Praising MV Blue Puttees and MV Highlanders (part 2)

   MV Highlanders departing North Sydney for Port aux Basques on August 3, 2012

Now on to part 2, MV Highlanders:  Sailing date was August 4, 2012 and was more prepared for round two as I learned the ropes from MV Blue Puttees .  We left the same time as the last trip across (10:00 AM Atlantic time) and once again had a positive experience despite the A/C being broke down for both trips (the vessel was put out of service for 2-3 days after my arrival back to North Sydney to rectify this problem as well as a broken elevator towards the stern and a few electrical problems as well.  A few differences from MV Blue Puttees was for the urinal flush, Blue Puttees had one button in the middle while Highlanders has separate urinal flushes as well as deck mat on deck 10 while Blue Puttees has not and more signage than Blue Puttees for not standing on rails, smoking in the designated area on the starboard side, and emergency exits.  I tried booking a cabin for the return trip from Port aux Basques but was unsuccessful, my advice is to book your cabin while booking your trip instead of calling reservations to put your name on a waiting list if you really need a cabin on board. She also has a bit more seating in the Riva Cafe on deck 9 than on her sister ship.  Both trips across I went to the MET Restaurant which opened at noon and 6:30 Atlantic time respectfully and was one of the first ones in line (reason for lineup: you check in and place your order upon arrival and the food comes out fast as well).  Here's the order the food comes out

                          1. Soup or salad

2. After your soup, the main course and dessert arrives at the same time

We were supposed to arrive at 3 AM Atlantic time on August 5, but we arrived at 1 AM Atlantic as the A/C was broke.  Temperature in the Barista Cafe was 25 degrees and all emergency exits were open to let the fresh air in on deck 7 as pictured above (As I was on deck for the majority of the trip, I hardly noticed about the A/C failure although the two Emergency exits starboard and the one port side were all open to let cool air in)  This trip I overheard some people's disdain saying the MV Caribou was better when it came to the A/C and food choices but I did not let that get to me in my final findings and still had a more positive experience than 2010.  Another thing to note is that for walk ons it's more punctual than the last time as there's crew members on deck 5 showing you where to go for the shuttle bus to get off the ferry. (note walk ons and vehicle passengers on deck 1 are the last people off, vehicle decks 3-5 are first to get off)

Here's a few photos of my sun shot day on MV Highlanders