The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[rafinmd]

I have a subdued sunrise today from my 2022 Queen Mary 2 cruise.  July 2 was a sea day from New York to Bar Harbor.

 

Roy

[Crystal Guest Relations]

3 hours ago, SnoBirdCruiser said:

I just received an email from Crystal at 10:42am this morning re:

"As a valued Crystal customer, we would like to hear your thoughts and feedback on your cruising experience with us. 

 

We have recently worked with Qualtrics, a third party software that creates smooth and effective online surveys (15-20 min). And because your opinion matters to us, we would love for you to take part.

 

When clicking through the link, you will be taken through the Qualtrics online platform where you will be presented with some quick and easy multiple-choice questions."

 

Which country are you based in?

Australia  U.K.  U.S.A.   OTHER.  As we are from Canada I checked OTHER. This was the response: We thank you for your time spent taking this survey.
Your response has been recorded.

Needless to say I was ticked off. We have. cruised with Crystal since 1995, including 2 World Cruises as well as the Inaugural Cruise in 2023 and then: JAN 5 - FEB 3, 2024 - 31 DAYS.

Question is: are we the only Canadians who received this and if so why were we sent this Survey? I

Perhaps we are not considered worthy enough for Crystal....

Pat & Ray

 

Dear Guest,

 

Thank you for reaching out and for the feedback.

 

We have experienced some glitches with our survey and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. They are now fixed and you can retake the survey. 

 

Please let us know if you have any questions and we look forward to welcoming you back in the future!

 

[SnoBirdCruiser]

7 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Pat, I checked with Crystal. It is being fixed. I also tested it out so I could see it first hand.

Keith

Thank you Keith for doing this and for testing it yourself.

Now I am thankful that I was not able to do the survey.

I should have realized that it was amiss, but I didn't.

Once again you came to the rescue.

Pat

 

[rafinmd]

Another sunset from my 2022 QM1 cruise today.  On July 3 QM2 was in Bar Harbor

 

 

Roy

[Keith1010]

Happy 4th of July to members from the United States. It will be a hot day across most of the country.

 

The years seem to go by in a blink of an eye.  For me it seems like yesterday when we celebrated the bi-centennial.  We were in University and stayed in Washington DC that Summers I was running the student portion of Freshman Orientation  

 

Spent the day and evening at the National Mall. I remember Johnny Cash was the featured entertainer and the Fireworks were done by a French Company.

 

Future years included The Beach Boys.

 

When we moved to the suburbs of San Francisco each year we would attend the towns 4th of July parade. We would get there an hour before as our daughter was in the parade. Fast forward 10 years after we moved and returned to the town for vacation and people would put chairs out the day before.  That shows what population growth can do. People worried about getting a spot. Not a chair hog like you find on a ship but similar.

 

For those who like to barbecue a great day to do that.

 

Lots of good memories of the 4th.

 

Maybe I'll watch the movie 1776 today. Loved the play which we've seen several times and the movie too.

 

 

Where I live now each neighborhood has one or more of these monuments (we have two) and they are decorated for several holidays throughout the year.  

 

Happy 4th.

 

Keith

[USCAdventurer]

And a very Happy 4th to you Keith and your family.  Enjoy the day and enjoy the fireworks tonight.  It's very, very hot here in scottsdale, like around 112 degrees today and 117 forecast for tomorrow.  Yikes!   I don't have any special plans for today.  Just spending it with my best friend, Cooper.

 

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2022 QM2 cruise.  On July 4 we visited Boston:

 

 

Roy

[May B]

6 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Today's sunrise is from my 2022 QM2 cruise.  On July 4 we visited Boston:

 

 

Roy

Ever since you told us about this cruise, I’ve yearned to take it. So awesome!

 

What would you say the percent of Brits vs Americans as among the cruisers, Roy?

[rafinmd]

2 hours ago, May B said:

Ever since you told us about this cruise, I’ve yearned to take it. So awesome!

 

What would you say the percent of Brits vs Americans as among the cruisers, Roy?

My guess would be about 50/50 although with covid protocols in effect it was a bit hard to be sure.  You kind of reminded me that I was in the forward area and to get anywhere I had to go up or down a deck as the section of cabins between the first and second stairways was a quarantine area.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from Queen Mary 2 2 years ago.  July 5 was a sea day from Boston to Halifax.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

A subdued sunset from my 2022 QM2 cruise.  On July 6 we visited Halifax:

 

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2022 QM2 cruise.  July 7 was a sea day from Halifax to New York.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

My final sunrise from my 2022 QM2 New England cruise.  On July 8 we returned to New York.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Someone (I think @travelberlin) asked about my lack of cruise photos around late June to early July (as well as late December to early January), and also about my retirement from cruising.

 

For many years I generally attended my Boy Scout troop's summer camp which was generally the last week in June so I rarely cruised then.  I was also the Treasurer at my Fire Department and was busy the first half of July closing out the last fiscal year (7/1 to 6/30) and also preparing for the department's annual meeting.  Christmas was generally family time, and in early January I had to do year end tax filings for our two employees, so early January was awkward.

 

As a solo, with no close family, I am getting to the point where I could not deal well with a medical emergency far from home, and it would not be fair to ask my niece/nephew to come to my aid.  I think the last straw was my last cruise where I ended up in a Florida Hospital in the aftermath of getting off the ship, so I think it's wise to stay closer to home.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I have no travel sunrises/sets from July 9 to 13.  This was taken this morning from my street midway between my house and mailbox as the sun rose over the house across the street:

 

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

Trip Report(deja vu edition): New York, New York; The city so nice we went there twice.

 

Yep, three weeks after our whirlwind sojourn to the City that Never Sleeps, we authored the sequel.

 

I'll spare most of the details except for a morsel or two and this dining report mostly for @BWIVince: the day we got in I wanted to find something that was convenient to our midtown hotel, but still a very much in NY place.  One thing or another led me down a path we don't usually trod: a steak joint(I mean, hey, I can cook a steak, and so can you.)  Anyway, we ended up at Gallagher's and boy are we glad we did. This place couldn't have been more NY steak house unless Frank was in the next booth over hitting on...(well, you take my point.)  

 

Great food(protip: order the prime rib when you make your reservation, they run out) great atmosphere, and the service was even better(none of that gruff waiter shtick like that joint in Brooklyn.)  OLoPP loved her carpaccio app and was over the moon about the creamed spinach.  No need to mention the banana split for dessert.  Also, this from me: the Clams Oreganato are not to be missed.

 

 

Moving on, note to Vince: the Stephen Starr tie-in to Acela seems to be both real and working well. The coq au vin in first class is pretty good, at least by the Chez's standard.  But the real improvement is in biz class: we had one ham and one turkey sandwich(they were fancier than that) and they were GOOD.  The bread was fresh, it was moist, the protein was high quality and the accompanying sauces were in little packets so they didn't soggy-up the mains.)  Really such a revelation from the hot dog and a bag of chips days(still available for the diehards.) 

 

Finally: "Merrily We Roll Along" is the best musical to come down the Broadway pipe in a very long time.  Quite the privilege to have seen its absolutely, positively final performance.

 

This doesn't come close to capturing the audience reaction:

 

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from 3 years ago.  It's from the Port of Nassau Webcam as Crystal Serenity waits for new passengers there on July 10, 2021.

 

 

Roy

[BEAV]

From the “don’t let this happen to you” department… 

[BWIVince]

17 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Trip Report(deja vu edition): New York, New York; The city so nice we went there twice.

 

Yep, three weeks after our whirlwind sojourn to the City that Never Sleeps, we authored the sequel.

 

I'll spare most of the details except for a morsel or two and this dining report mostly for @BWIVince: the day we got in I wanted to find something that was convenient to our midtown hotel, but still a very much in NY place.  One thing or another led me down a path we don't usually trod: a steak joint(I mean, hey, I can cook a steak, and so can you.)  Anyway, we ended up at Gallagher's and boy are we glad we did. This place couldn't have been more NY steak house unless Frank was in the next booth over hitting on...(well, you take my point.)  

 

Great food(protip: order the prime rib when you make your reservation, they run out) great atmosphere, and the service was even better(none of that gruff waiter shtick like that joint in Brooklyn.)  OLoPP loved her carpaccio app and was over the moon about the creamed spinach.  No need to mention the banana split for dessert.  Also, this from me: the Clams Oreganato are not to be missed.

 

 

Moving on, note to Vince: the Stephen Starr tie-in to Acela seems to be both real and working well. The coq au vin in first class is pretty good, at least by the Chez's standard.  But the real improvement is in biz class: we had one ham and one turkey sandwich(they were fancier than that) and they were GOOD.  The bread was fresh, it was moist, the protein was high quality and the accompanying sauces were in little packets so they didn't soggy-up the mains.)  Really such a revelation from the hot dog and a bag of chips days(still available for the diehards.) 

 

Finally: "Merrily We Roll Along" is the best musical to come down the Broadway pipe in a very long time.  Quite the privilege to have seen its absolutely, positively final performance.

 

This doesn't come close to capturing the audience reaction:

 

 

 

What a great post, Ken!  Early on in my career (NY transactions were still done in wampum), one of my clients doing an event at the Hilton (which back then was the only Hilton in NY referred to as THE Hilton) took me to dinner at Gallagher's one night to thank me for all I'd done to help modernize their event, because he was very traditional and Gallagher's was his favorite steakhouse in the city.  It was a truly memorable meal, and a really personal and insightful experience I'll never forget.

 

I also appreciate the Acela reports as well!  They totally validate what I've been hearing, and that means a lot more coming from the executive chef and owner of the Chez! 😉 Also grateful for you sharing the amazing theatre experiences.

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

A bit of a different view from here on Acela.  I've largely quit using it, and that's possibly related to the destination.  For me it's BWI and the last time I was on it my ticket said BWI but the conductor informed me my train no longer stopped there and I had to schlep my bags off in Baltimore and transfer to a regular train for the last few miles.  I wondered how I would explain that to the conductor but he never got as far as me.

 

Since I have a lot of Amtrak Guest Rewards I was able to book a regular train for the return from my last Crystal Cruise and use some points for a day pass for the Metropolitan Lounge.  That worked seamlessly for an effortless trip home. 

 

The new menu sounds great and I hope that sandwich is also available in the Cafe car on the Northeast Direct trains.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise was taken 2 years ago today from right outside my doorstep:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

22 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

What a great post, Ken!  Early on in my career (NY transactions were still done in wampum), one of my clients doing an event at the Hilton (which back then was the only Hilton in NY referred to as THE Hilton) took me to dinner at Gallagher's one night to thank me for all I'd done to help modernize their event, because he was very traditional and Gallagher's was his favorite steakhouse in the city.  It was a truly memorable meal, and a really personal and insightful experience I'll never forget.

 

I also appreciate the Acela reports as well!  They totally validate what I've been hearing, and that means a lot more coming from the executive chef and owner of the Chez! 😉 Also grateful for you sharing the amazing theatre experiences.

 

Vince

 

@BWIVincethanks for the kind words pal, I appreciate them.  I should have known you'd have beaten me to Gallagher's, by several decades even.

 

Thought of one more anecdote about our NY trip.  While I was oblivious to it(kind of my specialty) OLoPP noticed that the Hilton was very busy with young people who were uniformly...pretty.  Well, we found out just as we were leaving that the hotel was HQ for some big confab of the IMTA: the International Modeling and Talent Association.  Who knew? 

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Thought of one more anecdote about our NY trip.  While I was oblivious to it(kind of my specialty) OLoPP noticed that the Hilton was very busy with young people who were uniformly...pretty.  Well, we found out just as we were leaving that the hotel was HQ for some big confab of the IMTA: the International Modeling and Talent Association.  Who knew? 

Fabulous chefs, such as yourself, can be oblivious to physical beauty. They just can’t be skinny… 

 

[rafinmd]

Today's photo was taken two years ago today with the sun coming up over the school administration building close to my house:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise was taken 2 years ago from the parking garage where I walked that day:

 

 

 

Roy