CGTNORMANDIE

Can someone please explain what the benefits are from these lounges?  

4 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Lots of work for tea sandwiches!  My Chef, me, would object to being asked to do something like this.  Yet, your recipe sounds very good!  

Did I mention that making the bread is fun and easy?

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Not a lot of relish; just a bit.  Agree with your bread choices and I would add a good quality Whole Wheat is a bread that I enjoy, particularly toasted.

 

 

Love the tea sandwiches whatever the kind!  I sometimes don't eat lunch when I am on a ship just so that I can better enjoy tea.  

Lately I been picking up dough from our Italian bakery along with my sliced scali bread with sesame seeds.  I let the dough rise in a greased covered bowl then I pound it down, gently and place it in a parchment lined bread tin.  I baste it with egg beaten with a bit of oil and bake for 35 minutes.  I put the finished loaf in a plastic bag and place in the freezer.  Once the loaf is frozen I can cut thin slices and trim the crusts making the best tea sandwiches.  I will try one with tuna a cucumber although I think crabmeat will be even better.

3 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Moot really because the corporate decision will be abide by T&Cs.

 

 

Stick the scooter in a spare carryon and take it with you.

23 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

While I was having a Tuna Fish Salad sandwich for Lunch today I was wondering why it's not offered on cruises. 

 

It's a traditional sandwich like a BLT served in most restaurants that are fast food and food courts and deli's.

 

I know that also tuna fish salad are made out of many tuna packed: Dry, Water or Oil.

 

I prefer tuna out of the can mixed with mayo and some chopped celery. On a toasted bread or roll. With a slice of White, Vadalia Onion.

 

What's your opinion?

I haven’t seen tuna fish salad on a ships’ menu since the 1960’s…lol.  That being said I need to build up my tuna fish salad with chopped red onion and celery, sweet pickle relish, chopped vinegar peppers and black olives, mayonnaise and bread crumbs…yes…breadcrumbs!  Tuna salad can give you agita but the breadcrumbs soak up the liquid and make the tuna much more stomach friendly.  I learned the breadcrumb trick many years ago when a deli chef told me that the breadcrumbs would hold the salad together better and tone down the tuna taste.  This also makes a great tuna melt.

Julia Child always swore by tuna in oil for her tuna salad sandwiches.

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi CGT, I will look at that........thanks🙂

 

The only one I found is up in Ann Arbor, Michigan........

I was looking in Miami for you but Ann Arbor will do!  

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Still learning, what makes Jewish Rye so good and different from commercial Rye Bread?

 

 

I accessed that web site and the bread sounds "interesting".  But, $10/loaf?  

Stick that loaf in the freezer and it will last for months…worth every penny.  We have to pay around $6.00 for an artisan loaf so $10.00 doesn’t sound so bad.  

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

I did too....many of the places I am seeing do not sell bread by the loaf but I am seeing some places for the first time.......I will continue my search.

Zingerman’s in Miami…$10.00 per loaf mailed in two days. 

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

I am very happy that you had a good experience, but I fear you may be setting expectations too high for others! The days of railway porters with luggage carts for passengers are long gone on British railways and many stations do not even have luggage trolleys or any platform staff. 

 

Did you book (or ask for) assisted travel - this is generally for passengers with mobility issues, not just large amounts of luggage? As an aside 12 bags between two passengers (which I understand you had) would exceed the limit allowed under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which is three items per traveller and which you are normally expected to be able to manage without additional help. I don't think I have ever seen this enforced, but staff would be entitled not to assist in such circumstances, 

 

A few additional details of your great experience would, I'm sure, be helpful for others.

We were 4 people traveling on the Southern line from Brighton to Soto.  I went to the Brighton station the day before just to get the layout and talked to the ticket sales person.  I explained to her that I would be traveling with two elderly ladies and my wife.  The next day I arrived with everyone and baggage and she introduced me to a manager who gave me a luggage wagon and directed me to the right train.  I had to move the luggage and place it on the train.  The conductor on the train was most helpful and had called ahead to get help at Soto.  When we arrived at Soto there were two men who assisted with the luggage.  I think having elderly people and the fact that the train began in Brighton were helpful.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was traveling with two elderly ladies…aunt mid 80’s and DMIL who was 95.  I found the entire staff on the Southern Railway to be very courteous and helpful.  Now this was about 12 years ago.  Perhaps you are right…like everything else in this world that has gone to pot.  

On 10/25/2022 at 6:01 PM, ClipperinSFO said:

Thanks again - esp versus the direct vs connecting trains info.  My only resistance to taking the train (and changing) is lugging around the various streamer trunks required for a crossing.  Car and driver came back at UKL195 which is a lot of money, so may be willing to do the lugging ourselves since we are in no rush.    

We were given a luggage wagon at the station for our 12 pieces of luggage.  Just ask a station attendant.

7 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Looking at both the 10th and 17th, this seems to be because of engineering work (or the possibility of engineering work), which is common for weekends. 
 

The xx.28 services are usually direct, as you will see from searching other Saturdays. 

Changing trains is no big deal.  Simply get off one and wait for the next.

1 minute ago, ClipperinSFO said:

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

It's a mid-December Saturday. The cars are coming out quite expensive (GPB 150-200) and we are both relatively nimble with only one large bag and a couple of smaller ones each.  We are in no particular hurry, so the train journey looks to be quite appealing.  All I see are connections, either at Clapham Junction or Three Bridges.

Keep looking but maybe no direct connections.  Transferring from our train to another is no problem.  The conductor will direct you.

I have done this route by train and it was excellent.  We had 12 pieces of luggage with two elderly.  They couldn’t have been nicer.  We had help with the luggage at both ends and taxis were easy.

7 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

How do I like my Eggs Benny made??

 

 

By someone else.

Preferably while sitting in one of special dining rooms onboard one of your favorite ships!

On 10/15/2022 at 5:50 PM, Lois R said:

Hi rka, nope.......I just lifted the egg out of the water and cracked it onto the side of the plate and held it over the muffin......you will know as soon as you do that if it is cooked enough. (after 15 minutes the water was not that hot)

Well…I put boiling water into an 8 oz. Ceramic coffee cup and I tried 20 minutes.  I had to use a spoon as the water was still hot.  I guess the extra 5 minutes hardened the egg.    I think that it takes a bit of tweaking.  If it is done right you can crack the egg and break it over the toast or muffin and it should roll out perfectly.  I’ll keep on trying until I get it perfect.  I can only eat one egg per day…lol.  

18 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

I am use to the traditional poaching method the French uses

Me too…actually the way my grandmother did it…with a touch of white vinegar.  

7 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning........CGT, I tried the way you posted and I must have done something wrong because I waited 15 minutes as you told us but when I cracked the egg? It was definitely not done. The white looked terrible.....like it had barely been cooked😮I had to throw it out. It was one of those "ewww gross" moments.........

Back to the drawing board.  Maybe use a larger ceramic bowl?  Sounds like you need to retain the heat.  I’ll get back to you with a solution.

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I knew that the salad course came as the final course, but, I did not know the reason for it.  Thanks for the lesson!  

 

 

Eventually did learn this.  Maybe this is a good time for me to learn a bit more.  What is the difference between "sorbet" and "sherbet"?  

Sorbet is fruit based…sherbet is fruit flavored syrup with a touch of milk.

5 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi CGT..........I will definitely have to try that but can it just be a medium size soup bowl? And the water, once you pour it over the egg, it will stop boiling and will just be hot water......after 15 minutes, won't the water be nearly room temperature? 

No problem…it should work.  After 15 minutes the egg should have absorbed the heat and a perfect poached egg will emerge.  You might have to try different bowls for best results.

18 hours ago, carolejonescjj said:

I am a US citizen and a Diamond cruiser carrying off my own luggage, so I will be one of the first passengers off the ship. If the scheduled arrival is 8:00 am, what would be a "normal" time to expect to be off and through customs? I know there are a million things that can go wrong. Just want to know for the average TA arriving in Miami

Right…and what time is your flight?

On 8/2/2022 at 9:15 PM, Mary229 said:

I am familiar with sorbet but in my upbringing we ate our salad at the end of the meal as a palate cleanser.  Our salads were quite plain by todays standards and with just a splash of oil and vinegar.  Dessert was eaten later and was not necessarily part of the meal. 

In Italian…”insalada”…salad always served as the final course after the main course of an Italian dinner. The word salad comes from the word insalada.  Insalada means to insulate in Italian. The idea was that the salad served last insulated your entree from causing indigestion. 

On 8/2/2022 at 9:05 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Once upon a time, a sorbet would be offered for that purpose.  Only now offered during the very elegant and formal dinners.  

 

When I first experienced this, I thought "how weird"; sorbet in the middle of my dinner?  Eventually, I learned its purpose.  

 

 

Sorbet or granite’…to cleanse the palate between your fish course and entrée.

For those of you who love making Eggs Beni I have just discovered a great way to make poached eggs.  Take a large ceramic soup cup and place a whole egg in the cup and cover with boiling water.  Let it sit for exactly fifteen minutes and then remove from cup.  Crack the egg over your English muffin and you will have a perfect poached egg.

Lisbon to Miami is Southern Atlantic all the way.  Expect comfortable weather in the 60’s-70’s and warmer as you approach Miami.  The Seabourn route is pretty much all sea days.  You should have smooth sailing all the way.  

4 hours ago, carolejonescjj said:

Taking our first TA cruise on the Carnival Celebration next month, London to Miami. I'm looking to book my flight home from MIA and wondering if going through customs and re-entering the US takes longer than a normal, closed-loop cruise that begins and ends at the same US port. Anyone have any recent experience with this? So much has changed with face recognition technology and would love to hear from someone who has experience a cruise from a non-US port and ending in a US port over the past year. We are platinum and will be carrying off our own luggage, but want to know what to expect once we get off the boat. Trying to make an earlier flight 🙂

Give us an idea of what time you want to exit ship and what time is your flight.