Azulann

You will love sitting in your balcony with you glass of wine watching as the ship leaves port or any other time for that matter. I am glad my pictures posting is working. I am using my old model iPhone 👍My favorite place to sit also is on the open aquavit deck . We eat our breakfast and lunch from World cafe outside . They have tables both in the shade and sun . My sister is currently on lounge chair in the sun for the next hour. Then we go to our appointment with the cruise consultant to book a future cruise while on board . will do the days wrap up later this evening. . I would move to Marieham Arland Island in a heartbeat 💓 🥰 ,if I was younger , my kind of idyllic island life.

Day 3. Arland Island ,Marieham view from our balcony. Baltic Sea is as smooth as glass and again blue sky and sun ☀️ oops , uploading if picture failed. it did say in daily that internet is very spotty at this port stay tuned ….

Day 2 Sail away from Stockholm Recap of the day. Perfect weather continues to hold, blue sky and sun all day! Viking does provide a shuttle from ship to Opera House to ship throughout the day. Many excursions, passengers out and about all day. We took the Viking Museum tour with 24 other passengers on the bus. Our guide was very informative and funny. Gave great background on the water ways and changes to and from Stockholm from ice age to present day while we stood at overlook on Sodermalm. Viking museum was interactive venue and ended with a 11 minute ride through time , think Viking version of "It is a Small world after all" ride you would find at Disney. You ride in little cars on track in the dark, into lighted diaraomas 😆Kids would love it. I guess I am a kid at heart. Then off to the National museum each of these stops lasted a 1 hr to explore on our own. Saw the Vault containing gold and silver found in burial and archaeological sites throughout Sweden. Always fascinating see the workmanship of these ancient jewelry pieces. Ended in a quirky bar in old town for a glass of Viking mead, and snack of cheese , beef, fruit. Stockholm is a city of museums and theaters ! Had our informal roll call meeting on Aquavit deck at 4:30 I had alerted guest services about the meeting on Monday.. I never got a response to my email I had sent a couple of weeks ago to customer relations at Viking .com At the same time today, "mussel, clams, shrimp buffet was being held on deck during sail away with lots of sparking wine being offered by waiters by the infinity pool. The General Manger . Mr. De Silva stopped by along with asst. CD to our m&g gathering .He said he would provide a meet and greet hosted by Viking later this week with officers in attendance with cocktails and canapés. He took our stateroom numbers and will send an invitation for a time/day that works well with daily schedule. It is a very nice gesture, thank you Viking. Love meeting roll call members face to face and lively conversations ensued. Lots of connections made among our group. Deb shared with us her experience on the Viking Sky when it ran into big trouble off coast of Norway a couple of years ago. I did not realize it was her first cruise ever! Ate in the Restaurant tonight and parchment wrapped salmon, haddock potato soup was excellent . Folks are all settled in now on the cruise and the daily rhythm of a port, excursion or DIY walkabouts leaves me tired by evening. The sail away is so beautiful and unique. Many of the Swedish summer houses are located on these islands. 6,700 islands make up the archipelago including Arland Islands and the town of Mariehamn which is our port of call for Day 3 on Wednesday.

Yes, same as the Jupiter. My sister said it is a very good fitness center with variety of machines , free weights and benches. A personal trainer is available. the Daily stated a basic Yoga class available from 8:00 -8:50 am . Need to sign up. A full promenade open deck for walking or running is on deck 2.

On Jupiter now. My sister will be going to gym this morning and will report back. What specifically would yo like to know besides machines and free weights? I only look at the gym in passing to the spa. 😂

Day 1 final recap Dinner in Manfredi's with couple form our roll call. two entrées were very good, two were ok. Swordfish and angel hair pasta with tiger shrimp scampi were very good. The stark was good by not rare enough , and halibut was just ok, nothing special. Had a nice Banfi white wine with my meal. Observation on available wines.: Yes ,you can get two kinds of champagne by the glass, also Cava and Prosecco by the glass. The Cava is not listed in the bar menu on tables next Viking Bar , but just ask. It is listed on Wine menu in Manfredi's. Shout out to Richie in Guest services🎉 After a full meal with wine, being bone tired, I went to take out my contact lens and could not find my prescription glasses . I realized I left them at hotel when we checked out earlier on Monday. Richie called the hotel and yes they had my glasses. Asked for a taxi to deliver them to pier ASAP. they arrived by Stockholm Taxi in 20 minutes, and it only costs me 430 Kroner, which I gladly paid. Having a full ship is very noticeable compared to my last Welcome back cruise. There is a bustling energy by crew who are always saying hello , can I get you anything Madam, welcome aboard, pleasure to be of service, Day 2 is a excursion to Viking Museum in morning and our informal m&g 4:30 - 5:30 on infinity pool area before sail away at 6pm. Kent, I am so looking forward to the sail away from Stockholm. In closing I realize that the sun is up at 4:00 am here in Stockholm. And this also seems to be my new wake up time these days😮

I do know that one couple on our roll call canceled in the last weeks due to illness. It is currently 4:30 AM on our overnight in Stockholm. Last night around 9 pm people were still boarding for the first time. We are on starboard and overlook the pier. Saw a gropuof 6 arrived by car service with chauffeur driver . Maybe last minute sickness or flight problems. I would hate to have to cancel or miss a cruise after planning for over a year , but I know it does happen. BTW, how do you know that suddenly two staterooms have just opened? Are you a travel agent? 😀

Kent and Deec, I am will make my own sea day on the Jupiter No sea days on this itinerary I am on starting today

Day 1. Stockholm overnight view from aft of Jupiter . This is a test to see if the WiFi is good and picture loads quickly .

Wish you were able to join us on this cruise. Will be thinking of you when we are in Visby .🥰

DAY 3. final evening of Pre-cruise Stockholm. Had our final dinner( sister did not want to eat pizza) in Stockholm at Kvarnen restaurant four blocks from our hotel . Stockholm’s version of MN/WI supper clubs ! Traditional Swedish menu , old fashioned service , candles and white tablecloths. The dry martini , ribeye steak with French fries I ordered was old 50’s style meal. The surprise was the large tables of 20 people when we came in. .. Seated in the back of restaurant we ordered our drinks and meal . Suddenly a man in white dinner jacket ,at the large table at the front, stood up. other men stood up.The room filled with the sound of male voices singing in harmony, “ Under the Boardwalk….,! They are a Norwegian men’s choir who are in town for the week . 🎶 What a great final meal in Stockholm . Music , hospitality, friendliness filled our three days in Stockholm . Love the cashless society , just swipe your card, English spoken everywhere even children . The food was all very fresh with great flavors. Love the various museum’s cafes for reasonable priced fresh food and drinks. Tomorrow is embarkation day !

Clay, my sister will now be my editor of my posts before I hit the done button . 😂

Hanging out on this courtyard patio, and pizza and wine later for dinner on the wine bar.

For CC beer drinkers: Besserweisser , Stockholm Brewery. It is a German style Hefeweizen. IMG_0549.mov

City museum of Stockholm is an interactive museum for all ages. If a one has ancestors from Stockholm , this museum is for you ! It traces the history from early 1200’ to modern day on three floors. Multi media presentations bring history alive. Walked 3.7 miles and 6 flights of stairs today! now on the beautiful NOFO outdoor courtyard having a local beer! Pictures to fiollow.

Day 3 Pre-cruise in Stockholm Sunday morning breakfast at hotel has great variety. Live pate, herring cheese etc. Bacon and scrambled eggs could have been cooked longer for me. Found a Catholic Church 6 minute walk from hotel. St. Erik was to have a 11:00 service. so we got there about 10:45 and stumbled into a High Mass with the Bishop , full choir, and a Corpus Christi procession after Mass around the neighborhood. The police blocked off the streets and one guy had a portable sound system on his backpack, so the band and choir could be heard through the neighborhood. Scandinavians , whether Lutheran or Catholic , sure can sing. It was another serendipitous morning, an unexpected surprise.😇 Relaxing in the courtyard of our hotel for awhile. Deciding which museum we want o go to this afternoon: City museum of Stockholm or the Museum of Photography, both nearby. Another picture perfect day, blue Swedish sky , high in the 60's ,no rain. Patti and Paulette

Kent, It is alway unexpected treat when a port takes you by surprise. I remember years ago going to Ephesus for the first time. I never realized how beautiful Turkey is and full of Roman ruins. I would love to see Cape Breton, Nova Scotia etc. Your cruise companions, well seasoned cruisers, sure help make it positive when the unexpected or lost port happens. . Thanks again for your reports.

No we are not. It was toss up for our first Viking excursion on Tuesday. We are going to the Viking museum which is next door to Vasa. On Sunday, we are going to the Stockholm City museum which is again only a 5 minute walk from our hotel on Sodermalm. Realize there is so much to do in Stockholm you would need week to take it all in.

Love Stockholm. The buildings are colorful in old town, not ornate but solid many with mansard roofs . aToured the tall ship in the harbor. It was a USA Cosst Guard ship. The crew had sailed the Baltic Sea for five week coming from Amsterdam. The ship leaves on Monday for the island of Madeira Dinner tonight was at Mearballs for the People . It is 4 minutes from our hotel . Had the classic meatball dinner with mash potatoes , beef/ pork meat, pickled cucumbers and lingonberries. had a great Swedish lager beer that was recommended. IMG_0539.mov

Cathedral of Stockholm and the famous statue of St George slaying the dragon ‘

Looking at picture of Jungle Story by Kipling, winner of the first Nobel prize for literature . Young man next to me said, he was born in the area of where Kipling placed his story.

Nobel ice cream served in the museum cafe.

Day 2 Precruise Stockholm Sunny day in the mid 60’s . Can driver this morning said they have not had rain for weeks. we are in Old Town today . Nobel Pride museum is small one floor , and even without a English guide (12:45am) or audios which you download on your phone with a QR code, it is easy to read the various signage both on Swedish and English . Highly recommend the cafe and the Nobel ice cream .each chair in cafe was used by a Nobel Pruze winner. See the tag on chair 🪑