots, but that, appetizing it looked not.

Banana Shortcake (Sugar Free) — why even bother.

Cherry Crumble with custard/vanilla-sauce

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake — not as good as it sounds

Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter Cookies — again, not as good as we remembered. Perhaps we remembered wrong.

click for larger version

. . . this poor guy lost a piece of his nose.

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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