Azamara Cruisers - How are things where YOU are

[nordski]

7 hours ago, the mice said:

Betsey, glad you are OK and spared the flooding where you are.  Sorry to hear about your son-in-law's farm.   

Are you going to get more rain this weekend?  That's what's forecasted here in NY.  

We are fortunate that we are on high ground above the Hudson River and other than some plantings, mostly ferns, battered by the torrential rains, we didn't have any issues.

However, north of us, lots of areas were not so fortunate.  West Point is across the river and about 20 miles north.  Cars were up to the roofs in water, and some roads totally washed away, caved in, etc.  A real mess for sure.  The county north of us had major flooding, too.  

Thanks for providing more information. Good that your area was largely spared.

[Mackdogmolly]

On 7/14/2023 at 12:37 AM, the mice said:

Betsey, glad you are OK and spared the flooding where you are.  Sorry to hear about your son-in-law's farm.   

Are you going to get more rain this weekend?  That's what's forecasted here in NY.  

We are fortunate that we are on high ground above the Hudson River and other than some plantings, mostly ferns, battered by the torrential rains, we didn't have any issues.

However, north of us, lots of areas were not so fortunate.  West Point is across the river and about 20 miles north.  Cars were up to the roofs in water, and some roads totally washed away, caved in, etc.  A real mess for sure.  The county north of us had major flooding, too.  

We are supposed to get more rain tomorrow and maybe next week. Glad to hear that you are okay. It’s going to take a long time to recover from this mess.

[Tom47]

We were on 2 Azamara cruises with Russ Grieve as Cruise Director.  We were impressed that he remembered us on the 2nd  cruise 1 year later .  He went to Crystal shortly before it declared

 bankruptcy.  But he is back with the new Crystal.  See  

we are happy for Russ.  He is a great guy.

[silkismom]

We also sailed with him several times on Azamara.

[Mackdogmolly]

Had a wonderful Labor Day weekend with stunning weather in and around New Haven, Connecticut, including great pizza with friends (and a mutual friend of @uktog’s), some beach time, and a tour of the Thimble Islands on the Sea Mist in Long Island Sound!

[Mackdogmolly]

My Town!!
 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/07/travel/things-to-do-burlington-vermont.html?unlocked_article_code=1&fbclid=IwAR0Pj8ObFiaJvLL_4hI4UFt3TU3mEbZ0KoDR8DghNQZjEAFfrJx4bX5nJhE_aem_AbjmFEEOha-oPWgNdCoFIzqrhcvPzkrwyAUsqBLVua9tZDOZ2qHs1SJYk4Ws3CYNf1w

[nordski]

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

My Town!!
 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/07/travel/things-to-do-burlington-vermont.html?unlocked_article_code=1&fbclid=IwAR0Pj8ObFiaJvLL_4hI4UFt3TU3mEbZ0KoDR8DghNQZjEAFfrJx4bX5nJhE_aem_AbjmFEEOha-oPWgNdCoFIzqrhcvPzkrwyAUsqBLVua9tZDOZ2qHs1SJYk4Ws3CYNf1w

A great write-up, but they should have focussed on the wonderful residents.

[Grandma Cruising]

Misty autumn day for our walk today. The Humber Bridge just seemed to melt away as we walked underneath it

 

Once the sun pierced through the cloud it became a glorious morning.

[nordski]

20 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Misty autumn day for our walk today. The Humber Bridge just seemed to melt away as we walked underneath it

 

Once the sun pierced through the cloud it became a glorious morning.

 

Impressive! And your words helped me envisage the changes in the appearance of the bridge. Thanks!

[DS]

     After discussions of electrical problems on a couple of ships, speed limitations, docking issues, and water restrictions, smoky air, I thought a lighter post might be appropriate… so,    

A PORT EXPERIMENT

              At first one may wonder why this is posted on “Anyone Currently Onboard.”   Well, I am currently onboard, and the events to be discussed began in our port of departure, Lisbon, and continued onboard for almost two weeks.  To be clear, this is not a discussion of ports like the Azores or Miami or Barbados or Rio.   No, it is a discussion of port wine.  And it includes aspects discussed on these boards about bringing wine onboard, and where best to get it before you board (without having to haul it from home on an airplane…) So, some specifics…

              We boarded the Quest in Lisbon on the way to Barbados and hence (B2B) to Buenos Aires by way of the Amazon River.  Our hotel in Lisbon was about ¼ mile from the pier.   Between the hotel and the pier was a store that offered port wine tastings and sales.   Since the answer to “Can I bring wines onboard” is a clear YES, this store offers an easy option if the wine you are interested in is port and you are in Lisbon!

              Knowing that I enjoyed an occasional glass of port, and knowing that port was not included in the beverage package we had, DW suggested, kindly, that we check out this store and perhaps take a bottle onboard to enjoy in the evenings, perhaps at the show.  In the store we found a very nice two-pack of ½ bottles, one a 10-year tawny and the other a 20-year tawny.  An ideal set-up for an experiment, as I have never had 20-year tawny before:   would it be twice as good as the 10-year?  would I like it better? did my tastes just get more expensive?

              To eliminate any incorrect impressions, I am NOT a port expert.   As noted, I enjoy an occasional glass, usually on a cruise or in a restaurant.  Port is seldom in our home wine cellar:  when we lived up north, a bottle on a cold winter night, in front of a roaring fire, was great; now that we are retired to Florida, not so much…

              I did recognize that my experiment could not be conducted with just any old glassware:   one cannot use dixie cups or jelly glasses for such an important undertaking. With the help of our room steward, we were able to obtain two Riedel port glasses to be used in the experiment, an excellent way to remove many variables from the tests and insure a consistent presentation of the innate qualities of each test subject.

              So, how did we do this experiment and what were the results? 

The experiment was to be conducted over six (not necessarily consecutive) days.  Day 1 we opened the 10-year bottle and put a “generous pour” in the glass.  The generous pour was probably about twice what you would get in a commercial establishment, but I wanted a sufficient amount to conduct the experiment without skimping.  I also figured that I could get 3 such “generous pours” from each half bottle, which fit the parameters of the test protocol. The bottle was re-corked and the same procedure carried out the next day, day 2.   This meant I got to taste it just after removing the cork and again after about 24 hours of oxidation.  The bottle was then recorked and placed in the refrigerator to suppress any further oxidation.

      This same process was repeated with the 20-year bottle on experiment day’s 3 and 4. (There were a couple of “off days” between day 2 and day 3 caused by other onboard activities.)

       Days 5 and 6 changed the protocol: in this case, the test was a head-to-head experiment between the 10-year and the 20-year.  On these days I removed the port from the refrigerator when we went to dinner to allow it to gradually warm.  After dinner and before the evening’s entertainment I returned to the cabin to prepare the night’s libations.    I poured a normal size pour of each into a (separate, of course!) glass and conducted the tasting.   On day 6 this process was repeated.  But, I was surprised that there was sufficient port left in the bottles so that we could have a  Day 7 of any even complete experiment!

     So, what were the results?  Remembering my disclaimers above, you will not hear things about “black fruit” or “hints of cassis,” or (my all-time favorite wine descriptor…) “wet horse blanket.”  Who even knows what a wet horse blanket tastes like!?!  I’ll stick to the facts of what they looked like to me and how I liked the taste.

      First the 10-year, which I have had before (not necessarily this brand).  It looked and tasted like I remembered it.  Quite dark in appearance, and a very smooth taste, no hints of sharpness or astringency. It was very consistent between the first and second nights, and virtually the same on the nights 5 and 6 taste-offs (which ended about 10 days after first being opened).

      The 20-year, to my surprise, was noticeably lighted in color—even DW remarked on that.  The taste was a bit sharper, with a bit of astringency, especially on the sides of my tongue.   I thought that maybe it needed more time open, but noted the same things on the second night (experiment “day 4”).

     In the head-to-head part of the experiment, which started several days after the individual trials ended, I was surprised that the observations of differences in color and clarity remained, and the 20-year remained astringent.  At the end of Day 6 I had made my choice:  I enjoyed the 10-year more.   It was smoother to me and the wine had a ricker, darker look.

      And then Day 7 (or, should I actually say, Event 7, since by now the first bottle had been opened for about 2 weeks) happened!  By this point I could detect the beginning of deterioration in the 10-year:  it was just beginning to get that taste of a bottle left unfinished for too long.  And to my surprise, the 20-year sample was no longer as bitey; indeed, by the end of the glass it was actually quite smooth!

     So, my conclusions?  Well, while Event 7 was a bit of a shocker, I really do not want to wait 10 of more days after opening the bottle to enjoy the first glass.  Therefore, I will stick to my previous conclusion that I enjoyed the sight and taste of the 10-year more.  The port experts may have an explanation for my observations; I do not.  And since I’m sure the 10-year is not more expensive than the 20-year, my wallet is also happy!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

[moved to How are things where YOU are thread aka Water Cooler]

 

I had the same experience in Madeira at Blandy’s Wine Lodge.  The tour was sold out, so I went straight to the tasting room and bought two generous pourings of a 10-year old semi-sweet Madeira wine and a 15-year old.  I preferred the 10 as it was sweeter and fruitier [the extra time aging had, well, aged the older wine…]

 

I later had Blandy's Duke of Clarence Madeira, which is sweeter and cheaper – and liked it even better (for both reasons).  Unfortunately I can't find that in the US.  Will search in Barbados on my next trip there (Wine World in Bridgetown has a good selection of spirits favored by Brits).

[FengShui@Sea]

Wonderful post, thank you.  I absolutely love port wines. To such a degree that my 'experiment' would have lasted no more than four days, followed by the resulting hangover.  😏

 

FYI, red wines get lighter in color with age and white wines get darker. 'Wet horse blanket', and my favorite 'pup tent', refer to the smell.  Although, still not appealing. 😅

 

We board the Quest in Buenos Aires on the 10th, bound for Antarctica (hopefully). 

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by FengShui@Sea

[Mackdogmolly]

https://m.sevendaysvt.com/news/montpelier-central-vermont-bracing-for-a-second-round-of-flooding-39767256
 

It seems that the disasters we get here in Vermont these days involve flooding. SO many roads closed as of this evening and some communities have evacuation orders. Hoping it will abate by tomorrow.

[Tom47]

14 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

https://m.sevendaysvt.com/news/montpelier-central-vermont-bracing-for-a-second-round-of-flooding-39767256
 

It seems that the disasters we get here in Vermont these days involve flooding. SO many roads closed as of this evening and some communities have evacuation orders. Hoping it will abate by tomorrow.

I read the article and hope you stay safe.

[Mackdogmolly]

3 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

I read the article and hope you stay safe.

I’m not in a danger zone, but my hometown is and so much of the state is in danger 😟

[nordski]

47 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I’m not in a danger zone, but my hometown is and so much of the state is in danger 😟

Thanks for alerting us to this. For some reason there is no mention on our news reports.

 

I can’t imagine what it would be like to experience this level of flooding after the summer deluge. It must be worse because of the potentially aborted plans, both personal and communal, to celebrate the holiday season.

 

I hope that the administrative offices of the government, both state and federal, can provide the necessary support.

 

Please keep us informed 

.

 

 

[Tom47]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I’m not in a danger zone, but my hometown is and so much of the state is in danger 😟

My wife and I have visited Vermont several times.  She loves covered bridges and we have seen every one in Vermont.   See    https://www.vermontbridges.org/cb_tours/keatings/keatings_ultimate_cb_tour_2005.shtml  

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

My review and blog of our trip to Portugal, including a 10-night Douro cruise on Scenic, is finally finished and published:

 

 

[Ithikan]

Pease forgive me this sideways image.  But, perhaps it's best to see this 'askew?'

 

Taken today in the Living Room on Journey (after a very satisfying day in Dunedin, N.Z.), where evidently "Country Club Casual" has been redefined for 2024.

 

Yes, it was a post-trivia, relaxed group, but, honestly?  Shoes are always appropriate.

And yes, if unfortunately I see this again I will request that the staff suggest Mr. Fungal Feet wear his shoes rather than carry them.

[Grandma Cruising]

It was a beautiful but chilly day on Wednesday when we went for our walk by the river Humber.

[nordski]

5 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

It was a beautiful but chilly day on Wednesday when we went for our walk by the river Humber.

 

Gorgeous sky!

 

We too are in the midst of a “cold snap”. This a.m, the temp was -14 C with a wind chill of -22 C.

 

But this has been the exception as the winter has been quite warm. Only this week has there been consistent skiing on slopes and trails.

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, nordski said:

 

Gorgeous sky!

 

We too are in the midst of a “cold snap”. This a.m, the temp was -14 C with a wind chill of -22 C.

 

But this has been the exception as the winter has been quite warm. Only this week has there been consistent skiing on slopes and trails.

Chilly for us is -5C!🤭

[Mackdogmolly]

On 1/19/2024 at 8:17 AM, nordski said:

 

Gorgeous sky!

 

We too are in the midst of a “cold snap”. This a.m, the temp was -14 C with a wind chill of -22 C.

 

But this has been the exception as the winter has been quite warm. Only this week has there been consistent skiing on slopes and trails.

We are in a similar cold snap with similar temperatures. Brrr!

[nordski]

24 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We are in a similar cold snap with similar temperatures. Brrr!

Good news for the skiers in Vermont! I see that The Woodstock Center is posting “excellent” conditions for its trails, and hot cocoa to replenish some fluids.

[Mercruiser]

We are having a great time in Valparaiso Chile, before boarding Quest tomorrow. We are staying 2 nights in Valparaiso. We spent the previous 2 nights in Santiago. If the 2, I like Valparaiso better.