Jump to content

Judyrem

Members
  • Posts

    1,200
  • Joined

Posts posted by Judyrem

  1. On 9/17/2024 at 4:59 PM, DaKahuna said:

     

    The best tea - mix the following in a shaker:

    3/4 ounce vodka

    3/4 ounce white rum

    3/4 ounce silver tequila

    3/4 ounce gin

    3/4 ounce triple sec

    3/4 ounce simple syrup

    3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

    Shake and pour over ice. 

    Add  Diet Pepsi, to top it off and add color. and then garnish with a lemon wedge

     

     

    LOL, why 3/4 ounce of the liquor just round up?  Looks like Long Island iced tea to me, but I like a splash 😉of coke better.

  2. On 9/23/2024 at 5:11 PM, phoenix_dream said:

    Sounds like this is a bucket list, perhaps once in a lifetime type cruise.  Definitely take whichever ship offers the most ports.  I believe that would be Summit out of Vancouver.  If you can, I even recommend doing a B2B up and back.  So much to see and do.  In Alaska, I choose for the itinerary more so than the ship.  Edge class and larger ships are fine for Caribbean cruises, but not so much for Alaska.  More limited viewing areas and fewer ports usually.  My favorite times of year are when there are not many kids - either May or September, with the latter being my favorite due to fall colors, but I've enjoyed both.  Granted it's a little more hassle to cruise out of Vancouver rather than Seattle, but IMHO it's definitely worth it.  I am no youngster myself (mid-70s) and I would definitely pick Summit.  In fact I have picked her (or her sister M class ships in past years) to sail to Alaska multiple times.  You might hear that you have to take another line and see Glacier Bay.  I'm sure its nice.  But believe me Hubbard Glacier is very, very nice as well.

    That's a great comment and very helpful.  My big concern is I am going solo and need to have the least amount of issues to deal with, therefore a solo from Seattle.

     

    My DH and I did a Vancouver trip inside passage on Celebrity Infinity many years ago.

     

    We also spent two weeks in Alaska doing land based touring including Denali and the scenic train..

     

    Last year my friend and did Fairbanks for 10 days to see the northern lights.  I love Alaska!

     

    This time I need to be cautious and mindful on Celebrity Edge in a magic carpet suite.

     

  3. 5 hours ago, Kordy said:

    Yes, but at some point in their lives, when they're closer to death and retired and their bank accounts are full-of-money, they realise, they have no more reasons to be really frugal, but to finally start enjoying their life.  At that point, a $42 corkage fee is the least of their worries - they don't know how much time they have left and they want to enjoy life.

     

    You can save all the money all your life, by being frugal, but when you get rich and you realize you're getting older, there is not much money you can take into your grave with you.  You might as well enjoy life... splurge 🙂

    Yes indeed.

  4. 7 hours ago, love2crews. said:

    August 25, 2024: Travel Day (Part 2)

     

    Our first flight went very smoothly and we landed in LHR as scheduled.  I had arranged for a meet and assist greeter to take us from one flight to the other.  I figured this would be peace of mind with our short connection time.

     

    We booked with TravelServe.  The Heathrow website has a list of companies that offer the service and TravelServe was one of them.  I was sent the greeter's name and contact info the day before the service.

     

    He was waiting for us as we exited the plane and swiftly took us through Fast Track (included with our airline tickets, not the meet and assist service) and through security.  All was well with security and this time they did NOT make us take out our iPad or battery packs- nor did they test our liquids (since we checked them all!).

     

    However, there was a hold up when waiting for our bags to come through the scanner.  We could see the bags had made it through with no issue, but since the "flagged" line of bags was too backed up, our luggage could not move on the conveyor belt.  We probably waited a good 20 mins for our baggage to come through.

     

    We had a bit of extra time before our flight which was totally unexpected, so we stopped by the lounge to use the restroom and grab a quick snack.  The lounge restrooms at LHR for BA were NOT good.  Smelled like Port A Potties and there was a huge line.  We had the same experience when connecting in LHR prior to the cruise.  And these were different BA lounges, so it was not a one off.

     

    Our greeter walked us to our gate and made sure our boarding passes were successfully scanned.  Now here is where it gets interesting-we encountered the shuttle bus to the plane and the steep staircase leading toward the plane, just as we had connecting through Heathrow last time. 

     

    There was a woman in a wheelchair sat right next to us (in the little waiting area where they keep you while waiting to board the shuttle).  She was asked if she could walk up stairs and she looked horrified.  There were many other passengers who were not in wheelchairs, but who were clearly struggling with their baggage, let alone taking their baggage up a steep flight of stairs.  This is very very upsetting to me.  BA does not mention anything about this and I know many other people on our flight expressed similar sentiments.  I know this because we were all herded like cattle into the shuttle buses and packed shoulder to shoulder like sardines.  Trust me when I say we were all talking in such close quarters during the 10 min shuttle ride to the plane.  

     

    Fortunately, we had some nice people on our flight who helped those who needed a little assistance.  They brought up the bags so the people could concentrate on making it up the stairs safely.  Let me be clear, there was zero assistance from BA.

     

    Let me tell you, I was SHOCKED when I looked out my window to see an odd forklift/crane/mechanical device that brought the woman in the wheelchair up to the plane's level (no stairs for her-YAY!).  I was so relieved. 🙂 

     

    IMG_1306.thumb.jpg.b8fd3abf7e828fc8a473b21c427aa1fa.jpg

     

    The moral of this long complaint/story is that if BA makes you think you have to take the stairs up to the plane and leads you to believe this is the only way on the plane, ASK FOR THE LIFT!!!  The last thing any of us want is to start (or end) a trip with an injury.  No fun for anyone involved.

     

    I agree with your assessment of BA lounges.  The last time I was there they did not look good at all and the food was mediocre, however the drinks were fine.

     

    The stairs thing on many European flights is very upsetting, we had that issue going to Sicily on Ryan Air three months ago.  Yet not one man stopped to help my friend (we are not spring chickens) with her carry on, we had to tough it out and I was exhausted and my arms were sore.

     

    They are not mobility friendly.

    • Like 1
  5. 1 hour ago, chrismch said:

    I know it wasn't tilapia as I didn't order it. I'm thinking it was the PAPPARDELLE ALLA VENEZIANA from the Normandie menu. All the pasta dishes were great. We usually order a pasta dish as a side dish to share. I love trying new sauces and add-ins and Celebrity did a great job of them. 

    I love to order pasta as a side or to share.

     

    Thanks for the info.

    • Like 1
  6. On 8/18/2024 at 10:10 AM, hcat said:

    Sorry Tuscan disappointed.. We enjoy sharing the meatball app. Chacuterie, soup and I like the  regular salad . All very filling!

     

    .On  Silhouette, .We will pick entrees very carefully based upon your review!

    I was looking at the Tuna Romanesco?  I so want to love this restaurant, boo.🥲

     

    On 8/18/2024 at 10:10 AM, hcat said:

    Sorry Tuscan disappointed.. We enjoy sharing the meatball app. Chacuterie, soup and I like the  regular salad . All very filling!

     

    .On  Silhouette, .We will pick entrees very carefully based upon your review!

     

    • Like 1
  7. 12 minutes ago, love2crews. said:

    15 August 2024: Travel Day

     

    We landed in LHR around 10:00 in the morning. We had about 3 hours to make it to our connecting flight to ATH.  We knew we were going to have to go through security AGAIN at LHR even though we remained airside.  

     

    Something to note, the only way off the plane at LHR was via stairs, so we had to carry our carry-ons down the stairs and then they loaded all of us in buses to take us to the main Terminal.  We were not prepared, nor expecting, this.  There was no help available to bring the baggage down the stairs and the bus was overflowing with people and their luggage.  This was British Airways. (Their app was pretty bad too, didn’t show boarding time either).

     

    Anyways, after a short 1 hour delay and last minute gate change, we made it on our flight seamlessly.  For those who aren’t aware, Heathrow does not announce gates until 1 hour before boarding time.  We experienced the 1 hour mad dash at Stansted earlier this year, but hadn’t realized Heathrow did it too.

     

    If you have any additional questions about our airport experience, please let me know.

    Oh no, that's the worst carrying luggage down steps.😝  I use to fly BA but have not been since Covid.  I am not young and that is game changer for me.

    • Like 2
  8. 7 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

     

    Safe travels

     

    I haven't connected in Heathrow in a long time but I find it generally to be a good airport.

     

    How much time do you have to connect?

    I connected to Vienna at LHR, was not a big deal IMO.

     

    I just connected through Amsterdam last week and that was not a good experience, yes we did have to show our passports in Schiphol.

    • Like 1
  9. 1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

    I hope you find a cruise line that suits you better. 

    Yes, I hope so.

     

    I know this board is for Cunard devotees and I appreciate that, and I hope everyone will always be content and happy with Cunard.

     

     

    • Like 1
  10. 3 hours ago, Pear Carr said:

    Best avoid Queen Anne then if you thought PG cabin on QM2 was cosy!

    I will be trying other cruises and hoping to find the right line for me.

     

    If they fixed the issues especially food,  I would return but I don't see that happening anytime soon,

  11. Just now, exlondoner said:

    Roux?

    Yes, LOL!

     

    He was very interesting,  BTW and was offering his 200$ per person dinner on the ship for 6 nights. We were leaving Tuesday.

  12. The choice, the execution and the ingredients.

     

    The diver scallops were inedible and we both did not eat them and the server did not even comment on the fact nor did he ask if we would prefer anything else.

     

    One night there was not on thing that was appetizing to me so I asked if they could bring me a different main and the suggested chicken was was fine.

     

    No sole meuniere or tempura shrimp😐

     

    The fish was bland and needed seasonings.  The "salads"  looked like an amuse bouche LOL

     

    At Southampton Michel Proulx from  La Gavroche was the guest speaker on Monday and we wanted to ask if he had tasted any of the dishes on the ship but the  question period ended.

    • Like 1
  13. This was my bucket list trip, however there were some issues that I will share with you.

     

    LOVED the ship itself, she was classy and beautiful and I was so happy to sail with her.

     

    My Princess Grill room was lovely but just a bit "cozy".

     

    The entertainment was excellent and the insight lectures were very interesting and a shout out to the Jazz Trio and Harpist and our wonderful Blues singer!

     

    The Princess Grill dining room was nice, unfortunately the food was not.

     

    As beautiful as classy the ship was the food was at best mediocre, with one exception being  the excellent rooms service breakfasts.

     

    The pop up Indian and Italian were good, better than the PG dining.

     

    One of the most wonderful aspect of this  ship was the extremely nice and interesting people we met on board, they were such a pleasure to be around.

     

     

    The Spa was good but the therapy pool and saunas were not included, even after spending 250$, I have never encountered that before.

     

    The bottom line for me is if I am spending close to 13,000$  I expect better food!

     

    I hope Cunard changes the food because it is a game changer for me.

     

    I will be trying some other cruise lines in the interim.

     

     

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1
  14. 3 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

    I have never had a problem getting a taxi when disembarking. I always need one to take me to where my car is parked. There are so many circulating about. When are you going and I can then tell you what else my be going on. 

    We arrive in Southampton Sunday August 4 heading to Winchester, I have been before with my husband quite a few years ago, but I will look forward to a tour!  We just sort of wandered around saw the Cathedral had lunch and left.

     

    It was a day trip from London.

     

    I wanted to do a Highclere castle tour with my friend, but it seems too risky time wise.

×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.