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

[kazu]

Canaletto was a definite hit.  Everything was good.

 

Including the calamari which is tricky 👍 

 

 

 

We had a special order of Osso Bucco and the shrimp - both specials on other nights.  All was good.  Was sure I had pics of them but????

 

And dessert was all cold stuff and good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Took my sister to PG lunch and she loved it.

 

We treated it like Canaletto and shared our appetizers and entrees.  

 

Crab cakes - she raved and I smiled 🙂 

 

 

and the prawn appetizer - she like that one too and I smiled 🙂 

 

 

we had and shared the PG burger and the cod sandwich.  I’m not sure what happened to those pics unless they went out of order - will have to go digging.  I guess that’s what happens when your Live thread can’t be live 😂 

[kazu]

the only way I could post on the LIVE thread was to be up bright and early in the morning and then, with luck and a lot of time, I could get a couple of posts done.

 

One of the pluses was the sunrises.  

 

Here are some of them.  

 

 

 

 

The rest of these are showing upside down and I don’t know why.  they are fine in my photos.  I will post them and see if I can correct them - grrr. And I think it worked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then come back tomorrow once I sort through more pics.  they are a bit discombobulated between sharing with my phone and using air drop when wifi was off on my phone.  Sorry.

[highscar]

The Nordham has a pool lift. First time I have seen one.  A great idea.  

[ski ww]

Great pictures of Madeira, brings back some good memories. Get better soon.

[puppycanducruise]

Love all the pictures.

Thanks for taking the time to post them.

[kazu]

On 11/21/2022 at 11:00 AM, 1ANGELCAT said:

Jacqui, I agree the fish is delicious. The last time I was there it was included at a restaurant on the tour. 
Has your luggage arrived yet?

 

It is now here 👍. And I even have partially unpacked foot and all 😉. Might as well leave some there in case I go in December - LOL 🙂 

 

On 11/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, marshhawk said:

@kazu  Years ago a friend of mine fell, her foot swelled up, we took her for xrays and they said the foot was not broken.  It was because her foot was so swollen that they could not pickup several hair lien fractures.  Have you gone for an xray since you have been home?  I know you basically just got home, but it could be that there is more going on than you know.  I am worried about you.

 

No, I haven’t gone.  My doctor was unavailable this week (moving offices) and how many doctors do I need to see.  A friend of mine had minor fractures and nothing on her foot.  In any case, it’s improving.  I can get by with a cane sometimes and use the walker others.  I was told 4-6 weeks so I will see how it is on Monday and call if necessary accordingly. 

 

On 11/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, marshhawk said:

 

I have to admit that I let the DH sleep late this morning just so that I could sit down and enjoy your trip.

I am glad that you are home, safe and sound.  And guess who just got up?  Right when I was done.  All places look beautiful, and I can also see that with DH's vison problems and walking ability, Europe is going to be a challenge for him.

 

And thank you Dailyites who cruised and posted pictures along with @kazu!  Thank you for taking care of her! 

 

I am  very grateful to some kind roll call members (not all Daily - ites but mostly) who helped me out.

[kazu]

Catch up time - sorry.

 

Beverage menu from the Sea View Bar - but honestly, you could order just about anything you wanted 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Dinner overall was very good - very.

 

 

However - the Dulce de Leche dessert left something to be desired - the only meh on the whole cruise.  

 

 

We flipped veggies if they were offered on other plates that night and it worked well and heck you might as well have a little taste of shrimp with the liver, right?  Both were absolutely delicious.

 

 

Salmon on the ship was very good every time with different twists.  Do I see some shrimp on that plate to go with the salmon 😂 

 

 

Desserts overall were good (this was not mine).

 

 

 

My sweet sis enjoyed sundaes adding extra berries to them.  Our waiters were most accommodating  👍 

 

 

[kazu]

I don’t think I posted these pics yet?  (Hope not)

 

Pinnacle Grill dinner

 

lobster bisque

 

 

 

Clothesline bacon

 

 

 

Scallops and they were done perfectly

 

 

Steak (perfect)

 

 

 

And we really scored on 2 of our Gala nights.  Two of them had escargots 👍 Escargot twice?  Break my heart 😉 

 

 

And yes, we had jumbo shrimp two Gala nights.  Another heart breaker 😉 

 

[ger_77]

The dining room food was good, especially the appearance of escargots on 2 gala nights!  Having said that though, we ate a couple of times in the Lido for dinner and enjoyed the offerings there as well, especially the "Neptune Dinner" on the last night.  The seafood boil was absolutely delicious with huge peel & eat shrimp, potatoes, corn, etc.  DH liked the sweet baked salmon they also served that night.

 

The one thing I noticed in the dining room at lunch was that the food was never really hot, even though the dining room was nowhere near full.  Not sure why.

[kazu]

Overall, the food was quite good on this cruise - better than I expected -much!  The MDR food was varied and cooked as requested.  

 

Lido had a lot of variety and the tempura shrimp was to die for.  The lovely lady insisted on making a fresh batch for my sis.  Yum.

 

Special menus like a Neptune night.  

 

Service in the Sea View Bar was beyond exceptional - fantastic guys - remember where I went was limited with the chair.  They took fantastic care of me - bringing towels to raise my foot in the chair, ice for my foot, wheeling me to my room on occasion - the list was endless .  And you didn’t need to be in a bad situation to get attention - everyone loved them.

 

MDR service was good once we found an experienced table - fantastic even.  Some people were new and all you had to do was talk to Zin and it was fixed - an awesome dining room manager - and so nice to see a woman in that position 👍 

 

And along with my sis, I had some fantastic roll call members who helped me with some of our activities, got me coffee (you can’t reach Lido coffee in a wheel chair) and even helped get me to my room.  This is where I  fear I will forget someone but here goes.  Many thanks to Tina @0106

Gerry @ger_77   Helen & Angelo  @HELENPSL Randy   @R2D2 Mike @Dunmore2    Mike   @strad  Art @Takes Notes and of course, my sweet sister.  A huge help in delivering Meet & Greet invites, other invites (Tina and my sis), sending off the cabin crawl groups, opening the wine at the wine tasting, helping pass out name tags at the M & G, and just plain helping and helping me.

 

Forgive me, if I missed you - we had a terrific roll call and the kindness they exuded was overwhelming. I will never forget it.  This will be a cruise I will never forget - not the first solo cruise I planned - but with such a great roll call, you couldn’t help but still make lemonade out of lemons and have some good times.

 

I apologize this was not like one of my normal live threads - hopefully next time I will be out and about and give much better reporting and use port wifi when the ship’s isn’t working.

 

Thanks for hanging in with me and if anyone has any questions, I’m happy to answer if I can.

 

 

[recruiter 28]

On 11/23/2022 at 5:26 PM, kazu said:

Took my sister to PG lunch and she loved it.

 

We treated it like Canaletto and shared our appetizers and entrees.  

 

Crab cakes - she raved and I smiled 🙂 

 

 

and the prawn appetizer - she like that one too and I smiled 🙂 

 

 

we had and shared the PG burger and the cod sandwich.  I’m not sure what happened to those pics unless they went out of order - will have to go digging.  I guess that’s what happens when your Live thread can’t be live 😂 

And the chocolate fudge brownie!

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, recruiter 28 said:

And the chocolate fudge brownie!

 

Oh yes, how could I have forgotten that 😉. Thanks - I didn’t get a pic of it.

[DeeniEncinitas]

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

@kazu

Jacqui❤️

What a fantastic write up.

I so enjoyed this journey with you and you are a star trooper in my eyes. 
The friendship with your friends at CC, your beautiful family, and all that you have endured and, and YOUR DEDICATION I admire that! I especially enjoyed the beautiful pictures on this trip. Most of all I loved this picture! Thank you!

Sincerely,

🌺Denise ☺️

 

 

[HELENPSL]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

Overall, the food was quite good on this cruise - better than I expected -much!  The MDR food was varied and cooked as requested.  

 

Lido had a lot of variety and the tempura shrimp was to die for.  The lovely lady insisted on making a fresh batch for my sis.  Yum.

 

Special menus like a Neptune night.  

 

Service in the Sea View Bar was beyond exceptional - fantastic guys - remember where I went was limited with the chair.  They took fantastic care of me - bringing towels to raise my foot in the chair, ice for my foot, wheeling me to my room on occasion - the list was endless .  And you didn’t need to be in a bad situation to get attention - everyone loved them.

 

MDR service was good once we found an experienced table - fantastic even.  Some people were new and all you had to do was talk to Zin and it was fixed - an awesome dining room manager - and so nice to see a woman in that position 👍 

 

And along with my sis, I had some fantastic roll call members who helped me with some of our activities, got me coffee (you can’t reach Lido coffee in a wheel chair) and even helped get me to my room.  This is where I  fear I will forget someone but here goes.  Many thanks to Tina @0106

Gerry @ger_77   Helen & Angelo  @HELENPSL Randy   @R2D2 Mike @Dunmore2    Mike   @strad  Art @Takes Notes and of course, my sweet sister.  A huge help in delivering Meet & Greet invites, other invites (Tina and my sis), sending off the cabin crawl groups, opening the wine at the wine tasting, helping pass out name tags at the M & G, and just plain helping and helping me.

 

Forgive me, if I missed you - we had a terrific roll call and the kindness they exuded was overwhelming. I will never forget it.  This will be a cruise I will never forget - not the first solo cruise I planned - but with such a great roll call, you couldn’t help but still make lemonade out of lemons and have some good times.

 

I apologize this was not like one of my normal live threads - hopefully next time I will be out and about and give much better reporting and use port wifi when the ship’s isn’t working.

 

Thanks for hanging in with me and if anyone has any questions, I’m happy to answer if I can.

 

 

The service has always been great on our cruises but I have never seen service like the guys in the Seaview bar area on this cruise.  They never said no to any requests.  AND…they always did it with a smile.  They were simply fantastic!

Helen

[canadarocks]

@kazu I have been a part of this wonderful website since 2009. You were one of the very first people that I "connected" with here, and I have ALWAYS relied upon your helpful posts. I know that the last few years have been nothing but awful for you. The loss of two beloved dogs, a "step-dog" and your one true love, your husband Jose. And then when you finally get to cruise..... you get hurt before you can even get onboard.

 

And yet..... here you are, always positive and always helpful. Jacqui, please know, that you are truly inspirational and truly loved, albeit from afar and through cyberspace. Nothing but respect for you girl. 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the food porn.  Everything looks fabulous!

[jeh10641]

Jacqui,

Someday I would love to meet you in person. I have enjoyed being on your cruises via Cruise Critic. I am so sorry you had to do this last cruise "alone" without Jose. My deepest and most sincere condolences. On our Oosterdam cruise (2016) we also stopped in Madeira. Your photos were awesome. Our next Transatlantic will be 2023 on Anthem of the Seas because of a great price. Please stay well.

 

Madie/Jim Harris

[Sharon in AZ]

Jacqui @kazu, I was just able to catch up with your Live From thread since I was ill. I really enjoyed reading all about your trip and cruise and your pictures. I’m happy that your foot is on the mend too.  It sounds like you had an amazing time regardless of your injury and kept on keeping on. Having good CC friends to help is proof that there are really good people in this world. 
 

Take care and get better and I expect another Live From thread for your December cruise!