Masaki wrote such a marvelous cruise diary that all I would like to add is some information about the Sydney excursion we took. We went on the Fortress Louisbourg excursion and recommend it highly.
The fortress is beautifully restored to the way it would have looked in 1744. The first order of business was to get past the soldier guarding the gate, who asked why we wanted to enter the fortress during a time of war. After a bit of persuasion, our group was allowed to enter. The guide showed us around some of the main buildings (from the outside)and showed us where to meet the bus for the return trip. Refreshments in a tavern were included; this was fun, but did use up a bit more of our time than we had to spare.
There was some time to walk around and visit the various buildigs, see demonstrations,talk to 1744 residents etc., but not nearly enough time to visit the entire fortress. One could easily spend a full day there.
We did visit one house and had an enlightening chat with the kitchen staff.
The setting is beautiful, the fortress is so interesting, but the tour is really too short to see it all. However, what we did see made this excursion well worthwhile.
To everyone cruising to Canada in the fall, have a great trip!