Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[Kynance]

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone.🎄

 

We have traditional Christmas weather this morning - no, not snow, it’s  wet & overcast! 
 

It’s the usual quiet Christmas for two in the Kynance household but Father Christmas has clearly been as there are presents under the tree! 
 

Have a lovely  day whatever your weather and wherever you are.

[Camgirl]

Happy Christmas everyone! 

[Bigmike911]

Boxing day, and I am taking a breather. Yesterday, I roasted a seven pound prime rib of beef using a technique called reverse sear. Which I got from a You Tube video by Chef Jean Pierre.

 

The roast was salted and peppered and allowed to sit 24 hours in the refrigerator. Yesterday I turned the oven on to 250f 120c inserted a probe connected to a thermometer which fastened to the door of the oven, and set it for 120f 50c for rare. It took nearly four hours to come to temperature. I took it out of the oven covered loosely with Aluminum foil and let it rest for 45 minutes. 

 

Then I heated the oven to 500f 260c. spread soft salted butter over the roast and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. When I took it out it was crispy on the outside and when carved was rare all over, no grey meat at all. And it was delicious and perfectly cooked with a minimum of effort.

I have about 3 lbs left to carve for sandwiches on Russian Rye bread spread with prepared horseradish, which I will serve to my New Years Eve guests. Over all a wonderful Christmas. Have a great Boxing day all, and we can look forward to 2022, which is bound to be a better year than this or the last. 

[Host Hattie]

That sounds amazing, we had Beef Wellington and there's enough leftovers for today.

 

[Tonopah]

Happy holidays to all. There are just three of us here at the Tal Ranch. We all pitched in and made various appetizers/desserts (adult son/housemate makes an amazing tiramisu) yesterday. We just nibbled all day and we have enough leftovers to serve us through the next few days.

 

We raise our glasses to Host Hattie and all the regulars who keep this forum up and running, interesting and informative. 

[LewiLewi]

We are concerned about our friends who are presently on the QM2. Covid outbreak has closed many things on board ; lectures, launderette, spa, etc. We are spending a very quiet NYE here in Florida with friends on their outside patio. Omicron numbers are rising exponentially so we are all staying very close to home.

I hope NYE on board the QM2 will be better than their XMas Eve was.

[Host Hattie]

Every day brings new friends or family tested positive. Yesterday it was the guests due into our holiday home 😱.

I hope everyone is keeping well.

 

[naturelovergirl]

Well... it seems that once again we are changing and adapting travel plans.

(It is no wonder that we are, of course)

We had a short cruise booked on another line sailing from Florida in just a couple of weeks. We have been quite excited about it... well... until the industry has been hit hard by the variant.

As soon as we started reading about it all... my husband and I began to talk back and forth about whether we wanted to go or not. We had received such an excellent deal on the cruise it was hard not to want to go... BUT it just seemed so fraught with complications even though we are fully vaccinated and boosted.

Luckily we did have options to cancel (with a future cruise credit) or reschedule.

Today, we made the decision to go with the credit for the future.

It is disappointing, but I think we made the choice which is right for us.

 

(My brother in law and his family are actually on a Caribbean/Mexico cruise right now- who knows what adaptations or issues they will encounter... I will be interested to hear their impressions of their experience once they return home since they are experienced cruisers too)

 

Personally, we have a RV/Caravan trip scheduled in February to go to one of our US National Parks here in Florida (RV trips have been very successful for us during the pandemic- a way to get away and still have social distancing)

My husband just made the joke that we are renting a boat one of those days... so he is saying that boat rental is now our cruise.

[Host Hattie]

Sorry to hear your travel plans have had to change @naturelovergirl.

[Bigmike911]

Just in the news. Queen Mary 2 will not return to NYC as she finishes her Caribbean cruise and returns to Southampton, but rather will remain in Barbados and all US Guests will be flown home from there. The reason given is the increase in Covid cases in NYC. She will continue directly to Southampton from Barbados

 

Will this ever be over.? I feel so sorry for the crew and the guests for this event. 

[Lanky Lad]

Happy New Year to all. I thought I would get in early ready for those who are already well into New Years Eve. 

[alc13]

Happy New Year, everyone.  Wishing you peace and good health in 2022. 🎉🍀🕊️

[Kynance]

It’s the last day of 2021 and I have got the evening off from cooking - my other half is making a chilli.  That’s certainly something for me to celebrate! 🥳.  We’re having our usual quiet night in but no point going to bed early as the inevitable midnight fireworks 🎆 will wake us up. 
 

Happy new year to everyone who has already welcomed in 2022 and I hope everyone else has a safe and enjoyable night whatever you are up to. All good wishes to you and your families for the coming year. I was cheered this afternoon by a bit of late December sunshine and the sight of more and more spring bulbs peeping up through the earth. 😀. Nature is waking up once more - how very reassuring. 

 

 

[Host Hattie]

Happy New Year everyone, we're just finishing our Christmas Day champagne, who knew it would last so long !

There's a Rack of Lamb in the oven, Mr HH finally had his booster yesterday so he's not feeling the best. We'll do our best to stay up.

See you in 2022 everyone

[Bigmike911]

As has been my custom for several years, I celebrate the New Year as Big Ben strikes 12 (courtesy of BBC Radio 3). Guest arrive in an hour and a half and I have hot tasty snacks, cheese and wine to start the evening. At "midnight" we will toast the new year with a vintage Vueve Clicquot and after that a supper will be served of Spinach Quiche, and traditional Texas new years food. Black Eyed Peas which have been cooking for 8 hours, and corn bread muffins made with jalapeno. Supposed to give good luck for the next year. Lord knows we could all use some. 

 

The guest will be home before the drunks hit the road, and I will be in my chair waiting for the neighborhood fireworks display. It is legal to sell fireworks ten days before 4th of July and New Years day in my county and the younger swain who live in the neighborhood try to out do each other with noise and aerial displays. I don't have to spend a penny.

 

So I wish to all of our Cunard friends on both sides of the pond and around the world. Happy New Year. May 2022 be a wonderful, prosperous and a healthy year. Cheers. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 12/26/2021 at 12:32 PM, Host Hattie said:

That sounds amazing, we had Beef Wellington and there's enough leftovers for today.

 

We got two more meals, plus a couple of sandwichs,  from our Christmas roast - just enough left to serveas the nucleus of some hash.

[navybankerteacher]

On 12/31/2021 at 3:42 PM, Bigmike911 said:

... Black Eyed Peas which have been cooking for 8 hours, and corn bread muffins made with jalapeno. Supposed to give good luck for the next year. Lord knows we could all use some. 

 

...

How about the collard greens and hog jowl - or are those just Carolina essentials?

[Bigmike911]

13 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

How about the collard greens and hog jowl - or are those just Carolina essentials?

I like mixed greens which include collard and mustard, but not at New Years, and as for hog jowl, I am a bacon, sausage and chop kind of guy, I stay away from other parts of the beast.

 

Some folk in this neck of the woods like cabbage at New Year, I don't like it any time of the year, except St. Paddy's day with corned beef. And then only with a lot of spicy mustard to hide the flavor/smell. 

 

We have been visited by a Blue Norther which has taken the temps from the 80's f yesterday to the 20s this sunny Sunday morning. If any one is interested in what a Blue Norther is, Wikipedia has an excellent article. 

[Host Hattie]

We had a day trip to Pembrokeshire in between house guests to sort out a problem with our heating. Fortunately it was very easily sorted out, someone had turned off the switch to the thermostat ! 

We had a sandwich lunch in the car looking at the sea.

[navybankerteacher]

5 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

We had a day trip to Pembrokeshire in between house guests to sort out a problem with our heating. Fortunately it was very easily sorted out, someone had turned off the switch to the thermostat ! 

We had a sandwich lunch in the car looking at the sea.

Lovely picture - unmistakably in deep winter as the thin sunlight is just a pale silver rather than the gold it wears in warmer season.

[rakkor]

I've had a pretty miserable Xmas and New Year, having been stuck in Kings College Hospital with a shattered pelvis and broken clavicle since Dec 10th.

I hit a water filled pot-hole on my commute to work on the Friday morning, and was thrown off my bicycle breaking my pelvis in 5 places. To compound it all there are no visitors allowed because of the Omicron wave and I've a really poor phone signal making communication with Jane really difficult.

No sign of getting out yet, here's hoping it doesn't affect Jane's QG cruise in Feb to Lisbon.

[Host Hattie]

I'm so sorry to hear that, I hope you get some positive news soon.

[Bigmike911]

Queen Mary 2 has sailed from Barbados, headed for Southampton directly.  It's sad to see that her cruise was changed due to the outbreaks in NYC, but probably the wisest move Cunard could make. I wonder what is next?

[majortom10]

With hindsight it was too early and too risky to start international cruises with varying ports embarking and disembarking and such a long cruise from Southampton. People from varying countries with differing vaccinations and Covid rules it was bound to happen.

[techteach]

@rakkor Oh My! I do hope you are feeling better and get out of the hospital really soon. Sounds like you need a cruise to heal your broken bones.