Hi Bill. A little tale of me being childish - My wife and I went there because I saw there was a festival on with a food tent and thought 'hmm I fancy some fresh, quality seafood'. When we got there the only food at the festival was pies and sausages. We then moved inland and stopped nearer York where there was a pub that had lobster on the menu. My wife suggested we had some and I replied 'I am not travelling to the sea to eat land animals and I am certainly not travelling inland to eat seafood' so we went home and had a supermarket fish pie. 5 hours driving.

Hi. Thanks for watching and as you have asked a few questions I am going to ask you to think about watching and sharing some of my other posts and maybe subscribing? I don’t have plans to become special on youtube and I make them for fun and to be helpful - but it is nice to get views. To answer your questions - The key is flexibility and considering each trip and aspect for its own merits. We did book the hotel through celebrity along with some transfers and flights. All these elements are separate and can be done with or without the others. We do separate comparisons for each trip we do and we tend to take the best offer. On this occasion we booked late, wanted the security that celebrity would take responsibility of getting us there and they were also the better price. We do tend to use celebrity for flights IF we are arriving only one day before. There are swings and roundabouts each time. Yes other hotels were offered with different prices etc but we had a look at reviews etc and went with this one. I am sure ship tours were available but I tend to avoid them and go with private guides who have cruise insurance. However, this is another reason we chose this hotel - it’s location put us right where we wanted to be so no tour was needed. As for Blu. Like any place loss of service can come to a number of things but I do prefer the extra choice and intimacy of Blu along with the easier flexible dining times. Thanks again. Jim

@@themaltedmuse Thanks for the extra information. I was looking at cruises to Greece out of high season and there was this one and another from Viking I'm considering. I've been on the Infinity twice and like the ship, although some of the Captains Club perks aren't as attractive on the older ships, and as you mentioned the positioning of Aqua class cabins is not ideal. When I get some time I will check out some of your other vlogs. Happy travels!

why? is it because you don't want to enough? :)

thank you kindly

Thanks Bill, I would love to go - even though anywhere called Terminal seems like tempting fate - I am getting to that age 😉

thanks, I think.

Yes and no - celebrity do offer backstage tours that you pay for BUT you can also get free ones if you are high enough in the loyalty scheme. I did the free one as I am ‘elite +’. If you watch the earlier infinity RU-vid I made I did a galley tour - that is the same, pay or free as a perk.

tricky - there are things for them BUT it is steep and I would worry about falls. If you do I would suggest getting a room by the lower pool as that is not on the hill. TBH as much as I like the place I would go with kids BUT I think there are more child friendly ones.

😂

It was a bit odd, I was told it was the last time the ship was doing that this year - but there have been a few changes as originally many cruises were going to Israel and had to find alternatives.

I was quite impressed with Old Town. At one point we were with some Norwegian friends who got a call from their daughter back home - she was watching us on a live webcam, so we found the camera and waved.

funny - we did not know but my wife's cousin was sailing a small yacht around them just two days before us. She lives in USA. small world.

Thanks - have a great time

oops - yes, I don't know why I said solstice when I wrote millennium in my description - sorry about that slip of the tongue.

May I ask what disappointed you about your time on the Constellation? I was about to book a cruise on this ship and am a bit concerned now.

depends on the teens.

thanks

😂 I think the music thing is lack of confidence. I always take care with it and try to match up the music and movement but then think 'I didn't write it...' I love the way that these big beasts look wobbly as they move.

@@themaltedmuse agreed, the time-lapse emphasizes personality of motion.

@@themaltedmuse almost like video motion amplification, but less extreme (Google that phrase if you don't remember the demoes that circulated a few years back.)

always an education with you Bill. I tried video motion amplification on my savings account... showed no movement.😕@@BillRicker

🙃

thank you.

thank you Bill. (Also not so nostalgic as I am still using the same phone - which is why most apps don't work on it). I was quite moved at seeing it again and just wanted to share it.

Je vous remercie, vous êtes très aimable

the sports court is on the film - there are no other courts but you can see that there is a tennis net in it - hope that helps.

I have not had an ocean view room but all other rooms I have had has had a hairdryer.

I must say it is not on my must do list.

@@themaltedmuse imagine how long it would take to film, edit, or even just view a tour of "seven swimming pools, six waterslides, and more than 40 restaurants, bars and lounges." It looks like they landed a star trek starship on top and then camouflaged it an Swarovski crystals. I'd prefer a canal boat, thank you!

I agree. I keep imagining saying to someone “I will catch you later”... I often travel with a friend who, despite being on a ship before and a week into a cruise, still asks me where the gents are - he would be totally lost on here. I also think about how the ports need to adapt. The local trade needing flexible working contracts etc and then the impact of the ship not coming.

looked OK to me

yes - Bach Cello Suite No. 1, G Major, - I have used it before with drone videos - I like the flow and rising mood of it.

@@themaltedmuse I probably said then that I grew up with Mom playing cello. She was one of the younger old ladies who volunteered with local teachers College music department's chamber orchestra. So I grew up hearing the cello line of baroque top 40. She recently found a teen cellist who deserved a good instrument and whose parents could afford the cost of the overhaul it needed to restore it to its former glory after decades of storage. Not a top soloists instrument but better than secondary school orchestra expects.

@@BillRickerThat's a lovely story - I remember Julien Lloyd Weber being interviewed about a bet he had with his brother Andrew over a football (soccer) match - Julien won the bet and Andrew had to write a version of a variation on a theme by Paganini for him for the Cello.

Interesting - first time when Covid was still the new thing, we were put into an awful hotel for 5 days in Fort Lauderdale. This time we had 1 night in our cabin, the last night of the first cruise, then put on the port side after re-arranging our flights and we flew home, then after the overnight flight drive the 200 miles home and went to bed for 12 hours.

Thanks Bill, busy uploading 3 more time-lapses.

Thanks Bill, There are many problems with doing this. On this occasion I was travelling with my wife and friends and promised to get coffee, meet for breakfast, not disturb people etc - problem being the early and prolonged amount of time needed as well as the width of the river. The solution was a mix of anchoring hidden cameras and rushing around in and out of the dining room, then synching the speeds etc in post edit. TBH when doing this I often think 'I hope Bill likes this' 👍

sore point Bill - on this occasion I edited on board in the USA, then added sound and posted on return to the UK - There is more coming but it was going to be a back to back adventure but things have been cut short by getting Covid and not being able to continue - that's 3 times now.

@@themaltedmuse this JN.1 strain is quite virulent, so combined with so many people who neither mask nor test, it's the second strongest wave in US. And we called the cruise ships floating petri dishes back when the expectation was notorious...

@@BillRicker testify 😆

haha didn't see him 😉

0:42 starboard (so left ✏️ in stern view) 😮

@@BillRicker I think it is the museum ship American Victory.

@@themaltedmuse yes (I think I replied that earlier, I at least tried to! )

@@BillRicker sorry if I missed it - and for my silly joke about not seeing it 🙄🙂

thanks - just got back and will be making another soon about the constellation.

👍

Actually it was a free invitation due to being elite in the loyalty program. The wine tasting was also free for the same reason.

yes it is often there - normally a winch point rather than landing zone - but the visibility depends on where I can film from, on some of them you can see it filled with people and I have also filmed from it.

😂 unless your wife is constantly telling you to change channels. They are fun but conversation is a problem.

Thanks Bill, I like them as well. I also see them in a different way having the experience of making them. The getting up early and the solitude, the experience of the wind blowing the camera off the fixing, the time difference - when I did Stockholm I was in isolation but still sat on the balcony from 03.00 to 09.00 in my night clothes freezing cold. Often it is 05.00 on the top deck witnessing things missed by others - then condensing it down to 2 - 3 mins. Love it.

My wife wanted to go to Rick's until I pointed out it was in Hollywood 😄

@@themaltedmuse there may have been an homage café there! but it was decades ago that I might have heard that, and I might just be confused

oh thank you Bill and the same to you - been a very difficult year so glad it it i coming to an end. Hope you are having a great time.

@@themaltedmuse also difficult here Dec 2022 thru spring '23 particularly but we're having the "Merry Little Christmas we'll muddle thru some how" of Judy Garland's original lyrics

oooh that's a good idea - don't see why not.

Do you know how much I shelled out making this 😉

@@themaltedmuse Did you crack it in the end ? Lol.

thank you

Cumhuriyet cd

thanks