Day 1of 7 days on the Canada & New England Discovery Montreal Quebec on the ms Zaandam.

Boarding the ship

MS Zaandam is a cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line, named for the city of Zaandam, Netherlands near Amsterdam. She was built by Fincantieri in Marghera, Italy and delivered in 2000. Zaandam is part of the Rotterdam class and a sister ship to Volendam, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.

Launched: 29 April 1999

Decks: 10 decks

Capacity: 1,432 passengers

Length: 237 m (778 ft)

Crew: 615

Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)

Propulsion: Diesel-electric; 2 × Variable-pitch propellers;

This is our itinerary for the 1st of 3.

Montreal is a fun town and Bob and I have been here many times for different occasions.  Montreal can be done primarily underground or through massive interconnecting arcades between buildings and metro stops. The Underground City is 20 miles of connecting passageways. Approximately 500,000 people circulate daily on this network where some 2,200 shops and restaurants, 10 major hotels, 7 metro stops, museums, theaters and universities can be found.  It is a great underground city especially in the winter time or in the middle of summer.  We really like the old town of Montreal it’s full of wonderful restaurants and little shops.  The port of Montreal is near to Old Montreal.  Along the waterfront is a lot of interesting things to see as well.  

Once again we hired Frank to drive us to the Port of Montreal.  Our check- in time is at 1:20.  Wendy’s is at 1:00.  So we met up in the crows nest.  Then went to lunch   Sail away is at 5pm.  After lunch we went back up to the crows to just relax.  Wendy had a very busy day yesterday and evening so if she wants to go back out I will take her to a place where they make Montreal Bagels.  Some history…

Compared to a “New York style bagel”, what makes the Montréal bagel the far superior is that, not only is each single bagel is made by hand, but they are poached in honey water before being baked in a wood-fire burning oven. This cooking process gives the bagel its distinctive chewiness, golden color and crust.

The proper way of eating a Montréal Bagel is fresh out of the bag – if you’re lucky enough to visit the bakery in person – or with nothing more than just a schmear of cream cheese. If you’re not able to get there in person, or are looking for souvenirs to cram into your suitcase before heading home, both main bagel houses offer their products at retail locations.  Thanks google 

Today once again was a busy day.  We walked  around the ship and get to know where things are.  At least on this ship we have a Crows Nest where we love to watch us sail.  We missed that on Norwegian Getaway.  Port of Montreal.  Going to find as many Red chairs as I can