mattersofthemoment

The Steam Ship Athenia was a transatlantic passenger liner that worked between the UK and eastern Canada from 1923 to 1939. It was the first UK ship sunk by Germany in WW II. My Aunt Joan was a passenger on the ill fated crossing and survived. 117 passengers and crew did not including Joan’s brother Alan. My cousin Anne tells the story:

“82 years ago today, on September 3, 1939, the first day of World War II, the British passenger ship “SS Athenia” was torpedoed in the North Atlantic. My mother Joan, age 6, her brother Alan, age 7, and their mother Dorothy were aboard that ship.

They had boarded 2 days earlier on Sept 1 in Liverpool. They had been visiting family in England. My grandfather Edward sent word for them to return home to Montreal early as there was talk of war starting up in Europe. And 2 days into their journey – on Sept 3, war was officially declared between Germany and England.

The ship was overcrowded and behind schedule because they had taken on extra passengers. The captain was sailing in a zig zag pattern to make up time. The windows had all been painted black to avoid detection at night. But still this was an elegant passenger ship and at 7 pm that evening, most passengers were having supper in the dining room.

At the same time a German U-boat, U-30, captained by Fritz Lemp surfaced and spotted “ Athenia” in the distance and misidentified it as a merchant ship. He fired 3 torpedoes and missed the target on the first and third but hit the ship with the 2nd. Lemp submerged so he could get closer to fire again.

On board “Athenia” there was an explosion and the ship began to list. When U-30 surfaced again they were close enough to realize they had mistakenly fired on a passenger ship but Lemp fired again and missed and then submerged and fled the scene. He did not admit his error for years and it was not officially acknowledged by Germany until after the war.

Back on “Athenia” the overcrowded lifeboats were launched. Joan, Alan & Dorothy made it into a lifeboat together but in the ensuing chaos, young Alan was lost. Joan and Dorothy, like many of the other passengers suffering from hypothermia & frost bite after spending the night in the cold North Atlantic were eventually rescued by the Norwegian ship “MS Knute Nelson”. Alan’s body was never recovered and for years afterwards whenever an orphan boy was found (as often happened during the war) my grandfather would travel to see if it was Alan. The loss of Alan was a wound that never healed in their family.

My mom died this week (on Sept 1, 82 years after boarding “Athenia”) and although she was very ill, this event was very much on her mind. She wanted to talk about it and about Alan. I sincerely hope that their spirits have finally been reunited and that the Alan shaped hole in her heart has finally been filled.”

Here is a link that lists Allen Vincent as a casuality of this monstrous war crime. Thank you Anne for telling the story.

This book written 8 years ago tells the remarkable story of the rise and fall of Research in Motion, the company that invented the BlackBerry smart phone some 20 years ago. It is a detailed account of the partnership between Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis the engineer, and Jim Basillie the business executive, that changed how we live and work on a global scale. A truly fascinating Canadian story!

I came across it after watching the BlackBerry movie (2023) which I highly recommend. The movie is a humorous factual and fictional account of the amazing Blackberry story based on Losing the Signal. I watched it 3 times and will likely watch it again. The movie uses a lot of foul language, so beware.

You can watch this movie in its entirety (and many others) for free on CBC Gem.

Back to the book. I found the the BlackBerry story intriguing for 3 reasons. Firstly, I have been the addicted owner of 3 BlackBerrys over the years and was absolutely hooked on them for over 15 years. I got my first one in government in 2006 or 7 (a Quark I think). In 2010 I purchased the BlackBerry Bold and in 2015 the BlackBerry Classic which I still use as a wifi machine! Secondly, I went to the University of Waterloo and graduated in chemical engineering 6 years before Mike Lazaridis started there in electrical engineering. For 2 years I lived within a few blocks of where this story was to take place. Finally, I worked for a small high tech start up firm for 3 years (SHL Controls) and experienced the personal pressure, uncertainty and excitement that working for a fragile start up IT shop entails. I identify with the story,

The most amazing aspect of the story for me is how two (Canadian) men with totally different skill sets, interests and backgrounds, could work so congruently together for over 10 years to innovate and keep the corporate sharks like Motorola, Google, Bell South, US Robotics, Palm Pilot etc. from squashing them. Where is Waterloo Ontario anyways? Things begin to unravel when Apple brings out their iPhone in 2007 and Google licenses their Android operating system in 2008 to any handset manufacturer. The future market for non IOS or Android phones was dead for all intents and purposes. But as the book describes in great detail, it took BlackBerry management another 3 to 4 years to admit this and get out of the business. The company has since morphed into a software and services company (like Balsillie was seeking to do when he was pushed out along with Lazaridis in 2012.). Lately it is really struggling.

The authors McNish and Silcoff are veteran business reporters who know how to get the facts out clearly, Based on countless interviews of staff and management including the Co-CEOs, the book won several awards. Somewhat exhausting in detail at times, a very thorough account of the Lazaridis and Balsillie years that, when the end finally comes, it almost made me cry. Note both men are billionaires and have since sponsored several scientific and leadership institutes and think tanks since “retiring.” Overall a riveting account of a great Canadian business story, 10/10.

This is a remarkable book. Not because the author tells us what is right and wrong but because he explains what it is to be human, what humans should be and the relationship between the two, according to the world’s greatest philosophers, theologians and moral thinkers over time. If you have ever wanted to better understand what Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Erasmus, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Mohammed, Marx, Lao Tzu, Hegel, Locke, Kant and Buddha to name a few were trying to say about who we are and how we should live, this is the book for you.

Malik exposes their contributions, contradictions, strengths and weaknesses in layman language using well reasoned argument and humour to get at the way they saw how humans are and the way (at least some of them) thought we ought to be. The way we think about moral issues has changed over time due to social change, history and different cultural perspectives. Think about the moralistic changes you have seen in your own lifetime. We are polarized between those that subscribe to rules based morals as in the monotheistic religions and those what believe we can get at what is right and wrong by using reason and science. Another trending view is that there is no objective moral code at all and that all morals are simply a matter of personal “preference”.

And he writes this book in a way as you read it you think, OK this is his favorite thinker e.g., Hegel, wow. But then he goes on in equally exuberant detail about the next thinker e.g, Nietzche only to expose his limitations and shortcomings too. Malik has no favorite thinker it seems – it is the depth and breadth of his coverage which is simply amazing.

In reading this book I discovered a couple of interesting subjects I wish to follow up on. The first is that of the largest successful slave rebellion the world has ever seen led by Toussaint L’Ouverature in 1696 Santo Domingo (Haiti). A book written years ago about this subject is now high on my list to read: The Black Jacobins. Author Malik says this rebellion was the kernel of anti-colonialism still unfolding today and is as equally as important as the French and American revolutions.

A more recent subject Malik addresses was a book written about dozen years ago entitled When China Rules the World. According to the author Martin Jacques, China is a “civilization” not a nation state, is firmly grounded in its history, has the world’s most competent government with the strongest support and has very different views of how “democracy” should work. We tend to judge China using our western lens assuming that it will become more western. Not true according to the book’s author. It is the world that will become more Chinese as China (and India) assume more global leadership and control in the not too distant future. Perhaps China is not the rogue state we have been led to believe it is. Intriguing indeed.

Just a couple of examples of how stimulating and enjoyable a read this was for me. I rate The Quest for a Moral Compass 5 full stars and will likely read it again.

In June 2013, I walked the first 200 km of the Chemin de Saint-Jacques (St. James Way) from Le Puy to Conques in France. It was more difficult than our first Camino de Santiago in Spain on account of the hilly terrain plus I was now … 3 years older. This route, also called the GR 65 – is part of the long distance walking route Grand Randonnée network and part of the European long distance paths. Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent since I love walking so much.

I picked up my credential booklet at the magnificent Cathedral in Le Puy. It identifies the carrier as a bona fide pilgrim entitled to stay in the various gites d’etape (equivalent to the refugios in Spain).

I also purchased a copy of an excellent Michelin map book with suggested daily walking goals for this route, as well as the Miam Miam Dodo guide book to eating and sleeping.

So there I was all ready and anxious to head out on a 10 day walking adventure. I attended the early morning pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral in front of the Black Madonna and then said goodbye to Marie over pastry. I started hiking up the steep hillside leading out of Le Puy with pauses to catch my breath.

I remember gasping for air as I continued to climb out of Le Puy. This was going to be a tough one I thought. Not sure if I am going to be able to complete this. It is the familiar ring of doubt one feels everyday on a long hike such as this. I was carrying my pack on my back but already thinking it was too heavy. However, I was soon to be rewarded with some of the most gorgeous scenery anywhere France – the central rural plateau region.

Here are a few pictures of my very first day.

I managed to make it that day to a small town called Montbonnet, a distance of about 16 km and checked into my first gite d’etape (pronounced jeet deh tap). There were 7 other pilgrims there, all women as you can see below!

I had completed my first day safely but was feeling very exhausted. Thanks be to God!

Le Puy-en-Velay (le pwee) is a mythical city of 18,000 located in south central France. It is one of the oldest Christian settlements there having been established by St. George in the 4th century AD. Le Puy’s most striking attraction is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy dating from the 12th century. It is also the founding place of the Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation in 1650. And for hundreds of years, a major starting point for pilgrims on the Chemin de St. Jacques (St. James Way) all the way to Santiago de Compostella in Spain 1600 km away. Ten years ago now Marie and I were blessed to go on pilgrimage to Le Puy.

The occasion was a workshop on Jean-Pierre Medaille’s Eucharistic Letter to the Sisters of St. Joseph which resulted in the founding of their Little Design way of life lay communities around the world. Sister Rosemary O’Toole, CSJ of the Upper Room House of Prayer in Nepean, Canada, led the workshop. Marie, being a “little designer”, was invited to attend and I, Dave tagged along. The story of the Eucharistic Letter is told in Sr Rosemery’s beautiful video that follows.

Sister Rosemary has just published a booklet entitled the Little Design Communities: A Way of Life for All Persons.

We were taken aback by the magnificent monuments and majesty of Le Puy: the ancient cathedral where a pilgrim Mass is celebrated each morning in front of the Black Madonna; the towering statue of Notre Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town; the Chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguille perched high on a rock spire; the small twisted hilly streets and a marketplace where women weave fine lace products.

The Sisters of St Joseph International Centre was a very comfortable place to stay overlooking the city. We were welcomed by a sister from Goa as well as two American sisters. They and their staff were charged with welcoming visitors, hospitality and operations. There was a main lodge, a guest house, kitchen, dining and meeting room facilities as well as a small chapel. There were sheep in the fenced yard next door that we could hear bleating. How lucky were we to stay in such a pastoral place!

The next day Marie started her Eucharistic Letter program with Sister Rosemary and other participants from Canada, the USA , France and elsewhere. After breakfast at a small cafe, Dave said his goodbyes, attended the pilgrim Mass and then headed out for 10 days solo hiking on the Camino de Saint-Jacques.

Buen Camino!

Dave is a compulsive shell picker upper when walking the beach. This year in Nuevo Vallarta was different.

Normally there are very few shells as this beach is one of the most naturally clean ones we have ever seen. No seaweed, rocks or shells litter this beach. Contrast this with Sanibel Island in FL where there are so many shells, they cut your feet when walking.

Well this year 2023 was indeed different. In late December/early January there were “king tides” for a 2 or 3 day stretch in a row. The waves, 6 to 8 feet high came crashing in on the beach. The beach was officially closed to swimming because of the danger. We remember walking the beach those days and marvelling at the size of the waves. Afterwards the beach was littered with shells. So Dave had his pick this year of many shells for his “collection”.

What we have in order of decreasing quantity are cockles, augers, sunray venus, transverse arcs, scallops, calico clams, carnitas, butter cups, clams, oysters, 1 sand dollar (it broke in transit) and 1 dolphin tooth (I think). Also some interesting pieces of tile, broken glass and a plastic flamingo head!

It was a bounty year. Now what to do with them given that all the glass display containers in the basement are already full….

Given the following key, perhaps you can identify some of the shells in this year’s collection.

OK, I worked it all out last night. Here are my all time favourite pop/rock music groups.

• 10 The Guess Who/Acoustic Alchemy
• 9 Lenine
• 8 Jimi Hendrix Experience
• 7 Firefall
• 6 Brian Auger
• 5 The Eagles
• 4 Level 42
• 3 Bob Marley and the Wailers
• 2 The Doors
• 1 The Beatles

Most of these groups are probably familiar to you. Some not. Level 42 is a jazz/funk group from Isle of Wight. I bought their first 2 albums in the 80s and still enjoy their music. Brian Auger is an English Hammond key board player from the 70s who still amazes me with his jazzy chords. If you can’t remember who Firefall is, Google their 70s soft country rock music and you will remember them. Lenine (pronounced leneenay) is a superb Brazilian, composer, vocalist and guitar player on the rock side. (Brazilian Bossa Nova would be my desert island music of choice followed closely by Bob Marley.)

I had to include a Canadian group and the Guess Who from Winnipeg with Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman is it, really! Than I remembered my love for Accoustic Alchemy’s intricate nylon string guitar music from the 80s which I still listen too frequently. So a tie for 10th. On the classical side I still listen to Dmitri Shostakovich, particularly his 5th Symphony which rehabilitated his relationship with the Russian Communist authorities in the 30s.

Well that’s it. What are your favourite groups, any overlap with mine?

Whoops. How could I forget to mention Argent? Prog rock group with strong vocals led by ex Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. Anything they did was amazing. So I am revising the list to 12 top picks with Argent at no. 10, Acoustic Alchemy at 11 and the Guess Who at 12. (Sorry for the delayed double posting.)

Whoops 2. How could I fail to mention Yes. Their war protest song “Yours Is No Disgrace” is pure masterpiece:

Being an avid cruiser, I do wonder what impact a cruise ship has on the environment and on climate change. A lot it seems in terms of air born particulates from the burning of dirty fuels, the releasing of off-gas scrubber, food and sanitary wastes into the sea, running into whales and other fish while all the time generating tons and tons of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) contributing to global warming. The conclusions I get from watching the video below are that cruise ships are exempt from many environmental damage and GHG regulations, enforcement is particularly difficult on the open seas and that the overall problem is largely being ignored at present.

I did a search on Cruisecitic.com and could find only one users’ discussion thread asking if people felt guilty about cruising knowing that the ship damages the environment. The overall response was no. Hence there would appear to be very little consumer pressure on cruise lines for increasing their transparency and rate of progress toward improved environmental practices and obtaining net-zero operational carbon footprints.

Despite this scenario, cruise lines are making some improvements:

• Converting to cleaner fuels such as low sulfur diesel and LNG
• Connecting to shore power and turning of engines when in port
• Buying wind farms as a carbon off-set to GHGs emission
• Installing improved technology gas scrubbers and waste water treatment facilities
• Researching carbon free propulsion systems in the longer term

So what to make of all this? People on cruises for the most part don’t care about the environmental damage their ship is doing. Nor do they want to know about it it seems. If they did, they would likely opt out of cruising as a protest. Hence, at present IMHO it is an oxymoron to go on cruises and say that you are concerned about the environment. I guess I am guilty!!

One way of starting to turn this around is to inform cruisers on board, what they can do to minimize their personal impact while on board: e.g., don’t run air conditioning with the balcony door open, turn off lights when leaving cabin, recycle towels longer, don’t waste food, recycle things, how to carbon off-set a cruise etc..

A more controversial measure might be to implement an “environmental tax” on individual cruises that would vary with the cruise line environmental practice rating (currently Disney is doing best at D-, Carnival and Royal Caribbean got an F, according to Friends of the Earth). Also increasing fines and publicizing cruise ship environmental violations would help cruisers make more informed decisions about who to cruise with. Not good for overall cruise business for sure. However just to start discussing the subject is a first step forward. Anyone want to go on a discussion themed cruise to get the ball rolling? Any other good ideas out there folks?

Because it’s so much fun says Marie!

Here are our top ten reasons for cruising:

10. Enrichment Lectures. Often a cruise line will have a guest lecturer onboard who will discuss local history and culture usually on sea days. We recall lectures on the Caribbean Islands, the Roman Empire, Vikings, Italian food and regae music. Some lecturers are retired professors and do a really great job of teaching interesting material. It’s not for everybody, but Dave really enjoys these sessions. In a related vain, some lines offer daily Catholic Mass and most provide non-denominational religious services at Christmas and Easter.

Chef Dave having fun on the way to Rio!

9. Entertainment. Cruise ships provide endless complimentary entertainment. From Broadway shows, to comedians, to live music of every sort. Usually there are 2 nightly shows in the theatre at 7 PM and 9 PM. And what a theatre it is; huge with state-of-the-art lighting, sound and special effects and comfortable seating, bar service etc. There are movies on outdoor screens, casino facilities and television movie channels in your stateroom. The bigger the ship the more options and the higher the quality. We love the Broadway shows and comedians and the meet and greet events with the captain and crew

Having fun aboard the Carnival Paradise

8. People Watching. It seems, the older we get the more interesting it is to watch other people. Particularly younger people but also people our age and older. We see and hear couples interacting and having fun, see what they are wearing, eating or how they dance (some are really good!) and overhear disputes or complaining (very rare lol). On a cruise there are people from many different places, with different accents, clothes, tatooes etc., etc.. Same sex couples are present in large numbers on some lines, particularly men. Cruises provide endless opportunity for people watching close up.

Having fun aboard Oceania’s Marina in the Baltic

7. Drinks and specialty coffees. We have started purchasing the drink package which includes alcohol drinks, bottles of water (actually now in cans) as well as specialty coffees. You can enjoy as many glasses of wine, beer, cocktails as you like up to a certain price limit e.g., $11 at no additional charge. We also like Americano coffees and a capucino, latte or Irish coffee. The convenience and service is phenomenal. It’s open bar on board if you like to drink. We certainly do within reason.

In St. Martin on our very first cruise on the Sunbird back in 2004!

6. Healthy Exercise. Every ship has an outdoor walking/running track, a state-of-the-art exercise facility and several swimming pools. The top deck walking track is marked as to how many laps are needed per km or mile. The older ships also allow you to walk completely around the quiet promenade deck where there are few people. We walk many laps on sea days. Dave likes to swim laps in the pool first thing in the morning when it is not crowded. Marie sometimes uses a treadmill and enjoys daily yoga. In a related vain, cruise ships provide scooters to rent for those with accessibility limitations.

Formal night Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, New Orleans to Puerto Rico

5. Meeting people. We have met some very interesting people on board e.g, a superb ball room dancing couple from Vancouver, a very friendly couple from Omaha, NE, an ex-clown from Cirque du Soleil, an interesting Mormon couple from Utah and a same sex couple who would always ask us st dinner, how was your day? We do not go out of our way to meet people preferring our own company, but the opportunities are endless. When we do hit it off with someone, it’s often a hoot, and when we run into them again it’s like running into old friends. Catching up and laughing is on the agenda.

Embarking on our best cruise ever with in 2008: Oceania from Istanbul to Venice followed by a group party in Rome!

4. Food. Probably the number one reason many people cruise is because they love good food. Each ship has a main dining room (that’s all they have on a river cruise ship), a buffet restaurant, a pizza and burger spot and 4 to 7 specialty fine dining restaurants: usually Italian, French, Steak, Asian and Seafood. Each tries to outdo the others in quality and service. It makes for some great eating! On some lines (e,g., Oceania) speciality restaurants are included in the base fare. Most though charge extra for specialty restaurants. We love the lobster tail and filet mignon night! We also enjoy room service for breakfast at no extra charge.

On the Avalon Waterways Artistry II, Nuremberg to Luxemburg.

3. Destinations. We go places we otherwise would not go. We have been through the Baltic, the Mediterranean, South America, up to Alaska, all around the Caribbean, a bit to Africa and Asia with Singapore, Australia and South Pacific up next. We would never have gone to most of these places otherwise. In ports we tend to do our own thing lately. Ship provided excursions tend to be expensive. We have organized group excursions and joined in ones that fellow cruisers have organized. These are much cheaper. Our favorite excursions involve beaches, shopping, snorkeling and sightseeing.

Enjoying some delicious seafood on our first Celebrity cruise in 2017. No crowds here!

2. No laundry, cooking, cleaning or grocery shopping. This is a big one. Also no lawn mowing, snow shovelling, garbage, maintenance, etc.. While doing chores at home can be invigorating, it’s sure nice to have a break once in a while. When cruising, someone else takes care of the domestic duties. Makes for a great restful holiday every time.

On the Norwegian Dream having fun!

1. Always going somewhere. For many, being constantly on the move is the biggest attraction of cruises. One never gets a chance to get bored. There is continuous anticipation of new adventure. And some one else does all the driving! Every night on a cruise when we go to bed, we feel the slight roll of the ship reminding us that we are on our way to a new adventure the next day. Makes for a restful, invigorating and renewing experience that a million Canadians a year have become addicted to, us included!

In Alaska with Holland America when the sun came out!

So now we have explained why we enjoy cruising so much. If you’ve never tried it, perhaps you will someday. If you are a seasoned cruiser, you know what we mean. We are planning a back-to-back trans-Pacific extravaganza cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary in March 2024. Can’t wait!

Cheers from the Celebrity Beyond 2022.

Next up on matersofthemoment: Cruise Line Environmental Practices

This is a detailed comparison of two recent cruises we were on: Celebrity Cruise’s Beyond (X, 3260 pax, 2022, 140,600 tons) Oct 26 to Nov 4/22 to Bermuda/Southern Caribbean and Holland America’s New Statendam (HAL, 2666 pax, 2018, 99,500 tons) Nov 5 to 12/22 to the Northern Caribbean.

Boarding – Hands down X. It took 10 minutes and we were in our cabin. No line up or delay. On HAL it took close to an hour of standing and sitting in 2 different holding areas. The HAL gang plank had a very specific weight capacity that could not be exceeded which was the bottleneck I think. The Magic Carpet steel canopy used on X has greater weight capacity it seems. X 5/5. HAL 2/5.

Sailaway – HAL did much better. They had special cocktails for sale, free horsd’oeuvres and a warm welcome from the cruise director on the Lido pool deck. It felt like a sail away should be like – a celebration. On the Beyond, fog poured in at the last moment and the sail past the Statue of Liberty had to be cancelled. Regardless of the weather, it did not have the feel of a sail away (I think we were at the Sunset Bar area and nothing particular was happening.). X3/5, HAL 5/5.

Food – Initial impressions HAL provides food as good as the X and sometimes exceeds. We were sometimes disappointed in the Beyond Ocean View Cafe food quality. The Statendam’s Lido buffet had better tasting food usually as it is maintained in smaller quantities that they serve you (you do not help yourself usually). Bigger lineups. Beyond had a greater ethnic diversity ot offerings in their Ocean View Cafe and virtually no lineups. HAL’s Dining Room was a major disappointment. Due shortage of staff the service was appallingly slow. Giving X too the edge as they served lobster tail one night ( we had two each) and HAL wants an upcharge now for this. X split the dining room into 4 separately decorated smaller ones, a nice touch. X 4/5. HAl 3.5/5

Specialty Restaurants – We were disappointed on X as we chose the Raw on 5 which was mostly sushi and other raw fish (we could have had the fab seafood tower but chose something else). I heard the man at the next table tell the waitress that his was not a good meal and that it was not her fault!) On HAL we went to the Pinnacle Steak and Seafood Grill. It was the best meal we had on either ship. We could have paid some up charges and gone to better specialty restaurants on X so perhaps this comparison is unfair. X 2.5/5. HAL 5/5.

Cabin – Hands down Beyond! Our balcony cabin was large and spacious with clean lines and bigger bathroom. We had the so called Infinite Balcony which is a sun room closed in on 2 sides with a horizontal wall to wall picture window that goes up and down. You leave the space open to the cabin which increases the latter’s size. We found ourselves spending lots of time in the cabin as it was comfortable and not jammed. On Statendam, the balcony cabin is smaller with a queen instead of king. However we prefer the traditional balcony on HAL since you are actually outside and it is larger. But, HAL’s cabin was dated and jammed. We kept the small coffee table up on the couch to increase space. X 5/5. HAL 3.5/5.

Service: Hands down Beyond. We rarely waited for service for more than a minute anywhere on the ship. On HAL we found ourselves waiting at every bar and restaurant. Compounding this was the process of printing out a receipt for signature even though we had the drinks package and there was no charge. On X they swiped the card or asked your cabin number – no paper. There was a shortage of staff on HAL so that even when there were empty tables all around, the service was slow. X 5/5. HAL 4/5.

Ship: Hands down Beyond. Huge ship with plenty of nooks and crannies to get lost in so it never felt crowded. On Statendam we managed to find a quiet spot on the sun deck as we could not get near the pools or hot tubs due to the crowded conditions. On X I swam laps in the pool which was 75 ft long. I never got in the pool on HAL – no room! However on HAL they had the traditional promenade deck where you could walk around the whole ship perimeter. On X it was blocked up by specialty restaurants. X 5/5. HAL 3.5/5.

Ports of Call: Hands down Statendam. 3 beach destinations and 1 good shopping day: Half Moon Cay, Ocho Rios, Cayman Islands and Bimini, Bahamas. The weather was superb on the HAL cruise. On X we were rained on at each of 3 destinations. There was not enough time in Bermuda. Curacao was really run down – major hotel and casino closed, shops closed etc. Aruba was nice as usual but it was our 4th visit there so we just walked around downtown. It rained a lot on the X cruise. HAL had sunny weather. X 3/5, HAL 4.5/5.

Entertainment: Giving X the edge here. They had fairly good Broadway style shows in the fantastic theatre. Also more intimate shows in The Club. We found ourselves dancing in front of the Martini Bar to the soul band that was playing. On HAL we went to one show, a comedian who was pretty funny. They have a wider variety of music including raunchy rock and roll, blues vocal and instrumental music plus we enjoyed some classical quartet performances. X 4/5. HAL 3.5/5.

Technology: HAL had the best app on board. You could order pizza or burgers on-line and by the time you walked to the takeout restaurant, food was ready for pickup – pretty cool I thought. You also use the app to book excursions and specialty restaurants and this worked well. What we did not like was the throttled internet service which gave us much trouble trying to play our online euchre games every night. On X, the internet was fast allowing us to do basically anything even though we had the basic non-streaming service. There was an up charge for the 2nd device. Their app is poor and I had much trouble navigating it to find what I was looking for. In general, in the 15 years we have been cruising, it is amazing the improvements in on board wifi internet service that have occurred, thanks in part to Elon Musk’s recent Sky Link satellite based internet service. X 4/5. HAL 4.5/5.

Percs and Price: X’s percs were free drinks, pre-paid gratuities and basic internet service for 1 device. HAL’s percs were free drinks, a prepaid specialty restaurant meal for 2, basic internet for 2 devices and $100 excursion credit per person. Celebrity bills itself as an upscale cruise line so their price was naturally a bit higher than HAL’s at $CDN245/person/day vs. HAL at $CDN215. Add $35/day/person for airfare costs. Overall X was the best value we we got a particularly good deal when we booked early. It pays to book early since as the ship fills up, the prices go up and up and up, at least on X. X 4.5/5. HAL 4/5.

Crew: It’s fun, interesting and educational to meet staff from around the world. Each line boasted that they had at least 50 nationalities represented in their crew! On X, the Captain was a stand up comedian who had us in stitches. Their regular captain Kate was on board on vacation with her celebrity cat named Bug Naked. On HAL the captain was more of an engineer reporting technical details and weather. The staff on both lines were always curtious, friendly and hard working. Common to both lines, Rumanians make the best waiters! X 5/5. HAL 5/5.

Best Day: Going to Couples San Souci in Ocho Rios on a day pass – top shelf food and drinks, beach, snorkeling and pool. Worst day – probably Curacao due poor weather and economy there.‎ We would like to visit Bermuda again and spend more time there. Marie’s favourite: Bimini, Bahamas.

Demographic: HAL had a slightly younger demographic with several young families, lots of couples etc. X had an older well heeled group, more obese people, many with electric scooter and lots of gay couples, mostly men.

Best Overall Experience and Value: Celebrity. We will definitely cruise with them again. HAL not likely. One thing we really do like about HAL is they always have a priest on board and celebrate Mass daily. On X they celebrate Mass only a few times a year. There is a lot more of a modern buzz on Celebrity. On HAL, people take it perhaps as it is a little cheaper and more traditional in approach it seems. HAL also gave us 2 nice pottery coasters as souvenirs. X 4.5/5. HAL 4/5.

I welcome any questions you may in the comments section. If you remain skeptical about cruising, stay tuned for Why Cruise? coming up soon.