Au Revoir, Montreal - Bonjour, Navigator!

We've been underway for about three hours now, steaming quietly up the St. Lawerence River.  We've settled into the suite for the evening, and occasionally, the ship rocks a bit. Very relaxing!

This is, of course, Embarkation Day, and having been on four Regent cruises in the last five years, (?!)  it feels pretty familiar.  I was last on the Navigator with my mom, back in 2011, when we went to the Caribbean.  She does look smaller than her sisters, but very familiar and relaxing.

We got up and got organized for the checkout, and luggage pickup, at the Sofitel. Headed down to a bookstore/coffee shop (a branch of Second Cup) for a light breakfast, and then wandered through the McGill campus. It is one of Canada's top universities, in a pretty campus up against the edge of Mont Royal.  We caught it at class cross-over, with lots of students hurrying by (most speaking English.)    The campus combines new buildings with older ones (don't most campuses?) and some new buildings that are designed to look old.  Anyway, its very pleasant.

We headed into the bookstore, of course to buy stuff, but also to check out how they do things.  Nancy is the past COB of the UW Bookstore, after all.  <grin>  Came away with a couple of McGill Tshirts, then a stroll back through campus.  Encountered what appeared to be a couple of the frats riding stationary bikes, music blaring, some kind of fundraiser.  Marching through this were the little guys from a local preschool (thinking of my sister Chris, at Colorado College!)  A fun scene.

I was determined to get a Montreal Canadiens t-shirt, so we asked Google to find us the nearest store. We had to get back to the hotel to catch the bus out to the ship, so time was of the essence!  No worries, managed to procure the t-shirt, and get back with plenty of time to spare.

In the lobby, we had our first official encounter with fellow Regent cruisers.  Not surprisingly, we are on the much-younger end of the spectrum. A fall New England cruise isn't exactly like summer in the Mediterranean, after all!   It turns out we are not, in fact, the youngest on board (saw a 10 year old!)  Range of accents, from all over the US, to Australia, the UK, basically lots of native English speakers.  Pushed our way past all the luggage (not really, it was neatly piled up by the door) and got on board the bus to the port.

We did the usual embarkation routine - pick up our card keys, drop off passports (we'll see them again in Bar Harbor) board the ship, and head upstairs for lunch (our suites were not yet ready)  Lunch on the pool deck made me realize the Navigator looks so much smaller than the other ships!  As a comparison, the Navigator carries 490 passengers - the other ships carry 700.  I certainly wouldn't want any more, and the smaller ship suits me!

I thought I'd be clever and get in a round of laundry while everyone else was unpacking.  Ha - lots of folks had the same idea!  No worries, though. We had the mandatory muster drill to attend, so it wasn't like we had to rush off to the Bridge tournament or anything (sorry, Mom)  I say this every cruise - I really appreciate the attention Regent pays to safety.

The sailaway was pretty magnificent, because the sun was putting on quite a show, and we had the city skyline between us and the western horizon. Deep oranges, pink, and purple throughout the sky, and the spires of Montreal in silhouette. Magnificent.

Our departure gave opportunity to observe up close just how important the St. Lawrence is to Canada's economy.  It is a very busy port city -  we steamed by grain elevators, container yards, and all sorts of industrial and commercial (somewhat gritty) activity.

Honestly, my imagination is kind of failing me at the moment, but there isn't a whole lot else to remark on for now - except the people we saw in the Library/computer lounge.  One at one end, one at the other (about seven machines in a row), with the third in the middle.  All talking to each other, loudly.  One was having problems logging on that may have involved not remembering her name (of course I'm making that up, but it was pretty painful hearing her struggle.)  She gave up fairly quickly though, and left, which was somewhat of a relief to all concerned.

Tomorrow, Quebec City - we had signed up for a helicopter tour, but alas, not enough others did, so it was cancelled.  I am sure we can manage to enjoy the city anyway. <grin>