scubacruiserx2

Ah...Ft Pierce beaches are great...I think they wind up getting all the sand that washes out at Vero, 10-12 miles north!!:)

We have wondered what happened to that sand , and now we know !! :) :D

 

I just love Manatees such wonderful peaceful creatures...

And comforting too !!! :cool:

I would like to see one in the wild one day, hopefully it is really large so I can say 'Oh the huge Manatee' :p

 

My Granddad jokes are coming on nicely don't you think.:cool:

Yes Granddad , we think you have arrived . :cool:

Glacier Alley is one of the highlights of most cruises in this area. One of the reasons that we did this cruise is to see if it is as beautiful as we remember it. Our signoff photo features a thumbnail from our 2007 NCL Dream trip.

We didn't get much sleep dreaming about the morning's visit . Rising early for coffee and a walk we were greeted with more dreary skies and freezing temperatures.

There appeared to be a glimmer of hope so we prayed for clear skies and went to an early breakfast

When we returned about an hour later , Patrick began his commentary. Wow , how the weather had changed ! :cool:

A close up shot revealed a small glacier in the valley.

We didn't watch the Hot Glass show on the Eclipse , but I did take a few photos .

Great that you saw a manatee, that would have been exciting. I would imagine that it is a rare sighting, especially at a popular beach.:D

We usually see them in the Winter near the warm water discharges of power plants , but they also have a Manatee observation center not far away . I think they feed and care for them year round there .

http://www.manateecenter.com/

This one had been struck by a boat in the past and healed . I wish that I had brought my underwater camera with me !

After finding our today ON LOCATION we wanted to go for a walk and watch the sunset at 10 pm

The high temperature for the next day in Ushuaia was only 41 F so we thought that we should wear gloves , hats and scarfs . We were right but the cold air was refreshing after such a long day. The sky had cleared and it was beautiful to watch the sun set behind the mountains.

Moving to the other side of the ship we were treated to a sunset reflected on the mountains and clouds

We were scheduled to cruise Glacier Alley at 7 am the next morning but its hard to imagine a more perfect day.

I suppose the tides would catch many a ship out as well.:D

There are ferry boats passing very close to the tower which go to Liverpool and Belfast .

Well thanks!! Driftwood is a pretty unique and special place, at least we think so!! Glad we're still here to talk about it, after Matthew!!

 

The beaches at IOM look pretty nice, and so wide...wish we had that much beach in Vero!

Our favorite beach is Ft. Pierce for surfing , sunning and skimming . And Pat favors the fresh water showers . And just a little later , while snorkeling with Timothy , we saw a Manatee !! :) :D

Well thanks!! Driftwood is a pretty unique and special place, at least we think so!! Glad we're still here to talk about it, after Matthew!!

 

The beaches at IOM look pretty nice, and so wide...wish we had that much beach in Vero!

As you near the water , they change !

Yes, I think it would get used quite a bit, I think that people would get often be caught out.

There is a reef there also on which ships have struck or become stuck .

No drinking here !

Promenade history

The IOM was used as an internment camp during WW II - with a view !

An elevated view

Right, it is a large area ands paving/tiling would be very expensive. It looks great though.:D

Thanks Mic , it's about 170 sq. M. (1530 sq. ft.), screened in , so it would really dip into our cruise plans to try to pave it ! ;)

very cool pic, and would be a tower of refuge when the tide comes in so quickly and strands people out there.

It was said to be stocked with food , water and a bell - to alert people to send a rescue boat .

It almost sounds like a hurricane shelter . :eek:

Joe! Welcome. Pat! welcome.

 

Thanks for stepping aboard!

 

Of the planets I have been to Earth takes the cake! They don't even have cake on the planet I come from!

 

Did you (or anyone) recognize the song lyric that titled that post? (Look through any window). Name that band...

 

Norris

Of course , Steve Miller Band , Fly like an Eagle 1976 , the year Pat and I met !! :) :D

 

Look through any window...what do you see?

 

 

 

 

A beautiful planet

Peace and harmony ?

We're on board Norris , Joe

:cool:

Chateaubriand

Rack of Lamb

Napoleon with berries

Sorbets

The Pinnacle was outstanding. It's hard for us to believe that they only charge $25 for this quality of food and service.

Our last animal sighting of the day was this cutie in our stateroom

Good reviews here everyone, very useful.

 

We're doing the Baltic in 2017 and domestic consideration is being given by one member of the household as to whether Moscow is an option whilst in St Petersburg for two days. Any thoughts on whether this is viable or just a daft idea?

 

Thank you!

Thinking of going to Moscow from St. Petersburg ? We did a day trip there and It's reviewed here complete with photos and videos : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927687

This is the first installment :

We would like to share how we did it and explore options on how to visit this great city.

Because we were staying in St. Petersburg, we chose a "Day Trip".

We found a guide on the internet and contacted her. We asked her the best way and day to visit Moscow. We agreed Saturday would be good and the Sapsan train is the preferred way to travel. We booked our e-tickets for the train on the internet.

The day began early with an accuweather check. It showed brilliant sun all day - in St. Petersburg (1 of only 35 days a year) and rain all day in Moscow. Walking to the Metro station we began the long ride down to the underground train.

The early morning Metro

This is the Moscow train station in St. Petersburg

And here is the Sapsan at rest

After scanning our tickets and a walk through a metal detector ( which we set off) we walked to wagon #3. Showing our passports to the attendant , we were seated by 0630 and ready to ride !

We also did a Baltic tour on the Eclipse this summer with photos and videos and the St. Petersburg part begins here : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2372103&page=15

We have visited SPB five times before this cruise and we would recommend that if you wish to visit Moscow , do it before or after the cruise and spend a night or two . You can save about 10 hours commuting time and see a lot in SPB , by staying there while on the cruise .

Stepping onto the beach and looking South

South on the Promenade

The Douglas War Memorial

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_War_Memorial

The Tower Of Refuge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Isle

Our return flight and bus trip was uneventful and it was good to be back to our home away from home the Zaandam. We knew the ship would be waiting for us because we were on the longest ships tour - 11 hours. We had time for a cup of tea and a quick shower before our dinner date at Le Cirque. Unlike some cruise ships that have numerous separate restaurants , HAL uses the same dinning areas - but changes the dinning venues. Le Cirque is held in the Pinnacle grill but has different place settings and a different menu taken from the restaurant in New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cirque

After being greeted and seated we were presented with an Amuse - Bouche from the chef. It was a liver foam that my wife loved. A caution about the following photos. I found it amusing when I first saw my wife taking pictures of our food - until I looked at the pictures ! I found myself staring at and craving the food in the pictures. It made my mouth water . Without realizing it I had become involved in food porn :eek:

Yes there is such a thing !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_porn

So if you choose to look at the food photos - You have been warned !

Le Menu

Lobster Salad starter

Le Trio starter

We both Love the Butternut Squash soup

Part II - Dinner continues

Nice pictures. I'll be aboard the Zaandam next Dec capturing my own photographs of Antarctica.

Thank you , that sounds great ! We would love to see Antarctica and spend more time in the Patagonia area . :) :D

Or a hose in the right hands can do wonders.:D

We have a large area around our pool and we could only afford Spray Deck at the time when it was installed .

We do have to be careful when cleaning it as too much pressure will cause it to flake off of the concrete foundation .

You're right it does look like Oasis....very interesting......I assume the rooms themselves are normal hotel size??

I'm not sure as we didn't look inside of them . They are called Atrium rooms and we had a Broadway family room .

http://www.manninhotel.im/our-rooms

They are new and comfortable but don't have the character , view or beach like the Driftwood in Vero Beach .

Gracie, glad to hear you weathered the storm safely, and your power is back on. I'm sure you are glad to be able to head off on your cruise knowing that your home is safe.

 

Our clean up from Matthew was minimal compared to most. We picked up a lot of plant debris and replaced some yard ornaments and potted plants, and a few other yard chores that needed doing anyway. No power washers were required. :D

 

Joe and Pat, what a difference a year makes! Pat, you have certainly come a long way from this time last year. I'm sure your dive trip and cruises you have planned will be wonderful. :cool:

 

 

 

 

We will be staing in one of those Boardwalk balconies on Oasis in a couple of weeks! I think our view will be sightly different than yours in your hotel on the IOM. :D We are 2nd cabin from aft, so we will have a wake view, even though it won't be quite the wake view we prefer. It will be an interesting experience to be able to watch the shows in the Aquatheater and all the activities on the Boardwalk. Barry will love it. I will, too, but I imagine there will be times when I will miss the tranquility of our usual aft balconies. It will be a different experience, so we figured we would give it a try.

That sounds like a great cabin and view . Enjoy , and take lots of photos and videos !! :) :D

The pool area is looking good.:D

Thanks Mic mostly Pat's labor . To paraphrase Thomas the Tank Engine , ' little hoses can do big things ! ' . :) :D

At the hotel on the IOM , the interior looks like the Boardwalk cabins on the RCI Oasis class .

We were to the left with a street view , and on the right , interior balconies .

We met Karen and Ron and went to a lovely dinner at Samphire . which I didn't photograph .

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g190928-d7803025-Reviews-Samphire-Douglas_Isle_of_Man.html

Following a good nights sleep I was up early for some photos and a walk while Pat and Ty slept .

With the bay at my back , looking down the street , toward our hotel , behind the orange building .

The other side of the street

I noticed that these photos overlapped and tried to stitch them together to create a panorama . And this is what resulted .

A Frankensteinian photo !! :eek:

Fueled by lunch it was time to think about returning to the ship. So it was time to return to work trying to capture the amazing beauty of this area. Walking along the volcanic beach I paused to shoot this quick video clip

A little closer toward the bus were these beautiful flowers

On the bridge you can see the geological upthrust that shaped the mountains of this area

Returning on a different route toward the ship we encountered different views of the Cuernos.

As we passed this viewing point I wanted to stop and take photos from outside of the bus , but the time was growing short and we had along trip ahead of us

With one last close up of the torres and cuernos we began the long ride to the airport .

Feeling a nap coming on , I contemplated the dinner that would be served at the Pinnacle Grill that evening. It was an evening at Le Cirque and this event happens only once on this cruise. ;)