XBGuy

I too, would hesitate to generalize. For anybody who has any hesitation about cruising, specifically, anybody who thinks they might be prone to motion sickness, I think it would be prudent to start with a short cruise. I do agree that short cruises do attract a party crowd. Then, again, a Vancouver-Los Angeles repositioning cruise is going to attract a much more sedate group of passengers. So, using that as a baseline might also be inaccurate, Also, any Mexico itinerary is going to attract more of a party hearty crowd--my experience includes 4-day. 5-day, 7-day and 10-day itineraries. I agree that the short cruises are most noticeably raucous, but the difference between passenger behavior an a Mexico itinerary and, say, an Alaska itinerary is very apparent. While I am done with the 4-day itineraries that seem to attract too many college age passengers I am also of the opinion that I can customize my cruise experience to my satisfaction. One recommendation that I would have for any new cruiser is to enjoy doing what you want to do.

I won't dispute the NZ SB recommendations. Mrs. XBGuy is a Chardonnay bigot. A few of her favorites: La Crema Sonoma Coast--I regularly buy this at Costco for about $13. Total Wine often also has it for about the same price. Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast. I buy this one for about $25 at Trader Joe's, but, again, I would not be surprised if Total Wine carried it. Mrs. XBGuy particularly likes this one because it has a screw cap. Sonoma Loeb Sonoma Coast. This is a terrific wine produced by the Chappellet winery. The only place I've ever seen it is Total Wine and, as I recall, it is also in the mid $20s.

Adding to the significance of the day, it is also the 252nd anniversary of German piano player Ludwig van Beethoven. How many of these melodies do you recognize?

We had a nice (and cold) rainfall a few days ago. This was the view from our front yard of the San Gabriel Mountains. This is about as close to snow as I like to get. 😁

We have not cruised since 2020, but the above stories frighten me, I really don't know which one is worst. I have enjoyed bringing a few of my own bottles of wine on Princess cruises, but I also enjoyed buying bottles of the various wine lists. The Sabatini's wine list on our 2019 Royal Princess cruise was terrific, and on the Star Princess in 2020 I discovered three bottles of Chappellet Merlot on display at Vines that were not on the list. It looks like whenever we are able to resume cruising, I may have to bring an entire wine locker on board.

If I might ask, can you explain why you thought the steak at Sur la Mer was better that the steak at Crown Grill? I have yet to cruise on a ship that has Sur la Mer, but I look forward to doing so. Mrs. XBGuy and I dine in the specialty restaurants quite often. I like red meat as much as the next guy, and I have found Crown Grill to be pretty inconsistent. I have experienced two problems. The beef at Crown Grill is purported to be "Prime." Prime according to whom? I am pretty sure that it is not USDA Prime. I have had too many steaks in Crown Grill that would have been graded USDA Choice in any of my local supermarkets. However, my bigger disappointment has been getting my beef (or lamb) prepared to my specification, I try it impress my preference on the server when I place my order, but often I find that message was not properly translated when I cut into my dinner. I know I am talking about a First World problem here, but isn't that why the internet was created?

Yes, I agree that is a problem. If you are able to manage your luggage, then self-walk-off works for you, and you can continue making those early flight reservations. .

OP, you will find a card in your cabin advising of the time and venue for the PES event. They used to also summarize noshes that will be offered each day. I assume they still do so.

Happily, Mrs. XBGuy and I are healthy. More often than not we will take the stairs. One notable exception is if she is wearing a long skirt when we go to dinner. I have observed that waiting for an elevator on disembarkation day looks futile. The cruise lines pay people to schlep our luggage around. I think that is a great program. So, we pack up our large bags the day before and put them outside our cabin in the evening for the elves to take away,. I have a wine tote that I use to bring bottles of my own wine on board. At the end of the cruise there is no more wine left. So, that tote is useful for packing away toiletries and things that were not put out the previous evening. It is small enough that I can easily carry it up or down stairs.

Très bien. I am a bit envious of the @ottahand7s lifestyle.

This wine probably is in your wheelhouse @cat shepard. "Off dry" is the universal descriptor for Vouvray. I, personally, prefer Vouvray Sec, which means the wine has been fermented to complete dryness--no detectable residual sugar. I just realized that while I prefer Vouvray Sec, I really do not care for Dry Rieslings at all. Riesling wines need some residual sugar--and, in fact, a lot of residual sugar also works. 😁

Thank you for this report. I have never cruised on a Royal Caribbean ship and I am unfamiliar with the "Royal Promenade. Can you provide a brief description of that?

Chicken is on the menu in Diamond Bar, tonight El Pollo Loco is my absolute favorite fast foodl

Apologies for @partybarbie, but since the topic of the Super Tuscan Dinner has been broached, the is the menu we had on the Royal Princess in 2019 The wines were terrific. Not all them were Super Tuscans. As we entered the venue, we were handed a glass of Prosecco. The La Cala which was served with the antipasto was a Sardinian Vermentino. (Franco, the Headwaiter in Sabatini's for that cruise and who provided commentary on some of the wines for this event, is a proud Sardinian.) My recollection is that they served Limoncello with the dessert. I am a bit surprised at the suggestion that these events are not popular with Princess passengers. Sabatini's closed for this event, and every seat in the room was occupied the evening we did it.

We visited Lima in 2004 when we were on a Celebrity cruise. Some of the pictures that @HAL4NOWposted led me to believe that the excursion that we took visited that same hacienda and those same ruins. Mrs. XBGuy was allowed to ride a Paso Horse. I suspect that was the highlight of the cruise for her. We had pictures, but they were lost in a system kerfuffle some years ago, The other highlight of that hacienda visit was a Pachamanca for our lunch. A Pachamanca is like a Peruvian Luau--a pig is roasted under a pile of leaves and rocks with potatoes and vegetables. Of special interest was the local corn. The kernels were quite large--approximately 1/2 inch. Many of the cruisers were disappointed in the corn because it was not sweet at all--very starchy. As you might imagine many of us turistas, including me, were wearing shorts--it was late summer in the Southern Hemisphere. As I was wandering around I noticed that one of my fellow cruisers had multiple drips of blood on the back of his calves, Then I noticed that I had similar drips running down the backs of my calves. Yup, there was some sort of bug in the grass that was munching on us, I forget the name of the bug. The bites were inconsequential until hours later when the started itching like crazy. I was scratching like crazy for the next couple of days.-

OP, can you give us a quick overview of your itinerary? We know you made what sounded like an unscheduled stop in Cabo San Lucas.

La Rochelle is one of the zillions of places I have never visited. I have, however, enjoyed this vicarious experience. Breakfast at La Rochelle with Athos, Aremis, Porthos, D'Artagnan and, of course, Planchet. Why do we always have to attack uphill?

We have done three September Alaska cruises. Here is the one warning that I would give. If you head to the Alaska Fudge store in Skagway with the intent of buying mint fudge, you may be disappointed. Obviously, they try to run out their inventory of ingredients the last weeks of the season. In our case we settled on "Inside Passage" (Peanut Butter inside the fudge). It is definitely cooler, but after a hot summer in SoCal, we are always ready for cool. I have always been able to dress comfortably. If you enjoy hot tubbing on the ship, however, I guarantee that when you step out, your body will be covered with goose bumps. We have hit rain on Alaska Cruises in April, May, August and September. To me saying that it is rainy in September suggests that it is not rainy some other month. It just hasn't been our experience. The biggest storm we have ever experienced on a cruise was in August in the Gulf of Alaska. I am inclined to agree with Captain @Heidi13 in that we have seemed it encounter more fog on September cruises. It has never been a big deal. So, yeah, the big downside may be a shortage at the Skagway fudge store.

Sending best Thanksgiving wishes to al U.S.-based Dailyintes. To all other Dailyites, I certainly wish you a great Thursday. Mrs. XBGuy likes to go over the top for Thanksgiving. She was prepping all day yesterday. My personal favorite is her cranberry sauce. She puts a little bit of crystallized ginger in it for a very distinctive zip. I am not much of a Cava/Champagne/Cremant/Prosecco/Sekt/Sparkling Wine drinker, but we usually have some on hand for festive occasions. Here is today's wine: Paula Kornell is the daughter of Hanns Kornell who founded his eponymous Hanns Kornell Champagne Cellars in 1958 and operated it until 1992. Paula Kornell had a very full career in the hospitality and the wine industries when she established her label in 2019. The "hook" for me, however, is the winemaker--Robin Akhurst. Robin Akhurst is a Scotsman who decided to sell his motorcycle and become a winemaker. He studied in Burgundy and New Zealand before coming to Napa Valley. There he apprenticed with two very highly regarded winemakers--Thomas Rivers Brown and Mike Smith. In addition to being the winemaker at Paula Kornell, Akhurst is also the winemaker for Clos Pegase and Swanson Vineyards. However, these jobs are what pay the bills. Akhurst is also the owner and winemaker of Apsara Cellars. At Apsara he crafts small lots of truly excellent wines. The largest production run I have seen of any Apsara wine is 150 cases. The smallest I have ever seen was 37 cases. I am particularly impressed with Apsara red wines. Over the years two were particularly outstanding: the 2013 Amoenus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2015 Las Madres Vineyard 100% Whole Cluster Syrah. The latter of these is still available at the winery's website. I just took delivery of three more bottles. Thank you for indulging me.

The great silence begins. 😟 Two months until The Roar Before the 24 -- Jan. 20, 2023. 😁

Quady? Making a Cabernet Franc? I know Quady as a dessert wine maker. Have they branched out? Where is Applegate Valley. As usual @cat shepard answered my questions. The winery is not "Quady." It's "Quady North." Applegate Valley is in Southern Oregon. It looks like it is adjacent to Rogue Valley, Herb Quady, the "President for Life," (Hmm. I probably shouldn't spread that around because some people might think it is a real title which they deserve.), is the scion of the family that owned the winery in Madera California with which I was familiar. Thank you, @cat shepard. You resolved all my questions. This is one of the reasons that I visit "The Daily" daily. There were a couple things in the "Distributor Notes" that caught my eye. I am fanatical about spelling and grammar. Herb Quady's "accidental exposure to the world of Rhone varieties" was at the hand of Randall Grahm (not Graham). This faux pas is not the fault of @cat shepard. I went to the Quady North website and found the same mistake. Randall Grahm is a singularly important California winemaking figure. He was one of (if not the) original Rhone Rangers--a group of winemakers who espoused the use of grape varieties used in France's Rhone Valley. There are over 60 varieties used in the various Rhone districts, but the most well-known of these are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. The efforts of the Rhone Rangers turned out to be particularly well-received in the Paso Robles region although I can point to impressive Rhone variety wines produced from almost every region of California. Grahm has evolved (as most of us do) from an enfant terrible in his early days to become a respected elder (albeit, not surrendering his quirkiness) of California winemakers. The other thing that intrigued me is that Herb Quady's daughter is named Margaux. Margaux is, of course, the the highly regarded wine appellation in Bordeaux region. Arguably, the most famous maker in that region is Chateau Margaux. It seems strange to me that she was named after a Bordeaux appellation rather than one from Rhone or Loire. Of course, who's kidding who? Margaux is a much more melodious name than, say, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Crozes-Hermitage although Chinon (speaking of Cabernet Franc) would not be bad. 😆

👍👍👍 My kind of grocery shopping. Trader Joe's is now on XBGuy probation, though. On my last visit I could not find the Greek Medley olives. I asked and learned that this has been discontinued. Grrrr.

Quite drinkable. Not particularly sophisticated or complex, but perfect with the hamburgers and air fries that we had. Life is good. 😁

Aw shucks. Thank you for the kind comments. I'm really pleased that you enjoyed the concerto. I am following your lead by trying out a low dollar red wine tonight. I just poured a Red Blend wine from Horsehill Vineyard. This vineyard is, as the crow flies about 5 miles from my house, on the campus of California Polytechnic University, Pomona and is managed jointly by the agriculture and the hospitality colleges. The grapes are then fermented at a Temecula Valley winery about an hour drive south. So, while students have much responsibility in maintaining the vineyard and harvesting the grapes, the winemaking is done by experienced professionals.

OH EM GEE. All those look so good to me. All those recipes have been sent to Mrs. XBGuy. Thank you. In honor of Clarinet Day, here is what many consider the greatest concerto ever written. Not just the greatest clarinet concerto ever written. The greatest concerto ever written. Who am I to argue? I know, however, that Mrs. XBGuy would disagree. For Americans here is the opening of this piece is a great opportunity for the principal clarinetist to mess up,