Jasperdo

Too bad you didn't have time to visit the Palais Des Papes. It's a fascinating place. You'll have to go back.

19 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

A 10 day road trip in France would solve a lot of problems, John. I see myself in a Citroen.

Nothing so fancy on our two road trips in France. The first was in a Toyota Yaris, and the second was a Renault Clio. But they both got us where we wanted to go, which was the amazing Medieval towns and Chateaus of France.

35 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

In the midwest USA we pull off the highways at the T.A brand where there will be a Popeyes and a Subway, a crowded dimly lit shop and some neglected toilets that need a refurb. Europe can show us the way as they are ahead of us.

You are absolutely right about the rest areas on European highways. They are so much better than anything in the US. Fully stocked grocery stores, good restaurants. We ate at L'Arche a few times while on the road in France.

3 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

DEDICATED TO MY GOOD FRIEND JASPERDO

 

John has appeared in all 17 of the epics I have written on CC and like me isn't just interested in getting from A to B, he's keen to know what joins the two. Road signs, traffic, shop windows, mountains is our jam. So buckle up for some sketchy photos taken on the fly from a big yellow coach as we head from Marseille docks to Avignon.

 

Norris, you're making me blush. I'm all caught up now and looking forward to your road photos up to Avignon. We spent a day in Avignon back in 2007 during our 2 week road trip around France. Arles was our base for Provence. A wonderful, historic town. Put it on your list if you haven't been there yet.

On 11/12/2021 at 6:30 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Bus-this is for you Jasperdo!

 

This put a smile on my face. You know exactly what I like! I've been off of CC for a few days. My wife's out of the hospital now and doing good. So I'm catching up on your Gentleman's Journal. A vacation through your eyes is just what I need right now!

I really enjoyed your sailaway video from Civitavecchia. Leaning up against the rail during an arrival or departure from any port is my happy place. I never get tired of it. 

15 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

 

Please give your dear wife my sincere regards.

It's not the best time to travel but we felt we "had to push the boat out" while we are still keen and healthy.

 

I sure will. Thanks for your concern. Pushing the boat out while you're still keen and healthy has always been our motto, too. We never waited until retirement to travel. We always felt that by then it might be too late. And since I retired almost 13 years ago now, we've accelerated our road trips and cruise. The last two years have temporarily put the breaks on our travels. If we hadn't started until now, we would have missed so much. Your Gentleman's Seafarer Journals have always been a highlight of my time on Cruise Critic.

Hi Norris and Carol,

I noticed that you had posted some Rome pictures on Flickr, so I had to come over to Cruise Critic and hunt down your review. Glad I found it! So happy that you were able to do this trip. Looking forward to the rest of your adventure. We haven't done any traveling in over 2 years now. Partly due to COVID, and partly due to my wife's health issues. Your review is just what I need!

John

On 8/11/2021 at 7:59 PM, PescadoAmarillo said:

 Steve Hites came onboard right behind us, and he was doing his show at 5:30pm in the Vista-less Lounge, but we couldn’t see him this time as we had a conflicting appointment with the Crown Grill. But, as I remember from 2012, he was very entertaining. 

Happy to hear that Steve Hites is still doing his onboard show in Skagway. We make sure and catch  him every time we're on a Princess cruise to Alaska.

5 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Jasperdo just to update- the 2020 Bayreuth Festival didn't take place and nor will the 2021 so it looks like our tickets will transfer to 2022.

 

We make final payment on this October's Azamara Med cruise on June 30 and either I or Az may cancel before then, in my case if there is quarantine likely . I am checking Italy France and Spain daily for any glitches/policy changes. Of course if none surface in June we will have to go on the assumption that all will be well...

 

Norris

Hi Norris,

Thanks for the update. I was wondering about this years Bayreuth Festival. At least you and Carol are still at the front of the queue.

Hopefully your October cruise will sail as scheduled. I don't think I'm ready to book a cruise just yet. Too many uncertainies for me right now. Please post a link to it here when you do your Gentleman's Journal from it. I don't want to miss it!

John 

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Looking at my legitimate CDC card, it lists the product name and batch number, the date, and for the healthcare professional or clinic site it has the inititals WHP. I challenge anybody checking if my card is legit to figure out who to contact from that information. (In fact, I called to find out what WHP meant since I did not realize what it was.)

I actually have two vaccination cards, one for each time I went. All that was on the cards they gave me  was the peeled off sticker with the lot # information. I had to fill in everything else myself. Even the Heathcare Professional or Clinic Site was left for me to fill out. I wound up writing SVNA in that space, since I received my shots through the Seattle Visiting Nurses Association.

Concerning traveling through Canadian waters to get to Alaska from Seattle...

I'm far from an expert, but I believe the Canadian order specifically states that Innocent Passage is allowable through Canadian waters. Which means that cruise ships will be able to transit through Canadian waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Outbound traffic is on the Canadian side, and inbound traffic is on the US side. Seattle cruises hardly ever sailed up the Canadian Inside Passage anyway, opting for the faster route out in the Pacific Ocean.

Probably the Mexican Riviera out of LA. We haven't seen our relatives in Southern California in quite awhile now. So this would combine visiting with them and going on a warm destination cruise.

3 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

They are like tables for 2 in Manhattan restaurants. One positive thing brought about by covid is social distancing so maybe for awhile the tables will become true tables for two.

That's true. I would imagine that the seating arrangements in the MDR on cruise ships will look different when sailing resumes. That might be a good thing for people like me who have always followed social distancing.

Personally, I would like to see more "real" tables for two in the MDR. My wife and I prefer to have a quiet dinner, and not have to engage in conversation with strangers. Most of the tables for two on Princess are a joke. Some are literally three inches from another table for two. It's impossible to have a nice private conversation with just your spouse. I realize many people enjoy a large table and getting to know their table mates. But there are plenty of introverts such as ourselves who are very uncomfortable in that situation. 

Thank you for this very informative thread. You're descriptions of the various Covid procedures were much appreciated, and your photos were terrific!

32 minutes ago, TMW67 said:

 

This is on Baja Deck 11 - Forward. There is a similar deck on Caribe Deck 10 - Forward.

Cruising through the Panama Canal on the Coral Princess. A bunch of the crew members went up to the bow of the ship and posed for some photos. The passengers on deck all applauded them and thanked them for the great job they were all doing for us. It was magical.

We had three sunny days in a row on that trip: Juneau, Glacier Bay and Sitka. It was actually in the mid 70's in Juneau. Terrific weather for May!

I wasn't aware that you couldn't book a specific cabin on the HAL website. That seem very odd. I don't mind booking guarantees, since we always book insides, and it doesn't matter where we are on the ship. 

Good news about the Bayreuth Festival. Happy to hear that you won't lose your place in line, after waiting so long.

We enjoyed our cruise on the Eurodam. There were a few things that I thought they did better than Princess, and other things I prefer the Princess way. We would definitely sail HAL again if we found a great deal. But we still prefer Princess. It seems a better match for us, overall.

Sitka was the main reason we did chose HAL for that cruise. Princess hardly goes there. I though it was a terrific port. It felt more like the "real" Alaska to us. Not a Diamonds International in sight. Compact downtown with lots of history and friendly people. If you're interested, here is a link to the photos I took that day:

Sitka

Hi Norris and Carol,

I was just thinking about you the other day. I remembered reading in one of your cruise reviews that you had finally gotten tickets for this year's Wagner Bayreuth Festival. It bummed me out thinking that after all those years of waiting, the Festival was probably going to be cancelled. If it is I hope that all those who were able to get tickets this year will get first option for tickets to next year's Festival.

Anyway, back to cruising. Barbara and I went on our third Alaska cruise last May. It was our first time on Holland America, and also our first visit to Sitka (which quickly became my favorite Alaskan port of call). Little did we know at the time that it would be our last cruise for the foreseeable future.

John

Road Tripping is my first love, and our main form of vacation. Been doing it since the 1970's. My wife and I have driven across the US six times, drove the Trans-Canada all the way to Quebec, took the Alaska Highway from one end to the other. Been to all 50 states, and 46 of the 61 National Parks. It's something we really enjoy. There is soooo much beauty to see in the US and Canada. 

We started cruising in 1991 and were instantly hooked. It took us to places we couldn't easily drive to. I always treated it as a moving hotel room that took me to amazing destinations. But, if I had to choose just one, I would pick a road trip any day. The freedom you get hopping in the car and seeing where that bend in the road takes you is unmatched, in my opinion.

21 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

I’d like to see hand washing stations at each entrance to the buffet. I personally hate the HAL buffet where you have to wait in a line for someone to serve you... it takes a lot longer and often, the first food gets cold while you’re getting the rest.

I totally agree with this. My wife and I went on our first HAL cruise last year. For the most part we really enjoyed it, except for the buffet. We did not like the setup there at all. First you had to wait in a long, slow moving line to get up to the servers. Then you had to look over the menu that was posted. You couldn't see what any of the food items were until the server put it on the plate. Many times something sounded good, but after you got it it wasn't appealing. Plus, there was no portion control. The server would just plop a large portion of everything you asked for on the plate. It made for a messy, unappealing plate of food, in my opinion.

What I've always liked about the Princess buffet is being able to look over everything that was on offer, and picking a small sample of things that looked good to me. Then I would go back for seconds of the things I really liked. That was impossible to do on HAL.

16 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

we have got tickets to the Wagner Bayreuth Festival in Germany after 7 years on the waiting list 

Excellent news. I know how much you and Carol were looking forward to returning there. Enjoy!

Another excellent review, Mr. Winks. Wonderful photos, too. Looking forward to the rest.