Jasperdo

The Panama Canal Transit Certificates were a nice surprise when we returned to our cabin after a full transit. We framed them and mine is hung up next to my computer. Norris, on your next Panama Canal cruise, try and do a full transit through the old locks, with a day in Panama City. It was definitely the highlight of my 18 cruises.

John

Enjoying your Cartagena photos. Cartagena is one of my favorite sail in ports. Two old forts flanking the entrance to the harbor, and the skyline as you approach the dock. We spent the day wandering around Old Cartagena, which is fabulous. 

58 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

The driver of bus #34 is Andre and Stephanie is the personable guide who will keep up a non-stop stream of Ocho Rios info. I am staring outa side window taking iPhone pics of drizzly life on the town's streets- I can't say it is a city, let's go with town.

Norris's legendary from the bus photos. Loving it!

Sorry I'm a bit late for the party this time, Norris. Just wanted to let you know I finally boarded. Now I need to go get caught up.

John

As always, thanks for the extremely entertaining GSJ. I doubt if I'll ever get to Iceland, and your photos and commentary were the next best thing. And I'm glad that you're out of the hospital and feeling better. See you in January onboard the Ruby Princess, one of my favorite ships.

So happy to hear you are out of sick bay. Time to get out on deck and smell the ocean air.

5 hours ago, nikel said:

Am I correct to assume you are still n Amsterdam and in a hospital there?

I am not Carol, and I hope she corrects me if I'm wrong. But Norris doesn't usually do a traditional "Live from..." type thread. He starts it once they get home, so he can leisurely tell the story at a nice pace. Most of his Gentleman's Seafarers Journals take upwards to 2 months to complete.

Get well soon, Norris. It's almost sailway time, and I'm holding a spot for you along the railing.

You outdid yourself with the bus photos from Kent! They were amazing. The last time we were in London, in 2007, we took a bus tour to Kent that went to Canterbury, Leeds Castle and Dover. You photos reminded me of that day.

Love that Heritage Marker on your old home. Classic!

51 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

He's Billy and the one on the right in this photo.

You forgot to mention who the bloke on the left was;-)

53 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!

On 6/29/2023 at 7:30 AM, Bimmer09 said:

My mother usually writes me a note to get me out of a jam but she has declined to defend my 9 minute video of a 6 hour excursion.

It's hard to shoot video when you don't know where you are going and what happens next.

I like to include road signs in a foreign language but they fly past the window

Nothing to apologize for. I know how difficult it is to take videos and pictures from a moving tour bus. Just as you're ready to get the perfect shot a line of trees go whizzing by. Your video had some terrific shots. I enjoyed it tremendously.

16 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Bus window shots are dedicated to Jasperdo who likes the see the non-touristy stuff, as do I

Thanks for the excellent video. When traveling in a foreign country I'm just as fascinated by gas stations, road signs and grocery stores as I am by waterfalls. I'm strange that way.

Loved your sailing into and sailaway photos of  Akureyri. I would have been glued to the deck railing the whole time. Stunning scenery!

Hi Norris and Carol,

I haven't been on CC in quite awhile, but I happened to notice some new photos from Amsterdam that you posted on Flickr. So I figured there was a new Gentleman's Journal to enjoy. I haven't had a chance to catch up on it yet. Just wanted to let you know I'm along for the ride.

John

One of the things I don't like about the ship's shore excursions is that they almost always go to a "kick back" store. But I put up with that because the rest of the tour is usually quite interesting. In La Paz we didn't take a shore excursion, though. We just took the free shuttle that went to the downtown bus depot and explored on our own.

Great shots of Loreto from the ship. I still remember going out on deck the morning we anchored there, and being awed by the view in front of me. You captured it well.

6 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

We crossed over a river to get to it but have no idea of the name.

Norris

That would be the Rio Cuale. It divides old Puerto Vallarta in half. I went and looked at my trip photos. We had lunch at Canto del Mar, which according to Google maps is about a block from The Blue Shrimp. We had a limited menu, since we were on a Princess shore excursion, but we still enjoyed it and loved the beach front vibe.

I'm enjoying your Puerto Vallarta photos. We always visit Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and stroll the Malecon when we're in Puerto Vallarta. Your lunch place looks similar to one we had lunch at last time we were in town. Was this place south of the Rio Cuale?

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

As we were eating dessert we could feel the ship move and as we had a window table could see harbor lights pass by. Sailaway was 5 hours late, something I usually record on video. A key cruising moment taken from me. I shed a silent tear. Oh the Humanity!

Oh, no! You missed a sailaway! I feel your pain.

Hola Norris and Carol,

I was just looking at my Flickr site and noticed some new photos from you. On closer examination, I saw that they were alluding to a Princess cruise down to the Mexican Riviera. Which led me immediately to the Princess thread here on CC. And low and behold, what did Santa bring me? A brand new Gentleman's Seafarer Journal! I'm more than ready to sit back and enjoy another of your epic reviews. We haven't cruised in over 3 and a half years now. Your review will be most welcome.

I'm especially excited that's it's a 10 day Sea of Cortez cruise. We took one of these back in 2016 and really enjoyed it, especially Loreto. Thanks for brightening up my day.

John

6 hours ago, nini said:

We are hoping that Canada will follow suit with the states as California and Oregon are lifting the mask requirement as of March 31st. I am hoping Washington will also follow.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan said yesterday that BC will be keeping all their Covid restrictions in place for a while longer. And Washington Governor Jay Inslee just announced this afternoon that the indoor mask mandate will remain in place until at least next week. Hopefully by the time cruises from the Pacific Northwest resume the situation will be a lot better.

I just want to add that currently to enter Canada you need to fill out the ArriveCan app with your vaccination and Covid test info before you arrive at the border. Don't know if they'll still require it in May, but right now it is a requirement.

8 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

A week in Paris??!!

The closest I have  come to Paris is seeing the word on a road sign in 2003 when I wandered into France in my new car for 15 minutes. 

A week in Paris isn't even enough time to fully enjoy it. One amazing site after another. I'm a big transit geek and had a blast getting around on the Metro. And just getting on a city bus and seeing where it takes us. The Louvre is an incredible museum. My wife's not a big art museum fan, but she insisted we go to the Louvre both times we were in Paris. We like staying in the Left Bank. It has a wonderful "I am in Paris!" vibe to it. And more outdoor cafes than you can count. You'd love it there.

On 11/18/2021 at 2:30 PM, Bimmer09 said:

 

Thanks John, the important thing is they got you driving around France and enjoying the beauty there. You are one up on me! How long did you tour?

Norris, envious

We did two road trips around France, one in 2002 and again in 2007. Both trips began with a week in Paris. The 2002 road trip was for 7 nights and concentrated on Normandy and Brittany. The 2007 road trip was for 10 days. We stayed in 3 hub towns, Colmar for Alsace; Annecy for the French Alps; and Arles for Provence. We did day trip excursions into Germany and Switzerland as well. They were a great deal of fun, and rank up there with the Alaska Highway as our favorite road trips.