jacketwatch

Very cool. I am pleasantly surprised the PD accepted this case too.

We have all traveled a fair bit abroad and no doubt some of us have hit a snag or two when it comes to communicating with a foreigner. Heres the one I recall the most. When in Israel on a cruise we stopped for coffee. I asked for just like I get here a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso. The barista looked at me quizzically and said said "are your sure"? I was adamant. "Yes I want a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso." He said "but sir I never heard of this before." So now I'm peeved and insisted this is what I wanted. OK. We sat down and as soon as he came with our order I knew what happened. He made a cup of sludge, you know Turkish style coffee and added a shot to it. ?. OMG! Well it looked like something scooped out the LaBrea tar pits and I tried to add milk and sugar but folks it was something else. ?. Well after being so adamant I had to just take it. As Emeril would say BAM! ?. As we left he asked me how it was. I had to save face so I said "thanks thats just the way I like it." ?. Anyone else have such stories?

I got the idea he wanted to join us on an upcoming cruise but seems his health did not allow that. He was well known on the other forum and the thread about his passing had a ton of hits, over 100 I think.

I haven't seen that show on US tv.

We a production of Le Mis here at a local theatre done by hs and elem schools kids and it was amazing!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Triffitt

Cool but I’m a cold beer out of the bottle, whiskey neat guy. My only mixed drink is a Belvedere martini. ?. Funny story about the martini too. I corresponded with a a fellow traveler on another forum on and off. Luckily we discovered we were both on the same cruise, Celebrity Constellation in 2011 holy land cruise and we met at the frosted over martini bar. What a character! He was Uber talented in theater and basically traveled the world living off royalties. The designed and produced the closing act of the opening ceremony at the Sydney Olympics. He was erudite, had a razor wit and we talked like old friends even tho we just met. He regaled is with stories about his life in entertainment and his adventures. His user id was the “dogster” and my wife most aptly called him “hot dog.”: ?Sadly he passed away way too soon. Whenever we embark on a cruise I get a martini and drink a toast to this remarkable man.

I can vouch for that. We cruised her out of Sydney last Dec.

There are a lot of talented people out there and I’m often amazed by how talented cruise ship performers are. Similarly we have gone to many stage shows in Chicago in major theaters and also have seen many local productions set in smaller suburban theaters and I must say the latter are very well done. We just saw “Ragtime” locally with a cast that included adult and college and hs and elem. school kids and it was fantastic and all $16.00 senior rates 5th row center.

http://www.visitpitcairn.pn/

Speaking of uncharted Pitcairn was not on the British Navy charts which is why the mutineers just came upon it looking for a safe place and settled there figuring they would not be found. And they were right. The British Navy did try but failed to get them. Their descendants there now are from the sailors and natives who came with them from Tahiti. Praslin sounds utterly idyllic. That had to be a special time you will never forget. I love cruising of course but also love beautiful tropical islands too.

BTW Pitcairn is the island the Bounty mutineers settled on. To this day their descendants live there. They generate income by selling among other items honey. It’s the best Ive ever had with floral and fruity notes. I’ve been ordering it for about 11 years. But be patient. It’s takes months to arrive.

The Ovation has a go cart oval and don’t forget the wave simulators for “surfing” ?

The same early risers were usually there most mornings. I bought the coffee card too as at least for me Princess coffee is not too good though I have to say I’m pretty fussy about my coffee. The IC had the premium brew.

Also the Ovation has the North Star and a go kart track.

We saw that on the Ovation. It’s pretty cool but also takes time probably because so many used it and BTW there were two crew members on duty to keep the replace MT bottles, trouble shoot and so on.

I’m an early riser and just loved the IC. Few were there when I went for coffee and pastries around 0600.

In 2005 we cruised the then nearly new Sapphire Princess out of Seattle. I remember waiting in line to board her and was awe struck by how big she was. So was a guy in front of me. So here I am wearing a polo and chinos and the other guy was in his cowboy gear, hat, boots, jeans and cowboy shirt and had a mechanical arm too. Well at the same time we both blurted out the same thing, "thats a big son of a " ?. We took her again in 2016 out of Singapore after cruising the Oasis and the Getaway and by those standards she seems like tea kettle. ?. Still loved it however.

I’m glad you found your happy place. I was born and raised in Chicago and we moved to the burbs in 1979 and tried to make a good choice inre to schools, living conditions and so on. A few mos. ago our suburb was rated the best overall in Illinois which pleasantly surprised me. Some of that is due to relatively lower real estate taxes as we have a lot of businesses and one of the biggest malls in the country. Of course we have winters too. ?. Overall we are happy and I’m happy to be an American too.

Thank you. She's a beaut. ?

I'm sorry you were treated that way. You were there much longer than us. We came into contact mostly with people in the tourist industry so maybe they are more geared to CS however we met quite a few locals too like in shops, a book store, restaurants and so on and felt welcomed. I've always thought Kiwis are more reserved and Ossies but that is not to excuse how you were treated. The nicest person we met was a guide in the Peter Jackson WW I aviation museum and guess what he was from NYC. Go figure ?

I imagine the iPad thing would go fleet wide if it isn’t already as it works so well. Oz and NZ are great destinations. We stayed in Sydney for two days before our cruise then flew to Brisbane for two days to see our niece and nephew and their daughter. Then back to Sydney for a day before embarkation. We stayed at the Holiday Inn old Sydney and the location to the port can’t be beat. You literally walk to the ship and it’s a gentle down slope so shlepping luggage is easy. I did find that Sydney hotel prices are pretty high ala Singapore but Brisbane is more reasonable. Aussies seem as a whole content with their lives and living circumstances so that makes it a positive place to be in. I rather liked that vibe. BTW if you want coffee with a shot of espresso ask for a “long black”. I call it a turbo and they looked at me like I was from Mars. ?

Thank you for the reply. I feel sorry for the bear as well. That’s it for me, time to move on. Good night and good luck. Happy cruising.

NZ is simply beautiful. We ported at Dunedin, Picton, Wellington and Napier and for the most part it was green and lush. People are friendly and the pace of life is relaxed. We were supposed to go thru several NZ sounds but the captain had to divert to miss a storm. Too bad as this was beautiful scenic cruising we missed. Well better than the alternative of ploughing thru a storm of course.

True. It’s a step in the right direction for sure. Such measures take time.