Day 6 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Our arrival into Halifax was at 11:00 AM so after our room service coffee and danish we went for a walk around the decks.  We played trivia in the atrium and did even worse than our previous score.  When we returned to our cabin, a friend was waiting on the bed for us.  I wrote for a bit while Chris worked on his crossword puzzle until we met up with my parents to explore Halifax.  


Halifax was another stop we visited on a previous cruise.  Last time, we went to the maritime museum to see the Titanic exhibit.  I recalled learning about the devastating explosion that killed 1,782 people in 1917.  We also went to Fairview Lawn Cemetery where over one hundred victims of the Titanic are buried.  This time, we decided to have lunch with my parents and tour the Alexander Keith Brewery.  


The weather was splendid once again and we commented on how different it was to the rainy day we spent here in 2008.  We strolled along the boardwalk and found a place near the brewery called Waterfront Warehouse to have lunch.  We started with a round a beers and a dozen oysters to share.  The oysters were so fresh and delicious.  My dad had a smoked salmon club salad and my mom and I both had a lobster roll.  Chris decided to go big on our last port day and ordered the steamed Atlantic lobster.  No one made a bad choice as everything was perfect.  Chris let me taste his lobster and it was pretty amazing.  My parents walked back to the ship along the water while Chris and I headed over to our brewery tour.


Alexander Keith’s Brewery was founded in 1820 and offers tours of their working brewery.  A visit here is like stepping back in time as the tour guides are dressed in period clothing.  Very soon into the tour, you are offered a small sample of the Coffe and Cacoa Stout.  After you see the various rooms, you are taken to a cellar room for a ceilidh or kitchen party.  There we were given bigger samples to try.  They started everyone off with their award winning IPA.  For my next sample I chose the Citrus Wheat Ale and Chris opted for the Red Ale.  We both thought the beer was very good.  While sipping our beers, the guides started playing music and singing.  They sang songs from Nova Scotia for us so we could learn what a kitchen party was like.  It was a very unique brewery tour that I would recommend.  


We had a nice walk back to the ship and enjoyed more of the weather on the waterfront.  The only negative was that in Canada the number of bars per deck is restricted to one.  This meant no outside bars were open and sadly no sustainable drinks of the day.  We met my parents later for our pre dinner drink at the Prime Meridian bar because Shaker’s was closed.  This worked out though since our dinner was at Cagney’s right across from the bar.  


Chris and I have not dined in Cagney’s for years.  We had some subpar meals there and thought the quality was poor in the past.  However, we decided to give it another try since it had been so long.  Everyone started with the Oysters Rockefeller, which was not a big hit.  It was mainly a custard like sauce with a very tiny oyster.  My parents both chose the wedge salad while I had the lobster bisque and Chris had the Beefsteak Tomato.  This course had better reviews although my mom would have preferred more dressing on her salad.  For our mains everyone except Chris ordered the 8 ounce filet mignon.  Chris decided to try the bone-in veal chop.  Everyone was very pleased with their choices.  The sides we shared included, garlic mushrooms, grilled zucchini, truffle fries and onion rings.  For dessert, I ordered the OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake which although was tasty I could not finish it.  Chris and my mom had the blueberry oatmeal crisp which was nice.  I convinced my dad to order the raspberry creme brûlée for research purposes since he was going to skip dessert.  It was another solid choice.  After this meal, I would again recommend Cagney’s as a choice and would likely revisit on another cruise.  


After dinner, we walked around the ship a little but soon headed to the theater since we had reservations at 9:30pm for SIX The Musical.  I was so excited to see this show as I have read lots of glowing reviews.  The show is presented in its entirety and since tickets for this show on Broadway are pretty pricey, this made the cruise even more of a value.  The show tells the story of the six wives of Henry the Eighth in song.  The cast was extremely talented and although I am not a fan of musical theater in general, I really liked it.  This show really sent the level of entertainment for the cruise through the roof.  Tonight, was also the Glow Party but after a short walk, we returned to our cabin for the night.