The Daily for Monday Mar 22, 2021

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

That's really strange.  They are always labeled "Chilled", "Iced", or "Cold" right on the menu.

 

Roy

 

1 hour ago, Red Haired Lady said:

I know..I think people see the word "soup" and assume it is like the soup they have had all of their lives.  Especially people who have never been on a cruise.  (I like the cold soups...especially fruit ones)

 

I have to admit that while I like several cold soups (vichysoisse, gazpacho), I have never been a fan of sweet or fruit soups.  Just seems like something I should be drinking by the pool, not having in a bowl at dinner!

 

[mamaofami]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I wish it still was.  HAL used to offer a delicious cold soup and a hot one.

 

The cold soups are gone now pretty much except on some Grand and World and special cruises and sometimes by special order.

 

the hot soups always remain.

 

Myself, I loved the cold soups.  I would sometimes have one for dessert.  They were delish 😄 

 

But as to your question, never fear, there are hot soups every night.

I loved all those cold soups. They really were very sweet, 1000 calories but so delicious.

[richwmn]

52 minutes ago, oakridger said:

@rafinmd and @kazu I was supposed to leave from Lisbon in June 2020 on a cruise.  I knew about the Golden Gate like suspension bridge but hadn't seen the statue.  I plan on going to Lisbon probably next year (if we can get in by then) to use the airline voucher I got from the cancelled cruise trip.  I will also stay at the Hotel Avenida Place that Roy and others have recommended!  

 

~Nancy

During a short land tour between cruises I stayed at a small boutique hotel in the heart of Lisbon. The hotel was My Story Hotel Rossio. It opens on Rossio square and is a very short walk to a large number of attractions and restaurants. It is about a mile from where Prinsendam was docked while I was there. The HOHO bus has a stop right outside the hotel. It also had a nice breakfast which was part of my room rate but I understand it is not included with all room rates.

[oakridger]

Thanks both of you for the Lisbon hotel info!  I'll definitely google those places.

 

~Nancy

[Horizon chaser 1957]

2 hours ago, ger_77 said:

That really made me laugh - of course it was closed, it's called the Museum of Tomorrow, not the Museum of Today!  LOL

 

Re: cold soups - I'm one of those who dearly misses the cold fruit soups on HAL; they were like starting your dinner with a fruit smoothie every time.  Loved them!    DH is happy that he can order French Onion Soup every night if he wants to - and he usually does.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

I will always wonder - if I had gone back the next day, would it have been the Museum of Today and open, or still the Museum of Tomorrow and closed.🤔

[ger_77]

47 minutes ago, Tbay said:

@Mary229 Thunder Bay is a long way from anywhere.  I'm impressed you have been there!

I’ve been to Thunder Bay, too!  It was in 1967, I was just a kid, and we stopped on our way home from Expo in Montreal. We took a boat tour and I still clearly remember seeing the Sleeping Giant. Great memories of a fun trip. 
 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[superoma]

54 minutes ago, Tbay said:

@Mary229 Thunder Bay is a long way from anywhere.  I'm impressed you have been there!

Heck so am I. I have lived in Ontario for 68 years and have never been. But I have been to moosonee by train from cochrane! 

[erewhon]

Thanks to Rich for the Daily, and Roy for the lists.

The day started foggy, cleared to sunshine, now grey clouds. 

Our cat has just jumped up to sit beside me,  a surprise, as this is not her usual behaviour.!

Keep well, stay safe everyone.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

4 hours ago, baltic17 said:

 

Bottom line on Rio.  It's worth a stop on a cruise but I wouldn't start or end there.

 

 

 

My feelings exactly. I enjoyed seeing Rio and I’m glad I went. I’m also glad we were spending the night on-board. I have no desire to go back.

[erewhon]

13 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

 

This is what our cat does numerous times each day.

 

[bennybear]

22 minutes ago, erewhon said:

 

They need a doorbell😂

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, bennybear said:

They need a doorbell😂

 Spare me.  They are too smart and would ring it easily. Over and over and over.

 

Thankfully they haven’t found the doorbell at the back door to the garage 😉 

 

[Overhead Fred]

1 hour ago, superoma said:

Heck so am I. I have lived in Ontario for 68 years and have never been. But I have been to moosonee by train from cochrane! 

We also took the train from Cochrane to Moosonee and a freight canoe to Moose Factory when I was fairly young, maybe junior high school. It was a great family trip!

 

Thunder Bay is only about 4 1/2 hours from Duluth, MN. I drove through once on my way to a remote fishing lodge. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

We enjoyed Rio on the Veendam in Feb 2017 when we stayed overnight for Carnival.

We booked excursions after being warned by previous travelers of street crime and remained safe and secure.  I think the police have greatly reduced the rampant crime of years past and would encourage those who have yet to see Rio to go.  The weather was

very warm and humid, but noticeably nicer on top of Sugar Loaf.  It was a wonderful experience.

[bennybear]

57 minutes ago, kazu said:

 Spare me.  They are too smart and would ring it easily. Over and over and over.

 

Thankfully they haven’t found the doorbell at the back door to the garage 😉 

 

Agreed,  she does, but it is a special doggy doorbell.  They are trying to teach her some type of language!  🤷‍♀️😂

[bennybear]

I’ve been to Thunder Bay on the train Going to Expo as a young girl, too.   I just remember miles and miles of rocks!   

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

10 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

@Quartzsite Cruisernice to hear we were on a cruise together once.  We cruised Princess a lot until we found Holland America in 2014.  We had scheduled two cruises on Ocean Princess to the Black Sea and Holy Land that year, but Princess was cancelling the ports left and right due to problems in Ukraine and Egypt.  HAL still had a good itinerary on Prinsendam, so we switched.  I'm so glad we did!  After that we started booking up the great HAL itineraries beginning in about 2016.  We already had a full complement of cruises booked in 2015 on Princess so no room for any HAL cruises that year.

 

Since you were on that Ruby Princess cruise, do you remember when the ship was slammed with an 80 mph wind from a squall along the coast of Chile?  I think it may have been March 1.  I was sitting in Crooners at one of the sofas placed along the windows, doing my cross stitching when it happened.  The ship listed to starboard for a minute and it practically stood me right up off the sofa, like one of those recliners that lift you right up off of them that some people use.  Unfortunately, the bartender had just unlocked all the liquor bottles and placed them on the counter prior to placing them on the protective shelving.  He walked into the back for a minute and the list happened.  All those bottles went crashing to the floor!  I could smell the alcohol all the way over to the piano on the opposite side of the bar.  Crazy!!!  

 

My next stop in Rio is scheduled on the Grand South America and Antarctica in early 2022.  I wonder if South America will be open and safe for visitors by January?

We cruised Princess, RCCL and X,  before we discovered HAL in 1998.  Since then, we’ve mostly cruised HAL and Princess, with more days on HAL  We don’t remember the big wave off Chili, but do remember the wild ride between the Falklands and Cape Horn.  We had an aft balcony, and the ship did not handle those big waves well.

10 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Stop at Balmorhea State Park, even if it is a few miles out of the way, it is where we stay on our way back from Arizona.  Well worth an overnight. Enjoy the ride.  

We have stayed at Balmorhea before, but it is out of the way this time.  We’d like to go back, since the last time we drove by, it was closed for renovation, including a new sewer system.  When we move back and forth between Arizona and Texas, we’re usually just  trying to get there; so at the I-10/I-20 split, we take I-20 to Cisco, then the back roads home.

 

Lenda

Edited March 23, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good evening.  I did not have time to look up our pictures, but  there seem to be plenty pictures of Rio.  @rafinmd The day we got to Rio in 2015 on the Ruby Princess, we were docked next to Maasdam, aft to aft.  I did not get a picture of the Maasdam that morning, and when we got back from our tour,  you had sailed.  That was the closest we came to the Maasdam, the only S or R class we never sailed on.

 

I do sing (if you can call it that), bit not around  others.

 

Today turned out to be very busy, and I didn’t get finished until late afternoon.  Got most of the really big chores done today, so hopefully, tomorrow will be easier.  I guess I can goof off the four days DH is driving.  We were close to the meal suggestion with penne baked with Italian sausage and garlic bread.  Thank goodness for leftovers in the freezer.  I prefer rum collins to Tom collins.

 

The picture of the giant amethyst geodes looked familiar as you can find them for sale in Quartzsite in January and February.

 

@cruisemom42 Congrats on your first shot tomorrow .

@tamsno Glad you’re getting your second Pfizer shot.

 

DH liked the chilled soup.  We’e been on many cruises where someone ordered the cold soup and then complained.  My guess is they don’t read the menu completely.

 

Lenda

Edited March 23, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[erewhon]

4 hours ago, bennybear said:

They need a doorbell😂

 

When we moved into this house we had two cat doors installed, but many  times a day human sized doors are preferable!!

Edited March 23, 2021 by erewhon

[rafinmd]

5 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

.  @rafinmd The day we got to Rio in 2015 on the Ruby Princess, we were docked next to Maasdam, aft to aft.  I did not get a picture of the Maasdam that morning, and when we got back from our tour,  you had sailed.

Actually, I didn't sail.  I disembarked the first day and flew home.

 

Roy

[Mary229]

10 hours ago, Tbay said:

@Mary229 Thunder Bay is a long way from anywhere.  I'm impressed you have been there!

We were really big drivers at one time.  I remember we went from Texas to NJ to visit DH's folks and my FIL remarked that it was 1500 miles from our home to NJ and another 1500 miles to Halifax, that we were half way.  We got up in the morning and drove to Halifax.  Then we realized you could go all the way to Prince Edward Island, so we called our work and said we would be a few weeks late getting back and drove there too! All in a little pup tent.  I haven't made it to the Yukon yet but now that I am older I think I will let HAL do the driving on that one.

[Tbay]

@ger_77 Sadly,  passenger the train no longer goes to Thunder Bay.

@superoma I would love to go north, Moosonne , or maybe Churchill,  to see the polar bears.

@Overhead FredWe would often go to Duluth to go shopping.

@Mary229Wow!  That's a lot of driving.  Friends always thought we were crazy to drive from near Toronto to Thunder Bay in one day!