Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[bluemarble]

37 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

So she’s having a little trial now?

 

Looks like that's where she's headed now. Yesterday when I posted that detail about QE, she was alongside a pier just outside the drydock. Since then she stopped over at the Singapore cruise terminal for about 12 hours. Now she's headed out to sea, presumably for some trails before heading back to the terminal to pick up passengers tomorrow.

[D&N]

We decided to miss the gym this morning and walk to Antibes and back after breakfast (about 11 miles). And I tried out the latest lens acquisition; a 50mm f1.8. Although it's the smallest and lightest of it's type, it's still the biggest I've bought other than a long zoom. Gives some very sharp portraits with a blurry background, but here it's set at f8 to get a bit of detail in the background.

I was also checking an ftp backup to my phone, which in turn does an automatic cloud backup. That revealed that the IP address changes when I switch from home wifi to 4G/5G data. So I need to adjust that when it goes with us to a wedding in a few weeks.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by D&N

[Host Hattie]

I hope everyone is enjoying Good Friday (if that's appropriate!). I'm at work but it's a lovely sunny day so I'm hoping to get home in time for the first Pimms in the garden of the season!

[Kynance]

Happy Easter / spring weekend to everyone. The photo below is sort of seasonal - some rather muddy sheep, their lambs and a donkey (ok, that one’s more for the festive season!). The photo was taken on a walk along part of the Kennet & Avon canal yesterday. 
 

I’ve just opened a very nice box of chocolates courtesy of Mr Kynance. He’s got a box of marzipan eggs and rabbits. I’m not a fan of marzipan (unless it’s on Christmas cake), so he won’t have to worry about me helping myself to them. 
 

It has been a sunny weekend so far, so today is a gardening day, mowing the lawn for the first time this year and erecting some new grow houses. 
 

On the Cunard front, getting quite excited now for our return to sea in June - the first time since October 2019. I’m also looking forward to visiting Wimbledon in July - I’ve been really lucky to secure a pair of tickets for the Ladies Singles Final. Before all that, we have the Coronation long weekend and a trip to Cornwall - much to look forward to and be thankful for. 
 

 

 

 

[bluemarble]

Here's what the Easter Bunny brought me this year. This is from our favorite local candy store. Any Hotel Chocolat egg sightings this year?

 

[Bigmike911]

Four days of much needed rain, some time heavy, some time with lightning and thunder, which I have enjoyed since I was a child, have turned into partly cloudy and, today, on Easter Sunday, glorious sun.

 

The Spring has accelerated, and we now have an amazing set of different colors of green. Quite wonderful. This spring has really given me hope for goodness and light after a long time of darkness and uncertainty, and I like it. 

 

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. 

[techteach]

Happy Easter to all who celebrate. It is grey and misting this morning, but that is what it is like on Easter in Seattle. We’re off to the early service and then home for crepes. Sadly the grandsons are not with us today, but their baskets are ready for them tomorrow.

[ronpes]

We are in London just now over Easter and enjoying the lovely weather. 

We had a very pleasant afternoon today in the local pub beer garden having a refreshment or two in the sun, and putting the world to rights , ……as you do. 

[Host Hattie]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Any Hotel Chocolat egg sightings this year?

There's one here but it's no longer camera ready !!

 

[D&N]

Some lamb was spotted here as well. The shoulder of one to be precise. After a few hours it looked a bit different. Washed down by some Château du Glana Saint-Julien, again the hypermarket's label from that Château's production. And very nice it was too.

We don't celebrate the religious festival, after all France is fiercely secular, but are more than happy to celebrate Lamb weekend!

Last night was a visit to the local Moroccan restaurant where we had various meats including lamb and the usual Moroccan rosé wine, which tastes remarkably like Côtes de Provence.

On live animals; the local Facebook page notes the usual 4 donkeys have been deployed again. They need to be careful that they are placed somewhere that they can find shelter from the sun, but they spend some time eating the growth in some of the less formal council owned green spaces and are moved on to another when it's thought that they have achieved their objective.

Carmel had a fairly normal weekend. Some fat from finely sliced ham and a small quantity of 10 month matured Comté cheese.

Edited April 9, 2023 by D&N
forgot to include Nora with the rosé

[Kynance]

No Hotel Chocolat eggs this year, though I do have a box on the go of their “Serious Dark Fix”. I bought this myself in case the Easter Bunny didn’t call… Unfortunately, like Hattie’s egg, it is no longer in a fit state to be photographed! 
 

One grow house was erected this afternoon and two old ones taken apart. We also have a new water butt set up, making four in total - in anticipation of tomorrow’s rain. Unfortunately all this meant we didn’t mow the lawn, so that remains a job for another day. 

 

 

 

 

[Camgirl]

Mine is from Betty's in Yorkshire, this year 🙂

 

Happy Easter everyone.

[D&N]

Nice day for a white wedding.

Sunshine over Lock 11, Falkirk.

[D&N]

Nice to have an opportunity to dress properly.

At a niece's wedding near Falkirk.

[techteach]

54 minutes ago, D&N said:

Nice to have an opportunity to dress properly.

At a niece's wedding near Falkirk.

Such a handsome couple!

[techteach]

Alaska cruise season has arrived in Seattle. The monstrous Norwegian Bliss. (photo taken from Pike Street Market Parking Garage.)

[naturelovergirl]

3 hours ago, techteach said:

Alaska cruise season has arrived in Seattle. The monstrous Norwegian Bliss. (photo taken from Pike Street Market Parking Garage.)

The Alaska cruise season begins, indeed!

 

That means it feels a little closer for all of us who will be sailing to Alaska on Cunard this year!!!

[ronpes]

Today it is a beautiful sunny day here in Scotland, which is a pleasant change, although the temperature last night dipped down to 1 Deg C. 

 

I sure like many of you, I have been following the Safarigal cruise blog as she sails on the QM2 at the moment. It makes very entertaining reading and has made us look all the more forward to our Transatlantic in July. 

Edited April 19, 2023 by ronpes

[Host Hattie]

I spent this afternoon driving through Wales for a meeting in Shropshire tomorrow. Lots of lambs in gangs and a glimpse of a red kite made the miles bearable !

[Lanky Lad]

Lots of lambs around here as well so it must be spring. Can someone please tell the weather. 

[techteach]

Gotta share my day — Our house is going to be painted this spring. Our painter arrived today, a week earlier than planned, to power wash it. I have deleted everything I wrote after this…deck isn’t cleared, and won’t be until tomorrow noon, water is coming in through windows that open and under the front door. Plus, I have a head cold and running up and down 3 flights of stairs is making me grumpy. SO glad we have the fake review to make me laugh. I hope you are having a better day than I.

[NE John]

18 minutes ago, techteach said:

Gotta share my day — Our house is going to be painted this spring. Our painter arrived today, a week earlier than planned, to power wash it. I have deleted everything I wrote after this…deck isn’t cleared, and won’t be until tomorrow noon, water is coming in through windows that open and under the front door. Plus, I have a head cold and running up and down 3 flights of stairs is making me grumpy. SO glad we have the fake review to make me laugh. I hope you are having a better day than I.

I hope your upcoming QM2 trip makes you forget this bad day. 

[D&N]

Got my first chance of the season to photograph a cruise ship passing our window heading to Villefranche from Barcelona. Nieuw Statendam sailed by just before 10 am. The light wasn't best with a thin layer of cloud veiling the sun.

I've cropped the original and applied some colour effects to bring out more detail on the superstructure.

When QM2 visits in August she should arrive a bit earlier and hopefully air will be clearer. I'll also take a walk down to one of the sea front breakwaters, which will give me a full view of the whole bay without trees and let me get shots from about a mile closer

[Lanky Lad]

I've been looking at parking for September and the price for CPS has shot up. I think I might need to find an alternative. Does anyone have any experience with other parking providers? 

[Camgirl]

3 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

I've been looking at parking for September and the price for CPS has shot up. I think I might need to find an alternative. Does anyone have any experience with other parking providers? 

Sadly, yes! We couldn't book with CPS last August as they were full, and ended up with Parking for Cruises. Not only were they expensive, they meet you in the short stay car park. The distance to this varies between terminals. On our return, we had to collect our car from the short stay car park too. However, they parked our car there before the ship had even arrived, and we were near the end, disembarking. We were given a parking ticket!!! 

 

From then on, Parking for Cruises wouldn't answer the phone or email. My husband even walked to another terminal when we returned from another cruise, to try to sort it out. All to no avail. 

 

We tried to appeal the charge on the grounds that we didn't park the car. We lost! We threatened to take p 4 c to the small claims court, but decided it was not worth the hassle in the end, and paid the charge (£60 at that point). 

 

It is CPS, booked very early, for us all the way now. It is worth it to us!

 

Though we do have a short Celebrity cruise booked, which CPS don't cover. We are going with ABP, which is self parked, for that one only.