Brilliance Transatlantic April 16, 2007

[leoandhugh]

:) wow friends turn up in the strangest places.. i was checking this thread because of being on BOS last TA, the one we missed you on. Leo and I are booked on Voyager this year from BCN to Galveston, arriving Galveston on 23 December so we are thinking about staying and spending the holidays in San Antonio. Glad to hear your return to the old job is working so well for you - great to get back to that 6weeks vacation.

I will tell Tony in Nashville that I picked you up here; he and I chat back and forth almost daily. we and they became really good friends on that TA. we were able to book one of the 2 accessible JS on Voyager so that is why we booked that; Leo needs that for the scooter etc. Hugh:)

[wingsrcl]

Welcome Anthony and partner, Donald and partner! Dennis and I just got back from a cruise on Celebrity Century. Brilliance of the Seas was docked right behind us in Miami. We crossed the Atlantic on Brilliance before and we love the ship. We are traveling with 16 friends and "family". We look forward to meeting you for a beverage onboard.

[rienreiter]

Hi Hugh: How nice to hear from you. I hope that both of you are doing well. Please tell Tony and Gregg that I say hello. It really would have been so nice to have met all of you but unfortunately, it was not to be. Albeit for a good reason.

 

Hi Ruy: I hope that you and Dennis had a good cruise on the Century. Francois loved the ship. Glad to see that you will be cruising with a large group of friends. This ensures that all of you will have a good time. I'll be on the Jewel of the Seas departing Ft. Lauderdale the day before yours but we will not be crossing paths as we are headed to northern Europe ending in Amsterdam. I hope that you guys have a great time. Please say hello to Dennis for me.

 

Juan

[Bryan&Roger]

Hey there Ruy, we were just about to sign on to the Brill trip when this TA came up. Sorry we cant join you all but have a fun one.

First time on a small ship for us, (INSIGNIA) Who knows, we may be on the big ones from now on. I'm sure this trip for us will not be as much fun as we all had on the other TA when we were all together. Say hello to Dennis.

 

Bryan and Roger:)

[wingsrcl]

You will love Insignia. Those ships are so personable and elegant. We are looking forward to Brilliance because it's familiar territory for us. Francois visited us up here a couple of times. Hope you guys have a great transatlantic. Ruy

[wingsrcl]

Ruy and Dennis Amesbury MA WINGSRCL

Ephrain and ? Montreal Quebec EPHRAIM

Donald and ? Houston TX SPARKY123

Anthony and ? Philadelphia PA KWOKPOT

Mark and ? TX TXBEAR

 

Is Sparky123 traveling with txbear?

[Ephraim]

Ruy and Dennis Amesbury MA WINGSRCL

Ephrain and ? Montreal Quebec EPHRAIM

Donald and ? Houston TX SPARKY123

Anthony and ? Philadelphia PA KWOKPOT

Mark and ? TX TXBEAR

 

Is Sparky123 traveling with txbear?

 

Ephraim and Yves, Montreal, QC

 

Bryan and Roger, didn't we meet you on the Golden? You brought Yves a gift for me, n'est pas?

[wingsrcl]

Ruy and Dennis Amesbury MA WINGSRCL

Ephrain and Yves Montreal Quebec EPHRAIM

Donald and ? Houston TX SPARKY123

Anthony and ? Philadelphia PA KWOKPOT

Mark and ? TX TXBEAR

 

Is Sparky123 traveling with txbear?

[Bryan&Roger]

Ephraim and Yves, Montreal, QC

 

Bryan and Roger, didn't we meet you on the Golden? You brought Yves a gift for me, n'est pas?

 

 

Yes we did. Good to see ya. Have a great trip. Hope to catch up with you again.

 

Bryan and Roger

 

ps it was CANDY!!!!!!!!! :D

[Ephraim]

Yes we did. Good to see ya. Have a great trip. Hope to catch up with you again.

 

Bryan and Roger

 

ps it was CANDY!!!!!!!!! :D

 

It was Yorkie bars. Yves' addicted! He ran around on the British Virgin Islands hoping to find some. He's even gone through duty free stores in Germany and Spain looking for them.

 

Maybe we should have asked the sailors on the HMS Iron Duke when we saw them in the BVI.... but all I could think of was sea food :)

[txbear]

Sparky123 (Donald) is traveling with txbear(mark). He"s been traveling with me for nine years, I keep trying to find the right port to leave in,:D Still looking though he"s picky:p

[wingsrcl]

Sparky123 (Donald) is traveling with txbear(mark). He"s been traveling with me for nine years, I keep trying to find the right port to leave in,:D Still looking though he"s picky:p

 

Don,

Malaga would be a perfect port for Mark, he can join me in a new career as flamenco dancers. The only problem is deciding who would play the castanets first. HA! Dennis and I have been traveling together for 20 years so you have a long way to catch up.

[wingsrcl]

Ruy and Dennis Amesbury MA WINGSRCL

Ephrain and Yves Montreal Quebec EPHRAIM

Donald and Mark Houston TX SPARKY123/TXBEAR

Anthony and ? Philadelphia PA KWOKPOT

[rienreiter]

Looks like Roger has a habit of coming up with gifts for some of us. When I met him on the Constellation eastbound TA last April, he came up with something called "Spotted Dick" for one of the guys at our table.

[Ephraim]

I prefer my Bakewell tarts and Jaffa cakes to spotted dick, any day.

 

It's so easy to confuse Americans. They always look at me funny when I tell them that I'm sitting on my chesterfield.

[wingsrcl]

Ephraim,

 

Now that I know your passion for Jaffa cakes, Im going to buy some stock on Mc Vitties.

[wingsrcl]

Now, for those not familiar with the "spotted dick" pudding that Bryan and Roger kindly brought on board for our Assistant Maitre D' Goran on Constellation, that' is made by the HEINZ company.

[Ephraim]

Ephraim,

 

Now that I know your passion for Jaffa cakes, Im going to buy some stock on Mc Vitties.

 

Okay, you got me. I'm not really a fan of Jaffa cakes, I'm not really a fan of chocolate. I do love Bakewell tarts, though. Especially the ones from Marks and Sparks.

 

For some unknown reason, Jaffa Cakes always remind me of Whippet cookies. I guess it's the chocolate covering and the weirdness of them. (Whippets are like Malomars in the US).

 

Spotted Dick is a steamed suet pudding with currants (made by Heinz in the UK). Though I really don't know how people can eat suet.

 

And please, can we not discuss mincemeat next? (For our American friends, mincemeat is not to be confused with minced meat, they are two different things.)

 

I'm a big British TV fan. I have every episode of Spooks, Dr Who, Tanglewood, Ab Fab and Vicar of Dibley.

[wingsrcl]

I AM the Vicar of Dibbley!! HaHa, Actually I rather be the "dishy" Vicar on Keeping up Appearances. Better yet, have you watched "Ballykissangel"? I'm addicted to it. It's an old show now, but you can get the dvd's at some of the stores.

[Ephraim]

For some reason I never really got into Keeping Up Appearances.

 

I've watched a few episodes of Ballykissangel, but again, it didn't stick.

 

I also have a copy of every episode of the High Life and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. But I draw the line at keeping a copy of anything that has Julian Clary!

[wingsrcl]

Have you guys started your research on the ports we visit in Spain and what you want to see ? We don't like doing any bus tours and rather enjoy a couple of the highlights, mixed with time to people watch and have coffee! I lived in Portugal and I have worked out of Barcelona, but the other ports are new for us.

[Ephraim]

We usually use the Lonely Planet guide book. But after our last visit to Spain, we figured that it's a timely thing and so, we resold it on Amazon. So, we are waiting till next month for the newest version of the Lonely Planet guide book for Spain.

 

Well, I know Miami well, so no need to research that. Family used to have a condo on the beach, so we spent plenty of time there.

 

In Spain, we have been to Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Barcelona already. I know that many people will probably go from Cadiz to Seville, but I doubt that we will. We were in Seville last Easter to see Semana Santa. It's a beautiful city and if you want, the Lonely planet guide has a great walking tour of the city.

 

As for the other cities, we will wait for the new guide. It's already on order :) Suggestions are always welcome, though.

[txbear]

Never heard of lonely planet guide, Where is it available, and what places does it cover.:confused: We havent chosen any excursione yet, Any recomendations ?

[Ephraim]

Lonely Planet is a book, though they do have a website. There is a book per country. We like the book because besides a few restaurant recommendations, based on different levels of spending, they also have walking tours of cities that you can do. There is a different book for Spain and for Portugal and they are usually updated every year or two.

 

The website is also nice, but not as much information as the books.

 

We usually don't book any excursions. We have already been to Barcelona, though I wasn't well enough last time to really enjoy it. We did get to see the major sights and do the walking tour, but we didn't have the time to get to the Picasso museum because the line was horrid.

 

I'll know better in March, when the books are delivered. There is time. And frankly, I'm not really that interested in excursions. I might order least years books if the delivery date is too late.

[txbear]

Thanks for the info, Donald is ordering the books online. Meeting friends in Barcelona , so that part of the trip is already planned. any sugestions for the rest of the trip. :)