STREET. JOHN’S, NL –
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a cooking party in Newfoundland when hundreds of people from Canada’s easternmost province were booked on the same ship.
By a rare stroke of luck, 250 couples from the province, as well as children and grandparents and even Newfoundlanders living in other parts of the world, were all on the same cruise, said Mark Hiscock, who sings and plays banjo and accordion on the Shanneyganock, the popular Newfoundland traditional band.
There were so many Newfoundlanders on board that one night the company cordoned off the main pool deck and hosted a party exclusively for passengers from the province, Hiscock said.
“You had to show your ID, that you were part of the Newfoundland contingent,” the musician said in an interview. “I ran around and sang ‘The Islander’ and ‘I’se the B’y’ and everyone was going crazy.”
Around 3,000 people were on board when the ship set sail for the Caribbean on April 6. Pamela Pardy bought her ticket in November and soon began seeing posts on social media from friends and friends of friends saying they, too, would be on the cruise.
His travel agent then confirmed that 250 couples from the province would also be on board, not counting children and grandparents.
“Also, when we got on the ship, there were all these people who don’t live in Newfoundland but are from Newfoundland,” he said in an interview. “So, Newfoundlanders from all over the world, literally, who were, by chance, on this same cruise.”
Pardy said she and her fiancé have been on many great cruises (they often take two a year), but sailing the seas with all those fellow Newfoundlanders was exceptionally special. There was a connection between passengers and people felt free to engage in conversations with friends and strangers, Pardy said. She and her fiancé would drape a Newfoundland and Labrador flag over the lounge chairs as an invitation to anyone who wanted to chat.
“Being in an elevator on a cruise ship is not usually a social event,” Pardy said. “But when you’re from Newfoundland and you hear, ‘Come in, ducky,’ or ‘What floor are you going to, my trout?’ “It was so endearing.”
Non-Newfoundland passengers were also included; the open, chatty atmosphere extended to them, and they were welcomed to witness what Pardy called “Newfoundland hospitality.” She said she spoke to several people with no connections to the province who were now interested in visiting.
On the last night of the voyage, many Newfoundlanders gathered again on deck to take a group photo and sing the Ode to Newfoundland, the province’s official anthem.
“You felt part of something bigger,” Pardy said. “That’s the only way I can explain it.”
He said he hopes Expedia Cruises offers another Newfoundland-filled cruise, this time on purpose.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.