Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[akcruz]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Wow.  That looks delicious.  Definitely not MDR food.

 

No it was not.  They were not serving thousands but they were still students and did a great job.

 

34 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

 

Wow that looks amazing and for that price, wow that is a lot of food.

 

 

 

Yes, a small charge to help out with the training of the students and pay for the food itself.  You never know what you are going to get.  A friend told me about it recently and had to check it out.  Booked over a month ago, reservation sell out quickly.  On their list now so get notified when the next session is available.

 

16 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

@akcruz  We ate at a Culinary Institute years ago in upstate New York in their French restaurant.  It was my first time eating escargot.  Yum!  

 

I am sure they wouldn't put horrible students in the kitchen but it is amazing what they can do.  Looking forward to the next session, we will definitely go back.

[Luckynana]

16 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I could end up with two bleeding arms instead of one?

I sure hope not!!!!

[Momof3gurlz]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Some lighthouses for OB @Ocean Boy

 

 

 

And some pics from the beautiful port of ....Porto Venere

 

 

 

Lerici --

 

 

Did you take the ferry to Porto Venere from La Spezia?  If so, how long was the ride? We have an excursion booked from La Spezia to Pisa but it’s only a half day, so depending on the amount of time needed we might do this also.  

[jmh2006]

43 minutes ago, akcruz said:

 

No it was not.  They were not serving thousands but they were still students and did a great job.

 

 

Yes, a small charge to help out with the training of the students and pay for the food itself.  You never know what you are going to get.  A friend told me about it recently and had to check it out.  Booked over a month ago, reservation sell out quickly.  On their list now so get notified when the next session is available.

 

 

I am sure they wouldn't put horrible students in the kitchen but it is amazing what they can do.  Looking forward to the next session, we will definitely go back.

Is this in Myrtle April?

[dani negreanu]

1 minute ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Did you take the ferry to Porto Venere from La Spezia?  If so, how long was the ride?

 

We had a complimentary shore excursion via Ken ( @Ourusualbeach). They took us first via bus to Lerici, and then, via ferry, to Porto Venere. From PV, back to La Spezia again by ferry.

 

I'd advise against trying to do both -- La Spezia is an industrial port, meaning, a free shuttle takes you to the exit. That may take time, they like to "fill" the shuttle to the bream.

 

Moreover, the ferry from Porto Venere to La Spezia is not frequent, and the ferry port is between 20-30 minutes walk to the LS port (and then the shuttle). The ferry ride itself is very nice, about 15 minutes.

 

Too many unknowns for my comfort zone, if your all aboard is 5PM.

 

The tour Ken got us in was advertised as ending at 4PM, but the guide said that it will end at 4.45PM !!

 

I went and told the "in charge" that we don't feel comfortable with the timeline [and that was before finding out that the ferry station is so far away from the port, for sure we would have missed the ship !!!]. She told me: "they [the guides] are doing it all the time". I said: "sorry, when the 'all aboard' is 5PM, we aim to be back at 4PM".

 

Luckily, the "in charge" listened to us, and announced that the guide changed the ferry back from PV to LS to the one at 3.15PM, allegedly putting us back on ship by 3.45PM. "Italian time".

 

The security check is before boarding the shuttle back to ship, something to take into account when calculating times.

 

Pls. let me know if I've explained myself clearly.

[Momof3gurlz]

11 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

We had a complimentary shore excursion via Ken ( @Ourusualbeach). They took us first via bus to Lerici, and then, via ferry, to Porto Venere. From PV, back to La Spezia again by ferry.

 

I'd advise against trying to do both -- La Spezia is an industrial port, meaning, a free shuttle takes you to the exit. That may take time, they like to "fill" the shuttle to the bream.

 

Moreover, the ferry from Porto Venere to La Spezia is not frequent, and the ferry port is between 20-30 minutes walk to the LS port (and then the shuttle). The ferry ride itself is very nice, about 15 minutes.

 

Too many unknowns for my comfort zone, if your all aboard is 5PM.

 

The tour Ken got us in was advertised as ending at 4PM, but the guide said that it will end at 4.45PM !!

 

I went and told the "in charge" that we don't feel comfortable with the timeline [and that was before finding out that the ferry station is so far away from the port, for sure we would have missed the ship !!!]. She told me: "they [the guides] are doing it all the time". I said: "sorry, when the 'all aboard' is 5PM, we aim to be back at 4PM".

 

Luckily, the "in charge" listened to us, and announced that the guide changed the ferry back from PV to LS to the one at 3.15PM, allegedly putting us back on ship by 3.45PM. "Italian time".

 

The security check is before boarding the shuttle back to ship, something to take into account when calculating times.

 

Pls. let me know if I've explained myself clearly.

Perfectly clear Dani!  Be on the lookout, I’m going to email you with a few more questions.  

[ReneeFLL]

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

This arrived from Amazon today. The beast is going to go the the vet's whether she wants to or not.

 

 

Hope it works out. We ordered the same one before we left and it was supposed to come in several days before we left since we wanted to see if we liked it. Unfortunately, it came in after we left. Really hope we like it since it's to late to return it.

[Ocean Boy]

Well, at least she is curious...

 

 

[akcruz]

1 hour ago, jmh2006 said:

Is this in Myrtle April?

 

Yes by Market Commons, a little south of the airport.

 

https://www.hgtc.edu/academics/academic-departments/culinary-institute/index.html

 

Just looked and they opened up more reservations, at $30 pp, need to get another reservation.  

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by akcruz

[Momof3gurlz]

11 minutes ago, akcruz said:

 

Yes by Market Commons, a little south of the airport.

 

https://www.hgtc.edu/academics/academic-departments/culinary-institute/index.html

 

Just looked and they opened up more reservations, at $30 pp, need to get another reservation.  

 

 

We loved that Market Commons area when we visited about 10 years ago.  At the time, they rented out the condo units which is where we stayed. 

[lenquixote66]

Where are HBE and DaveKathy.They have not posted in quite some time.

[jmh2006]

40 minutes ago, akcruz said:

 

Yes by Market Commons, a little south of the airport.

 

https://www.hgtc.edu/academics/academic-departments/culinary-institute/index.html

 

Just looked and they opened up more reservations, at $30 pp, need to get another reservation.  

 

 

Oh good to know!  Thanks April.

[George C]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Well, at least she is curious...

 

 

You may fool her once but after trip to vet she will not be that eager to get in it again.

[Etta1213]

6 hours ago, Coralc said:

Bobby really likes his box. I think just because it is quiet and dark. He is not really happy when we lock the door and take him anywhere, though. 

How precious!🤗

[Ocean Boy]

8 minutes ago, George C said:

You may fool her once but after trip to vet she will not be that eager to get in it again.

Hopefully, I will then have a year to figure out my next trick.

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, Etta1213 said:

How precious!🤗

Thank you Etta. He is kind of an ill-mannered cat. His previous name, given by my mom, was Bad Boy. And he used to be on Paxil, when she had him. Poor Bobby. He is not doing very well. Frequent flyer to the vet. 

 

But I appreciate your lovely sentiment. ☺️Thank you. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Coralc

[taznremmy]

8 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Poor Bobby. He is not doing very well. Frequent flyer to the vet. 

Patti, I’m so sorry about Bobbie.  Been there, done that and it is so hard.  Chin scratches to Bobbie and hugs to you.

[Sea Dog]

16 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Thank you Etta. He is kind of an ill-mannered cat. His previous name, given by my mom, was Bad Boy. And he used to be on Paxil, when she had him. Poor Bobby. He is not doing very well. Frequent flyer to the vet. 

 

But I appreciate your lovely sentiment. ☺️Thank you. 

 

So sorry to hear this Patti. I am hoping for the best for Bobby.

[aussielozzie18]

Plenty of sunshine on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland today ☀️

 

 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Well, at least she is curious...

 

 

 

She is curious.  Maybe a treat in there might convince her it is "the place" to go into.

[Ocean Boy]

9 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

She is curious.  Maybe a treat in there might convince her it is "the place" to go into.

I put her toys in and when I went back into the room everyone of the toys were out of the carrier. I foresee another battle of the wills starting up.😐

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Enjoying our last day at sea until we reach Cape Liberty.  It is still a foggy morning and have to catch the sun when it appears for a few seconds before being covered by the fog.  

 

 

[h20skibum]

We have been adjusting to the quiet in our house, since our grandson went back to California and back to school.   One of the things he got for his birthday is a new iPhone.  It is nice, because he will call us or FaceTime us a couple times a week after he gets home from school.

 

I finished up a photo book of our summer, and he should get it this week.   Keeping our Summer of Fun theme, this is the cover of the book.

 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

18 hours ago, akcruz said:

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

Dinning room, we ate at the counter overlooking the kitchen, neat to see them do their thing. 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

Everything looks delicious.

This reminds me to look online and see if a local culinary school that my parents would occasionally eat at, and loved it, are still doing this.

Great training for all sides of the business.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Enjoying our last day at sea until we reach Cape Liberty.  It is still a foggy morning and have to catch the sun when it appears for a few seconds before being covered by the fog.  

 

 

Beautiful morning. Enjoy your day Helen.