Regal Princess October 14 to 21, 2017 New England/Canada

I am still here......will be right to the end. Sure glad that you're cruising again soon.

Your pictures just keep getting better & better.

Judy

I'm still with you, Norris!! We love NYC (Manhattan) as well, but it's been a while! Thanks for continuing your vacation journal beyond the Regal!!

 

Cheers,

Tracy

Tracy, it had been two years between visits to New York for me and it's 8 years since we spent a week there, which is what you need to see a lot-I can't say a week is enough to see "all that it has to offer". It's like no other city I've seen in America.

The Architecture tour that is coming up was Carol's brilliant idea as there was so much that is new and remarkable and so much that is classic and needs to be seen again and again. We often don't see the skyline as we are down at street level in the canyons. We had never been to Chelsea Piers before. We have been many times to South Street seaport on the East side but there was no time to enjoy that this trip.

The Freedom Tower replacing the Twin Towers we only saw from ships and boats. I was in New York a week or two after the WTC bombing and looking down at it from Carol's offices nearby and will never forget that sight having watched the event happening on live TV.

There are always a hundred reasons to return to New York. We love it there.

Thanks for staying the course!

Norris

Our tour was taking place on a motor yacht from 1925. I wondered if this was the one?

As it turned out later, it wasn't our boat and I was glad as I didn't like that ladder coming down into exactly where I was going to be sitting. I had to be outside to take pictures and have no obstacles to moving freely.

I reported back to Carol at Base Bench regarding the food choices here. She wasn't hungry but pressed her Yelp App into service. She found a place on the water a few blocks North that had good reviews for view and burgers, so off I went.

Indeed it was less than 5 minutes walk along by the river/sea at Pier 66

 

It was one of those places where you give your order at the bar and get a number and then wait. In my case a burger and fries took 15 minutes Luckily I was by the water of the Hudson river and had some entertainment provided by people playing water basketball from their kayaks. That was a new sport to me. They played aggressively trying and succeeding to capsize each other. They had to maneuver into position to throw the ball with their hands into a floating basket with a goalie trying to swat the ball away with an oar. Fun!

 

Order up!

 

 

If you are down there look for these distinctive ships to find it. It had an upper deck above me for drinks and I can imagine that at sunset it is a great place to sit and relax with a cocktail.

(iPhone pic, all others Canon 6D Mk II)

Norris, thank you for another interesting review with more great photos.

 

I was also interested in your positive reports of the Regal as last time we cruised with Princess (Emerald May 2015) we were unimpressed and have only booked with Celebrity since then. It had been our 4th Princess cruise, maybe we should just think of it as a one off not so good experience .

 

The good news is that your review isn't finished yet and I can enjoy another visit to New York while following it.We visited New York for the first time earlier this year before visiting son and family in Toronto. We really enjoyed it.

 

The pictures will be so much better than ours!

 

Still following and still enjoying.

Sandra.

Sandra, sorry the Emerald put you off Princess-must have been way below what you were expecting from your first 3 P cruises. We sailed on her in the Med and she was a fine ship but the MDR service was disappointing but soon forgotten. Room Service was cold food and forgotten items. Otherwise the Princess experience we expect. Regal was fine in every regards besides ship design oddities and those probably matter more to me than most folks who enjoy the many great things she offers.

If you liked NYC on your first visit then you'll be inclined to return. That's how it was for me in November 1986 and I found myself living close enough to it to drive in on a whim (45 minutes on the NJ Turnpike if no traffic jams) and I took advantage.

Many New York pictures ahead!

Norris

Wow, awesome Norris that you are able to give an excellent narrative post cruise review.

While I was enroute over the continental US (SFO) bound you were still enjoying beautiful NYC.

I'll sit with Pinot in hand waiting for the upcoming installments of the big finish in the Big Apple!

Stay thirsty my "City of Big Shoulders" friend.

I took a couple of pics on the walk back to Carol. I was loving this riverside area with its park and people walking their dogs, playing with their kids, snoozing in the sun,playing kayak basketball, eating and drinking. We should all be able to do this in peace and would that it were so. Most of us working in the USA have enviable lifestyles. As long as you have your health...aye, that's true. Carol is suffering from a cold and a cough.

Yes that is a huge NCL ship behind the helicopter. I think it was Breakaway. She is berthed on the far side of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier which I have taken a tour of-highly recommended for ship buffs (me) and WWII buffs (me again)

I stroll back and Carol agrees it is time to head to the dock named on our tickets. We don't want to be at the back of a boarding line as we must sit outside. So we get there early and snag a bench near the gangway.

This is our boat

 

 

 

I am still here......will be right to the end. Sure glad that you're cruising again soon.

Your pictures just keep getting better & better.

Judy

Judy, you are a constant in my reviews and that is much appreciated!

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures-I am working on getting better each time I pick up the camera. I already have as good a camera as I need and can afford so now it's up to me and my brain to take better pics. I am glad that the Crown Princess is only 35 days away as I don't go out often in Chicago to practice.

Here's a couple of shots from around my street....

That's my beer and wine resource across the street at 6 a.m. Not open. I am knocking on the door looking at my watch.

Suburbia it ain't

 

 

Classic old buildings



 

 

Trappings of the Modern World



(old camera T3i/ new lens)

And a nearby park at night



(old camera T3i/new lens)

With tangerine trees & marmalade skies !!!

Lucy in the sky with diamonds - Beatles

Loving your review as usual Norris , we were in New York ,Sept 2015 loved every minute of our stay there , hope to be back one day !

Trying to improve my photography too !

Sitting back with an Espresso Martini waiting

for the next instalment

Beth ����

While everyone else is enjoying your pictures of New York City, I'm loving the pics of Chicago...where I grew up (Bridgeport). Being in suburbia now and seeing those pictures makes me wish I could get into the city more often. But I digress....

Happy Friday!

Susan

Bimmer - I am so enjoying your review. Your pictures and words tell a such a great story I can't leave my trusty laptop alone for fear of missing something! Thank you so much for sharing both your talent, perspective (with humor and song lyrics!), and time. I am anxiously waiting for more. (and am going to look for your other review(s). Thirty days 'til the next cruise on the gorgeous Regal Princess, until then I live vicariously through you and your lovely wife.

Picture Yourself On A Boat On A River...

 

All aboard! Up the gangway we go and I see the twenty or so folks ahead of us are favoring the interior of the boat so we get to sit outside on a bench under the wheelhouse so we get our outdoors seat and I can tuck my camera bag underneath the bench. Those staying on deck have cameras at the ready. About 50 people get on board including a passionate architecture buff who will tell us what we are seeing. Carol picks up a map which also highlights notable buildings with thumbnail photos. We are sailing on the Classic Harbor Line.

 

 



 

We reverse from the dock

 

 

and the Empire State Building is revealed



 

 

we are out in the Hudson River



 

 



 

We will be heading out to the Statue of Liberty then turning to the East River to loop around Manhattan. It will take 3 hours. There is a bar and one complimentary drink is included.

To be continued...

Norris,

Loving the pics of the Hudson and all you can do along the West Side Highway. I used to have a sailboat and sailed the Hudson, but about 25 miles further north by the Tappan Zee Bridge. I loved being on the river, but was only insured down to the George Washington Bridge. The currents get really heavy south of there and I only had a 10HP engine!

The west side of NYC gets a bum rap, but if you like being near the water, there's a great bit to do and see as you know. Here to the end my friend.

Trip

Wow, awesome Norris that you are able to give an excellent narrative post cruise review.

While I was enroute over the continental US (SFO) bound you were still enjoying beautiful NYC.

 

I'll sit with Pinot in hand waiting for the upcoming installments of the big finish in the Big Apple!

Stay thirsty my "City of Big Shoulders" friend.

Ron, I am wondering why you didn't tack on a couple of days at the end and enjoy this magnificent city? We can't get off a ship and go to an airport right away as we need a wind-down before facing reality and something to take the sting off disembarkation. Of course you may have had to get back to work pronto. Only once did we fly home on the same day but it was 12 hours after we left the Star in Whittier and we did a great excursion on the way to Anchorage. Flights from Anchorage direct to Chicago are few so we elected to just fly home rather than wait until next day at 8.30 pm (hours after checking out of the hotel). Starting a SB cruise from Anchorage is good though, flight-wise the day before and Anchorage is a pretty little town.

My thirst is being quenched by my favorite Czech lager, prior to another night at the Opera!

Norris

With tangerine trees & marmalade skies !!!

 

Lucy in the sky with diamonds - Beatles

 

Loving your review as usual Norris , we were in New York ,Sept 2015 loved every minute of our stay there , hope to be back one day !

Trying to improve my photography too !

Sitting back with an Espresso Martini waiting

for the next instalment

Beth ����

Beth! Hi, what's an espresso Martini? Never tried a Martini and if I do a Celebrity Martini bar might be the place to start as they also put on a show there.

New York, as you can tell, is a magnet for us and it never has lost its appeal.

There are a couple videos now on youtube where bands (one of them Cheap Trick but thats not the best one) play Sgt. Pepper live on stage from beginning to end.

This one though is remarkably good...by a Dutch band plus orchestra

0kj1jJrbTQU

Hope to see you in my Crown review in 6 weeks!

Norris, heading for sunnier climes as snowflakes fall in Chicago

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' on the River...

 

CCR again. Proud Mary.

While everyone else is enjoying your pictures of New York City, I'm loving the pics of Chicago...where I grew up (Bridgeport). Being in suburbia now and seeing those pictures makes me wish I could get into the city more often. But I digress....

Happy Friday!

Susan

Hi Susan, I'm glad my neighborhood pics remind you of Chicago city life you once enjoyed. We live in the South Loop and there are a lot of photo opportunities which I plan to take when the better weather in April or some deep snowfall comes along. We are within walking distance of Lake Michigan and Grant Park.

Happy Saturday!

Norris

Bimmer - I am so enjoying your review. Your pictures and words tell a such a great story I can't leave my trusty laptop alone for fear of missing something! Thank you so much for sharing both your talent, perspective (with humor and song lyrics!), and time. I am anxiously waiting for more. (and am going to look for your other review(s). Thirty days 'til the next cruise on the gorgeous Regal Princess, until then I live vicariously through you and your lovely wife.

Welcome to CC and I am glad you clicked on my review and are enjoying it. Thanks for the kind compliments.

You will enjoy what the Regal has to offer!

Bon Voyage in advance!

Norris

Norris,

 

Loving the pics of the Hudson and all you can do along the West Side Highway. I used to have a sailboat and sailed the Hudson, but about 25 miles further north by the Tappan Zee Bridge. I loved being on the river, but was only insured down to the George Washington Bridge. The currents get really heavy south of there and I only had a 10HP engine!

 

The west side of NYC gets a bum rap, but if you like being near the water, there's a great bit to do and see as you know. Here to the end my friend.

Trip

Trip, I love the part when the City peters out at the Northern end, where craggy cliffs and grass live and we make the turn onto the West side with the George Washington Bridge up ahead and New Jersey on our right. All coming up way ahead in photos and video. There's not much boat traffic up there which adds to the appeal and it is quiet.

The West side will get no bum wrap from us! It even has cruise ships tied up.

Good to see you here again!

Norris

So enjoying seeing New York through your lens. This is one place I have never been. We usually go a day or two before a sailing, but have hardly ever stayed a day after. Work and all is waiting. Glad you and Carol got to relax and enjoy this amazing city.

As always, thank you for sharing!

So enjoying seeing New York through your lens. This is one place I have never been. We usually go a day or two before a sailing, but have hardly ever stayed a day after. Work and all is waiting. Glad you and Carol got to relax and enjoy this amazing city.

 

As always, thank you for sharing!

And as always thank you for reading and more importantly responding!

I have to take some time each morning to prepare the pictures that come next in my posts and I am always surprised at some of the things I took pictures of. Carol sees them for the first time on her iPad and is now caught up but the beauty of CC is that they have a home on the Web and we and everyone/anyone can see them at some point if they are interested. I don't think anyone has ever done this architecture cruise and shown it on CC. The pictures are for lovers of architecture (that's us!) and lover of New York City (that's definitely us!!).

I've shown you the tiny fishing village I was brought up in but I feel just as at home in NYC, moreso than anywhere else I travel. Although I love San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles they aren't New York. I just feel energized there the minute I hit Manhattan. It has everything I like in a Cosmopolitan city and on this boat trip I found new delights at Chelsea Pier and later in the story the High Line pedestrian walk. All that is great in the arts is found in New York. In food and ethnic cuisines, in distinctive neighborhoods and places you feel you already know from Tv and Movies. You are covered as far as shopping and services go and in Museums,parks and public transportation. Of course it is an expensive city to live in but I'm fine with just being a visitor.

I'm glad you are along for the ride.

Norris

Beth! Hi, what's an espresso Martini? Never tried a Martini and if I do a Celebrity Martini bar might be the place to start as they also put on a show there.

New York, as you can tell, is a magnet for us and it never has lost its appeal.

There are a couple videos now on youtube where bands (one of them Cheap Trick but thats not the best one) play Sgt. Pepper live on stage from beginning to end.

This one though is remarkably good...by a Dutch band plus orchestra

0kj1jJrbTQU

Hope to see you in my Crown review in 6 weeks!

Norris, heading for sunnier climes as snowflakes fall in Chicago

Norris , the Espresso martini may be just right for you !

Espresso & alcohol !!!

ESPRESSO MARTINI

30ml Kahlua

30ml vodka

30ml espresso

Coffee beans to garnish

Easy to make and even easier to drink, the espresso martini will certainly get the party started! Simply pour the three ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well, and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a few coffee beans and serve!

Will definitely be on board for your Crown review , enjoy the sunshine .

YouTube clip was great .

Whilst not a true Martini , try one !

Cheers Beth 😀