CGTNORMANDIE

Thanks Howard for dropping in and sharing with us.  It’s funny how we remember some of the details of cruising from years ago.  

On 3/26/2021 at 4:12 AM, joeyancho said:

It's  fun to "sleep" around. 

LOL...terse and to the point...LOL.  We always loved RCI...a good fit if you like a high activity level.   RCI has the best suites at sea and we always loved the Concierge Lounge  and the benefits.  Now we are MSC Yacht Club converts.  The MSC ships are beautiful and the idea of being able to leave the YC and dive into the frenetic international scene onboard is very appealing.  The amenities in the YC far outweigh anything RCI is offering at a competitive price.  So I would say it all depends on what MSC experience you choose.  

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I am not well acquainted with Thai cuisine, but I have enjoyed good Vietnamese cuisine as well as very good Chinese cuisine, but not where I live.  Where?  Toronto.  

 

The variety of nationalities that live in Toronto provide such a wide variety of cuisines and much of what I have enjoyed seems quite authentic.  

And Montreal too!  

On 3/25/2021 at 1:53 AM, BklynBoy8 said:

i miss the old fashion chinese restaurants with the green leather booths.

 

Sorry to say our area has lost the traditional chinese restaurant like those in the 50's 60's and 70's. Those had about  20 different drinks that were fruity and decorated with those small umbrellas.

 

We do in Brooklyn have three area of China Towns now. But their style is like China Town in Lower Manhattan and also China Style. They of course don't go into these drinks. Hot Tea in Clear Glasses is served. Not even those very small tea cups. Those were for American's.

 

Off subject..... I like Jasmine Tea as my Hot Tea Choice...

We have the same problem here in Boston.  The old Chinese families have moved on.  Their children became doctors, lawyers and financial experts.  Their restaurants are now owned by Vietnamese and Thais.  All the dozens of great Chinese restaurants, that I knew in my youth, have vanished.  It is hard to find a good Chinese restaurant...so sad.

On 3/24/2021 at 8:12 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

One of the sons of the original founder of Chandris  became a Board Member of Royal Caribbean International for several years.  The "X" on the funnels of the Celebrity ships remains as a recognition as to what that family did for cruising.  

When Chandris/Celebrity sold to RCI part of the deal was:  RCI would retain Greek officers, they would keep the X on the funnels and they would have a Chandris family member on the board.  
What’s really interesting is that RCI bought Celebrity and six new ships for 1.3 Billion Dollars.  Quite a bargain!

Anything by James Mitchener!  “The Winds Of War” by Herman Wouk...a great way to learn about WW II...as a novel.  “The Only Way To Cross” by John Maxtone Graham...a personal history of the Atlantic crossing.  JMG tells many of his personal stories involving the world’s greatest ocean liners...a great historical and social record.  

On 3/20/2021 at 3:30 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Not 100% certain, but that paint scheme is what I recall seeing when the ship began service.  The "K" represented the shipping company/family that started Norwegian Caribbean Cruises; I am fairly certain that is accurate.  

And that name would be Kloster...as in Knut Kloster...the founder of NCL.  Back in the days when NCL stood for quality.  

Remembering the Amerikanis...

I came across some menus and programs from the Chandris Line Amerikanis.  They brought back some great memories.  The Chandris Line had gone from coal transports in the 1930’s to passenger shipping after WW II.  They converted older transatlantic ships for the immigrant trade to Australia, etc.  As the jets began to connect the continents the Chandris family converted their ships for cruising.  The blue smoke stacks on their ships were always marked with the big white X...Greek lettering for the Ch in Chandris.  They were able to man their ships with Greek crews and offer interesting cruises mostly in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.  The price was reasonable and often a bargain for a week or longer.  The quality of a Chandris cruise was exceptional...Old World style of food and service coupled with Greek specialties.  The lunch and dinner menus were extensive with European and American specialties interspersed with Greek classics.  The menu items were numbered to aid the Greek waiters who were deficient in English.  The lunch and dinner menus usually had more than 100 items listed.  The table service was exemplary with personal servings off silver platters.  Some of the Chandris ships were classics...the Victoria, Brittanis and Ellinis to name a few.  The Chandris ship that was the most popular and beloved was the Amerikanis.  She had been around for 4 decades and cruised extensively from the East Coast.  She was less than 20,000 tons but she was extremely comfortable and had all the prerequisites for cruise enjoyment.  The entertainment was excellent...including live bands with British and Greek entertainers with excellent floor shows.  These shows were followed by late nights of raucous dancing and partying to a live band often ending up with Greek Conga lines and towel waving led by an hilarious Greek entertainer.  The next day began around the double pools with reserved deck chairs and superb poolside service.  A Pina Colada went for $1.00 and beers were 75 cents!  There was skeet shooting everyday at sea.  The Greek crew really added to the fun.  Yes...fun...because that was what a cruise was like in those wonderful times from the past.  
 

I forgot to mention that Chandris changed their name in the 1980’s.  A new name for their new ships...they named the new company CELEBRITY.  

15 hours ago, GlobalMethod said:

I also had a 'phase' where I drank peppermint schnapps ... I owned a restaurant/bar with entertainment and one of my favorite bands that performed sipped on Rumple Minze Peppermint Schnapps from Germany. Being a sociable guy I also started 'sipping' ... I liked their story behind this schnapps ... it was "good for their pipes" (singing) ... I also liked that it was good for the breath as I would circulate around the business chatting with customers ... as you say it was so strong it really needed to be slowly sipped!

A shot of Rumple Mintz and a tall cold draft beer...mmmmmm...just right.

6 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Hi CGTNORMANDIE,

I too like Mai Tai's, Singapore Sling's and Pina Colada's. On Caribbean Cruises I liked Bahama Mama. And if you go on a Sailing with a trip to the Beach a Rum Punch. Some tours we experienced some Extraordinary Levels of RUM PUNCH's if you know what I mean.

 

QM2 do have BT's with the experience for all drinks and quite tasty too!

 

The only time I was disappointed with HAL, the last time we were on, I watched the BT make a Pina Colada. Instead of using individual ingredients to form the drink, it came out of 3 containers into a blender. It tasted like the short cut and not the true favors of a PC.... 

Hi BB,

Great to hear that you can get a Tiki drink on QM2.  Your HAL BT was prepared to make the Pina Coladas in quantity.  Unfortunately if you don’t get the mixture just right you end up with something less.  (Funny story)  Once upon a time I acquired a Chinese restaurant and converted it into a pub style restaurant.  The Chinese place came with about eight different hand writtenTiki recipes.  One of those recipes was for a Pina Colada.  It called for fresh pineapple and all the usual ingredients but their secret was 1/2 ounce of Creme de Cacao.  This made the best Pina Colada I have ever had!  

6 hours ago, GlobalMethod said:

At the risk of making this cruise drink thread start to sound like an alcohol group therapy session, I will venture into the sub-topic of a pre-dinner cruise drink. 

 

After all, considering the kind of year we've had with no travel, it certainly seems like a discussion of pre-dinner, during dinner, and after dinner drink indulgences, is warranted! ... 🙂 ... I think I've had a comment on on all of the above but pre-dinner drinks.

 

My favorite pre-dinner drink is usually a Stoli Vodka Dirty Martini (3 oz vodka, 1/2 oz dry vermouth) with 3 green olives and a little extra olive juice (very dirty). Shaken with ice, never stirred, strained and poured into a martini glass!

 

Yes, my regular crusing bar bill is the reason I usually cruise with Azamara! ... 🙂 ...

 

Great topic.  I am all over the map...sometimes a mixed drink but usually I lean more towards a Tiki type drink.  Some of my favorites are Mai Tai, Singapore Sling, Planters Punch, Pina Colada, Scorpion Bowl, etc etc.  I love fruit juices with rum...Mojitos for sure.  Margaritas are always welcome.  My problem is that I can’t find a bartender who’ll comply.  I am now an MSC Yacht Club convert and my one complaint is they do not make enough of these types of drinks.   Hopefully the YC bartenders will become better versed as time goes by.  

Hi CRocks,

I would think you would want to be sailing at a nice time of year...instead of the dead of winter.  The ships will leave the US for their annual repositioning in March and April.  An April crossing to the Med can be very pleasant.  Then you can return at your convenience on the QM2.

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

But, the funnel colors.  Did Cunard change the colors?  It appears to me that they did.  

You have to remember that those post cards were colored by hand.  A lot of times they were not accurate...and the reproductions were even less so.  If you look closely you can see the hint of the Guards red mixed with buttermilk that has always been the Cunard paint color for their funnels topped with black.  

5 hours ago, norboy76 said:

it does match a photo I found of the Royal George, the funnel vents on the Edward don't match, but the George does (see attached photo)

 

 

The Cunard RMS Royal George it is!  I noticed the Lewelyn davits...definitely turn of the century.  RMS Royal George was built in 1907.  The picture at the top of this page indicates some damage to the bow section of the ship behind the forecastle.  

MS Southward was scrapped in 2013 after having been sold and chartered under  different names.  She first sailed in 1971 as the fourth ship of NCL.  42 years is an enviable record...in “ship years”.

WOW...take me back...the Golden Cadillac

2/3 oz cream

2/3 oz creme de cacao

2/3 oz Galliano

Yellow Bird

1/2 oz lime juice

2 1/2 oz orange juice

1 oz light rum

1 oz dark rum

1/2 oz Galliano

On 3/14/2021 at 8:10 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

And, remember Galliano?  Once was "the thing" to drink.  

 

My next visit to my wine/liquor store, I need to do some "shopping" to see if either of these beverages are even in stock.  

Galliano!!  I could never get by the taste.  The only cocktail I ever tolerated with Galliano was something called a Yellow Bird or a Golden Cadillac.  I think I would shudder to drink one of those today...LOL.  

WOW NB...I wonder what the schnapps would be worth in Germany today??  You might have something that would be very valuable to someone from Germany.  They would probably want to drink it!  The Germans were extremely proud of the Bremen (pronounced “Braemen”) when she debuted in 1958.  They took a 20 year old French ship and rebuilt it to a very high standard and made one of the most comfortable and charming vessels to sail the Atlantic.  Thank you for sharing.

Great pics NB!  The pennant you have is very rare.  It shows the Ile de France with three smoke stacks...pre WW II.  The Ile de France was renovated after the war and had one its stacks removed.  You will notice the cheese label...two stacks.

1 hour ago, norboy76 said:

I have a couple of items from the Ile De France, I have original felt souvenir Pennants of that liner and an *Ile de France Cheese Label* with a picture of the liner on the label and a couple of postcards too and a photo of a cabin from 1946 on the Ile De France when she carried *war brides*  if you'd like to see them?

Ile de France cheese is still produced today.  There are two versions of Ile de France memorabilia...before World War II and after WW II.  I had a number of menus that went when I donated my collection.  You can still catch a glimpse of her fabulous interiors in the movie...”The Last Voyage”...circa 1958.  

Thank you NB.  I believe the plate was a souvenir ash tray.  

18 hours ago, norboy76 said:I'm trying to do research, but not finding much information on this postcard, so going to keep searching to find out why it was printed

The public was hungry for any pictures they could get of the AD.  There were a lot of pictures of the wounded AD being sold.  Your postcard does not surprise me.  Back in the 1950’s the news wasn’t like it is today.  The first news films appeared the following morning when planes flew out to the wreck.  The big news was the Ile de France landing in NY with over 700 survivors.  The news stations broadcast that live.  We were glued to the TV all night and all the next day.  There were some sad stories of pax losing their lives.  The most amazing story was Linda Morgan who was sleeping in her bunk on the AD and ended up on the Stockholm during the collision.  The last survivor to leave the AD was a construction worker who had injured his back and been assigned to a bed in the AD infirmary.  He had been forgotten and was sleeping in a drug induced stupor.  When he woke up the ship was almost under the waves.  Nobody had remembered to get him out of the infirmary.  He crawled up to a point where he saw daylight and painfully made his way out to the rail and into the water.  He was spotted and picked up.

16 minutes ago, norboy76 said:

You're welcome, did you check out my Italian liners post on the forum? I posted more photos of my various Italian Liner items

I did...very nice.  Thanks for posting.

Very nice NB...Thanks!

21 hours ago, norboy76 said:

I hope enjoyed the photos of my Andrea Doria items I posted in here

I loved your Andrea Doria ephemera...great viewing.

Thanks!