CGTNORMANDIE

OK…for the ultimate French toast…make it with Pannetone! Challah is very good but Pannetone with raisins and fruit peel is out of this world. Portuguese sweet bread with raisins is a very close contender.

Sorry…Canuker. Rest assured…if things are rough in the Channel they will be rough in the Bay.

I believe Heidi is showing us a recent storm in the Bay of Biscay…for the benefit of those sailing from UK to Azores/Med.

Baby Swiss is the best!

And how would you charge those gargantuan batteries?

You will be on NCL Epic headed to Bermuda, the Azores and 4 stops in Spain. You should have a very enjoyable crossing. Temps in the 70’s as you approach Bermuda and maybe even warmer as you hit the Azores and Spain…ideal Springtime cruise!

My crystal ball says you will have a wonderful crossing! Seriously, you should have a calm crossing.

Every day onboard a ship is a special celebration! Every dinner is special!

No misunderstanding…I realize you were talking prepackaged chips (not Fr fries) while I’m advocating freshly made chips ( not Fr fries).

Absolutely love your photo of Rio Sunrise!

The same way they do it at Burger King and McDonalds…salt, scoop and bag them…In open bags served hot. The technology and kitchen equipment are there and ready to go. I seriously doubt they use frozen French fries! If they make their own FF then they can easily make chips.

Chips are always a welcomed addition to a sandwich. I don’t understand why they don’t make their own. Making potato chips would be an easy solution to the RCI chip shortage…unlimited chips for everyone!

Still not sure?? Of what?? Of escargot? I can make a meal out of a good serving of escargot and rolls with a nice bottle of bubbly.

Great to hear it! You will find a lot of pleasing little details on MSC…not to mention some of the best coffee at sea.

Bottom line: I think, from what you have described, that you’ll do just fine on an MSC 25 day TA. A lengthy TA of 25 days tends to be more subdued than a 4 day party cruise. Place Mom in a nearby cabin and then you and your DH can enjoy a drink package as well as all the other amenities on the beautiful MSC Seashore.. There will be fewer dining options compared to NCL but then again you will find the food in the MDR is better than the NCL MDR and geared to the preferences you have described. Yes there are complaints. You should have been here 10 years ago when MSC was launching new ships. There were tons of complaints and that’s what you can expect when a cruise line expands its fleet as rapidly as MSC. It’s called teething problems. Add to that the Covid interruption and you have staffing problems while they get all their ships back online. All in all I think you’ll have a great time.

SoHton to Canaries could be a bit tricky but should be smooth after that.

Thank you Norboy…always interesting!

My guess is your TA will be rather laid back as the TA crowd tends to be experienced voyagers. The atmosphere should be more subdued and less frenetic than other shorter cruises…even if sailing close to capacity.

My condolences Lenny. Roquefort or blue cheese is a favorite. I even have it on my toast with eggs at breakfast!

Try a place called Slab next time you are in Portland.

Great cruise line buffets have gone the way of the Midnight Buffet! Years ago there were some really grand buffets. The absolute best was on HAPAG LLOYD. There were some great ones on early Celebrity ships and ships serviced by Apollo Catering were really great. Today…nothing even comes close. Even Oceania and Azamara have gone down hill. Supply shortages and rising food costs have killed the Grand Buffet…sadly.

Portland, Maine is hard to beat. A huge array of seafood restaurants, great Chinese/Asian and bistro/steak/Italian/bakeries/ice cream etc. Portland really is a restaurant mecca. They even have great pizza!

That would be $8.00 per tail. Not easy to do when your budget calls for a max of $4.00 for dinner. Wholesale prices for fish don’t vary far from what the public is paying for retail. I imagine that the victualers at Celebrity are going insane trying to supply lobster tails in a inflationary and extremely fluctuating food market.

This lobster conundrum is nothing. You should see the Cruise Foodies forum…right here on CC. BTW…lobster gets headlines on all the major cruise line forums here on CC. You would think that lobster is the central reason for booking a cruise LOL! 🤪

I knew the Moët would be the great uniter!!