We had heard the Maritime provinces were beautiful but this was the first place that the natural beauty really made an impression.

Our tour didn’t start until noon and the ship’s crew were doing emergency drills so we were able to watch the process.  There were announcements for fire emergency, medical emergency, evacuation, and calls to abandon ship!  It was quite interesting and we are glad to know that they do such things.  

Colonized by the French in 1604, the island came under British control at the end of the French and Indian war in 1763. It became part of Nova Scotia.  In 1769 the island became its own British colony named after Prince Edward, fourth son of King George III.  In 1873 Prince Edward Island became Canada’s seventh province. 

Our guide told us that Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest province.  It is twice the size of Rhode Island and has a population of 150,000.  

In the 1960s the school system transitioned from one room schools to a coordinated system. There are two colleges on the island.

On PEI they don’t want to build higher than the basilica. Everything on the island needs to be planned ahead because their port freezes in winter, usually from December to April.

Although singer Anne Murray was raised in  Nova Scotia,  our tour guide told us her singing career was given a big boost in a local establishment called the Prince Edward Room. 

We, like many people, knew of Prince Edward Island because of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 book Anne of Green Gables.  We fondly remember watching the entire PBS series with our own red haired girl, our daughter Natasha.

PEI has many pilgrimage sites for Anne of Green Gables fans.

They also offer the musical theater production of Anne & Gilbert.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough port time to do both.  We chose the musical and it was delightful.  It was my favorite excursion on the entire trip.

The play is based on Montgomery’s second and third Anne books,  Anne of Avonlea (1909) and Anne of the Island (1915).

They did not allow photographs of the production but I took this one from their website.

And then the next morning….

It was another sea day but Randy wasn’t feeling well. He took a Covid test that we brought from home.

Results were positive so he did the right thing and contacted the medical center. A medical technician came in a hazmat suit to test us both.

We were told that our home tests might have been damaged by putting them in checked luggage on the airplane.  Our fingers were crossed.

Alas, when we got our results  Randy’s was still positive.  I was negative. He was given a short time to pack and taken away.  He was COVID patient number 13 on the ship.

Randy went into quarantine on deck four and I remained on deck ten. My cabin (formerly our cabin) was sanitized by the room steward in full protective garb.

Randy’s cabin also had a balcony but with an obstructed view.  He was told he could order anything he wanted, any time he wanted, but was expected to stay in his cabin.

He felt gradually worse throughout the day.  The medical office called and checked on him, as did I and Darrell and Cindy.

I had a quick dinner on my own and went back to my cabin. I didn’t want to be out and about as I might still test positive.  (I never did.)  Randy and I were able to talk several times over the ship phones.

We were told that Holland America would cover all costs related to Randy’s quarantine. He wasn’t just going to be in quarantine on the ship but would also be staying in Canada to finish his quarantine at the end of the cruise.

Next up:  Randy stays in quarantine while the rest of us go on with cruise activities.