jpalbny

So the question is... Is that guy who is waving to you actually wearing pants? Or is the Silver Moon in danger of being mooned?

Maybe for an overnight trip...

Have a great cruise! Looking forward to virtually revisiting some of the ports that we visited last year on Silver Spirit.

Glad to see you posting about this region. We looked at a Douro cruise a few years ago but decided to visit the area by land instead, as there were too many great sites that we wanted to visit, but were not included on the river cruise. Plus we can't sit still long enough to enjoy a full week of scenic cruising down the river. Your post reinforces what we thought. The land trip turned out being one of the best we've done. Agree about the Portuguese wines. They are an incredible value considering what you get. On the first day of our trip we sat down in a wine bar for a late lunch and I looked at their list, thinking that the prices were a little bit expensive for a glass of wine, but hey we're on vacation... Then I realized that the price was by the bottle! Are they serving only Douro wines or are the wines from all regions of Portugal? I only remember one wine that we weren't crazy about, which wasn't surprising because it only cost E2.99 for the bottle... The only reason we bought it was because the winery was named "JP" and we couldn't resist. We had some fantastic meals on our trip so if the food on the ship isn't representative of that, it's a shame, because there is great food to be had in Portugal. Have you tried one of their cod dishes yet? If so, do as the locals do; they pair it with a light red. Seems counterintuitive but it works. I think that in general, most of the world has had it with masking. We have to wear them at work but in public, that genie is out of the bottle and I just don't see it coming back. Hope you don't get covid, but if you do, I hope it's mild. Enjoy the rest of your trip. PS for some reason there are two threads with this same post by you. You might ask the host to combine them into one thread.

We spent two nights there last month. It sure was beautiful!

Sure, though I have not cooked with chicken breast cutlets in probably 10 years. I much prefer thighs. But either should work. No recipe. I sprinkled the cutlets with salt, pepper, and a dusting of flour then fried them in olive oil. Then I sautéed the mushrooms with thyme sprigs until they released their liquid, added some fresh rosemary, oregano, green onions, and garlic, then a bit of chicken broth. A good pour of Marsala, then pop the cutlets back in the pan to soak up the juices, and serve over your choice of pasta. I used orchiette. If I were using chicken breast cutlets I'd be more careful not to overcook them I guess. And maybe add more butter? Boneless skinless thighs are more forgiving. The wine pairing was a heavy Italian white from Lugana.

Finally a 3-day weekend! Definitely glad for that. We came home from Canada with Covid 3 weeks ago. The first week was OK; some low-grade fevers, cough and sniffles. We both took the Paxlovid and thought that we had recovered fairly quickly. And the extra week off was wonderful! We went back to work the week after, once we tested negative. It was a bit of a challenge because we were both still very tired. That finally got better by the end of last week. But it's the gift that keeps on giving! Rebound this week. Lots of stuffiness and sneezing along with sinus pressure. No fevers, luckily. Finally today that seems to have passed. I am somewhat relieved by new data suggesting that "rebound" is actually a good thing, and a sign of a robust immune response. But what's next? I need some more rest. The good news is that we probably can wait a few weeks for the bivalent booster shot - since we kind of just had one! So we'll get that a week or so before we travel to Finland. A bit of veal Marsala for dinner last night... With a whole sage leaf, fried in butter, for a garnish.

The website for the port of Quebec says you're docking at Pier 21. FWIW. https://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/vessel-schedules/seasonal-schedule

Mine went on extended holiday some time in 2020 and has not been seen since!

It's far more complicated than that. Any poster is free to like or dislike SS, and post whatever opinions they'd like. I'm also free to agree or disagree with their post. Or, ask them to back up their opinion with something more substantial, to see if their opinions might resonate with mine. And yes, I agree that old rubbery calamari are gross, like chewing on rubber bands. But the fresh stuff is divine! So, a generalization such as "the wines are all terrible" isn't very helpful, even if "in my opinion" gets added. Why not? Because it very different from every experience I've had on SS. IME, most are perfectly drinkable. Few are spectacular, but I don't expect that to be included. So I'd want to know if something has changed since my last cruise. Should I get worried that they bought a bunch of jug wine? So the blanket statement doesn't tell me anything useful. All I can say in response is, "That's not been my experience," which is equally unhelpful to the unsatisfied customer. It degenerates into an elementary school playground at that point. "The wine is terrible." "Is not!" "Is too!" Such a useful conversation... But. Perhaps we could offer helpful advice to the person who doesn't like the wines, if more information were given. Or at least we could have an adult conversation. If the issue is, "I only drink California cult Cabernet and SS doesn't provide that," then we can respond by setting appropriate expectations. And also, I'm no longer worried that the quality has gone to the dogs. I don't drink expensive Cabernet so its absence doesn't make my cruise less enjoyable. OTOH, if the issue is, "Several bottles that they served us were badly corked and the server would not bring a new bottle when asked. He insisted that the bottle was fine. "The staff didn't have a clue about food and wine pairing. I asked for a full-bodied dry white to go with my creamy pasta dish in LT and they brought me a semidry Moscato. I had to tell them to go find a lightly oaked Chardonnay. Etc." Now that kind of review would make me stop and think. And I'd really sympathize with the poster being disappointed if that was their experience! That shouldn't happen. All opinions are perfectly shareable, but not all are equally valuable or informative. But, this being a SS board, most of us presumably like the line. So of course, someone will have an uphill battle convincing us that it's rubbish. That opinion might fly better on another forum...

Beautiful picture of the locks. We were just there a few weeks ago. This pic is taken facing the opposite direction from the one that you posted. I like yours better!

There once was a man from Devizes, Whose ears were of different sizes. The one that was small, Was of no use at all, But the other won several prizes!

We walked some of the Ottawa portion last month, and also the area near Dow's lake. Very pretty!

Jeff, there are more constructive ways for one to make the point. Consider, "The included wines were basic $10 bottlings which mostly seemed generic and didn't pair well with the food offerings, often because they didn't come from the same region. For instance, they paired a Northern Italian mushroom risotto with a mass-produced pinotage based blend from South Africa. Not really a good local match, and the pinotage had a harshness about it which overwhelmed the subtle mushroom flavor of the dish." Vs. "The included wines were terrible." The latter is just pejorative and offers little opportunity for a productive conversation. The former would be a nuanced comment which should invite a nice dialogue. And isn't that the type of in-depth analysis that one would expect from a gourmet?

Great polar bear pictures! Your fellow passenger? Feed him/her to the bears...

Is that an oxymoron?

Algorithmic traders - computer programs set to make certain trades automatically when a certain scenario occurs. They can snowball and have major effects on prices.

Stumblefoot, do you recognize this poor soul?

A shame, Silver. I have wanted to go there (for some reason) for a long time. One of my former residents is from there, and apparently his family is VERY connected. So he's been saying that when travel is safe again, he'll hook me up with a VIP tour.

Karin - glad you posted, but sorry to read the contents of your post. Feel free to come by and post any time - and share your cooking adventures!

Sounds tasty, Lola. I'd enjoy it. But Chris doesn't like goat cheese. I guess being married to an old goat has made it somehow less appealing to her?

Welcome home! Glad everything went smoothly. Did you fly out of JFK or LGA? We love T4 at JFK but DL is putting lots of effort into making a domestic hub at LGA now.

Happy cruising, banjo!

The requirements change so rapidly. I suspect that the SS website just hasn't caught up. This is from the official Canadian website. It clearly says that pre-cruise testing is no longer required as of today. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid?utm_campaign=gac-amc-covidoct1-22-23&utm_source=covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=en Hope you go on the cruise and enjoy it!

Thank you @dusababy, for the news. Glad to hear that she is OK.