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Türkiye & X TA 2022Türkiye & X TA 2022
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Türkiye & X TA 2022

September - November 2022
A glitch with airline vouchers found us doing a last-minute trip to Turkey ... eastbound flight ... westbound TransAtlantic to get us home. Read more
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  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 22

    A-Wander in Southampton

    October 19, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌬 63 °F

    Admittedly, Southampton itself doesn’t offer all that much … sightseeing-wise … especially if you’ve been there before as we have.

    Of course, we could have stayed in London … but a big city wasn’t what we wanted since we had just one day prior to embarking our cruise in Southampton. Of course, we could have taken the ferry to the Isle of Wight … or done a tour that would have taken us to some of the charming towns and castles nearby. But, we just wanted an easy day to rest up after a long travel day. Southampton gave us just that today.

    A tasty and filling breakfast at the Holiday Inn — included in our room rate — started off our day. Despite a light breeze, the temperature was comfortable. The early morning overcast gave way to sunshine and patchy blue skies by mid-morning. Perfect for a wander around town.

    Our meander took us to old city walls … where we walked in the footsteps of yore and wondered what life was like when these same walls stood tall and strong to protect the residents. Along narrow, cobblestone streets we walked … where colorful blooms and interesting architecture charmed us. To two museums we went … the Seacity Museum offering a peek into history and the city’s connection to the ill-fated Titanic; the City Art Museum giving us a glimpse of some colorful and interesting art.

    Our quest for a midday meal took us to the Duke of Wellington, an inn/pub built over the foundations of a house dating back to the 12th century … and housed in a building that dates back to around 1490. Damaged by enemy action during WWII, the inn was restored in the 1960s but has the charm of much earlier times … delicious fish & chips and an exceptional brownie served with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Yummy! Yummy!

    We returned to the hotel mid-afternoon, happy and satisfied with our day of exploring Southampton … and ready to put our feet up after an 11,100-step day.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 22

    National Express Comes Up to Scratch

    October 19, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌬 63 °F

    Before we took off for our meander this morning, I sent an email to National Express to plead our case.

    Basically, I was asking if they would consider refunding the second set of tickets we purchased to get on the 6:15p bus yesterday since we’d not been able to get through to them on the phone … and instructions to make changes online didn’t apply in our case. I was hoping that the fact that we’d purchased the “change and go” fare, which would have allowed us to switch to another bus within 12 hours on either side of our 9:00p tickets, would help our case.

    An email response was awaiting me when we returned to the hotel after our wander around Southampton. Yes, they would refund the second set of tickets. Yay! The email went on to say that we should see the credit to the original form of purchase within five days. Double yay!    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 23

    Embarking Celebrity Silhouette

    October 20, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    As beautiful as the weather was yesterday, it was that crummy today … at least until late afternoon.

    We woke up to decidedly chilly temps and rain, which continued on and off throughout the day. At times it was just a barely noticeable drizzle. At other times it was a downpour … usually short in duration. Keeping fingers crossed that we’d catch a break when it was time to embark Celebrity Silhouette, we went down to the dining room for our morning meal.

    In fact, we did luck out a couple of times with the weather.

    First, there was a break in the rain when we set off to drop off our checked bags with the longshoremen at the City Cruise Terminal. To double our luck, we found an old IKEA cart at the entrance to the port … which made managing our bags on the sidewalk that was in less than good condition much easier.

    We had no desire to board the ship … it was only 10:30a and we planned to walk into town for some gelato before embarking Silhouette. But we wondered if we might be able to check-in while the terminal was still quiet. So we headed there next.

    No problem … even though our check-in slot was between 1:00-1:30p. No one blinked an eye. They just directed us inside with instructions to have our passports and express passes handy. No lines anywhere … just a few passengers lallygagging here and there. Formalities took maybe 5 minutes and we were done. We would realize later just how lucky we were to have managed check-in so quickly.

    Leaving the terminal, we walked out into ever-increasing rain. No can do on the walk into town for gelato. We had arranged for a late check out at noon at the Holiday Inn and left our carry-on bags there, so we returned to relax in our room for a while. A smart move, as it turns out. No sooner were we under cover that the rain really started to come down … the downpour lasting about an hour this time.

    Another lucky break in the rain just as we decided to return to the terminal to embark the ship shortly after noon allowed us to walk to the City Cruise Terminal without getting wet. In fact, the clouds seemed to be moving out … the sun breaking through with patches of blue in the sky. Excellent!

    Seeing the lines snaking around the waiting area inside the terminal — passengers queued up at least four deep, waiting their turn to check-in — made us appreciate our quick check-in this morning all the more. Since we’d completed the formalities already, we were allowed to skip the line with just a quick scan of our express passes and continue straight to the gangway.

    The rest of our embarkation day story will be in the next footprint …    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 23

    Aboard & Settled In

    October 20, 2022, English Channel ⋅ 🌧 59 °F

    It’s been a while since we were last on a big ship … four years since we were last on a Celebrity ship … five years since Silhouette returned us to the US by way of another westbound TransAtlantic (that one from Civitavecchia to Ft Lauderdale).

    Our first contacts with the crew were with those tasked with selling drink and specialty dining packages. Oh, and yes, the photographers who wanted to take our embarkation photo. “No thanks,” we said in every instance and kept going.

    We made our way directly to our stateroom — #6304 on deck 6 aft. It’s a typical veranda stateroom … except that the veranda is larger than most … deep enough to keep us protected from the elements in the days ahead should that become necessary. Perfect for someone like me who spends every spare moment sitting out … reading … writing … solving crossword puzzles. Even better … for enjoying wine and snacks without mingling with the crowds.

    A magnetic sign on the door encouraged us to leave our bags and enjoy the ship while housekeeping put the finishing touches on preparing our stateroom. We wanted to get a bite to eat anyway, so we grabbed our keycards and made our way up to the Oceanview Café. Taking advantage of the now comfortable temps, we took our food out to the open terrace to enjoy an al fresco meal before returning to the stateroom

    We were happy to spot our three bags standing at various points along the hallway on deck 6. We grabbed them and got to work settling in. The sooner that was accomplished, the sooner we could begin enjoying the veranda.

    By the time everything was stowed away, it was 3:45p … the ship would be leaving her berth in 15 minutes. Time to crack open the bottle of Kavaklıdere Egeo red we had brought with us. Mui poured the wine and brought out some snacks from his stash. All set to enjoy happy hour on the veranda as the ship sailed out of Southampton Harbor.

    Not so fast! Just at that moment, Captain Georgios Iatrou [Capt G] came on the P/A to advise of a delay due to ongoing provisioning of the ship’s stores for the eventual crossing in a week’s time. Alrighty then … we will enjoy the wine anyway. With the sun playing peek-a-boo, we were definitely comfy on the veranda … the temp at 75F. Perfect.

    At 6:00p, with Silhouette still tied up at her berth, we went down to Grand Cuvée (the main dining room) for dinner. A nice change since we were last on a Celebrity ship … jeans are now allowed in the dining room for dinner. Not that we plan to wear jeans every night, but it was nice not to have to change clothes tonight.

    While we were at dinner, Silhouette finally moved out of her berth to begin the 800.8-NM trip to Lisbon … at 6:30p … 2½ hours later than scheduled. With Capt G’s announcement that we were throwing off our bow lines, we also got some bad news.

    It looks like tomorrow’s day at sea is going to be a rough one. Capt G mentioned winds in the 55-65 knot range and waves up to 18 feet. Not too big a deal for us as we have been in worse conditions. But there was a brief mention of possibly having to skip Lisbon, our port of call two days hence, in order to get to Tenerife on time four days hence. Capt G sort of glossed over that bit of news, saying that he was consulting with HQ in Miami and would have an announcement for us tomorrow.

    What can I say? We have no control over the conditions. So we’ll roll with whatever punches the weather throws at us. In the meantime, let’s just enjoy the veranda before calling it a day.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 23

    Jiggly Day at Sea

    October 20, 2022, Celtic Sea ⋅ 🌬 61 °F

    As we enter the northern edge of the Bay of Biscay …

    We got a good night’s rest with little noticeable motion of the ocean. Mui, as usual, was up way early and went for an Americano (or two) at Café al Bacio … specialty coffees and teas are an included perk for passengers who have reached Elite+ level in the Captain’s Club. I forced myself to stay abed until 7:00a.

    Normally, we prefer to grab breakfast on the terrace outside the Oceanview Café. However, since it was quite chilly outside — low 50F range … with strong winds against which the outer decks were off-limits to passengers — we treated ourselves to breakfast at the Grand Cuvée instead.

    After our morning meal, we climbed the stairs — 9 flights — up to the pool deck. With the weather chilly, the outdoor pool was deserted, but there were a number of people in the covered Solarium despite the early hour. We weren’t there to swim, however. Rather, I just wanted to pick up some wool lap blankets to use on the veranda on chilly days like today.

    We were in the reception area on deck 3 when Capt G came on the P/A for his 9:45a daily announcement. The bottomline is that we are following behind a storm today (probably one reason for the delayed departure yesterday) and hope to get ahead of another west-to-east storm that is expected to impact our sailing tomorrow.

    Aside from walking around all the public decks — both to re-familiarize ourselves with Silhouette and to get some exercise — we spent the day at home, so to speak. There are a lot of activities in which we could participate. But our plan is to stay away from the crowds as much as possible. After all, COVID-19 is still a “real thing” even if the pandemic is considered over. Mui did venture out to watch today’s matinee movie — “Downton Abbey: A New Era” — but seeing the movie a second time wasn’t enough of a lure to get me to part with the veranda … even if I did have to bundle up with wool blankets.

    With so many Captain’s Club’s members aboard — we heard over 1,000 Elite+ alone — the Captain’s Club Cocktail Hour (another included perk for us) is not being held in a specific lounge on this cruise. Rather, one can go to just about any bar, present key cards, and get drinks at no charge between 5:00-7:00p. Mui got us some red wine and we drank it in our stateroom with the snacks we brought along.

    Since we wanted to see the 7:00p show, dinner tonight was a quick bite at the Oceanview Café instead of taking the time to dine at the Grand Cuvée. This will likely be our modus operandi when we want to attend the early show instead of going to the one at 9:00p.

    Tonight’s headliner was Jayne Curry, a vocalist from the UK. Her show was a mix of comedy and music. The woman has great stage presence and great “pipes.” Attendance at tonight’s show was light, but I would bet that will change as word gets out. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the side-view seating area on the deck 4 balcony will remain fairly unoccupied so we can stay away from the crowds.

    The second day of our cruise is thus wrapped up. It was a jiggly day for sure … especially later in the afternoon when the motion of the ocean became quite noticeable. Tonight there’s quite a bit of banging and clanging against the hull as Silhouette cleaves through the waves. That said, the ship is handling the conditions pretty well. What tomorrow will bring is TBD.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 24

    Jiggly Day at Sea … Again

    October 21, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Along the Coast of Portugal …

    Overnight, Silhouette must have sped through the Bay of Biscay as this morning we woke up to find the ship sailing south along the coast of Spain … with some 300+ NM left to reach Lisbon. The Captain had mentioned in a video interview last night that he was hoping for a patch of calmer conditions that would allow him to make some real headway after battling the rough seas during the day. Obviously, he got his wish.

    As for today … we still bounced our way down along the Iberian Peninsula. It was overcast once again when the skies lightened up this morning. At one point, the wind was so strong that the rain was falling horizontally across the front of our veranda. We did have a clearing of the skies in the afternoon — just like yesterday — but the wind was just too strong and too chilly for me to attempt to sit out today. Keeping fingers crossed that as we continue to make our way south, conditions will improve.

    Our daily routine pretty much followed yesterday … breakfast at the Grand Cuvée; indoor exercise by walking up and down the staircases and around the public spaces; lunch for Mui at the Oceanview Café while I abstained so as not feel to guilty when we have snacks at our private happy hour.

    I pretty much stayed in the stateroom reading and writing most of the day. Mui stepped out to check out the cooking demonstration at the Tuscan Grille … how to cook the perfect fish. Turns out the Executive Sous Chef, Halim … from Türkiye’s Black Sea Region, was doing the cooking. He is apparently the only Turkish crew member aboard Silhouette.

    Tonight’s dress code was what Celebrity now terms as “chic.” It allows those who want to dress up formally to do so. Others can dress things up a bit more than the smart casual that is acceptable on other nights … dressy jeans allowed. Our days of formal wear are long, long over. But we did get gussied up before venturing out for dinner at the Grand Cuvée.

    Chic night also means that there is a production show on the main stage. We missed the early show. Neither one of us was in the mood to wait around to attend the 9:00p show, so we returned to our stateroom after dinner. Might have been a good show … but I wasn’t keen on sitting in a darkened room very near the bow when the ship is dancing around as much as it has been this evening, so no regrets.

    Tomorrow we make land in Lisbon!    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 26

    Lisbon: Azulejos & A-Wander

    October 23, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Silhouette was already docked at the Lisbon Cruise Terminal when Mui came to wake me up. The first words out of his mouth were, “5G signal.” Aha! T-Mobile was on. He’d already been up and checking his emails and the news.

    A quick breakfast on port days works best for us. So, we went up to the Oceanview Café to sate our tummies. Then it was time to set off to explore Lisbon.

    The sightseeing plan today was a loose one … with one particular goal … the Museu Nacional do Azulejo … the National Tile Museum. I’d hoped to visit the museum when we overnighted in Lisbon in 2017. But with the location of the museum on the other side of the city from everything else we had on our list, we never got there. I was going to rectify that today. Anything else we got to do would be a bonus.

    The walk from the terminal to the museum was pleasant enough … flat along the waterfront, with a slight elevation gain as we got into the hillside neighborhoods. Maybe about 30-45 minutes.

    “The azulejo is an identity art of Portugal.” Those were the words that greeted us when we entered the old Madre de Deus Convent (founded in 1509) where the museum is housed. The tiles have been used uninterruptedly throughout the past five centuries and the museum is designed as a place where one can begun to appreciate this heritage.

    Appreciate and enjoy is exactly what we did. The €5 admission (half that for Mui as a senior 😉) was definitely worth it. The three hours we spent studying and photographing the beautiful tilework — especially the “Great Lisbon Panorama,” which depicts the city as it was prior to the earthquake of 1755 — went by in the blink of an eye.

    From the museum, we began a meandering walk back towards the main part of the city. Our goal, as we walked up and down the hills and along narrow roads, was to locate the restaurant Mui had selected for lunch. We got very close, but after about 1.5 miles, decided we were going to be too rushed if we insisted on getting there. After all, it was nearing 2:00p already.

    Instead, we decided to meander down towards the port and find someplace else along the way. Somehow we had made our way into Lisbon’s popular Alfama neighborhood. Here, on a narrow cobblestone street, we came across a small café — Antù. Tucked into an alcove overlooking the street, it was exactly what we were looking for.

    Tasty food … a pitcher of red sangria with plenty of berries … a charming local ambiance (I think we were one of the few tourists there). What more could we have asked for? Well, maybe octopus for Mui … but he was more than happy with the bacalhau à brás (bacalao) he ordered — salted cod mixed with rice … almost like a seafood risotto … an easy introduction for those who haven't had the chance to explore salted cod yet. No complaints whatsoever.

    Continuing down the narrow, winding street after our meal, we turned a corner and found ourselves across the road from Silhouette. Excellent. Embarking the ship, we had time to spend on the veranda before sailaway … checking messages and sharing newly-made memories with family and friends.

    And now, it’s time for us to take Celebrity up on a special invitation … more about that in the next footprint.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 26

    Helipad Sailaway on the Rio Tejo

    October 23, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Yesterday, we received an invitation from Natalia, the Captain’s Club Concierge, to enjoy today’s sailaway from Lisbon on the helipad.

    I’m not sure who qualifies for an invite for this event. We’ve enjoyed similar invitations of this nature on previous Celebrity cruises since becoming Elite+ … in Santorini, Greece and Stockholm, Sweden.

    I’m not sure how we made the cut for this particular sailaway instead of the two others that are still ahead of us. But I’m glad we did because this one saw Silhouette cruising the Rio Tejo — aka the Tagus River … the longest such body of water on the Iberian Peninsula — in order to get back to the Atlantic.

    The event almost didn’t happen, however. You see, the forecasted rain, which held off and allowed us to explore Lisbon unhindered, began just as the watertight doors opened to let us out onto the helipad. Luckily, the downpour was of short duration … and the crew managed to squeegee the helipad quickly. So, we got a last minute reprieve.

    The ships’ slow speed kept the wind down to a minimum, thus we had an enjoyable two hours for the scenic cruising as we sipped the bubbly that was being served by circulating waiters. Once at the mouth of the river, it was time for Silhouette to pick-up speed and for us to leave the helipad. Surprise … we were amongst the very few people who were still on deck. We’d been so intent on the scenery on either side of us that we had not noticed everyone else leaving.

    It was nearing 6:30p when we left the helipad. Instead of returning to our stateroom, we went up to the Oceanview Café for a light snack before heading to the theater for the 7:00p show headlining King Jamesheed — a British entertainer … pianist and vocalist … and a bit of a funnyman. We enjoyed his performance and would love to see him perform again. Alas, he is leaving the ship in Tenerife.

    So, here we are, swaying left and right again as Capt G warned us that we would. He did promise better weather for tomorrow, however 🤞🏻.

    (P.S. Sorry about the quality of the attached photos … with only my phone with me on this trip, I attempted to take some zoom videos to capture frames for still shots. Didn’t work out well.)    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 27

    A Day @ Sea

    October 24, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Overnight we rock ‘n rolled a bit, but by this morning the seas were much calmer … as promised by Capt G. There are dead rollers for sure … but nothing like the seas, nor the winds, we had during the first two days of this cruise. Hopefully, good weather will prevail from here on out.

    Nothing much to write about today.

    We followed our usual sea day routine this morning … with just a few changes. We went up to the Oceanview Café for breakfast instead of the dining room. Then we put in our steps to get some exercise. Nowhere near the 19,172 steps we walked yesterday, but better than sitting on our butts all day long. On our way back to the cabin, we stopped in at the Tuscan Grill for fruit and tea at the Captain’s Club breakfast … a special perk for those who are Elite and above in the loyalty program.

    I pretty much spent the day in the cabin … or rather, on the veranda since it was a lovely day with the skies ever-brightening although the clouds never fully disappeared. It was certainly warm enough to sit outside comfortably. I skipped lunch when Mui went up to grab a bite to eat … makes me feel less guilty about snacking when we have our “happy hour on the veranda.”

    After dinner at the Grand Cuvée, we went to the 7:00p show headlining Mark Donoghue, a multi-instrumentalist described in “Celebrity Today” as “… one of the most significant artists to emerge on the contemporary international cabaret and concert scene.” He put on an excellent show that started out with a medley of old spaghetti western movie themes and ended with a medley of Abba songs that had people dancing in their seats.

    Tomorrow is the second of the three ports of call on this cruise.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    1
    Day 28

    Santa Cruz De Tenerife: A-Wander

    October 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    With a 4:00p sailaway, we had a short day in port for what was our second time visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife (SCdeT). Part of it experienced on our own … part of it with friends.

    When we were in SCdT in 2017, friends — Manuela & Wolfgang — took us around the island, stopping to visit Teide National Park, before having lunch and enjoying the beautiful views from their terrace. We had plans to get together for lunch again, but first we had a bit of time to explore the city on our own.

    Our first stop was at the information office to pick up a map. Since the weather was lovely, with comfy temps, we decided to skip the museums and enjoy our time outdoors — stopping for photos at Iglesia de la Concepcion; checking out the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de Africa (housed in La Recova) … from where we got some delicious gelato and I left with three lava stone bracelets; strolling streets lined with shops where the locals do their shopping; taking a break at the Plaza Principe de Asturias … where my photo-finger was entertained by a couple of statues and a fountain; taking a peek inside Iglesia de San Francisco. That pretty much filled the 2½ hours we had before our lunch date.

    Retracing our steps back to Plaza d’España, we met up with Manuela and Wolfgang. They suggested we dine at one of the restaurants at Plaza de San Francisco. We settled on Plaza 18 when we arrived and took one of the tables on the street for a delightful meal. Sharing a pitcher of sangria, we reminisced about the experiences we shared on our world cruise in 2017 … and talked about future travel plans. The chatter was nonstop … as was the laughter. It was great seeing them again.

    Alas, the time passed all too quickly. By 3:00p, Manuela & Wolfgang were dropping us off at the entrance to the port. Here’s to meeting again … somewhere … sometime.    Read more

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