Norwaylady

Lots of crew signed on in Dubai. The lineup of crew was next to where we cleared immigration in the morning. So hopefully it solves some issues.

I find and feel this a bit hard. When we visited the Retreat yesterday afternoon for look around. No crew said hello or welcomed us. It was very busy. One was constantly on the phone and one was occupied by others. So we will see if it’s different today. Mr went to the outdoor bar to get us a glass of champagne 🥂. Now it’s time for me to go get some coffee🙂 Mr is all dead in bed😂😂😂 He was SO clear to try Luminae for breakfast and I tried to wake him up… but it’s nobody’s home😝

Paperwork Cruise Compass Day 2 Sea Day. Clock +1h. We are now on Pakistani time.

So where to begin? I find this a bit hard and difficult…. My inner ***** is felling a little coughing. I really do hate to complain and be a negative person. But there are some things that didn’t start this off to an excellent experience. So the cards/transit pass is one thing. Before we went to show and dinner, we heard nothing from housekeeping/retreat host (what ever they want to call housekeeping😝) The first thing Mr found in our bathroom on the floor after arrival was a small in between brush dental stick. It’s a decent amount of stains on the shelves and on the front of the porcelain zink. The box containing Kleenex towels had 1 left in the box. (Not a big operation for me to change… ) We returned back to our stateroom after dinner, it was 21.05 and our room had not received turndown service yet. The stateroom attendants on deck 11 was still running around for turndown service…. I do understand and they have my full sympathy that yesterdays turnaround day was special and heavy due to all b2b changing cabins and lots of late people arriving close to sail away time… But I know Mustafa called to our new stateroom attendant to give the person a heads up that we will be on a adventure in Dubai and we will not be back before after 13.30, so they have time to do their ting’s😌 After our little visit to the stateroom, we meet out stateroom attendant in the hallway, we asked if it was him. He confirmed at said it was very busy, so later it would be “in order” for normal timing…. We will see🤓 We picked up a glass of wine and a drink for Mr in Al Bacio before the show last night. I saw paper slips coming out of the printer and it was frenetic punching on the cashier system…. 😔Last night Mr drinks were voided but not my glass of wine… So it’s just another thing to take care of. Back to dinner! Our card from Luminae asked us to join them between 19.45-20.15. We went upstairs after the show, so we arrived around 20.05…. The place was packed. We needed to wait for a few minutes before they could seat us. We had a table on I-95 main road and exit for the pantry. So servers and plates was running around us…. The level of sound was on the edge of too much for my taste. Service by: Bread and water service was walked to the table quickly after seating. Tonight’s menu We had both the salmon tea and Turbot. Mr had also the chilled corn soup. chefs surprise bite The food arrived quickly. It went bang-bang-bang. I’m not joking. We had finished our dinner in 35.mins. Not our style! (Even Mr said this is a bit overwhelming of how fast you want us in/out the door) Now wine service before our food arrived. Wine was not refilled, topped up during dinner. No questions. Mr had to ask after we received our ice cream if he could get a glass of Riesling for his dessert. Dessert menu: We went for ice cream. It was not on the menu so we had to ask. Our waiter said the classic from MDR was available every day. They offered vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. Mr asked for sorbet, but it was not available. We both agreed and said to ourselves that we will try to go a little later (our usual timing is 20.30-20.50) So we can see if it’s a bit calmer and peaceful. The food…… I was not heavy impressed. The tea salmon was good, Mr said the corn soup was good and the presentation of it was nice. The turbot was a minute overcooked in my opinion. This applying for both plates. The fish was still good, but a second more and it would be dry. My sauce mirror had a film, a thick film. So I will not judge the service down and under. We will give them some days before I will say Yea or Nje of Luminae. It was too early for bed after dinner…. And since our room was not served yet, we decided to attend the music quiz in the club and the rock show performance from the cast….. Trivia went decent! 27/30 points🤓 it was 80’ hits. The cast did a great job singing rock and dancers had a great mixture to the party. After this it was bedtime.

You need to do visas before departure! The ship can not get you the visa on arrival in India and Sri Lanka. Both are online and okey to fill out. The most demanding is the Indian visa. You need a picture of you and passport picture For India, we as Norwegian citizens need a full visa. This is similar to all guests is my understanding. You do the visa online. Transit visa is not valid, you need an entry visa according to the embassy. Sri Lanka is also online. I asked the embassy about the transit 48h visa for free. They said it’s only valid on the airport. So if you leave the ship for a tour, you need a full visitor visa. Application is online and very easygoing.

So, I unpacked our luggage again. Mr was very happy for a balcony! We went for a view and visiting in The Retreat. Mr was very happy for the view forward! He had this smile on his face😁😁😁 (this guy is a hopeless poker player🤣🤣) Things where not running smoothly in the terminal today😰🤪😫 Luckily we cleared immigration this morning and could go straight onboard again🙏🏻👍🏻 Athens was peanuts compared for todays issues…..❤️ At 18.30 we could finally hear Captain Matt speak and proceed the mandatory safety protocol. Tonight’s show is Stephen Barry. Good mood and orchestra! What more can you ask for?

I did bring the black oats from home. I run very poorly on sugar🙈 So to make sure I get something good for me, I eat them for breakfast.

It was a looooooooong line when we arrived….🤪🥵😰😱🤯😱😱😱 I was 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 that we cleared this morning! It’s 17.12 and they are still not finished. They had it problems already this morning and it has really slowed down the speed of check in and a combination of people missing visas for Sri Lanka etc… Hopefully they will soon be ready for departure and having everyone cleared for travel….❤️

QE2 is a hotel👍🏻 They have afternoon tea a few times a week and you can stay for the night🙃

Paperwork in stateroom on arrival: Not to be super picky or angry….🤪 When I spoke to the concierge about my missing transit card, she said, whiteout me asking, that our level of captain’s club was taken care of and that everything was in order for next part of our cruise. It would be Elite Plus on our cards… Well…… it’s not. It’s not the underground of the world or holiday❤️🥸🙃 It’s just the attention to detail. And seen in the fact of the missing transit card, it’s just a little more sand in the machinery of minor things… We will see if we bother to try to get it sorted. It’s not a big game change for us. Cruise Compass Day 1

That look on your face….. 14AAC115-D058-47F4-88C3-932A642631E2.mov When you realise your card is grey…… 😁

Good morning from Dubai! Turnaround day🙃🤪🙃 We went for breakfast at 07.30 in the buffet. It was controlled chaos and not wildly. Outside on the terrace is was quiet and perfect. Mr had his usual omelette and had my “cat pellets” and fruit. We had booked tickets to The View on the Palm for 09.30 so we need to skip the instruction for our time on the letter received last night…..🥸 Travel time to the palm from cruise port is 35-40.mins depending on traffic🏎️🏎️ We went downstairs at 08.00 no big line or anything. 50/50 of scanner said ping and bing (you all now what that sound is for b2b🥳🥳🥳) We where ready, all paperwork in hand, transit pass and cruise card ready to be delivered to security👍🏻 Ping!!! My card said PING😱 And security looked at me since I was reacthim my card🤪 I sad I’m transit b2b. He asked Mr to ping his card. That said BING! Security looked at us and said are you sure Madam? Do you have transit pass? YES, 👍🏻 Security took the cards and asked us to proceed to immigration/check in for transit. So the concierge did print the transit pass, but it was not registered and done correctly. Why does it always happen to me🤪🙈 Mr is immune against problems like this🙈🙈🙈 It was no one in line, so we were directly at a counter…. Our counter was a person in training😅 So this was definitely a proof of waiting client game…. I had everything ready in paperwork and copies for the ship. Our process due to training in progress took 20.minutes. Suddenly at a point the supervisor arrived and said, everything is in paper and all is good, send them off😂😂😂 At the immigration zone, Mr Mihail hotel director was walking around. So we stopped him to say hello and tell him, that something was wrong. My cruise card was delivered into the ships security, but something is not correct…. So he was advised that we are b2b both of us🙃 Hopefully everything is in order when we return to our new stateroom. So back to our plan for today😎 We jumped into a taxi 08.45 from port to the View, Palm. Traffic was luckily not horribly. So we arrived at Nakheel Mall 09.20. Taxi fare 98 dirham. We went straight upstairs to the entrance of The View. I had printed tickets and it was just to walk inside. The tour started by a multimedia video on the floor, then it’s a video presentation before you have an area for timeline in pictures and explanation of the process constructing the Palm. After this you take the elevator from 4 to 52 floor😎 You have a beautiful view overlooking the Palm and nearby areas. Unfortunately it is a little hazy today. So it was not Cristal clear view all the way to our port. But who did we see? Azamara is docked by the Palm🤩 We had a great walk around enjoying the view🤩 Nakheel Mall is located in the basement. So we decided to have a look. 50% of the stores/area of the mall I closed off. Big contrast to my last visit just before covid😱 Then everything was in use. The grocery store in Nakheel Mall is big, a party for Mr to walk around and see what you can get🤩 ( no beers 🍻 muslin country) Mr tried a bbq briscket sub from the take away section😋 It smelled delicious and Mr said it was good 👍🏻 not a crumble left for me😂😅 After our view & window shopping 🛍️ it was time to return to the ship. We took a taxi from The Palm at 12.45. Traffic was not bad, so it went smoothly back to the ship. Taxi fare 85 dirham. We arrived in the terminal 13.20 the lines for check-in was long😫 But for once, the transit pass worked🥳🥳🥳 We we went straight to security check and into line for boarding the ship🥳🥳🥳 It was 5.minutes to wait. Things moved slowly on boarding deck, technical issues for check in system made the process for security delayed and slow. I pinged on easy as 1-2-3…. Mr had a ping, but no picture🫥 But security fixed that in 2sec😁 just needed to show his id-card. (Good for us, we have passport delivered to the ship, but we also have government id-cards issued as a driving license card) So no problem to verify him😅👍🏻 Then it was up to muster station for the obligatory ping👍🏻 Mr wanted to have a stop in Al Bacio, so I why not? He tried to say, I can run upstairs to collect the new cards….. I said why, they can just scan and register on our new room😁👍🏻

It’s truffle risotto! Taste of truffle was good but that cheese….. No. It has definitely a taste of “green” as Mr said😂😂😂 I can agree that presentation colour was not perfect😂😂😂 it looks like something my parents dog could leave as a souvenir…..

Clothes: I have dressed “conservative” (not that I do own a string bikini, hot pants or other tiny tiny pieces😂😂😂 as Mr says… “you can wear it, it looks fine” and I will reply back: No, to much cleavage, to short to revealing😂😂😂 So for me this is not a big issue. In Oman I had my linen pants, they are loose fit 3/4 length and I had a linen loose fit top sleeve to elbow+ and a matching flowing scarf, so I could cover hair if necessary and is giving the illusion of wearing a longer dress. In Emirates Palace the concierge sends you on the confirmation of the booking what clothing you are required to wear. They ask you to wear Resort casual. And it’s says clear: For men, No shorts, sandals, t-shirt. Shirt and sport pants (chinos or dress pants only) Ladies has restrictions for bathing attire, sports wear, short/mini skirts and shorts. So I had a dark blue dress in cotton that goes to underneath my knees and are loose fit. The personal on the hotel are wearing dresses for ladies that stop on the knees and short sleeve. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi is very open, you can wear almost as you will. The only place that is very restricted is the Mosque. On the public beach in Abu Dhabi there was lots of people, majority of tourists yesterday and they had tiny bikinis and walking around on the beach. It has softened up since my first visit to the region in 2011. So you don’t have to walk around in a aboya in public when you visit.

Tonight’s dinner was Tuscan. It was crowded compared to earlier. Normally it’s not that crowded when we eat. But it went very well🙃 Our service: Today’s menu: We didn’t eat lunch… only cake😂 So we were ready for dinner! We both had steak & chips for main course. Mr had wedge salad and I had shrimp cocktail for starter. All tasted well and was fresh in taste. Today’s dessert: We had sorbet and ice cream. All tasted good and service was good. After dinner it was bed time… and a letter for immigration was waiting for us… Something tell me we need to do same as today…. Really not happy about this. They called to inquire about our plans in Dubai, I answered and said we have private plans. We need to be at our destination at 09.15 latest… And now they booked us a very late group 🤪🧐😳 Really? Why bother calling us and inquire😆

So after our stop in Al Bacio for some coffee, club soda and a coconut macron it was time to go upstairs…. The dreaded packing🤪😂😂😂 YES, b2b is hard work! Todays canapés had arrived… This is not Edge Chefs choice I think… since all canapés are similar on all ships, this is the corporate “set” menu. Should I suggest that corporate consider more artistic freedom to the local chefs onboard🙃😅 The b2b letter I got from the concierge… hopefully it’s the correct letter😆 All packed, prepped and ready for moving tomorrow😁 Thank you to Mustofa for excellent service❤️ Stateroom and everything in-room from him has always delivered❤️👍🏻 10/10 Mr was “sacrificed” for the passport pickup line😂😂😂😘 Chaos under control😅🤓 Tonight’s show is The Barricade Boys🎶 They delivered tonight🤩🎶🎶 Last show was great, but tonight they did the “party” edition. Oh my🎶🤩❤️ Captain Matt was on stage after the show⚓️ Saying by for now for those leaving us in Dubai❤️

So the “Japanese” quick tourist guide for those that has not visited Abu Dhabi! (We have visited several times, so that’s why we didn’t go now) I must say that the most important is the Mosque, Qasar Al Watan and Louvre museum… All beautiful! I will give you some hints…. Louvre Grand Mosque 🕌 Qasar Al Watan So plenty of teasers to Abu Dhabi

So after the our adventure on Emirates Palace it was time to arrive back in reality😂😎 We walked from Emirates Palace to Abu Dhabi Mall. It’s very nice to walk along the Corniche beach. It’s several areas for swimming and enjoying the sun. We walked by the memorial site, it’s only a few hundred meters from Emirates Palace. Then we continued on Corniche beach walk. Halfway Mr was ready for a dip in the ocean😎 After our little swim, it was time to continue to Abu Dhabi Mall. The shuttle to the ship arrived when we walked up to the mall, so went straight back to the ship. We arrived back onboard 15.55 so a decent day out for a walk and fresh air on land😎

Abu Dhabi So our immigration letter said group 16. It no time estimates and we had booked a time for our visit to Emirates Palace…😳 We went up for breakfast at 07.30 in OceanView. It was not crowded and not to busy. They stated to call immigration groups 1+2 on the second of 07.00. When we finished breakfast at 08.10 they called group 6+7…. So we where not very happy… At 08.30 we decided to just head down and hope for the best…. There where nobody in long queue, and people in early groups not proceeding ashore returned to the ship… So we went straight off the ship and into the terminal. Nobody in line and 2seconds to pass thru immigration, stamp and delivery of passport…. We walked straight out to a 🚕 taxi and was at emirates palace at 09.03🤩 Taxi from port to Emirates Palace is around 45 dirham. Starting price from port/airport/event is 20 dirham. If you book by your self, remember to have your booking ready for inspection in the driveway😌 (same if you go to Burj Al Arab in Dubai) They check all cars arriving before they are allowed to continue to the entrance. We had booked the tour of Emirates Palace. It’s 150 Dirham pr person. It includes a guided tour on the property outside and inside. They have 🐝 on the property, so the honey 🍯 is local💛 We where the only guests on our tour We drove a golf car around the outdoor areas and walked around in the hotel. We visited a 3-bedroom palace suite. The rooms are big and really heavily decorated in a tasteful way. All palace suites has a view to either the ocean or Royal Palace (neighbour property) The carpets are hand woven, a gift from Thailand 🇹🇭 Each carpet weight 1000kg. The tour ended by a golden cappuccino in Episodes café. YES, it’s real gold💛 We decided have a pice of palace cake together by our coffee🥂❤️ Cheers to a great way to start our day! after our extraordinary start of the day, Mr took a Clark Kent for next adventure….

Cruise Compass Abu Dhabi Day 14. Immigration inspection paperwork: NO time estimates!!!!! 🤯🤯🤯 We have a designated meeting time at Emirate’s palace 09.30.

Tonight’s dinner was in Normandie. Well, where to start? We got a table boxed in. Not my preference and first choice. Tonight’s service: Service was not bad, but showing big signs of overwhelmed staff situation. No refill of water. (My glass was empty from the starter was empty on my plate, no refill until we walked out) I asked but no water. Wine was not asked/service before we had finished our starter. It was obvious a staff shortage. Mr had salmon, kale salad and lobster🦞 (thank you me for ordering lobster 🦞🙃😂) I went for salmon, lobster and risotto (I know my Mr…. I’m starving on lobster nights😂😂😂) The salmon was very good👍🏻 Mr said his kale salad was excellent. The lobster 🦞 was really not big tonight. My picture in the shells 🐚 lie. When the meat was out it was not much meat. Mr commented: This is definitely not legal to fish at home…. (In Norway the lobster has a minimum requirement before you can catch it. It must be at least 25cm ) So he had my portion of lobster 🦞 and I ordered the Risotto. The lobster tasted good and was perfectly prepared. Just very tiny. The risotto was okay. Who decided to make it vegan🙈 Vegan Parmesan do not taste as ordinary cheese 🧀🧐 For dessert: We went for sorbet and ice cream. I ordered macchiato and it arrived perfect😌 After dinner it was bedtime….

We are looking forward😁 We have visited Abu Dhabi before. First visit was in 2011🙃 When I brought the Queen aka my mother in February 2020 we did The Mosque, Louvre museum and Qasar Al watan castle. So we are “known” in the area after several visits🙂 Tomorrows plan is Emirates Palace, it’s the only thing we have not visited/done in Abu Dhabi. (We have had lunch at IKEA on Sir Yas island also😂😂) We have an arrangement there, so we are asking to higher gods that immigration is easygoing tomorrow morning😇

They had the barcode listed from day 3 to 11 in the Cruise Compass daily🙃 For me personally it’s not a big problem, it’s more just a observation😌 But what’s is more bothersome is the missing transit pass and b2b letter issue. It was solved but it’s just irritating🫤

Tonight’s show is production show: A summer nights dream The aerialist is really shining in this show and it’s a technical difficult show. Really great🤩👍🏻

Guest vs Officers 💥🙌🏻 The officers are the champions🏆🏆🏆 Today they “fired” up the OceanView lunch. I saw a lady walking out carry a full plate of chocolate dipped things🍫🍬🍭🍩 So I said to Mr, today is the chocolate fountain day😁 Mr took a walk to have a look🤩 He said it was chocolate fountain but nothing I enjoy to dip😝 The dessert department had really worked, lots of big cakes and lots of sweets 🍭 (I’m not very happy for to sweet and sugary thing) So they look smashing🤩 but it’s not my 😋🙃 He returned by a plate of melon 🍉🥰 So back to attention to details…. I know, I’m like a eagle 🦅 vision on this… can’t help it😂🤗 There is a sun lounger on deck 15, it started out containing a small problem, the seating was not in its track. They have not fixed it during the cruise. The chair is now more broken and the seating is loose and worse than it was 5 days ago…. This is a chair they stack and un stack daily. The doorknobs on deck 4 aft is having a harder time😵‍💫 One is completely off now and some of the others are hanging down🫠 I don’t know if it’s changed or due to the length of this sailing. But usually we receive a flower/rose in the stateroom🌹. We have seen very few fresh flowers onboard. So not a big problem or anything that ruined the sailing😂😂 just a observation🙃 Today’s canapés arrived when we arrived at our door: They went on the Edge of Beyond to Ascend and Apex the canapés😂😂😂 (If you don’t get it… google the meaning of each ship🥸) Cheers for X🥂 We only had some fruit around 13.30 so we opted for scones in OceanViews Afternoon snack. (I must say, they have really good scones on this sailing. They are very good indeed😋😊😋) After our little snack party on the terrace it’s time to go downstairs to get ready for evening chic! You know what dinner it is??? 🦞🦞🦞Lobster night🦞🦞🦞