Not-quite-live from the SB Quest, Barcelona to Dover, 4/15/17-5/1/17

[Catlover54]

Bourdeaux pre-dawn arrival:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Catlover54]

The ship docked right in the center of Bourdeaux just steps away from an amazing open market with breads, charcuteries, escargots seven ways, pastries, endless cheese varieties. I regret having only one stomach.

 

 

Our recent dinner table in MDR:

 

 

Dessert plate from our lunch excursion to Relais Dubois Saint - Georges restaurant yesterday after the castle visit:

 

I have now started wearing my larger sized slacks.

 

 

 

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[lincslady]

Absolutely wonderful photos, catlover. The best I have ever seen from a cruise.

 

Thank you.

[Missabby]

We had Jim Cannon as our cruise director on the transatlantic cruise just prior to this cruise; he told us he was continuing on the next several cruises. Was this "Mr. Conrad" you mention possibly the assistant cruise director?

 

And I believe the captain's name is "Eldering".

[Suite Travels]

The pictures are stunning and your blog keeps my attention.

 

Miles

[Catlover54]

Days 9 and 10 in Bordeaux (overnight)

I already posted a few pictures from this pleasant, center-of-town port, our sail-away headed for Portsmouth with a sea day is in a couple hours. We have been fortunate to have terrific weather (cool crisp mornings, low to mid 70’s during the day), perfect for walking around or doing excursions. Internet remains next to useless in our 6th deck somewhat forward cabin, and slow but at least marginally usable in SB Square. DH has registered his concerns about internet with SB staff, and questions about exactly what functions have been disabled, e.g., Cloud etc (one pax at dinner complained he could not get onto his bank account because it is cloud-based). Fortunately we both have independent cellular connections off our iPhones with international plans while in ports or we would be having a lot of trouble connecting with our work needs while we travel.

Yesterday at 5:30 there was what was dubbed to be a special event at the pool with foods in honor of our being in Bordeaux, with music, etc. DH

DH and I were already scheduled to go on a SB-sponsored “exclusive” excursion to a winery with a winery dinner (more on that later) so I did not want to eat or drink too much, but I went to see what there was. They had sushi rolls, the same kind of pizza slices I see almost every day at the Patio near the pool, the same style crackers I’d had with my cheese plate at breakfast, and some meat grilling with chunks of bread to go with it. I did not see anything particularly regional, special or tempting, much less any of the temptations from the regional market right near our ship, though maybe I missed it. Still, many pax were hanging out having fun anyway, drinking and listening to the band play lounge music, e.g., “I like coffee, I like tea” were the lyrics to one song.

We then headed off for our quite expensive and dubbed “exclusive” winery dinner at Chateau du Tertre — both busloads of us, roughly 70 pax. We sat on the bus listening to our American-born guide drone on in a disorganized speech for about 20 minutes, then drove off for about an hour to this "5th level" winery in the Medoc area (I am learning a lot about French wine classifications, very different from CA), currently owned by a Dutch supermarket magnet. We were greeted by two pleasant and engaging French winery guides, and split into two not-so-exclusive groups of 35, trailing after a guide, most of us dressed up in finery for an upscale dinner, but lining up like for a ride at Disneyland. You were out of luck if you were trying to hear what was being said at the front of the group, given the echo factor in the cellars, and I had flashbacks to an “included” Regent winery trip on one of our cruises a few years ago where we had a chain of 40 people trekking through the cellars trying to hear the guide.

The grounds were beautiful, however, and we then landed at an outdoor hovering area where we stood around admiring the scenery at sunset and were served a few ounces of a forgettable table wine which (to my humble CA pallet) had nothing going on in it, accompanied by 3 different appetizers: a chunk of what tasted like zucchini on a toothpick, a soggy cracker with a cream cheese-like smear, and a bite of tasty foie gras on something with carbohydrates that was probably a toastette. It had been close to two hours since we’d gotten on the bus so I sought a rest room near where we were hovering, found one (one), but the lock on the old weak door did not hold and with 90 people drinking wine with no facilities for over two hours, my door understandably got busted open at an inopportune time. We hovered some more, and I started thinking the whole ambience resembled a corporate networking or team-building event some companies do in Napa or Sonoma Valley, with pretty scenery and good enough wine because most people cannot tell the difference. We then filed into a communal dining room with 12 people per table, where we finally got some food (it is after 9 PM now and I wished I’d had a pre-dinner before heading out to the dinner) and things got a bit better, in part because we met some pleasant fellow pax, always the highlight of cruising.

We were served a basic dinner roll, with butter that tasted like it’d been in the fridge a while too long, and the same appetizer wine but from a prior year, much better now as accompanied by foie gras, and we started coming alive. Then came “chicken breast stuffed with cep mushrooms, creamy risotto”. The risotto was terrific, as was the accompanying "Chateau du Tertre 2006 Grand Cru Classe en 1855— Margaux" wine, though the chicken still tasted like a nice corporate event special and I would never have guessed it was an exclusive French winery dinner. Then came 3 good cheeses, accompanied by Chateau du Tertre 2002, which was nice, and a “raspberry bavarois” light dessert. At least sated, (and many pax actually delighted) we filed back onto the buses, listened to our guide some more, and arrived back at the ship around midnight, with 7 hours to prepare before getting up for our next excursion.

Though I enjoyed the winery’s physical beauty, the company, and the last two bigger red wines, had I known this was going to be basically a marketing event of 90 pax filing around en masse, with food that did not come close to doing justice to the potential of French wine country dining, especially for the price, I would have skipped it and instead just gone to eat dinner in town at one of many recommended restaurants and ordered a great bottle of wine to go with the meal.

[Catlover54]

We did a half-day excursion into the lovely ancient wine region village of St. Emilion this morning, about 45 minutes from Bordeaux (some pictures hopefully to follow once DH wakes from his post-prandial nap and downloads them from his camera :).

 

There is a very interesting over thousand year old underground church (no photos allowed), plus there are the usual cute cobblestone alleyways, many wine shops, etc. Once again, I wished we had more time to browse and to eat lunch locally and just stroll around.

We only had a little time for a snack or coffee, and of course service is supposed to be leisurely and slow in French towns.A pony-tailed young waiter at a cafe who'd taken our snack order outside got mad at me when I went inside to use the WC and did not say hello to him again on my way but instead just asked the way (he angrily chided me for not doing so -- when I pointed out I'd already met him at our table and said "hello" to him then, he insisted I should have repeated my hello when I headed for the WC "because there are other people here" (and he pointed to a group of locals huddling in the corner who did not even look up to see me). I guess I have a lot to learn about French customs, or this young man simply has a problem with American tourists.

 

Shortly after our return to the ship at 1, I realized we'd missed the MDR lunch (they closed earlier today, 12-1 instead of 12:30-1:30 apparently to accommodate an excursion). So we headed to the Patio instead and found one table open. However, all they offered while we were still docked in downtown Bordeaux were hamburgers and hot dogs and wraps, so DH chose to stay there, while I went to check out the "French market" lunch at the bustling and packed Colonnade. The "French" pickings were slim (there was a smelly unappealing fish dish I skipped and the nicoise salad looked sad). I had a frog thigh that tasted a bit like last night's winery chicken without much more; I had a very nice leek creamy side ; and I again tried beef bourguignon (just as dry as on the first day), and a forgettable goat cheese mac and cheese. But there was garlic toast, and a chives sauce. They had the usual basic SB breads out, (no fresh baguette, though I got some for room service this morning), and their usual 3 SB cheeses, none of which were French, plus their usual mini-desserts like cookies, creme brûlée (no French pastry). So bottomline is it did not look like they'd brought in many special food items from Bordeaux, though we are surrounded by awesome options and this is an "epicurean" cruise. Still, I ate too much as usual, and I did have a nice included French rose, readily refilled, and excellent service.

 

So far, I am rating the cruise 4/5, with hope to get to 4.5.

[Catlover54]

We had Jim Cannon as our cruise director on the transatlantic cruise just prior to this cruise; he told us he was continuing on the next several cruises. Was this "Mr. Conrad" you mention possibly the assistant cruise director?

 

And I believe the captain's name is "Eldering".

 

Yes, apologies for the misnaming and/or auto-correction. The correct names are shown on the photo of the crew list.

 

I should also mention the very helpful sommelier, who provided me the wine list, I believe his name is Pradip Antoni (sp) but I did not have my glasses on when I saw his small nametag so I may be off a bit.

[wripro]

Cataloger54,

 

Thank you so much for your detailed reviews on this cruise.

 

Your postings on the excursions are a prime definition of why one should ALWAYS do private tours. There are so many terrific guides in Bordeaux who would take you to either chateaux or lovely bistros and restaurants after private winery tours and the cost would probably be less. This holds true almost anywhere.

 

Enjoy!

[purpleally]

Are The Wine Guys on this cruise? We met them a couple of years ago on a cruise and enjoyed spending time with them.

[Catlover54]

Day 11, at sea, Tuesday 4/25/17 — Anzac Day

The Herald quoted the following in honor of Anzac Day:

“They shall grow now old, as we that are left

grow old;

Age shall not weary them nor the years

condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the

Morning

We will remember them."

We are at sea, bound for Portland (not Portsmouth as I erroneously reported above), UK, a new port for us. Most pax seem to be either sleeping in, attempting internetting (I had no access at all in our suite when I awoke to check my email), indulging in the spa services, (perhaps in the featured “keratin blow-out” for frizzy hair that is featured daily), pretending to work out in the crowded fitness center, going to a cooking demo by guest chef Daniel Sherlock, or doing wine tastings (we did the latter with helpful sommelier Antoni Pradeep). I suspect a bunch are also catching up on rinsing and hanging laundry over the convenient retractable laundry rope that is over the tub, where I spent a good hour in a decadent warm bubble bath, gazing upwards at my black dainties swaying gently back and forth with the ship’s rhythmic movements, while simultaneously, perhaps a bit surreally, listening to an audiobook describing the horrors of the Normandy invasion.

Last night DH and I dined late in the MDR (no luck with securing a window table this time with an 8:45 arrival there, 15 minutes before closing to seating, but we could still see the ocean). There was a little bit of confusion with the eastern European dining staff in this dining section which was new to us. The waiter called me by an incorrect name and title not based on my passenger listing name (I would actually prefer that staff not try and call me by name at all rather than calling me something totally wrong), and the waiter who brought around the white wine offering of the evening poured me a whole glass instead of just a little when I said I just wanted to “taste” it first, resulting in waste. Same story with DH. We told the waiter we did not care for the offered white wine and would prefer to order something else. He then took away DH’s rejected wine, but for unclear reasons left my glass on the table. DH ordered the Robert Mondavi included medium-oaked chardonnay as a replacement which they brought promptly, but unfortunately it was ice cold and thus not initially at an appropriate chardonnay temperature. Being a “glass-half-full” (preferably with wine) type of gal, I joked with DH that there are many who wish they had such first world luxury ‘problems’. Things looked up a lot when my excellent escargots appetizer arrived. I did not allow a single one of the sextet of delightful critters smothered in butter, garlic and herbs to escape. DH enjoyed his lobster bisque special as well as his properly prepared New York steak cut of meat entree. I tried the TK “fennel bulb” vegetarian entree special, with tomatoes, which is perhaps best described as small, weird in concept, and bland, but as I was still mentally enjoying my mollusks, it did not matter too much.

Entertainment last night in the Grand Salon was British comedian Paul Adams, quite funny, perhaps because many of his jokes related to airlines, flying, and airport security, favorite topics of dread these days. Upon return to our room we had found the Herald announcing the wine tasting sign-ups for today, so I called to sign up and was on hold so long DH had to nudge me awake. So far, my experience with calling the “guest services” line is that half the time someone answers immediately, and half the time you get a recording and a wait, though usually not long enough to allow a catnap. I did have to pursue delivery of some missing laundry-by-the bag from a few days ago (usual turn-around is supposed to be two days for a $50 stuffed laundry bag), and no one ever did call back from maintenance about the wobbling mirror, or from IT about DH’s internet questions. However, our lunch in the MDR with a salmon and risotto special in filo dough (me) and tender deboned BBQ pork ribs with corn on cob and cole slaw (DH) and excellent service by “Vladimir” at a window table more than made up for any service issues.

We received the dreaded “disembarkation” questionnaire and were pleased to see an offering of bus service to LHR for $40, for flights after 13:00, so we will not have to book a private wagon to accommodate us and our luggage. We met a group of 3 pax traveling together who have 24 suitcases, I am not sure how their transport to the airport will be arranged.

I am holding off on a big batch of DH photo posting until we either have independent cellular access or internet is less in demand.

[Catlover54]

Are The Wine Guys on this cruise? We met them a couple of years ago on a cruise and enjoyed spending time with them.

 

Yes they are (Mike and Jeff) and they are friendly and entertaining. We met them at the Spanish brandy tasting.

[Catlover54]

Cataloger54,

 

Thank you so much for your detailed reviews on this cruise.

 

Your postings on the excursions are a prime definition of why one should ALWAYS do private tours. There are so many terrific guides in Bordeaux who would take you to either chateaux or lovely bistros and restaurants after private winery tours and the cost would probably be less. This holds true almost anywhere.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

You are, of course, correct, At $275/person, our "exclusive" winery dinner was not worth it, in hindsight. But we have sometimes done pretty well and been pleasantly surprised with organized excursions involving eating and drinking, and it is of course much less work to just sign up for what sounds like a good offering, especially when one is new to an area. I also tend to get anxious about not getting back to the ship on time with a private excursion, but here there was no potential issue as the ship was overnighting. Next time, at least for Bordeaux, we will know better, and for future bookings of "exclusive" events we will know to ask how many people are on the trip!

[Camillus112]

Thanks again for your entertaining reports. I have to admit they are my favorite readings of the day.

[Catlover54]

A couple iphone shots before better DH photos:

 

 

"Catlover" style fun French shopping :

 

 

 

 

Lunch in MDR:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[twochromic]

Regarding excursions: on the trans-Atlantic, our shore tours in Tangier and in Malaga have to rank as the two worst cruise tours we have ever taken. Disorganized guides, both of whom babbled incessantly and had no idea how to conduct a group of "mature" tourists. And then threw in a massive lunch, most of which was wasted.

 

The problem with private tours, is that on that cruise the itinerary changed -- the day in Madeira was switched, and the times in Tangier were changed.

[Catlover54]

Thanks again for your entertaining reports. I have to admit they are my favorite readings of the day.

 

 

 

I am glad you and others are enjoying! I derive so much benefit from posts by people on CC that I like to share and give back a bit.

 

 

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[PaulaJK]

Catlover, Your photos are simply fabulous and your narrative equals them. I particularly look forward to revisiting St Emilion via your photos.

Ch. du Terte sounds really wretched...and unfortunately it sounds as though SB is dropping the ball or lacking umph in several venues.

 

Safe travels home.

[wripro]

You are, of course, correct, At $275/person, our "exclusive" winery dinner was not worth it, in hindsight. But we have sometimes done pretty well and been pleasantly surprised with organized excursions involving eating and drinking, and it is of course much less work to just sign up for what sounds like a good offering, especially when one is new to an area. I also tend to get anxious about not getting back to the ship on time with a private excursion, but here there was no potential issue as the ship was overnighting. Next time, at least for Bordeaux, we will know better, and for future bookings of "exclusive" events we will know to ask how many people are on the trip!

I have literally done hundreds of private tours during my cruising career and have never once been late to return to the ship. A good guide is much more aware of the time you need to be back than even we are. But if it is a concern for you you should follow your gut.

[vistaman]

catlover,

i wish you both very pleasant remaining days of your cruise.

despite it is not high season, you are supposed to be in Bruges on a sunday and 1st May is a public holiday in Belgium ; so long weekend.

also in zeebrugge there is another and bigger ship Residence of the Seas RCI, so it can be very crowded in the city of Bruges.

and there is ample choice of chocolates in Bruges ...:)

[Catlover54]

hungry?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Catlover54]

Frisky:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Catlover54]

Sacred:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Catlover54]

Stately:

 

 

 

La Roche Courbon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[lincslady]

Catlover - can I ask why you are currently in Portland, UK? According to the schedule you should have been in Cherbourg, followed by Rouen overnight and Zeebrugge. Presumably you are still ending up in Dover? It is a public holiday in the UK that day, so will be fairly busy on the roads.

 

Thanks for the continuing great photos.