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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 37

    We’re Home

    November 3, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ❄️ 30 °F

    Safe and sound … we’re home.

    Our uneventful flight landed at DEN a little ahead of our 5:44p ETA, but then had to idle on the tarmac as we waited for our gate to become available. Flurries were flying, but it didn’t look too bad. Perhaps we had managed to arrive ahead of the forecasted snow. Hah! That was about to change minutes later.

    By the time we had collected our bags — about 10 minutes after deplaning — and got to the off-site Avis building — another 15 minutes later — the snow was really coming down. Mui took care of the paperwork for the rental car and came back with the keys to a Toyota Sienna … a mini van … an improvement on the economy car we’d reserved.

    The snow was falling in big, fluffy flakes and visibility was quite poor until we reached I-25S. Then the snow turned to rain. Once past Castle Rock, there was no precipitation in any form, though the pavement was wet. Traffic was flowing smoothly throughout, however. By the time we were halfway home, the pavement was bone dry. So much for the forecast of snow in Colorado Springs tonight.

    Around 8:00p, we pulled into our driveway. The house was a cozy haven after the bone-chilling cold outside. From 88F in Miami to 23F in Colorado Springs. Talk about a shocker.

    Thus, another trip comes to a close. Unexpected though it was, I’m glad we had another chance to visit with family this year. And, of course, we’re always up for a cruise … so that was a bonus.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 37

    @ MIA … Finally

    November 3, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    We are finally at MIA. We have checked our bags. We have gone through security. We have gotten a bite to eat at La Pausa, one of the eateries at the food court. All in less than an hour. We are now at our gate, waiting for boarding to be called.

    We’ve been cruising since 1999. That’s 23 yeas of embarking and disembarking ships of all sizes — from 5,000+ to 50-passenger — at various ports all around the world. I can categorically say that today’s disembarkation is at the top of them all … as the WORST EVER. And this on a one-ship day at the terminal where we were berthed.

    C’mon people. This is not something new. Miami disembarks thousands upon thousands of passengers practically every day. It’s time for all the parties involved — from cruise lines, to port personnel, to CBP — to stop blaming each other and solve the problem.

    OK … off my soap box … moving on with the story.

    It’s not that we minded the delay leaving the ship. No, we wanted a late departure anyway so when our number was called at 11:15a, we were happy that we got our wish.

    The problem? The unknowns once we stepped off the air bridge into the terminal and found ourselves in a molasses-slow moving line. Even that wasn’t a problem per se. The issue was that there was no one around to advise people of what was ahead as we inched our way down the corridor.

    Getting to the baggage claim area 35 long minutes later, we found ourselves in the midst of total chaos. People were getting out of line to collect their bags and then rejoining the line for immigration. Bags were halter skelter … all over the place. What happened to lining up bags by disembarkation number? Yeah, right. We eventually found each of our three bags in three different rooms.

    Here’s where we got smart. Noticing that people were flagging down porters who were then leading them off to immigration without having to join the long queue, I snagged one and off we went. About 5 minutes later, we were showing our passports and being welcomed back to the USA.

    We were going to Uber it to the airport, but once outside the terminal, we saw that there was no one in queue for taxis, so we switched plans and hopped in the next cab. This turned out to be a really smart move as the ride-share pick up area was swarming with people waiting for their rides.

    It took us about 15-minutes in mid-day Miami traffic to get to MIA … but we made it. Whew!

    More later …    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 37

    Still @ POM … Still Onboard Silhouette

    November 3, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    With a 3:12p flight out of MIA, we wanted to disembark Silhouette as late as possible. After all, it would be preferable to kill time on the ship instead of at the airport. Looks like we’re getting our wish.

    It’s now 10:47a. We should have been called to leave the ship and complete the immigration formalities in the terminal around 9:15a. About an hour ago, disembarkation was halted … the Cruise Director making a point of placing the blame squarely on Customs and Border Control.

    Thus, we are still at the Port of Miami … still onboard Silhouette. We are comfortably ensconced in Cellar Masters on deck 4. In stark contrast to the chaos on deck 5 where the gangway is located, we have peace and quiet here. In fact, we’re the only ones in this particular lounge.

    Not sure when disembarkation will resume. We have plenty of time before we need to begin worrying about getting to the airport.

    More later …    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 37

    Welcome to Miami

    November 3, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Yes, that’s right … it is 4:46a … Silhouette is sailing to her assigned berth at the Port of Miami.

    Of course, neither of us has a good reason to be up at this hour. After all, we don’t have to vacate the cabin until 8:00a … and our disembarkation group is not scheduled to be called until 9:15a. Nonetheless, here we are … bright eyed and bushy tailed.

    We went up to deck 15 to grab some photos and then returned to the cabin to prep for the day ahead. While I’m waiting for my shower turn, I figured I would post this tidbit … so nice to have 5G cell service and data again.

    More footprints as our travel day from Florida to Colorado progresses …    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 36

    Atlantic Crossing … Day 7

    November 2, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Yes, I skipped another day. Really, nothing to write about … except perhaps to mention that we got instructions for tomorrow’s disembarkation in Miami. We were assigned to Group 23 … at 8:15a. Nope … no can do. We have a mid-afternoon flight to Colorado and would prefer to dally on the ship as long as possible. So, Mui got us changed to the last group … #46 @ 9:15a. Still too early, but it is what it is.

    I should also mention that the production show last night — Euphoria — was similar to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Impressive acrobatics and aerial artistry. But … we could have done without the dancers strutting about the stage in air-filled animal costumes.

    On with today’s story.

    It was funny to hear Capt G advise us during his 9:45a report that we had a mere 270 NM left to cover. So, you can imagine that we were moving pretty much at the speed of molasses in winter throughout the day.

    Once our cabin was serviced mid-morning, we began packing our bags. Easy enough since practically everything that came out would be going back in … we just organized ourselves so that all the laundry went in one bag. The checked bags are now sitting outside the stateroom door … well ahead of the 10:00p deadline.

    Being this close to Miami meant decent satellite signal, so we attempted to use up our complimentary internet minutes. Except that even after having used two hours earlier in the cruise, and another hour of surfing the web and catching up on my reading today, I still had nearly two hours left. Hmmm! Nope, the math wasn’t adding up since we had four hours to begin with. Mui and I think that fellow passengers must have been complaining about the lack of a decent signal these past three days, so we might have been given extra minutes.

    By happy hour time, we started seeing cruise ships on the horizon … some leaving Florida … others, like us, heading there to disembark passengers. We also saw the low-lying Bahamian islands on the horizon. It was fun to have a bit of entertainment as we sipped our wine. At one point, we went through a squall which presented us with one last rainbow. We’ve certainly seen more colorful arches on this cruise than we have on other TransAtlantics.

    For dinner, we opted to just grab a bite at the Oceanview Café and go to tonight’s variety show at 7:00p. The opening act was a surprise performance by a passenger … the winner of Celebrity Idol on this cruise. She did a credible job. Then came the featured acts … the Fly Boys; Leslie McDonel; and Jayne Curry. All three gave us great performances.

    Now, I am going to put the laptop away and savor my last little bit of veranda time before I call it a night and turn in for a good night’s rest.

    Distance Remaining to Miami: 108 NM    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 34

    Atlantic Crossing … Day 5

    October 31, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Happy Halloween @ Sea!

    For eagle-eyed readers … yes, I skipped a day. We didn’t lose it … there just wasn’t anything worth writing about … and no photos worth publishing either. So onward to today.

    There were a variety of activities to mark the Halloween … and edible and other decor to remind us that today was all about goblins and gools! We enjoyed the decor, but didn’t participate in any of the activities. From the number of outfits we saw around the ship earlier this evening — some of them quite creative — there were plenty who came prepared to enjoy the festivities.

    Aside from today being Halloween, it was a typical day at sea for us. Spent mostly on the veranda in my case, while Mui joined me occasionally.

    Breakfast and dinner were both on the terrace at the Oceanview Café. The difference between the two? We arrived at our preferred corner table for sunrise and seconds later found ourselves going through a squall so thick that it felt like we were surrounded by clouds. Dinner on the other hand … nothing but sunshine and blue skies
    .
    After dinner, we headed to the theater for Jayne Curry’s third show. Another very enjoyable one.

    We fall back one last hour tonight. Add in the fall-back from last night and we have now gained a total of five hours to put us on Eastern Daylight Time. The next time change for us will be when we fly home on Thursday … we’ll gain two hours then. And then over the weekend another fall-back will put the US on standard time and we will gain one more hour. Whew!

    Distance Remaining to Miami: 905 NM    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 32

    Atlantic Crossing … Day 3

    October 29, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Another day at sea. And again I have very little to write about. I’ll just mention a few changes to our routine and finish up with some sunset colors we enjoyed as we strolled around decks 14 and 15 after another show that did not appeal to us.

    Breakfast and dinner were both at the Oceanview Café … but al fresco on the open deck. It’s so nice to be able to sit outdoors. I was surprised by how few people there were out there. Not complaining at all.

    I gave up an hour of my veranda time for the matinee show headlining Jayne Curry for an encore performance. Another excellent show. I wish I could say the same for the evening show, featuring an encore performance by Leslie McDonel. Instead of the “sultry standards” she sang in her first show, this time she opted for rock. Not particularly to our taste, so we left after the first song. And that’s how we ended up enjoying the sunset colors.

    Tonight we fall back yet another hour … for a total gain in time of three hours thus far. No complaints. I’d rather gain or lose time a little bit at a time instead of in one big chunk as happens on a long haul flight across the Atlantic.

    Distance Remaining to Miami: 1,831 NM    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 31

    Atlantic Crossing … Day 2

    October 28, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌙 18 °F

    Really, I have nothing to write about. Well, nothing exciting that is.

    After an exceptionally rocky night, we were both up early this morning. Instead of going up to the Oceanview Café for breakfast, we went down to Grand Cuvée … a nice change of pace.

    The rest of the day found me on the veranda … except to get some exercise by walking around the ship since it was too windy to go out on the jogging track. Mui had lunch at the Oceanview Café … brought me back sometime light to nibble on. Happy hour on the veranda after Mui woke up from his nap.

    For dinner, we went down to Grand Cuvée. We went a little later since we had no desire to go to the show featuring the Flyboys (remember, we were disappointed the first time around). We had just finished ordering our meal when Chef Halim stopped by to say hi. He’s been asking if he could prepare us something special. Since we were just beginning our meal, he insisted on preparing a popular Turkish salad … çoban salatası (shepherd’s salad). A nice gesture that we appreciated.

    And that’s a wrap of our second day at sea … which will see us falling back another hour … for a total two-hour gain thus far.

    Distance Remaining to Miami: 2,327 NM    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 30

    Atlantic Crossing … Day 1

    October 27, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    I am sitting in my favorite place on the ship. Our veranda. It’s pitch dark … the stars twinkling in the sky. The temperature is a cozy 73F. The motion of the ocean has increased since earlier today. Dead rollers … but at times big enough to make the ship dance. The weather was overall good … went through a squall this morning and was rewarded with a rainbow.

    Today we began to use our free minutes of internet — an Elite+ perk. I set up my account at breakfast and logged in to check emails and social media. Not much in either case. My usage today was all of about 25 minutes, so the 240 minutes should last for the duration of what remains of the cruise … easily.

    This first day of the crossing was a quiet one. I didn’t do much more than sit on the veranda … writing at times … reading at other times. Mui ventured out to Chef Halim’s cooking demo at 11:00a … how to cook the best steak. When we get home, I expect him to put into practice what he learned today.

    Since it was “chic night,” we got gussied up a bit and went to the dining room around 5:30p so we could get to the 7:00p show. On special nights like this one, Celebrity puts on a production-style show. This one was entitled “Cosmopolitan.” We should have just skipped it. Far from living up to the hype of “… giving us an olympic postcard adventure to enlighten the senses …” it fell flat on its face IMHO. The dancing was more like strutting on stage … the vocalists, well they were less than impressive. I walked out after the first three acts … Mui joined me in the cabin about 10 minutes later..

    But you know, I don’t care that the show was an “olympic fail.” I’d rather be on the veranda anyway. And now that I have finished today’s story, I’m going to read and enjoy the sounds of the ocean around me.

    Distance Remaining to Miami: 2,788 NM

    P.S. We fall back an hour tonight … so we have a 25-hour day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Two to TravelTürkiye & X TA 2022
    Day 29

    The Crossing Begins

    October 26, 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Shortly before 4:00p, we set up our wine and snacks on the veranda … in preparation for the 4:30p sailaway. Turns out that by 4:15p we were out in open seas. Our early departure was probably aided by the downpour that had everyone scurrying back to the warmth and comfort of Silhouette.

    With the Celebrity app showing a comedian/magician performing tonight, we decided we didn’t have to hurry through dinner to make the 7:00p show. Hah! Turns out that my app had not updated to show that the headliner was a vocalist from the USA … Leslie McDonel … a performer of “sultry standards.” So, we did end up rushing a bit … but it was worth it. Leslie, who has performed in several Broadway shows, and at the Grammy and Tony Awards, has a vocal prowess that is to be admired.

    Returning to the cabin after the show, I made myself comfortable on the veranda … where I am now. It’s a tiny bit cooler tonight … 70F. A wool lap blanket is all I need to keep me cozy. There’s a bit more motion to the ocean … and the wind, which Capt G said would be blowing at 30 knots, is stronger too. But Silhouette is handling both well enough.

    The ship has turned its bow westward. That will now be the general direction in which we will be traveling … with a slight slant to the south as we make our way to Florida. No more time on land for us until we arrive in Miami and disembark the ship on 3 November.

    Distance to Miami @ Time of Sailaway from Funchal: 3,362 NM

    Fingers crossed for a smooth crossing!    Read more

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