Book It To Bermuda -- You asked for the details -- Part 2

Though the Jewel of the Seas would not leave Boston until 5 pm on November 25, Bill and I began our trip two days ahead of time. I was scheduled to give an early morning talk to a group of young Catholic mothers at Pax Christi, a suburban church near Minneapolis, on the morning of our flight to Boston. As it takes 5 hours to drive from our home on Lake Superior to Minneapolis, and having no desire to leave at 4 am on the morning of our flight, we spent the night at a Marriott Courtyard near the airport, had supper, went to the movies and saw The Last King of Scotland, and tumbled into bed.

The young mothers, some very pregnant, at Pax Christi. I'm the small figure in the far corner ...

On November 24, we rose early, drove to the church where I gave my talk and sold all my books, and headed to the airport. We arrived in Boston around 8 pm and after booking into the Marriott (paid for with points from my husband's days as a consultant) made our way to Legal Seafood for their savory and crammed-full-of- clams chowder. Then back to our room. We wanted to catch some sightseeing the next morning with my cousin Beryl from Ottawa and her friend Pat who were joining us for the cruise to Bermuda, and my cousin Lenore who lives an hour outside the city.

Historic Boston with Bill, Pat (left), my cousin Beryl (right).

On November 25 we had time only to walk through some of the Beacon Hill Historic District, dine at the Bean Street Cafe, take the subway back to the hotel, gather our luggage and head off for the Black Falcon pier where the Jewel of the Seas waited, magnificent, huge, and white, for the passengers who boarded her in the thousands.

As we'd boarded two hours before sailing (as advised) -- and as we were overwhelmed by the size of the boat -- we decided to take the "tour" of the boat offered in our brochure, which was not a tour at all but a sales pitch for the luxury offerings at the Jewel Day Spa: teeth whitening, detox for weight loss (imagine on a cruise!), hot rocks, mud treatments, deep massage and facial treatments, steam rooms and stylists all offered at a 20% discount if we booked that day. What we weren't told was that the discount applied only to treatments given that day and the next!  The best way to tour the boat we discovered was to wait for the crowds to dissolve into their staterooms or the Casino or the bars and then to explore one end of the boat to the other, from one level to the next.

To be continued . . . forgive the dearth of photos. We were having such a good time we forgot to unleash the camera.