Well, cruise 9 for hubby and me. It was #8 for the two older girls and #5 for the two littles.

This time, it was very different though. Our past cruises have been to the Caribbean and this time we headed north from Cape Liberty in New Jersey with stops in Boston, MA; Portland, ME; Sydney and Halifax, Nova Scotia; and St. John, New Brunswick. Other than hubby traveling to Toronto for work several years ago, this was our first visit to Canada. For a matter-of-fact, it was our first time visiting Maine.

For this cruise we were back on Liberty of the Seas. This was the 3rd time on this ship and will probably be our last until after her amplification. She was originally due to go into dry dock in 2020/2021, but the pandemic prevented that from happening. While she is still a beautiful ship, she is in need of a little TLC which is due to happen 2025 or 2026.

The ease and speed of the boarding process in Cape Liberty was quick and easy. With well over 4,000 guests on board, getting everyone checked in and on board is quite the process.

Once on board we grabbed some pizza at Sorrento’s, completed our muster drill and got the two littles registered for Adventure Ocean (kid’s club on board). By 1:00, our staterooms were ready, so we headed off with our carry-on bags to check them out.

When we booked this cruise, we were unable to find connecting balcony rooms, which is our preference when sailing. For a matter of fact, we couldn’t find balcony rooms that were side-by-side or close to each other. Most of the balcony rooms that would accommodate our family were already booked and we didn’t want to end up on different decks of the ship, so we decided to take side-by-side Spacious Ocean View staterooms instead. We were pleasantly surprised. Spacious was a great definition of the staterooms with more square footage than any other room we’ve had on board any of our cruises. Each had a king size bed (that could be split into 2 single beds), 2 chairs, a sofa, and a chair at the lighted vanity. There was a ton of storage and a curtain that I thought was covering more closet space. Imagine my surprise when I pulled the curtain back to discover bunkbeds with shelves and a wardrobe. Arryn and Ezran were “thrilled” to have their very own space, and I may have been equally as excited for the additional beds.

The windows in the room overlooked the helipad which is located at the forward of the ship. This meant our ocean view was blocked a bit, but we could still easily see the ocean and the larger room was a good trade for an obstructed view.

Our sail away was a bit windy and the skies were gray. It was overcast which meant getting a good photo as we passed the Statue of Liberty, was not going to happen. Going under the bridge was quite exciting. With only a few feet between the top of the ship and bottom of the bridge, the captain must maneuver the ship with precision, and it was clear this wasn’t a problem for him.

Even though we’ve sailed this ship twice before, we wanted to go explore a bit and headed to the Promenade. The older girls and I made reservations to have dinner at Sabor, which is a Mexican Specialty restaurant on board. We then visited with a couple ladies from the spa who were giving out information. Since I had run out of time to get my nails done prior to the cruise, hubby convinced me that I needed to splurge on a mani pedi. After a few minutes of looking over the schedule, Naomi and I had appointments for some mom and daughter time in the spa before dinner.

Our dining time on this cruise was for the second seating, which begins at 7:30 p.m. This is later than we’ve had on previous cruises, and I was on the fence about it. However, we quickly discovered that with the later dining time, Adventure Ocean would be open for the evening and that would give the two littles a choice of having dinner with us or eating elsewhere then going to hang out with newfound friends. Ezran chose Adventure Ocean and new friends every night of the cruise. Arryn had dinner a couple time with us, but was much more interested in going to Adventure Ocean. Dinner typically takes 45-60 minutes and that is a long time, especially for a 3-yr-old who has trouble sitting for a meal on a good day. We found dinner time to be much more enjoyable for everyone and would select the later dining time in the future without hesitation. And our meals were all very good.

Because the Northeast and Canada are definitely cooler the end of September into October, time on the pool deck was pretty much limited to grabbing an ice cream cone from Sprinkles (free soft serve ice cream on board) and time in the hot tub. Although Arryn and Ezran were more than happy to tackle the water slides a few times despite the cooler temperatures. I stepped into the kids splash area on the pool deck and the water was NOT warm. Our kids were more than happy to play in the colder water and then warm up in the hot tub.

Our first port stop was Boston. Prior to the cruise we had decided not to pay for an excursion at the U.S. port stops. Hindsight is 20/20 and an excursion in Boston would have made that particular stop much more enjoyable. We walked and walked and walked trying to find something interesting to do. We finally found a small restaurant with lobster rolls, which was on Lili’s bucket list for this trip. Everyone, other than me tried their first ever lobster roll (I have a shellfish allergy). The littles weren’t big fans, but the other three enjoyed it.

Portland was stop #2. It was a short walking distance to shops and restaurants, so we did some shopping and then came across a donut shop called, “Holy Donuts.” We figured they must have some awesome donuts since there was a line out the door and down the street. Hubby stood in line while the kids and I walked about 1/2 a block to an area that had some picnic tables. A few minutes later, hubby was back with our donuts. They were pretty tasty and we later found out it is a well-known donut shop. Portland has cute shops, restaurants, bars and ice cream shops that are easily accessible by foot. Ezran and hubby aren’t necessarily excited when it comes to shopping, so they eventually headed back to the ship with Lili while Naomi, Arryn and I stayed in Portland to buy souvenirs and enjoy seeing a bit of the scenery.

Sydney was port stop #3. We enjoyed a history filled excursion on a visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg. It was very interesting excursion and the views were spectacular. They even had a huge Lego display of the Fortress that was only going to be there for a few more days. With at least one Lego loving kid, it made the visit even more special.

In Halifax we visited Peggy’s Cove and had tickets to ride the HoHo (Hop On Hop Off) bus. Peggy’s Cove was breathtaking. Our complaint was that the drive from the port to Peggy’s Cove was almost an hour 1-way. They only gave us about 45 minutes where we could have easily spent a couple hours exploring, shopping and having a bite to eat. When we returned from Peggy’s Cove, hubby and Ezran got back on the ship for some rest while the girls and I jumped on the HoHo. We didn’t ride far before jumping off to grab something to eat and see what we could find. After a tasty lunch, we grabbed more souvenirs and then followed the boardwalk which took us back to the ship.

One of the highlights of this particular excursion was meeting another couple who were on our cruise. While in line for the bus, they enjoyed watching Ezran and all his antics. We chatted a bit while making our way to the bus and they were excited to find seats near us so they continue being entertained by our always active 3-yr-old.

When we got back on the bus after Peggy’s Cove, the gentleman handed by a bag telling me it was for Ezran and was to be shared as I desired. When I looked in the bag, I found 4 boxes of candy. It did help keep him and Arryn entertained on the hour long ride back. Hubby, Naomi, Arryn and Ezran ran into them a couple more times on the cruise and Naomi was able to get a photo of the gentleman with Ezran. One of the things I enjoy about cruising is meeting new people. I may never see them again, but we’ll carry those memories with us forever.

Our last stop was Saint John, New Brunswick where we visited the Bay of Fundy. Hubby and the littles were a little under the weather and felt like a day on the ship to rest was in order so they cancelled their excursion while the older girls and I headed got on the bus for another long ride to visit the Bay of Fundy. After seeing several videos about this stop, I was very excited for this excursion. This Bay has the highest tidal range in the world with 2 high and 2 low tides per day. We arrived while it was still low tide and were able to walk out on the ocean floor. We saw boats docked that were no longer sitting in the water due to the low tide. I wish we could have seen it at high tide, but once again, we only had a short time to visit before getting back on the bus for the ride home.

Overall, we enjoyed this cruise and although we initially had concerns that 9-nights might be too long, we absolutely enjoyed the longer cruise.

It was nice seeing a different part of the world and although we might not do this itinerary again, we’re very glad we did it at least once.

We now have two cruises booked for next year. One will be a repeat of Cozumel and Puerto Costa Maya, but on a ship we’ve never sailed before. The other will be another new ship for us but will also be new ports. Stay tuned!

Until next time, here are more pics from our cruise.