Live review - Reflection 10-31-22 TA

[Jazzbo]

54 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

That is probably why we have only done one ship tour in about 16 cruises 

I would almost prefer to even skip lunch and just get some street food , since the lunches usually waste 1-1/2 hr of the tour 

That’s mostly what we did during our three days in Barcelona. And I probably ordered Jamón Ibérico de Bellota at least 3 times. The most expensive, but in this case, you really do get what you pay for. I hope I can go back to the imported jamón Serrano after we get back, because the good stuff is astronomical there!

Hmmm…. Not exactly the same, but is this what happens once you sail in a suite?

 

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, canderson said:

Jim - hang in there.  I promised you a full photo documentary, and I have it all on my phone and will put it together for you on our first at-sea day.  Covers all from the walk to the market to lunch to the final dinner in Tuscan tonight.

 

The market was outstanding!  Only wish we had anything similar at home!

 

Least I could do for the private journey help you gave us for the Carribean last November! 

 

Fantastic.   No rush.    I love the markets in Europe.   My favorite was in Florence. 

 

[JeanieC,Aston]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Fantastic.   No rush.    I love the markets in Europe.   My favorite was in Florence. 

 

Hi Jim

Did you rub the wild boars nose in Florence market?

[BazingAu]

@Jazzbodo you notice anything on the interior of the ship updated since the dry dock? Or were the changes only noticeable on the exterior/paint scheme of the ship?

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi Jim

Did you rub the wild boars nose in Florence market?

 

I sure did.    If you get a chance visit the Public Market -  The food hall is incredible.   You pickup up you want from different vendors and lots of seating.   

[Jazzbo]

11 hours ago, BazingAu said:

@Jazzbodo you notice anything on the interior of the ship updated since the dry dock? Or were the changes only noticeable on the exterior/paint scheme of the ship?

I haven’t noticed. Our stateroom has the same carpet (AQ). The bed is quite comfortable, so they may have replaced beds. I haven’t been around the ship that much because we had four port days in a row (and I was isolated to our stateroom yesterday).

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Jazzbo said:

I haven’t noticed. Our stateroom has the same carpet (AQ). The bed is quite comfortable, so they may have replaced beds. I haven’t been around the ship that much because we had four port days in a row (and I was isolated to our stateroom yesterday).

Beds are replaced and very comfortable.  The ones used were the ones that were originally scheduled for Constellation (packaging marked as such)!  We had noticed the old mattresses (even in a RS) on Connie a year ago after her dry dock and restart.

[terrydtx]

16 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi Jim

Did you rub the wild boars nose in Florence market?

We were in Florence in August to visit the market and wild boar, I did rub his nose. This was my 3rd time to visit Florence and can't wait to go back. We were there in the evening and the market was closed and all the stalls gone.

[BazingAu]

5 hours ago, Jazzbo said:

I haven’t noticed. Our stateroom has the same carpet (AQ). The bed is quite comfortable, so they may have replaced beds. I haven’t been around the ship that much because we had four port days in a row (and I was isolated to our stateroom yesterday).

Hope you’re feeling better!

[Jazzbo]

1 hour ago, BazingAu said:

Hope you’re feeling better!

Thank you! I am feeling much better. I was happy to be out and about today after I was released from isolation this morning.

The seas are up a bit today. Every once in a while I find myself walking almost sideways!

[TheHawk1]

6 hours ago, canderson said:

Beds are replaced and very comfortable.  The ones used were the ones that were originally scheduled for Constellation (packaging marked as such)!  We had noticed the old mattresses (even in a RS) on Connie a year ago after her dry dock and restart.

Good to know at least one thing has been updated for the passenger's benefit.  A freshly painted hull is hardly a big enticement for me to book a cruise 😄

[JeanieC,Aston]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We were in Florence in August to visit the market and wild boar, I did rub his nose. This was my 3rd time to visit Florence and can't wait to go back. We were there in the evening and the market was closed and all the stalls gone.

Hi

You should try the other market that Jim mentioned I think it’s the Central Market.

Food stalls on the ground floor,,,upstairs is the food stalls cooking the fresh food from downstairs,,,open upstairs until midnight.

Florence is one of my favourite cities.

I can recommend a book called ‘The rise and fall of the Medici’ by Christopher Hibbet.

It helps to relate to the history of the city.

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

You should try the other market that Jim mentioned I think it’s the Central Market.

Food stalls on the ground floor,,,upstairs is the food stalls cooking the fresh food from downstairs,,,open upstairs until midnight.

Florence is one of my favourite cities.

I can recommend a book called ‘The rise and fall of the Medici’ by Christopher Hibbet.

It helps to relate to the history of the city.

We did visit the other new Central market; it was just a couple of blocks walk from our hotel and it was excellent. I have read the book you suggested, it is an excellent book on the medieval history of Florence and the region.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

You should try the other market that Jim mentioned I think it’s the Central Market.

Food stalls on the ground floor,,,upstairs is the food stalls cooking the fresh food from downstairs,,,open upstairs until midnight.

Florence is one of my favourite cities.

I can recommend a book called ‘The rise and fall of the Medici’ by Christopher Hibbet.

It helps to relate to the history of the city.

That's the one.   Mercato Centrale Firenze -  Upstairs is a food hall that takes up the full foot print of the building.   You can get anything from a cooked Florentine Steak  (3 Inch Thick Steak 1.5-3" steak), Pizza, a Glass of Wine or just a sweet.

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Jazzbo]

We didn’t do much yesterday. I went through the shops for a while but didn’t buy anything. I played slots for about half an hour and lost about $9. Not too bad. We had breakfast in Blu. We’ve been disappointed in the food on this cruise. My oatmeal tasted fine and had a creamy texture, but it was lukewarm. Larry ordered soft scrambled eggs, but they were dry. I can usually find something I like in Oceanview, but everything I tried (lamb skewers, Turkish beef stew, carvery roast pork) was so dry I couldn’t eat it. I tried the lemon chicken soup, but I discovered that what I thought was parsley was cilantro, which I detest (tastes like soap to me). I gave up and got some ice cream, which was delicious as always. Cafe Al Bacio has been good. 

[Jazzbo]

Last night we had reservations for The Porch. It was a little chilly, so our server brought me a blanket. Larry ordered the charcuterie board, which was fine. I only had a bit of that because I didn’t want to spoil my appetite. I had the sweet corn soup with chorizo, peppers, and espalette. That was delicious. Larry asked if there was a lot of avocado on the romaine and avocado salad. The server told him it had a lot of avocado slices, so he ordered it. There were three small avocado slices, but the salad was good. We were both looking forward to the main event. We ordered the seafood tower ($15 extra). The chilled lobster tail was really good, but the rest of the seafood (shrimp, mussels, scallops, seafood salad) was dry and tasteless. The chef asked me why I wasn’t eating, and I told him. He was very apologetic and explained that all of their seafood was frozen and from the U.S.; they are not allowed to buy it in ports. He removed the extra charge for the seafood. 

[Jazzbo]

The view from our balcony this morning.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

17 minutes ago, Jazzbo said:

... but I discovered that what I thought was parsley was cilantro, which I detest (tastes like soap to me). ...

 

Right there with you!  

 

I will say, however, that I was able to eat cilantro, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower for months following my crossing paths with COVID (supper '21). 

 

Tom

[Jazzbo]

And the view a few hours later.

[Jazzbo]

2 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Right there with you!  

 

I will say, however, that I was able to eat cilantro, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower for months following my crossing paths with COVID (supper '21). 

 

Tom

It sounds like you had the lack of taste and smell for quite a while. I hope you are fully recovered and back to refusing to eat cilantro! I had Omicron early this year, but I was lucky. I only had a sore throat and congestion for a few days, but the fatigue hung around for a couple of weeks.

[Jazzbo]

This morning we went to Captains Club breakfast in Tuscan. Larry loves smoked salmon, so he was happy. Maybe the Bloody Mary contributed to his mood. 😄 I had a strawberry smoothie, some fruit, and an almond croissant and I was also a happy camper. We decided this was our preferred breakfast venue. A lady sitting at the table next to us asked if we were disappointed with this cruise, and when I thought about for a minute, the answer is yes. The quality of the food and the preparation of it is not nearly as good as it has been in the past (even compared to our first post-shutdown 7-day Caribbean cruise on Equinox last August). Some areas still seem to be short-staffed, and the ship doesn’t have that feeling of a well-oiled machine. Don’t get me wrong, we have had some great service, and crew members who seem to be new are trying their best.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Right there with you!  

 

I will say, however, that I was able to eat cilantro, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower for months following my crossing paths with COVID (supper '21). 

 

Tom

 

errrr.... SUMMER '21   🙂

 

Tom

[Jazzbo]

41 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

errrr.... SUMMER '21   🙂

 

Tom

But you couldn’t enjoy your supper that summer.

[Jazzbo]

We ended up having a very nice sea day yesterday. We wandered up the Sunset Bar where we found a spot that wasn’t too windy. I bundled up in a blanket and read my book and Larry spent his time on the phone.

[Jazzbo]

Lunch in the Oceanview was much better. I made myself a salad at the salad bar. The salad greens were fresh and crisp. The carvery was roasted chicken, and the dark meat was tasty and not dry.

After lunch we went to see Wedding Games. We had never been on any of our previous cruises. It dragged on for a bit too long but we had a few laughs. 
We stopped at the Martini Bar around 5:00 (those bartenders are some of the best entertainers on the ship), then went to see Top Gun Maverick in the theater at Celebrity Central.