We are cruising again, hopefully, 10 July - 14 August

[Tallante]

On 7/10/2022 at 5:26 PM, frantic36 said:

 

Thanks Isklaar and Fletcher. We are onboard and it feels good to be here. We boarded at 2.15 as we stopped to explore Sacro Busco (Monster Park) and have lunch in a small town where we both enjoyed the Pappardelle with wild boar. I'm not sure I can post photos as the internet is glacial at the moment.

 

Check-in and embarkation was very easy and quick, under 10 minutes.We met Nick the Hotel Manager and Hamish is Captain this cruise. It was nice to see them both again. Our room was clean and our luggage arrived quickly. Our stewardess brought us our welcome champagne about half an hour after we arrived in the room. There will be a sail away on deck soon. 

 

Still getting used to using Seabourn Source for information like menus but my husband took to it like a duck to water.

 

Julie

 

Hi Julie.  We met many years ago on the Pride, and we recognized you from the photo you posted in Rome. Remember you helped Chrissie look after Alf when he had heart problems on the Singapore to Singapore cruise?  Well I’ve seen the Sojourn is coming into Cartagena where we live later this month so Unless  you have found anything better to do that day, other than walk around the town centre, do you fancy meeting up for a drink?.  

 

[frantic36]

7 hours ago, Tallante said:

Hi Julie.  We met many years ago on the Pride, and we recognized you from the photo you posted in Rome. Remember you helped Chrissie look after Alf when he had heart problems on the Singapore to Singapore cruise?  Well I’ve seen the Sojourn is coming into Cartagena where we live later this month so Unless  you have found anything better to do that day, other than walk around the town centre, do you fancy meeting up for a drink?.

 

Are you Sue? If so I do remember and we met a wonderful group of people on that cruise. We have only planned to visit the military museum there and Roman theatre which we will do in the morning. So we can easily meet for drinks and a catch up, especially since we are there until 11pm.

Contact me on julie z marshall at icloud dot com

 

Julie

[frantic36]

Some snippets from our sailing so far. 

 

We have dined twice in the MDR and enjoyed very good service both times. The first night was very busy but we were in no rush with dining. We in fact found the tempo was fine with a slight wait between courses which we prefer. Water and wine service was no problem either. We spoke to the Sommelier about organising a package and he gave us the Reserve list menu to check out. We ordered our wines on the next night.

 

The second night in MDR was much quieter. We asked to stay in the same section and that wasn't a problem. The main meal was a madras chicken curry and since we had met the charming Indian head chef the night before we were confident it would be authentic and he didn't disappoint. It had a nice spicy bite and we enjoyed it.

 

I am sorry to disappoint but we rarely do bread or dessert so I can't comment on those. They looked nice from what I saw was served to others. 

 

It was Portofino today and the tenders ran frequently. Wait time for the tenders was less than 10 minutes both times we used them. 

 

We took the tender in and then took a ferry to the Abbey at San Fruttuoso which was fascinating. We had lunch at a cafe perched on the hillside, and I do mean perched 😊. Once I get my iPhone and laptop synching again tomorrow I will post a photo. We had pasta with a creamy basil pesto sauce and clams. I had seen the cafe staff having it for lunch just prior to service and made the assumption if they were enjoying it we would as well, I wasn't wrong, it was delicious.

 

Tonight is formal night and we are dining in Thomas Keller. We will still dress up as that is something we enjoy doing. It is the Captain's welcome night speech but we will skip it this time as there will be a few for us this cruise.

 

Julie

[Mr Luxury]

Who wants to mix with the staff anyway Julie.

I'm sure the Captain will be devastated.

Let us know what you have at TK

[galeforce9]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

Some snippets from our sailing so far. 

 

We have dined twice in the MDR and enjoyed very good service both times. The first night was very busy but we were in no rush with dining. We in fact found the tempo was fine with a slight wait between courses which we prefer. Water and wine service was no problem either. We spoke to the Sommelier about organising a package and he gave us the Reserve list menu to check out. We ordered our wines on the next night.

 

The second night in MDR was much quieter. We asked to stay in the same section and that wasn't a problem. The main meal was a madras chicken curry and since we had met the charming Indian head chef the night before we were confident it would be authentic and he didn't disappoint. It had a nice spicy bite and we enjoyed it.

 

I am sorry to disappoint but we rarely do bread or dessert so I can't comment on those. They looked nice from what I saw was served to others. 

 

It was Portofino today and the tenders ran frequently. Wait time for the tenders was less than 10 minutes both times we used them. 

 

We took the tender in and then took a ferry to the Abbey at San Fruttuoso which was fascinating. We had lunch at a cafe perched on the hillside, and I do mean perched 😊. Once I get my iPhone and laptop synching again tomorrow I will post a photo. We had pasta with a creamy basil pesto sauce and clams. I had seen the cafe staff having it for lunch just prior to service and made the assumption if they were enjoying it we would as well, I wasn't wrong, it was delicious.

 

Tonight is formal night and we are dining in Thomas Keller. We will still dress up as that is something we enjoy doing. It is the Captain's welcome night speech but we will skip it this time as there will be a few for us this cruise.

 

Julie

That sounds fantastic 

[frantic36]

14 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Who wants to mix with the staff anyway Julie.

I'm sure the Captain will be devastated.

Let us know what you have at TK

Cheeky devil, I enjoy Captain Hamish's company when we can chat and are just sad his good wife Gail isn't sailing with him. 

 

We had the Caesar Salad to share and the Roast Chicken. The Roast chicken was plump and juicy. It was cooked properly and seasoned correctly for my taste but I must admit it didn't wow me this time as it has in the past. The Caesar Salad was made table side and I enjoyed that. The sides of creamed spinach and glazed carrots were also delicious. Maybe I was just in a vegetarian frame of mind. 🙂

[Mr Luxury]

Sound lovely Julie,

I do like the chicken for two and haven't had a poor one yet.

Is the lobster tail on the menu and the lamb chops with the long bone

[frantic36]

12 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

is the lobster tail on the menu and the lamb chops with the long bone

Yes to both questions.

I am having a mental health day today as the time prior to the cruise for personal reasons and since arrival we have been busy. I just needed time. Room service I ordered from the main dining menu so it arrived at 7.25pm which was a tad earlier than expected. Keith was down at the Club enjoying the caviar we had ordered yesterday with people we had met the first night. Guest Services were very prompt passing on my message that dinner had arrived 🙂. 

 

I didn't order course by course, though you can. I did order wine with our meal and we enjoyed that and our first course on the balcony. Yes, our main course was cooler than some might like but in my mood tonight I was fine with that to just be able to relax together and enjoy our balcony and each other's company. This has been a stressful last few months and sometimes relaxation is the key.

 

Room Service collected our trays within 15 minutes of me calling them so all is good and we continue to enjoy our wine on the balcony as the twilight settles and the sun sets.

 

Julie

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, frantic36 said:

This has been a stressful last few months and sometimes relaxation is the key.

 

That's the beauty of cruising.  You can be transported to a different dimension as well as a destination.  

[Mr Luxury]

Who needs Dr Weil.

A  balcony and a glass of wine or two is best prescribed.

[robertmartha]

Mr Luxury - couldn't agree more...

but will add

morning coffee on the balcony

and that glass of wine or two in the evening 

[Mr Luxury]

55 minutes ago, robertmartha said:

Mr Luxury - couldn't agree more...

but will add

morning coffee on the balcony

and that glass of wine or two in the evening 

A well balanced diet

Just what the doctor ordered 

[marazul]

How was Sete on Bastille Day?  Thought of your adventures while having some bubbly last night. 

Edited July 15, 2022 by marazul

[frantic36]

13 hours ago, marazul said:

How was Sete on Bastille Day?  Thought of your adventures while having some bubbly last night. 

Apparently it was wonderful in the evening with the fireworks. Unfortunately we didn't see it. 

 

In Bandol when I had a mental health day and stayed in my room we did a test and we it was negative but the next day I woke with a cough so we tested again and were positive to Covid. We called the medical team straight away and they confirmed Covid. So we are now quarantined in our room till we hopefully test negative when we reach Cadiz. 

 

The crew have been truly wonderful. We have had calls from many senior people and we keep being told to ask for what we want. In fact I teased one recently they are call so often to check we are in the room. The food has been good though we are restricting ourselves to light meals since we can't get out to exercise. My husband walks up and back for 30 minutes twice a day and luckily I bought my exercise bands. They offered to send weights but I would prefer to just keep everything confined in our room.

 

Just to be clear, when we checked in on the first day at 2.30pm we were one of the few passengers wearing a mask in the terminal and onboard. We wore a mask when on the tender and never went to any shows. Even on the tour of Nero's Palace the Saturday before we boarded we again wore masks even though it wasn't required. The only time we didn't was when outside or somewhere we were eating in restaurants or the Sky Bar the first afternoon. We could have got this in Rome from our hotel or just walking around. We have managed to avoid it until now so I take the attitude it must have been our time. We had our last booster a month before boarding so our symptoms are mild.

 

I will repeat the crew have been wonderful and to be honest with an on call medical team and such caring crew we are very thankful.

 

Julie

 

[lincslady]

That is rotten luck, Julie.  Pleased that  a) your symptoms are mild and b) that you are obviously being well looked after.  And good that you are together, which is not always the case.

 

Roll on Cadiz, and a clear test.

[frantic36]

1 minute ago, lincslady said:

That is rotten luck, Julie.  Pleased that  a) your symptoms are mild and b) that you are obviously being well looked after.  And good that you are together, which is not always the case.

 

Roll on Cadiz, and a clear test.

 

Thanks Lola, We had made the decision that if one tested positive and the other negative we would ask to stay together anyway. But in this case we didn't have to decide though Keith's positive line was very faint.

 

I have started reading "The Widow Cliquot" by Tilar J. Mazzeo so I can learn something while here.

[Isklaar]

Sorry to read  your update Julie. Good to read that you're being well looked after.

Wishing you both a speedy recovery.

[fudge]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

Apparently it was wonderful in the evening with the fireworks. Unfortunately we didn't see it. 

 

In Bandol when I had a mental health day and stayed in my room we did a test and we it was negative but the next day I woke with a cough so we tested again and were positive to Covid. We called the medical team straight away and they confirmed Covid. So we are now quarantined in our room till we hopefully test negative when we reach Cadiz. 

 

The crew have been truly wonderful. We have had calls from many senior people and we keep being told to ask for what we want. In fact I teased one recently they are call so often to check we are in the room. The food has been good though we are restricting ourselves to light meals since we can't get out to exercise. My husband walks up and back for 30 minutes twice a day and luckily I bought my exercise bands. They offered to send weights but I would prefer to just keep everything confined in our room.

 

Just to be clear, when we checked in on the first day at 2.30pm we were one of the few passengers wearing a mask in the terminal and onboard. We wore a mask when on the tender and never went to any shows. Even on the tour of Nero's Palace the Saturday before we boarded we again wore masks even though it wasn't required. The only time we didn't was when outside or somewhere we were eating in restaurants or the Sky Bar the first afternoon. We could have got this in Rome from our hotel or just walking around. We have managed to avoid it until now so I take the attitude it must have been our time. We had our last booster a month before boarding so our symptoms are mild.

 

I will repeat the crew have been wonderful and to be honest with an on call medical team and such caring crew we are very thankful.

 

Julie

 

Thats really bad luck! We have just returned from Italy on a cruise with SS, unfortunately I let my guard down, We ALWAYS wore our masks every where until the last day on board, we left the ship travelled home 2 days later I had it! You cannot be too careful, just about getting over it, but would not want it again.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

 

 

Just to be clear, when we checked in on the first day at 2.30pm we were one of the few passengers wearing a mask in the terminal and onboard. We wore a mask when on the tender and never went to any shows. Even on the tour of Nero's Palace the Saturday before we boarded we again wore masks even though it wasn't required. The only time we didn't was when outside or somewhere we were eating in restaurants or the Sky Bar the first afternoon. We could have got this in Rome from our hotel or just walking around. We have managed to avoid it until now so I take the attitude it must have been our time. We had our last booster a month before boarding so our symptoms are mild.

 

 

I am so sorry to hear that you have come down with Covid in spite of being so careful---even more careful than many others.  The new variant that is going around is extremely transmissible I've read.  Dallas is back to Code Red after being Green just a week or two ago.  It is so frustrating!  I hope your symptoms remain mild and that you are negative very soon.  

[margbem]

So sorry to hear you are ill. I hope that it remains mild and that you test negative soon.

[fudge]

Thank you all for your kind words, really appreciated, feel better already, wouldn't wish it on anyone, I am so annoyed with myself because since the start of the pandemic we have been so careful.

The world is not a safe place anymore, I guess we just have to live with it!

[nancygp]

Julie,

 

sorry to learn you got Covid even though you’ve been so careful.  The good news is that you’re on a long cruise and have lots to look forward to.

 

we’re getting excited for our first seabourn cruise in august.  We just booked a second Seabourn cruise in October.

 

Nancy

[bonnieg]

Julie, So sorry to hear this! It was lovely to meet you at TK Grille this past Tuesday. So far we're good and we debark tomorrow.  Happy travels moving forward and hoping you both have a quick recovery. 

Bonnie

[marazul]

Julie, so sorry this happened to you after so much thoughtful planning.  I do hope you both recover quickly and enjoy the rest of your cruise.  

[frantic36]

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts. 

 

@bonniegwe also enjoyed meeting you and your husband at TK. I am also glad to hear you are okay. Enjoy Barcelona and safe travels home.

 

@marazul thank you for all your help with planning. We will return to the area and see what we didn't see this time. Next time for Sete we will aim to be here when they have their main jousting competitions.  The two tour companies I had booked, Mallorca Private Tour Guides and Valencia Tours both were good about either refunding our money or not charging us a late cancellation fee when we told them we were in isolation. 

 

@SLSD stay safe in Dallas. Do I remember you saying you had a rural retreat, maybe a break there for a few weeks might be a good idea?