I attended this, my first
big-ship cruise, in August. Even though I grew up in San Diego and have been
around boats my whole life, I have never been on a cruise ship. There has been
an explosion of themed cruises in the last couple of decades, and Genealogy has
gotten on-board.
Genealogist Gena Philibert-Ortega put
this cruise together along with cruise ship planer and genealogist Terri O’Connell.
The major sponsor for the cruise was MyHeritage. I have known Gena and
Terri for many years and was looking forward to this cruise with them. Gena put
together an impressive list of instructors that drew me to join this cruise.
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| MS Zaandam |
This cruise started in Montreal onboard
Holland America’s MS Zaandam and ended in Boston, which was perfect because I
planned a side trip after the cruise up to Concord and Salem to visit some of
author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s important sites, as he is (but not proven) a
distant cousin to me.
This part of Canada and the United States I
have not visited before and was anxious to do so.
Map
of ship itinerary:
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| Cruise Map |
DAY DATE PORT
1 Sat, 8/10/19 Montreal
1 Sat, 8/10/19 St. Lawrence River
2 Sun, 8/11/19 Quebec City
3 Mon, 8/12/19 Gulf of St. Lawrence
4 Tue, 8/13/19 Charlottetown
5 Wed, 8/14/19 Sydney
6 Thu, 8/15/19 Halifax
7 Fri, 8/16/19 Bar Harbor
8 Sat, 8/17/19 Boston
Number
of Nights 7
Each night on the ship we would meet at 8:30
PM for a class with Monday having all-day classes because we were at sea. Here
is the line-up of classes:
August 10: We Set Sail!
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:00pm Welcome
9:00pm
- 9:30pm Tami Mize: Your Ultimate Digital Genealogy Research Log – Track
&
Organize All Your Research Data, Citations, and Images (And It’s Free!)
August
11: Quebec
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:30pm Daniel Horowitz: Discovering Your Family History with MyHeritage
Unique Techniques
August
12: At Sea Day - St. Lawrence River
Hudson
Room
9:00am
- 10:00am David Lambert: Canadian Census
10:00am
- 10:30am Break
10:30am
- 11:30am David Lambert: US and Canadian World War I Records
11:30am
- 1:00pm Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm
- 2:00pm Daniel Horowitz: Planting a Family Tree Online in MyHeritage
2:00pm
- 2:30pm Break
2:30pm
- 3:30pm Daniel Horowitz: Meet Your Match- Smart Matches and Record Matches
3:30pm
- 4:00pm Break
4:00pm
- 5:00pm Daniel Horowitz: Find Relatives in One Click with MyHeritage Genealogy
SuperSearch Engine
King’s
Room
11:30am
- 1:00pm Genealogy Hangout
1:00pm
- 2:00pm David Lambert: New England Probate and Deeds
2:00pm
- 2:15pm Break
2:15pm
- 3:00pm Gena Philibert-Ortega: The History of US Directories and Where to Find
Them
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:30pm Tami Mize: I Know I Have That Picture Somewhere…”Organizing Your
Digital and Print Photographs Once and For All”
August
13: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:30pm David Lambert: Nova Scotia Records
August
14: Sydney, Nova Scotia
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:30pm Tami Mize: Setting Up Your Optimal Internet Genealogy Workspace:
Creating an Online Home Page Command Central for All Your Online Research and
More & From Browser to Wowser! Supercharge Your Online Research with the
Best Browser Tools and Extensions for Genealogy 2019
August
15: Halifax, Nova Scotia
10:00am
- 12:00pm Pier 21 Immigration Museum - Presentations and Tour
(approximately)
Hudson
Room
8:30pm
- 9:30pm Daniel Horowitz: Integrating DNA and Family History at MyHeritage.com
August
16: Bar Harbor, Maine
8:30pm
- 9:30pm Genealogy Hangout
August
17: Arrive in Boston
August
20: Boston
9:00am
- 1:00pm New England Historic Genealogical Society
The room we had our classes in was perfect! Very
intimate with comfortable chairs and tables. We had 36 genealogists registered
and eager to learn. The class times were structured so as not to interfere with
shore excursions, meal times, and other ship activities. At our “get to know
each other” party the night we boarded, Gena handed out a tote bag full of
goodies which included the 200+ page syllabus!
I met
several new friends on this trip and got to know others a lot better. My experience
overall was more than I had originally expected. I was so impressed that I am
now looking forward to booking my next genealogy cruise ship adventure. Kudos
to Terri O’Connell for answering all my pre-trip newbie questions and putting up
with me. I could ask her anything via e-mail, text, or even Facebook messenger
and I would get a prompt reply.
Gena is a tremendously gracious host and
always has a smile on her face. She even has two more cruises lined up for Alaska
in 2020 and Cabo San Lucas in 2021. I am already booked for the Cabo trip and
can’t wait!
For more information:
Now for some pics!
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| Pre-cruise dinner with Becca and Terri O'Connell |
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| Fairmont Le Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, where John & Yoko Lennon had their bed-in 50 years ago. |
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| Joanna, Gena, and Dave at the cruise ship terminal, Montreal. |
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| Becca and Terri excited to board! |
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| My suite with veranda. |
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| Ready! |
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| A whole lobster for just $25! |
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| We had 5 tables for our dinner every night! |
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| Leaving Montreal |
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| Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. |
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| Old Quebec City, Canada |
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| Daniel Horowitz giving his presentation. |
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| Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage |
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| Sunrise in the North Atlantic |
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| The ship had a library too! |
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| A lot of breakfast choices! |
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| David Allen Lambert |
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| The King's Room, where we had some of our classes. |
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| Being welcomed by the ship's Captain. |
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| My TV in my room always let me know where I was. |
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| Our ship had a musical theme. These guitars were signed by Queen, The Rolling Stones, and more. |
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| Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scortia |
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| Getting off the ship and boarding our tour bus was a breeze. |
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| Old Celtic House |
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| Highland Village Museum, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia |
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| Bras d’Or Lakes, Cape Breton Osland, Nova Scotia |
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| Alexander Graham Bell Museum |
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| Canadian Museum of Immigration Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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| We had some great presentations about immigration. |
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| A couple of ladies from our group researching. |
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| Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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| Acadia National Park, Maine |
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| Acadia National Park, Maine. |
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| Lunch in Bar Harbor, Maine. |
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| Lido Deck. Who's in the jacuzzi? |
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| Our wonderful instructors |
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| Our group! |
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| Last breakfast together on the ship. |
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| NEHGS! Finally, after all these years! |
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| Finally met my Facebook friend Melanie McComb, who works for NEHGS. |
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| Heather Goebel and her husband researching at NEHGS |
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| My buddy David Allen Lambert at his day job. |
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| Dr. Henry Louis Gates |
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| David McCullough |
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| Louisa May Alcott |
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| Nathaniel Hawthorne |
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| Henry David Thoreau |
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| Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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| The Old Manse |
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| The Custom House, Salem. |
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| Rebecca Nurse, hanged in 1692 |
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| Salem Witch Memorial |
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| Capt. William Hathorne, great uncle of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. |
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| Salem Witch Judge, Col. John Hathorne. |
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| Touristy Witch store in Salem. |
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| Pirate Museum (I didn't go in.... LOL) |
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| Nathaniel Hawthorne statue, Salem. |
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| Lori Lyn Price met us in Salem to spend the day with us! |
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| Our Salem walking tour with a professional guide |
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| The House of Seven Gables |
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| Lori, Me, and Gena |
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| House of Seven Gables |
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| Leaving Boston |
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| San Diego - Home! |
What a wonderful experience! I'll be back!
