Mareblu

On 6/3/2022 at 6:56 AM, NSWP said:

Glad you enjoyed it.  I am going there Sunday night with my daughter and two grandkids from Moruya. 2 June was my 50th wedding anniversary so a little celebration. I had a solo dinner last night at Ewe and Me, Thunderbird Motel, Yass. Retro motel, but food spot on. Been there before.

Congratulations, Les, on your 50th, and top stars for celebrating.  I am certain beyond all knowledge you were not alone.  Retro motels are all the talking point lately.  They were an exciting destination back in the day...breakfast through the hatch, management's family pets visiting the rooms for a pat and a chat.  So funny, when you look back.  Have a wonderful Sunday evening at Raymond's.  We're back in Canberra now, but we'll definitely be visiting Malua for dinner when we return to the coast.  Speaking of Malua, I think the new Bowling Club's restaurant opens this long weekend...correct?  I don't know what the menu is like, or what the cuisine is.  Anyway, enjoy Raymond's.

Linda

On 6/1/2022 at 11:31 AM, NSWP said:

I am envious, they just reopened Tuesday after 2 week closure re kitchen work being done, new woks lol.

It was their first night open after the two weeks, and it was so busy.  Wonderful to see such a great restaurant so well patronised.  Woks working well😋

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Not seen any. Pieface is no good for me. 

We’re at Raymonds, Les.  Delish, and with a seriously good pinot grigio😋

16 hours ago, NSWP said:

I am Leeton Heritage Motor Inn, Pieface  has an outlet at the servo down the road, i must investigate, I doubt they have gf dogs eyes.

Enjoy your road trip🙂

16 hours ago, NSWP said:

Yes, a few times, called HEAT. In winter they have restricted hours, check their book of faces page. They are good pizzas, I get the gf base of course, i like the diavolo 🍕 pepperoni, 🌶 

Thanks, Les.  Might try them tomorrow.  A relative is a Therapist at the beauty spa next door.  Hope you're fit and well.

Linda

5 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Had some again today, ham and pineapple.

Horses for courses😱

Les, haven't tried the corner pizza place in Batehaven.  Any good?

So, digressing from meat pies:  pizzas?   In Canberra,   Locale, Deakin,   Bentham St. Pizza, Yarralumla,  Agostinis, in East Hotel,  and apparently   Ortopizza, Garran  is also really good.  

4 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Sunday, I bought a steak and mushroom pie and a pork and fennel sausage roll at the HOTA Markets.  The pie was so vile I gave it to the dogs.  Seems I didn't see the "peppered" steak and mushroom pie in the front. I like pepper but not so much that it made the pie uneatable.  The sausage roll was delicious.  They also sold persimmon donuts, which was something different.  I'll stick to My favourite food at the HOTA Markets, which is Japanese.

Are the dogs ok?😉

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Pizza

Pizza pie?

Thanks, it's what I suspected.  Pizza pie is a very American expression, but whatever you want to call it, just never plonk pineapple on it.  That'll start something😉

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Likewise

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Likewise

Okay, now you all have me confused.  I have been cooking Italian cuisine all my married life.  What on earth are Italian pies?

6 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

The plane was fine, but there were a few issues that made it a less-then-pleasant experience. These are not issues that would be repeated, hopefully. They were my husband who wouldn't sit still and who watched movies all night (Gr....), a kid behind me who kept kicking my seat (Gr....), a stewardess who topped up people's small waterbottles from her jug by touching the lip of her jug onto the top of their bottle that had been in their mouth (Ugh.....;.) and a stewardess who skipped our 3 seats when serving breakfast. I stood up when she was around seven row past us and said "Excuse me, we would like some breakfast". Her response was I am just getting to you. Yeah.

 

If they are still just giving out a small bottle of water to each passenger, maybe I would take a larger bottle (empty of course) and fill it up before boarding or on board the plane to avoid the issue that might occur of filling up people's 300ml bottles from a jug.

One of the issues will probably be repeated:  the husband who won't sit still.  I have one of those.  Then again, I tend to read for hours on a plane.

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I went to the bathroom, partially stripped off and tried to wash what I could of the sticky juice off me. When I returned to my seat, I covered it with several layers of the blankets they give out. It was yuck. Then I had another flight before I would be able to have a shower and change of clothes.

What a nightmare.  That little event would've started a fist fight in America😆

10 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Bit slack them running out of bottled water.  Slack Qantas Trolley Dollies, they probably could not be bothered to get you some.

Sure sounds like it, Les.  

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I asked for another bottle of water and was told they had none. I have never before seen water bottles topped up and was stunned when it was done with the pouring spout of the water jug resting on the top edge of the customer's water bottle - time after time. I asked if they had a clean jug and was told "No".

 

I usually get my own water during the flight but this was a night-time flight and I was jammed in between two large men. I couldn't easily get out.

That's appalling.  So much for health security🙄

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Maybe they didn't have much spare water. I seem to recall that there was one small bottle waiting on each seat when we boarded. The flight was full.

 

The stewardess on that flight has to be one of the worst I have encountered. Firstly, filling people's water bottles without regard to hygiene, then forgetting to give us breakfast. Maybe the only other stewardess in the running for the award, was one who spilled two litres of orange juice over me on an international flight. There was a rather perfunctory apology. It was on LATAM.

The whole two litres?   Oh that's unbelievable.  You probably felt like a mouldy orange by the time you landed.

3 hours ago, Porky55 said:

We have just returned from Europe (Amsterdam & Czech Republic) with Singapore Air business return flights - dropped $26k on a pair of lay flat seats 🫣 thankfully a work trip cost 😮‍💨

Thats what happens 10 days out from fly date - usually pay around 12k to 14k with SAL if you buy far enough out, like 10 months. But …… the 26 hour flight is getting harder the older we get - had a delay of 2 hours extra in the middle of the night in Singapore and that made the trip lonnngg!!
 

So  ……… we have decided to bite the bullet and book one way flights on Qantas business class out of Perth for our WC cruise from Dover to Sydney next year. Gonna see if the 17 1/2 hours on a Dreamliner is that much harder than the 14 hours on SAL to Europe 🙄 the reviews are brilliant, we’ll see ……… 🤔
 

 

Last paragraph first:  your adventure from Perth sounds just wonderful...how exciting!  Please let us all know how you find the direct flight on the Dreamliner.  Which cruise line are you sailing back with?

Yes, earlybird bookings are so much better...we usually book 11 months out, but this time SAL were asking over $2K more than Cathay, which is still costing $14.5K (that's for 2, of course).  Qantas wanted, I kid you not, something like $23K.  I can't recall the exact amount, but it was certainly over $20K.  And not Dreamliner direct.   Not looking forward to flying straight to London with only the brief HK changeover, but we have 3 days to recoup before boarding O's Sirena in Portsmouth.  Had we been flying SAL, we would have stayed a few days at our usual Singapore spot.  The good thing about sailing back to Sydney is no jet lag.  We'll hop in a hire car and drive the familiar road to Canberra and be home in no time, or else I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the family waiting at the cruise terminal ready to take us home.  We're so lucky both our son and daughter live close by in Canberra with their families.

9 hours ago, NSWP said:

Qantas have always been expensive, when we did our last trip to UK/Europe in mid 2018, they wanted $9000 each, yep $18,000 for two for a business class return airfare. So we got on board Cathay Pacific - business class return for $11,000 for two, spethial double family deal Sydney to London Heathrow.

Exactly what we're doing this year, Les.  We usually fly Singapore Airlines, we just love their extra touches in business, but this year they were over the top, and nowhere, nowhere near the ridiculous price Qantas wanted.  So we're flying Cathay to London, then sailing back from Barcelona with Cunard.  We actually flew Cathay business  to Vancouver via Hong Kong in 2019, and found the experience very comfortable, with delightful crew and delicious cuisine.  Still  miss SAL though, and loved stopping over a few days in Singapore to break the journey.  Anyhoo, as Mic says, horses for courses.  We'll be very happy to try Cathay again this year.

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

QG on Cunard is very comfortable. As far as wifi goes, it's definitely not their strength. Compose a message before logging in and then post in one go would be my advice.

 

As far as luggage goes, you can send a suitcase or cases on ahead. You could send a case from Australia to be delivered to the ship in Barcelona. I've done that in reverse, sending a case home from a ship in Portsmouth to be delivered to my home in Australia. I can recommend 'Luggage Forward' as a company.

 

Just read your later post and feeling a bit concerned for your 37 days on Cunard when you resent taking a jacket for hubby and some tops to coordinate with trousers for yourself for wearing to dinner. That's a lot of days to be feeling resentful about dressing for dinner! The standard is really not that onerous. Some people really enjoy dressing up and making an ocassion of dinner but as long as you tick the boxes, no-one will send you packing from the dining room.

 

 

Thanks, LittleFish.  We actually enjoy dressing for dinner, so I probably overstated the resentment bit.  It's just that I certainly won't be carting flowing formal gowns....it's transforming to add a string of pearls and drop earrings to dress up simple black attire, and that's what I'll be doing.  I do know, though, that there will be some evenings we would simply enjoy a quiet, elegant dinner in the QG dining room without the very, very, formal attire.  Your suggestion is a good one, thank you.  I'll look into "Luggage Forward".

Linda

1 hour ago, Belinda Van Krevel said:

 

https://www.facebook.com/CruisingwithWheels/posts/488429258286655?__tn__=%2CO*F

 

 

Absolutely hysterical😆

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

We have considered the Haven, but it has slipped by so far.

 

This is one we did break my price guide for, for the equivalent space on Ovation. There are a couple of Ovation vids out there, but this one for Quantum is a better quality - just turn down the sound if you don't like Jimmy Buffet. 

 

 

Thank you for posting...absolutely gorgeous🥰

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

I am with you re dressing up. Went on QM2 in 2017, Sydney - HK. As it was on a world cruise, most pax were Brits, Tuxedo central, I took a blazer for formal night, got a few dirty looks.  I liked the ship, wonderful. But some of the pax were not my style, bit stuck up and too posh for me.  They love their G&T's lol.  One morning in the Britannia Restaurant, we got seated at the breakfast table and some old codger sitting in there in his regimental blazer and tie, reading the Times newspaper - condensed version, comes in over the wire each morning. Dress a bit over the top.  I would do Cunard again, but no formal/black tie nights for me, buffet will do. Does that make me a half bogan or half chav, lol.

 

Thank goodness Holland America, my next cruise, has done away with 'formal nights.' They call them Gala nights now. Tuxedos, suits optional, smart casual, i.e. shirt and trousers will do.  That is me, the latter, lol.

 

This will be fine..

I'm with you both.  We'll pack a dress jacket for him and a few evening tops to mix with evening pants for me, and resent having to do that.  If it was a shorter cruise, we'd skip the formal ("gala" on Cunard) evenings totally, but it's 37 days, and gala evenings are at least once or even twice per week.  I need to check that, but even once per week is too much for us.   What I really see red about is paying a fortune for QG then being forbidden to enter the dining room on gala evenings unless we're bedecked in formal attire.  Himself is not happy at all, particularly about lugging the formal attire all over the world first.  For that reason, and from all reports the woeful wifi, I think we'll enjoy the earlier 14 days on Oceania much more, but time will tell.  Cruises should be relaxing and comfortable.  "Smart casual", as in dinner at your local restaurant or golf club, is perfect for us.

Oops...I meant to say watch this space for November THIS year😞

13 hours ago, lahore said:

 

Oooh, I will be interested if you wouldn't mind reporting on what you think of Cunard.  We have thought about doing what you are doing with the repo cruise, perhaps next year.  Maybe going on it rather than returning.  It's not horribly different from a business class airfare at the moment.

I'll be happy to do that, but judging by reports of Cunard's woeful wifi service, it will be post-cruise.  It's the only consistently negative criticism I've read of Cunard, and that criticism comes from not only newbies to the line, but also from loyal Cunard long-timers.  There's really no reason for such unsatisfactory wifi in this day and age.  People who've formally complained to Cunard all receive the generalised reply that Cunard passengers prefer traditional service, and wifi service is not prioritised on these grounds.  I think that excuse is wearing very thin.  Anyway, apart from that glaring negative, we're open to trying Cunard's more traditional approach to cruising, although carrying the mandatory formal attire for the gala evenings from the other side of the planet is a bit of a burden.  It's apparently either wear the gear, or dine in your suite or the casual buffet.  Your idea of the reverse repositioning cruise is really interesting, but I don't think QE sails from here to Europe, but rather to Vancouver through Asia.  I could be wrong on that one though.  We have always loved the relaxed, yet sophisticated, aura of Seabourn and Silversea, and the similar, yet slightly less expensive, "country club" experience of Oceania.  We have also loved "The Haven" on NCL, but not so much the size of its larger ships with more passengers.  I think QE will be very different, and we'll either love it or leave it.  Watch this space for November next year😉

I meant to add that we love children, so don’t mind cruising with littlies around.  We love Oceania’s superior cuisine, and looking forward very much to trying QG on Cunard.

On 5/21/2022 at 10:29 AM, lahore said:

These days I'd rather go on a more costly small line (e.g., Oceania, Azamara) less frequently, than a 'mass market' line more frequently.  Nothing to do with Covid, more to do with us being anti-social. We don't like children on cruises and we really, really value good food and interesting destinations.  So it's not a per-night question really - some people might cruise three or four times a year on cheaper lines, we might cruise once a year on a line that costs four times as much.    All of us are happy, and that's the main thing.

That’s us in a nutshell.  We prefer once a year or even every two years, in a spacious, well-appointed suite.  We choose Oceania more  often than not, for the same reasons you nominate.  This year is unusual:  a 14 day Oceania on Sirena then after some time in Cornwall and Somerset, we fly to Barcelona to board Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, sailing home to Sydney on its repositioning cruise.  First time on Cunard, so it will be interesting to compare the two cruise lines.