Now for something completely different

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

Qantas has again agreed to refund our airfare (cancelled Alaska cruise 2020).  I say again because we have been trying to get it refunded for the last three years and Qantas kept saying they would but never did. Here's hoping.

I hope it comes through for you Lyndon then you can travel some more 😉

[Blackduck59]

Confederation Bridge,  earlier today we drove over it and we did the transit under at about 1945 hrs.

[Blackduck59]

Well our Australian cruise director just set Lynn of and I'm not very impressed either. The presentation was miles off the mark. Lynn literally walked out.

It's probably not a good idea to misrepresent iconic Canadian things while sailing in Canadian waters.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Well our Australian cruise director just set Lynn of and I'm not very impressed either. The presentation was miles off the mark. Lynn literally walked out.

It's probably not a good idea to misrepresent iconic Canadian things while sailing in Canadian waters.

Did they do it as a joke or just didn't know? Not good either way, need to know your audience.

[Blackduck59]

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Did they do it as a joke or just didn't know? Not good either way, need to know your audience.

As it turns out Mic the cruise director was not from Oz but the USA. I also get the impression that the presentation is a pre-scripted affair coming from the geniuses at head office. Whoever is responsible for this "presentation" were idiots from inception through production and all the way to distribution. Somebody along the way should have said "Check, check, check, how is this going to play to Canadians?" 

Yes the Maple Leaf is iconic in Canada but not because of maple syrup. 

The RCMP are not Duddley Doright, they are a modern effective police force dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria. The Red Serge uniform is iconic but is rarely worn.

The whole thing is just a sorry show of incompetence. 

[Mareblu]

10 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

As it turns out Mic the cruise director was not from Oz but the USA. I also get the impression that the presentation is a pre-scripted affair coming from the geniuses at head office. Whoever is responsible for this "presentation" were idiots from inception through production and all the way to distribution. Somebody along the way should have said "Check, check, check, how is this going to play to Canadians?" 

Yes the Maple Leaf is iconic in Canada but not because of maple syrup. 

The RCMP are not Duddley Doright, they are a modern effective police force dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria. The Red Serge uniform is iconic but is rarely worn.

The whole thing is just a sorry show of incompetence. 

I concur, and I’m quite relieved Piers Morgan is not a CD in Australian waters this year

[Mareblu]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:56 AM, lyndarra said:

Qantas has again agreed to refund our airfare (cancelled Alaska cruise 2020).  I say again because we have been trying to get it refunded for the last three years and Qantas kept saying they would but never did. Here's hoping.

I bet Qantas will now.   #Humble pie grovelling

[Blackduck59]

Lynn is one happy camper this morning, she got a very good photo. This is one we will get printed large and framed. I'm very impressed with it.

[Blackduck59]

We booked our down under cruise, 14 days on Westerdam starting in Auckland ending in Sydney. Embarkation is 16 Mar 2025.

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

We booked our down under cruise, 14 days on Westerdam starting in Auckland ending in Sydney. Embarkation is 16 Mar 2025.

That’s wonderful news, Lyle.  I hope we can arrange to meet ip with you both.

[Blackduck59]

Sunset Saguenay River on our way to the St. Lawrence River. 

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, Mareblu said:

That’s wonderful news, Lyle.  I hope we can arrange to meet ip with you both.

Thanks Linda, we are looking forward to meeting as many people as we can who want to meet us. It's a long way off and hopefully people are home.

[lyndarra]

There's a bunch of us in the Newcastle/Hunter/Port Stephens region.

Lunch or dinner at Belmont Yacht Club?

https://lmyc.com.au/

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, lyndarra said:

There's a bunch of us in the Newcastle/Hunter/Port Stephens region.

Lunch or dinner at Belmont Yacht Club?

https://lmyc.com.au/

As things get closer we will start planning the road trip. I know there will be changes from the previous 2 plans. One definite stop is Phillip Island we want to see the Penguins 🐧.

The cruise has a stop in Melbourne so we'll cross of some touristy things on that day, and have a proper few days in Melbourne during the road trip.

[Mareblu]

It’s Fathers Day in Australia.  Happy Fathers Day to all Dads🎉

[Blackduck59]

So it is our last night of this voyage. We had a very satisfactory meeting with the general manager today. I think they will be discontinuing the offense "Canadian Icons" presentation. I pointed out if you are going to discuss Canadian Icons you should treat them iconicly. So we came back to our cabin after a very funny comedy show on the World stage, opened the complimentary bottle of wine that HAL gave us and raised a glass to Canada, the true North strong and free. 

Pretty much everything is packed and we are ready for bed.

[MicCanberra]

Won our Grand final today 2-1, Over 55s Division 1 Capital football.

Happy but sore (my achilles is very bruised).

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So it is our last night of this voyage. We had a very satisfactory meeting with the general manager today. I think they will be discontinuing the offense "Canadian Icons" presentation. I pointed out if you are going to discuss Canadian Icons you should treat them iconicly. So we came back to our cabin after a very funny comedy show on the World stage, opened the complimentary bottle of wine that HAL gave us and raised a glass to Canada, the true North strong and free. 

Pretty much everything is packed and we are ready for bed.

Good job.

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, Mareblu said:

It’s Fathers Day in Australia.  Happy Fathers Day to all Dads🎉

Ditto.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Won our Grand final today 2-1, Over 55s Division 1 Capital football.

Happy but sore (my achilles is very bruised).

Congratulations!

[Aussieflyer]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Won our Grand final today 2-1, Over 55s Division 1 Capital football.

Happy but sore (my achilles is very bruised).

Well done and congratulations 

[Mareblu]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Won our Grand final today 2-1, Over 55s Division 1 Capital football.

Happy but sore (my achilles is very bruised).

Bravissimo, Mic👏. Hope the AC settles quickly. 
I thought I posted a  similar response before,  but it must have slipped to that mystic realm of lost posts🤷🏻‍♀️

[Blackduck59]

So we had a rather disappointing hotel stay in Montreal last night. If you find yourself planning to stay in Montreal for any reason do not stay at L Hotel. It was nothing like what we thought it would be. 

We took the train from Montreal to Ottawa today, we were in one of the new cars that are just coming into service on VIA  Rail. We booked business class, the seats were very comfortable. There was a nice lunch served, Lynn got a special diabetic tray that she really enjoyed. We had a cocktail and wine with lunch. 

We hopped an Uber to our hotel. We chose very well for this hotel. It is a very nice place we have a large room complete with a kitchenette. We are basically 3 blocks for the Parliament buildings. We chose wisely this time.

[Aussieflyer]

9 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So we had a rather disappointing hotel stay in Montreal last night. If you find yourself planning to stay in Montreal for any reason do not stay at L Hotel. It was nothing like what we thought it would be. 

We took the train from Montreal to Ottawa today, we were in one of the new cars that are just coming into service on VIA  Rail. We booked business class, the seats were very comfortable. There was a nice lunch served, Lynn got a special diabetic tray that she really enjoyed. We had a cocktail and wine with lunch. 

We hopped an Uber to our hotel. We chose very well for this hotel. It is a very nice place we have a large room complete with a kitchenette. We are basically 3 blocks for the Parliament buildings. We chose wisely this time.

Yes I read your HAL post - the hotel seemed quite a let down (and as someone else posted, nothing at all like its web photos). Glad the next one is better.

 

We are looking (at some stage in the future) of taking The Canadian train across your great land - understand it can often be delayed but if we have no rush to be anywhere, not a problem.

[Blackduck59]

13 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

Yes I read your HAL post - the hotel seemed quite a let down (and as someone else posted, nothing at all like its web photos). Glad the next one is better.

 

We are looking (at some stage in the future) of taking The Canadian train across your great land - understand it can often be delayed but if we have no rush to be anywhere, not a problem.

I hope you get that VIA  Rail trip across Canada, we have been thinking about it ourselves I think maybe in a few years when flying is less appealing.