Host Jazzbeau

I can verify this. We went to Keukenhof twice in 2022, about a week apart. We saw different tulips blooming in the same beds on the second visit. [I did this at home, planting Iris on the surface of my tulip beds. The tulips come up early, then after they're finished we have the iris display. Of course that makes it impossible to replant more tulips as they die off. But I believe that Keukenhof completely replants all their beds every year.

I remembered this discussion, so I looked at my wine bottle at dinner tonight. A California (Lodi) Zinfandel with 15.1% abv. That is staggering! [the wine, not me... 😉] But it was very well balanced – at a high level across abv, tannin and fruit. Very nice.

I forget which website I saw this on yesterday [OK – old age jokes may be inserted here, and are deserved!] but I definitely saw clear wording that reserved the right to reprice/cancel bookings based on erroneous pricing.

2001?

Sitter's got nothing to do all day, between dog walks. Set out the cleaning materials and instructions. Problem solved... [Follow me for more great advice 🤣]

Here's something in English about it: Spirit of Ponant Sets Sail This Summer

Why? It'll be just as dirty when you get home whether you clean it now or not. [I tried dusting once. The blasted stuff came back! Not going to fool me again...] 🤣

Trip Insurance is actually very complicated and the policies vary widely so there's no simple answer. Some companies don't require you to insure the entire trip, others do. Call Steve at tripinsurancestore and he will educate you on the best options for your particular trip [the two times I've called him, the best policy was different each time – and he explained exactly why].

What actually happened to Crystal Symphony was a smooth trip through under military escort – as opposed to the inflammatory press coverage that has been categorically denied by Crystal... https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/safety-security/crystal-strongly-refutes-any-incident-red-sea-deadhead-transit

Don't know. I never rely on credit card insurance, always buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy for each trip. [Had to use it once to cancel for medical reasons, and with advancing age that becomes ever more possible.]

With Celebrity, it's the ambience of the Edge class (which apparently will be extended to the older ships) that is loud, edgy, and not classic luxury. With Silversea, it's the corporatization – everything is dictated "by Miami" so the officers have no authority to add extra touches or make things right on the spot (things that are expected of true luxury cruise lines), plus the cutbacks that have reduced the food to below luxury standards. This is my take, others may feel differently.

We had this on Whisper in February 2024, called Seafood Invictus – a big lunch spread in La Terrazza.

New article on Porthole: MARGARITAVILLE AT SEA UNVEILS NEW ACCOMMODATIONS ON ISLANDER SHIP

The Azamara official Facebook page [which is ok to mention here] has two teaser videos "guess the new port" – the first is Martinique ("the Paris of the Caribbean" – until the 1902 volcano eruption buried the city of Saint-Pierre) and the second is in Japan (Shonai Shrine and Soma Geisha House).

When we sailed Scenic on the Seine in 2022 they sent a private car to pick us up at the train station [we did have to pay for the taxi to the hotel at the end of the cruise]. When we sailed Scenic on the Douro in 2023 we had our own transfer from Lisbon, but they used a private car to take us to our Porto hotel (100 yds away!).

YES Silversea. I have used it and got the 3%. It isn't restricted to a named list of cruise lines (like Amex Cruise Privileges); as long as it's coded in one of the travel categories you get the 3%.

This is just one of many threads on the Silversea forum noting the cutbacks:

Sorry for the hijack. Now that we know where we are, I can give you some thoughts from my visit to Ponta Delgada in April 2023. We spent three days in Ponta Delgada and toured with AzoreanTours on two days. The first day we did their tour #7 to Sete Cidades, which actually included a lot more and covered the entire north end of the island of Sao Miguel. The second day we did their tour #5 to Furnas Lake & Hot Springs, which covered most of the south end of the island. [Since it was very foggy on the first day, our guide also took us up to the north for the major views we had missed out on.] The third day we just walked around Ponta Delgada on our own. If you only have one day, I would suggest their tour #2 Small Group Shore Excursion # 2 Fire Crater Lake & Sete Cidades Crater Lake. That gives you the best parts of both north and south. It's only 6 hours, so you will still have some time afterward to walk around Ponta Delgada, which is plenty. For more detail on what we did (and lots of photos), see my blog of the trip (especially posts #5, 11 & 12):

I already have dozens. Too much. Then if you don't use them the bank cancels them – and that becomes a blot on your credit record (even if only because your total credit goes down). Every quarter I redo the cards in my wallet to get as many 5% specials as possible. There are several other categories with 3% or 4% always. And Citi Double sweeps up anything else at 2%. All giving cash rebates that can be used anywhere. So I don't want any cards that limit the rebate to use with a particular vendor... [except airline cards, which give huge signing bonuses and then continuing perks like free checked bag]

The free one will only give 3% back on Silversea bookings. I get that from my Citi Costco Visa already. [But I usually book on my Amex Platinum card because they have a much longer charge-back period if things go pear-shape.] So no interest no matter what the terms are.

I'm guessing it's the new itineraries, based on the graphic in the email showing Japan at the bottom and ??? at the top. Maybe new improved itineraries for the next year? Maybe new ports? But yeah, a new ship announcement at this time would be a shock. [Hoping for Antarctica Jan–Feb 2026...]

This would be a big step up for Road Scholar, as their previous Mediterranean ship was an old rust bucket (forget the name).

The final (I think) piece of the puzzle was announced yesterday: Ocean Victory has a new long-term summer Med charter

If ACL was considering expanding on either river, this is a cheap way to do it. But I doubt they will activate all four ships.

In the US (and other places). But in South America we were surprised to see people openly carrying bottles filled with water – we checked and it is allowed on domestic flights.