After a day at sea, we arrived at Halifax. Halifax boasts the second largest natural harbor in the world. Equipped for much larger cruise ships than the Whisper, we were able to tie up at the pier, no need for tender service today. As Halifax was home to Samuel Cunard, founder of the cruise line by the same name, good port facilities for cruise ships is no surprise.
Our trip to Halifax was shrouded in fog, as was Halifax until the rain arrived mid-day. plans for visiting the Halifax Citadel, memorial to the victims of the Titanic and other outdoor venues were quickly scrapped in favor of the maritime museum. The museum is along the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk, another good place to spend a much dryer day. In the museum, we found a restored ship chandlery. The shop was stocked with most everything needed to support a ship of the late 19th – early 20th century. To add to the authenticity, the display even smelled like the real thing, with the aromas of tar and grease mixed with the scent of new rope. The most notable displays are devoted to tragedy at sea – the Titanic, the Halifax explosion and the numerous ship wrecks found nearby.
Halifax was the morgue for the bodies recovered from the Titanic. The display includes artifacts including the only surviving deck chair, a section of wall paneling and part of a newel from the grand staircase. There is also information about sailing on a ship of that class, where were the cabins for 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers? Did you know the cabins for solo travelers were in separate areas of the ship – with location dependent upon class of travel and sex of the passenger. And if you think how much your passage cost made much of a difference in this case it did. No 3rd class passengers survived. The life boats went to the first class passengers.
The 1917 Halifax explosion leveled the waterfront and buildings for several blocks inland when a French vessel, loaded to the gunnels with tons of TNT was hit by another vessel. It didn’t help that ships of that era were fueled by coal, so that the dock area was sooty with coal dust. Over 1700 people died and windows were shattered up to 62 miles away. The unfortunate experience gained from being the morgue for the Titanic was put to good use.
The rain was in full wet down the city mode when we finished our visit so opted for a quick lunch, sampled a couple of local brews – Propeller IPA, Garrison IRA and Garrison Amber. All get two thumbs up. Then it was back to the ship for dry clothes and something warm to drink.
