Barely A Live from Escape May16-26 2024 Trieste (Venice) to Barcelona/10-Day Mediterranean: Italy Croatia Greece France Spain

schmoopie17 · June 9

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Is there a Syd Norman's Pour House on the Escape? That for us would be a positive.

Yes there is.

And since Syd's is notorious for long lines, grab a drink at Tobacco Road, the bar right next door, and monitor the line so you know when to jump in,

I beat @Sugar Magnoliato the punch...

Edited June 9 by schmoopie17

Sugar Magnolia · June 9

29 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I beat @Sugar Magnoliato the punch...

Such violence on a Sunday morning.

Sugar Magnolia · June 9

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

For embarkation day, I booked a half-day small group excursion to Montserrat with Spain Day Tours. The excursion included pick-up at Barcelona port, luggage hold, guided tour to Montserrat on a minibus, and drop-off at my hotel for €85.

The above should have read "For disembarkation day." I was flustered after @schmoopie17's random acts of violence.

ontheweb · June 9

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Yes there is.

And since Syd's is notorious for long lines, grab a drink at Tobacco Road, the bar right next door, and monitor the line so you know when to jump in,

I beat @Sugar Magnoliato the punch...

Now, now, @schmoopie17 let's play nice with @Sugar Magnolia. How about you preceded her with an answer while you were waiting for her to come up for air. 😉

mking8288 · June 9

LOL, I am already in trouble with Sy and going to stay out of this and not going to pretend that I can "moderate" between @ontheweb and @schmoopie17

Montserrat 1/2 day visit by Spain Day Tours with cruise terminal (or hotel) pickup and drop-off just about anywhere within the city of Barcelona is highly recommended as we've done that in 2023, best bang for our "shrinking" purchasing power of the mightly ?? U.S. dollars - it was a shared ride in a Mercedes high top van for the price of a shared motorcoach or tour bus, and a fraction of what NCL demand (especially when you are on a "clocK" with all abroad time)

But, we plan to attempt a DIY trip ourselves next time, do the train/transfer to get up there, give us more time to see it all and reserved our time slot (inside) to see more ... best to get out there early, ahead of groups & buses arriving by the dozens, then hundreds as the day progress.

Sugar, by now ... you should be in the clear and not catching any bugs coming back with the inconsiderate flyer sitting near/next/behind you or whatever. It's going to take days, if not weeks, to really wrap up & write the "final" summary.

Sugar Magnolia · June 9

2 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

we plan to attempt a DIY trip ourselves next time, do the train/transfer to get up there, give us more time to see it all and reserved our time slot (inside) to see more ... best to get out there early, ahead of groups & buses arriving by the dozens, then hundreds as the day progress.

Agree, next time I will go on my own and take the early train to Montserrat.

4 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Sugar, by now ... you should be in the clear and not catching any bugs coming back with the inconsiderate flyer sitting near/next/behind you or whatever. It's going to take days, if not weeks, to really wrap up & write the "final" summary.

Yes health wise I am in the clear. I do need to wrap up soon before my next adventure. Stay tuned.

debenson0723 · June 9

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Agree, next time I will go on my own and take the early train to Montserrat.

Yes health wise I am in the clear. I do need to wrap up soon before my next adventure. Stay tuned.

Dare I hope it is next weekend on the Joy to Bermuda???

Sugar Magnolia · June 10

31 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Dare I hope it is next weekend on the Joy to Bermuda???

Please don't deprive me from the privilege of being the first person ever to say "you've been @schmoopie17ed!"

debenson0723 · June 10

34 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Please don't deprive me from the privilege of being the first person ever to say "you've been @schmoopie17ed!"

I've never been @schmoopie17ed on a ship before...well, there was that one time when there was a late night knock on my cabin door but no one needs to know about that...

ontheweb · June 10

14 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Agree, next time I will go on my own and take the early train to Montserrat.

Yes health wise I am in the clear. I do need to wrap up soon before my next adventure. Stay tuned.

Happy to hear that health wise you are fine.

cruiseny4life · June 10

On 6/8/2024 at 2:26 PM, Sugar Magnolia said:

This one is for @cruiseny4life. I thought it was humorous how the Burger King sign sat above the Auto King sign.

And this is why my reputation for flame grilled burgers just keeps getting stained. Disregard the grease on my chin! Thanks for the shoutout! I do love the humor of such "quality" royalty on the same sign!

Thanks for all the photos. I'm loving your portraits of your trip. To be true, I feel as if I'm reading through the NY Time's travel section while I read your descriptions and admire the photos you've blessed us with. It's truly the best of both worlds - a lovely narrative with just enough photos to help us live a little of what you experienced. Really, thank you!

Also, I think we'd make good excursion buddies! We would totally skip out on the museum to run to the top of the mountain, missing the actual place we want to go. After that, of course a wolfed down sandwich would be order just before rejoining the hack-a-thon on the bus!

Thanks for sharing a bit of Monserrat with us, too. I enjoyed @mking8288's excursion last year. Based on his description (and now yours), I'm glad we skipped it in Barcelona. There isn't nearly enough time in a day for all that I'd want to do up on that serrated mountain! If I ever get there again (I hope so, but other places are first on the list), I'm hoping to stay a couple nights at a hotel near the monastery so we can really immerse ourselves in the fine mountain air.

What an adventure you had! I'm looking forward to the next.

Sugar Magnolia · June 10

12 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

I've never been @schmoopie17ed on a ship before...well, there was that one time when there was a late night knock on my cabin door but no one needs to know about that...

On the contrary, I think we all need to know about that...

debenson0723 · June 10

38 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

On the contrary, I think we all need to know about that...

It was room service...

Or was it 'room service'??

Sugar Magnolia · June 10

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

It was room service...

Or was it 'room service'??

I am glad you were serviced.

Sugar Magnolia · June 10

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to announce that my one and only toilet is not flushing.

mking8288 · June 10

46 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to announce that my one and only toilet is not flushing.

OK, who done it 😂

Dial 00 ... Guest Services ??

Or, borrow a plunger ... DIY

We have a lined 5 gallon bucket w lid, just in case of "emergencies" like these.

debenson0723 · June 11

11 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to announce that my one and only toilet is not flushing.

Time to get back on a ship!

Sugar Magnolia · June 11

2 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Time to get back on a ship!

You're like a dog on a bone.

Sugar Magnolia · June 11

10 hours ago, mking8288 said:

We have a lined 5 gallon bucket w lid, just in case of "emergencies" like these.

I didn't see this comment earlier 😅

debenson0723 · June 11

1 minute ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

You're like a dog on a bone.

I told you I wasn't going to give up. @graphicguy and I will be crying in our beer at the Cavern Club bar on the Waterfront at 5:30pm (just in case you forgot the time and place) if you aren't there.

graphicguy · June 11

11 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to announce that my one and only toilet is not flushing.

graphicguy · June 11

22 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I told you I wasn't going to give up. @graphicguy and I will be crying in our beer at the Cavern Club bar on the Waterfront at 5:30pm (just in case you forgot the time and place) if you aren't there.

Oh…they WILL KNOW where we are. We’ll post about it far and wide!!!!

Sugar Magnolia · June 11

14 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

To be true, I feel as if I'm reading through the NY Time's travel section while I read your descriptions and admire the photos you've blessed us with. It's truly the best of both worlds - a lovely narrative with just enough photos to help us live a little of what you experienced.

Thank you...this is high praise. I was aiming for AAA Travel but I'll take NY Times Travel.

14 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Also, I think we'd make good excursion buddies!

I look forward to that day.

eileeshb · June 11

On 5/16/2024 at 11:40 PM, schmoopie17 said:

Happy to see the Matador making an appearance on the Escape. That drink can be as elusive as cookies on some ships. Now if I can find someone to make a Grass Clippings...

I've found you can usually get it at the whiskey bar on each ship. I know the first time I had it was at a dinner show on Getaway and I've been hooked ever since.