Jim_Iain – Silhouette Live Post April 8, 21, 30 - B3B - TransAtlantic, Portugal Spain, France and the Norwegian Fjords

[Ex-Airbalancer]

12 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

They have been making announcements that we have not yet been cleared.   100% of guest and crew need the Passenger Identification form filled out, regardless if planning on going ashore or not for the ship to be cleared.   They have terminals available in the Meeting Place for those that have not completed.   Ugh...

 

I would have thought they would have tracked this down before we arrived. 

Weird , you would think since you already docked in Azores that would cover mainland Portugal 

[mocruzer]

If you have time, I recommend a side trip to Sintra and Pena palace.  

[Tigrou]

32 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Yes.  Had some from a bakery in town also.  They were good but not as good as those from Belem.  

On the Silhouette 2019 WBTA they had them in the buffet on ‘Taste of Portugal’ day and they were delicious. I was hoping for some this time, especially with port calls in Portugal, but haven’t seen any. In fact there’s only been one ‘Taste of’ (Caribbean) listed in the planner, on day 2. In 2019 it was a different one each lunchtime.

 

[CruiseNYC]

Hi Jim 

 

Sorry for off-topic question but I seem to recall that you were on the Equinox - maybe last year?

I'm looking to book a B2B next year and I'm trying to find your Equinox review.  Where would I find that?

 

Again, apologies for such a random question.  Loving your current trip!!  

 

Thank you for your help and forbearance.

Carole

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for the recommendation.  We did a tour of Pena Palace.   As you indicated it was very magical and a fun day.    We did it a couple years ago as part of a Celebrity tour.   They got us there just before opening and we were the first in before the crowds arrived.

 

They later stopped by the Belem were the driver had a backdoor access to get Pasteis de Nata.    They had these little cinnamon sachet to sprinkle on top that made them special.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

The ship must have cleared. Excursions are going off ship.  No general announcement yet but may have missed it.   I took a 15 minute cat nap.  

[Purplsmurf]

You would think that everyone would be made aware of the PLF needed for Portugal. My son is going back home to Spain today from Germany via Lisbon and we had no idea that a PLF was needed. Thankfully it was mentioned when checking in for the flight.

 

This might have been mentioned, but I didn’t see it, so sorry if I ask again. If taking a Celebrity sponsored tour and someone tests positive, are they still quarantining everyone that was on the excursion or anyone that was close to that person? I am reading conflicting information. Seems that this might have been discontinued?

 

Have a great rest of your cruise.

[hcat]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Arriving Lisbon around 2:30 pm.  Since out your was cancelled will be exploring on our own.  Today is Easter Monday which is a holiday in most of Europe, so hoping things will be open. 
 

Lovely photo....the blues and blue greens are stunning...thr bridge and cross stand out...photos  in posts below are also beautiful!  Thanks for sharing!

[littlemisshoney]

48 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

You would think that everyone would be made aware of the PLF needed for Portugal. My son is going back home to Spain today from Germany via Lisbon and we had no idea that a PLF was needed. Thankfully it was mentioned when checking in for the flight.

 

This might have been mentioned, but I didn’t see it, so sorry if I ask again. If taking a Celebrity sponsored tour and someone tests positive, are they still quarantining everyone that was on the excursion or anyone that was close to that person? I am reading conflicting information. Seems that this might have been discontinued?

 

Have a great rest of your cruise.

Good question, if thats the case think I might cancel our tours and just have a wander round ourselves. 

[catspaw1]

2 hours ago, mocruzer said:

If you have time, I recommend a side trip to Sintra and Pena palace.  

We were in Portugal October 2019 for almost 3 weeks. We stayed 3 nights in Sintra. Although easy to access from Lisbon, a day trip doesn't do the town justice. I would recommend going to the Belem neighborhood of Lisbon for better use of limited time. The pastry pastle de nata is to die for at the famous bakery there. When hot, they are so much better. 

[erikb923]

Time Out Market is awesome, all the best Portuguese food (plus tons of other options) in one big food court/hall. 

[Jim_Iain]

Just now, Purplsmurf said:

You would think that everyone would be made aware of the PLF needed for Portugal. My son is going back home to Spain today from Germany via Lisbon and we had no idea that a PLF was needed. Thankfully it was mentioned when checking in for the flight.

 

This might have been mentioned, but I didn’t see it, so sorry if I ask again. If taking a Celebrity sponsored tour and someone tests positive, are they still quarantining everyone that was on the excursion or anyone that was close to that person? I am reading conflicting information. Seems that this might have been discontinued?

 

Have a great rest of your cruise.

My understanding was that only the persons that were within 6 feet of an infected person for 10 minutes would be contact traced.   On previous cruise they had a list of where each person sat and you had to use the same seat after each stop.

 

On the only tour we took on this cruise it was only a 10 minute ride to the tour boat.   The had no record of where anyone sat.

[Jim_Iain]

We just wandered around and had a pleasant walk.     We both overshot our steps and i'm up to 28,000 for the day.    I guess I can have a good dinner tonight.

 

 

[runningtide]

17 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We just wandered around and had a pleasant walk.     We both overshot our steps and i'm up to 28,000 for the day.    I guess I can have a good dinner tonight.

 

 

Jim..you are a machine !!!!

[Jim_Iain]

Our rambling this afternoon in Lisbon.   

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

Anthony, the bartender downstairs in Retreat, is leaving in Southampton.   He mentioned that what he loved in Lisbon was the canned Cod Fish.    We stumbled upon this shop that specifically is canned fish of all types.  
 

We bought him some for taking such good care of us. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

 

 

 

 

[Purplsmurf]

1 hour ago, littlemisshoney said:

Good question, if thats the case think I might cancel our tours and just have a wander round ourselves. 

I’m thinking  of doing the same thing, as I have no idea how far we might have to drive to get to our tour. One of them is by boat so that might be ok. Another is a tuk tuk, which is ok if we are by ourselves. Otherwise I have no idea 

[5waldos]

What a gorgeous day it looks to be! 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Have they been giving any deals on specialty restaurants before Covid it was pretty easy to get 40% off 

on a Holy Land Cruise every night was 50% off 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, 5waldos said:

What a gorgeous day it looks to be! 

Beautiful sunny but the winds were cold and strong.   Once you got a block from the ships you were protected.  
 

we spoke with some that did the Hop on Hop Off.   They said it was freezing and had come back to the ship and take a hot shower to warm up. 

[5waldos]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Beautiful sunny but the winds were cold and strong.   Once you got a block from the ships you were protected.  
 

we spoke with some that did the Hop on Hop Off.   They said it was freezing and had come back to the ship and take a hot shower to warm up. 

Yes- looks gorgeous but 52 degrees F and high wind watch (aka Coastal Event) might make sail away a bit rough. Perhaps I'm happier with just the pictures!

[mchell810]

Your pictures of Lisbon are bringing back great memories of my last overseas trip in 2019.  It seems we wandered along the same streets.