norn iron

4 minutes ago, Harters said:

Went to Core in 2020. Was fantastic.

 

I suppose I better throw into the mix Simon Rogan's L'Enclume. Not been since he got his third star but previous visits have been outstandng.

 

We're so fortunate on these islands by way of good eats.

You're dead lucky not to travel across the Irish Sea for restaurants like L'Enclume.

If you ever make it to Belfast, Eipic is 1* and excellent. 

Our favourite in Dublin is Patrick Guilbaud which is 2* and definitely worth the journey.

5 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

My concern for the Nov. cruise is getting Loyalty Points & OBC's straightened out. Prior posts say it only took a few minutes; however, with "everyone in the same boat" was the line at customer service very long.

There is an old Chinese proverb I learnt many years, (and I'm addressing your concerns as worries)

"if you worry you die, if you don't worry you die, so why worry"

On 7/10/2023 at 11:56 AM, BruceMuzz said:

American Coffee Producers have a problem roasting coffee beans.

The beans are harvested in the tropics and placed in canvas bags for shipping.

It turns out that cockroaches really like coffee beans, so they go along for the ride.

When the bags of coffee beans arrive in America, they must be roasted.

Removing or killing the cockroaches in the canvas bags is nearly impossible.

Killing them would require poisons that would contaminate the coffee.

 

So the coffee companies roast the beans and the roaches together.

Then they are ground up and placed in tins for sale.

The average ground roasted coffee in America contains 13% roasted cockroach.

This increases the protein content of American roasted ground coffee beans.

I wonder if it affects the taste?

 

Interesting, but not surprising.
I have a rule of thumb when it comes to American Coffee (and Pizza for that matter).

Ask yourself one simple question "Would an Italian drink (or eat) this"?

Every time I hear the words Starbucks or Domino's mentioned, its time to ask the question.

3 hours ago, Harters said:

I'd also make it the Fat Duck. Went for my 60th birthday, in 2010. It was then rated as the third best restaurant in the world.

 

The Waterside was for our 40th anniversary (2012). It would certainly be in my top five places, along with Le Manoir in Oxfordshire. I'd have to really think which other two places to put on that list. Maybe the now closed Club Allard in Madrid would be one

I agree, The Fat Duck is remarkable and truly memorable. It is genuinely a special journey, especially when we live in Belfast. The sad part is, we have in-laws who wouldn't even entertain 75% of the dishes that are served.

If I was adding to my list I couldn't go past Core by Clare Smith, and a real blast from the past The Oak Room Marco Pierre White. Another classic was Azurmendi in Bilbao. Sadly we haven't got to the Manoir yet. There is still time.

32 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Interesting as I was musing this very subject yesterday. As time goes on it seems to become more and more complicated. It gets even more so when one tries to establish what power output you are getting. Slow charging of devices can be very frustrating and only as good as your weakest link. So aside from having the bedside charging using the USB by the bedside light I also looked at the adapter I use plugged in by the counter area. 

 

This is the power adapter I've bought on Amazon together with a 6 in one cable that includes an LED power display. Just trying to cut down on all the cables and give me an idea of the charging power I'm getting. I'm no expert and haven't had occasion to use them yet, but hoping they do the trick. 

 

Phil 

 

 

 

 

I can vouch for the 6 in 1 cable, they’re brilliant. 

Thanks Host Jazzbeau. I had been searching with no luck.

Ketjap Manis

12 hours ago, GlobalMethod said:

The waiter really has a significant impact on the overall dining experience, where ever it may be.

 

We prefer the more relaxed atmosphere in the MDR generally, where we can usually find a waiter with a sense of humor. That said we also usually have a SDR meal at least once a week, (we do a lot of b2b on Azamara) just for a change of atmosphere.

Let’s find a good waiter on Onward 11/07

7 hours ago, Greener123 said:

Buffet is good for everything except dinner. MDR breakfast is more of a “treat” but you have to get up earlier. 

Buffet onboard Azamara on Indian night is pretty special. The MDR is almost empty.

29 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

We had a pretty good all round experience at Restaurant Jules Verne atop the Eiffel Tower. Spectacular views and a great meal to boot!

 

Didn't the Fat Duck get closed down for a short while due to breaches of hygiene regulations? 

Back to 5 again on Scores on the Doors 🙂

The Fat Duck’s problem was a one off and was it not external if I recall correctly.

Was it not a problem with oysters delivered from Whitstable that were poor quality.

They closed the restaurant for a couple of days to get to the bottom (excuse the pun) of the problem.

The Michelin man didn’t see it as a problem by docking stars etc.

It just became headlines because it was the Fat Duck.

Celebrity, when Michel Roux (snr) was consultant chef had great food at sea.

I had the misfortune to be on the first cruise after the change to Jacque Van Staden - what a downfall from grace.

Foie de canard.

There is one other consideration to keep in mind, are you sailing east or west?

The origins of the word Posh (Port Out Starboard Home) stem from wealthy passengers (who could afford the surcharge) sailing west to east and choosing cabins on the port side to avoid the sun and making the return journey on the starboard side for the same reason. 

Long before anyone had thought of air conditioning. 

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

On my first two cruises there was no such thing as a specialty restaurant. and on my first cruise no such thing as a buffet option.

That was then this is now.

On my first cruise it was MDR or be on starvation diet.

Surely it depends on the cruise line and their food standard.

https://www.azamara.com/about-azamara/contact-us

It would appear from the link that all their offices are closed on Sundays, however ‘All other countries not listed above’ does seem to have a Miami number open 9am - 6pm (presumably ET)

Is it worth the try?

The Fat Duck in Bray Berkshire UK.

Dined there twice, 3* Michelin, it was rather good, but it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

I also enjoyed The Waterside Inn in Bray (400 yards from the Fat Duck), also 3* Michelin and slightly more conventional.

9 minutes ago, Scolboa said:

We have booked b2b cruises with Azamara in April. Our ta has not yet given us our booking ref or invoice saying Azamara keep giving wrong info yet many cruisers have been posting saying they can get online and see the trips ashore etc. others have recently booked and are all ok with their info. Each time we try to get it they say still waiting. Where do I stand?

Scolboa, it does sound very strange. My current booking is clearly visible on Az.com and I have all the confirmation documents from my TA.

I did change TA following being messed around during Covid by my previous. So far so good.

Did you book with a local TA or a national chain?

 they "said" that they had Chandon which we could not locate anywhere.

The Chandon on Az is a Californian sparkling wine produced by LVMH, but not actually Champagne.

On 6/10/2023 at 8:59 AM, lovetocruisedublin said:

We were in Belfast 2 weeks ago! En route to Glasgow. My daughter was being presented with her OBE!!

I would love to meet up on your next visit south. phillangley@gmail.com

Phil, I've planned in the short term. I'll drop you an email.

OBE that's impressive. You must have been going to Glasgow by ferry.

8 hours ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

Norn iron... delighted with your note. Thank you.😊 I'd say you have some stories to tell!! I'll take you up on your tip. Off to the shop tomorrow. 

Do you get to Dublin at all? 

I was Dublin last Monday, Clifden three weeks ago, and Tullow five weeks ago. 

10 hours ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

We have cruised before but not on Azamara. We have just booked this cruise. Africa newbie.

I'm looking for advice on mosquito bite protection as I get bad reaction to bites (when I'm in Spain).

Also best clothing for excursions. 

 

LovetocruiseDublin (I even added a capital D !!) I'm only up the road from ye, so hopefully this works.

For the past 20 years or more, we have cruised around the world, especially into areas of high mosquito risk and have never once been bitten by one of the pesky buggers.

The best example is, were once in the Costa Rica rainforest and every other person on our coach was bitten to pieces, yet we walked out unscathed. Fifteen minutes back on the bus and we were being 

hounded for a share of our Neem oil.

Easily bought from health food shops, Asian Supermarkets or on Amazon. It is very concentrated, so I thin it down by two-thirds with sunflower and coconut oil, plus it's as cheap as chips.

It is oily, so use it sparingly, but it definitely works.

The benchmark is, the Neem tree is the only tree a plague of locusts won't go near. 

There are 58 pages to this thread and I have refrained from posting, mainly because I have a reasonable grasp of how difficult new e-commerce websites can be. I was also informed by an Az employee that RCL was not being overly co-operative in releasing data etc in the transfer of bookings and all that goes with it.

Anyway, this morning I decided to make a dummy booking on the new Az website and I was somewhat shocked by what I saw.

Having filled in some details I decided to briefly log out, before recommencing. So I was asked did I want to save my details.

I have inserted a screenshot of what appeared. 

Now my grammar may not be the best, but I'm sorry, a premium cruise line should be ensuring that the spelling and grammar are correct on their website.

Please can someone at Azamara change the caption to read Do you want to store the reservation? 

Rant over. 

17 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

That explains a lot, really. Especially the persistence of the unloved Royal Club mixers.

I would nearly guess Royal Club is supplied FOC to ensure distribution of all the brands Heineken produce.

9 hours ago, uktog said:

Newcastle Brown was one of the most bizarre drink selection decisions made by Azamara - didn’t really fit the clientele 

Totally agree.

It’s owned by Heineken as is Royal Club.

From my limited experience (Ulster Rugby) they throw money at distribution to buy market share.