.......idle jottings

[commander courageous]

 

Ragnar, here is a list of our favorites. They are small, boutique properties and listed in order of preference:

 

http://www.atlantishotelbarbados.com Atlantis Hotel

 

http://www.littlegoodharbourbarbados.com Inn at Littler Good Harbor

 

http://www.littlearches.com Little Arches Boutique Hotel

 

 

 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

 

[ho-hum]

Well, it seems that many of the Idle Chat correspondents are now aboard SeaDreamII

while we are back in the Canadian wilds freezing our butts off and bemoaning the fact

that we were ignored in the owners annual dispensing of ginsu knives or Popiel platinum rotisseries. We once, many years ago, did receive a nice coffee table picture

book of Sea Dream destinations but since, seem to have fallen off the radar.

 

While not in Ho-Hum or Lord Fauntleroy's class, our loyalty would seem to warrant

at least a posted Christmas card or e-mail, should the promo budget not allow. Oh well, maybe next year.

 

Please provide reports from the Toy Bar when the ship and passengers are steady, as

we still have more than a month before we can enjoy the warm rays of the

Caribbean and SD hospitality. Enjoy your time aboard kids!

 

 

Thankyou CC for reminding HH to be a little more grateful !

You are freezing and we are basking in the glorious and fresh Caribbean weather.

Now we are on SD, the Barbados experience is just a memory albeit a bad one.

Hell it was bad; zombies have more "go" in them !

 

Zippo from SD to us also !

So who were deemed worthy of personalised Xmas cards and gifts ?

And, more importantly, why ?

Sorry to break it to you but the coffee table book of SD destinations was a damn brochure !

Everyone gets one of those !

 

Thankyou for your description as to how cold Canada is at the moment !

Cant budge the image from ho hum's mind unfortunately !

 

What on earth has happened to your man servant Giovanni ?

Has he returned to the old country to the life of shirt making amongst the narrow, cobbled streets of St.Cretina ?

[Zimmy]

Thanks for the update and hoping you have fair seas the rest of the way. I believe the classy young man with the T shirt was on one of my voyages. I am surprised the little scholar didn't express the proper pronunciation of said shirt when pressed about it. :eek:

 

The dear young man is in the French group with the baby, who was brought into the pool this afternoon, diaper and all. I went to the concierge desk and made a huge fuss. I'll let you know what happens.

[ho-hum]

Dearest ho-hum,

yes, there’s indeed a rumour, that a German cc-member from Heidelberg was inspired by a posh Englishman to charter the boat for his chums. And the Germans always deliver without delay – sometimes they only need 20 minutes to reflect upon something!

As always, ho-hum is a bit fluffy in reminding important facts: Herr and Frau gcmv will be onboard of EUROPA 2(!) which is a tremendous difference.

EUROPA is very elegant and snobby, as EUROPA 2 is more in SEADREAM-style. The size of the ship is bigger (around 500 pax) and all the cabins are in a suite-size and have a nice balcony.

Here is a very interesting cruise blog link about this vessel written by an Englishman (ho-hum has to decide if it is reliable?!).

http://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2014/10/03/europa-2-raising-the-bar/

 

Enjoy the cruise!

 

 

What a fantastic ship gcmv !

And you can have visitors onboard.......ahem, ahem !

[ho-hum]

h-h, thanks for the update. Glad to hear that your voyage is off to a successful start.

 

I remember Christian - for a long while, even after he had left, the Seabourn/SeaDream promotional material included a photo of him smelling (I'm sure there's a more refined term but it escapes me at the moment and I'm too lazy to look it up) a glass of wine. We'll look forward to catching up with him one of these days.

 

Glad to hear that Paul is helping to enforce the dress code. If that is the Paul who I know, I'm not at all surprised!

 

Before posting to-day Paul and ho hum were talking about you !

He asked to send his kindest regards when we meet up.

Paul and his lovely family sit next to us at breakfast and lunch and greets ho hum every morning "Good morning, how are you dear boy"

Yes it sounds as if he is a character out of Charles Dickens !

His chuckle can be heard around the ship.

He is a part timer diagnoser of medical complaints too. He diagnosed blondie with a problematic gall bladder once when the problem was a cracked rib !

And as you know he loves practical jokes.

 

Oh, by the way it is to "nose the wine". Hold glass up to nose and sniff through one nostril by holDing glass to one nostril (as you well know young man).

[Jim Avery]

Dear Ho-Hum. While you were sticking your nostril to the side of the wine glass, I was taking my UK Cousins to the Scottsdale Gun Club for a morning of various calibers. Not quite as exciting as a nappy clad baby in the pool but we made up for it with Biker Bar cheeseburgers and properly chilled PBRs.

[ctbjr1309]

Before posting to-day Paul and ho hum were talking about you !

He asked to send his kindest regards when we meet up. And as you know he loves practical jokes.

 

Oh, by the way it is to "nose the wine".....

 

 

Thanks for passing the message along and please do give Paul my best. I hope to sail with him again one of these days. Please tell him that I still have the extraordinary alarm clock that he gave me quite some time ago and do think of him when it happens to catch my eye.

 

Nosing the wine, eh? Well, I'll be darned!

[ho-hum]

The dear young man is in the French group with the baby, who was brought into the pool this afternoon, diaper and all. I went to the concierge desk and made a huge fuss. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Good on you Zimmy.......what the hell are these people thinking !

 

And French too, mon dieu and a sacre bleu (for good measure) !!

[ho-hum]

Dear Ho-Hum. While you were sticking your nostril to the side of the wine glass, I was taking my UK Cousins to the Scottsdale Gun Club for a morning of various calibers. Not quite as exciting as a nappy clad baby in the pool but we made up for it with Biker Bar cheeseburgers and properly chilled PBRs.

 

 

Always an education conversing with you Jim.

PBRs...... Is this Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

No wonder it is abbreviated !

Can just imagine Butch & Sundance after a hot day at the shooting range asking the barman for a "Blue Ribbon" and a creme de menthe chaser !!

 

Described in tasting notes as:

 

"A contrasting counterpoint of sharp texture and flowing sweetness is evident at the first sip of this historic brew.

A slowly increasing hoppiness adds to the interplay of ingredients, while the texture smooths out by mid-bottle.

The clear, pale-gold body is light and fizzy.

Medium-bodied Blue Ribbon finishes with a dusting of malts and hops.

A satisfying American classic and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival."

 

OK reading between the lines it sounds pretty bland (as most US beers are).

We call it a "ship" beer in the UK (home of real beer)

Why ?

A ship is close to frigging water too.....

 

Glad to see the barn door remains in tact ....... you'll hit it one day Jim.....haha

[gcmv]

What a special "mixture" onboard SD II - a baby, the French connection and posh ho-hum - my gut instincts tell me, that we will hear some great and interesting stories on this thread in the comming days ...:D

 

Btw. ho-hum and blondie are always welcome as guests on EUROPA 2 - our suite is double the size of SD and even the balcony is big enough for two Balinese/German/Posh dreambeds ...;)

[ho-hum]

Well as promised ho hum checked whether ALL the ice making machines are working....they are !

But the TOYB glass washer is broken: part on its way though.

So a good bill of health really. Things break down, we accept that.

 

More great news.

They have a great Provencal pouring wine. FINALLY !!

Great job.

 

A new Indian recruit in the Kitchen was "put through his paces" by ho hum by making a dahl/dall (Indian lentil dish): it was made from split green lentils and not the usual yellow or brown lentils.

It was out-standing !

A dish of great nuance, spring like in freshness with a light feeling.

Extraordinary.....no Indian restaurant in the UK (known to ho hum) has produced such a dish.

 

Bookings on SD seem high for the rest of the Caribbean and forthcoming Med season.

SD are making money !!

Bag fulls of it !!

Great news.

And the with the oil price falling even further to almost $50 a barrel from $110 just six months earlier, then the "coffers must be bulging".

We wont see any price reductions like other cruise lines because bookings are so solid, so what is the Owner going to do with all this extra revenue ?

 

INVEST. INVEST. INVEST.

 

Another change on SD has been the menu layout unfortunately the dated print and paper remains.

 

A dish new to ho hum was the chilli chocolate ice cream. It was magnificent albeit the presentation was lack lustre but this will not deter ho hum ordering this again and again....even accompanied a Duckhorn Merlot quite satisfactorily.

Some foods have special plates....need to understand this better.

Bread rolls dry and butter quality poor though.....at least it will assist a slow down on ho hum's ever expanding girth.

 

Dined with three other (English) passengers, two of whom were new to SD who were aghast at the number of times we had travelled on SD: think they thought of us as simple folk without much imagine !

Two had been affected by the "motion in the ocean" the night before. In fact quite a few had even seasoned regulars but for dinner last night we were moored off Bequia and everybody eat out so ho hum's guessing people are feeling better.

We also dined with Hayden, a newish Club Director from New Zealand. What a charming and very presentable young man he is with a wealth of experience on the bigger "people container" ships. He had a fresh, enthusiasm about him and was definitely a "peoples person" and had the outlook that people were interesting ..... haha !

Let him spend some time with the young man wearing the FU t-shirt then. No sign of him yesterday, probably sulking in his cabin playing games on his mobile phone.....might be difficult because internet is un-acceptably sloooooowwwww.

Invest in better internet Atle for a kick off...especially as it is charged for t'boot.

And why is he acting like "big brother" in blocking some web pages.

Come on "let our people go" Kim Jung Atle !

 

A film under the stars played last night, no it was'nt Celine Dion in concert or Rod Stewart. No it was a recent film ! Wow, Sea Dream are playing current films. And again another well done Sea Dream.

 

And there is a rumour that the food budget has increased. Need to check that out. Certainly the food is excellent so would'nt be surprised.

 

Today it's Canouan Island in the morning followed by the Union Island (both in The Grenadines as you probably know).

Weather is divine though re-positioning we catch the winds which rock the vessel around causing some un-comfort for a few of our fellow passengers......maybe that's the reason young FU t-shirt is not evident.

Good one God.....see he has a sense of humour.

 

Oh and we are not stopping at Canouan Island: too choppy to get into tender. So we leave for Union Island.

 

By the way the French couple with bawling baby at breakfast this morning are Dutch, so abandon embargoes on France and switch to the Netherlands.

[ho-hum]

What a special "mixture" onboard SD II - a baby, the French connection and posh ho-hum - my gut instincts tell me, that we will hear some great and interesting stories on this thread in the comming days ...:D

 

Btw. ho-hum and blondie are always welcome as guests on EUROPA 2 - our suite is double the size of SD and even the balcony is big enough for two Balinese/German/Posh dreambeds ...;)

 

Two chums in one day have suggested this vessel......we are seriously tempted. It first arose after the SDII x-ing debacle when chums were discussing alternatives to SD.

To borrow a phrase from knotshead "maybe considering cheating on SD" !

Could only do it with chums though. A 5 dayer perhaps.

 

Have you done it before gcmv ?

Think ho hum will wait for your review first, old friend

[Jim Avery]

Always an education conversing with you Jim.

PBRs...... Is this Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

No wonder it is abbreviated !

Can just imagine Butch & Sundance after a hot day at the shooting range asking the barman for a "Blue Ribbon" and a creme de menthe chaser !!

 

Described in tasting notes as:

 

"A contrasting counterpoint of sharp texture and flowing sweetness is evident at the first sip of this historic brew.

A slowly increasing hoppiness adds to the interplay of ingredients, while the texture smooths out by mid-bottle.

The clear, pale-gold body is light and fizzy.

Medium-bodied Blue Ribbon finishes with a dusting of malts and hops.

A satisfying American classic and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival."

 

OK reading between the lines it sounds pretty bland (as most US beers are).

We call it a "ship" beer in the UK (home of real beer)

Why ?

A ship is close to frigging water too.....

 

Glad to see the barn door remains in tact ....... you'll hit it one day Jim.....haha

 

Yes, you are again correct. No foolin' Ole Ho-Hum. PBR was the cheapo beer of choice in my Uni days and still fits for certain occasions. I do agree that British Beer is in a different class altogether. I have always loved a good Local Bitter above all others. BTW, hit the targets rather well at the Gun Club. Of course this was pre-PBRs. Have fun.

[Jim Avery]

Two chums in one day have suggested this vessel......we are seriously tempted. It first arose after the SDII x-ing debacle when chums were discussing alternatives to SD.

To borrow a phrase from knotshead "maybe considering cheating on SD" !

Could only do it with chums though. A 5 dayer perhaps.

 

Have you done it before gcmv ?

Think ho hum will wait for your review first, old friend

 

There are options. At SD price point there are lots of options. The world is more than just one good restaurant.:eek:

[ctbjr1309]

PBR was the cheapo beer of choice in my Uni days and still fits for certain occasions.

 

Really, Jim? Such as when all the Schlitz, Falstaff and Schaeffer has been consumed?

 

By the bye, I'm not sure if all our CC beer aficionados are aware of it but I believe that both SD I and SD II have installed beer taps at the TOY Bar. My understanding is that they are serving Heineken in 7 oz. glasses (not my first choice but certainly progress). I'm wondering if h-h has had the chance yet to test out this new development.

 

And on another note (and apropos of nothing), I'm also wondering if h-h brought along his (now not so) new shoes purchased in late September in Cannes if I recall correctly? If so, I presume that his fellow passengers are suitably agog over his excellent sense of fashion? Just wondering.

[Zimmy]

Haven't paid much attetion to Ho-Hum's shoes, but Blondie is the best evidence of his good taste. Her shoes last night were a knockout.

Zimmy's DH

[Zimmy]

Actually, I HAVE noticed Ho-Hum's shoes, and theyt're gorgeous.

[ho-hum]

Haven't paid much attetion to Ho-Hum's shoes, but Blondie is the best evidence of his good taste. Her shoes last night were a knockout.

Zimmy's DH

 

Actually, I HAVE noticed Ho-Hum's shoes, and theyt're gorgeous.

 

Warning Warning !!

 

First babies, then teens, then Mr.Attitude (and his t-shirt) now:

 

Foot fetishists onboard !!

 

But extremely nice foot fetishists....dinner tomorrow night ?

[Jim Avery]

Really, Jim? Such as when all the Schlitz, Falstaff and Schaeffer has been consumed?

 

The local Roadhouse which just happens to have the best burgers in the Valley, has a great selection of longnecks highlighted by PBR.....At $2.50!! Not sure what they might do to me if I were to order a Red Stripe.:eek::D:D And what's wrong with Falstaff?? A noted beer drinker.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Jim Avery

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Gaaack, I can't take it any more! PBR and the others mentioned above are bilge water compared to real beer. Here are some good ones, taken after a trip to the local hops emporeum:

[ctbjr1309]

Gaaack, I can't take it any more! PBR and the others mentioned above are bilge water compared to real beer. Here are some good ones, taken after a trip to the local hops emporeum:

 

What? No Dogfish?

[Zimmy]

Warning Warning !!

 

First babies, then teens, then Mr.Attitude (and his t-shirt) now:

 

Foot fetishists onboard !!

 

But extremely nice foot fetishists....dinner tomorrow night ?

 

Delighted to.

[vandrefalk]

I'm so glad you have Hayden on board! He is delightful! We met him just as he and his lovely fiancée (Michelle?) came to SD. Even though he was brand spanking new, he learned very quickly and seems to have real people skills.

 

Glad you are all enjoying (most) of the pax and the cruise -- who are the bartenders, etc?

 

Wish we were there -- the southern Caribbean is just lovely!

Vandrefalk

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

What? No Dogfish?

 

Dogfish Head was an early innovator in craft beer, but their offerings have been left behind by many other brewers. And we all know the West coast does everything better :D

[Jim Avery]

Dogfish Head was an early innovator in craft beer, but their offerings have been left behind by many other brewers. And we all know the West coast does everything better :D

 

Like Moose Drool Brown Ale.:eek::D