MJC

We flew to Nebraska for the last one... getting an eclipse AND a cruise is a definite step up! No disrespect to Nebraska, we had a lovely time and met some very nice people. And had excellent Mexican food + margaritas. 🙂

I don't know if the letter I wrote helped at all, but we just booked the solar eclipse cruise on Princess! So excited. https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=X415

Just booked! So excited. First royal class cruise for us, so our favorite cabin doesn't exist, but we are still doing the happy dance!

Love that first pair with the toe loop. 😍 Those blocky heels like that 2nd pair can really throw of your stride. That was what I didn't like about the new shoes I bought for the wedding. I felt like I had to take tinier steps. Looked pretty standing still though lol.

We flew to Nebraska for it and were just lucky enough for the clouds to clear for totality. So exciting. We are one cruise shy of elite so I hope ya'll don't take all the cabins before I get one! 😀

Beautiful choices Laurie. Nice variety too.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/765334-hopefully-the-ultimate-aft-thread-with-pictures-vent-and-beams/page/26/

Sharon, we are very much looking forward to the European charm of Quebec City. We have talked often during the pandemic of wanting to visit London and Paris again, since it's been a while since we've been to either. Even before the pandemic, DH's current job does not require much travel, and I miss getting to tag along with him to places like that. We are visiting Saguenay in the fjord area, which is a French-speaking town. I am hoping to find a driver who speaks some English, and since there is a taxi kiosk at the port, I think our odds are good that they exist. I am still working on our activity for that day. We don't mind muddling along like the tourists we are, and I'm sure they deal with enough American ones that we'll be fine. Laurie, I like those earrings you posted. I agree that they do not send a bridal vibe, and they are very elegant. Love the bit of sparkle at the center. So far our plans are: Boston - Public Gardens and Museum of Fine Arts Sydney - Fort at Louisbourg (1/2 hour drive minimum) or self guided history walking tour of town Quebec City - self guided tour by app Saguenay - hopefully hiking Sept Iles - zodiac excursion Halifax - Citadel, museum, and brewery Plus we have 5 sea days. The Royal Shakespeare Company is on board, and in the past they have given classes or lectures during the day, in addition to the evening performances. 👍 There are daily ballroom dance lessons. We also have a chance at some whale watching along the Atlantic coast. I had originally thought this would be a laid back cruise, but with all the reading I'm doing about our ports, and things like afternoon tea on sea days, I think we will be just the right amount of busy.

We got notice today that some of our QM2 documents were ready, so hard to believe we are under 60 days from sailing! Since we are still in the hot throes of summer, I am going to wait until the first week of September to start putting my clothes together, since I'm not in the mood to look at fall weather wear at all right now, and it's too early anyway to guess what the weather might be like. I found an app to download different audio walking tours of Quebec City. We plan to go off on our own each day there and wander around, speaking bad French (unfortunately and with apologies in advance). I think we will avoid group tours in all but one port, where we will be doing a tour by zodiac. I love zodiacs because they make me feel like I'm on an adventure. I am still looking for a driver to take us on a hike in Saguenay, but I have a lead and am hopeful. I recently realized I have not had a formal night on a cold weather cruise in I don't know how long. I am debating my shoe choices. Most of my formal shoes are sandals... would it be weird to wear sandals in October in the north Atlantic? IDK.

I like the lighter sandal with the chunky heel too. We were just at a wedding, outside at a winery and in a tent for the reception, and so many women were wearing that style. It made for a much more comfy event for everyone too. In fact, when I was shoe shopping at Macy's, even a lot of the very formal shoes had a heel like that. I'm going to be contrary and say I don't like the idea of pearls or a necklace with that green dress. With that neckline, if it were me, I'd wear earrings and a pin, or just earrings alone. I don't think the jewelry needs to match shoes, though I know you like that look. I might choose something arty because the dress is so unique: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1219189929/emeraldbrown-irregular-dangle?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=artsy+green+earrings&ref=sr_gallery-1-19&frs=1&organic_search_click=1 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1064850171/emerald-green-earrings-green-petal?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=artsy+green+earrings&ref=sr_gallery-1-20&cns=1&organic_search_click=1 I very much agree with you about lack of good jewelry shopping these days.

There are Youtube videos of people doing the Binax home test. We found it helpful to watch the steps and get their tips before we did ours at home. Here is an example, but there are several to choose from. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DKWmUU8o3edA&ved=2ahUKEwjq9_CAjo_5AhVnjIkEHXsaC00QwqsBegQIEhAE&usg=AOvVaw1j56LArp9HEvNEVpgTcSB2

Thank you so much!!! Merci beaucoup!!!

What a great thread! In the ESL world we talk about the world's Englishes. That spoken in America is different from Britain's, which is different from Singapore's, which is different from Australia's, and on and on. People may communicate better if they adapt to the English being spoken where they are, though clearly it's not always necessary. Even within a country there are regional, racial, and class differences. I'm originally from the American Midwest, and sometimes I would have my students sit with a Bostonian, a Southerner, and me, and ask them to listen for the differences. Often they could not hear them yet. But we certainly do. When people adjust culturally and linguistically to their environment, that is called code switching. Some do it to be polite or fit in, but whether one can do it or not, or wants to do it or not, I don't see it as a reflection on them personally in any kind of way. To ronpes: I used to use Scottish English as an example of how hard it can be for English speakers to understand each other sometimes. 😁 America is a fast moving country which is reflected in how we shorten everything, including our English. Now with emojis and ttyl, everyone is doing it, it seems. I am looking forward to our first QM2 cruise this fall. I will have fun listening to everyone!

We have very limited excursion options so we would like to go off our own for a bit. Google shows several taxi services, just wondering if any will be at the terminal? TIA

Thank you GTJ for your information. My husband speaks French un peu but he hasn't in a long time. I think he can manage a few basics though his accent is atrocious even to my ears. 😀

Our QM2 cruise is now about 10 weeks away! I am starting to think about packing and excursions. We have plans for our 3 days in Quebec City, and also Halifax, Boston, Sept-Iles, and Saguenay. Just Sydney left to do. We are going to be independent in all the ports but Saquenay, where we will have to take the Cunard shuttle bus to the Fjord National Park so we can go hiking. We have four formal nights: Black & White, Red & Gold (the Cunard colors), Venetian, and Roaring 20s. I plan to wear the black dress I just took to the Caribbean, and I found a pretty red sequined dress this week at The Rack. Its a darker red than it looks in this photo, it's a true middle of the middle red: I doubt I will go full roaring 20's, but we will probably wear masks for the Venetian Ball. I won't decide which dresses for those two until early September. I hope to wear things I already have. I wouldn't be surprised if I wear my brown dress again because it is soooo comfortable. We shall see. Cunard recently relaxed its evening dress code from jackets and ties for men (and dresses or dressy pants and tops for women), to a baseline of collared shirts and dress slacks for men. There is a lot of comment going on about that, especially the not requiring ties. Since this is our first Cunard cruise, and we really chose it for the itinerary, we don't really care much either way. We will dress nicely for dinner they way we always do here in the city. I'm excited that for the first time we are just driving to the port. It will make everything so much easier, and if we need an extra luggage for two week's worth of cold weather clothes and formal wear, it's easy to do. Just throw it in the taxi! 🙂 After this one I think we will take a break from cruising until prices settle down. All those FCCs out there are making it expensive to buy now. We have been talking about driving the PCH for a long time, so that may be our February adventure. We learned that they have public nights at the Mount Wilson Observatory where operators of the telescopes point out and discuss what can be seen in the sky that night. That will definitely be on our list. I have an old friend from middle/high school who lives in Monterey so that will be a stop as well (with the aquarium, natch). So much to think about!

Our Container Store closed to become a small IKEA outpost.

If you have a local jjill you might find some good sales. Got this dress on sale plus store member discount for $35! Had my eye on it for a long time. https://www.jjill.com/product/pj-coastline-garment-dyed-linen-dress-243501s-1?color=4FN

We have never received a free bottle of wine with specialty dining. Some may as a perk from their travel agent, but not from Princess.

FWIW, this itinerary is similar to the one we did years ago with Clipper Cruises. Ours was called Culture and Antiquities of Vietnam and we enjoyed it immensely. Traveling along the coast by sea is a great way to see more of the country than just HCMC.

To add to what Anita said, I have friends who've seen the aurora from northern Michigan, so it might be easier for Laurie to go north from where she lives rather than all the way to Alaska. https://travel.destinationcanada.com/things-to-do/where-see-northern-lights-ontario

Thank you so very much for your detailed response. I was looking at this website, but I don't speak French, so it was challenging. I see now, however, that the kayak rentals end on September 5th, and we won't visit until October: https://rivieredumoulin.saguenay.ca/fr/activites Sadly my 6'3" husband is over the weight limit for the sea kayaking that is offered. The hikes our ship is offereing may be too long and/or hard for my husband, and we don't like long bus rides either. So, I was thinking the park might offer an easier and shorter hike for us. It looks very pretty.

Anita, beautiful aurora photos. Looking forward to more on your Fairbanks trip!

We like to to hike and kayak, has anyone hired a guide or driver to take them to the Parc de la Riviere du Moulin? Is it very far from where the QM2 docks? Any info would be appreciated.

I have not been to B since the reno. Used to be just a small Starbucks before security IIRC. Traffic on the BQE is terrible. Traffic in Queens and Brooklyn in general is much worse since covid. It's good they leave such a large cushion.