jpalbny

Glad you're getting such amazing service. As long as the cheapest OWV isn't an UWV instead! If your butler is truly a mind reader perhaps a tin-foil hat is a good idea for the packing list?

Obviously, to get more people to pay the upcharge so they can get the exclusive wines.

Mysty is as lovely in person as she is here on CC. I hope you get to meet mysty and myster some day!

No such card for VS either. On the my.silversea.com website there's a place to download your VS "statement" which shows your status. Azamara may have something similar, or try the screenshot.

Try emailing them back and specifically say "Captain's Club," as that is very clearly listed on their website as one of the programs that they match. They seem to look very specifically for the name of the Loyalty Program, not the Cruise line. See above for what happened when I said "Silversea" and not "Venetian Society" Good luck!

The suspense is killing us! Are you (a) still at dinner 4+h later? Or (b) did they make you sign a gag order? Or (c) Did they ply you with so much wine that you can't see straight to post on CC? Just kidding (sort of); I hope your dinner was great and we will patiently await your further comments.

Mind the gap?

Thanks. How odd. My Italian side is also from Sicily and would have arrived right smack in that time frame. And I never heard that term from them.

Is that a more recent development? I ask because my entire Italian side of the family lived in The Bronx from the 1920s to the 1950s. I ate tons of pasta with sauce with them (admittedly a few decades later) and I never heard the term "gravy" from them when referring to red sauce.

Yes! Thanks for understanding my lysdexic attempt at remembering his name. PJ

Have a great trip Lois, and definitely check out the new DL SkyClub in JFK T4 for us. We have not been to that new one yet - we have been to the "old" SkyClub a bunch. But our favorite in T4 is the Centurion Lounge.

Can you just copy the text from your document, and paste it into your post? Oops. I see you've just figured that out!

Look to see if there is an overflow drain somewhere in the bathroom floor. If so, the odor may be coming from there. If so, pour a glass of water in it to fill the trap. The traps in these overflow drains can dry out, because hopefully you're not flooding the bathroom floor on a regular basis. When they dry out, unpleasant smells can come through. Might not be the case in your suite but worth a look. ETA I learned this from a poster on another forum who I think must have a background is shipbuilding. His knowledge of how the innards of ships are put together is astonishing. I think his avatar is kpcheng75 but I must have remembered it imperfectly because I can't tag that name to give him proper credit.

It's nice how luxurious we have it, on board a Silversea ship!

One of those actors is Graham McTavish, who played one of the dwarves in the Hobbit trilogy. I "know" him because he does a bunch of exercise programs on my iFit treadmill. He's fun to listen to while trekking around all over. Will have to try to find that series.

Lovely pictures Spins!

It sure is! As you know we started a tradition of going "elsewhere" for Christmas when our schedule allows. Just a long weekend away so we can't go too far. In past years we've visited Paris, Barcelona, and Geneva. Then we had to take a few years off from our Christmas travels, and when were primed to resume, Covid hit and delayed us further. Last year we finally were able to resume the tradition, and we visited London for Christmas. This year, it's planned to be the Loire Valley.

Jazz was making a tongue-in-cheek comparison between Uluru and Denali. Both are famous sites which used to be named something else (we used to call it Mt. McKinley), but now are called by their First Nations name. I'm sure he knows that DW is visiting Uluru.

Very nice Terry! Now, try it when it's like this! Much easier to get an unobstructed picture... Silversea Expedition parka optional. Glad you enjoyed QC. Your picture reminds me that it's been more than 7 years since our last visit, so we need to get back there and see what we've been missing! Hope you are home safely and with minimal hassle.

Really liked the G&T menu last time we flew Saga Class - glad to know it's still there. Enjoy your trip!

Oh no! Not another dress code thread...

RachelG beat me to it and I agree with her. Svalbard IS the Arctic. Iceland is a great trip but it's not the Arctic. In fact only a part of the tiny island of Grimsey lies above the Arctic Circle; the rest of Iceland is to the south. If you go to Svalbard you may get to the 80th parallel or even a bit higher depending on ice conditions. And you'll have continuous daylight (except when it's cloudy). Here are reviews of both trips which should give you some idea of what to expect on each itinerary: Iceland, with pictures (from Rachel too; she was on this trip with us!): And our Svalbard trip from 2011. This was before I had learned how to post pictures. Pictures from the Svalbard trip can be found here: https://jpalbny.smugmug.com/Svalbard-and-Tromso-August-2011/

You certainly warm ours here in the Cooler, Ron!

A person I knew when I was in high school spent a good amount of time in France and said he knew he was comfortable in French when he started having dreams in French. Sadly I've done that and I'm still not what I'd call comfortable... The above examples sound more convincing.

Made some gnocchi for dinner. A container of ricotta and an egg mixed with Parmesan. Add salt and flour then put the dough in a plastic bag, cut off a corner, and pop them into a pot of water. It was all mixed up in a food processor so really easy. Finished with olive oil and fresh herbs. Delicious with a Vermentino di Sardegna. The only problem is that I'll be starving in a few hours. Chris said they'd be even better with bacon.