Mareblu

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

Try the Arnotts Chocolate Obsessions. They actually have decent chocolate on them. Four types - dark, milk, salted caramel, mint. They are very rich. I love a dark one with an espresso.

Stop it! 😋

Just now, Bubbeh said:

Oh God yes and and anything salted caramel.  Oh be still my expanding waist, hips and thighs.

And triple ditto to that!!!!

1 minute ago, Bubbeh said:

Oh ditto, and there's always the good old Scotch Finger. Yummy.

Double ditto, and I simply love Chocolate Wheatens.  Richer chocolate, balanced by the slightly salty crispiness of the biscuit itself.

This is very exciting news.  I do wish we had a visual image.  Cue Delusions of Grandeur Naysayers😉

5 hours ago, basor said:

We are talking about VISTA and there are no PH on Deck 12 on VISTA - Concierge Verandah, Vista Suites and Oceania Suites....

Yes, I'm certainly aware the topic is Vista.  We are actually on Deck 11;  my oversight.  Hopefully, there will be no noise intrustion on Deck 11 either.

4 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm still trying to digest the news in Formula 1 that Lewis Hamilton will be moving to Ferrari next season. I'm not sure what to make of that. Of course I thought he was crazy when he left McLaren for Mercedes, that worked out pretty well for him. Wouldn't it be ironic if he surpassed Michael Schumacher in a red car.

Good move for him.  It will be strange to see him in that stable, though.

21 hours ago, basor said:

We had a cabin on Deck 12 - cabins on both sides and didn't hear a peep....and so close to everything!!!

Pleased to hear that, thank you.  We are in a PH1 on Deck 12 in April.

12 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Though one notes that prior to SM, no one had to do any OLife. We didn't. There was a "cruise only option". SM eliminated that choice. I prefer more to fewer choices when it comes to purchase options. BUT O continues to have SALE after SALE after SALE. Having one going on right now. I'd bet it will be replaced on 2/1/24 with another? Maybe the Presidents' Day Sale? I booked my very first cruise ever off that from O in 2021. And it is "fun" to save the brochures and right down the prices for your cruise during each sale, comparing sales as they come along.

🙄

When we were newlyweds and just moved into our first Canberra home, our next door neighbour was Scottish.  I had no idea of my substantial Scottish heritage at that stage, only a  vague knowledge that my great grandparents had arrived here from the Highlands in the mid 1800s.  We were out to dinner years later with one of Mario’s business associates.  His accent was so broad, and when I admired the different rolls of his speech, he said I’d never guess his home town.  He was astonished when i replied, “Broughty Ferry”.  His brogue was identical to our neighbour’s.   I can pick the subtle differences in Scottish speech, and I have no idea how.  Genetic memory?🤷🏻‍♀️

49 minutes ago, qbay46 said:

For those golfers out there, a couple of pics of this towns golf course and club house

Love it🙏🏻

Is it The Lion’s Den just out of Cooktown?

Thank you, Julie:  absorbing, detailed episodes.  We loved Cunard, and agree not everything, every day, is perfect, but our experience was close to it.  We loved the Grills Lounge, and if we weren’t at presentation lectures or strolling around, spent sea days reading, doing crosswords and chatting with lovely people in the Lounge.   Our Q3 penthouse had a spacious walk-in shower.  We’ve both had knee replacements, so that worked well for us.

4 minutes ago, qbay46 said:

Not that pub

The Gully Pub?

Tea Gully Pub, Tea Trea Gully, SA?

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

My attempt at a 20's look!

 

Perfect!

13 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Day 6 - Hobart.

 

Finally we've managed to be in Hobart on a Saturday again and it's not raining this time. Of course Saturday is Salamander Market day!

 

I didn't feel like much breakfast, I was still recovering from dinner, so just had berries and toast. Thank goodness they had Vegemite which, to me, is the perfect tummy settler. They had quite a nice multi-grain bread but it was a bit over-toasted. Still, it went OK with lots of butter and Vegemite. 

 

After breakfast we got our wallets out of our safe and head off to the markets. It's a very pleasant walk to them. First we went past a whole lot of new restaurants that had opened in the ground level of a hotel that I think opened just before or just after the pandemic. Unfortunately none of them had their menus on display on the wharf-side walkway but some looked interesting. We hit the markets around the mid-point and turned left. They have grown immensely since we last went there in 2015. There was some great stuff for sale but we managed to get around half the market without being tempted. Then we broke off into a lovely plaza for a comfort break and refreshments at a cafe where we could sit down for a while. I had a fairly nice iced latte although given the size of the glass it was served in it really needed a double shot  of coffee as it only had a very mild coffee flavour. Still, it was refreshing. 

 

We headed back to the market and carried on from where we'd left off for our break. We spotted a stand that had some very interesting gins and liqueurs. I tasted the raspberry gin and really liked it, also the coffee liqueur, and the citrus liqueur which is made as a byproduct of their gin process. We bought those three but passed on the gin made from Carolina Reaper chillies! They wisely didn't offer tastings of that one but did have a milder chilli gin to taste.

 

A bit further along I spotted a stand that had some interesting earrings. Dangles made of coloured metal in various shapes so I bought three pairs - different colours and different shapes on each pair.

 

We made it to the upper end of then started back down the other side. I spotted a truffle stand - the truffle products brand of the truffle farm we'd passed on the Burnie excursion. They had truffle mustard so I bought some. I used to get truffle mustard years ago but it became harder to find so I haven't had any for ages. 

 

We eventually made it back to our starting point and it was definitely time for lunch. I recalled going to a really nice fish restaurant nearby in 2019. Blue Eye Fish had survived the pandemic so we went there. Oops, big mistake, there goes the budget again! They had local crayfish (lobster) on the menu, offered two ways - one hot in a Thermidor sauce, the other cold with a seafood sauce. Oh oh! I love cold lobster. It always tastes far nicer to me just boiled and chilled. And it was perfect. The nicest and freshest crayfish I've had since 2007 - that time it was from Nins Bins just north of Kaikoura in NZ and had just been caught and cooked. This one must have been just caught and cooked immediately too as the leg meat came out perfectly cleanly - that's a good test of how fresh a crayfish is. BTW it's interesting how Tasmania, Victoria and NZ all call them crayfish although they are actually rock lobsters. Luckily it was a reasonable walk back to the ship as we need to walk off that beautiful lunch. Rolf is going to have to lock me in our cabin on our upcoming Virgin cruise otherwise I'll be heading straight back to Blue Eye Fish hoping to encounter some more crayfish. 🤣

 

Tonight was the second Gala night with a Roaring 20s theme. I had gone through my kaftan collection and found one that had a vague art deco pattern in blues, turquoise, and purples. I found a sparkly headband on Amazon, then took my dress to Spotlight where I found a feather boa that was an exact match for one of the blues, and some feathers that matched the turquoise and purples. I modified the headband removing the white ribbons that came with it and replacing them with clear plastic elastic so I could hide it under my hair. Then I stuck some feathers behind the main piece of the headband. I was very pleased with the way it came out. Rolf wore his blue dinner jacket which wasn’t strictly 20’s attire but toned well with my outfit. Unfortunately we missed sailaway as we were showering and changing. It always takes a little longer on formal nights.

 

With this attire what else could we have as our predinner cocktail but a martini. Cunard have lovely Riedel martini glasses, a bit bigger than a standard martini glass but much easier to drink from as it has a slightly curved rim so the martini doesn't slosh over it. 

 

I have completely forgotten what we had as an appetiser. It was off the always available list and we chose it because it sounded nice and light. We followed that with a consomme Royale which was (barely) truffle scented and very enjoyable. We chose venison from the always available list and that was delicious as well. I decided to try the chilled cinnamon rice pudding but our wonderful waiter had me sussed by now and also served me the iced Grand Marnier parfait with an orange and olive oil cake. The rice pudding was nice but the parfait/cake was superb.

 

We finally made it to one of the shows. This one was Palladium, inspired by the London Palladium show. The performers were excellent and there were some very beautiful dance routines. It was one of the best cruise ship shows we've ever seen. After the show we headed up intending to finish off the night in the Commodore's Club but ended up watching some karaoke instead. A couple of the singers were amazing. Thank goodness we had a sea day as it was after midnight when we got back to our cabin.

Another marvellous review, Julie.  Thank you.

10 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Good point but I don't think it's the only reason.

 

Of course, realistically we only have a limited number of possible itineraries, most of which involve some sea days. The Australian ports are few and far between. NZ has a good selection of ports but getting there and back either involves too many sea days or a one way flight and cruise.

Yes. I agree with those observations as well.

6 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks @Snaefell3

We are booked on a Grand Voyage which is also sold as two segments.

When it mentions "length of cruise" does that actually mean length of each segment, as opposed to the length of the Grand Voyage booking ?

Good question.  I’m also curious.

21 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005477653-How-many-dining-reservations-am-I-allowed-in-each-specialty-restaurant

Thank you, had already found this link.  However, it’s almost six years old, and Vista is a new arrival on the scene.  I have made one reservation in each restaurant for them as our guests, all of us assuming they had an allowance of one per restaurant.  The reasons I’m  seeking guidance is because their online a/c is telling them they are entitled to another four reservations.

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They might come back in a few more years. With Melbourne seemingly out of action and Sydney desperately needing another cruise terminal east of the bridge they may have decided it's not worth it at the moment. Still, I guess they are able to keep their ships filled without Aussies onboard. Maybe we're too casual for Cunard? 🤔🙄🤣

I think the real reason is the stringent bio-foul inspection requirements for iconic spots in NZ waters.  Cunard apparently attends to QE's hull cleaning after the Aust/NZ season, so wouldn't want to attend to it before as well.  

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Grilled octopus done properly is delicious. It's a fairly neutral-flavoured seafood so relies on extra flavour from the grilling and saucing. 

Grilled octopus, when marinated and cooked to "al dente" tenderness, is exquisite.  No different to calamari.  My father was a keen fisherman, and when first spotting calamari (octopus, after all) on a menu, he declared that it should only be used for bait.  After he tried some of my dish, he never looked back, and ordered it whenever he could.  Old perceptions and biases die hard.

4 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm trying to figure out how we can wangle another cruise on one of the Queens. There is a possibility we might go to Europe next year to do a Spain Intensive cruise on Azamara and there is a cruise on Queen Victoria that looks tempting and which might fit in with our plans. I haven't really started planning that trip yet though.

Queen Victoria, being identical to Elizabeth, would be wonderful.  It's a great sadness that Cunard will no longer be doing an Australian/New Zealand season, although I suppose there is not the variety of itineraries that the northern hemisphere offers, so Cunard would be aware there would be fewer return guests.

We are in a PH1 for a 20-day Vista voyage this year, and have made our 8 permitted specialty dining reservations (2 in each restaurant).  Our friends are in a Concierge A1 for the same voyage.  When they are able to complete their online booking, does anyone have an idea of the number of reservations they will be able to make?

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

I cannot handle tennis. Cricket and golf for me, always. But rain at the Gabba, so doubt any play today.

Love watching both, but also tennis at the elite level, especially when following a particular player.  Hoping young Jannik Sinner prevails tonight.  

Oh Julie, thank you!  I'm having a nostalgia attack.  We were on QE exactly a year ago, for her 3-weeks voyage from Sydney to NZ return, then Sydney to Hobart return.  We were very fortunate to be in a Queens Grills penthouse, courtesy of the cruise credits granted when we were denied boarding QE in Barcelona in October 22 for her repositioning voyage to Sydney. 

We loved every minute of this Cunard experience, and for a gift that just keeps on giving, we were again granted substantial cruise credits for this voyage, because QE was denied entry to sensitive NZ areas (fjiords, Bay of Islands, Dunedin, etc.) because her hull didn't pass muster.  We loved our first Cunard experience so much that we've used the credits for Cunard's new Queen Anne in May this year (2 weeks around the British Isles).  We'll be in Queens Grills again, because the credits granted amounted to half the cost of the Aus/NZ cruise, and we only have a small amount to pay on top. 

The service, attention to detail, lectures and entertainment were marvellous, and the cuisine in QG was sublime.  Two dinner menus are presented each evening, mostly traditional and classic. Nothing was too much trouble, and special dinner treats could be ordered at breakfast or lunch for that evening:  caviar, lobster, duck a l'orange, chateaubriand, beef wellington and many other exotic dishes were offered as special orders, many cooked and presented tableside.  It was like stepping into a golden age for our time aboard. 

Our QA voyage in May will be only her 3rd sailing, so we're fervently hoping her delivery and official launch in Southampton is not delayed.