kochleffel

My first choice would be a Misty Fjords flight with Island Wings. A Herring Cove bear tour would be next: on a boardwalk above the bears, and they use two guides, one to escort you and another to look for bears.

41 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

New menu:  antipasti and pasta sections combined -- ONLY 6 items!!  So went from 14 down to 6!!!

And, iirc, only two items from the old pasta section, including risotto. No more gnocchi, for example.

Shavuot decorations

The decorations represent four loosely related themes of Shavuot. Chronologically, they are the festival of first fruits, a harvest festival defined in the Torah, seven weeks after Passover; the revelation at Sinai, calculated to coincide with that; the Book of Ruth, one of the readings for Shavuot, perhaps chosen because the denouement takes place during the barley harvest; and eating dairy foods, on the theory that the Hebrews, after receiving the commandments, realized that any meat they had wasn't kosher.

From left to right: a giclee print of a painting of Ruth and Naomi; the Ten Commandments (bookends); a sheaf of wheat, since I haven't found the barley, but wheat is another of the Seven Species of biblical food crops; a box of Lactaid, representing the hardship that Shavuot imposes on those of us who are lactose-intolerant; pomegranates, figs, and grapes, three more of the Seven Species; a 19th-century French painting depicting Moses and Aaron at Mount Sinai; and olives, another of the Seven Species. I'm told that the fruits are supposed to be in a gold or silver basket, which I neither have nor want. This is a hammered-aluminum tray that was a wedding present to my parents.

Thinking of yesterday's discussion of Zuiderdam's having docked at Oceankaj in Copenhagen: there is a thread in the forum of aNother Cruise Line accusing that line of choosing cheap industrial ports instead of nice cruise ports, and calling it bait and switch. This season, Seabourn, Viking, and AIDA are the only cruise lines using Langelinie for day calls at Copenhagen. All others are using Oceankaj.

It is true that Oceankaj is in a huge port complex, the rest of which handles cargo, including container ships, roros, and tankers, but the Oceankaj docks are used only by cruise ships.

When I was rolling a bag across Gamla Stan in Stockholm, walking from my hotel to a bus to the cruise terminal, I was very glad that it was a two-wheeled bag. The noise, on cobblestones, was still considerable, but at least it rolled.

Both of my rolling bags--I use only one a time, to be clear--are two-wheeled. One, from eBags, is legal as a carry-on, should I want to. The other is a 28-inch rolling duffel from Eagle Creek, no longer made. I suppose that it might be possible to pack the latter too heavily to check, but I never have.

Where I most liked the four-course menu was La Cucina: antipasto, pasta, main, dessert, a typical menu in Italy. One time I had a new server who didn't understand this and served the pasta and the main together. I had him take the main back until I was ready for it.

56 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

if NCL is docking somewhere unusual and further than other mainstream cruise line ships (not Seaborne or Oceana) then that might be helpful information for other cruisers to know.

NCL is using Oceankaj, the same as all cruise lines except Seabourn, Viking, and AIDA this season.

Only cruise ships dock at Oceankaj; they're not docking right next to container ships, tankers, and the like. However, other docks in the massive Nordhavnen complex may be visible, especially on the road in and out.

A spinach wrap with hummus would be OK; the drink would not. There is less Traminette grown in the Finger Lakes that I would have predicted, given that it was developed here by Cornell at the NYS Agriculture Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. I'd be willing to try the 2021 from the tiny Deer Run Winery on Conesus Lake, $16.99. "[T]ropical fruit bouquet with citrus notes and a floral finish. A perfect wine to pair with Asian dishes or spicy foods!"

I've taken two cruises to Bermuda but only set foot on the island once, for just one of the three scheduled days. The other two days of that cruise, and all of the second, were spent in the Bermuda Triangle.

16 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Similarly at Copenhagen, ships visiting for the day may dock at Langeline, which is a fairly easy walk to the centre, but if on a turn around then they go to Nordhavnen. I’m not sure whether the Dawn is doing cruises to or from Copenhagen at the moment so if it went to Nordhavnen on a day stop then that would not be my expectation, but can happen depending on numbers of ships around.

The Dawn's May docking at Copenhagen was at Oceankaj, which is the main cruise terminal for embarkations (part of the Nordhavnen complex). Looking at the port schedules, there are few day calls at Langelinie--chiefly Viking, Seabourn, and AIDA ships. Holland America's Zuiderdam was also at Oceankaj yesterday and passengers complained in that forum about the distance, inconvenience, and cost of the shuttles. Oceankaj is served by bus to the Metro but day visitors tend not to know that.

I'd like a frittata with asparagus and leek, but would substitute something else for the ricotta, which is very high in lactose. A Negroni would be OK, too; I have gin but no Campari or red vermouth. A German pinot noir should be very like one grown in the Finger Lakes. For a sustainably grown one, I might look to Silver Thread Vineyard for its 2022: "Reminiscent of a Bourgogne Rouge but with a Finger Lakes stamp of origin, this terroir-driven Pinot Noir has aromas of plums, cherries, forest floor, wet stone and dried herbs.  It is delicate in color, yet displays focused intensity and complexity on the palate.  Its long finish shows vanilla, caramel, red fruit and minerals from the shale-heavy soil of our vineyard," $32.

I visited Tracy Arm Inlet in 2021 as a day trip from Juneau with Adventure Bound.

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

We will be there in August with another couple docking in Oceankaj.  I have explored public transportation (~5US pp one way) options and the cost of a taxi (~40US one way) to Nyhavn where we would like to begin our day with a canal cruise.

I embarked from Oceankaj in 2022. From there, if you have time, it's easy to take the 25 bus to Orientkaj and the Metro to Kongens Nytorv. If you want to get to Nyhavn from the Kongens Nytorv station, it's a 10-minute walk, but the most practical way to find the route and pay the fare is with the Danish DOT phone app, which a passenger on a day call probably wouldn't have. IIRC, you can install the phone app anywhere but you might have to be in Denmark to set up the payment method.

1 hour ago, dfish said:

 I think this morning was so bad because of the weather front moving through.  We had a pretty strong low pressure system come through and that can cause a lot of problems in us old, arthritic people. 

It's arriving here now.

1 hour ago, Nickelpenny said:

I sub part-time on my schedule; I pick and choose when and where I want to work.  There is an app that the jobs post when the teacher requests a sub or I get a message from my friends.  It comes out to about 110 schools in the 2 districts combined but I really don't like elementary so that limits the schools I am willing to go to.  I aim for about 8 days/month but I have done as much as 15/month and as little as 2.5/month; last year I subbed for 75.5 days between the 2 districts.  I love it!!  

In Los Angeles I had jury duty with a woman who was a substitute teacher for Los Angeles, Burbank, and Glendale. She gave preference to Los Angeles, because if she taught enough days per year she could participate in their health insurance, and almost always worked at the same school. In their system, your priority rose when you accepted sub calls and fell when you didn't. She disliked teaching the first or last week of the school year, so she marked herself as "on vacation" those weeks.

I'm from the middle of the first wave of the baby boom. I appreciated the explanation of the date for delusions day but I don't think that delusions need any encouragement.

Deviled eggs would be OK and maybe I'll make some. I'd probably like the drink, once anyway. For the wine, we're back to Weis Vineyards, this time for the Winzer Select Riesling K 2002. "This delicate off dry style Kabinett Riesling is bright and vibrant with classic white peach, flinty minerality, and lively lemony acidity on the finish in addition to more ripe tropical notes of kiwi and guava. The fuller body and slightly acidic backbone means it will age well and pairs with many different foods," $26.99.

5 minutes ago, dfish said:

It could probably use a bit of pepper.

I thought you might suggest butternut squash.

In my experience, most cats don't like to be hugged. Fergus did, but Mona Lisa and DaVinci wouldn't tolerate it. Child victims of aggression deserve more attention. Old Maid's Day is a good idea but the name is questionable.

I would like the omelet and actually have the ingredients for it. No on the drink (heat). For the wine, I'll nominate Salmon Run (Dr. Frank's second label) NV Coho White. "Intense aromatics and flavors married with dazzling acidity bursting with peaches, candied lemon, wildflower honey, and exotic tropical fruits. Succulently sweet, finishing crisp and clean with long-lasting flavors," $12.99.

The many neighborhood dogs are having a barkfest this morning.

On 6/2/2024 at 10:57 AM, Rib Jig said:

2024.

B2B = Barcelona to Barcelona?  Yes.

The ordinary sense of B2B is "back to back": consecutive cruises on the same ship.

For the most part, people organize groups for private tours through the roll call for their cruise.

Most tour operators will want you to organize the group yourself, but I've had good results with italytoursharing.com, which allows you to search their site (by port and date) for groups that other passengers have started and which still have room, or to create a new group that others can join. In the latter case, you announce your new group in the roll call and give a link for others to sign up.

If a group doesn't achieve the minimum number for that tour, they will try to find you a space in another group.

My first cruise was the western Mediterranean, from Rome (could also board at Barcelona) and all my excursions were private ones organized or promoted through the roll calls.

When I was on the Jade in 2022, we docked at Mykonos and Corfu. Santorini was the only tender port. Our itinerary didn't include Zakynthos.

Back from shopping. You might remember that I had bok choy left, which led me to buy tofu for a stir-fry. Now I have tofu left, so today I was buying beet and turnip greens for another stir-fry. Tofu that remains will be used some other way. The greens have small beets and turnips attached, which will be pickled (separately). I also bought a head of red leaf lettuce and will use some of it tonight.

14 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

I have an online friend who has a similar problem,  He lives in Kentucky, but he has a friend who lives across the border in Indiana and can get some wines shipped there.

I occasionally notice where some of the local wineries can ship. Many can't ship to Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, or Utah. There are some other states that they can ship to only through an intermediary such as Vinoshipper. Indiana, BTW, is such a state.

1 hour ago, lazey1 said:

Am I the only one who hates the aftertaste of Paxlovid?

I think that everyone hates it.

25 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We sailed on RCL Serenade of the seas in May 2015 from Copenhagen visiting.

Stockholm.

Tallinn.

St Petersburg

Helsinki.

Returning to Copenhagen.

We sat on our balcony for hours sailing up the Archipelago into Stockholm and also on the return out of Stockholm.

The Serenade itinerary in 2019 was Stockholm, Visby, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki. There were many British passengers and enough from Spain that many announcements were repeated in Spanish. Also one couple from Norway that I know of.

I cruised from Copenhagen more recently on the Voyager of the Seas: Oslo, Kristiansand, Skagen, Aarhus.

4 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Visby, Gotland, Sweden

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Did you sail up the Archipelago of Stockholm?

That is a wonderful long sail in and out of Stockholm.

Sailed for day in the Stockholm archipelago on the Serenade of the Seas in 2019, and called at Visby the next day. It was during Almedalen Week, and Visby was teeming with politicians, political operatives, and political demonstrators. The younger political operatives appeared to spend more on their clothes and hair styles than most people would on a car.

I was on a Baltic cruise over the Fourth of July in 2019. I thought about putting a U.S. flag magnet on my door, but the cabin I had was all the way forward and no one would ever pass my door. I later got an upgrade but too late to obtain the magnet.

A door magnet to help in recognizing your room is a good idea. My next cruise is on NCL but, as mentioned, I haven't seen that they enforce the policy against door decorations, at least not if they don't stick out too far.

10 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

According to Cruise Critic guidelines, there should really have been two Roll Calls for the legs that could be booked separately, but it wasn't caught I guess! Good luck planning your cruise!

That often happens. CC wants there to be a separate roll call for each leg, but typically someone jumps the gun and posts a combined roll call for the first of the two. Because they can be booked as one itinerary, the person may not even realize that it's two married segments.

It can be worse. My first cruise was a NCL western Med itinerary that interported between Barcelona and Rome. I was boarding at Rome and ended up participating in three roll calls: one for the first Barcelona sailing, one for the Rome sailing, and one for the second Barcelona sailing. The first sailing was the beginning of the Med season and there was also some relevant discussion in the roll call for the TA that preceded it.

I started to work on my Shavuot decorating this morning. I am nearly sure that I have a dried sheaf of barley, but I have no idea where it is. I may have to substitute wheat, which is easier to obtain. I also need a frame for a print that is supposed to represent Moses and Aaron at Mount Sinai (19th century French, so it's entirely the artist's imagination). Michael's will have both and I can stop at the blue big-box store for fencing stakes (nothing to do with Shavuot).