Adventures in Beantown - Day 1

After a rather bumpy ride from Halifax, we arrived in sunshine at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in Boston at Noon Friday. After a warm (???) greeting from US Customs and Border Services and lunch at the All-American Poolside Buffet (which is not served anywhere near the pool) it was time to get ready for the “highlight” of the President’s Cruise, The President’s Shore Excursion!


Crystal does a “President’s Cruise” at least once a year and each one includes a “highlight” excursion, usually something exotic. And expensive. Well this time they got one of those two right. The tour included a visit to the JFK Library followed by a tour and reception at the Massachusetts State House. The highlight was supposed to be “an address from the balcony” by a surprise dignitary. Since Ted Kennedy is no longer with us…………..

Promptly at 2:30PM (the only prompt thing that happened all tour) we left for the Library. This is a very impressive facility and someplace we do want to come back to. It starts with a short video that ends with JFK’s acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic Convention. You then enter a series of exhibits in roughly date order covering Kennedy’s Presidency. It certainly needs at least two hours to see everything properly. We got just over 45 minutes!

Then it was back in the buses for what turned out to be the highlight of the excursion. As we had to get, essentially, from the south end of Boston to the middle of Downtown Boston on a Friday, in rush hour, a police escort was provided. Four big highway buses and a van took off and raced through the streets accompanied by four Boston motor officers on gleaming Harleys, lights flashing and sirens wailing!!

At one point we entered Interstate 93 which had been blocked off for our passage. We had the ENTIRE highway to ourselves! Entering downtown, sirens still wailing, people were trying to see what “important dignitaries” were arriving in their fair city. Wonder what they would have thought if they had known it was just a bunch of cruiseship passengers?? Of course as one fellow in our bus joked, “we are late for dinner!”

After all that excitement, we entered the State House and were given a nice tour ending with a “cocktail reception”. Only problem was the tour ended at 5:15 and alcoholic beverages could not, by law, be served in the State House before 6:00PM. Would you believe Diet Coke and water served in wine glasses and cocktail nibblies?? For an hour?? Finally at 6:15 they usher us into “The Great Hall of Flags” for the speech from the “Celebrity Dignitary”. We’re not sure about anyone else, but WE had never heard of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we aren’t exactly sure that he qualifies as a “celebrity”. After his 30 second speech, Gregg Michel, the President of Crystal made a 30 second speech, then they both left the balcony and 140 people looked at each with the same question plainly visible on their face “That’s it?? We paid all this money for that, Diet Coke and water?”

Back on the ship, we had an 8:30 dinner reservation at Prego, the Italian restaurant. I had made it that late because we weren’t supposed to be back until 7:30. When I asked about maybe moving it up a bit, I mentioned to the Maitre D’ that the tour got back early. He just rolled his eyes and said “I know.” That one gesture pretty much summed up the “President’s Excursion”! Now in fairness, when we got back to our cabin there was a very nice gift of a “coffee table” photo book of Boston signed by the author. Also included were copies of the City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts proclamations of Friday November 6, 2009 as “Crystal Cruises Day”. Of course no one thought to mention that little detail in their speech!