jpalbny

They were fine when we flew through earlier this month. Made it from 2E to 2F at CDG, with passport control and security, in 30 minutes. AMS was also pretty relaxed. No long lines and there were plenty of seats in the lounge. Of course the summer tourist season is just beginning... and some dummy is flying out tomorrow, to Peru, during July 4th weekend. What was I thinking? I'm solidly in the "I have people for that" camp. The markets are nuts and defy logic.

Have a great trip!

In all seriousness, I know about it because it was used as a treatment for asthma. We lung doctors need to know these things!

You mean, your ex-wife?

Gee, they are all interesting. We visited all 3 on our Danube cruise in 2016. Durnstein is tiny. There is a bone vault in the cemetery, a small town with a few streets that you can wander through quickly, and Richard the Lionheart's castle a bit of a climb above town. Melk is the famous Abbey which is definitely worth a look. The town is small but pretty. There is a small wooded area nearby where you can do a short "hike" on your way back to the ship. Linz is bigger. You could spend a whole day here and not see everything. There's an opera house a bit out of town, the church with the "hermit tower" and a fairly large museum too. Kepler lived there for a time so there's a monument to him. And across the river there's a cool railroad that climbs a hill to a church (Postlingberg), which we didn't have time to see. My trip report has pictures and other details from all three of these stops which might help you get an idea of what there is to see and do in each. Durnstein starts on page 5, post #115 and then we go to Melk and finally Linz.

Nanortolik! This town was our very first time stepping onto Greenland, 15 years ago. We wandered out of town trying to find a path up the mountain and ended up circumnavigating the thing without ever finding a way up... Enjoy!

I prefer Datura stramonium myself. Perfect for asthma...and whatever else ails you!

Same here; even in my tiny little rural school in Upstate New York, the Diary of Anne Frank was required reading in English class. So it was a no-brainer for us to visit the house in Amsterdam. And it was moving for sure. The Trapp Family Lodge is an easy trip from Albany. Had dinner there last year, with our friends who have a cottage near Stowe.

That is the best news I've had all day! Looking forward to a Greenland expedition through your reports.

For informal, a jacket is expected. Whether it's strictly enforced is a different matter which can vary. Plan on wearing one. You don't need one for casual nights though. Your description (slacks and an open collared shirt) fits with casual. However it's more complicated than that. Even on formal night, not every venue is formal. There is always a place where you can eat in casual attire. For example, the Grill (Hot Rocks) and Spaccanapoli are always casual, so you wouldn't need a jacket there. Also, La Terraza, Silver Note, and Kaiseki are always "one down" from the evening's dress code (i.e., casual when it's "informal" night' informal on "formal" night). So on Spirit, only La Dame, Atlantide, and Indochine are formal on formal night, informal on informal night, etc. Everywhere else is at least one down from that. RE: wine, the complimentary pours are not "fine wines" but they are perfectly ok for everyday wines. They might retail for $10-20 here. You will find plenty of crisp whites. Australian reds are common enough though I don't remember too many on this last cruise (earlier this month on Silver Wind). There were more reds from Chile than anywhere else. However, do take a look at the wine list (Connoisseur's list) and talk to the sommelier about your preferences. IME all you have to do is buy ONE bottle early on in the cruise and then the sommelier will always keep an eye on you and will make sure that you get whatever you want from the included wines. That's what we did last cruise - bought a bottle on day 3 (and again on the last night), but during the interval in between we got all sorts of attention to make sure that the wines were meeting our expectations. We got to try all sorts of different Pinot Noirs that he was hiding away. Enjoy your cruise!

Agree! We have really enjoyed our two with them and are looking for #3.

Have investigated a Douro cruise and decided against it, for the reasons you detailed above. We planned a DIY driving trip instead and it was one of the most fun trips we've had in years. Except for driving in Porto itself which is a nightmare, but I digress. There is so much more to do in Portugal than a Douro cruise can possibly offer.

We booked our first GTY ever on a WC segment for January 2025. I expect it to be assigned some time after I get on the plane to Hong Kong.

We must have had the expedition discount, at 80 points per shirt?

For dinner, yes. Not for the lunch buffet.

Have not been on Muse but the options on Spirit should be similar. There are a few outdoor tables at La Terrazza (breakfast/lunch buffet and Italian restaurant for dinner) located on the aft of the ship. Very nice but very popular in fine weather. The Grill is somewhat outdoors. Lunch food w/ burgers, hot dogs, other choices. Dinner is called "Hot Rocks" and yes most of us are OK with cooking our own main course but rumor has it that they will cook it for you if you ask (have never tried it). You theoretically need reservations for dinner at Hot Rocks but they will probably accommodate you as a walk-in if there is room. My experience on Cloud/Wind is that the grill is outdoors with a bit of shelter, but on Spirit it was fairly enclosed so not totally an "outdoor" experience. Spaccanapoli (pizza place) is on-deck and open for lunch and dinner. I guess you could make a dinner reservation there if you want to. Am I forgetting something?

Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your kids!

Go to this website: https://silversea.shiptoshoretraveler.com/parkaorder2 and see if your voyage is listed there, in the first drop-down box labeled "departure information" If your cruise is listed, then you get a parka. If not, you don't. Right now they only are listing 2023 voyages so if yours is 2024, see if there is a similar itinerary for 2023. Otherwise, wait until the 2024 voyages are listed on the site and you'll know for sure. As I see it now, the June 25 2023 Silver Cloud voyage departing Reykjavik for Greenland IS included, and DOES provide a parka. So if your cruise is similar, you will probably get a parka. FYI we did get a parka when we did a circumnavigation of Iceland but that was 2019. I don't see that voyage on offer for this year, so not sure whether that still applies now. Back to your regularly scheduled trip report!

What a coincidence! We will embark on Cloud on June 9th. I didn't realize that it was the first voyage of the season. Hope we have a chance to meet up!

I picked up a home PCI kit at Hearts'R'us. And we started our diet yesterday. Your journey home sounded like quite an adventure! And that windstorm was not exactly the kind of welcome home I'd be looking for. Our journey home was relatively easy but not without some minor annoyances. We slept in and went to breakfast only to find that it wasn't included on day #2 (different reservation), even though the person who checked us in had told us it was. No big deal as we weren't crazy about it, so we just had a coffee in the room. The Hamburg airport website had made a point of saying to arrive 3h prior to you flight so we got the S1 train, from the station about 2 blocks from the hotel, which goes directly to the airport. You just have to know that the train splits one stop ahead of the airport and the first half goes to the airport - the second half goes elsewhere. Luckily I had figured that out ahead of time and we were in the right group of cars. So we got to Hamburg airport about 9:30 for our 12:15 flight - and a guy guarding the lines at the KLM/AF counters would not let us get in the check-in line! "Amsterdam? No!! Come back in 45 minutes!" So that was a waste of time. We went up to the 3rd floor and hung out on the open-air deck of the McCafe to catch some fresh air, such as it was. Back down around 10:10 and he let us into the Sky Priority line. Phew! The line was initially moving very slowly and we finally figured out that the AF Paris-bound flight ahead of us was canceled, so the agents were taking a long time to get that straightened out. Once we got to the desk, the agent asked us, "Paris or Amsterdam?" and was very relieved to know that we were going to Amsterdam. We were checked in quickly and headed to security. And @Stumblefoot, we checked our suitcases! Reason being is that we had too many liquids to fit into a 1qt bag. No line at security though they selected Chris's backpack for a random swabbing. To the lounge where initially the food offerings were skimpy but they brought out the sausages and potato salad around 11:00 so we were happy. To the gate around 11:45, boarded quickly, and out a few minutes early. We arrived in AMS early, but had to be bussed to the terminal. That turned out OK since we were let off past security, and close to where we had to go through passport control to exit Schengen. Less than 5 minutes wait there, and we headed to the KLM lounge. It had been a while since we were last at the non-Schengen KLM lounge and it's been totally redone. It was quite nice, with multiple levels, a sky deck where you can sit outdoors, and multiple "zones" that divide up the cavernous space to make it seem smaller and more intimate. Unfortunately the restaurant and bar upstairs serve pretty much everything for an upcharge so we looked at the menu and left. Downstairs, the free food selection was limited but enough to get us by until our flight. We headed to our gate around the time that boarding was supposed to start and as we approached, they put up the signs to guide you to the correct line for your zone. So we were first in line, and first on the plane after pre-boarding. That got us enough time for a glass of Champagne and a refill! We left on time and the flight was uneventful. Meals were nice and I enjoyed the mini-rijsttafel for dinner, though the snack before landing was a weird "hamburger" that wasn't any better than the Silver Wind's version. Landed in Boston, and to the gate on time. Global Entry was absolute chaos though and it took at least 15 minutes to get through. Then we waited another 25 minutes for bags as the "priority" tags came out way later than other bags. This is why I hate checking bags... We got to the bus stop and waited about 15 minutes for the bus to Framingham which wasn't bad, and with minimal traffic on a Sunday night, we were at the parking lot by 8:00. We started out at 8:10 and I drove the whole way somehow. Chris stayed awake most of the way to make sure I didn't fall asleep. We rolled into our driveway at 10:20, exhausted, and went straight to bed. Luckily the 19th was a holiday so we didn't have to go back to work until today! Until next time! (June 2024, The Kimberly) - signing off. And I'm making hamburgers for dinner! The real kind, with ground beef, no fillers, and grilled to medium-rare perfection.

Finally have time to catch up on your thread and I'm really enjoying it! Like RachelG, we too just got off Silver Wind on Friday and we are in full-blown withdrawal (from the cruise, that is). Thanks for helping out with this trip report. Our friends (from the Toronto area) are also on this cruise so if you see Bill and Luisa please say hi! The prize points aren't worth a ton unfortunately. We played trivia every day and accumulated a boatload of points on the Wind. I remember that a T-Shirt was 80 points. There were a bunch of other things that were available for less than that but nothing that really excited us. Anything less than 10 points will just get you a SS pen. Sorry I can't remember more details. RE: Antarctica, we've done once with a veranda and once without. It's one of those things that probably comes down to personal preference. If you're used to having one than it may be difficult to go without. And it's convenient for a quick photo, or a quick burst of fresh air without the trouble of going out on deck. But it's unlikely that you'll spend hours using it. I am encouraged that your burger on Cloud was good. We've always been OK w/ the burgers at the grill on other SS ships, but we agree with Rachel that the one on Wind last week was awful. So thanks for letting us know that it's not a fleet-wide problem. I hope the rest of your cruise continues to be as much fun as you're having so far!

But how are you faring at trivia? 🤣 We miss you, and wish we could have stayed on. We're in Amsterdam now, on the plane, almost ready to go.

Saturday June 17th. Extra day in Hamburg. Turns out that we have done most of what we wanted to do already. But that won't stop us from running ourselves ragged. We were up early and at breakfast by 7:30 since we'd bought entry tickets for Miniature Wunderland for 8:30. We were greeted at the empty breakfast room, by a serious fellow who asked if we'd made a reservation... No (seriously, for breakfast)? Fine... room number? OK we have a table for you... It was OK but glad it's included. Then we went to see the Miniature Wunderland. It was even better than we'd expected! Lots of German, Swiss, and Austrian landscapes. This view of Neuschwanstein is familiar but the background looks different! They had tons of model train stations, and a huge airport where planes landed and took off. Saw the Concorde too! Plenty of other places modeled there as well. The Arctic Cathedral in Tromso was familiar. And Antarctica too! We spent about two hours there, and could have stayed longer. But we had to get to the hotel to change the keys. A little line ahead of us with some former shipmates checking out. Then the desk agent informed us that she can't find our reservation. I showed her the email confirmation and explained that we'd already checked in yesterday with your colleague (at the next desk) so we had to wait for that person to fix it...which she did easily. A few kinks to work out here I guess. We looked for more to do and found a walk out in the hinterlands. So I got Metro tickets on my HVV app, and off we went. We started off along a stream which gradually widened into a canal. We saw other odd sights too. At one point a railroad bridge for the U-Bahn crossed the canal. We walked under and saw a rowdy bunch of shirtless men up to something... Drinking was definitely involved! As we continued onward, I looked back to see what they were up to... And I caught an eyeful. A naked man had scaled the bridge, and as I watched incredulously, he leaped off and did a rather impressive backflip into the water below! No pictures, but it did happen! Instead, as we continued, the canal widened into a lake. We made it to the shore of the Aussenalster. Three men in a (small) boat awaited. And more beautiful views. We walked the shore of Aussenalster until we finally turned inland, looking for lunch. Found a street where every other building was a restaurant, and settled on an Italian wine bar. I had Spargel with a delicious schnitzel, and Chris had asparagus risotto with ham. We tried a white blend from a favorite Alto Adige winery, Hoffstäter, which was very nice. We headed home to rest our feet. Then out to the Rathaus for some distorted pictures. It's just impossible! We'd kicked our list and then some. So we decided to try the Elbtunnel again. As we approached, the weather got a little intense. Through the tunnel - it's a really nice walk. Unfortunately when we exited the other side, it was pouring! We waited a bit but it got even stronger, so we decided to bail. We walked back through the tunnel. Of course, the sun was out again when we got back. Crazy weather! For dinner we went to a place a block away from the hotel. We had a Flammekuchen and a meat & cheese tray. And here we thought that we'd start eating light. One of those containers was pure lard! As if the butter isn't fatty enough. We walked home in the beautiful late summer light. Only 23000 steps today. We are slipping. Good thing we fly home tomorrow!

Friday June 16th, Hamburg part two. We walked to Binnenalster and grabbed a table at a busy place for lunch. The drinks arrived quickly and for a moment I thought we were back on SS. The food was fast too, and tasty. I had currywurst and Chris had a schnitzel. But all comparisons to SS evaporated when they asked us to pay for the food and drink! So we walked around the Binnenalster admiring the views. The Rathaus looks nice from this distance. On the lake, a Greylag Goose. From the far side of the Binnenalster, the spires of Hamburg make a nice reflection. Now it was after 14:00 so in theory our rooms would be ready. So we headed back to check in. We knew it would be complicated because our TA had reserved a second night for us, independently of the SS reservation. But the agent found it and we checked in for both. We just had to come back before 11AM tomorrow to reprogram the keys. It took a while to find our backpacks. We had to look in four different rooms! Finally we found them in the first room. We were taken to the suite and told that our larger bags would be delivered soon. So we waited... After about 45 minutes, we went to the front desk to inquire. "Did you go to the luggage room to identify them?" No, we weren't asked to... So a trip to the basement to yet another room find our bags, which were there. We got the prize for having the smallest bags, so we got to bring them to the suite ourselves. Which was fine with us. Now we headed down to the harbor. We hadn't fully explored this area last time, so we took our time. Beautiful brick buildings! And a nice view of St. Katherine's church. At the far end of Speicherstadt, this view awaited. Worth the walk. Now we turned back towards the Elbe and there were many more photo opportunities. Finally we dragged ourselves back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We'd made a reservation at a tapas restaurant and it didn't disappoint. We had Padron peppers, ham, and a delicious Mallorcan potato salad that we've not seen on menus before. We also had delicious sautéed mushrooms, chorizo roasted with potatoes, and of course gambas al ajillo. All went well with a bottle of Grauburgunder. The proprietor was surprised to find two tourists from New York at his place, as it was a hole in the wall. But it's the #4 restaurant on another site so why not try it? Glad we did! We shuffled back home to sleep but managed to enjoy the view of the spire of St. Nicholas's church. From here you can't really tell that it's a ruin. 27,000 steps later we called it a day. These trips are going to wear me out!

Friday June 16th. Disembarkation in Hamburg. We awoke from one bad dream to another. We had to leave today! I guess that's good in some ways, since I can barely fit into my clothes at this point. Some breakfast in LT then we left the suite to wait in Panorama. At about 8:50 we were politely told that we needed to leave. We were taken to Fraser Suites by bus and as expected, the rooms weren't ready so it was a bit of a cluster. They sent the whole group from downstairs to upstairs and back again for no reason that I could discern. It did seem disorganized. Finally we figured out how to leave our backpacks so we could proceed. We walked to the Botanical Gardens and had a nice stroll. There were water features, And enough pollen to make you sneeze like crazy. But the bees were happy about that I think. There was a rose garden. Many blooms were past their prime but enough pretty ones to merit closer inspection. This was labeled as a "hotel for wild bees." It didn't look as luxurious as a SS ship but then again I didn't get close enough to be certain. More pretty blossoms. Apparently someone lost their glasses. Or the bees stole them? A nice lake in the middle of the park was full of waterfowl, including this pair of tufted ducks. The TV tower looked pretty from this angle. We exited the park and headed towards our next stop at the Binnenalster. Outside the park, there was a lot of nice architecture. I don't know what this building is. Now time for lunch! It's been a few hours since SS left us to fend for ourselves and I have this strange feeling in my gut...could it be hunger?