Saturday 7th May. New York. The Statue of Liberty & USS Intrepid

The ship tossed a bit between 2am and 9 am but calmed down as we entered the Hudson River. It was sleeting hard as we passed the Statue of Liberty in the mist: lots of crew were outside but most fellow passengers were ensconced in the Observation Lounge with their glasses of champagne. We then went to the Panorama Lounge and ordered bouillon to warm ourselves up . Then Lea gave an update on the program for Sunday, but not beyond!!. For Saturday afternoon we could go to the USS Intrepid museum, right next to our ship on berth 88.

The USS Intrepid is a laid up US Navy carrier. It is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, including the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she served mainly in the Atlantic, but also participated in the Vietnam War. She was the recovery ship for a Mercury and a Gemini space mission. Because of her prominent role in battle, she was nicknamed "the Fighting I", while her frequent bad luck and time spent in dry dock for repairs—she was torpedoed once and hit in separate attacks by four Japanese kamikaze aircraft—earned her the nicknames "Decrepit" and "the Dry I". Decommissioned for the second time in 1974, in 1982 Intrepid became the foundation of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

  So had lunch and  wandered out in the rain to the museum at 2pm.  Spent over 2 hours  there seeing the inside of the Intrepid which had seen action in WW2, attacked by kamikazes then, but continuing in service up till about 1980?. Also many of the planes that had taken off from it. . Then we went into the Space section which featured the Space Shuttle. And finally we walked through their first nuclear submarine, Growler. There was also a British Airways Concorde outside it. By this time the rain had eased off slightly.

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. Once back aboard we had a hamburger  on the pool deck: thought this was fitting for New York. During the afternoon we watched the film Belfast on the television.  Wondrous light on the New York skyscrapers just before 8pm. Ate in the Terraza and then went to the show, another Broadway legend!!, twice Tony nominee??, with Christine Andreas singing, accompanied by her husband. Not wondrous - she might once have been OK!

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Monday, 9th May. 9/11 Memorial

As we had not been contacted by Oscar ( about our worries of continuing on from Halifax on another potential non expedition cruise) , David emailed Carmen in London asking to be taken off in Halifax if the company was unable to guarantee Expedition sailing. But then bumped into Oscar in breakfast and he asked to meet us at 3 to discuss the matter. Had another tour of New York with a good guide, although there were still endless mentions of celebrities and films. Stopped at the Battery Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty and then went through Greenwich Village, and past the golden Bull outside the Stock Exchange before heading to the  9 11 Memorial. All the firefighters from the fire station there died. Had to jump out of the way of one of their engines.

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Had lunch back aboard and then met up with Oscar. He promised that, as Expedition leader from Halifax onwards, there would  be more emphasis  on talks, etc. We both felt a bit happier- but only until 9pm!!. Enjoyed a wine tasting of 3 similar French and U S wines. Then went for a 2 hour walk alongside the piers and then along the High Line. Was really exhausted by the time we got back around 7.30.

The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long) elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The abandoned spur has been redesigned as a "living system" drawing from multiple disciplines which include landscape architecture, urban design, and ecology. The High Line was inspired by the 2.9 mi long Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993.

The park is built on a disused, southern viaduct section, of the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line. Originating in the Meatpacking District, the park runs from Gansevoort Street – three blocks below 14th Street – through Chelsea to the northern edge of the West Side Yard on 34th Street near the Javits Centre The West Side Line formerly extended south to a railroad terminal at Spring Street, just north of Canal Street, and north to 35th Street at the site of the Javits Centre Due to a decline in rail traffic along the rest of the viaduct, it was effectively abandoned in 1980 when the construction of the Javits Centre required the demolition of the viaduct's northernmost portion.

The southern portion of the viaduct was demolished in segments during the late 20th century. Re purposing the railway into an urban park began in 2006 and opened in phases during 2009, 2011, and 2014. The Spur, an extension of the High Line that originally connected with the Morgan General Mail Facility at Tenth Avenue and 30th Street, opened on June 4, 2019, as the final part of the park to open. Since opening in June 2009, the High Line has become an icon of American contemporary landscape architecture. The High Line's success has inspired cities throughout the United States to redevelop obsolete infrastructure as public space. The park became a tourist attraction and spurred real estate development in adjacent neighbourhoods, increasing real-estate values and prices along the route. By September 2014, the park had nearly five million visitors annually, and by 2019, it had eight million visitors per year.

After dinner, 9pm, we discovered that our Tuesday escorted  tour of the MET before doors opened had been done away with and we would now be on an unguided visit much later on. Not amused. Briefly listened to their ´famous  ´American comic'- not me!!!

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Back to the ship, a quick lunch, then a sauna & jacuzzi, a read out on deck 8, afternoon tea, a siesta, typing of this diary before Recap and briefing for our day, hopefully, in Rhode Island . Sailed away at dusk

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