Newfoundlanders on Celebrity Apex Ship
Around 500 passengers from Canada’s Newfoundland province were hosted on the Celebrity Apex ship, which left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 6. The cruise had a total of 3,000 guests, with around 250 couples hailing from Newfoundland or who were Newfoundlanders living in other parts of the world.
During the trip, passengers were seen wearing t-shirts with the Newfoundland and Labrador flag and draping the flag over their deck chairs. One passenger, Pam Pardy, mentioned how she found it amusing to frequently hear the distinct Newfoundland accents and local phrases while walking around the ship. Pardy had booked the trip more than a year in advance and was surprised to find out that a large group of Newfoundlanders had also booked on to the same cruise. Initially dreading the idea of vacationing with people from her home province, Pardy later found a sense of community that was special and unique among the guests.
On the last night of the voyage, the Newfoundlanders gathered on deck to take a group picture and sing Ode to Newfoundland, their province’s official anthem. Despite initial reservations about the idea, Pardy found it both familiar and comforting yet exotic compared to life in Newfoundland.
