Beachlover1989 Posted July 4, 2023 #451 Share Posted July 4, 2023 Norris, did you ever find the need for bug spray in Iceland? I read something about midges (?), but was unsure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 4, 2023 Author #452 Share Posted July 4, 2023 2 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said: Norris, did you ever find the need for bug spray in Iceland? I read something about midges (?), but was unsure. No midges where we were. Carol always carries Deep Woods Off! wipes if we need them. No pests! Norris 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #453 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Lest we forget....some photos that were getting left behind Carol on Dynjandi Eden leaving Liverpool 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #454 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Shawna introduces Phil Tag- I eventually got it processed in Youtube. As some of you reading this are going on the Apex soon here's a taste of Shawna. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnyette Posted July 5, 2023 #455 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Your visit with your family was touching, I have some lovely cousins in England but last time we got together was 2010! I’ve been 3 times since…2 land tours, one cruise. Thank you for sharing that part of your cruise with us. We stopped off in Belfast last year on a cruise with another line. We did the hop on hop off bus as it took us to certain areas we wanted to see. Lovely enjoyable day, with hot& sunny weather! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #456 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Tonight's entertainment after leaving Liverpool Very appropriate programming! Two things are immediately noticeable- the Beatles bass drum logo is copyrighted so they have to elongate the L instead of the original T. Also the Beatles' faces are copyrighted and blurred. Next faux-pas-the band doesn't travel with a Ludwig drum kit in black oyster pearl finish we are all so familiar with. Instead an electric Roland kit that sounds lame and is used by other bands around the ship. A soft drum sound with no attack. Shawna introduces of course I can't recall the first song. She loves you? From me to You? I referred to Carol's notes "One song and some patter and I fled the room..." they read. Yikes! I thought they made a decent effort with the harmonies but they lost my goodwill by trying to be funny in the breaks between songs. That was a Beatles hallmark thanks to John's general irreverence to the showbiz traditions but it fell flat as the band tried to be the Beatles. Just play. So I stayed on. I didn't shoot video as I thought beforehand that YouTube wouldn't use it due to copyright. No black and white Rickenbacker 325 guitar for John. No stage amplifiers, let alone Vox, possibly unattainable as we are talking a band from almost 60 years ago. Fair enough. Lots of digital backdrops More... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #457 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I've seen a good Beatles tribute band on one of my X cruises-prior to this that was 2 on Silly and one on Reflection but I can't recall which and they are all long reviews. That time the band did a journey through the Beatles various stages from Merseybeat to Sgt Pepper with costume changes and guitar changes as the years went by. Captain Nicolas was always in attendance Eventually I had to leave early too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #458 Share Posted July 5, 2023 LAST SEA DAY June 16 and we're halfway between Liverpool and our last port of Dover. Not much to see as we are far out to sea so I'll get some indoor shots today before I run out of time. I got my morning coffee in the buffet. To deck 5 to greet the day 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #459 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I've been telling Carol all week of my desire to have lunch at Le Grande Bistro. Today will be the day although Carol isn't so keen. There's a $30 cover but that's not going to stop me. I'll go alone if need be. We end our cruise on Sunday in Rotterdam and it's already Friday. 12 days is our longest cruise ever and with 4 Amsterdam days our 16 days away from Chicago is a new record. As it's a sea day and our last of those we have breakfast in Eden Cafe for the last time. Carol will retire to the Eden window ramp to read and I will go on a photo ramble. First she has to get her latte with an extra shot ($7.80 if I recall) from Cafe Il Bacio whose name is mispronounced by all the staff. Ba-chee-oh (NO). It's bah-choh. Italian for kiss. These delicious pastries are free with your Bacio coffee purchase ! Right I'm gonna take a walk with the camera 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #460 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Changing digital billboards near the elevators. Deck 4 I think. EFFY shop iLounge for Apple products cool store You've got to stay hydrated! I need a beer... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #461 Share Posted July 5, 2023 I ordered a Moretti as....you've guessed it...they are now out of Heineken a beer brewed in Amsterdam. Again I was the only customer at Sunset Bar. Warmer than Iceland now but still windy which doesn't encourage me to sit a spell. While I am sitting I can tell you that Eden no longer has the acrobats with dinner in the evening. No mimes walking around. Customer feedback said "enough already" Later in the dinner period there will be music on the floor above-on this cruise a guy playing guitar and singing (good) and I think the same guy with a girl playing keyboards (also good) Silent Disco some nights. I can also tell you that since Belfast and its sunny day the hitherto closed Rooftop Garden Grill is open for dinner. Hooray! We'll go there tonight. We loved the Lawn Club Grill on Silly and Reflection. We haven't considered the 3 other S class ships as they lack it. I can also tell you that Carol has enjoyed our Sunset Verandah since it's been warm enough to enjoy since Belfast. A little funnel soot doth fall but no biggie. Carol took a nap at 11.30 and I texted her when I was heading for Le Grande Bistro just before 1 p.m. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #462 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Le Grand Bistro French Bistros are my jam. If I had to name my favorite food, which I could live on, everyday I would have to go with steak and chips (fries) and when I think of a bistro Steak Frites is what I am going to eat for my first visit. I have yet to visit Paris which is ridiculous as I am a huge Francophile. Loved our time in Nice and Avignon on our last Azamara cruise as I got to use my French vocabulary. Carol arrives and loves the window seat. We order. Few other diners... For Madame Carol the French onion soup One legitimate quibble- they chopped the onions up fine (diced) Zut alors! Should be rustic long slices. For Monsieur Norris (which is a name of French origin) the lobster bisque Creamy with small chunks of lobster under a pastry shell. Delicious but scalding hot. Carol's tuna salad croissant and my steak frites As anticipated! Cleaned the plate. For Carol the Madelines and Financier which I don't even see on this menu When I see the word Profiteroles on a menu I react the same way a dog would to the word "walkies?" As we are now sold on the E class (bar the Infinite Verandahs) we will seek out Le Grand Bistro on future cruises. Cool decor too... In the evening the room is darkened as it becomes Le Petit Chef 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39august Posted July 5, 2023 #463 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Does the Eden breakfast menu include some form of eggs, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #464 Share Posted July 5, 2023 2 hours ago, 39august said: Does the Eden breakfast menu include some form of eggs, please? I think only in panini form with cheese and a protein. For eggs in all variations I would use Cosmopolitan or the buffet. If anyone knows differently, please chime in. Norris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUTRAVEL Posted July 5, 2023 #465 Share Posted July 5, 2023 Here's a menu for Eden's breakfast from January 2023. Eden-Cafe-Breakfast.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 5, 2023 Author #466 Share Posted July 5, 2023 More rooms from my walk Some Silent Discos happened here Vast space Another enticing store nearby Help yourself excursions Or talk to someone in a nice uniform Cafe al Bacio on deck 4, Martini Bar deck 3 One of the many things I had planned to do on this ship was sit at the Martini bar and order a martini. I did that on Silhouette. That was I could have a front row seat at the incredible juggling that goes on. Didn't do it this time. Next time (hold me to it!) Live bands played in the bar each night including one that was an all girl band. Good. The days of me making sure I recorded all the bands on a ship are in the past but next cruise I will make a point to include them (hold me to it). My mother is writing a note that will explain everything. Norris 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #467 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Not a planned "Show" but I was walking by.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt fan Posted July 6, 2023 #468 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Love it when you stroll the ship and take pics but then your meal pics arrive and I get hungry (especially the sweets and desserts), even though I just had a large plate of July 4th leftovers; sitting with my glass of wine this evening and enjoying every minute 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare vickykay Posted July 6, 2023 #469 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Do you have along and review of your Azamara cruise? Would love to read that. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #470 Share Posted July 6, 2023 2 hours ago, vickykay said: Do you have along and review of your Azamara cruise? Would love to read that. Thanks. here it is Norris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #471 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Maybe a dozen diners here at 8 p.m as we made our way to Dover. Some of the women who had worn off the shoulder dresses were huddled in blankets. Unlike the Lawn Club Grill on the S Class there were no overhead electric heaters to kill the chill. I had come up 30 minutes prior to gauge the temperature. I believe we were both dressed in puffy coats. Unlike the LCG on the S class there was no make your own salad bar. There was no overhead camera above the grill stations where you could watch the chef's work. There was none of this... (Silhouette) We had a good fun waiter called Nural from Indonesia and ordered some food which we often do in a restaurant. For Carol a Caesar salad I had 3 Pulled-Pork sliders which were yummy but very filling. Carol's entree-a big ribeye steak with Mac 'n Cheese and creamed corn as her sides and I, wanting something lighter, enjoyed a grilled Branzino with a baked potato and sautéed spinach. A good choice as I hadn't eaten much fish all week. A good meal. I would come here more than once if on a warm weather cruise. A cool wind doesn't make for a leisurely dining experience. They need heaters plain and simple. The sun worked its way towards the horizon. All photos iPhone Stuffed we declined dessert but according to Carol's notes Nural said he would send a cookie to our room. Only she knows if it arrived. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #472 Share Posted July 6, 2023 We had our final excursion this morning- a 4 hour drive through Kent and Sussex then a ride on a steam train with afternoon tea before returning to Dover by coach. meet up was in the Apex theater at 8 a.m so we had to be up by 6.30 if we wanted breakfast. We wanted breakfast. Off to Cosmopolitan... Carol Corned beef hash Norris We miss those breakfasts! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #473 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Approaching Dover The pilot The ship traffic in the English channel is bonkers-ships going in all directions, passing Dover and leaving and entering the port. No traffic lights! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #474 Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) There will follow over 40 photos taken from a moving bus as it wends its way from Dover, Kent to Bodium, Sussex where we will meet our steam train for a one hour ride. I lived in London for a total of 15 years beginning when I was 18 and had a job as a rep for an American company called ARA Services for 7 years. I sought the job as it came with a company car and got to travel all over the south of England and knew intimately most of the towns that will appear on the roadsigns. Bodium wasn't one of them. On weekends I used the company car to get myself and my drums to gigs within a 70 mile radius of London. I lived well on two incomes. As with all bus window photos they can be hit or miss as you whizz along between 50 and 70 mph. Have eliminated most of the misses. I want you to see the beauty of the English countryside of Kent (the "Garden of England") and the lush pastures of Sussex. You'll see some lovely quaint houses along the way (or your money back) The sprawling town of Ashford, Kent A huge distribution center Ornamental ducks in flight We've left the motorway M20 behind More later Edited July 6, 2023 by Bimmer09 remove hyphen 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted July 6, 2023 Author #475 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Folkestone is where the channel tunnel begins and runs under the seabed to Coquelles in France The cheapest gas (petrol) is 1.49 pounds a litre or $7.64 per gallon. The pointed building is an oasthouse used for drying hops to make beer We are still in Kent More... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now