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

[Bimmer09]

Subway cars get taken out of service for repair or maintenance and brought here at 207th street, 155 blocks from our hotel.

 

 



 

 



 

 

One of my favorite warm water activities



 

 

The C stands for Columbia University (but it ain't way up here)

[Bimmer09]

Both Bob Dylan and Boston said "Don't look Back" but I can't resist..

 

 

Way up ahead is a swing bridge and we will soon be on the West side of Manhattan



 

I got us our free drinks a while back and am enjoying a Heineken in the sun, on a lovely wooden antique boat with the beauty of the North end of Manhattan as my view. Low energy excursion and am so glad Carol found it and got us tickets for $46 instead of the regular $78.

Score!

 



 

 

The Cloisters in Washington Heights. Another gift from John D Rockefeller Jr.



 

 



 

Billionaires who shared their wealth and benefitted the common man- I don't begrudge them a dollar of their good fortune and personal industry.

[Bimmer09]

On our right as we sail down the West Side of Manhattan are the lovely hints of Fall color of New Jersey. This is the State that i called home from November 1986 to June 1998. It was my introduction to life in the USA and I came to know the words " freezing cold" intimately having learned only the words " rather chilly" in the U.K. I found myself shopping in Eddie Bauer for the first time.

 

 

Up ahead doth lie the great George Washington Bridge, which I have head the pleasure of driving over a couple of times.

 

 

 

Today has been a day of bridges and there is no bigger fan of those than myself.

 

 



 

 

[daydreamer16]

I know you mentioned the big "C" painted on the stone in upper Manhattan, the football field where Columbia plays is in upper Manhattan in Inwood, last outpost before you cross the bridge into the Bronx.

 

I know you said that you've driven across the GW bridge, it's also a nice bridge to walk across. When I was young back in the 60's and 70's we used to walk across to New Jersey to a great hotdog place and then walk back---it's probably not there anymore!

[Bimmer09]

I can't identify everything I am showing you as there is just no way I can remember everything the tour guide was saying in his lengthy narration. Coupled to that is the problem with using two different cameras which download their photos at different times to my computer and Lightroom which accepts them in the order downloaded and not by time of day taken. One camera only would have solved the problem and one day the arrival of a long range zoom for the new camera will remove the difficulty. That will require a hefty spend and that will have to wait.

I will try to get the sequence of pictures as correct as I can in short, but no promises!

 

 

 

 

Riverside Church at 120th Street

 

 



 

 



 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

Master Apartments at 210 Riverside drive



 

 



 

 



 

 

[Bimmer09]

The Normandy apartments at 140 Riverside drive and 86th Street

 

Classic Art Deco but with Italian Renaissance towers, which are ornamental as they hide the rooftop water towers

 

Riverside South complex from 1997, 19 buildings in total

 

 



 

I can see the end in sight-those red-topped buildings under construction at extreme right are where we started almost 3 hours ago

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

Ahoy there!

 

 

Living the life!



 

 

The pointy leaning back building at right is our guide's favorite

[Bimmer09]

The Pointy building doesn't appear on the little map they gave us on boarding

 

 

It is called VIA 57 (Google search) and is 35 floors of apartments. Opened 2016. It sits on West 57th. A Danish design that won Best New Building in the Americas award in 2016.





 

 



 

 

Next up-cruise ships

[Bimmer09]

 

We are always amazed when we travel the USA on our driving tours from cities out West, when we hear German voices. When 6 Harley Davidsons pull in to a gas station in New Mexico the odds are they are rented by Germans, driving Route 66. They get out and explore the world beyond their own country, just as Americans and Japanese do. Well they have their own cruise ships and this is one of them.

If you don't like the Princess bow livery of the Princess Sea Witch then you probably hate this art and I'm with you

 

 

 

Another German ship is in port

 

 

Some of you may have sailed on her



 

 

She was launched in 1984 as Royal Princess



 

 

33 years at sea and still working hard!

[Bimmer09]

H & M- a Swedish clothing company in business since 1947

 

USS Intrepid a WWII aircraft carrier with a giant shed on the flight deck. Top speed of 33 knots!

As a Ship nerd and WWII geek I have enjoyed touring her as she is now a Museum.



 

 

There is a submarine berthed on the left side of the pier which is also an exhibit and worth your time.

 

 



 

Here you can see some of the aircraft parked on the Intrepid flight deck

[silkismom]

I really loved the original Royal Princess, wish they had built more that size, we sailed on her 5 times.

[Bimmer09]

I really loved the original Royal Princess, wish they had built more that size, we sailed on her 5 times.

 

She left the Princess fleet in 2005 and became Artemis for P & O who sold her in 2011. 44,000 gross tonnes and 1200 pax. Sold to Phoenix-Reisen of Germany who updated her with brand new engines.

Norris

[Deck Chair Queen]

Norris will tell you that whenever we take a guided tour (at least in this country) I am always annoyed and frustrated by the guide's lack of knowledge or even worse incorrect information about architecture. I hate the typical focus instead on celebrities and real estate prices. This cruise was the antidote to all this and that's what drew me to it, besides the small size and age of the boat. The tour was narrated brilliantly by an architect from the AIA. He was knowledgeable, passionate, drily witty, and had encyclopedic information about virtually every building that crossed our sight, complete with all the perfectly timed "now on your right" directions. His mastery of the architectural descriptive vocabulary helped him to single out one building for us among many with a few well chosen words. I used to know Manhattan so well and I do visit regularly on business but we've been traveling there less of late for pleasure and there are so many new buildings and even neighborhoods I don't know. I grew up, like, Norris, in a very small town but always read (somewhat pretentiously) The New York Times and the New Yorker, mainly to prove that I wasn't really a Floridian (I was born in Long Island but we moved to Florida when I was 6). All my life I longed to visit and later to live in NY. It was not to be, and I'm glad I ended up in Chicago instead. But I agree with Norris that NYC is unmatched for culture, excitement, and energy. I used to spend a week or so there on my own every year for opera and theater, sometimes both in the same day plus a museum and maybe a foreign film. (On one such trip I happened to sit beside a handsome and charming young man from Northern Ireland at the Metropolitan Opera, who made me laugh and still does 23 years later.) Cruising from New York was our best US port of embarkation ever. I hope we can find more cruises in the future that depart from there. Deck Chair Queen AKA Carol.

[seamwoman]

We are booked on next year's Quebec to Fort Lauderdale cruise so have loved this LIVE thread. Who is the tour guide you like so much? Where did you grow up in Florida? Karen

[Bimmer09]

I hope someone has been keeping track of the construction cranes as we cruised along as I have lost count. It had been 17 years since our last cruise around Manhattan and we can't leave it that long again. The skyline is changing by the day/week/month/year.

 

 

 

 

I have no idea what this is or is going to be-time will tell.



 

 

This I know



 

 



 

and we return to dock in Chelsea Piers. If you have a day to spare after a cruise then this is a great way to relax for 3 hours. There's a app Carol uses to get cut price tickets-called Goldstar and its an app worth checking for any event you're interested in. We got $78 tickets for $46 each. We tipped the crew. The architecture guide on board really helped Carol appreciate what she was seeing. I was too busy to remember it all. Low-energy (on our part) excursion!

 

 

Thank you Classic Harbor Line!

[daydreamer16]

Norris will tell you that whenever we take a guided tour (at least in this country) I am always annoyed and frustrated by the guide's lack of knowledge or even worse incorrect information about architecture. I hate the typical focus instead on celebrities and real estate prices. This cruise was the antidote to all this and that's what drew me to it, besides the small size and age of the boat. The tour was narrated brilliantly by an architect from the AIA. He was knowledgeable, passionate, drily witty, and had encyclopedic information about virtually every building that crossed our sight, complete with all the perfectly timed "now on your right" directions. His mastery of the architectural descriptive vocabulary helped him to single out one building for us among many with a few well chosen words. I used to know Manhattan so well and I do visit regularly on business but we've been traveling there less of late for pleasure and there are so many new buildings and even neighborhoods I don't know. I grew up, like, Norris, in a very small town but always read (somewhat pretentiously) The New York Times and the New Yorker, mainly to prove that I wasn't really a Floridian (I was born in Long Island but we moved to Florida when I was 6). All my life I longed to visit and later to live in NY. It was not to be, and I'm glad I ended up in Chicago instead. But I agree with Norris that NYC is unmatched for culture, excitement, and energy. I used to spend a week or so there on my own every year for opera and theater, sometimes both in the same day plus a museum and maybe a foreign film. (On one such trip I happened to sit beside a handsome and charming young man from Northern Ireland at the Metropolitan Opera, who made me laugh and still does 23 years later.) Cruising from New York was our best US port of embarkation ever. I hope we can find more cruises in the future that depart from there. Deck Chair Queen AKA Carol.

 

 

 

Thanks for all of this info---will look into this tour in the Spring---Thanks, Denise

[perfect match]

As I was reading through your description of your architecture tour, I realized that through all the time I've spent in NYC I've never done anything even remotely resembling your tour. While I have no plans to head back north anytime in the forseeable future, I'm sure we will head back in that direction at some point. When we do, I think this tour is something I'd really like to do! :D

[Bimmer09]

THE HIGH LINE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line





Basically a disused railway viaduct stretching from Gansevoort st (just south of 12th street) to 33rd street. 1.45 miles of narrow green space above the busy streets set aside for pedestrians. 5 million visitors in 2014! It's been open since 2009 and we are just getting to visit it today, October 22 2017. Some of the entrances have elevators so it can be accessed and enjoyed by those in wheelchairs. As we were close by at 23rd street following our cruise it was now or never! Luckily the 23rd street entrance has an elevator.



We were greeted by this imaginative but grotesque pavement statue



 

 

Modern architecture-straight verticals are a thing of the past it seems



 

 



 

 

All along the paved walkway are plantings of flowers and trees



 

 



 

More...

[Bimmer09]

We are booked on next year's Quebec to Fort Lauderdale cruise so have loved this LIVE thread. Who is the tour guide you like so much? Where did you grow up in Florida? Karen

 

Hi and welcome!

Our guide was Kyle Johnson AIA, who formerly worked for I.M. Pei.

Carol grew up on Anna Maria Island, near Sarasota.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

 

 

Among the greenery-evidence of the High Line's previous use



 

 

Modern apartments come right up to the High Line and there is a lot of building going on. Property values have increased. It's an added amenity for those who live here.



 

 

There are a number of benches to sit down and enjoy the scenery and people-watch



 

 

We will get down to street level at the 30th Street elevators



 

The High Line is something we will revisit. Although there were a lot of people up there enjoying the relative peace and calm it was a pleasant stroll above the traffic. There were young families with their kids, people old and young from all over the world, keeping their voices down and behaving themselves. No hawkers or beggars, just people enjoying the unique space.

 

Taxi! And soon we are back at the Omni for a nap before our last dinner in New York

[Bimmer09]

While we are taking that nap in the Omni here is a clip from the boat tour

YPMnUacMAmU

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Cruising from New York was our best US port of embarkation ever. I hope we can find more cruises in the future that depart from there. Deck Chair Queen AKA Carol.

 

Agreed! I like departing from anywhere-but starting and ending in New York City was indeed special. I love Port Everglades for the beach and the send off with the air horns and cowbells but you are very quickly out of the harbor and at sea and there are no historic monuments or bridges to ogle.

Maybe one day a cruise to Montreal or Iceland or even a QM2 sailing to Southampton...

Norris, sailing out of P.E in 26 days

[Bimmer09]

As I was reading through your description of your architecture tour, I realized that through all the time I've spent in NYC I've never done anything even remotely resembling your tour. While I have no plans to head back north anytime in the forseeable future, I'm sure we will head back in that direction at some point. When we do, I think this tour is something I'd really like to do! :D

 

Nancy, if I have got you interested in the idea then my work is done. It was nice to get out on the water on a lovely day and away from the crowds and traffic in the streets. I can't wait to visit New York again as it never disappoints.

Almost at the end now-just a dinner and an early morning photo walk to go.

Hope to see you in 5 weeks when I begin my Crown review of the ABC islands.

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Sunday night in New York and with no opera playing we made dinner at an old favorite our last "event". We have been eating there since 1994, prior to going to the Metropolitan Opera across Broadway. It has a Dim Sum cafe next door but we like the atmosphere better in the main restaurant.

 

 

(iPhone 5 crappy photo)

 

We always have a reservation (advised in the evening) and always request a booth. Even without the Met Opera playing it was busy.

(iPhone pic)

There was a table of 14 against the far wall who had seated their 5 kids at the far end of the table where they amused themselves by being loud but luckily they were on their dessert course and left after 15 minutes. The sound level dropped, mercifully.



Now we could enjoy a meal and the familiar offerings as the menu hasn't changed much in all this time, except for the pricing which has risen about 40% over the years but that is expected. The food quality is still the same. It is the only Chinese restaurant we eat in.



We always start with the spicy hot and sour soup with crispy wantons to drop in



 

 

This always helps!