Deck Chair Queen

1 hour ago, singinalot said:

lol that pot pie looks sketch

Crystal just imagine a can of Campbell’s condensed turkey soup covered by mashed sweet potatoes, served lukewarm with no seasoning. I’ll take a Marie Callendar pot pie for two bucks any time over this farce. 

Carol

21 hours ago, Walt fan said:

How did Carol come by her knowledge of architect? I would love to start reading some books.

Hi Walt. As you may know, they call me Guidebook Carol. I research everything thoroughly before a trip. And I had purchased a gorgeous book that was just about Gaudi and Barcelona before our first visit (Permanyer is the author). This time I wanted to see some of the more obscure sights in addition to revisiting the Greatest Hits. So I had requested to see the early Palace Guelll and the St Paul Hospital (not Gaudi but another notable modernisme Catalan architect). There were also some additional Gaudi sights on the hop on hop off bus routes. Rick Steves of course is another excellent resource. In Chicago we are very alive to architecture and sculpture, with many modern masterpieces around us and a city plan by Daniel Burnham. 

Guidebook Carol

On 11/24/2021 at 8:44 AM, Ilovemygarden said:

   A question for Carol - does the onboard shop sell cosmetics and perfume?  I will be on the Journey in January.

Hi. I love your screen name! I’m afraid I’m not much of a shopper and never visit the ship stores so I don’t know. I’m guessing they are not big enough to carry cosmetics inventory but I’m sure there is perfume for sale. It will be exorbitantly priced, no doubt. I find Walmart beats everybody’s pricing even on high end fragrances. Their online selection will surprise you. Carol 

On 11/23/2021 at 11:59 AM, Bimmer09 said:

Gimme Credit

Me! This is the name of my bond research publication and firm, still operating after nearly thirty years. 

Carol

On 11/23/2021 at 11:21 AM, Bimmer09 said:

No knife fights in the kitchen  with Beppe accusing Tonio of looking longingly at his wife Lola while chopping the cilantro.

I Pagliacci  with a soupçon of Cavalleria Rusticana. 

On 11/23/2021 at 10:52 AM, Bimmer09 said:

When I went to Guest Realations earlier for my Euros I got an account printout and saw that we still had $100 in shipboard credit. Carol found a use for it that evening and treated herself to a hot stone massage in the spa. She can tell you about that when she catches up with this review.

Imagine finding this out at 6pm on the last day! No shops open, no photos to buy. I had never set foot in the spa on this or any other ship. I’m squeamish about germs at the best of times and COVID has just amplified this. But no way was I letting a hundred bucks go to waste. I cleverly chose a service that cost exactly this including a tip, despite their valiant efforts to upsell me. I suppose I was lucky to walk in and get a massage without an appointment but they were not at all busy. It was pleasant and relaxing (after I asked them to turn off that Godawful New Age music) and you may be able to tell in this photo my limbs were like jelly. A good solution if you ever find yourself in this predicament. Durnie from the Philippines was my technician and she was fine. The prices were not outrageous especially if you get multiple services—I did not have the time as dinner was scheduled next. 

On 11/20/2021 at 8:06 AM, Bimmer09 said:

There's an old castle up on that ridge-how high a ridge I could not tell

Red, White, and Blaine. 

3 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

I had never heard the name until yesterday when Carol got the tickets but it's been a town since 8 B.C. developed by the Etruscans.

At one point I asked the guide whether I had missed the Etruscan Arch, which is the number one sight in Volterra. "Oh we won't be seeing that," she said. "It's out of the way and not much  to look at anyhow." Good attitude for a tour guide. Guidebook Carol

3 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

We would walk 3.5 miles today, l

Our first vacation with a Fitbit! I was so grateful finally to be able to walk pain-free through these gorgeous places unfettered by arthritis. This was my first cruise since I had both knees replaced. Boy did they love me at the Dublin airport security check-in! Carol

4 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

The "grass" line was a good example of Gabrieli's humor.

My  favorite line was when he was discussing extra virgin olive oil (which has a strict definition): "If you see in your supermarket 'extra extra extra extra virgin olive oil,' all the 'extras' after the first one are b***s**t!"

14 hours ago, LT Hambone said:

So far you've posted two pictures with someone who looks like me included. Both of those photos are horrible, and my wife looks even worse.

LT Hambone: Don't take it personally. Norris strives to exclude people from his photos unless they get in the way and it is inescapable (note the only photo in existence of the Trevi fountain without people). It's just not his bailiwick. With no ship photographers on this cruise, I believe the only photo of the two of us was the one in hard hats taken by the Carrara quarry manager. Carol

14 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

There was to be a wine tasting.

Not exactly what was described. There was to be "lunch at a Tuscan farmhouse featuring local products." Truth in  advertising is not one of the Azamara excursion description strengths.

On 11/11/2021 at 9:12 PM, Bimmer09 said:

I will have menus for you soon but for the first couple days they went clean out of my head in all the excitement.

I am so technologically advanced that I read my menu ahead of time by scanning the QR code in the daily Insider. When I told the waiter this, he excitedly asked me to fill out a survey because I was the only diner who had used it, apparently. It was well hidden in the Insider and not intuitive as to how to use the free wifi to read it, however. Carol

7 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Just another Roman church in a square

Guidebook Carol feels she must step in here. This is the Sant'Ignazio church, a gorgeous Baroque structure famous for its trompe-l'oeil (fake) dome. 

On 11/8/2021 at 4:17 PM, Bimmer09 said:

While I was in the square Carol was doing what she always does on a plane a ship or in a hotel-wiping down all surfaces with her Clorox wipes. Door handles, drawer, counter tops, phones etc. She then unpacks which wasn't a task I had to do.

 

By the way, my Clorox protocol long  predates COVID. Norris does not like to dwell on  the negative, but let me just add to the story off our travel nightmare to let you know what greeted me when I opened my much traveled suitcase in Rome. It had been ransacked top to bottom, all  topsy turvy with every item upended and  every bottle and jar opened (and some not properly closed, so there was goop all over, luckily contained in plastic bags and lined pouches). On the top was an empty sunglass case that unless I packed an empty sunglass case meant my prescription Ray Bans had been lifted by some moron security person, to whom they  would be useless. The hits just kept on coming. Carol aka Deck Chair  Queen

Thanks again for your detailed, informative review. I hope it didn’t take too much time away from your vacation. I was wondering whether you heard of any crew or passenger testing positive? From what I’ve read about other cruise lines, they are not great about communicating this vital information. 

Thank you so very much for your detailed, informative report. We are scheduled for the Western Med cruise on the Quest October 28. Depending, I suppose, on what the EU member countries decide to do about nonessential travel from the US. I am especially interested in how you feel about the COVID-19 precautions on the cruise and whether you feel safe or anxious. I’m hoping there is strict adherence to masking and social distancing rules for all, especially on excursions.  

I too am sorry to see this review come to an end. It’s my first time seeing Norris’s photos, as he won’t let me look at them until he has worked to perfect them. He catches a lot that I miss so enhances my experience immeasurably. This was one of our most memorable cruises, unequalled in its combination of breathtaking scenery, history, and architecture. Usually you only get one or two of the three in one cruise. In London I got to cross “ high tea in a fancy London hotel” off my bucket list but alas bad timing prevented me from satisfying another, which was attending an opera at Coventr Garden.  Seeing my cousin (more like a sister to me) was an added bonus. For those of you who have said your plans don’t include cruising the Norwegian fjords, you really should reconsider. Along with the glaciers of Alaska these are special places you can truly only experience from a ship. The sailaway from Flam was the most beautiful and varied of any in my cruising experience and that even includes Venice. As a Chicagoan I never let weather ruin any experience. Just dress for it, is our motto. Thank you all for your kind wishes and keen appreciation of good witty writing and excellent photography.

Warmest regards, Carol

The Alesund aquarium excursion. This was a great little excursion, just the right length. Also the best tour guide of the trip. A professional handball player from Macedonia. He kept everybody engaged, taught us some Norwegian, and was very knowledgeable about Alesund’s famous Art Nouveau architecture, pointing out gorgeous little details on the buildings I would otherwise have missed. Of course the fire was a great tragedy but it accounts for the unique architectural uniformity of the city. 

We had a nice long time at the aquarium, which had both indoor and outdoor exhibits and  a dramatic waterfront location. I’ll try to insert some of my photos but my iPhone shots are embarrassed to appear alongside  Norris’s photography! The tanks are all filled with sea water and feature the staple fish of the area such as herring, cod, and salmon. Outdoors are the penguins, seals, and otters. Many hands on exhibits inside and timed feedings. You can barely see the diver for the fish! Later I visited the Art Nouveau Museum, a former apothecary shop with the owner’s home above it. There is a great “time machine” exhibit about the fire and the amazing rebuilding feat and stunning Art Nouveau rooms and decor. 

Carol

<<Long and winding ... rail>>

Best band ever. 

Also a shoutout to Harold Arlen for Somewhere Over The Rainbow earlier. 

As can be seen having booked the funicular tickets online saved time going up but for obvious reasons did not help going down. A bench or two would have been most welcome, adds Bench Girl. 

I’m seeing Norris’s photos for the first time and I am gobsmacked. It’s as if I were there! Oh yeah, I was. 

Deck Chair Queen aka Carol

Reading this I can’t believe how much we packed into one day in London! I bought tickets for the Mamet play months ago when it hadn’t even opened yet. This was the world premiere so we knew nothing about it except the subject and the star. It opened to horrendous reviews and is closing this month. That’s probably why we got our seats upgraded. But I found it to be thought provoking although very difficult to watch at times. It’s an important topic to tackle and Mamet did it with wit and even some sympathy for the devil (more for the victim, of course, but she does fight back effectively). I love all his plays, not just GGGR. Many premiered here in Chicago, where I saw the premiere with the original casts. Then seeing  my cousin was so special for me. She is a year younger than I and we were the best of friends when we were girls, spending every summer together at her home in Kingston, Jamaica while my mom visited my grandmother but for the past few decades she has lived so far away I seldom see her. But when I do, the years just melt away. Thanks to Norris for capturing all this on film!

Quote

 

What was the criteria that led you to choose the Royal Horseguards? 

Which hotels made it to your top 3 list? 

Hi. Deck Chair Queen here, aka Carol. I do most of the negotiaing after Norris finds a hotel! We typically have another criteria, which is ideally within walking distance of the opera house. Unfortunately no opera this trip as we were too early for the ROH season. But Royal Horseguards met this criteria as well. Also public transportation nearby. 

To to get the most out of Royal Horseguards, first join the Guoman loyalty program (it’s free). That gets you either a discount or free breakfast. Having read how exorbitant the breakfast pricing was I figured we would be eating elsewhere and chose the discount. However now that I know that the options for a cooked to order breakfast nearby are nil and having discovered how enjoyable it is to go downstairs and have breakfast on the terrace, I think I would go for the free breakfast next time (I’m not a fan of steam table breakfast so look for the a la carte menu). Just do the math for yourself: breakfast for one if booked ahead of time is GBP18. 

Lucy n the sky with diamonds. Do I win anything?

On 3/5/2019 at 1:23 PM, Groovybusybee said:

 

 

Any chance of a final photo of Snowy?

 

Here is Snowy this afternooon dozing in her igloo, thinking about her seafaring forefathers such as Captain Cat, who explored the Arctic and discovered the coziness of an igloo. 

Thanks to to you all for participating and truly making this a community effort! Happy cruising!

Carol

On 2/26/2019 at 11:06 AM, singinalot said:

Carol, would you say the gardens were your favorite part that day?

Hi Crystal. Sorry to be so late in responding. I’ve had a very busy week and can’t keep up with Norris’s prolific output. Yes the garden was spectacular especially the 900 bird of paradise plants. But it was being taken through it by the gardener himself that I will never forget. I’ve been to many botanical gardens bigger and better organized and labeled but never had the experience of walking through them with the guy who plants, tends, and nurtures them. We transcended language and cultural barriers and bonded. He was so shy at first and spoke only to our guide. By the end we were chatting like old friends in broken English and much worse Spanish. He had relatives in Chicago! There were only a few birds of paradise in bloom yet he cut off a bloom (with a rare blue center) to give me. He wove a little bookmark from a tough sturdy brown leaf for me. Other flowers and leaves soon joined them in my bag. The bookmark was the only thing I was able to keep as you cannot bring plant material on board. Francisco helped me up and down the steep rock steps of his hillside sanctuary (no handrails). We met another garden worker aptly named Orchid, who was the local representative in the National Assembly. Big warm smile and great people and language skills. There was, of course, a friendly dog and some chickens. It was a very special experience, a genuine one not put on for tourists. 

Carol