We are cruise enthusiast. I love the smell of the sea air and the wind in my hair as we cruise along. Our favorite is visiting new places on our bucket list by ship. My husband loves seafood especially lobster so we felt that a lobster-fest cruise would be right up our alley. Not only was this trip full of lobster, but it came with a lot of relaxation and laughs.
We sailed on the American Independence. This was our first time sailing with American Cruise Line, but when talking to Linda, she said that if seafood is what we are looking for, there is only one cruise line that can give us the experience we were looking for. So far, this ship and itinerary had great reviews and feedback, and 100 passengers was perfect!
She suggested that we arrive one day early since we would be dealing with jetlag, allowing us to really get used to the time zone and see a little bit of Portland while we were getting accustomed. We stayed in a hotel that she highly recommended for us and it allowed us to wake up nice and refreshed before getting on the ship, instead of walking onto the ship all covered in the airplane smell, and travel attire. We were on the ship before lunch and sailed away while having a beautiful meal with new friends. Since dinning is open seating, we got to sit with a different group of people every day. The age range of our fellow passengers was perfect for us, ranging from 50-86. A couple of birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated on the ship and they really made it a fun evening. On the Lobster-fest night, the staff was teaching us how to break down a lobster for perfect eating of the meat, and two ladies got their fingers stuck in the tail. Instead of getting flustered they stood up and waved to each other with the lobster tails. It was hysterical and really left a lasting impression.
All of the ports were picturesque and fun to wander around and talk to the locals. We loved going in the little shops and dinning in some of the local restaurants. One of my particular favorites was this little sushi restaurant in Rockland. Small and quaint but DELICIOUS food. Camden by far was the cutest little port we went to. All of the storefronts were painted in pastels and really gave a New English feel to the port, while watching all the lobster fisherman come back with their catches for the day. The lobster rolls were out of this world! We arrived in each port pretty much on time every day all the shore excursions went smoothly and like clockwork. They were very organized when it came to the shore excursions.
had a lovely private balcony which I sat on every morning and evening. Such a fantastic way to start the day and a peaceful way to process the events of the day while sailing to our next port. They even had a little library that I could catch up on some reading after everyone went to bed for the evening. Wine was served with dinner, which I thought was fantastic since I am very fond of wine with my seafood. Even though the pricetag for this vacation was a little high, it was worth every penny for the experiences and would do a trip with American Cruise Lines again in a heartbeat. The crew went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable. They even gave us hints on how to battle a little thing I like to call motion sickness. I will be sticking to that remedy any time I go cruising from now on. Definitely an experience I will remember forever. Thank you Linda for recommending this trip! It was Fantastic!
—Annonymous
