Friends at Ports Large and Small Welcome Us to Colonial New England  

Days 11-12, 2026 Fall Atlantic Sampler

Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 6-7, 2026; Boston and Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard.

If the last few days were about feasting on the food of the Canadian Maritimes, these two days are about visiting friends – some of the past couple of years and others of decades.

So, on Wednesday as I left the ship’s tender in Martha’s Vineyard, I searched the small crowd looking for Karen, a friend I hadn’t seen in decades. We worked together in the 1980s in Kansas City, and then AT&T transferred us with our friend Mary to New Jersey to “get our headquarters tickets punched.”

We were determined to see everything we could in New York and surrounding states – including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in the driving rain – before we transferred out in a couple of years. Mary is still in New Jersey, as were Karen and her husband Bob until recently when they left to spend more time at their Martha’s Vineyard home.

Karen and I recognized each other on the pier at the same time. After a tour of the island, we sent her husband Bob off for his tee time and spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing about the good old days while walking through Vineyard Haven’s small downtown.

Most of Volendam’s passengers hadn’t been to the vineyard before, as large cruise ships rarely visit. I, on the other hand, have been here many times. During my 11 New Jersey years, our sailing club frequently sailed Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay to Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. It was the first place I took my parents sailing, followed by family sails in the Caribbean before we made the gradual transition to cruising.

This week, my only request of Karen was to stop by the Black Dog Tavern for a t-shirt, knowing that while the company now has outlets as far south as Florida, only the classic shirts on the vineyard come with the location and the year. I wanted to revisit the original tavern to get a new one to replace my long-lost versions from the ‘80s, plus a great mug of chowder.

I was nostalgic leaving the island behind, thinking that while Karen and I hope to meet up at their Florida winter residence, I may not return to this place of so many fond memories.

On Tuesday in Boston, my sisters and I spent the day with Martha and Bob, friends from recent World Cruises. We are the latest in the progression of world cruise friends who have made it to Boston and Cape Cod to visit them this summer and fall. We’ve become food buddies, and we all will sign up for just about any special meal on or off the cruise. Martha inspires me with her great food photos, and she is one of the few people who beats me to the Library Café in the mornings.

My sisters and I arrived early at Martha’s suggested meeting spot, so we visited the nearby Paul Revere Mall and St. Stephen’s Church. The church was founded as a Congregational parish before the American Revolution, then was Unitarian until the North End became mostly Irish and it became a Catholic church.

Now the area is known as the traditional Italian neighborhood, and Martha suggested meeting at Café Vittoria, the city’s oldest pastry/coffee venue. After we caught up with news and summer travel over coffee, we walked along the waterfront to what Martha described as a less traditional lunch at Citrus & Salt, a “hot spot for ladies’ weekend brunch.”

I hadn’t expected such great Mexican food in Boston, but loved our tacos, guacamole and especially the drinks. All too soon our all-aboard time of 3:30 p.m. loomed, so we said goodbye until January and the world cruise.

To top off our busy day in Boston, we attended the President’s Club dinner in the King’s Room near the main dining room. I enjoyed visiting with Sandra, the captain’s wife who joined us for this cruise before returning to her job. I’m hoping she will board again when Capt. Rens takes over for the second half of the world cruise.

All but about 60 of the passengers on this Montreal to New York cruise are leaving in the morning. I’ll go to bed early tonight thankful I don’t have to pack and in anticipation of a rare sail into New York harbor tomorrow.