Tinbergs on Tour

Monday, January 2, 2017

Friday, November 11, 2016 – Miami Beach, FL – Sunny – 75F

Embarkation Day

As expected, I did not get much sleep due to our noisy neighbor, which turned out to be people renovating the room underneath us. I should also mention that we are probably the only English speaking people in the hotel. While we were having our breakfast out on the walkway, a lot of people greeted us with a friendly Buenos Dias or Buon Dia. While we were walking, some people came up to me and asked me something in Spanish – all I could do was nod and smile and sometimes say Si.

We had the usual breakfast and waited for the taxi I pre-arranged with the desk for transport to the pier. The fare was metered but was calculated to be about $25. Although it took us a while to find the Azamara Quest (it was docked all by itself on the other side of the port – away from the huge ships), the fare still came in under $25.00.

Boarding was quick (small ship benefit) and we got expedited being guest entertainers. We got our sea pass cards and made our way up to the Windows Café for the buffet lunch. We had some salad, some tuna, and some pizza. Pretty much the same lunch we always have on board these ships. The food was good and the Café was not that crowded as some people had not yet boarded.

We ate on the back deck and had some lunch drinks to jumpstart the voyage – a Bloody Mary for me and a Banana Daiquiri for Ellen.

Getting in the Cruising Mood

There were quite a few ships docked on the other side of the port – mostly NCL ships.

Once we got notice that the cabins were ready, we went down to our cabin – 4020 (right across from the Med Bay on the port side) but very conveniently located. It’s a great room with a big unobstructed window and a huge bed. The room is spacious with a couch and there is room between the bed and the wall and also room for two night stands.

Cabin 4020

It was a very clear day and we were able to get great shots of the Miami skyline from the open decks.

Tony Markey is the Cruise Director for this voyage and the Activity Manager is Matt Belsey (I sailed with Matt and Erik in February on the Journey). There was no welcome aboard letter from Matt in the room – we figured it would be there later.

We attended the safety drill at 4:30 PM – our Captain the is the Brit would ran the Quest the last time we were on – he’s very into the number of lines used to secure the ships (“strings” he calls them). This cruise will be a disappointment to him because we are tendering to almost all the ports.

After the drill, we checked again for the letter from Matt – nada. I went looking for Matt in the CD office but had to have him paged by the Purser’s desk. There were some welcome letters for speakers on the purser’s desk but none had my name on them. I finally got hold of Matt and told him about the letters. He said he would be right down. In his office, we found out that I was not listed on his grid as one of the speakers – another speaker, who wasn’t due to board until next cruise had been scheduled in my place. Matt did have all of my information – for some reason, the voyage was wrong. He told me that all five talks would be scheduled but he didn’t know when. Complicating things for me was the presence of two other speakers on board (not mentioned on the Azamara Website) – Cassie O’Hara from the WWF and Carl Schott, the Destination Speaker. I have confidence that Matt will work the whole thing out.

In any event, we watched a very scenic sail away from the open deck. We passed by the posh condos and golf course on Fisher Island before clearing the break water and heading out to sea.

Sail Away

Breaking from tradition, we had dinner in the Discoveries Dining Room. We both had the salmon, which was OK – the service was quick and the dinner was good overall.

The Welcome Aboard show tonight is actually the first Production Show - “Stage Door to Dreams”. After a brief introduction of the Entertainment Staff, the show went on with what I found out was a brand new cast. The singers and dancers were good and Tony added some songs not previously part of the show.

Chorus Line

Chicago Medley

Hairspray Medley – No Roller Skates Version

Currently reading - “A Death in Venice” by Daniel Silva – about hiding Nazis and the Holocaust (Part of the Holocaust Trilogy). Very different from his other books.

Our room is quiet and comfortable – hopes are high for a restful cruise.

Thursday, November 10, 2016 – Miami Beach, FL – Sunny – 75F

It was a relatively quiet night but we were awakened early by construction in the alley behind the hotel. Hammering, backup beeps, and lot of shouting in Spanish made it clear that we would not be able to sleep in.

The breakfast at the hotel was modest – cold cereal (in boxes), mini-muffins, bagels, and yes, an actual waffle maker. The coffee was regular and decaf was available in packets – I opted for regular coffee this time out. We ate outside in the walkway, which was nice. While we were eating, an army of yellow outfitted cleaning folks arrived and started cleaning the rooms. Very organized.

It’s another picture perfect day in Miami Beach today.

We had a route planned out today. We are going to walk to the Lincoln Road Mall, then visit the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial, the Botanic Gardens, and make our way back to the hotel area.

We started out heading North on one of the major street, Washington Blvd and then turning onto the Lincoln Road Mall Pedestrian Walkway.

Art Deco Building – Washington and Lincoln

The Lincoln Road Mall stretches several block and consists of a number of high end stores and restaurants. At this hour and on a work day, the mall is pretty sparsely populated. Many of the restaurants have outdoor seating in the center of the walkway. These will be filled both at lunch and dinner, no doubt.

Entrance to the Lincoln Road Mall

Much of the mall is occupied by green areas with palm trees and other tropic plants. Although it reminded me of La Rambla, there are no mimes or street performers.

Among the Plants at Lincoln Road Mall

Leaving the Mall, we came to the Miami Beach Golf Club. The course was magnificent sporting both water and trees. I couldn’t seen any players on the course. Although it was a weekday, there should have been somebody getting in a round. The course looked in perfect shape and even the landscaping surrounding the course was perfect with flower beds and perfectly manicured grass.

Can you find Ellen among the trees and flowers below?

The Miami Beach Golf Club

Across the street from the golf club, the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial is a fantastic construct. Dedicated in 1989, it is a circular structure surrounding a lily pond. In the center of the pool, there is an island (or more accurately, a peninsula) on which a giant forearm and hand sits. The hand can be reached via a bridge.

We actually entered the memorial on the wrong side so we viewed everything in reverse. Some of the items not shown in my photos are a) An Eternal Flame; and b) A chamber whose only light comes through a stained glass window fashioned in the yellow Mogen David symbol the Nazis imposed on Jews.

The white area at the bottom of the photo below has an inscription - “In Memory of the Six Million Jewish Victims”.

The Walkway

One of the Many Sculptures Showing Victims

There were several benches – some hand inscriptions (individuals who supported the memorial).

We passed through a remarkable tunnel to reach the arm. The tunnel had asymmetric slits which allowed sunlight through. The effect turned the boxy tunnel into an angular structure. You can see the courtyard and arm at the end of the tunnel.

“The Arm” is a dramatic structure – there are figures trying to scale the arm.

The Arm

Leaving the Arm and continuing around the circle, we found a wall of victim’s names – these names were put here by the families of those who died in the Holocaust.

Victim’s Names (my reflection in the background)

To complement the somber environment of the Memorial, there was music being played – Hebrew and sad.

Continuing down the street, we found the Miami Beach Botanic Garden.

Not only are their exotic plants but also animal life – we came across a “herd” of iguanas. They weren’t camera shy.

Iguana

The Gardens and Turtles

On the way back, we passed by the deserted Miami Beach Convention Center and the Jackie Gleason Theater. This led back to the Lincoln Road Mall and Collins Avenue. We rested up in the hotel and got back on the road – this time to the Beach.

We took beach towels from the hotel and walked the block and half to the Beach. It was still sunny and warm and we didn’t want to rent an umbrella for a short time. A solution presented itself – we put our towels down next to where the beach chairs were stacked. This provided not only a backrest to lean against but also shade. Nobody seemed to object so we stayed there for the better part of a hour or so. This game me plenty of opportunities for picture taking.

Miami Beach (Looking South)

Miami Beach (Looking North)

The beach time was great – we just don’t get the beach very often if at all.

After yesterday’s yummy but heavy meal, I Googled pizza restaurants in the area. I came up with a reasonably priced Italian restaurants just a couple of blocks away. Italymania (really) is on Collins Avenue just down from the Hotel. I haven’t mentioned an interesting feature of the South Beach area, namely the “barkers”, who stand out in front of the restaurants and bars and try to entice customers to try the place. Usually, pretty girls are used for this job although we did see some guys also scaring up business. The girl working Italymania was probably from Eastern Europe (well dressed and unintelligible).

We were the only ones in the restaurant (around 5:30 PM) so we didn’t have to deal with any smokers. We ordered a mixed salad (fu fu greens and oil and vinegar dressing), a margherita pizza, and fettuccini with mushroom cream sauce. All of the food was good especially the pizza. We must have been hungry since we polished off just about everything. The bill was about $30 (or about the price of one dish at most other South Beach restaurants). If we get back here again, we will get that pizza again.

Needing to walk off some of the meal, we went a little further down Collins Avenue to a point where the restaurants stopped. We then took Ocean Drive back to our hotel. Ocean Drive was really alive tonight.

Ocean Drive – Alive with Music and Food

Ellen is currently needle pointing a Lion design for Ari. Amazingly, we found the same design on the side of a van on Ocean Drive.

A great day in Miami Beach.

We got back to our hotel and tried to wind down from the day and evening. We could hear loud voices coming from one of the adjacent units. We were hoping that the noise would stop and it did for a while (perhaps they went out) but it did start up again. Had to stuff those earplugs in real deep to muffle some of the noise.

Hoping to get some sleep.

Azamara Quest – West Indies Getaway – November 11-21, 2016

Wednesday, November 9, 2016 – Travel Day

The nightmare Presidential Election is over and we are escaping to the Caribbean on the beautiful Azamara Quest. We are also spending an extra day in Miami Beach to extend the detox process.

To maximize our time in Miami, we are booked on an early flight. AA1377 has an 8:45 AM Departure so our taxi pickup was scheduled at 7:00 AM. Our cab arrived right on time and the ride to the airport was short and traffic-free.

We checked our bags and got into the TSA Pre-Check line. On this day, the Pre-Check line was pretty crowded – seems that either people have caught on to the advantages of expedited screening or it was just a busy morning. The line moved fairly quickly and the screening was just as it should be (no removal of shoes or laptops or jackets and a quick step through the magnetometer). We were soon on our way to gate H16.

Our plane arrived just a few after we did and our boarding was still scheduled for 8:15 AM.

AA1377 – Turning Around for Our Flight

Yesterday morning, when I was checking in for this flight, I noticed that Cabin Extra seats 7D and 7E (bulkhead) were now free. I changed our seats (sardine seats in the middle of the plane) so maybe we could stretch out and be comfortable. Done.

We boarded our 737-800 on time and pushed on time. We almost got lucky as it looked like the window seat might be unoccupied. Believe it or not, the last passenger to board took the window seat – he was small so Ellen did not feel cramped in her seat.

While the seats were comfortable, the flight was not – about 40 minutes into the flight, we encountered some CAT (Clear Air Turbulence) caused, according to the pilot, by wind shear coming from a nearby weather system. The attendants were ordered back into their jump seats and the serving carts were secured. And that’s the way it was for about two hours. In a moment of calm (I am beginning to have a feel for when the air will be briefly smooth), I hustled (while the seat belt sign was still on) to the washroom. I survived my adventure.

About an hour out of Miami, I could feel the plane climb to try to get out of the chop – the air did smooth out a bit and finally the light went out. Drinks and a snack were finally served.

The rest of the flight was smooth and our approach over the Everglades was scenic. We touched down on time at 12:27 PM.

We are staying at the Riviere South Beach Hotel on Collins Avenue. The hotel does have a free shuttle but it only runs four time a day and we had missed it (12:30 PM pick up time). Ellen thought we should double check on the shuttle so she called the hotel and they indicated the shuttle would pick up at Level 2 Gate G17. We were able to get our bags right away and started our run to G17 while communicating with the hotel and also the shuttle driver. We got there (about a half mile) but no shuttle. The hotel could not be reached and when we did get them, they were impossible to understand and/or hung up. Que?

An official looking gentlemen (he was arranging limo rides) said he would call us a taxi to take us to the hotel. It look a while but eventually, the taxi came, we gave him the name of the hotel, and the fare was $35. The cab had no markings or meters so I figured this was a non-Uber civilian taxi (there were lots of Uber and Lyft cars roaming the airport). The driver was nice so we didn’t think we were part of a kidnapping plot.

The ride to Miami Beach didn’t take long but the traffic at street level was heavy – in part due to a lot of construction of both streets and buildings. He pulled up to a hotel – Riviera South Beach Hotel. While the names were similar, our hotel was on Collins Avenue (the main drag) and this place was on a side street. I asked him use his GPS to find the Riviere Hotel, which turned out to be just a few blocks away. We eventually paid him $42 for participating in our adventure.

We checked in and I was about to share my “thoughts” on the shuttle fiasco when the clerk said no one had called him. Apparently, we had been in contact with the faux hotel (“Riviera”). The clerk spoke perfect English and was very professional so I knew he wasn’t the guy on the phone.

The place had no elevator so the clerk carried our bags up one flight to Room 304 – supposedly a quiet room away from the noise of Collins Avenue.

Riviere South Beach Hotel

The hotel advertised that all of its room had been renovated and Room 304 did look spruced up. It was a huge room with two Queen beds and a separate kitchenette. It also had an in-room safe. The bathroom was also renovated but the toilet looked original and the shower had no light. Still a very nice room.

Room 304 – Riviere

The hotel had a very interesting patio area surrounded by lots of tropical foliage. There are also lizards and squirrels populating the patio area. There are table and chairs here that are used for tenants to smoke (the rooms are smoke-free) and hang out.

Ellen in the Patio

We have dinner plans with Jennifer, who I work with to book my cruise gigs. I have been working with Jennifer for about four years but this is the first time, we have had an opportunity to actually meet face to face. We are going to meet at Il Bolognese, a northern Italian restaurant on Ocean Drive literally around the corner from our hotel.

While waiting for Jennifer, we took another horrible selfie. I have figured out why the face-forward camera is blurry – when the phone screen was recently fixed, the tech must have gotten some greasy stuff on the camera. He then sealed up the phone and I’m stuck with a vaseline-look selfie camera.

Very Artsy but Blurry

Our dinner with Jennifer was great – lots of fun conversation and absolutely terrific food (I had the Cannelloni and a Cesar Salad; Ellen had the mushroom ravioli. My food was wonderful perhaps the best Cannelloni I’ve ever had).

After dinner, Ellen and I walked along iconic Ocean Drive. As always, the place was hopping.

Ocean Drive and Moon Over Miami

It had been a very long day so we went back to the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel is not that quiet – we can hear our neighbors. Hopefully, they need sleep like the rest of us and things will get quiet a little later on. If the AC (which is new) weren’t so loud, we could run it as background noise. Luckily, one of our windows has a screen so we can get some fresh air into the room.

Lights out about 11 PM. Hoping for a quiet night.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 – Brooklyn, NY – Partly Cloudy – 60s

The crossing was very calm…

It’s a gray day in New York but still warm.

Breakfast up in the King’s Court was not crowded and we were up early enough to have a relaxing breakfast. Plenty of seats and the breakfast offerings were the standard ones.

I went out on Deck 7 to get some early morning pictures of Manhattan and the East River.

Back in New York

We are doing “Walk Off” today and so when we were all ready, we headed to the gangway and then to the terminal. Even though the ship is big, it is the only one here so the time in Immigration was not bad. We found a cab at the stand and started our trip to LGA.

We had a bizarre experience at the Marine Air Terminal at LGA (where Delta flies from). The Delta Agent told us that our bags were too big for carry on and that we would have to pay for checked bags (we have no status on Delta so we were going to carry our bags on the plane). After some discussion on how our bags were standard carry-on size and we had done this on other airlines (and the fact that we had no choice), we reluctantly paid the $25.00 (she was going to charge us $60.00 until we told her that we both could check a bag for $25 instead of charging both bags to one of us. A training issue for sure). I saved the receipt as this wasn’t over (NOTE: The minute I got home, I called Delta Customer Service and explained the situation; I got an apology and a refund for the checked bags).