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Southampton

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Our (very chatty) driver picked us up at the hotel about 10:15 yesterday and drove us to Southampton. It was about a two-hour drive, and traffic was heavy.  Fortunately, when we got to the hotel a little after noon, our room was ready! We left our big suitcases downstairs in their luggage storage and rode a minuscule elevator up to our room. (You may remember from previous trips that people wait for eons for an elevator, given so many cruise passengers with giant bags trying to get downstairs at once.) Then we walked to the Dancing Man pub, a place we've enjoyed before, for burgers and some IPA. It was in the 50s and very windy, so we sat inside this time. Then we walked to a nearby shopping mall to get cruise provisions at Marks and Spencer. It sprinkled on us a bit, so I was glad I'd brought my new, waterproof cap. Along the way I had to take a photo of these flowers for my gardening readers. Tiki Torch Red Hot Poker (according to Google Lens) Once back at the hotel, it was t...
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London, Day 2

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Thursday was nice and sunny after all of Wednesday's rain, with temps in the low 50s as we set out on our walk up to the Oxford Street shopping area. There were some beautiful flowers that caught my eye as we walked along. We went to Marks & Spencer, a department store with a full grocery store on the basement level. We bought a few provisions there to take onto the ship tomorrow. After browsing a bit and some window-shopping, we made our way back towards the hotel to a bakery, where we bought ham and cheese toasties for a light-ish lunch (at least compared with other recent meals!) After his seminar, Thomas came to our hotel for Happy Hour in our suite and we enjoyed talking with him. We walked just a short distance to Tamarind, a very nice Indian restaurant that Thomas found.  We decided to choose their gourmet tasting menu, and it was a good decision!  (All photos courtesy of Thomas) Charlie and I started with ghee-washed old fashioneds, which were excellent, and Thomas...
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Rainy Day in London

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Our first full day in London brought a big weather change, with a cool, windy, and rainy day.  We headed out mid-morning to explore the area around the hotel a little and saw few other pedestrians.   Some of the impressive hotel lobby flowers I had to get this photo of the phone box! We returned to the hotel for another lunch at the Brasserie. They had a two-course special we chose, opting for a tomato-kale soup (not photogenic, but tasty) and a really delicious fish pie featuring salmon and cod. It was like a shepherd's pie, but with fish, so lots of yummy mashed potatoes. The little fall leaves and fish skeleton were made of pastry! So cute! After lunch, Charlie napped and I Netflixed until time to meet Thomas at Harrod's.  After missing the first bus (which didn't pause for long!), we managed to get the next one and met him on the ground floor. We explored the kitchen and housewares floor and the menswear floor -- the latter offering only top-end designer clothes....
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Off to London!

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We flew from Houston IAH  to London Heathrow Monday night/Tuesday morning, arriving about 11:20 London time. We enjoyed our time and dinner in the Polaris Club before the flight. It wasn't at all crowded, nothing like the United Club. The flight itself was as pleasant as a 9-hour flight can be, with amazingly attentive flight attendants.  I read and watched a show, but skipped the dinner (since we'd had dinner) served about 10 p.m. We both managed to get SOME sleep on the plane, which helped us power through the rest of Tuesday. I crashed about 7:30 that night, but slept until 6:00 this morning!  Upon arrival, there was a long walk to go through Passport Control, but it was very efficient. Our checked bags arrived fairly soon after we arrived in Baggage Claim. We had a car service take us from the airport to the hotel, about an hour's drive. We're staying at the London Hilton Park Lane, which is near Kensington Park and in the Mayfair area. Our suite is very nice, on th...
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Last Sea Day and Taste of Royal Lunch

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We are back on Vancouver time now, on a foggy day. I hope we are able to see some more whales and possibly seals as we pass through the Inside Passage later this afternoon. The ship is sounding the foghorn. Last night in the Diamond Lounge, the man from Malaysia, Derek, wanted to get a photo with us and our concierge, Nikki (from Argentina).  We have enjoyed talking with both of them. We dutifully walked to earn our exercise minutes on our watches early this morning, then did a little packing. Charlie made a very short casino trip, as the machines weren't behaving for him today. Today's lunch was the Taste of Royal, which we've done once before, in 2024. The menu stays the same, featuring some of the best dishes from several of Royal's specialty restaurants, including some not on this ship. We managed to photograph every course except one of the goodies on the amuse-bouche plate, mini crabcakes with corn salsa, which we loved.  Everything was delicious! This time we man...
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Ketchikan, Take 2

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What a difference a day makes!  It was quite cold and drizzly in Skagway yesterday, and today in Ketchikan the weather is 72 and sunny!   This morning we were up early for our usual walk around the mostly empty decks 5 and 6.  We stopped in the theater to study this huge puzzle completed by passengers and crew on the nine-month world cruise on Serenade in 2023-24.  We recognized the artist, Eric Dowdle, because we worked many of his puzzles during the pandemic.  If you are able to enlarge the photo below, you can see more of the detail.  And here's another elephant for Sydney, this one displayed in the "art" gallery (snark intended) on deck 5.  Don't worry, Amanda, we won't bid on it. Later in the morning I was able to capture a photo of Charlie entering his home away from home, looking SO enthusiastic. You wouldn't believe that he actually had a very productive morning there today. We arrived in Ketchikan as we were having lunch at Chops Grille. ...
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Skagway - Thursday

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Let me begin by posting this video I intended to share yesterday.  The previous day we were startled to hear, "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar!" from the loudspeaker on the ship, because that's the "man overboard" signal. After we exchanged looks, the captain added that it was only a drill.  But we got to see the crew launch the rescue boat and motor around! (There are rescue boats attached to each side of the ship.) Yesterday for Happy Hour we went up to the top deck to the Vortex Lounge. We were the first customers, and Charlie asked the bartender if the bar still rotates. He assured us it did, but said it normally only starts moving around midnight. We confessed that, in that case, we would NEVER see it moving, so he obligingly offered to turn it on for us.  In the video, it looks like the photographer is moving away from me, but I'm actually rotating away from him. (Yes, we are easily amused.) Early this morning Charlie captured a video of this waterfall before we a...
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