In this travel vlog, Josh and Rachael Fillbrandt document their final cruise port stop in Portland, Maine aboard the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. They explore the city independently, visiting two historic lighthouses (Portland Head Lighthouse and Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse), sampling iconic Maine seafood (Gilbert's Chowder House chowder, Bite Into Maine lobster rolls in both Maine and Connecticut styles), and touring several local breweries (Gritty's, Shipyard, Brickyard Hollow). The video includes a HelloFresh sponsorship segment with a promo code, practical travel tips (Uber cost, walking distances, wait times), and a reflective moment meeting friends they originally connected with through YouTube. The vlog concludes with a recap of favorite bites, best moments, and a call‑to‑action for viewers to like, subscribe, and follow on social media, while teasing an upcoming Boston video.
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Hey everybody, I'm Josh.
And I'm Rachael. Today our last cruise port stop is in Portland, Maine.
And we're gonna try to see some lighthouses, drink some lagers, and eat some lobsters.
Let's go!
Good morning and welcome back to the US.
That's right.
After 3 days in Canada, we are now in Portland, Maine.
And we had a beautiful view on the way in today.
Oh my gosh.
Absolutely gorgeous.
Yeah, so part of our plan today is go to lighthouses, drink some lagers, and eat some lobsters. And so we saw 4 lighthouses already on our way.
Yeah.
Including 2 that we're hoping to make it to today. Um, we are not doing an excursion with the cruise ship today. We are going to do this all on our own so you can hopefully replicate it.
Yeah, and we've been here a couple years ago, so we kind of know our way around. Hoping that, uh, we find everything we're looking for today.
Yeah, so we're going to try to do some of the best bites we had from back then as well as best sights.
Let's go!
And since I forgot to say it, we are on the Brilliance of the Seas by Royal Caribbean. If you'd like to see more of those videos, they're probably already out. All right, well, we are off the ship, and my goodness, it's pretty. This is gorgeous here. Check out that ship. I think those must be some of the lighthouses we saw this morning. For sure we saw this one and this one, and I hope to do it again. So right off of the ship there's a bunch of local vendors selling arts, and there was also some people selling tours at the far end. So you can do things Immediately after you get off your ship here. If you are looking for places to eat and drink, there's a lot. This is just one section with a pier, and you're surrounded by Good-looking eateries. We're going to be doing Gilbert's Chowder House because it was our favorite.
I say we loved it.
Yeah, it was our favorite chowder we had the last time we came to New England, but they open in a little bit, so we'll, we'll try to get in there first. Here's what we like to see— local brews on tap. You can see there's a bunch of them. We're both feeling like some blueberries today.
That's right.
And check that scene behind.
Oh, I thought you meant my lobster shirt.
Oh yeah, lobster shirt.
And earrings.
It's not time for lobster just yet, but it will be soon.
Cheers!
Cheers!
That's good. Very blueberry.
Very blueberry forward. That's good.
I love it. All right, our lunch is here. I ended up going with a half sandwich and a small cup of soup. This is super seafood and that's a crab melt.
It looks delicious.
Our waitress said it's her favorite thing. It's just full of Maine crab, upgraded French fries. Look at that. Oh, that looks so good.
And I went with a super seafood chowder and a bread bowl. Like, why, why would you not?
Heck yes. This is our breakfast.
So good. I'm ready.
And our lunch is going to be like shortly thereafter. All right, that was fantastic.
I love Gilbert Chowder House. I would come here every time.
Yeah, if you're in the mood for chowder, get it. Uh, if you want a grilled cheese with crab in it, get it. Mhm. They also had a lobster one, but we're going to get lobster next. Yeah, and we're going to see a bunch of lighthouses. Well, at least one.
At least one for sure.
A really good one.
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All right, we made it to the Portland Head Lighthouse. It was built in 1791, and it was the first lighthouse commissioned by the newly elected President George Washington. in Fort Williams Park. It's located in Cape Elizabeth at the entrance to Portland Harbor. It is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. It is the most photographed lighthouse in the United States.
Yep, and it's about a 20-minute, $20 Uber ride from downtown Portland, and stunning. All right, so our first time to Maine Our favorite lobster roll of our entire trip was at Bite Into Maine, which is a food truck here at the lighthouse.
Yeah.
So it's just a little walk up the hill. There's probably a line, but we thought it was worth it.
We did.
All right, it's probably about a 30-minute wait.
Yeah, I think so. Not too terrible.
But we did get a Maine lobster roll, which is mayo and chives, and a Connecticut, which is just butter.
Smothered in butter. Yeah, I'll do that Maine. It's cold.
Now these are 4.5-ounce ones. They also come in 6-ounce ones, which I believe is the same roll but just more meat. And it's $42 for the 6-ounce, $32 for the 4.5-ounce.
That's so good. I love it. It reminds me so much of when we came here the first time, and I do believe it's still my favorite. Nice.
But here's the Connecticut roll. You can see it is just butter and non-mayonnaise lobster. Yeah, it looks really full. I don't know how they would fit the 6 ounces I don't either.
We don't need to try it. There is a honking going on, a horn. Probably can't hear it now because of course it stopped.
My bite is too big.
Of course it is.
That's delicious. Nice, fresh. I think that's gotta be the key to it, right? Is the fresh lobster and the butter. It's just nice and smooth.
Maine is known for its lobster and its lighthouses. All right, now we're at Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. It was built in 1897. At the end of the Stone Breakwater in South Portland, as you can see out there, and you can actually walk out there. It's accessible through the campus of Southern Maine Community College. Pretty exciting, it's a little spot.
What I like about it is gonna be walking on those rocks.
Yeah.
To get all the way out there, so we're gonna show you that. All right, we're back in town. We're gonna grab a drink here at Gritty's, Maine's original brewpub.
Cling!
Lighthouses times 2, check. Lobster twice, check. It was in that seafood chowder if you didn't catch that, plus 2 different rolls.
Yes.
And now it's more time for beers.
Lagers. Time for some lagers.
Yeah, we have had a couple beers already, but we are headed to some craft breweries. First up is Shipyard, right?
Yes.
Yes, Shipyard. All right, Shipyard.
It was busy.
And awesome.
It was hot. I had to pull my hair back.
Great beers. 20 beers on tap. Of course, we did 3 of them were the same. Not the same exact ones, but—
A couple fruited ales.
Yes.
The blueberry ale was my favorite.
I liked the pumpkin one. It was a pumpkin wheat. Delicious. They did that cinnamon sugar on the rim. I had never had that until this year, and now all of a sudden I'm doing it every day.
We actually just bought one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Check it out. We got some merch too. All right, we are here with friends again, and we are at the Brickyard Hollow. We did 4 pizzas, all of them kind of unique. This one is capicola, hot honey, and pineapple. This one is This one is peaches, balsamic, and goat cheese. Well, I mean, that one's a bunch of meat. And then this one is mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes and chive and shallots. This looks really good. And having some beers here at the Brickyard Hollow.
Oyster stout. That is good. That's nice.
All right, so we had to rush over and got an oyster shot at the Porthole. And it was a great ender.
It was.
It was like a Bloody Mary, which I thought was gonna be a little bit, a little bit thick, but it was good. And there was a nice fresh oyster on top of it.
Perfect way to end this trip.
It was a great— yeah, today is the final day. Uh, we will probably have a Boston video coming out after this, but if you've enjoyed this one, you should check out the other ones. Anyway, favorite bite of today?
I'm gonna have to go with that super seafood chowder at Gilbert's.
I was gonna do the same thing.
And that— oh God, it was good. I would say in the bread bowl, but even out of the bread bowl, it was good. It was so, so good.
That was so good. And okay, since you took that, I'll go with the Maine lobster roll at Bite Into Maine.
Oh, we love that place.
I thought that one was better. I— maybe, you know, if you're in Maine, you should probably get the Maine style, not the Connecticut.
Yep.
And then best moment of today?
I would have to say there was a time when we were up at the first lighthouse where we were sitting with all of our friends who we've met in the most mysterious way through YouTube. I guess it's no longer mysterious, but it really is. Our paths wouldn't have crossed had it not been for YouTube.
Right.
And we were sitting there with Andy and Simone and Jordan and Ashton overlooking the ocean and the lighthouse, and it was just like a culmination of like This is life. Yeah, this is pretty cool.
It was so cool. Yeah, one couple from Maine, one couple from Missouri, one couple from Wyoming. Yeah, and sitting in Maine eating some lobster and drinking beer and a couple beers.
Yeah, it was just pretty cool.
That was a—
I'm gonna go with that too. Yeah, that was a good one. All right, if you're enjoying our videos, don't forget to hit that like and subscribe.
You can also follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and X. All our links are down below.
And like I said, Boston is probably coming next. But we did it before this. It's really good. Check it out.
