Bimmer 09 sails APEX to Iceland June 2023

JeanieC,Aston · June 26, 2023

Hi

Did the shortage of cans of Draught Guinness sort itself.

The availability of Guinness on my last x4 X cruises has been abysmal.

To make things worse on my Silhouette cruise last month they have bumped Guinness up into Premium drink package.

On a Reflection cruise to Iceland a few years ago from Dublin they had no cans of Draught Guinness…..sailing from Dublin!!!!

They we’re trying to get rid of the bottles,,,if they where the same as you had they were Foreign Export at 7.5%,,,even the Irish on board couldn’t drink the stuff.

Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

formerly Sun Princess (sold 2020), now Pacific World

More later

shipshape sam · June 26, 2023

On 6/23/2023 at 10:27 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Our first "MDR" dinner-one of the 4 smaller rooms that set the E Class apart . This is the Mediterranean influenced one. We were seated right near the back.

Nice room as are all 4. Not busy this late.

Sommelier- good and didn't have to wait long to meet him. I got a glass of a Kendall Jackson cabernet sauvignon @$13 per glass. A generous pour once I have done my tasting technique learned in a recent visit to a stellar vineyard in San Gimignano, Italy. I of course held it up to the light-nice color. Then a swish to breathe air into the grapes but I swished too vigorously and some of the wine splashed on the ceiling.I told them to have it cleaned and send me the bill. It had a good nose. A small sampling, rinsed back and forth behind the front teeth to gauge the tannins. I would have drank it straight from the bottle of course but was trying to appear like a sophisticated world traveler. A good drop and I would (and did) order it again. And again.

Classy menu cover

Enough tempting choices.

Carol loves a wedge salad!

She also loves Butternut squash soup

My mezze plate was crippled by cold (fridge cold) pita bread, some inauthentic dips but was rescued by a few white anchovies (which I crave) and a nice grape leaf. Swing and a miss.

Carol's braised lamb shank hit the spot for flavor. Good dish!

My Cypriot short ribs with olive oil potatoes was a tasty plate

Strawberry angel food cake for Carol. A nice finish to a good meal.

A yummy tiramisu for me, Bowl licked clean.

Our assistant waiter began a theme for the week of asking for camera advice when he saw the Canon on the table and I was as helpful as I could be. I don't use that camera for food photos-that's what the iPhone is for.

Norris

The lamb shanks are the best of the 4 restaurants special entrees, at least we think so. We ate there 3 times on our 7 day sailing on Beyond in January 2023.

Beachlover1989 · June 26, 2023

58 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Did the shortage of cans of Draught Guinness sort itself.

The availability of Guinness on my last x4 X cruises has been abysmal.

To make things worse on my Silhouette cruise last month they have bumped Guinness up into Premium drink package.

On a Reflection cruise to Iceland a few years ago from Dublin they had no cans of Draught Guinness…..sailing from Dublin!!!!

They we’re trying to get rid of the bottles,,,if they where the same as you had they were Foreign Export at 7.5%,,,even the Irish on board couldn’t drink the stuff.

We seem to always be able to find cans of Draught Guinness in the Martini Bar, no matter which ship it is. You just have to ask nicely...😁

jwlane · June 26, 2023

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

you can see the hull of ship and lots of names and writing from the construction workers.

Do I dare pop the bubble and reveal it's not the hull? It's another art installation---on the other side is the hallway to the Deck 3 cabins.

Oops. I gues I did.

Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

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Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

The fishing boat you saw a couple of pics ago was packed with whale seekers, but offering no wind protection. The lower deck on our boat was full of seated people, had toilets and a little snack shop which had candies and chips, soft drinks and cans of Icelandic beer. They could also do a toasted cheese sandwich. I grabbed a beer and a ginger ale for Carol. It did a steady business and the server was very nice and well spoken. We learned some Dutch but made no effort to learn any Icelandic.

Suddenly a shout split the air...WHALE! a WHALE!!

THAR SHE BLOWS!!!

I had the camera set to record rapid bursts and this is the most revealing of the 6 shots. Such a huge mammal, such beauty, such grace, leaping out of the sea only to plunge back down to the deeps-or maybe it was a floating car tire?

We've been on 3 whale watching trips in Juneau Alaska with Harv n Marv. On the first, in a 6 man boat, a humpback breached 15 to 20 ft away and the splash set the boat a rockin' so that other 150 seater boats in Auke Bay came on the radio to see if we were ok. There were so many whales Auke Bay we got tired of them and cries of Whale! Whale! would be met with a chorus of "whoop de dooo". We were whale watching in Cabo san Lucas at Christmas and the free rum drinks made up for the lack of good sightings. This was a bust whale-wise.

Ever since Covid apparently a lot of the tourist whales have decided to work from home and many don't show up for work.

Still the boat ride was fun although there was another 90 minutes of it together back to the Apex.

A legion of people who had stood up front to get a better view of the whales/floating tires now came to the back and filled up the pathways into the deck cabin so going for another beer was off the menu. They sought warmth, not safety.

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Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Did the shortage of cans of Draught Guinness sort itself.

The availability of Guinness on my last x4 X cruises has been abysmal.

To make things worse on my Silhouette cruise last month they have bumped Guinness up into Premium drink package.

On a Reflection cruise to Iceland a few years ago from Dublin they had no cans of Draught Guinness…..sailing from Dublin!!!!

They we’re trying to get rid of the bottles,,,if they where the same as you had they were Foreign Export at 7.5%,,,even the Irish on board couldn’t drink the stuff.

JeanieCAston, thanks for (a) reading and (b) commenting.

I had no Guinness cans after 3 p.m day one but I really only asked at the Sunset bar. I switched to Heineken, then Moretti when the Heineken ran out then Stella when the Moretti ran out.

When you mark things up to Beyond Airport Prices (BAP) and then run out of stock you are basically a Business Idiot. You have a ship full of Mugs (er, Guests) who'll pay anything for their favorite drink and you run out on day one, or day 5 or day 9. As the ship pulls into the disembarkation dock at the end of the cruise-that's when the ship should run out. Then you load up more.

The bars get replenished from the stores each day is my understanding- "we'll have it tomorrow"

but Tomorrow Never Knows...

I was offered an extra toss pillow each time I expressed disappointment at their inventory management.

I politely declined.

Cheers!

Norris

WrittenOnYourHeart · June 26, 2023

Beautiful pictures!

Sadly, wild animals aren't audioanimatronics or trained animals. My family did a whale watching cruise out of Boston a few summers ago and barely saw any - until about the time we needed to head back when a couple started being all friendly to another boat in the area. 😞

Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

I helped myself stay warm(er) on the trip back by standing infront of the engine room exhaust on deck. I smelled of diesel (un nouvelle fragrance pour l'homme by Givenchy) but was toasty.

My first cruise with thermal layers and puffy coat and they made a big difference to my comfort!

....and we're back on dry land

Edited June 26, 2023 by Bimmer09
lovely color for the text

Bimmer09 · June 26, 2023

All ashore. A tiny statue by the company office.

They have toilets in the office you can use. We return to the ship

Home Sweet Home

Time for a Nature interlude....

MustBCruzn · June 26, 2023

41 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

The bars get replenished from the stores each day is my understanding- "we'll have it tomorrow"

but Tomorrow Never Knows

The Beatles! I don't know how I goofed the first reply. 🙂

Edited June 26, 2023 by MustBCruzn

Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

16 minutes ago, MustBCruzn said:

The Beatles! I don't know how I goofed the first reply. 🙂

Correctamundo!

My favorite song from my favorite album.

Norris

Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

Cuteness overload. we watched as these tiny little chicks dived to the bottom (maybe 5 feet) and searched for food. They breathed out at the bottom then held their breath for the swim up.

Carol is a duck lover and can do a great impression of a duck, so much so she has been shot at during hunting season.

This is NOT a duck

Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

It was 5.45 when we got back to the Apex after shopping on the pier for a fridge magnet where pickings were slim

We were hungry as breakfast had been a long while ago so we went to Normandie Restaurant for a 6 o'clock "nosebag" (horse talk)

You'll find that no matter which ship or line you sail there are morons like me who forget to take a pic of the menu. Luckily the table sign has a QR code if you really need it.

This waiter Budi-he's as bonkers as I am so watch out for him. You'll have a laugh if your panties aren't in a bunch. Stay loose.

Sila brings our water, Sari brings my wine. Lovely ladies with big smiles.

We order from the French area of the menu which I wish was pages long as it is filled with some delights. We will have a superb dining room meal and I don't often go as far as superb.

What did we eat?

This is my baked Brie. Mine. All mine.

I licked the plate. Licked it!! Je ne regret rien!

Carol's Coquille St Jacques-scallops in a creamy wine sauce. Carol said it was "Formidable!"

Our standard for MDR cuisine is Azamara and this meal is at that level. Way to go X!!

My shrimp cocktail-small shrimp but I'm not paying $20 for it as I do at Joes Seafood in Miami or Chicago (the gold standard). I comment on the excellence of the "slap yo' mamma" flavor of the cocktail sauce. Budi launches into the exact recipe for this (he's a closet chef). So enthusiastic.

By the way- I have never slapped my mamma and nor should you. You owe her a lot!

Carol loves her salad -but you know that already.

We both had Boeuf en Croute(a beef Wellington basically)

Tasty but the beef needed a little bit of sawing to cut. First world problem.

Now for dessert...

Mille feuille- it left me speechless. Pastry chef-take a bow!

Look at this Sacher Torte that Carol ordered. Are you hungry for a slice??

She's eaten the real thing in the Sacher Hotel in Vienna and this didn't disgrace itself.

Best dining room meal so far and we shall return!

We sail away at 8.

JeanieC,Aston · June 27, 2023

12 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We seem to always be able to find cans of Draught Guinness in the Martini Bar, no matter which ship it is. You just have to ask nicely...😁

Hi

I’m British I always ask nicely😉

Last x4 Celebrity cruises,,,,one from Dublin,,no cans of Guinness on board.

Last year on Celebrity x2 (from Southampton) no Guinness on board.

Last month on Silhouette from Southampton they had Guinness but now on the PDP.

But..unbelievably for a ship sailing the season from Southampton they have taken Boddingtons bitter off the menu,,,,,,no bitter on the ship.

Edited June 27, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

We left Akureyri at 8 p.m.

One thing that had surprised me from our afternoon boat trip was the green hillsides and occasional farms I saw in the distance. These are all zoom shots (112mm to 320) on my 2nd camera. It won't get "dark" until after midnight but the sky will change every two minutes and provide drama.

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Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

Goods coming in

Hurtigruten cruise ship

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Bimmer09 · June 27, 2023

We leave Akureyri, the 2nd city, behind. It's far enough North that there was a small plane excursion to a blip on the map that is in the Arctic Circle. Tickets were about $1,000 and puffins might be seen. It would have been great conversation to drop "Have you been to the Arctic Circle?" casually into a conversation and one-up like a Pro. The value wasn't there.

Bed at 9 p.m! No show for us. During the night the ship will make its way to Isafjordur...

Barwick Cruiser · June 27, 2023

Stunning photos @Bimmer09, and I’m very much enjoying your commentary and sense of humour. Iceland is definitely moving up on my “need to explore” list! Glad to hear not all of the MDR food is abhorrent 🤣. Hope you and Carol continued to enjoy your holiday!
Cathy

Edited June 27, 2023 by Barwick Cruiser