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5 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

 

 

Regards the anytime and assigned dining, this is the situation. We had assigned  early. On the first night went to our assigned table in Cosmopolitan. We have just stayed there as it’s easier for our whole dietary situation but we could go to any of the other restaurants at any time if we wanted. With our assigned seating we bypass the queue every night. We like our team of Jay and Djordy so will probably just stick with them throughout the cruise. 

 

 

 

 

We were on the previous sailing of Apex and had Jay and Djordy for our serving team. They provided great service. Jay can be very funny when you get to know him. 

I am looking forward to following your journey. We are hoping to do a similar trip in a couple of years when I retire. 

20 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

We were on this cruise in Suites. I wanted to say at The Pig - in the wall. I tried twice, but could not get in. We stayed at the Holiday Inn for 2 nights. We met up with friends and went to the Isle of White for 2 nights. We stayed at Albert Cottage in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. 

 

 

 

Nice photos! We were thinking about going to the Isle of Wight if we sail from Southampton again.  We booked the Pig in the Wall months ago. They only have 12 rooms so I’m sure they fill up quickly.

In London, we chose a hop on hop off bus tour so we could get an overview of the city. It included a walking tour which was very good.

St. James Palace

Buckingham Palace

We enjoyed touring Windsor Castle.

Our driver arranged for us to have lunch at The Ivy which is across the street from Windsor Castle. Delicious food and wonderful views of the castle.

Sadly our cruise ended on Monday. Despite the rain and chilly temps we enjoyed this cruise and found the sea days to be very relaxing. Debarkation was very quick and easy . We had pre-arranged for a car service to take us to Stonehenge and Windsor on the way to London. We were able to tour the stones before it started raining. 
 

Kirkwall photos

7 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Love the pictures of the falls.   Brings back such fond memories.  Looks kinda chilly.

It was very chilly and rainy. Our tour guide said it was sunny and much warmer the prior week. 

Akureyri, Iceland

In Kirkwall, we took the shuttle bus into town. This is a very walkable town. We went to St. Magnus Cathedral which is a beautiful red sandstone building. We toured the Bishop’s Palace and the Earl’s Castle. We walked through the center of town where you will find little shops and restaurants.

We were in Akureyri on Thursday. We took the Diamonds of the Nortth tour which was about 8 hours. We saw lava fields, waterfalls, and strange rock formations in the Glacier River. This tour included a lunch - beet root soup, Arctic Char, potatoes, and a small salad. We hiked to the waterfall which is supposed to be the most powerful in Europe.  It rained lightly most of the day and temperatures were in the mid 40’s F.  I will try to post some pictures later.

1 hour ago, cinnam0n said:

We are sailing to Kirkwall in August on Silhouette - which tender port did you use?  I'm reading that there is one that is right in the center of town, and another that is a few miles away and needs to be shuttled from?

We did not have to tender. The pier is out a little way. There were complimentary shuttle buses running all day. They drop you off at the visitor center. 

We saw something unique today in Kirkwall which is in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. We were walking around town and this pickup truck came through on the pedestrian street. It was a bridal party. They were singing and drinking. The bride was sitting on a chair in the bed of the truck. They were all covered with gooey stuff and chunks of food. They went through the street three times. We asked one of the staff at the visitor center about it. It is a traditional ritual where the bride is captured and they cover her and the bridal party with this gooey stuff. Afterwards they wash off in the ocean. Very interesting custom.

15 hours ago, Lastdance said:

What were the main things that you loved about this place?  The name is definitely a hoot, not to mention that I need to book a stay for my b2b next year.  Does the room have a safe?  Are you able to get scrambled, or any other types of eggs for breakfast?

 

~Thanking you in advance🥰.

Staff were wonderful. Room was nice with a large shower. I did not use the safe but the room had one. Waters in fridge are complimentary. There is a kettle if you like to make tea. They kept our large bags in storage for us so they did not have to be brought up and down the stairs. Wi-Fi was included. You could get eggs on breakfast but you put them in the cooker for a certain amount of time depending on whether you wanted hard or soft boiled. The piggy-pan skillet included a baked egg, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, and potatoes. There was also a vegetable version of the pan.  They had the best cappuccinos. Locations was great. Although it was close to a main road, it was on a quiet side street. This made the patio a nice place to enjoy a drink or coffee.

3 hours ago, countess5 said:

Just catching up on your live report!  Thanks for posting.

 

I wanted to jump on and say how excellent Pig in the Wall is. We stayed there last Summer before our Med cruise and really really enjoyed it. Staff was outstanding. They had our room ready by 11 AM the day we arrived early after a long overseas flight.

 

Can’t wait to return,  Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

 

Cheers! 

We loved the Pig-in-the-Wall. We would definitely stay there again.

5 hours ago, Cyclospora said:

Hi. I know it's a long shot -but we had an amazing bartender called Elmer on a Panama Canal cruise on NCL Bliss  18 months ago!

I did ask him. He’s been on four cruise lines over the past 22 years but not NCL.

4 hours ago, swjumbo said:

Great blog, thank you.

We’re on the Apex in a few weeks. Can you tell us who the Captain, Hotel Director and Cruise Director are please?

Captain Pantaglotis - I think he goes by Captain Pantos

cruise director is Alexander.

1 hour ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Did you dock or was this a tender port?

We docked. There was one ship that used the tenders.

Today we were in Isafjordur, Iceland.  It was 46 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, and windy.  No rain!  We walked around this fishing port and then stopped at the Dokkan Burgghus to try some beer flights.  This was a very small town with five cruise ships in port.

Here are some more pictures of Reykjavik:

Pipe Organ at the Church

Views from the Church Tower

We enjoyed our Food Tour.  We met in the Center Hotel Plaza.  Our guide took us to four places.  The first one had lobster soup and pickled herring.  The soup was really good and made from whey protein which is separated from the Icelandic yogurt instead of using a cream base.  Our next stop was for the famous lamb hotdogs.  Most of our group tried it with all of the condiments.  I wasn't sure I would like it but it was very good.  Next we went to a place which had lamb soup with a brown bread. Our last stop was a place where you could try the fermented shark and salted codfish.  I did not try the fermented shark but many people in our group did.  The guide gave instructions on the best way to eat it and then you take a shot of the liquor they serve with it.  I chose to have a glass of Icelandic beer. We ended this stop with a dessert made from the Icelandic yogurt.  The yogurt was on the bottom, then a layer similar to cheesecake but made from yogurt, and topped with blueberry sauce.  The guide provided a lot of information about the history and culture of the city.

Our guide at the hot dog stand.

Lamb Soup

Cod

Dessert