jpalbny

Devizes is known for its large horses too? I'd only heard of large ears! "There once was a man from Devizes, Whose ears were of two different sizes! The one which was small, Was of no use at all, But the other won several prizes!"

He's probably out food shopping!

Fletcher, taking one for the team!

Much more risk of cloudy skies. It would be spectacular in that location but I don't trust the weather! That eclipse reaches the Med too I believe. Maybe better luck there? Egypt should have a much better chance of clear skies, and the duration of totality is supposed to be over 6 minutes (!) for the 2027 eclipse. Thus my desire to see that one.

I have not done this itinerary but I'm on a similar Ponant voyage at about the same time. We'll be in Tromso on October 17th and I'm expecting the lights to be there to greet us! I expect cloudiness to be more of an impediment, than the lack of the Aurora, per se. For clothing - prepare to dress warmer than you think you need to. For our Ponant voyage (Reyjavik to Tromso) I'm bringing warm clothing and also our Silversea Parkas (both layers). We did a trip to Northern Finland in November 2022, and while the lower-intensity Aurora looked like a gray film, the brighter ones were definitely colorful and we could see the greens with our own eyes. It was spectacular! But it's true that the less bright the Aurora, the more gray it appears.

A few phone pics of today's eclipse. Here in Albany we got to about 97% totality. It was.dark enough to .ake the outdoor lighting come on, and it got noticeably colder during the maximum. Samsung Galaxy S22, about 20x zoom, eclipse glasses over the lens. Anyone up to visit Egypt in 2027? It should be spectacular!

Yes. The airport isn't that far - between 5 and 10 miles? There is at least one bus that runs from the airport to the city center. Looking at my trip report from April 2016, we took the 200E bus and connected to the metro line, then it was a short walk to our hotel (Four Seasons Gresham Palace). Depending on where you decide to stay, one bus vs the other may work better. We used public transport all over Budapest for four days. It got us everywhere we needed to go. If you buy the "Budapest Card" online you can pick up your card at the airport, and that will serve as your public transportation ticket. So you can just get on the bus from there without buying any more tickets. If you want some ideas for what you can do in Budapest, this is my trip report: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2254214-uniworld-river-beatrice-41016-budapest-to-passau/

Yes. The charge is not applied until you have actually dined in said restaurant.

Ron, we have some friends on board who told us about this, and sent video of the chopper coming in. Hope it's smooth sailing from here on.

We are signed up for two Gastronomy cruises (Dec '24 and April '25). We are excited about both! We've done two expeditions. In our experience they do a really nice job with these. Corsica was a good mix of cities and wild places with very few people. Indonesia was excellent. Nothing really felt touristy. I posted full trip logs here. We really like expedition cruising. We have not sailed in the Caribbean since about 2000, so I can't answer your specific questions about what Ponant does in that area.

Oh fun! Their first question - "How many cruises have you taken in the past 5 years?" Gee, fewer than usual, you think? Wasn't there some issue during that time frame that limited our travel? Knuckleheads! My options were the No fee, 250 credit after 1000 spending, 3% back on Silversea / 1% on everything else. "1% back is pretty low. I already get more rewards elsewhere and they aren't limited to use on Silversea. Honestly the Silversea product has slipped so much that I'd not be interested in tying myself to a credit card that is only redeemable on that cruise line." And option 2 was $499 annual fee, 500 credit after 1000 spend, 4% on Silversea, 2% non-cruise travel, 1% everything else. $200 OBC every Silversea cruise. $100 GE or PreCheck credit, Priority Pass. "This is AMEX lite. Way fewer benefits, almost as expensive. I already get more from AMEX so completely uninterested." Oh, and then they wanted my opinion about a Silversea "Gift Card" that you could buy. Why? They are definitely barking up the wrong tree here. And I'm in a more cranky mood than usual today so the timing was good (or bad).

I hear that 1816 was a good year.

Looks like fun! We're signed up for that during one of our visits on the WC segment next year.

The TAP flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada was about 2h in the air. Boarding was a total scrum. They pre-board "families with children" through the premium line, at the same time as premium boarding! So that means that about 2/3 of the plane crowds the premium line, starting 15-20 minutes before boarding starts. And then they start calling the next groups before the line moves much. So more chaos! The food and wine onboard were nice and I'd fly them again, especially since we now have some status with Star Alliance. Just have to remember that you can't stay in the lounge as long as you'd usually do...must get to the gate and join the scrum early! Love those bus rides... We disembarked on a jet way upon arrival in Lisbon both times but flying out to PDL and to BOS it was a bus ride, and at PDL you walk between the terminal and the plane. Oahu! Yeah, quite a different vibe there. We did find a few places to escape the crowds in Oahu but it's much easier on São Miguel. At least in March! We did get shut out of the "cave" (lava tube) tour though so some things must be booked ahead. Chris's wound is healing up ok so far. It totally could have used stitches, but when I grabbed the hotel sewing kit, it was a hard "no" even though I offered her sparkling wine as an anesthetic! So the steristrips had to do.

I will admit, they were wasted on us for sure. Except for the little 750ml "fruit" bottles of liquefied grapes which used to briefly occupy our fridge!

I'll eventually post some pix in the Cooler. Less than 35 weeks to go! And no need to panic. We have nothing booked past July 2025.

We had a great time. Didn't hike as much as we wanted because Chris scraped up her leg on the second day, but next time! Definitely like Hawaii, but a much less crowded and more rustic feel. The volcanic landscapes are beautiful, and the greenery! And the cheap but delicious Portuguese cuisine, wine, etc. We only went to São Miguel this time, from Monday to Friday. Next time we'll finish up there and visit some other islands too. This was a quick taster to make sure we liked it, though we were sure that we would. We flew DL between Boston and Lisbon, then TAP between Lisbon and São Miguel. TAP was nice enough. Though boarding their flight is quite a cluster! Next time I suppose we'll look at SATA, who fly directly from BOS and JFK to Ponta Delgada. Though that flight is so short, no time to sleep! We didn't mind going through Lisbon because we like that area too. Some day I'll post pictures.

Definitely some odd Spring weather. It was warm enough here for some outdoor running as early as February! And here the trees are in full bud, ready to burst open soon. I am almost ready to put the citrus trees outside for the year - probably next weekend if the forecast doesn't change too much. Yet last Saturday when we left town, there was an ice and snow storm! We were worried that it might kill the new buds on the trees but it looks like all is well. We just came back from a week in the Azores and Sao Miguel was beautiful. The grass was green and the azaleas were in full bloom. No hydrangeas yet - they had green leaves but no significant blossoms. Palm Sunday in Lisbon was well over 70 degrees and sunny. We ate lunch outdoors in Cascais with a beautiful ocean view. I hope everyone had a nice Easter!

We just spent a fun week in São Miguel. I'm living the drill tonight as we get ready for work tomorrow. Many more planned.

It was tasty. There is some chicken in the version that we tried but it's a very minor component. There was a small piece of beef too. The rest was pork - rib, loin, belly, and a few kinds of sausage as well. We ate so much pork this trip that I grew a snout! Bottom row - chicken, pork rib, some kind of cured pork. Middle row - potato, kale, beef, pork loin, pork belly Top row - cabbage, sweet potato (buried under the cabbage), carrot, yam, chorizo sausage, and blood sausage. You could also ask for extras of anything that you wanted more of. In case this wasn't enough...

Catching up with your safari pictures. Wonderful! And the leopard sightings were incredible. Glad it wasn't too crowded. Hope the packing and the return to reality isn't too traumatic for you.

Here's Chris, victorious at the waterfall now known as "knee-biter"! It's a beautiful two-tiered cascade and definitely worth the trip.

So much to catch up on! We're back from Lisbon as of last night, and spending a relaxing restful day at home prior to going back to the grind tomorrow. Sao Miguel was lovely despite the unsettled weather. We expected it and were prepared, with our nice warm Silversea parkas. Spring in the Azores can be very unpredictable, we learned, with bright sunshine giving way within minutes to heavy rain and even the occasional burst of hail! After our day in Cascais on Sunday, we flew to Ponta Delgada on Monday morning and rented a car. We spent the day driving around the western part of the Island to see the famous views at Sete Cidades, and a few other places in that area, before checking in to our Ponta Delgada hotel that evening. Tuesday for my birthday we explored the city all morning, then went out to see some scenic viewpoints, many of which were foggy. We tried a waterfall hike but unfortunately Chris slipped on some gravel in the parking lot, on the way to the trailhead, and got a really nasty gash on her leg just below her knee. So we had to detour to a pharmacy for bandage material. After I extricated all of the volcanic rock that I could from her wound we put it back together with steristrips and a tight dressing. We laid low that afternoon but had a nice dinner a few minutes from the hotel. It was a 7-course tasting menu with wine pairings! That made her leg feel better. Wednesday we had a busy day. We left Ponta Delgada early and drove North, then circumnavigated the eastern 2/3 of the island. Lots of scenery along the way, and a few short hikes. Chris managed OK despite the injury but we took it slower than usual. We checked in to our hotel in Furnas and had dinner there. Thursday we did a few things around town and the surrounding area. Chris's wound made it unwise to partake in any hot spring activities but that was OK since it was only in the mid-50s and very windy. Swimming in a hot spring would have been comfortable but getting out would have been miserable! We saw more lookouts, botanical gardens, fumaroles, and waterfalls. Another nice dinner at another of the hotels in town, where we tried the volcanically-cooked cozido stew. Friday we left Furnas and took a long leisurely drive back towards Ponta Delgada. Along the way, we went back to the scene of the injury, as Chris wanted to see that waterfall and at this point it was personal! We were able to successfully accomplish it, as the hike itself was not difficult - the parking lot was much more treacherous. We finished our itinerary early and had time for a leisurely late lunch in Ponta Delgada. Then we tried for one last viewpoint, which had been fogged in on Monday. It was fogged in again on Friday... Oh well! With just fumes left in the gas tank, I filled up the rental car and we returned it at the airport. Despite very strong winds, the flight back to Lisbon was smooth. And it was a tailwind, so we were already checking in at our airport hotel at the exact time we were scheduled to touch down! And yesterday morning, we flew home. We arrived almost an hour early at Logan, caught the bus to Framingham, and got home at 5:30. I'll post a few pictures later but to sum it up, Sao Miguel is beautiful and we are excited to revisit the Azores as soon as we can schedule another trip there!

Hi AussieBoyTX, I'm finally caught up with this great report after being away for the past week. This trip looks amazing, and many thanks to both you and ethan1171 for the great commentary and photos. What an experience to swim with the whale sharks! Chris and I once came eye-to-eye with a humpback while snorkeling on the south coast of Maui but that encounter was over in a flash. I can only imagine how magnificent it must be to have a leisurely swim with these creatures!

Spins - lots to catch up with here and sorry that not much of it is good. We're more and more happy with Ponant these days, as their itineraries are very good and the onboard experience is comparable enough to Silversea in our book. Ponant also offers a status match (or they were, a few months ago) and they valued Venetian Society status very highly. We matched at their second-highest level which includes free laundry and 10% off all future bookings. Their ships are newer and quite nice. And their expedition crew is comparable to those we've encountered on Silversea. So we have 3 more booked with them in the next year. Sorry that we will miss you in Lisbon - back to work tomorrow!