Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[jpalbny]

Jeff, thanks for the info. It fits with what I'm reading but it's nice to have some firsthand information.

 

Nice article, btw. Gave me a chuckle.

 

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[Mudhen]

Article was a hoot! And yes, John and I have seen the tapestry. Loved it! It's not what I would call a "tapestry" in the sense that it's huge and covers a lot of wall. It's narrow, a yard, meter? maybe a little wider, and VERY long. It winds thru the gallery. However it's wonderful in that it tells a story in great detail.....horses penises?! I think if you're in the area, it's not to be missed.

[UKCruiseJeff]

An article in Times Law today might provide an interesting insight for non-Brits .... and I guess some Brits ... on organisations routinely including unenforceable clauses in contracts to “trick” people out of their legal rights .........

 

“Don’t be tricked out of your rights”

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dont-be-tricked-out-of-your-rights-rjl8p7vjm?shareToken=7b9253a1d4e364a6c17a33f902a636ab

[mysty]

No comment.

 

 

Credit: Joe Dator

[jpalbny]

No comment.

 

 

Credit: Joe Dator

Ouch, that hits below the border...

 

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[jillyf]

We had 2 days / 1 night in Bruges in 2013 while staying in our 3 weeks in Paris. It really is a pretty place and I would love to return for longer.

Unfortunately it was very hot ( Paris too) so not as enjoyable as it could have been walking wise.

Here is our short blog about our stay there -

http://thefletchers.com.au/The_Fletchers/Paris_2013/Entries/2013/7/25_Two_Days_in_Bruge.html

A little taste of Bruges.

[jillyf]

Slow Europe a website I follow has this trip report about a stay in Bruges. It might give you a better idea of the town.

I hope the person won’t mind me passing it on.

 

The website is great. I’ve followed the forerunner Slowtrav since 2005, but it was sold and now defunct.

Slow Europe was started by the same lady and it gives wonderful advice from a very respectful community. No nastiness.

https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/being-back-in-brugge-belgium-2018.3219/

[jillyf]

Slow Europe a website I follow has this trip report about a stay in Bruges. It might give you a better idea of the town.

I hope the person won’t mind me passing it on.

 

The website is great. I’ve followed the forerunner Slowtrav since 2005, but it was sold and now defunct.

Slow Europe was started by the same lady and it gives wonderful advice from a very respectful community. No nastiness.

https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/being-back-in-brugge-belgium-2018.3219/

[spinnaker2]

DH went to school in Belgium.

His preference would be Bruges.

[jpalbny]

Beautiful! Thanks, Jill. Looks like a place we must visit. [emoji3]

 

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[besberry]

That's amazing, Mysty!

 

Jeff, would you mind talking to me a little about Singapore?

I'll be there pre-cruise in December, will have 3 days there. I've been before and stayed in the Mandarin Oriental that time. I'd like to stay somewhere different this time and the Intercontinental sounds good. What room type would you recommend? (I would go for Club level for sure) The 'Heritage' building or the new bit?

I will eat outside of the hotel for dinner, but will be working so I expect I'll be having lunch in the hotel, what are the hotel restaurants like?

 

I very likely won't be up for much sightseeing, the jet lag will knock me for six as it usually does when I fly that direction!

I found the Club rooms in the Intercontinental (Heritage building) a bit dark and stuffed with furniture. On my last visit to SG I stayed in the Regent. Very nice hotel and close to Orchard Road.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I found the Club rooms in the Intercontinental (Heritage building) a bit dark and stuffed with furniture. On my last visit to SG I stayed in the Regent. Very nice hotel and close to Orchard Road.

 

I agree .... as I said in my reply, if a Club Room is being booked then the tower might prove the better choice. It will be lighter and be better for most.

 

Location is always a matter of personal preference. In my view there is only one reason to prefer Orchard imho to Bugis and that’s if your main leisure or entire leisure is going to be shopping. Orchard is simply shopping malls with nothing in addition to make the choice for us.

 

As you know, the food around Bugis is great - the best being Albert Food Center just a few yards from the back of the hotel and it’s a walk to Little India and Little Arabia, and the new additional MRT lines into Bugis make is a few stops from almost anywhere including the bay and Chinatown. The MRT at Bugis is a short air conditioned walk from the back entrance to the hotel.

 

Do you not yearn to return for all that lovely food .....:D

[MissSophia]

Good Evening...... mouth watering food on show again...loving that fish Jeffers....

 

JP....I also back Bruges ...it’s a charming place to explore, have a look at restaurant Den Huzzar....late DH and l had an amazing long lunch there albeit some years ago but from their website it still looks the same....

 

It’s been a long week but the work team have finally left....tonight DD and l had tickets to see Tom Jones in concert....it was cancelled at noon today due to the poor man having hospital treatment for a virus.......pity really as it’s a perfect evening for an outdoor gig....😔

Last time l saw the old codger was 45 years ago in Bermuda so maybe memories are best left in the past!!

 

Still enjoyed the planned late lunch out though and a lovely couple of hours with the kids in the garden who are in holiday mode.......they are so excited ....I’m just looking forward to them coming back home.....still worry about them...🤨

 

😊

[Daveywavey70]

Mmmmmmm lobster, scallops and king prawn tagliatelle in a prosecco sauce.

 

 

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[jpalbny]

Mmm, the food pics are heating up. Making me hungry, as today's lunch entrée was just a cup of yogurt. I have some veal around and I'll think of something.

 

Thanks all for confirming my general impression of Bruges. I'm thinking that we'll have a slow wander through Antwerp because the old city is located between the dock and the train station. If Antwerp amazes us we can stay. Otherwise, off to Bruges.

 

A long lunch there sounds like fun too, so I added MissSophia's recommendation to my list.

 

ETA: Lois seems to be having fun on Whisper. Our Canadian friends are boarding tomorrow but she'll be gone by then.

 

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Edited July 19, 2018 by jpalbny

[newlondon]

JP, Let me put forward Ghent due to the presence of one of the greatest paintings still in existence, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck. I have been to Bruges and everyone is right it is a spectacular example of a medieval city; but there are other medieval cities. I saw the Altarpiece when it traveled to the Met in NY years ago and tbh it is worth a special trip, nothing like it!

[jpalbny]

newlondon, thanks for the recommendation. I read about that painting in a guidebook and thought it seemed spectacular.

 

I really tried hard to convince myself to go to Ghent over Bruges - if only because the train from Antwerp is only 1h, vs 1h30 to Bruges. But the good news is that all the trains on the route between Antwerp and Bruges pass through Ghent. And all the train tickets in Belgium are open (any train, any route, including stopovers).

 

So if we do well in Bruges, we might be able to hop off in Ghent on the way back, and continue home on a later train. We shall see! So much to see, so little time.

 

***

 

Dinner tonight was veal scallopini, made with a light breading and served over greens with fresh tomatoes. Many of the tomatoes came straight out of the garden. Can't get fresher than that!

 

 

Potatoes on the side. I sprinkled smoked paprika on mine because I was craving patatas bravas...

 

 

Alsatian Pinot Blanc - because it's summer and why not?

[mysty]

DW and JP...your meals look delish!

 

Miss S.....sorry the concert was cancelled! Glad the lunch was fun!

 

J...the article on unenforceable clauses was very interesting. What ever happened to honest dealings?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Morning all....

 

The food piccies contnue to delight!

 

M ... glad you found it interesting ... how many times over the last few years have I used the words that because it is in the Ts and Cs doesn’t make it enforceable. :)

 

It is the main difference between consumer small print in the US and the UK. I suspect that an offence of some sort is committed when you construct them intending to deceive but what offence I do not know.

[mysty]

Well J, we have recently run into some unethical doings here. Myster and I collect Aeroplan points (mostly through travel on Air Canada who initially started the program and then spun it off and sold it). There was a story on CBC about scammers using people's points. I went to the website to check the status of our points. Imagine my shock to discover that the points Myster and I had each accumulated were gone. Not through scammers but through a requirement to use the points at least once a year. Our points (110,000 each) had "expired". According to the Aeroplan website they were to advise us of pending elapse a month or two before expiry. Neither Myster nor I received that notification. Our points expired on June 15 of this year. Internet searches on the issue revealed that many, many people lost their points with no notification. Aeroplan's stand is that we can buy them back for $0.01 per mile. Between the two of us that amounts to over $2,000. Shameful behaviour!

[UKCruiseJeff]

M, that is bad. Have you requested they forward you a copy of the dated communications they claim to have sent you?

[mysty]

I have done nothing yet J! From internet reports the sole response is that the only way to get the points back is to pay for their "ransom". Your suggestion is a good one. I will pursue that! Some of the stories on line are heart-breaking. The complicating aspect of this is that Air Canada is severing their relationship with Aeroplan as of 2020. I think Aeroplan is attempting to cut their losses by not notifying people and letting the points expire. Honest dealings???? I think not!

 

To add insult to injury I receive my Aeroplan statement for June 2018 at my email address. They can't claim that the email address was faulty.

[mysty]

Sample of complaints.....

 

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/aeroplan.html

[UKCruiseJeff]

Mysty,

 

You have my sympathies, but I fear that there is no real recourse. Many decent companies also have such clauses concerning what they described as lapsed memberships or memberships with no activity although I can only think of one other that puts it at 12 months. IHG lapse points in accounts with no activity within 12 months.

 

The fact that they probably didn’t send out reminders is wrong, but I predict that their position will be that the onus is on the member to keep a tag on these things. It doesn’t sound like they are overly bothered with “goodwill”.

 

If you have a few memberships to keep track of then Award Wallet is what we use.

 

https://awardwallet.com/en/

Edited July 20, 2018 by UKCruiseJeff

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Thanks J! Because there are only 2 major Canadian airlines we have only really flown on Air Canada. Thus we only had Aeroplan points. And I agree that it will be "pointless" to pursue this. :(

 

Onward and upward as the Cooler folks say.

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

 

Have a great day all!