The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[Keith1010]

Getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I need to know how many of you are coming over for the feast.  We have a lot of turkey on site and I need to know how many and sizes I will need to feed you all.  

 

Keith

 

[rafinmd]

Instead of a sunrise today I have last night's setting sun

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I refer to today's (taken yesterday) sunrise as horizontal rather than vertical. On a very windy morning, the sun did not rise above the horizon but appeared as low lying clouds blew out of the way by near gale winds:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I was very busy yesterday and did not get to post a sunrise (or even see the sun).  This is from 2 days ago, my last full day on the Eurodam returning to Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the last from my trip taken near Rocky Mount NC from the Auto Train yesterday morning:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

 

Here in the eastern US, it is the evening of Thanksgiving day.  The main meal at the Chez is mid-day, as decreed by OLoPP.  Our evening snack shall be turkey sliders accompanied by a bottle of Prosecco.  Because that, folks, is how we roll.  

 

Wherever you are, holiday or no, be well.

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2014 Wind Star Transatlantic. November 25 was a sea day a few days short of our disembarkation in Barbados:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, here in the US the day after Thanksgiving draws to a close.   Here at the Chez, that means one thing:  I have entered the humming Christmas carols penalty-free zone.  And I shall take advantage of this.

 

Also, this is your annual reminder that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

w

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Roland4]

5 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, here in the US the day after Thanksgiving draws to a close.   Here at the Chez, that means one thing:  I have entered the humming Christmas carols penalty-free zone.  And I shall take advantage of this.

 

Also, this is your annual reminder that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 

 

We were sitting in the Observation Lounge yesterday morning when we suddenly realized the background music was Springsteen singing "Santa Clause is Coming to Town"!!!!!

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2013 combination starting with the Crystal Symphony New York to Miami and then MS Prinsendam to the Amazon and back.  November 26 was part of the interlude between ships in Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Speaking of Thanksgiving we had a discussion of that over on the HAL forum.  I was never a foodie.  The things that drew me to Crystal were the Promenade Deck, the Enrichment and Entertainment, and of course the crew.  While the menu was way above my tastes I always enjoyed the food and the way they catered to the customer, from my Trident Ham and Cheese to my tablemates on one cruise who decided on a PBJ.  These were my Thanksgiving choices this year:

 

 

Not really much to say about the corn.  I grew up in Central New York and always preferred wax beans to green beans.  They are rare here and the ones I can get are higher in sodium so they stay a special treat these days.  Ham has always been a favorite of mine and there a little bit of tradition.  I closed on my house the day before Thanksgiving back in 1971 and in those days stores closed early for the holiday so I grabbed what looked nice at our 7-11.   Much nicer now that I don't need to eat it on a card table and folding chair.  Nothing special about the Key Lime Pie  but it's a favorite and it was beckoning to me in the freezer case.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my last Crystal Symphony cruise, a November 2019 Caribbean cruise at the end of a long group of river and ocean cruises.  November 27 was a sea day from Grand Turk to Grand Cayman:

 

 

Roy

[BWIVince]

On 11/26/2022 at 12:05 AM, KenzSailing said:

Well, here in the US the day after Thanksgiving draws to a close.   Here at the Chez, that means one thing:  I have entered the humming Christmas carols penalty-free zone.  And I shall take advantage of this.

 

Also, this is your annual reminder that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 

 

I was doing ok in that department until the host of my first Zoom call of the day today played Mariah Carey's video of All I Want for Christmas is You as the lead-in music for the meeting.  For the next month subsequent songs will stick in my head -- someone finally flipped that switch..

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2007 Silver Whisper cruise.  November 28 was a sea day from Safaga to  Muscat:

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

I was doing ok in that department until the host of my first Zoom call of the day today played Mariah Carey's video of All I Want for Christmas is You as the lead-in music for the meeting.  For the next month subsequent songs will stick in my head -- someone finally flipped that switch..

 

Vince

 

There you are.  I figured you are in one of your "consumed by the job" periods.

 

Funny you should say that.  I saw a tweet just today to the effect that "I like Mariah Carey, but I hate Mariah Carey season."

 

 

[Roland4]

18 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

There you are.  I figured you are in one of your "consumed by the job" periods.

 

Funny you should say that.  I saw a tweet just today to the effect that "I like Mariah Carey, but I hate Mariah Carey season."

 

 

It is rather odd here on the ship. The Observation Lounge is all Christmas during the day, but walk back 30 feet the pool area and it's all older Top 40's music!!!

[BWIVince]

20 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

There you are.  I figured you are in one of your "consumed by the job" periods.

 

Funny you should say that.  I saw a tweet just today to the effect that "I like Mariah Carey, but I hate Mariah Carey season."

 

 

Yeah, fall is busy in the events industry, and this year was a struggle.  Just about every supplier was short staffed this fall just because conference onsites bounced back pretty much in one season.  Not only did hotels and venues not have enough staff, but the staff they did had have had a fractional load (of mostly smaller events) for the past few years, and many/most of them weren't working in those jobs pre-pandemic.  It's been a rough fall, but we're almost there.

 

haha. I don't know how that seemed to become the official Christmas song of my generation, I really don't.

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2014 Wind Star Transatlantic. November29 was disembarkation day in Barbados:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

3 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

Yeah, fall is busy in the events industry, and this year was a struggle.  Just about every supplier was short staffed this fall just because conference onsites bounced back pretty much in one season.  Not only did hotels and venues not have enough staff, but the staff they did had have had a fractional load (of mostly smaller events) for the past few years, and many/most of them weren't working in those jobs pre-pandemic.  It's been a rough fall, but we're almost there.

 

Vince

 

Yeah, it's funny(not funny) all the stress points involved in restarting the whole world's economic activity in such a compressed timeframe.  Oh well, as the old management cliche goes "it beats the alternative."

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2019 mostly Crystal combination (QM2, Bach, Serenity, and Symphony.  November 30 was the final port call, Key West:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

[mskatiemae]

18 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Today's sunrise is from a 2019 mostly Crystal combination (QM2, Bach, Serenity, and Symphony.  November 30 was the final port call, Key West:

 

 

Roy

Thanks for taking me back to the "before times", Roy. It helps me in processing the pandemic traumas...

 

I went on Mozart that month with my son and celebrated my birthday. Sonja Gruber as always exquisitely managed the hotel functions and it was in my plans to go on Mozart again. I hope for the best for Sonja and that lovely ship!

[KenzSailing]

 

Discord at the Chez: A(Brief) Tale in Two Parts

 

One: Storm's a Brewin'

 

So, despite our Document of Understanding(Christmas Carol Subsection) OLoPP, without warning nor provocation, declared a new edict: no carol humming before the Christmas wreath arrived.  

 

The kitchen staff, undermanned and overwhelmed by the holiday workload, felt this to be a fettering of their holiday spirit by which they could not abide(Carollers of the world, unite!)  Conflict, sought by neither party, seemed unavoidable.

 

Two: Dawn Breaks

 

Just before the advent of hostilities, a holiday miracle straight out of a Hallmark movie: the wreath arrives(yes, we order our wreaths, we are those people.)  Peace reigns at the Chez, the Eggs Benedict orders(sauce on the side for table 41) go out tout sweet.

 

Post script: Chef was prepared to go nuclear on this.  That's right, had it come to it, I would have hummed "The Little Drummer Boy" nonstop. That would have elicited a plea for anything else, even Mariah Carey. 

 

 

 

 

 

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

The kitchen staff, undermanned and overwhelmed by the holiday workload….

I’m so sorry to learn the kinda-sorta-post-Covid kinda-sorta-return-to-normal has struck even the kinda-sorta-Michelin starred Chez. 😢 My sympathies to the kinda-sorta Head Chef…

 

And, yes, caution always, with the discriminating guest(s) at Table 41. 🤦

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2016 combination, QM2 Eastbound transatlantic, a voyage on QE to fill a timing gap, and a return transatlantic on Seabourn Odyssey.  On December 2 Queen Elizabeth visited Lisbon:

 

 

Roy