Lisa Plotnick

Views of Portland from NORWEGIAN JEWEL

August 23, 2025

9:25 am

This is the life! After a wonderful night’s sleep in our king-sized bed and a very flavorful eggs Benedict, I’m out on deck in a huge circular chair with soft cushions, enjoying the warm sunshine and reading my book.

My husband and son have gone ashore to walk around—son enjoys visiting fire stations. I opted to stay onboard as we live less than 3 hours from Portland (and have been there many times), plus I want a day to do nothing on this port-intensive itinerary.

A couple of dozen private boats are docked in a marina flanked by a shoreline with both brick and glass office buildings of 3 to 5 stories and a tree lined hilly background filled with houses. The channel also includes wooden pilings remnants of a former pier.
The city of Portland, Maine, from the docked ship Norwegian Jewel on August 23, 2025. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com

2:52 pm

I once wrote that Portland has the most beautiful approach I’d ever seen. It’s still way up there. We weren’t awake to see our arrival this morning, so I was glad to catch the departure.

My son and I were at a dance lesson when the ship departed at 2:00. (We had fun learning the zombie dance from Thriller). We made it outdoors in time to view 2 lighthouses.

We passed the first, Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse (1897), at 2:35.

A small lighthouse that resembles a spool of white thread with a wraparound deck near the bottom is in the middle of the frame with a ships railing and Norwegian jewel life ring in the foreground.
Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, among my favorites for its cute design, as viewed from Norwegian Jewel on August 23, 2025. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com
The spool like lighthouse with wraparound deck at bottom is positioned on a rocky jetty that juts out from the land.
Zooming in on Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse from Norwegian Jewel on August 23, 2025. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com

And we passed Portland Head Light (1791) ten minutes later.

Classic tapered shaped white lighthouse with black tip sits between a small shack like house and a large 3 story classic inn like building as waves pound the rocky shore.
The impressive Portland Head Light, which marks the entrance to Portland Harbor, as viewed from Norwegian Jewel on August 23, 2025. (c) Lisa Plotnick and NauticalNotebook.com

Our captain just announced that we can expect some bumpy seas on the way to Halifax, a distance of 328 nautical miles. Sounds awesome!

Next up: Halifax, Nova Scotia, my home away from home

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