Our life on the Edge, 28 April 2019 TA, some photos & video

[Silkroad]

7 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

You are my hero! So cool that you were part of the show. What I wouldn't give for a video! 🙂

Ha ha a very small part🤣 There were a few of us, and we were up there for only a minute or two😂

Edited May 26, 2019 by Silkroad

[prish]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:35 PM, Silkroad said:

I had wanted to visit the Basque region, and Bilbao for many years. For this reason, I had arranged a private tour for DH and myself. Ultimately, our four friends decided to join us, so we were a group of six. We were to meet our guide at 9:00 outside the terminal and return to the ship by 4:00. DH and I had a great time, and I hope the others did too☺️ 

 

We’re also porting at Bilbao next May, can I ask for your guide’s name and contact email please? Did you go out of town too, I’m exploring the options. Part of me is tempted to stay and tour the Guggenheim, then do a pinxtos crawl...

[vtcruising]

9 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Ha ha a very small part🤣 There were a few of us, and we were up there for only a minute or two😂

Okay, the challenge has been laid down...  I will need a couple of golden margaritas first - hopefully Katie will join me! 😉

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, prish said:

 

We’re also porting at Bilbao next May, can I ask for your guide’s name and contact email please? Did you go out of town too, I’m exploring the options. Part of me is tempted to stay and tour the Guggenheim, then do a pinxtos crawl...

 

Certainly. Contact www.thebestofbasque.com. On the top banner of web site, you'll see a tab named "cruise ship guests". Click that to get a rough idea of the tour we had. I interacted solely with Zach pre-cruise, and didn't actually know which of them would arrive for our tour. Our guide was Irene (a Bilbao native), and the other guide is Zach (an American). They are the owners, and have no employees, so you'll get one of the two. Since they're very popular, I would recommend booking ASAP if you're interested. We would highly recommend them. In fact, I want to return to the region for a longer stay, and intend take at least one of Irene's food tours☺️

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Okay, the challenge has been laid down...  I will need a couple of golden margaritas first - hopefully Katie will join me! 😉

OMG don't let them know there's a challenge! Next thing we know, they'll have three  (or four, if we have Hcat in Eden with us) of us wrapped in diaphanous fabric festooned with shiny moons and stars, and gliding about holding orbs aloft as we mutter incantations😂 After a couple Golden Margaritas, that would be very interesting😜 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Silkroad

[vtcruising]

12 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

OMG don't let them know there's a challenge! Next thing we know, they'll have three  (or four, if we have Hcat in Eden with us) of us wrapped in diaphanous fabric festooned with shiny moons and stars, and gliding about holding orbs aloft as we mutter incantations😂 After a couple Golden Margaritas, that would be very interesting😜 

By the sound of it, I will need four margaritas!! 😀

[prish]

52 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

 

Certainly. Contact www.thebestofbasque.com. On the top banner of web site, you'll see a tab named "cruise ship guests". Click that to get a rough idea of the tour we had. I interacted solely with Zach pre-cruise, and didn't actually know which of them would arrive for our tour. Our guide was Irene (a Bilbao native), and the other guide is Zach (an American). They are the owners, and have no employees, so you'll get one of the two. Since they're very popular, I would recommend booking ASAP if you're interested. We would highly recommend them. In fact, I want to return to the region for a longer stay, and intend take at least one of Irene's food tours☺️

 

Many thanks Silkroad, will email Zach asking for suggestions. May I ask how much the tour cost, did you have to pay in advance? I know this is what DH and I would want to do, but need to check with the others in our group. Or find 2-4 others from our RC to share the tour, only the RC is barely active with less than 20 members 😬

Edited May 26, 2019 by prish

[Silkroad]

30 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

By the sound of it, I will need four margaritas!! 😀

Don't worry. I wasn't describing what had actually happened on this cruise, but rather, what could happen if they knew about a challenge😉 After four margaritas in one evening, the rest of you would need to carry me on a litter🤣  

[Oville]

3 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Okay, the challenge has been laid down...  I will need a couple of golden margaritas first - hopefully Katie will join me! 😉

Probably more than a couple.😉🍹🍹🍹

[Oville]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

OMG don't let them know there's a challenge! Next thing we know, they'll have three  (or four, if we have Hcat in Eden with us) of us wrapped in diaphanous fabric festooned with shiny moons and stars, and gliding about holding orbs aloft as we mutter incantations😂 After a couple Golden Margaritas, that would be very interesting😜 

This could be a dangerous group.😉😀🤐

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, prish said:

 

Many thanks Silkroad, will email Zach asking for suggestions. May I ask how much the tour cost, did you have to pay in advance? I know this is what DH and I would want to do, but need to check with the others in our group. Or find 2-4 others from our RC to share the tour, only the RC is barely active with less than 20 members 😬

 

With the caveat that I booked last July, so their prices may have gone up since then, I'll tell you what I was quoted. All amounts are in EUROS, and the cost of pintxos and other incidentals is not included. 175 pp for group of two. 125 pp for group of four. 100 pp for group of six. They required 50% at time of booking (fully refundable until 30 days prior to tour date).

 

I initially contacted them for a group of two (though I mentioned that we might have two more) because we intended to book regardless. By the time I booked, two of our friends had committed. A couple months later, two more friends wanted to join us, so we had six. Also, what you do on your private tour is up to you. They have a suggested itinerary, but they are totally flexible (as noted on their site) within the constraints of your time in port. Hope this helps☺️

[Silkroad]

6 hours ago, prish said:

Did you go out of town too, I’m exploring the options.

Sorry Prish, but I just noticed this bit from your earlier post. We stayed within the Bilbao environs, but I know that others have arranged to go further afield during port shore excursions with them. I think you can get an idea of what's possible on their web site.

[Lastdance]

Michelle, I have to read your review to find out about your onstage activities...now it’s the golden margaritas.  I feel like you really come to life through your reviews.  All this time I thought wine was your forte!    I think the Edge Syndrome has awakened your soul to all the possibilities onboard!  It is now your destiny to unleash your potential and fly...there is absolutely nothing to stop you leaving Yvette and I in the dust...

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lastdance

[vtcruising]

6 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

 I think the Edge Syndrome has awakened your soul to all the possibilities onboard!  It is now your destiny to unleash your potential and fly..

 

I'll bet that X uses this in their next Edge promos. Pretty soon LLP will dump me for Michelle as her new BFF!  😊

[Silkroad]

15 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Michelle, I have to read your review to find out about your onstage activities...now it’s the golden margaritas.  I feel like you really come to life through your reviews.  All this time I thought wine was your forte!    I think the Edge Syndrome has awakened your soul to all the possibilities onboard!  It is now your destiny to unleash your potential and fly...

Ah Suzy, we shouldn't overstate my stage activities, which were over in the blink of an eye😉 Golden Margaritas. I blame VT. She described them, and they sounded so tasty. Woman does not live by wine alone. Edge hasn't awakened anything in the way of late nights, music, and cocktails. That's just my normal city & beach holiday routine, which is why you'll never see me in the gym at 0600😂

Edited May 26, 2019 by Silkroad

[Silkroad]

4 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

 

I'll bet that X uses this in their next Edge promos. Pretty soon LLP will dump me for Michelle as her new BFF!  😊

She may feel she should offer me a wee discount (or a Mr. Edge amulet😜) for my brilliant Mr. Edge jewelry suggestion, but if she'd rather invite me on a little comped cruise, I'll be happy to be one of her BFFs😎  Oh no, you will always be the Queen of the Edgies!

[vtcruising]

11 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

She may feel she should offer me a wee discount (or a Mr. Edge amulet😜) for my brilliant Mr. Edge jewelry suggestion, but if she'd rather invite me on a little comped cruise, I'll be happy to be one of her BFFs😎  Oh no, you will always be the Queen of the Edgies!

I don't know - dancing with an Edenist puts you on the throne, I think! 🤸‍♀️

[Silkroad]

Day 14 - at sea

[Lastdance]

59 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Ah Suzy, we shouldn't overstate my stage activities, which were over in the blink of an eye😉 Golden Margaritas. I blame VT. She described them, and they sounded so tasty. Woman does not live by wine alone. Edge hasn't awakened anything in the way of late nights, music, and cocktails. That's just my normal city & beach holiday routine, which is why you'll never see me in the gym at 0600😂

 

Me either, but I do attend at a more respectable hour in the morning...my thermometer runs faster on sweat.  Furthermore, I am just a one drink girl, as alcohol puts me to sleep!  So, I am boring...

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lastdance

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

 

I'll bet that X uses this in their next Edge promos. Pretty soon LLP will dump me for Michelle as her new BFF!  😊

 

But then Michelle would just dump her, as that conquest would be over in the blink of an eye!  Sorry, as I should have double-quoted!

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lastdance

[Silkroad]

Our final day at sea, and now we've realized we'll soon need to disembark....and go back to WORK😱 

 

It was a relaxing day with nothing planned other than turning up at the Captain's Club Senior Officers' Party, and our dinner reservation at Tuscan. We spent a few minutes at the party, chatting with an officer or two, before leaving. Does anyone else wonder why they must fill those tiny martini glasses to the brim for these events? After being jostled by a few people, half my Cosmopolitan was running up my arm. I guess my first sip should be more of a glug😉 After freshening up (aka wiping sticky Cosmo residue off my arm lol) we found seats in the Casino Bar, where we were served excellent cocktails☺️

 

Dining with our friends in Tuscan, I was served my second disappointing main of the cruise, overcooked prime rib. Bad luck, Tuscan. Two strikes for mains. I won't rule them out on the next cruise, but I certainly hope they'll do better. We didn't feel like going to the show, so we resumed our Edge exploration☺️

 

[Silkroad]

Let's talk about the safe. Yes, it is much smaller than the safes on M & S class (pre- Revolution) even though it sits in a space large enough for the old safes. What exactly fits in there? My DH's Surface doesn't fit. My iPad Pro, which has dimensions slightly smaller than 9.5" x 7" and a pile of other things, including wallets, money belts, keys, my jewelry roll, and a couple other items do fit.  I'm not saying it's a piece of cake to pull the items on the bottom out, but everything does fit. As you can see in the first photo, my iPad fits with room to spare. In the second photo, we have placed the entire contents of the safe atop the fully extended "desk". We had room for our phones too. Had DH brought his iPad instead of his Surface, it would have fit in there also. 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Silkroad

[Lastdance]

3 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Our final day at sea, and now we've realized we'll soon need to disembark....and go back to WORK😱 

 

It was a relaxing day with nothing planned other than turning up at the Captain's Club Senior Officers' Party, and our dinner reservation at Tuscan. We spent a few minutes at the party, chatting with an officer or two, before leaving. Does anyone else wonder why they must fill those tiny martini glasses to the brim for these events? After being jostled by a few people, half my Cosmopolitan was running up my arm. I guess my first sip should be more of a glug😉 After freshening up (aka wiping sticky Cosmo residue off my arm lol) we found seats in the Casino Bar, where we were served excellent cocktails☺️

 

Dining with our friends in Tuscan, I was served my second disappointing main of the cruise, overcooked prime rib. Bad luck, Tuscan. Two strikes for mains. I won't rule them out on the next cruise, but I certainly hope they'll do better. We didn't feel like going to the show, so we resumed our Edge exploration☺️

 

Now, even I can get excited about a Cosmo...believe I had one the first night of the cruise...delightful!  I have never been a fan of the Tuscan Speciality Restaurant on other ships, so I will try and steer clear next year when in an SV.  My DH and I planned to try one of the four restaurants, but Tuscan's tables were very close together, so we just did our usual by a big window, and with a wonderful waiter...glad we did!

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lastdance

[Lastdance]

Just a short 30 or so minute drive from Le Harve is this beautiful town...Etretat!  Honfleur is also beautiful and you can do both in 4-5 hours...

 

Thanks, Michelle, for your sharing your talent of writing, along with your ability to make details come alive...Like I said, it was great re-living the cruise again and learning so much more about Edge! You have truly emerged as a great reviewer...entertaining and factual!

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lastdance

[vtcruising]

13 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Just a short 30 or so minute drive from Le Harve is this beautiful town...Etretat!  Honfleur is also beautiful and you can do both in 4-5 hours...

 

Thanks, Michelle, for your sharing your talent of writing, along with your ability to make details come alive...Like I said, it was great re-living the cruise again and learning so much more about Edge! You have truly emerged as a great reviewer...entertaining and factual!

Lovely! One of our favorite ports ever was Le Havre - we had the most wonderful day going to Normandy with a private guide (and a few other roll call people).  What a beautiful area with wonderful people!  The American Cemetery was gorgeous and they did a special ceremony for us at the graveside of my great uncle that we will never forget.