CGTNORMANDIE

Thanks Lois, I’m still waiting for the transplant but think I’m inching closer. I wish I had a donor…sighhhh.

Hi Lois…we’ve missed you. Type 2…oh no…say it isn’t so.😒 Bagels rarely come my way these days…to many carbs…sighhhh.

Your route will skirt the North Atlantic from Bermuda to NY. Your run from Soto to the Canaries can be a bit of each. The good news is that rough seas don’t last long. It should be mostly calm but you never know for sure. October can be calm and it can be choppy but overall I would say it will be calm and you will enjoy it. We have had many good October sailings in the North Atlantic and maybe two that were rough but fun.

All of John Maxtone Graham’s books were superb. His love affair with the SS Normandie was particularly poignant. When he was a teenager he managed to get down to the Manhattan docks where Normandie was being raised and refloated after the tragic fire that destroyed her. Somehow JMG managed to carry off the ships’ wheel, a trophy that stood in his front hall for the rest of his life. JMG also discovered the famous statue “Normandie” languishing in a garden at the the Fountain Bleu Hotel in Miami. He had no idea that the iconic statue had survived the fire and demolition of the Normandie. The beloved status was subsequently purchased by the Chandris family and placed at the foot of the grand staircase to the dining room onboard the Celebrity Summit. It has now been moved to the front of the new Normandie restaurant onboard Summit saved in perpetuity by Chandris/Celebrity.

Lox is/are smoked salmon. Gravalax are cured salmon as you describe. With lox you will taste a slight bit of smoke. With gravalax you will taste the herbs and slightly sweet flavor. Either way is good especially with bagels or grilled rye bread and cream cheese. One of my favorites is grilled dark rye in butter with a mix of sour cream and cream cheese, lox and salmon eggs with a touch of fresh dill on top.

Bad bagels? Try grilled rye bread…makes an excellent base for lox and cream cheese, etc.

Salt, pepper, garlic, poppy seed, etc.

I have no problem with the different price levels currently being offered on all the major lines. I can’t think of one line that does not offer an upper tier experience. If you want more luxury and more amenities then you have to pay for it. This has been the case for the past 170+ years. The Retreat is simply an extra tariff venue no different than the other extra tariff venues being offered onboard. You have to pay extra to gain admission.

TA and TP aficionados are a special breed. Making a crossing is probably as close as we can come to reliving the Golden Age of ocean travel when a crossing was “The Only Way To Cross” (thank you John Maxtone Graham). JMG was the Dean of what I call The Ocean Liner University…a club that every ocean liner lover, who has made a crossing, belongs to. Many people do not realize that when they are enjoying those six days at sea they are actually experiencing the rituals and daily routines that were in practice for the past 170 years. A few of us here were fortunate enough to have experienced some of the great Atlantic Ocean liners before the jet hastened their demise. For those of you who are about to embark I would highly recommend that you read “The Only Way To Cross”. John Maxtone Graham’s book is a history of his love affair with the Atlantic crossing. The book will give you a better understanding of the rich history of sea travel when there was no other way to travel between continents. I also knew JMG and Mary MG. They were great fellow voyagers.

Thanks Heidi, our ranks are rapidly thinning. Most of the folks on CC only started cruising in the eighties and nineties. They will never know what a proper ship was like…or a five day crossing for that matter. The SS France was capable of doing a constant 32 knots…unheard of in this day and age.

My great great grandfather landed at East Boston in 1849 after an excruciating voyage from Ireland. When he got off the ship the locals threw rocks at him and told him to go back. Good thing he was resilient. He met my great great grandmother to-be on that voyage.

Mazel tov in trying to find a good bagel at sea Hank. Croissants yes…bagels no. There is nothing like a great NY bagel. However…we do have some excellent bagel bakeries around here…metro Boston. We have one bakery here in Somerville that is really good. The young lady who runs it dropped out of the corporate world to bake these gems. We also had an Egyptian family nearby who makes an excellent bagel…the old fashioned way…boiled and then baked. Finding good lox…not so easy.

You’ve got to try an Everything bagel or an Asiago bagel grilled as shown above in my previous post…beyond delicious.

“Don’t forget the corkscrew “…Just an old joke from a seagoing era of long ago.😉 Many people do not realize that by making an ocean crossing they are repeating some of the same rituals that their ancestors did. The whole ocean crossing experience is really reliving history from the 1850’s onwards. Walking the decks, lounging in deck chairs, dining lavishly, dressing for dinner, The Captain’s Reception, The Captain’s Dinner, dining at the Captain’s Table, cocktails and dancing to a live orchestra, cabin stewards caring for their passengers, etc. etc. All of these rituals are traditions that have evolved and have been handed down over the centuries. Dining in an extra tariff restaurant while onboard was a feature that started on the HAPAG liner Amerika in 1903. To me, there is nothing in this world that is more satisfying than preparing for an ocean voyage and experiencing a ship at sea with all the rituals and traditions of the daily routine of a crossing. Ships might cruise but they are built to sail.

You only live once so go for it!

Have fun and plan on reading, relaxing and dining. And don’t forget the corkscrew…lol.

Cream cheese on your bagel is wonderful. Unfortunately your heart doctor will wince. You might want to try my method for toasting bagels, bread, English muffins, etc. heat up a fry pan and place your bagel with the back side down. Put another pan on top to weight it down. Warm up the bagel then remove. Place two pats of butter in the pan a swish around until pan is coated. Place bagels cut side down and rotate in the pan to absorb the butter. Place a pan on top again and grill the bagels until you achieve the desired result. This is probably the healthiest way of getting a properly toasted bagel while limiting the amount of butter used.

I see you have posed the same question on the NCL site…which is a good idea. The consensus of opinions seems to be with Le Bistro. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word about Le Bistro. Le Bistro has a long history that goes all the way back to the SS Norway. It has always offered an upscale dining experience using quality ingredients along with excellent service. Be sure to report back here with the results from your cruise in January. The Cruise Foodies love to hear about this.

By all means, take a look at that menu. We were on the Norway in 1993 and had a wonderful cruise. Ironically we had been on the same ship in 1973 when she was the SS France. We were able to enjoy that ship when she was a fast ship across the Atlantic and then as the world’s first mega cruise ship. I remember the French menu on Norway. I well remember dining on Norway in what had been the First Class Chambord Dining-room onboard the SS France. The room was paneled in elm…absolutely gorgeous.

Which brings us to the next question. How do you dine before the cruise?? There are two schools of thought here. Some folks love to hit the big restaurants in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, etc. before a cruise. Others, like myself, prefer to abstain from gorging pre cruise. I believe that the onslaught of food onboard ship is such that only a moderate intake before a cruise makes sense. What are your thoughts?

GALLIMARI!! That comes directly from the North End in Bahhhston!!

Ditto for me too…octo char grilled is the only way to go.

Look at your frozen fish section for squid. They are flash frozen when caught and cleaned. I’ve bought frozen squid many times when the price is right. We here in Massachusetts are lucky in that we get a lot of our sea food fresh. Squid is caught locally all up and down the sea coast. Cape Cod and Rhode Island are known for their squid. Fried squid is served as an appetizer in practically every restaurant in our metro area. You must have some good Italian restaurants near you?

I just knew someone was going to pose that question…lol. Squid is a delicious delicacy if prepared right. You can buy squid that has been cleaned…bodies and tentacles or you can clean them yourself. Simply tear off the head and pull out the innards then slide out the transparent spine and rinse. Cut the tentacles from the bony head. Prepare a simple stuffing with Italian bread crumbs, Romano cheese, egg, garlic salt, onion powder and parsley…wet with white wine. Hand stuff the bodies from the head opening and close with a toothpick. Lay them out in the pan. Stew them covered with the tentacles in marinara sauce (throw the tentacles in when preparing your marinara sauce) for at least an hour in the oven at 350*f. Lightly flavor the sauce with red pepper flakes for a touch of heat when preparing the sauce. Serve the squid with spaghetti using the now delicious sauce from the roasting pan. Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks. If this recipe is done right you will develop an insatiable hunger for it! Squid is also very good fried (frito misto) or when marinated and lightly char grilled.

Congratulations on your 50th Marco…I’m five years ahead of you.😧