Land & Sea - Live from Barcelona & the Oosterdam Transatlantic - November 5th, 2022

[VMax1700]

Jacqui,  I thought that Silver was the first dressy, Gold the second and if a third was offered then it was Blue.

 

Can you try to cancel Canaletto?  I cancelled our 'free' PG only 90 minutes prior,  when on Rotterdam and the booking was available again for another night.

[VMax1700]

It is really strange to have a Port day as a Dressy Night specially with Malaga and many people travelling to Granada and La Alhambra.  Tiring day!

[kochleffel]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

I used Spain Day Tours as well for my tours in Barcelona.  Booked them as private tours not shared.  Everyone was very happy with their guides and drivers.

I've used Spain Day Tours in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. They did a good job both times.

 

These were shared tours. I was at Barcelona on a cruise that interported between Barcelona and Rome; I boarded at Rome, so it was an ordinary port call for me, but the tour also had people who were disembarking or embarking at Barcelona and SDT did a good job of sorting out who got picked up at the ship, who got picked up at a hotel, who got dropped off at a hotel, and who returned to the ship. I also wanted to visit the Jewish quarter, where the streets are too narrow for them to drive in, so they gave me directions from the nearest convenient place.

 

I'll probably use Spain Day Tours again for next year's Spanish Farewell. I think that they operate in all the ports except Funchal, but including Lisbon.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by kochleffel

[kochleffel]

30 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I thought that Silver was the first dressy, Gold the second and if a third was offered then it was Blue.

 

What do these colors mean?

 

[grapau27]

49 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

It is really strange to have a Port day as a Dressy Night specially with Malaga and many people travelling to Granada and La Alhambra.  Tiring day!

It is unusual and even more so with a transatlantic crossing with several sea days.

[1of4]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

I am having a new appreciation of this, believe me.  I can tell you where every “good” washroom is on the ship.

One thing I really appreciate and never noticed before - there is signage at every disabled washroom on the ship that tells you where they all are.  👍 

Yeah, don’t get me started on bathrooms and how the accessible stall is used by able bodied people who give you a dirty look as they exit it when you have only one and they could have used any number.  Very nice of HAL to mark which bathrooms are accessible.

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

 

What do these colors mean?

 

In reality the colour mean nothing, it is just a way they have to identify the different Gala night menus.  Currently there are 3 different Gala/Dressy night menus, which, I believe operate fleet wide.

The menu posted above is the Silver menu.

 

This is the Gold menu:

 

 

 

And this is the Blue menu:

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by VMax1700

[kazu]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Jacqui,  I thought that Silver was the first dressy, Gold the second and if a third was offered then it was Blue.

 

Can you try to cancel Canaletto?  I cancelled our 'free' PG only 90 minutes prior,  when on Rotterdam and the booking was available again for another night.

 

Oh you’re probably right.  I was sure my first one was the blue but I haven’t cruised since 2019 😉 

I’ll see what the others want to do, Canaletto wise.  We chose tonight for the Osso Bucco special for them.

[kazu]

Forgot to report, for the first time I didn’t bring wine on board and of course, there was no corkage 🤷‍♂️. Too much to manage to do it with all the stuff & wheel chair and rollator/walker.

My sweet sis picked up my bottle for me for the wine tasting in Cartagena and no corkage either.

No set up for it - interesting - wonder if they don’t expect people to bring it on with the SBP?

[Catlover54]

1 hour ago, 1of4 said:

Yeah, don’t get me started on bathrooms and how the accessible stall is used by able bodied people who give you a dirty look as they exit it when you have only one and they could have used any number.  Very nice of HAL to mark which bathrooms are accessible.

 

Why are able bodied people giving a "dirty" look to people who need to use the accessible stall?  

Just because they for some reason they presumably dislike disabled people, or was someone yelling or pounding at the door?  

[kazu]

Heads up for those that like that candied bacon in the PG.  HELENPSL went to the PG the other night and ordered and the waiter (not knowing how long she was on for) warned her that starting next cruise, there was going to be a surcharge for it.  She was told $7 surcharge.

 

 

[0106]

Wonderful foodie tour coordinated by @Frontrow with We Love Malaga tours.  Our  guide Damien was fantastic.  Learned a bit about salt cod.

 

Went to the market.

 

Learned about Iberico ham.

 

And olives

 

And spices

 

And produce

 

Now it was time for tapas.  We went to three excellent restaurants.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the food🤨

 

Here are the restaurants.

Delicious olives, eggplant, pork and meatballs.

 

Wonderful  pinchos- ham, smoked salmon, shrimp, octopus and fig (?)

 

Mushroom croquettes and cod.  

Wine and other beverages available at every stop!

[highland cruiser]

I am taking notes on all you tours and stops on your cruise.  Thank you for the detailed information.  We will be on the Oosterdam next Oct. from Athens to Fort Lauderdale.  We have also used Spain Day tours before and were very pleased with them.  Will be looking at using them again.

Wishing you continued healing with your foot.  

 

[1of4]

1 hour ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Why are able bodied people giving a "dirty" look to people who need to use the accessible stall?  

Just because they for some reason they presumably dislike disabled people, or was someone yelling or pounding at the door?  

In my experience it always happens as I try to open the door.  I guess they don’t like that🤷🏻‍♀️ But often times the doors to the accessible toilet stalls swing closed so you have to push on it to see if it is vacant.  They probably don’t realize this because they don’t actually need to use it and the doors to all regular toilets are usually open when not in use.

[kochleffel]

Has anyone in this thread visited Madrid? For next  year's Spanish Farewell, I'm considering flying to Madrid instead of Barcelona, because I've never been there and because I want to take the high-speed train to Barcelona. The fares and flight connections are the same.

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

Heads up for those that like that candied bacon in the PG.  HELENPSL went to the PG the other night and ordered and the waiter (not knowing how long she was on for) warned her that starting next cruise, there was going to be a surcharge for it.  She was told $7 surcharge.

 

 

The gala dinner menus sound great, but no lobster?  
I can’t believe they are going to upcharge on the upcharged Pinnacle.  Wow!  Haven’t seen Helen since Aruba years ago.  

[kazu]

25 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Has anyone in this thread visited Madrid? For next  year's Spanish Farewell, I'm considering flying to Madrid instead of Barcelona, because I've never been there and because I want to take the high-speed train to Barcelona. The fares and flight connections are the same.

 

Jose and I went to Madrid a few years ago.  It is absolutely wonderful.  A great idea to go there since no cruise ship can get inland.

The high speed train is great - we did it from Rotterdam to Paris a few years ago - just remember you have to handle your own luggage.

[Vict0riann]

Madrid is very interesting.  We had a car to drive around Spain.  Just remember they eat really late.  We got to a restaurant at 8 and the chef hadn’t even  arrived! 

[kochleffel]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

Just remember they eat really late.  We got to a restaurant at 8 and the chef hadn’t even  arrived! 

 

That could be a problem for me, since I can't sleep if I eat a full dinner very late.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

 

That could be a problem for me, since I can't sleep if I eat a full dinner very late.

 

There are all kinds of tapas places that open early.  And your hotel will have offerings at your normal times and will be able to help with places that do as well (or at least they should).  Dinner is traditionally much later in Spain but there are a lot of places that open earlier understanding of tourists and not turista 😉 

 

[ger_77]

Today in Malaga we did a tapas tour, arranged by Jacqui; it was wonderful!  Lots of variety in a number of different locations, but all very walkable from the centre of the city.  And a great tour guide who made you feel like you were just another good friend.  
 

Tonight is “Dressy Night”, and I have to report that there’s another cut; it may seem like a small one, but it is a cut.  There are no longer “good nuts” served in the bars and lounges on “Dressy Night.”  And as @kazumentioned, the lack of wine stewards AND drink runners really slows the dinner process. The assistant waiter goes for your drinks, while the table waiter tries their best to get the wine.  It isn’t their fault that there are mistakes, as we all know they are trained to do wine service. 
 

We are still having a great time, and are being treated so well by the HAL employees.  Tomorrow, Cadiz!

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

 

That could be a problem for me, since I can't sleep if I eat a full dinner very late.

Do not fear.  There are enough touristy restaurants who open early primarily to serve tourists.  But if you want to go to the better restaurants (the places enjoyed by locals) you will often need to wait until at least 9pm.  We once tried to make a 9:30 reservation at a decent restaurant and were advised that "nobody dines before 10).  So we arrived at 10 and the restaurant was still pretty empty.  By 10:30 the place was filling and we saw folks arriving (with school aged children) after 11pm (and it was a school night).

 

When we have spent time doing driving trips in Spain we managed to adapt to the Spanish dining culture.  It meant going our for tapas about 6, heading to dinner after 9 (the time varies depending on where you are within the country) and then relaxing at a bar until past midnight.  Then late to sleep, late to wake, have a light breakfast, and a long lunch during "siesta time" when most stores are closed, etc. etc.   All part of the fun of immersing oneself in the local culture.   But it sure would be a stretch for the cruisers who line up to get into the MDR by 5pm for dinner :).

 

Hank

[kazu]

We did get to Dressy night (Gala) dinner in the MDR last night.  We were able to change our Canaletto night to the last night of the cruise.  They told us just to pre-order Osso Bucco and we could have it.  Isn’t that nice? 👍 

 

Yesterday was Malaga and our tapas tours.  I stayed behind not wanting to slow the group down and sent them off to meet Laura along with her gift (she is Canadian originally and loves Maple cookies - I’ve toured with her before 😉)

The dam shuttle took forever and my sisters and BIL were late.  Apparently everyone on the shuttle was unhappy (I think it was over an hour?)   Fortunately Laura had waited and found them.  My one sister though tried to walk too fast to get to the meeting place and took a tumble. 😢 
 

She has very sore arms.  She did get checked by Medical (after a lot of bugging) and I have given her some of my meds that I had for my foot.

Tapas tour was very good from reports (I knew it would be 😉) I know my other sis has photos on her phone but wasn’t able to air drop them to me the other day.  We will try again later.  She’s been so busy trying to keep tabs on her daughter, help me, etc.  Poor sweet sis ♥️ 

 

[kazu]

So, last night Angelo reported that the steak in the Lido was so good you could cut it with a fork.  And Helen told us about the shrimp tempura so my sis went and got a plate for us all to try.  It was excellent.  They made it fresh for her !

We might consider LIdo for dining here and there depending on what is offered 😉 

 

Steak in the MDR was ok - good - but I wouldn’t call it excellent (everyone was in agreement).

 

 

However the rack of lamb got major thumbs up 🙂 

 

But OMG the jumbo shrimp - OMG it was really delish.

 

The sauce they used for it at the bottom was fabulous.  We all raved.

 

Dessert was pretty good.  Strawberries Romanov were quite nice and Gerry enjoyed her Black Forest cake.

 

 

 

But the coffee ?  A bit on the thick side - not sure if this video is good enough to show but I don’t think I have ever seen coffee this thick in the MDR before 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Gala/Dressy night so we were blessed with a towel animal on the bed (and chocolate).

Cute - on the pillow - and look, it has EYES!!!

 

 

Everyone was lined up to say good bye to Lance last night.  He took care of us at the Sail a Way and has helped me a couple of times.  He wasn’t even on duty yet when he saw me starting with the wheel chair and immediately said Jacqui what do you need?  Super - he will be on the Volendam in 2023 so anyone on one of his sailings is in for a treat 👍 

 

 

All the guys here are tremendous!