Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Sea Day # 2 (11/01/24)

 

 

2:00 am - All Aboard!

 

7:30 am - Already at Sea!

Technically, the ship was in port until 7 am this morning. However, all aboard time was 2 am, meaning that for all practical purposes, this was a sea day.

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RQS and I got up late enough to miss all vestiges of breakfast.  I took my time in getting moving, and we decided to go to one of the ship's casual dining venues, the American Diner, around 11:45 am.  When we got there, there were 20 people in line ahead of us.  While waiting, we bumped into our newfound friend and chatted for a while.  Luckily, the line started to move at noon (when service started), and we were politely able to end our conversation without further commitments to meet again.

This dining venue is in a sheltered area above the lido deck, but it still outdoor dining.  Given how busy the place is, we were glad to get there to be seated promptly.  But then we had to wait for service.  Eventually, someone took our beverage order, and then our food order.  Both beverages and food took a relatively long time to come to the table.  RQS and I had different opinions on our salads, as I had the Caesar Salad and she had the Greek Salad. I enjoyed the Chicken Chili, and she enjoyed her Nachos.  Eventually, the main course came - a Cheeseburger for me and Pulled Pork Sliders for her.  Even if the burgers were the same as from O'Sheehans downstairs, it tasted better for some reason.  As for the pork sliders, RQS enjoyed them, but couldn't eat all of them.  I tasted the one she didn't eat and i wasn't impressed - I guess I wasn't in the mood for any meat drenched in BBQ sauce.

After lunch we took our time in getting back to our rooms to take a nap.  I needed it, for again, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep again.  On our way back to the room, we noticed that a larger than normal number of people (for this cruise) were outside sunning themselves by the pool area.  This would be the last warm day we'd likely have before reaching port, and I might have been soaking myself in the hot tubs had I brought my swimsuit and other falsies.

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After our nap, it was time to go to the photo gallery and look at the pictures taken of us dressed to the nines.  Most were OK, but I wish we had been on MSC for this cruise, as formal nights were truly formal nights.  On NCL, they only have "Glow" nights, where people may opt to dress nicer than usual.  Yet, we got a few nice pictures taken of us,   On the way there, we met a couple dressed to the nines - the gentleman was in his Marine Corps finest, while his wife was decked out in a beautiful gown.  I'd have loved to have seen their photo shoot!

Next stop was another one of the complimentary main dining rooms, the Manhattan room.  This restaurant is similar to the other 2 complimentary restaurants (Taste and Savor), save that it is larger and has space for people to dance if the background music causes a couple to leave their table to dance a bit.

Dancing wasn't in the cards for us this night, as we were both hungry and interested in what was on the menu.  I started with the Baked Brie Salad, followed by the Chicken & Shrimp Paella.  It was good, but not as good as I've had in a favorite Spanish restaurant that is long shuttered.  For dessert, it was a pair of eclairs.  They were tasty, but not exactly what I would have wanted to finish the meal.

At this point, we were getting tired, so we went back to the room and retired for the night.

 

 

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Sea Day # 1 (10/28/24)

 

This was our first full sea day on the ship.  We were scheduled to meet our new friend after breakfast. But we didn't know whether she's want to lunch with us.  So, we went to the buffet for a light bite, then met our new friend at Starbucks before going to a more quiet location to chat.  After chatting for 90 minutes, we arranged to meet again.

 

Later on, we went for lunch in the main dining room.  Although the service was a little sloppy, the food was up to the standards we remembered on prior NCL sailings.  I found it funny to find a Bay Scallop appetizer being served in Escargot plates.   Afterwards, we went to our room to nap a little. 

After our nap, we debated getting dressed up for a nice picture.  However, I felt that people were dressing a little too casually for us to get dressed up for a photo.  So I said to dress casually for dinner, and we proceeded to the Churrascaria for Brazilian BBQ.  Surprisingly, neither of us gorged on food.  Nor, did i take any pictures of what was being brought to our table. We were still feeling full from breakfast and lunch.  But we enjoyed the food we did have.

I was feeling a little tired, while RQS wanted to see what they had in the stores.  While I was in the room, RQS stopped by the casino and won a few dollars.  Yay!  Now, we can afford the formal photographs we want taken on a future day on the ship.

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PS: The afternoon ship announcement mentioned that the ship had returned to NYC overnight, and was expected to reach Bermuda 2-3 hours late.  At least, we won't lose 2 days in port due to weather on this trip.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/28/24 (Zeebrugge, Belgium)

Today is our last stop in mainland Europe, and our last shore excursion.  We have been choosing relatively low energy shore excursions, as neither of us have the energy for strenuous activities such as mountain hikes or long bike rides.  We'll leave those activities for the younger folk.  One of the nice things about a 14-day cruise is that it filters out many younger people.  On 7-day cruises, we find a lot of families with young children.  Although most of these children are well behaved, a small few are not.  Most of these families cannot afford to take 2 weeks off for a cruise of this length.  So, they choose shorter cruises which fit their vacation needs.  However, this means that a higher percentage of older people (mostly in our age range) are onboard, and we've encountered many people with mobility problems.  Too bad that these people are often unable to get off the ship and enjoy many of the excursions available to the rest of us.

Our excursion for today was the Ghent By Canal Cruise.  Luckily, it was scheduled for the afternoon, as we ended up getting moving later than usual in the morning.  This would be our last breakfast in the buffet, and we both had hearty meals before our excursion.  We would both feel that this would be a blessing, as we didn't have another meal until we got back from the excursion 5 1/2 hours later.

Once on the tour bus, we were taken to Ghent, where we boarded a canal boat for a 60 minute tour.  We got the history of this city, and (maybe) a smidgen of a sunburn.  The tour guide told us that there would be a "Wow!" moment, and she was right.  There was a castle built along the canal that took us by surprise, and this was the WOW! moment she told us about.  Sadly, the above pictures cannot do this city justice, as I should have been shooting with a proper DSLR camera with appropriate lenses.  It is a place where one should spend several days to get the true vibe of the area.

Unfortunately, we could only spend 60 minutes walking around the city.  So we didn't go far from the canal boat that took us to the tour bus that returned us to the ship.  Even so, we were the last people to board the ship.  Once onboard, we picked up our "free" photos from the photo center, then went for dinner.  Sadly, both of us left our phones in the cabin to charge, and we were not able to get pictures of the pilot boat coming to the ship to guide us into Southampton harbor.

Once back in the room, it was time to finish packing our large suitcases and put them out for porters to deliver them to the pier tomorrow morning.  Sadly, our cruise has come to an end, and now it's time to go back to reality.

Hawaii Vacation - Day 09: Luau in Kauai

 

Today's excursion takes place in the evening.  I booked a ticket to Luau Kalamaku, having no idea what to expect from this excursion.  And I hoped that this excursion would be well worth the time and money spent on it.

But first....

 

Since my excursion took place late in the afternoon, I slept late.  This was likely the best thing I could do, as I had to listen to my body and it was telling me it was time to rest.  Eventually, I got moving at a "civilized" hour, got showered and dressed, and made it off the ship for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, I did not know of the shuttles that would transport me to and from the nearby shopping center, so I had to move slowly to stay comfortable.  After spending some time eating some ice cream and sitting in the shade, I caught the shuttle and went back to the ship to rest until the luau.

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I called RQS and chatted for a while and then freshened up to go to the luau  By now, I have gotten used to presenting my male ID to security while presenting as female.  Considering where many transgender folk are in their journeys, I consider myself to be very lucky.  Confidence in one's presentation is very important to being accepted in one's gender.  For example, there always seems to be a line for the women's room.  A nervous transgender will give off signals such as: "Will they see me as something other than female?"  "Will someone figure out what I am and cause me trouble?"  And I've silently asked these questions in the past when I was new to presenting as female.  Now, I stand in line with the rest of the women and chit chat when a woman wants to talk with me.  We're there to go and do our business, and being confident in how I do that goes a long way to being accepted as female and being treated as one.

Around 4 pm, I walked into the ship's theater which was being used to stage 3 groups of people going to the luau.  There was one person telling us about Hawaii, the Luau, and the Debarkation process to keep us occupied until our buses were ready to take us where we were going.  Since the ship was only 10 minutes away, we were all at the luau by 5 pm.

 

The luau consisted of 3 parts: General Entertainment, Dinner, and the presentation on Hawaiian cultural history presented in dance. The first part had performers singing various songs (including holiday tunes) to entertain us, and to get us used to the cultural history presentation to come.  I wasn't that impressed by this part of the luau, simply because I couldn't get into the performances - my mind was elsewhere, probably focusing on the dinner yet to come.

Dinner was served buffet style.  There were two meats available to eat - Pork and Chicken.  Both were very tasty.  But one does not go to the luau to rave about the food.  It is more like going to a dinner theater where the food is decent, but the performance is better than expected.  And that was true of the cultural history performance to come.

I was queued for the ladies' room when the show began.  Hawaiians, Tahitians, and others are cut from the same "Bad Ass" stock.  It took a lot of guts to explore the pacific in double hulled canoes and settle in remote islands - all without modern technology.  And this part of the show illustrated what these people went through to find, then settle Hawaii.  Although the show started off slow, it had an exciting climax with men dancing with fire in motion.  

All too soon, the show ended and it was time to return to the ship.  As usual, I had to get wanded by security, even though I had eliminated all the metal from my body.  My first stop was at the photography area, where I bought several pictures for display.  (I had to burn off the bulk of my $100 cruise credit, or lose it.) Then it was back to my room to relax for the evening.

Volcanoes!

 

There are two areas of the world that I want to see that have active volcanoes: Hawaii and Iceland.  And I will be in Hawaii soon.  One of the excursions I have booked will take me to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. However, I don't know if this excursion will take place, as the following message was posted on the park service's website:

HAWAII NATIONAL PARK, Hawaiʻi – Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park remains open following a new eruption on Mauna Loa volcano that began in the summit caldera late Sunday night, and migrated to the northeast rift zone Monday morning.

For everyone’s safety, the park closed Mauna Loa Road from the gate at Kīpukapuaulu Monday morning to vehicles. The summit, cabins and high-elevation areas of Mauna Loa have been closed since early October when the volcano began to show signs of unrest and increased seismicity. In addition, Mauna Loa Observatory Road, outside of the park, is also closed to the public.

The new eruption, which is the first time Mauna Loa has erupted since 1984, is expected to draw an influx of visitors to the park who hope to see a rare dual eruption from both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. Viewing areas along Kīlauea caldera before sunrise revealed a massive glow from Mauna Loa caldera, Mokuʻāweoweo (13,677 ft. elevation) and a smaller lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu (4,009 ft.) at the summit of Kīlauea.

Neither eruption is threatening homes or infrastructure at this time. Kīlauea has been erupting since Sept. 29, 2021 with lava confined to the summit lava lake.

“Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is keeping close watch on Mauna Loa in tandem with our colleagues at USGS and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense,” said Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent, Rhonda Loh. “The park is currently open, but visitors should be prepared and stay informed,” Loh said.

Visitors are urged to check the park website for closure updates, safety alerts, air quality and other information including links to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcams and eruption updates.  

The Federal Aviation Administration has enacted a Temporary Flight Restriction encompassing a five nautical mile radius around Mauna Loa summit and 5,000 above ground level. Approved emergency response flights are excepted.

If you were in my shoes, would you think that this excursion will be cancelled?  If so, what should I do, given that all the cruise line's excursions have already been booked to capacity?  One thing I know is that I will get some great photos as we sail along the coast of Kauai....

A Better Weekend Day with RQS

 

Given yesterday's frustration, we decided to take it easy for a change.  Yes, it was another day in Mario Mode, but worth it, even if I'm not presenting as I'd like.  By the time we got out of the house, it was about 2 pm, and I figured that I'd show her were some people with money live in the nearby backwoods....

I'll always find it amazing how many large plots of land are available in the Hudson Valley.  No wonder why so many "rich" people are choosing to skip the Hamptons and buy more affordable land on the nearby back roads. For today's drive, I chose to drive along the original Albany Post Road in Putnam County and surprise RQS.

RQS, living in the outer boroughs of NYC, doesn't often get the chance to see large plots of land with one (or two) building(s) on them. Seeing these lots made her understand why good properties in the Hudson Valley are hot right now.  Although I do not know what the selling price of one property I am familiar with, I am sure that the owners made a decent profit compared to the price the property once sold for.

On the way home, we stopped in Cold Spring for a photographic expedition.  I stayed near the gazebo, while RQS experimented with her camera nearby.  As you can guess, this was an even better day than the day before.

A visit to Planting Fields Arboretum

 

The above is not a pretty shot.  However, the three closest people in the picture (#3 obscured by the woman in the red jacket) gives you an idea of how popular Planting Fields Arboretum is for "important" photos such as wedding pictures. Several groups of people were posing for staged photos on the paths where we walked, and if I had some pictures I wanted to stage, I'd stage them here.

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Planting Fields Arboretum is a state park located on the grounds of an old mansion.  I can only imagine what like was like in this mansion when it was a private residence.  I'll bet that many motion picture scouts think it is perfect for use in period piece movies, where a residence of the rich and famous is needed for exterior shots.

But first....

I picked up my friend at her house, then drove to the arboretum.  There were police cars in front of the entrance saying that the place was closed, as the parking lots were full. So we went for lunch at a restaurant we at at before, and then returned to the arboretum.  This time, the police cars were gone, and we found easy to pack near the entrance to the grounds.  After running back to the car to fetch my forgotten mask, we started walking along the path below.

The above path is prettier than the picture makes it look.  The trees on the right were in full bloom, and my partner for the day wanted several pictures of her taken by these trees. It's a shame that I do not want to show her face in this blog, as I took a picture or two worth enlarging and framing. 

        

This statue was found at the end of our walk.  My partner is not up to a long walk, so we ended things up a little earlier than expected.  After a quick trip to Trader Joe's, I dropped her off at her place, and I returned home for the night.  At least, I know she had a good time today.