Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[UKCruiseJeff]

24 minutes ago, brimary said:

What a coincidence.....It’s our 55 th on the now deleted Brexit departure date.We can celebrate without any undue distractions! Best wishes to you both.

 

What a coincidence!  We will raise a glass to you both.  🙂

[brimary]

2 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

What a coincidence!  We will raise a glass to you both.  🙂

Cheers to both of you.Enjoy🎂

[UKCruiseJeff]

[Lois R]

Good morning, been a while since I have posted (looks like nobody has posted recently). Hope all of you are doing well. JP, did you and Chris go to Atlanta? How was it?

 

I leave for my Azamara cruise 2 weeks from today...….flying to NYC...….then sailing from Manhattan.  Going to Bermuda and Charleston.

 

Just wanted to say hello...….oh this new new job? The longer I am doing it, the less I like it...…..hopefully the break on the cruise will help.    But just not sure how long this new gig is going to end up working out...…...

 

Have a good day everyone.

[jpalbny]

Hi Lois! Sorry the new job is a drag. Hope the break energizes you to have a fresh start at it.

 

Atlanta was fun. As usual we rushed home from work Friday afternoon and headed to the airport. Landed early and got a train to our hotel, then a late dinner.

 

Saturday we did the Botanical Gardens which were in their Spring glory, and went to the Sweetwater brewery for beer tasting. And Southern BBQ to go with it. 

 

Also visited the Atlanta History Center which was an eye-opener. The sheer insanity of the Civil War was overwhelming. 

 

We had a nice dinner on Saturday and then wandered another park the next morning, before we came home Sunday afternoon. 

 

It's fun there and an easy direct flight from Albany. And we're pretty facile at negotiating the airport. So we'll probably head back some time when the mood strikes. 

 

Enjoy NY, and the Beekman, and your cruise! I'm working the ICU and on call all week - some lousy Birthday present that is!

[MBP&O2/O]

A little bit of humour ...

Newspaper Headlines:

Proof reading failures .... big time!

You ‘think’ you know what they were trying to say .... but who really knows 😏

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good evening all.  Good to see a few of us remaining drunks still in the Cooler bar when it is so quiet! 🙂

 

JP, good you had a great Atlanta.  

 

Mike, great funnies.  In one of our dailies today there was an article headed “Public toilets being wiped out”  No lie!

 

Lois, the pursuit of utopia is an interesting occupation.  I conclude that the better life is the more difficult and elusive it is to recognise that what we often actually have is pretty Utopian.  Your work keeps you independent and provides  you with options and choices, including Azamara!  Keep your chin up! 🙂

 

Today was non-carb grilled sea bream and vegetables.  

 

 

[Lois R]

Jeff, I LOVE fish and that fish looks delish

[jpalbny]

Didn't take pix, but had halibut cheeks in a lemon beurre blanc with capers, over jasmine rice for dinner tonight. A few more calories than yours, Jeff! 

 

Bought plane tickets for the DIY Douro trip in November. Prices had been stupid but I've been watching closely. When they dropped today, I called AMEX and grabbed them.

 

We arrive in Lisbon on a Saturday morning, and leave Madrid the following Sunday. Direct flights each way from JFK. Now that we have the dates down, time to start planning in earnest!

 

Thinking a night in Lisbon, a few in Porto, a stop in Salamanca, then a few in Madrid to finish. But we will see what happens.

[Daveywavey70]

Happy Anniversary Jeff and Mrs Jeff.

And happy non Brexit day to all. 🤢🤯🤬🤡

[jpalbny]

That's right, it is le jour des Jeffs...

 

Have a great day! 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon all ...... and thanks so much from both of us for remembering our special day.  

 

Marriage is a lottery and it is what one makes of it and I am so, so lucky to have happened on the most perfect of travel-mates through the life’s adventures we have had together.  I am extraordinarily  lucky.  

 

I have been trying to improve my Japanese kitchen skills and today we had some yakitori.    It was good.  Just to confuse a bit I added some stirfry.   

 

 

[mysty]

Happy Anniversary Jeff and Mrs. Jeff!  Wonderful that you found each other to create a beautiful life!

[Lois R]

Hi Jeff, Happy Anniversary to you both from me too.

 

Well, I had a good day at work today so that must count for something.  Our boss (who can be real hard a$$)…...took us all out for lunch!  We went to a place called Cooper's Hawk and had a nice time. 

 

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

[jillyf]

Happy anniversary Jeff. I hope you and your wife had a lovely day. 

 

We have been lucky with the sunny autumn weather the last few weeks but today winter has arrived. The temperature has dropped to 6C this morning,  "warming" to  10C at midday.  We have only had passing showers which is a pity as the countryside is very dry and our garden needs the rain. 

Time to put the summer clothes away!

[Lois R]

Good morning folks and Happy Sunday.  Doing laundry at the moment.....fun (not)..….I have this week and then Monday of next and thinking back I see I should have just booked NYC for 2 nights and flown up 1 day earlier.  Oh well, I had originally booked this whole trip before the new job started and you know all about $$$ when you want to change flights.  So it is what it is.

(If that made any sense)…..shortening it up, I fly up on Tuesday, 4/9, sailing on 4/10.  I should have gone on Monday 4/8,,,,,,,

 

Anyway, I am looking forward to trying Azamara, although I have to wonder if the ambiance is anything like SS, since there are at least 200 more pax on board. (Have I gotten spoiled or what?).  And the one thing I really love about SS is the interaction with Crew/Staff/Management.   Will see if that engagement is on Azamara too.

 

Hope all of you have a good day! Oh Jeff, didn't realize it was your birthday...……..Belated wishes!

[Daveywavey70]

Evening Coolers.

Oh what  to do. 

I really need a little break before our season starts here so i’ve Cleared a few days next week and have 2 options.

 

1) 4 hr flight to Athens and a mini 4 night cruise around the Greek Islands (Mykonos, Patmos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Heraklion and Santorini on Celestyal 💩

 

2) 13 hr flight to Miami and 4 nights on Carnival Victory 🤢😷 to Key West and Cozumel. 

 

Head says Greece but forecast doesn’t look good. 

Heart says go see Chichen Itza.

Anyone here done a Celestyal? I Know it’s all about the destinations but what are the ships really like? obviously not expecting SS quality but is it passable or just full of fat people in vests dripping sweat onto the buffet? 

 

Never cruised alone before (that bit doesn’t bother me) or been on such a big ship as Victory (that bit does). 

 

All advice greatly received. 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Greece has my vote.  Shorter travel, lot’s of grilled meat.  Ouzo.  Metaxa. What could be better. You know you’ll like Mykonos.  A Thong for Europe 😉

 

  What does the weather matter.   🙂

Edited March 31, 2019 by UKCruiseJeff

[Daveywavey70]

Hehe 

you only get 5 hours in Mykonos, it’s 2 ports a day. The European thong contest is an interesting thought though.  Common sense is telling me Greece but looks like rain most of the week.

 

[Lois R]

Davey, Carnival? For 4 days? I would definitely NOT recommend that...…...You may know I always sail solo and I love going on my own but for me? I just know a 4 night cruise on Carnival is what they usually call a "Booze Cruise"...……..just not something that appeals to me and If I could choose Greece? I would do it in a heartbeat

[jpalbny]

I'd rather have rain in Greece than ever be on a Carnival cruise again. But why not just fly to Athens and hop a ferry to one of the islands for an independent visit? 

Edited April 1, 2019 by jpalbny

[Lois R]

28 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

I'd rather have rain in Greece than ever be on a Carnival cruise again. But why not just fly to Athens and hop a ferry to one of the islands for an independent visit? 

 

Hi JP....glad you posted that too....I didn't want to sound too critical but since you said it.....Davey, choose something else, not a Carnival cruise and definitely not a 4 nighter.

[Daveywavey70]

Thanks guys, 

I’ve never been on Carnival so appreciate the input. Think I’ll keep checking the forecast in hope! I did think about island hopping JP but the Celestyal itinerary is great, just not sure about the ship. I don’t mind slumming it a bit as it gives me 4 big ticks for Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and Kusadasi. I could never manage that independently. 

[jpalbny]

DW, if you're used to SS level of cruising, I believe that Carnival would be a let-down. I have sailed with them exactly once. My sister was trying to set up a family cruise and she chose a cheaper line so that people wouldn't have to spend so much. It ended up that none of the rest of our family went anyway, so Chris and I were stuck on a Carnival cruise to Alaska, with my sister and her in-laws. The company was fine. The experience...was not so fine for us.

 

This was 2006, mind you, and we hadn't even tried SS yet. We'd done one or two Oceania cruises and that was our high water mark for luxury cruising at that point in time. The atmosphere on the ship was unpleasant. It was impossible to find seating at the buffets, and it was hazardous to even approach the buffet counter because you'd be shoved out of the way by somebody wielding a full tray of food, still angling for more. Or run over by a scooter. Once you got to the buffet the food was mediocre. In the main dining room, the food was ordinary at best, really bad some nights. We ended up reserving the specialty restaurant the last few nights. Figured even if we were paying $30 a night, it was worth it to get better meals.

 

Honestly we had low expectations and they weren't even met. I agree with Lois that a 4-day cruise to the Western Caribbean will likely be a booze cruise and given what it seems that you're used to (more luxury), I suspect that this wouldn't be the experience that you're looking for. It's the antithesis of a small luxury hotel, for sure, unless things have changed drastically since our experience onboard.

 

RE: the Greek Island cruise - can you actually do enough on these islands to make it worth it, when there's two stops a day? Sounds hectic. Rhodes, for example, could easily keep you busy for a few days - lots to see there. We did a full-day stop on SS a few years ago, rented a car, and drove around all day. We still missed at least half of the sights we wanted to see. Santorini would be much better as an overnight stay; if you're there just a few hours with a dozen other cruise ships, how fun would that be? Mykonos...pretty cute, and small (and crowded), but I liked Delos better. Kusadasi is a nice stop if you haven't seen Ephesus but IMO not something special on its own.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Dave,  you seem to be landing on ideas for a break that seem  less  than restful and potentially disappointing.  🙂

 

Why not simply pick a suitable direct flight route from your convenient airport for a relaxing stay in a single resort in a really good hotel for a few nights?