rafinmd

Thank you Rich, Sandi, Eva, Debbie, Dixie, and Ann. A very chilly morning in Maryland with rain likely later today. My brother has been gone for over 2 years and there are no babies I can think of in the family right now. I have no musical talent. Death of a Salesman was a very inspiring play. Interesting point of view by Johnson. I have not been to Takoradi. In 2005 I had a voyage on Blount's Grande Caribe from Duluth to Chicago where we traveled Edmond Fitzgerald's final voyage and now Lightfoot is spiritually with the ship he memorialized. Rest in Peace, I'll pass on the meal. My alternative is Sunset Salad, Broiled New York Striploin, and Apple Streusel Roy

Empress was as I recall mostly quad cabins that were quite cramped. Roy

I assume the "one to Cuba" was the Empress. Vision is much bigger than Empress but is rated for fewer passengers. Things I see on the Vision deck plan that I don't remember on Empress are a Diamond Lounge, Concierge Lounge, Park Cafe, and Giovanni's Table, so a whole lot more to offer than Empress. I much prefer a Centrum to a Royal Promenade. With Centurm events happen on the bottom level and there is ample viewing from the railing on each and every deck almost to the pool deck with great sight lines, while with a Royal Promenade if you are not close to where the action is you hardly see anything. And like Empress, Vision Class Centrum openings are the same size on every deck so you get pretty much the same view no matter how high you go to watch. Roy

Yes, that was quite a strange situation. Roy

Unlike the Vision, Liberty is deadheading to New York so she could leave whenever she was ready. Roy

Great view of the "We Love Alaska" banner. Thanks Leann, Lou & Dave, and fellow addicts. Roy

A very close zoom right now as she ties up. We need to enjoy it while we can before the number of ships gets larger and there's not so much time to spend on one ship. Roy

Very close: Roy

Getting close. Roy

OK, time to stop panning. Roy

Should be arriving any moment now. Roy

I'm thinking Eurodam will be really early today.. Roy

I would guess that the variations are a bit more by port than by ship. I did a B2B on Adventure last year. Here's the process I had then. I doubt if the COVID stuff will still apply but this is likely to be roughly what happens: The meeting point for B2B cruisers was the Imperial Lounge on Deck 5 forward. I went down about 8:30 after seeing that the other groups meeting. There was a nice setup of drinks and pastries waiting for us. A staff member came around checking each of us in. Not sure if it was people or cabins but the number she was looking for was 67. When everybody was accounted for we started with things normally handled in the muster drill including more or less detailed instructions on what to do and a life jacket demonstration. When all was ready we headed down to deck 4 and the gangway. We did not actually need to produce our passports but stopped in front of a facial recognition device to be admitted back into the US. We then congregated in the departure hall and were given our new seapass and in-transit cards. Final stop was a seating area in the departure hall where several crew members came around with tablets to ask the final health questions. I guess they needed to go “by the book” and had to see and scan our vaccination cards. Seems like a bit of overkill since we could not have been on the first leg without being vaccinated but procedure is procedure. When everything was done those who wanted to headed back to the ship while I went out to the port. I chose to go to my car and swap some dirty clothes for clean ones, and I think I would have been required to wait until priority boarding started to get back on, but in any case checked out the port a bit and especially the 9/11 memorial bu the water. When I returned there was a long line for the terminal but I just showed them my sea pass and was just allowed in, and right on to the ship. The corridors are closed until the cabins are ready but they shouldn't be locked, and you should be allowed to go back to your cabin. I switched cabins on that trip. I had to pack up all my bags but was told to leave it in my cabin, and crew moved them to the new cabin. One more thing. When I arrived at the port the garage was "full" but when I told them I was on a B2B and got to the overflow lot they told me to go back to the garage, explain the situation and was given a perfect spot in the garage. Roy

Graham, your first photo is my next ship. Roy

This is the port street address: 200 De la Commune Street West. I believe Old Montreal is immediately upstream from the dock, right next door. If you have the hotel address google maps should be able to give you the precise distance and ways to travel. Roy

Once your bags are dropped off with the porters would it make sense to grab a taxi or Uber somewhere in town and maybe lunch until it is time to board in a civilized manner? Roy

Today's sunrise is from my 2019 Nieuw Statendam transatlantic. May 1 was a sea day from the Ponta Delgada to Cherbourg: Roy

Today's sunrise is from my 2019 Nieuw Statendam transatlantic. May 1 was a sea day from the Ponta Delgada to Cherbourg: Roy

I was curious about Gladstone. It's apparently a very seldom visited port, showing once on cruisetimetables, Brilliance of the seas on February 24. It's pretty far north. Whatsinport suggests they have a new cruise terminal, I can't verify that and if so it may well be a white elephant but the primary attraction appears to be the Great Barrier Reef. Roy

I was curious about "Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit" and it was first broached by @KirkNC and explained by @Mr. Boston May 1, 2021 so today is the second anniversary here. Special hugs to @kazutoday. Roy

Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit. Thank you Rich, Sandi, Eva, Ann, Debbie, and Dixie. @grapau27 is Scotland still thinking about staying in the union? I haven't really thought about Mother Goose for decades. Funny quote. Leis are nice. I haven't been to Gladstone. Loyalty is nice but integrity and kindness are more important. The chicken parm sounds nice but I don't have an air fryer. My alternative is Apple Pear, and Cucumber Salad, Surf & Turf (just turf for me) and Almond and Orange Cake as served on MS Nieuw Statendam May 1, 2019: Roy

Your new ride is here: Roy

It was a very successful morning. I had moderate rain as I left for church but not enough to be a real problem. The young boy was only 8 years old but led much of the service, liturgy bible passages, and prayers with dignity and confidence. The award was presented by the Cubmaster and Committee Chair with a reception afterwards. Fortunately there was no rain as I returned home, so the morning went very smoothly. While the afternoon was not stormy every time I looked outside there was a drizzle, so my entire walk for the day was house to car to church and back. Roy

While I love Cunard as well, the one thing that would dissuade me from Cunard to Alaska is the lack of a covered pool. A great place for scenic cruising in comfort. Roy

Sadly, I will mostly miss Monday sail-ins as I have a church meeting (ZOOM) at 4 most Mondays. The ships are often about an hour early in Juneau so I may catch just a glimpse of her before the meeting. This will be a good one as there are only 2 ships. Often we get only a brief view of the BHB if they are at CT dock and another ship comes in and takes the AS dock, blocking our view.. Roy