shark b8 Posted September 30 Author #26 Share Posted September 30 We’ve done a couple of cruises on the Sojourn in the last 1-2 years, and Ross was CD. Guess who’s the CD here on the Encore? He’s a lot of fun of course, but I’m sure previous cruisers will agree that he really needs to come out of his shell, try not to be so introverted. 😅 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare galeforce9 Posted September 30 #27 Share Posted September 30 22 minutes ago, shark b8 said: That very last part. “ay, there’s the rub!” I’m not 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLSD Posted September 30 #28 Share Posted September 30 22 minutes ago, shark b8 said: Several kind words from folks, thank you very large. Although, as Mrs Sharkbait says, “don't offer compliments, it only encourages him”. 😎 Tell Mrs. Sharkbait that you are well known for your cruise commentary and we all wait for it. We think SB should just hire you and let you stay onboard writing about your experiences. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labonnevie Posted October 1 #29 Share Posted October 1 15 hours ago, shark b8 said: Next flight, from London to Athens…..not so fun. They advertise the first 10-12 rows as 2-and-2, as opposed to the 3-3 configuration further back. One might think, surely more comfortable. Wrong. ALL rows are 3-3, they just put people in only the aisle and window seats in the front area. Legroom nearly less than zero. BA is notorious for this. At 6 ft 3, I learned my lesson once. No more BA in Europe for me. Actually after other poor BA business class flights from LA to LHR, they are on the permanent “no fly” list. YMMV 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng75370 Posted October 1 #30 Share Posted October 1 (edited) 8 hours ago, shark b8 said: We’ve done a couple of cruises on the Sojourn in the last 1-2 years, and Ross was CD. Guess who’s the CD here on the Encore? His book is a good read and I’m a bit surprised not sold onboard. And don’t get me started on his wardrobe! https://a.co/d/3lbSH76 Edited October 1 by johng75370 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #31 Share Posted October 1 8 hours ago, SLSD said: We think SB should just hire you and let you stay onboard I’m think I’m in favor of this too. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #32 Share Posted October 1 We’ve docked in Limassol, Cyprus. First shore excursion of the trip coming up - Greco-Roman ruins. Pretty sure we can expect a lot of Greco-Roman ruins on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #33 Share Posted October 1 ……and just glanced at Google Maps & reminded myself that Cyprus is only about 150 miles from Lebanon. 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLSD Posted October 1 #34 Share Posted October 1 4 hours ago, shark b8 said: ……and just glanced at Google Maps & reminded myself that Cyprus is only about 150 miles from Lebanon. 😳 Wow. I had not realized that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted October 1 #35 Share Posted October 1 And currently quite few of the British forces out there incase of needed escape for Brits living there, by plane or even by sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #36 Share Posted October 1 Temple of Apollo. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #37 Share Posted October 1 Theater at Kourion. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #38 Share Posted October 1 We’re berthed next to Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam. She’s a big ‘un, 3,000+ pax. Actually more like a long ‘un. And in Piraeus we were parked next to their Oosterdam. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted October 1 #39 Share Posted October 1 (edited) Thanks for another great live thread, shark b8. I agree with SLSD that Seabourn should hire you to do this. 2 hours ago, shark b8 said: We’re berthed next to Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam. She’s a big ‘un, 3,000+ pax. 2,666 passengers with all lower booths full only qualifies as mid-sized these days, might be considered small in another few years. Oosterdam's capacity is 1964 pax. Edited October 1 by whogo Couldn't spell SLSD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #40 Share Posted October 1 1 hour ago, whogo said: 2,666 passengers………might be considered small in another few years. Not by me. 😜 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #41 Share Posted October 1 2 hours ago, whogo said: Thanks for another great live thread, shark b8. I agree with SLSD that Seabourn should hire you to do this. Gosharootie, thanks for all the flattering phantasmal employment wishes, but somehow my reaction might be sorta like Groucho’s, when he received an acceptance at a club. He supposedly said (something akin to): “I really don't think I’d want to join any organization that would actually accept me as a member.” On the other hand, if the compensation was into 6 figures….. oh and by the way - I kinda like those Penthouse suites…. And……..Sunny would like the sea life, you know…. and also…. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #42 Share Posted October 1 ok. Back to the matter at hand. We did a “Signature Dinner” and “Wine Pairing” meal at The Restaurant tonight. Some great stuff, some just ok. Details tomorrow when I have more time and…..am marginally more sober. (note third pic header: “desert wine”. Made out of cactus juice?) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 1 Author #43 Share Posted October 1 (edited) Turkey tomorrow. Not for dinner, for visiting. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Edited October 1 by shark b8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare galeforce9 Posted October 1 #44 Share Posted October 1 1 hour ago, shark b8 said: ok. Back to the matter at hand. We did a “Signature Dinner” and “Wine Pairing” meal at The Restaurant tonight. Some great stuff, some just ok. Details tomorrow when I have more time and…..am marginally more sober. (note third pic header: “desert wine”. Made out of cactus juice?) Yes, that dinner was our first and last in the restaurant for us on Encore a couple of weeks ago. Sounded ok but…. We had a fantastic cruise. That wasn’t the highlight. Look forward to your comments … 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astride Posted October 1 #45 Share Posted October 1 On 9/30/2024 at 6:24 AM, shark b8 said: As is their habit, Butch and Sundance (our critters at home) gifted us a nice bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the first night. But champagne cried out for something else…what could it be? Hello, old friend. Have missed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astride Posted October 1 #46 Share Posted October 1 On 9/30/2024 at 6:24 AM, shark b8 said: As is their habit, Butch and Sundance (our critters at home) gifted us a nice bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the first night. But champagne cried out for something else…what could it be? Hello, old friend. Have missed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astride Posted October 1 #47 Share Posted October 1 On 9/30/2024 at 6:24 AM, shark b8 said: As is their habit, Butch and Sundance (our critters at home) gifted us a nice bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the first night. But champagne cried out for something else…what could it be? Hello, old friend. Have missed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astride Posted October 1 #48 Share Posted October 1 On 9/30/2024 at 6:24 AM, shark b8 said: As is their habit, Butch and Sundance (our critters at home) gifted us a nice bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the first night. But champagne cried out for something else…what could it be? Hello, old friend. Have missed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark b8 Posted October 2 Author #49 Share Posted October 2 OK, the wine-paired dinner last night. Every few cruises, I decide not to do any of the wine-paired dinners onboard any more. They're not cheap (last night: $195/pp) and I mostly think, after the fact, that they weren’t particularly satisfying, at least not at that price. Then one will come along that makes me think “well, maybe this one will be a winner”. That’s what I thought last night. Ancient history: we started to get more serious about wine back during the “boom” of the 1980’s. I could drive to Vendome Liquors in West L.A. and get absolute powerhouse white burgundies (Chassagne-Montrachets, Meursaults, etc, and big oaky buttery Calif chardonnays: Chalone, etc, as well as first growth Bordeaux’s - Lafite, Margaux, Latour, etc) for what back then was a comparative pittance. I look back on that now with wistful melancholy. Anyway, powerhouse whites seem to be wildly out of fashion these days, restrained Sauvignon Blancs and the like seem much more favored. Just not our preference. So when I saw the Latour Puligny-Montrachet, and the trockenbeerenauslese, I thought hmmmm. (I’ve become a dessert-wine aficionado, Sauternes & port are my favorite desserts). Well, the wines (mostly) just didn’t measure up to my expectations - in fairness I’m perfectly willing to believe that the problem might lie more with those expectations, rather than the wines themselves. Some pix of the food, in order: lobster thing, mushroom cappuccino, veal cannelloni, Tournedos, halibut, dessert. I guess I liked the lobster starter and the “mushroom cappuccino” best, the latter was a clever presentation and quite tasty. Beef was perfectly fine if not remarkable - although a sautéed foie gras topping will always make me smile. The wines just seemed restrained to me yet again, as most everything these days does. We tend to like BIG flavors, in both food or drink. Oh well. The trockenbeerenauslese was actually quite tasty and a noticeably stunning dark amber color. So that’s my James-Joycean-stream-of-consciousness judgment. I guess you had the same thing galeforce9 - what did *you* think? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare English Tim Posted October 2 #50 Share Posted October 2 With reference to British Airways, there is an argument to book an economy seat in the exit row, which gives plenty of legroom but then there are three people in the row. On our last flight, they booted us out of the exit row and put us at the back. I wrote to them but they don’t seem to care. The problem with the Athens flight is that it’s relatively long and the food and beverage offering in economy is not very good, so best to stick in business and hope you can get the front seat, which we did in the relatively brief time that we were gold members, at least they give you nice champagne, which we will enjoy on our fourth coming flight to Athens. We board the ship the day you get off. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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