Seeing triple on the waterfront
Second day in less than a week where three cruise ships make Sydney their port of call
Sunshine, scenery and the stretching of legs was the order of the day for most of the passengers that disembarked from three cruise ships visiting Cape Breton on Thursday.
Bucket list check marks and simple curiosity were among the other reasons cited by passengers of the Queen Mary 2, Insignia and Rotterdam, who were in port for the day.
Southern Indiana residents Mike and Donna Keogh had planned to take a walking tour of the city but doubted they’d see anything to top their initial site of Sydney.
“We’ve already seen the largest fiddle in the world, so I’m not sure what can match that,” joked Mike.
“This was a bucket list,” added his wife Donna. “I just always wanted to see the northeast. I hadn’t been beyond New York and the Canadian coastline.”
Ken Marzinko has taken many riverboat tours in North America and Europe, so an
ocean cruise was a chance to expand his touring horizons.
“It’s our first time here so it will be a fun time for us,” said the Pennsylvania native and Queen Mary 2 passenger. “We are just taking in the scenery. It’s bigger than I thought — the population and the houses.”
Chuck Giasson has always
liked Canada and was enjoying his first opportunity to visit.
“This is a chance with the cruise to see a little bit of Canada, primarily Quebec, but this is one of the stops that has a lot of things to see and do,” the Virginia native said.
A walking tour of downtown Sydney was on his initial schedule and then a longer, motorized excursion of most of the island later in the day.
At the Destination Cape Breton information desk inside the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion, George MacDonald and others were busy fielding questions from many curious visitors from all three ships.
MacDonald said the visitors want to know everything about Cape Breton Island, from the shops downtown, to attractions much further away.
“They have an interest in exploring the island,” he said. “Some will be back two or three times in the summer.
“Some will take a brochure back with them and then come back later.”
Dockside, several new businesses have popped up to get visiting passengers where they want to go, as well as help them take a piece of Cape Breton back with them. Among them was i Bike Sydney, where sunshine and three cruise ships in port had the business anticipating a big day.
“We do have wonderful days but we are really affected by the weather, being a bicycle business,” said Maria Philips, co-owner of the new business. “That has been a bit of a hurdle to overcome but we still have a lot of hopes.”
Passengers who have taken a ride on their bicycles seem to enjoy the experience, she said.
Handmade jewlery, crafts and clothes from Cape Breton
are the attraction for passengers at the new business known as Harbour Treasure.
“It’s been good and steady,” said Karen MacKinnon, a part owner of the business.
“I just got the place in July so it has been (here) for cruise ships but I did come down for some weekends when there wasn’t ships in because there
were a lot of tourists in. Even local people like to come in and see what is new and happening.”
For much of his life Sean Newman has been a frequent visitor to Cape Breton and a fan of its scenery. His new business now shares that love with cruise ship passengers.
“I have family in Ingonish
so I have been visiting for 26 years,” said the native of England, who started Blue Thistle Tours this summer.
“I fell in love with the island and the people and didn’t want to go home so I’m trying to show everybody why I find it a beautiful place.”
Tours on his 11-seat van include places like Louisbourg,
Iona, and along the Cabot Trail. He’s also open to suggestions.
Tuesday’s three ship stops sent a steady stream of passengers towards many other businesses.
There are no further triple visits on the current schedule. Several two-ship days are ahead, though.