jpalbny

Me too!

Thursday March 9th. Evening. We were second in line for dinner and scored an outdoor table with a great view. The moon is nearly full. I played with the zoom on my phone. Can't believe this is a cell phone shot. Tonight's dinner menu. The amuse-bouche. Sesame croquette with tzasaki. That's how they spelled it. Such a nice setting. Just a little warm. Chris started with scallops carpaccio and i had the œuf meurette. The scenery kept getting better. Or was it the wine talking? Mains were King Morwong (a whitefish) and lamb curry for me. Peach manger and chocolate moelleux to finish. Tonight they opened the Blue Eye lounge. We got there early since dinner moved right along. Two lemon drop martinis for a nightcap. It got crowded and we shared our seat with a German foursome. Some broken French, English, and German was spoken. I played the Christoph Waltz clip of "long German words" for them. Lots of laughs but luckily we weren't out too late. And we get an extra hour tonight as the clocks move back.

It's Friday morning already and we're pulling into port at Badas, Sumbawa. Off to see a water buffalo race soon! Yesterday after Komodo Island, we repositioned to a pink sand beach for snorkeling. Some of the view along the way. It was a gorgeous sail. A salmon special for lunch. Delicious! Soon we anchored off pink beach. What a backdrop! Great corals and tons of fish to be seen today. They seemed more plentiful today. And an après snorkel bar! We took a stroll along the beach before going back to the ship. The pink sand is so pretty. Back to Le Laperouse for a lazy rest of the afternoon. We cleaned up and went to a Bachata lesson. Then briefing and a gorgeous sunset. Time for dinner! To be continued...

Good morning Mysty! So strange that the sun is just settling here... Sending it over to you now. We gain an hour tonight. Might stay up too late!

Wednesday March 8th. Gala Dinner. We were back from snorkeling around 4:30 and had a snack at "tea time" before the briefing at 6:00. Then we got dressed up for the Gala and dinner. The captain introduced his staff out on the pool deck (deck 3 aft) and then off to dinner. There was a beautiful near-full moon shining in the sky. Beautiful setting! We settled in for a feast. As usual, two fixed menus. Classic or vegetarian. The amuse-bouche. Lobster for the cold entrée. And the barramundi warm entrée. We got our filet rare. They cooked it perfectly! Dessert was "Mister Ponant" And of course, mignardaises to finish. The dark chocolate dusted with cocoa powder was incredible. The show started about 15 minutes late due to the long dinner. The dancers did a nice job and we enjoyed it. Then we went to the lounge for a nightcap but the music duo was done for the night. Oh well! So much for dancing away a few calories.

Jazz, that was two males wrestling/ fighting to establish dominance. Chris got video of them standing on their hind legs grappling. It was amazing to see! The females are about half the size of the males so it wasn't what you're thinking. Plus breeding season isn't until June. They are an interesting species. Males outnumber females about 4:1. They are also cannibalistic. When the eggs hatch most of the young get eaten. The surviving hatchlings live in the trees for the first 4 years of their lives, until they grow big enough to defend themselves and not get eaten. It's a dragon-eat-dragon world! But apparently this prevents overpopulation, which is probably a good thing.

Komodo NP, continued. Further down the path, more flora and fauna. Nice orchid. And this is a snail, in a "grenade fruit" tree. Can't remember the exact fruit name...they also called it some kind of apple. Back to the beach for some scenic views. Gorgeous. Hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins. It's really a beautiful island. But the sightings didn't stop here. A lounging lizard on the beach! And one more in the shade. Two very happy tourists. As we started back along the pier, another photo opportunity presented itself. Love their tongues. Our guide was posing with the dragon! Back on board before 9:30. What a morning! After lunch we will move to Pink Beach for more snorkeling. What a great trip so far!

Thursday March 9th. Komodo NP. We had a relatively early hike starting at 7:20. Time for a coffee first then we headed out. We were docked alongside the pier at Loh Liang. So no tender this morning. Very easy! A green turtle appeared at the pier as we walked by. After a quick safety briefing we set out. After a few minutes we saw a crowd. Wonder why? He showed us every angle. And just beyond this guy, there was another pair wrestling. The first guy wasn't interested in the shenanigans. He was pretty chill. Reluctantly we moved on. What a great sighting! More to come?

A quick bunch of photos from yesterday's snorkeling at Pulau Banta. Chris is ready to go! Lots of nice coral. And fish too. Back to more coral We used to have a fish like this in our aquarium. I was excited to finally use my underwater camera. It worked very well and I could upload the pics to my phone using Wi-Fi. A relaxing day otherwise. Last night's Gala Dinner was tasty and then the dancers put on a nice show. Pics of that later. This morning we are alongside at Loh Liang. Our walk departs in 20 minutes so time to finish my coffee, and this post, so we aren't late to see the Komodo Dragons!

Singapore! We have a lunch reservation for the 16th. If you and Myster fly out I'll add you to the reservation.

We are on board! It's now Wednesday morning and we're steaming ahead to Pulau Banta for snorkeling this afternoon. Sounds like it will be fun! Tuesday, March 7th. Embarkation! We spent another lazy day at the resort yesterday. A late lunch before packing up and checking out at 3:30. Our car was ready and we arrived at the port a little before 4PM. This was followed by probably the fastest embarkation ever. We handed the rollaboards to a porter and went through security (no line). Then we handed our health forms in and showed our covid vaccine cards (one couple ahead of us). Next we handed over our passports and got our cruise keycards. Then we walked up to the ship, where we got a cold towel and an escort to our suite. We were in the suite at 4:05, seven minutes after we'd arrived at the terminal! Wow. Luggage followed quickly and we were unpacked by 4:30. The cabin layout is familiar. We wandered to the bar for a glass of bubbly and took a quick tour around the ship to refresh our memory. A briefing at 5:15 with the bilingual staff who alternated between French and English every other sentence. There are only 134 passengers and 133 staff on this voyage (capacity is 182 pax). We hear a bit more English being spoken on this trip. We sailed at 6PM. A nice sunset view from the bow. Off in the distance, a smaller local boat like the ones we'd seen in Jimbaran. This picture is way overzoomed but the digital zoom makes it look like a painting. So I liked it. Time to clean up for dinner! Unlike the last cruise, they actually seat you at a table (last cruise, you seated yourself). The menu: We both had beef carpaccio to start, followed by the red snapper. It was a nice portion and nicely cooked so that it was very moist. We only had white wine tonight, the Ventoux. It went well with both dishes. For dessert I had crème brûlée and Chris had the pastilla. We finished quickly and were ready for bed. After not sleeping well last night we were both exhausted so we were sound asleep by 10. *** We were up a little before 6 and out and about by 6:30. Coffee and a pastry in the deck 3 bar to start. A few ship pix - while it's empty. Pool and outdoor area, deck 3 Main bar/lounge, deck 3. Morning coffee spot! And the reception area also on deck 3. We spent some time out front on deck 6 watching flying fish and the occasional dolphin. The sea breeze was perfect and made the temperature very comfortable. Then a 9AM briefing followed by more coffee and distribution of snorkel gear. Looks like a fun voyage ahead of us! It seems like about half Anglophones - they let the Francophones sleep late, as their briefing wasn't until 10AM! We are heading to salsa class at 11:15 so that's all for now.

Tuesday morning, March 7. Embarkation day! Yesterday afternoon was very relaxing. After the walk on the beach we lazed around in the villa, dividing time between the pool and the day bed. This is the life! The Amex benefit for this property was a complimentary massage for two. Not usually our thing but after the long flights it was actually very enjoyable. Glad it worked out that way because it's not something we'd do on our own. Suitably relaxed, we headed to the beach bar for happy hour. Some view! A nice sunset. Reluctantly we tore ourselves away and got ready for dinner. A table outside, with chicken satay to start. A fast-moving rainstorm appeared as we were gettting ready for the main course. Everyone moved indoors in a flash. The grilled seafood platter came with us! We slept until about 3AM, then off and on after that. Woke up for good at 6AM and had a swim as morning's first light appeared. Then a walk on the beach while it was still "cool" at only 80 degrees. Everyone else must have had the same idea, as the beach was very busy at this early hour. Here we are at the southern end of Jimbaran Beach, where the Four Seasons resort is located. We hadn't seen these mountains in the distance yesterday as it was too cloudy, I guess. Or we were too tired to notice! Breakfast at the hotel. Crepes stuffed with coconut and jackfruit. Yummy! And more tropical fruits. Rambutan, dragon fruit, and mangosteen. Fountains everywhere on the hotel grounds. This really is a beautiful property and I'm glad I found it. We never come to a resort and stay put, but after the ridiculously long trip to get here, it was just what we needed. Cruise tickets are printed and health questionnaires completed. Nothing to do but relax until our ride leaves for the port in about five hours.

Hello from Paradise! Relaxing poolside here at the Belmond Hotel, Jimbaran Puri. Life is good! Our flight from Seoul to Denpasar was 20 minutes late pushing back but we landed at 10:38, only 8 minutes late. A "short" 6h40 hop compared to the first leg. We had done the eVisa-on-arrival so we skipped the first line where you had to buy the visa and went straight to immigration. Not a bad line and we were through in 10-15 minutes. Since we were carry-on only, we headed straight through baggage claim and on to customs. I scanned the QR code from my electronic customs declaration which I'd made for both of us, and we were almost home free. Just a minute or two for X-ray screening... Ran the gauntlet of taxi and SIM-card sellers, and found our driver. On our way! Arrived at the hotel at 11:45. Incredible, not much more than an hour from touchdown to check-in! We were upgraded to a villa room. With a private pool. Spectacular! We had our snacks, walked to the beach, then called it a night at 1AM. What a long voyage! From leaving home at 6PM Friday, to arriving here at 11:45PM Sunday, had been just shy of 43 hours of travel. *** We slept well and were up at 7AM. We took advantage of a break between rain showers to walk to the beach again. Unsettled weather! But pretty. Nice flowers, everywhere here. Now breakfast. Since we hadn't eaten enough! Tropical fruits to start. Mangosteen and "snake skin fruit" were new to us, but very tasty. I had banana fritters also. A Javan Pond Heron watched from a safe distance. Soon the rain stopped and blue skies were visible. Our hostess wanted to take our picture. In several places! No shortage of nice backgrounds here. Our villa's pool by day. It's huge! After breakfast, we lounged in the pool before taking a longer walk along the beach. Some scenery. Fishing boats and seafood restaurants. This piece of driftwood looks like a boat headed out to sea. This crab was not happy to see me. He was not going to back down, either! As I took the picture he was coming right at me, waving a claw! Not in welcome, I don't think. Happy Hour is 4-6, then dinner at the hotel. Embarkation tomorrow!

Looks delicious, @drron29! BTW we made lunch reservations at the place you and Ann recommended - Whitegrass in Singapore. Looking forward to their menu! Tarte flambée is an absolute favorite of ours. The traditional version with crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions, and lardons is out of this world. And one reason why my BMI is probably higher than yours...

It's been a long day! We arrived at ICN this morning after exactly 14:40 in the air. We were at the gate 45 minutes early. Welcome news unless you have a 10-hour layover, which just got a bit longer! But no biggie. Through transfer security quickly, then to the KAL lounge for a coffee, and then a glass of wine and a snack. Our transit hotel was just down the hall from the lounge and the room was ready at 8:00. After a very welcome shower we napped for a few hours then had lunch in a Priority Pass lounge operated by the hotel. Nice buffet! And a cute robot to collect dirty dishes. It meowed like a cat, and if you scratched its ears, it purred! Not that there's video evidence of that... Checked out of the transit hotel at 2 and spent some time walking the terminal. Very pretty airport! And more robots. Pushing back to Bali now, so next post from there!

No, stuck in T1 today. The KAL lounge wasn't anything exciting. Should have tried to sneak into the AF lounge with our Priority Pass! Pushing back shortly. Winds almost 30MPH and rain. Might get bumpy!

Hello from the KAL lounge at JFK! We made it here after a fairly uneventful drive down from Albany. Some brief snow showers on the Thruway, and it got as low as 34 degrees, but no issues and we got to the long term parking lot a little after 9:00. Found a spot in the row closest to the Air Train! Arrived at terminal 1 and had to wait for check-in to open, then a few minutes in line. Security was slow but we were through around 10:00. Then off to the lounge, with a view of our plane. We take off at 00:50 and it's almost 16h until we land. Crazy! Some flight path - this is yesterday's flight. Thinking we'll try to stay up for a while then sleep more during the second half of the flight. But who knows. A 13-hour time difference is going to be rough no matter what. Eventually we'll catch up with you in Bali!

Just pack them in tighter! There's always room for a little more.

Yes please. We "unwashed masses" want to know.

New York has one too. But I was vaccinated at the federal hospital where I work, and the NY system can't access that database. And the Feds helpfully protect my data by not sharing it with NY State. So as far as NY State is concerned, I'm not vaccinated. So, paper card it is!

Thank you @Catlover54, for that well thought-out and nuanced response. Very helpful way to think about it. There is no one answer to the question of whether to do ships' excursions vs private tours vs DIY, because there are so many variables. We also do a mix. It depends on what the ships' tours look like, whether we've been somewhere or not, and how easy it is to DIY. What might be possible in a port like Cadiz, where car rentals are easy, trains are plentiful, and it's easy to get around on your own does not necessarily apply in a remote part of Eastern Iceland like Seydisfjordur, where the nearest car rental is an hour away. And trust me, I've looked, because I really wanted to DIY there! And or course when we were cruise newbies we did all ships' tours and generally enjoyed it. But that was 15-20 years ago. We are more confident striking out on our own. So vive la différence!

Sorry. That's a great name for an app!

I keep both Chris's and my cards in a single plastic sandwich bag, back-to-back so that the front sides with our names and the vaccination dates are showing. I did that because we can take them out to record new doses, but the cards are otherwise pretty well-protected and I found that to be a better solution than laminating the cards. That bag is always in my travel backpack along with our passports because you just never know when you'll have to show it. It's unpredictable but just another part of travel in these times. Some entities will "need" to see it multiple times. Some won't. But it takes seconds to grab that bag, show one side, then the other, and replace it in my backpack. Never need to even open the bag. Since I work for the government, I am completely used to silly redundant requirements that make no sense. Randy can relate, I'm sure. For example, the VA hospital where I work provided all of our COVID vaccines to us. Yet when the government passed the mandate for all federal employees to be mandated, we had to manually enter our information into another database so that they would "know" that we were vaccinated...instead of just using their own data to prove this! When I asked why, and told them, "You gave me the vaccine and you already have the records," the reply was, "But we can't access your protected health information!"

We never said that we like the system. But that's how it is set up. Make your requests and they usually work out. Sometimes they don't.

Do you mean the Galeries Lafayette, behind the Opera Garnier? We go there for the food and wine shop (Le Gourmet), diagonally across from the main building.