TrulyBlonde

We have taken 3 cruises with AZ prior to Covid & have been all over the World with many other cruise lines. It has been a few years since we have taken a cruise ( Covid turned us off of it). It has been land trips for us instead.

DH & I decided to take an Eastern Seaboard cruise starting in Montreal this year. I checked with Oceania, Crystal, etc. and AZ had the best pricing, longer port times, & more days and the ports we wanted.  We have been to many of the ports prior, but this allows us to revisit many of them. We have booked a Club Continent Suite (larger Suites were not available) & will use this as our floating hotel. We really could not find a better deal out there. It fit our needs the best. 

OK, I have my limit for the ski season. It is almost April and it just will not go away 😞

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM WEDNESDAY TO
4 AM MDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...While a few light snow showers are possible today and
tonight, it now appears the most significant snowfall will not
start until Wednesday morning. Total snow accumulations from
Wednesday morning through early Friday morning of 6 to 12 inches
are expected from passes to valley floors, with locally higher
amounts of 12 to 18 inches in the backcountry above about 8,500
feet.

* WHERE...The Sawtooths, Stanley Basin, Sun Valley region, Big
Lost Highlands, and Copper Basin, including but not limited to
Banner Summit, Stanley, Galena Summit, Ketchum, and Sun Valley.

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It seems the failed banks' customers are being made whole, so hopefully the markets will cry 'Hallelujah' and jump back up tomorrow.  But then, lately good news has been bad news for the markets, so who knows???

We will see. Actually, Cramer touted Silicon Valley Bank as a Buy most recently. Buy a Serta mattress and all is good. 😉

Relating to the bank failures. A week ago, Cramer touted the Titanic as a "Buy" 😉

I had to add some humor while we all chug a few glasses of wine waiting for tomorrow. 

16 minutes ago, zqtchas said:

how about the roof?

We had some of it shoveled off yesterday. LOL! Early this morning we had 14 inches in 24 hrs and it is still snowing hard. Probably another 4 to 5 since early this morning has fallen. 

It is good for the rivers and the forests and helping to keep the forest fires low this year. 

9 minutes ago, mysty said:

 

WOW!  Now that's a pile upon pile upon pile of snow!

and it is still snowing hard. DH went out skiing and there are avalanche warnings, delayed opening, etc. I am staying home and making a chicken posole in the crockpot for a warm, cozy dinner tonight. 🙂 Spicy!

@Daveywavey70

Little Bertie would not last long in my neck of the woods today 😉

My front deck and the heat melt is on.

2 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Those 50mph winds should make for one heck of a sail on the lake today. 😉

Except we are here in Sun Valley and back to the lake in May. Could be a wild ski day. I just came in from the slopes and think I will hunker down tomorrow in front of the fireplace.

Batten down the hatches! Oh my! We like snow, but no this much. Yikes!

On 2/25/2023 at 6:50 PM, jpalbny said:

 

@Lois R is right - we did sail on Ponant in September 2021 and liked it a lot. So this will be our second trip with them. Will be starting a live TR over on those boards soon. 

We enjoyed Ponant, as well. Here is a tip: if the cruise is not full, they will offer an upgrade and it is negotiable 🙂  We were able to upgrade to the Owners suite on our Antarctica 14 day trip with them for $5000. Well worth it while in that neck of the woods 😉

Are you staying at the Four Seasons on the bay when in Bali? We were there many years ago on a land trip and it is lovely. Also, played golf at 2 courses in Bali. Hot but fun.

13 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Thanks, Que. You do realize that I was being tongue-in-cheek...or probably not?

Thank Goodness! The blonde brain here was having a panic attack about the kidney stones. I eat most of the foods on Que's list and think I may be doomed. 😞

Ok. I actually like Kale. LOL. I add it to soups (or spinach) and do not mind a bit of it in salads. Great in Zuppa Toscana.  When visiting my Grandson in Newport Beach we go to a place called True Foods Kitchen. They have a beverage called Kale Aid. I always order it and actually bought a juicer a few years back to make it fresh at home.

My Grandson asked for a sip of mine while at the restaurant and he liked it. He then asked if he could have one too. I was surprised!  Kale, cucumber, lemon, apple, and celery blended and served over ice.

It is quite refreshing.:)

As for Tofu, Yuck!

I do not like fried foods either except for French fries and who can pass up a donut?

13 hours ago, jpalbny said:

"Newport Stormy" on the left - dark rum, floated on ginger beer and lime juice. It seems that I have developed a sudden taste for ginger beer?

Do you also have morning sickness? I am not a Dr. but may be able to provide a diagnosis.

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Have you still got that Bikini?

I actually owned one almost identical a few moons ago. She is older than I am 😉

My condolences to all of the men in mourning today. A rare beauty and au natural. No fillers anywhere 😉

30 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

There is a National egg shortage in the US.  Causes are claimed to be from Avian Influenza a few months ago.  Things in some parts are so bad that eggs are being smuggled into the US across the southern boarder…….. never thought we would see that!

They add a bit of fentanyl to each carton of eggs 😉

I have done both S Georgia and Antarctica with Ponant a few years ago (pre Covid). This cruise was their 1st of the season and it is quite pristine and not as much penguin poo. It was truly beautiful although once was enough for me. I had been to the Falklands prior with a cruise around all of S. America.

Here are the Roaring Forties we encountered for 4 days getting to S. Georgia. Baguettes and wine helped us get our sea legs 😉

Regent link to same issue:

19 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Good to hear there is a positive then. Enjoy Sydney and hope you berth in the Harbour. The sail in is wonderful. But usually very early in the morning.  Even if it's White Bay you will get to go under the Bridge. 

Yes!  Set your alarm for the sail in. It is worth it. Hope you dock in the Harbour too. Perfect place.

9 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Maybe we should be responding in the spirit of the traveller actually impacted here, which is @katlew who has been most gracious in the face of a rather difficult cruise. 

Yes, that was what I was alluding to when I made my post. They are handling their disappointment quite graciously. I do hope they have the opportunity in the future to return to both OZ and NZ. I enjoyed my time in both places immensely and happy to have "completed" that part of the World I had always wanted to visit.

🙂

It is a very long flight and no  plans to return but wonderful memories.

Geez, flying to NZ and OZ from the USA is very costly and takes lots of planning due to length of flights. We did this cruise with X a few years ago and so happy to have done the part of the World. If we had to float around on the ship and miss what we basically paid for, we would be livid. Many of you are much more easy going than I would be. That is a good thing. Best of luck.

Actually, my 1st post ever on CC was due to a problem I had with a cruise line and some mold issues growing under my bed. I was very upset and was also called a drive by because I was new here.

I am sympathetic towards the family that were clearly very upset and needed to vent. Have some compassion.

34 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

Who would you put in that category?  I'm looking to book a river cruise in 2025.

I would suggest Tauck. They provide luxury and excellent tours along with special venues only they have access to.

1 hour ago, sabrefan said:

. I have been to Australia and. New Zealand on the Solstice and it was a very nice cruise. I would go via Celebrity and save the money then spend at least a couple of extra days in Sydney. Sydney is a very cool city.

Ditto. We did this cruise a few years back and it was most enjoyable.