LIVE from the Edge - Alaska Dawes Glacier B2Bs May 24-June 7

[Ferry_Watcher]

6 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Maybe @Ferry_Watcher can advise you.  From Seattle.

 

Passengers are encouraged to drop off their larger pieces of luggage with the porters because carrying it into the terminal and thru the security screening tends to slow the process/flow down.  That said, if a passenger really wants to carry on their luggage - they can.

[SerraG]

3 hours ago, katie8203 said:

This is what I'm worried about - our luggage getting to the right ship. I'm not going to be able to relax until all of our luggage arrives - how long did it take for yours? The last two cruises I've been on, we took our own stuff on. 

I don’t remember but maybe a couple of hours.  Suites get their luggage faster than other cabin types.  
 

i have anxiety about a lot of things, but I have never worried very much about our luggage making it from the curb to our cabin.  I am much more worried about our luggage getting lost between airports and we do put AirTags in our bags.  But if you keep your valuables and medication with you in a carry-on and give the rest of your luggage to a porter who is clearly in a Celebrity vest, I think you will be fine. 
 

It would be awkward to bring all of your checked bags through the lines and also through x-rays and security.  If everyone did that, the line to get in the cruise building would be so much longer! 

 

[ccqueenanne]

@katie8203 At pier 91, if you don't drop your large bags with a porter, there's a separate location where you can drop the bags inside the building on the ground level. We normally drop ours with a porter, but on this last trip we failed to get the attention of a porter. As you approach the building, there's an open set of doors leading to a luggage drop area with a large sized x-ray machine. There should be signage and people confirming it's for Celebrity - they check your cruise line at every step. Assuming you have your luggage tags on, you walk right up to the guy manning the x-ray machine and give him your bags. He sends them through the x-ray and you'll next see them on the ship. Then you head back and join the line of folks with their passports and boarding passes to go through the passport check, then upstairs to the personal x-ray security lines, then to regular check-in.

Edited June 24 by ccqueenanne
Tagging katie8203

[cruisetonowhere10]

15 hours ago, SerraG said:

I don’t remember but maybe a couple of hours.  Suites get their luggage faster than other cabin types.  
 

i have anxiety about a lot of things, but I have never worried very much about our luggage making it from the curb to our cabin.  I am much more worried about our luggage getting lost between airports and we do put AirTags in our bags.  But if you keep your valuables and medication with you in a carry-on and give the rest of your luggage to a porter who is clearly in a Celebrity vest, I think you will be fine. 
 

It would be awkward to bring all of your checked bags through the lines and also through x-rays and security.  If everyone did that, the line to get in the cruise building would be so much longer! 

 

Carry on size suitcases okay to go through with people?

[ccqueenanne]

Just now, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Carry on size suitcases okay to go through with people?

 

Yes

[cruisetonowhere10]

1 minute ago, ccqueenanne said:

 

Yes

I’m challenging myself to pack each of us in a carry on plus backpack….might be an epic fail and an additional suitcase….tbd….

[katie8203]

3 hours ago, ccqueenanne said:

 

Yes

We have one large checked suitcase per person and one carryon backpack per person. Hearing we should drop the large checked bags with porter. Ok.

[Ferry_Watcher]

4 hours ago, ccqueenanne said:

At pier 91, if you don't drop your large bags with a porter, there's a separate location where you can drop the bags inside the building on the ground level.

 

This sounds like the process for HAL and Princess passengers at Pier 91.  Are you sure you did this on Celebrity?

[ccqueenanne]

13 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

This sounds like the process for HAL and Princess passengers at Pier 91.  Are you sure you did this on Celebrity?

 

Yes - it was Celebrity Edge a couple of weeks ago.

[SerraG]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:41 AM, catspaw1 said:

Than you must make the crabcake recipe- its superb! Heads up that since we like our Old Bay here in the DMV , I use 2 tsp so more than the recipe states. Use exactly the 1tsp of lemon juice & no more. Drain crab well

I am here to report back that I made both the cucumber soup and the crab cakes from the Of Tide and Thyme cookbook. 
 

The cucumber soup was very good. 
 

 

It had an extremely velvety texture and some heft to it from the potatoes.  It tasted like 1987.  Lol.  I think a more modern cucumber soup would be lighter and probably made with something like Greek Yogurt, while this was actually almost a vichyssoise. The added bit of diced cucumber made it something special though.   
 

The preparation was fairly time consuming, so this is not something that I would make very often, but it would be nice to make ahead for a dinner party or picnic. In fact, my daughter (who works as camp counselor at an outdoor summer camp) took leftovers in a thermos for lunch the next day, and raved about how refreshing the cold soup had been on a hot day. 
 

Now, let’s talk about crab cakes. 
 

 

As you may know, we live in Kansas City, so we don’t have a lot of options for crab around here.  Most supermarkets only sell crab legs (which I really didn’t want to shell just for crab cakes) or canned crab meat.  I finally tracked down a refrigerated tub of blue swimming crab meat at Costco for $40. I really debated just going with the canned crab, but decided it wouldn’t be a fair test of the recipe, and I’m so glad I went with the better meat.  

 

I followed the recipe as written, except I increased the Old Bay seasoning to 2 tsp as instructed by @catspaw1.  (Also the recipe called for 1/2 a tsp of lemon juice and not 1 tsp - I went with the 1/2 tsp.)  I also made my own breadcrumbs out of white bread, which I think made a difference to the sweet taste and soft texture.

We all agreed these were probably the best crab cakes we have ever had.  
 

 

These were fabulous! Fabulous!  The exterior was crispy, while the inside was sweet and tender, with a fairly strong Old Bay flavor that was perfection.  
 

On Celebrity, the only crab cakes that came close were those in Eden, and that isn’t a fair comparison because Eden’s crab cakes are really more of a pile of fresh crab meat than a well seasoned crab cake.  
 

The recipe was a little vague on shaping and frying instructions.  Since there were 3 of us, I made nine patties which was about the correct amount of meat for each of us. However, next time I will make them a little less thick so the middle can get more cooked before the outside gets too dark.  The recipe also says they can be broiled but we fried them.  I don’t think broiling would work as well.  
 

Thanks again @catspaw1! These crab cakes are definitely going into my permanent recipe book!  

Edited July 12 by SerraG

[catspaw1]

We were on the Celebrity Eclipse when your post came in so I could not reply as we only had basic Wi-Fi.

 

You really made my day with your response!

 

We loved our cruise to Bermuda & with Celebrity. We cruised to Bermuda on Celebrity pre pandemic & had not been on a cruise since. We also sailed our boat there once & stayed for a month & just love Bermuda.

 

Thanks so much for posting about how you liked the cookbook. I told you it was my favorite cookbook among the over 50 I have!

 

About the soup - don't put the potatoes in & it will taste better IMHO.  To speed the prep time, cut the onions & cucumbers in big hunks- about 3 inches or so for less work. Once you cook the soup, let it cool down completely or it will splatter in the blender & puree it well. When you cut the cucumbers, peel them, slice lengthwise & remove EVERY seed or the soup will be bitter. I also use a little Franks hot sauce.  

 

I just made a double batch when we returned this week as it's easier to make a double batch when making. I used the cucumbers I grew in my backyard.

 

I buy my crab meat at Costco in the fresh tub & it's about $40 but we get two meals from it. I make 8 small crabcakes & fry in about 1 TBS of oil for about 3-4 minutes per side on medium- medium high heat. I make the recipe often.

 

I now understand why you took a B2B as the one-week cruise went far too fast. We are looking at booking a transatlantic cruise for this fall.

 

Make some of the other recipes in the cookbook- especially the fish. I also like the chicken Italiano & make it using the good seasons Italian dressing mix. It's in my regular dinner rotations for the winter. I won't turn the oven on in the summer so grill outside on my deck.

 

Please let me know when you do another TR as I really enjoyed your blogs! 

 

We are booked on the Flora for next June & going to AK next July. I will use your TR as a guide.