Norwaylady

New cruise compass delivered during the night😝 Show is changed to a production show🙂 I was up and awake 06.30 so put on my shoes and went for a decent 1,5h walk out on deck. It was dolphins 🐬 they jumped up and showing off a bit. Chair hogs was arriving from 07.30….🫡 The only place to get water/drinks early before 09.00 is the buffet bar or Al Bacio. So stopped by Al Bacio after my walk to pick up some coffee and a water bottle. Needed those extra stairs up and down after my walk😂😂 I was surprised when I arrived upstairs😛 The Queen was awake and up!!! She was finished sleeping🤩

cruise compass for tomorrow, sea day

Today’s dinner was good❤️ the crew are very friendly and we are taken very good care off. We had salmon and 🦐 for starter and branzino for main course. My wish and prayers for after eight ice cream was 👂🏻. (It’s my favourite ice onboard and I asked if it will be on the menu….. look what’s on my plate for dessert😘😘😘😘🤩😊) The Queen had the no-sugar dessert.

Paperwork delivered this evening:

We went straight to Al Bacio after arriving back to the ship. The Queen needed a shot of coffee and a little snack… lemon 🍋 tart👍🏻 I went for my favourite on warmer days, the 🫚 ginger 🍐 pear ice tea🥰 Maria was greeting us back and delivered good service as she has done since we checked in on the ship. She has taken excellent care of the Queen when she has visited Al Bacio on her own. After re filing liquid substance it was time to take a tour upstairs. The Queen was in need for some downtime before dinner. So I decided to go to the show. Ohh, new name on the screen😅 Tonight’s show is Shane Hampshire together the orchestra. Big band👍🏻 My favourite🥳🥳🥳 The planning failed😂😂😂 the evening event performer was stuck in Rome due to Giro’d Itala🤣🤣🤣 So they needed to take tomorrow’s entertainment for tonight❤️ Mr Hampshire did a good show, he was literally thrown into it when he arrived on the ship today😅👍🏻 I meet Cruise Direction Brittany on the way out of the theatre. I asked what’s up for next cruise…. It will be a good blend for us👍🏻 So we have entertainment to look forward to🥳🥰

The guided tour started 14.00 in the museum. The guided tour are split into 2 locations. 1h at the museum in the city and 1h at the archaeological site of the tumbs. It’s a 10.minute drive from the museum. The guide was great and very good in explaining the history of the area and Etruscan times. She explained the most important things/ objects in the museum. And by the tumbs, she explained everything before we went down to have a look. This is a very good tour if you like history and archaeological sites. The time in the city’s was plenty for lunch and a walk. Would I do it again? or as an option to Rome if I have been there before/multiple times? Yes Price is 109€ pr person. We were dropped off by the ship 16.45. We had some fellow travellers on the tour that did not care for museums or archaeological sites… they were not too happy and didn’t attend the museum part. They waited at a bar next to the museum.

In Tarquinia we have a guidet tour in National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia. It’s from 14.00 So we have 1.h50.min of free time before our guide is ready for us. We have walked around the town, just sat down for espresso and gelato😋 Since it’s Sunday, stores are closed.

We are very happy😎 The Queen are very satisfied. Infinity is an older ship, but I love M-class. So as of now, it doesn’t matter for me that she’s older and not been to dry dock. Wifi is really not reliable, that’s the biggest concern as of now.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore

Our guide picked us up at the port 08.15. Everyone was there, so we left before our departure time. We are 2 cars driving together today. Our car is 8 guests and the other 9 guests. We left for Tuscania first. It’s a 30-40.min drive depending on traffic. It took 30.min. We started in the archeological museum in Tuscania. It’s well preserved and has several tombstones. After the museum we drove inside Tuscania walled city. It was free 40.min free time to walk around the city. We left for the 2 churches on the visit. Chiesa di San Pietro Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore See next post for pictures After the church visits, we left for Tarquinia. It’s a 15-20.minute drive in direction of the ocean/port.

Rise & shine! We have docked in Civitavecchia. The Queen is up! Breakfast in Blu⭐️❤️ Service 👍🏻 Food👍🏻 Today’s tour is a shared tour by ItalyTours. It’s the BEST OF TARQUINIA & TUSCANIA --- full day tour from port Tour departs 08.30. Meeting time on the pier: 08.20. (No shuttle bus to the terminal gateway)

Cruise compass Rome

Tonight’s show is cello player Wendy Law. You know we are in Europe😂😂😂 The theatre is almost empty. (Feel very poor for the preforming artist and orchestra❤️) Everyone is toured out😝 Port intensiv Cruise⚓️😅 Yesterday, today and tomorrow are typically long days in port and a full schedule. So people are totally finished when they return to the ship. On the other side, I’m happy for plenty of space and my usual seating❤️💃🏻👍🏻⭐️ It’s not reserved🙈 but I have my favourite space🙃 Tonight’s show was great. My cup of tea🥰 classic music in modern twist. Mark Donoghue from last night did a pop-up show in the grand foyer after the main show. He played and song a few songs. We stretched our usual dinner time from 8 ish to 8.30 so we didn’t get a beeper. The crowd had arrived around 19 when everyone was returning from a shore excursion close to departure😅 So it was the right call to wait. We had crab and duck for dinner. The crab was excellent, the duck was yes/no. The Queens duck was pink and perfect, mine was a bit over cooked. The rice was 5.mins away from finished on both plates. The kale salad under the duck was good. For dessert we had ice cream🍨 After dinner we walked straight to bed. The Queen is a early riser tomorrow😂🙈 Our tour leaves from the port 8.30.

After returning to the ship, the Queen wanted to relax by the pools😎 I went for the rest of the movie outdoor on deck 12/The terrace. They were showing A man named Otto. (The English edition of the Swedish book and movie, En Mann med navn Ove🇸🇪) It’s fun, sad and sweet at the same time😂🥹 I like the outdoor movie area on M-class ships. This is lacking on S-class. Really happy to be able to sit back here on deck 12 and enjoy🥰

La Spezia calling⚓️ We docked this morning in the industrial port of La Spezia. Lots of tour buses ready on arrival and the ship was empty and cleared in a few minutes after 08.01😝 We took it slow, went to Blu for breakfast at 08.45, was almost empty and quiet. We had a great breakfast, super service and very accommodating for the Queens wishes and needs. After breakfast we walked up to get ready for the day. At 10.00 we left the ship and walked straight into to shuttle bringing us to the port entrance. Plan of the day is La Spezia city centre. In the port terminal it’s a few tours available for purchase. The Queen wanted a small city sightseeing. So we booked tickets on the petit train. It takes you on a city tour, 35.minutes to/from the port. The train left instantly when we boarded. It takes you around the city centre and to the top of the citadel. Beautiful view. It’s lots of hidden stairs from the city centre to walk up to this point. View is beautiful🤩 After returning to the port, we walked by the ocean in direction of the city centre/pedestrian area/shopping/cafés/gelato. You are passing the Yellow and Blue ferry to Cinque Terre. It’s 400-500m walk from the port building. Timetable until 31.5.23 and Barcode for tickets. We continued our walk into the pedestrian area. It’s shopping, chain stores, local shops and cafes. We are in Italy 🇮🇹, so we had to eat some Gelato 🍨😋😋😋 The Queen was on a shopping tour💸💸 She found a new silk scarf and a new matching purse 👜 How many Queens do I drag around on a walk?🤔🤔🤔 After a walk up and down in the pedestrian area, it was time for some coffee and a croissant on the way to the port.

Today’s cruise compass La Spezia

So after a little waiting, we were seated at Alex zone. Today’s menu is a good one. We had the Tuna, scallops and salmon for dinner and the apple crumble and tulip for dessert. All tasted good and all great.

Tonight’s show is Mark Donoghue, multiplayer musician. He was backed by the orchestra. Good show and music. But almost empty theatre… all toured out😂😂😂 All senior officers were standing by the Martini bar after the show. Today’s dinner starts by a beeper😝 Lots of late eaters…. (Many returning last minute) So we are enjoying the string duo in Cellar Master and a aperitif 🥂

After some hours on the beach, we moved up to the waterfront to have some coffee & Perrier. Around 15.45 we decided to head back to the ship. The tender was ready, so we went straight away to the ship. The tenders has been supported by VilleFranche port. So it’s a big boat/not lifeboat tender. Some of the celebrity tenders has been operated during peak times. I was very happy for my mother❤️ (I could have ruined it completely on Jewel🫠🤥) My mother is the more concerned type then me….😳🫣🤔 She refused to fly for over 20years. She is terrified if there are turbulence or anything not a4 standard during the flight. And she has never been a strong sailor or enjoyed the ocean as I or my father do. She’s very in the zone for is it safe??? So ship is okay, boat is a little more 😰😱 When I took her on Jewel of the seas we had a tender operation from the ship to the private island for a beach day. Nothing unusual and this would normally go well. We boarded the tender, left the ship and halfway to the island, the motor alarms went off. The motors stopped and we started to drift away in the wrong direction of the island and ship. The 3 crews onboard was definitely not from the senior department of stripes🙄🫠 My mother and a large group of US ladies was starting to be a bit concerned. They tried to restart the engines, but it only died out and the alarm was screaming🚨🚨🚨 It started to smell fuel heavy and they had NO control of the situation. After 25.mins they managed to get us to the island. My mother and the large ladies party were ready to take a life jacket and jump in the ocean. It was really a bad day at work and not well handelt. They did not call for back-up or help on the radio before we had been dipping around for 20.minutes. We were all half asleep of the fuel smell. When we took the tenders back, my mother was pale white and prayed all the way to get back safely. She was a nervous wreck the rest of the cruise and said NO tenders! The crew said nothing, no excuse or any questions if all were fine after this event on arrival on the island or back on the ship. Later that evening of the event, it was a Diamond and beyond party/senior officers and captain event. So I attended, my mother needed to have some downtime. On Jewel is was a Norwegian captain and Finnish engine officer. So I asked them if they were happy about today’s situation and that from a passenger’s view, the situation was very poor handled. I told them that my mother was very scared, same as the big group of the US ladies we had on our tender….. The next day, the captain came by our table during lunch. He was really sorry and told my mother that he was very sorry for the situation. It had been a leek on the fuel cable in the engine. And he completely understood that it was stressful situation for her and the others onboard the tender. So when I booked the Baltic cruise on Voyager, I made sure it wasn’t tender ports. And on this sailing….. I crossed my fingers for a smooth ride & uneventful🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 ❤️ X it all went perfectly! after arrival on the ship, I introduced her to the ice tea in Al Bacio👍🏻 Then it was time to prepare for evening chic🤩

Safe travels❤️ fingers crossed the rest goes easy😇 It’s a pleasure to follow your adventure☺️

So, not fitting the usual box on x😂😂 Thank you to the lovely crew😘😘 I’m not on holiday by my grandma 👵🏻 And I’m not a crew, it was a mumbling discussion during our tour in Avignon. Since I went by myself and not by another person😝 So eventually someone asked…. But I know I’m looking younger than my age🤣🤣🤣 #fishishealtyandgoodforyouandfreshair Happy Cruising⚓️

So we are in VilleFranche😎 It’s Rally Monte Carlo this weekend. So Monaco is packed and closed off heavily due to the racetrack and races. We have visited Monaco several times before, so no big deal for us. (When we are in Nice for a weekend getaway, we like to take a tour to Monaco for lunch) We don’t have a big need to go into Nice city centre either🙃 So we took it slow this morning, enjoying our anchor process from our balcony and then went down to breakfast in Blu around 8.30. It was quiet and the rush was definitely finished for breakfast. We had some coffee, fruit, yoghurt and omelette. After breakfast we went upstairs to get ready to leave the ship. Towels, beach wear and sunglasses packed, off we went😎 They hadn’t announced free tenders yet, so we went down to the meeting point for captain’s club priority tenders on deck 5. They had left a notification on our door last night. We waited 5.mins before we were escorted down to a tender. Really appreciate this perk as a benefit for my captain’s club level. Tender dropped us off in the city centre of VilleFranche. So easy to take the bus or train further. We walked by the city centre to the beach. You are passing the train station when you walk in the city centre (not down by the beach/waterfront) the platform to Monaco was packed, people were standing in the stairs up to the platform entrance. We continued down to the beach. Found a good spot and now we are staying here. Gone to the beach 🏖️ The beach has 3 bar/restaurants. So you can get something to drink & eat. If you walk by the ocean, it’s several places to eat & drink on the waterfront.

So, this sale you/aka non Nordic guests are able to utilise, it’s not available for me…. I checked all my future bookings and nothing is on sale/campaign. Just the usual discount they offer for pre booking. So again, your country of residence/booking is impacting your offer. So fingers crossed they will have something for me later😂😂😂

Thank you❤️ I will give you a status in a few days. as of now, she’s definitely not in worse shape then Mille just before she went to dry dock😉 One big thing that reveals the age are the lack of sliding doors/electric doors around the ship and water taps on sensors in public toilets😅

Good morning from VilleFranche😎 IMG_6696.mov