Syrreal Posted July 16, 2012 #1 Share Posted July 16, 2012 The trouble all started with an email alert. Our flight to Detroit had been delayed. Then it was delayed again. We called Delta and were placed on a later flight, and not on the Economy Comfort (more legroom and seat pitch) level that we had paid for. Even with the change the flight was delayed again and we still weren’t going to be making it. Time for another call to Delta. This time, I was the one who called and spoke to a girl who said she couldn’t do anything for me. So, I (very politely) asked for her supervisor and spoke to a lovely man who took care of a distraught and stressed girl who had to get to Amsterdam on June 24th. He changed our flight to one a bit later out of Atlanta. So, at 7:40pm we were finally on a plane to Atlanta to then board a much larger plane (a KLM flight) at 11pm for Amsterdam. We had some time to kill in Atlanta so we decided to get a bite to eat. There’s a new international wing at Atlanta Int’l so we ended up at Pei Wei. Really, it was not good. I sincerely hope that this was a miniature version of what this restaurant actually is because the Chao Cajun Grill at the mall food court is way better. But it was hot and filling and was what it was. After a very long and stressful day, we boarded the KLM flight where one of the stewardesses quickly became C’s girlfriend. She chatted him up many times during the flight. It was cute. We did end up in Economy comfort and, let me tell you, it really does make quite a difference in a long flight. Worth the money, in my opinion. I was finally able to breathe easy as we took off on our 8.5 hour flight. We sat next to a man who worked for boat/yacht builder from Ft. Lauderdale. Turns out we went to school at the same time at UM but didn’t know each other. I watched the movie 21 Jumpstreet. It was actually funny! Way better then I thought it would be. The flight was very good. No turbulence, on time, seemed quick. All the things you keep your fingers crossed for on a long flight. We landed in Amsterdam at 1pm. Five hours after we were originally supposed to land. At least we got there on time. Even if we weren’t going to be able to see a Dead Flying Cat. (note--> please excuse if the posts are a little wonky as I'm copying them from my blog) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 16, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted July 16, 2012 In what was for sure the quickest I have ever been through customs and possibly the quickest I have ever been out of an airport including flying with just a carry on bag, we were out of Amsterdam Schipol Airport with our luggage in 10 minutes. We listened to Anthony Bourdain on The Layover and took the train to Amsterdam Central. From there we were unprepared with half a map and no idea where exactly to go. We asked a few people and were soon on our way. It was more of a walk to The Toren than we would have liked. Looking back, we should have caught a cab at Amsterdam Central. But we made it. Checked in and went to our room for a little bit of a rest before heading out. We were going to eat some Indonesian food at Tempo Doloe, but it was Sunday and, as we found out about many thing, it was closed. We ended up at Kinnaree, a Thai place that was recommended by the front desk girl. It was pretty good. I had a cashew chicken that was very delicious. You just need to get past the sticker shock of what a meal like that actually cost you in dollars. After dinner we walked back to The Toren for a jacket as it was getting a little chilly, and decided to walk around a little bit. We were in a more residential part of town, and being a Sunday, it was quiet and a very nice walk. We walked around until we were tired, still exhausted from a long flight but jet-lagged enough that we were not ready to sleep. We returned to the hotel and rested some but were up again around 3 am when C was hungry. The hotel bar was already closed but the front desk guy made him two ham and cheese toastees (heated/toasted). The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel which was quite plentiful. Everything from pancakes to eggs and coffee to different juices. We walked around the neighborhood a little more and by then it was almost one so it was time to say good bye to the Toren and take a cab to the Passenger Terminal to catch our ship. Here are some pictures from our evening in Amsterdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 16, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Our taxi brought us along the harbor where we caught our first glance of the Celebrity Constellation as she was moored to the Passenger Terminal. Check in was fairly quick, but even though we had splurged on Concierge Class which gives us priority check-in and boarding, we gave up most of that perk by dawdling around Amsterdam all morning. It was a very nice dawdle though. Hee hee! We dodged past the embarkation picture takers, neither one of us looking very well after little sleep and feeling like it was only about 7 am for us thanks to the time change, and were on the ship. We showed ourselves to our cabin. We knew where it would be since we sailed on the Summit before and our room was only a few doors down from where we had been on Summit. We walked into our stateroom and then we met our steward, Bernard from India. We found out later that he’s been with Celebrity for 20 years! I asked him for extra pillows (from the pillow menu) and extra blanket as well as for some space in the fridge for any drinks we would bring back to our room. We had gotten the Premium Non-Alcoholic Package and could get any type of drink sans liquor that we could think of. We took great advantage of this! We had gotten the package when the discount was available and easily made up the cost on water alone, not to mention everything else we drank. We were in room #8046 which has the larger triangular balcony. This balcony included a table, two chairs, and a lounger (which I took great advantage of). After taking some pictures of our room (below) and finding our nags already outside, we went exploring. The ship is very nice. It has some nice art too, although some is kind of dubious; mainly a collection of weed sculptures. I get enough of dandelions at home. I think the works may have been called Abandonment, but am not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 16, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted July 16, 2012 We went to the spa and signed up for some stuff. Persian Gardens (which we used a lot of on the last cruise), a 007 double shave for C (say goodbye to that beard which is nowhere near as big and bushy as it regularly is), and a spa potpourri little package thing for me (hot stone massage, reflexology, facial, etc). Then it was time for muster drill. Afterwards, we went to Cafe al Bacio so that I could get some (much needed) coffee before deciding to catch sailaway from our balcony. We were really tired and really didn't feel like "sharing" sail away with noise and a lot of people. Kind of overwhelming when you're still reeling from lack of sleep. These were a couple of neat ships that we saw on the way out. I don't know what kind of ship this is or what it does, but it was cool looking Waiting to go through the lock to the North Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaBag Posted July 16, 2012 #5 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I am enjoying your review and looking forward to more pictures as we would love to do this cruise some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoreview Posted July 16, 2012 #6 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Thank you, we are on the same ship next year out of Amsterdam. Your flight review (comfort seats) was a great tip. We just booked that! Thank you for a great review so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ine Posted July 16, 2012 #7 Share Posted July 16, 2012 The white funny looking ship in Amsterdam is a kind of floating more or less budget hotel, called Botel. http://www.amstelbotel.nl/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Thank you, we are on the same ship next year out of Amsterdam. Your flight review (comfort seats) was a great tip. We just booked that! Thank you for a great review so far! They really were well worth the money. Our plane ended up being one that had three seats on either side of a four seat aisle and DH had no one at all in front of him (row in front of us only had 2 seats) and even though I was in the middle, it was the most comfortable middle seat ride I have ever dealt with. On the way back we were in our original seats in the original booked flight back so we were in a two seat row and I was in the window. It was still very comfortable and that extra 4 inches makes a huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) We awoke late and found that we had missed the Cruise Critic Connections Party. I was kind of bummed about this as, even though we aren’t joiners, I was looking forward to meeting the people that I had been chatting about this cruise with for over six months. Jetlag is a cruel mistress! This was the only time we would have room service breakfast because we were up anyway and decided to wander around every other day, but this morning did set a trend for most mornings on the ship. We ate our eggs (and omelet, and yogurt, and granola, and toast, and pancakes, and and and and….) then changed into our bathing suits and off we went to the Thalassotherapy pool. Who says you have to wait an hour before going swimming? (Not that we really did any swimming). We sat in the hot tub for a while then got into the pool. One we were done with the pool off we went to the Persian Gardens “to get warm” in the saunas. This was our morning routine on every morning that we didn’t have a tour except for the day we hit Oslo. It was a chill way to start the day before going exploring through the towns. Afterwards we would usually have a snack somewhere or some room service. Then came lunch followed by coffee or hot chocolate at Cafe al Bacio. C went to have some acupuncture done and I found the afternoon tea snacks in the buffet area. After I had my fill, I went back to the stateroom and discovered what was one of my favorite activities through the whole cruise- I sat down on the lounger on our balcony and watched the sea go by while listening to an audiobook. This day I began Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale. We didn’t have dinner till 8:30 (with our really cool waiter Sanjeev from Mauritius who has a son named Chris, although it might be Kris) so we had a before dinner snack around 6 in the buffet. This was our basic schedule (add random stops at the cafe for extra water and more coffee) even on days that we were in port, just adjusting for time off the ship. Looking out onto the North Sea. This was actually taken on the way out as we were watching the ship said past tons of oil rigs. The North Sea A North Sea Rig Edited July 17, 2012 by Syrreal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #10 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Stavanger awaited us with one of the ship’s tours. After we boarded a bus and passed some graffiti at a red light that stated “The only good cop is a dead cop” (I know, random and not really what one might expect), we were taken to the Iron Age Farm just outside of town where we saw some of the old buildings and were shown how life might have been way back when. We found out much later but we were actually seated next to the ship’s doctor while we were listening to the farm’s narrator guide. She even took a picture of me and C before we got back on the bus. I enjoyed this tour but I wish that we had been able to stay much longer at the farm. We weren”t really permitted to walk around. I don’t know if it was because of the Farm itself or if it was the tour guide trying to make sure that we were going to be back on the bus. The next stop (which I don’t remember being listed in the tour description) was some kind of communication tower where you could see all of Stavanger from above. It was a nice view but what I enjoyed most was all the nature around it. There were trails all around too and would make a very nice hike. Our last stop was at the Stavanger Domkirke The church had beautiful carvings and designs all over it. Absolutely gorgeous! We didn’t join the tour again back to the ship and stayed in town to walk around a little (it was an option given, we didn’t just run off and scare everyone on the bus). We decided that we wanted to look for something to eat but got caught up with walking around and then were so starving that really nothing sounded good anymore so we made our way back to the ship and ate a late lunch at the buffet. That afternoon we made our way back out to the North Sea to make our way towards Olden and say goodbye to night for a few days. Stavanger port Iron Age Farm building Iron Age Farm Wall Lady in the white top is the ship's doctor and this was our group (let me know if any of you find themselves in this pic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Clover (and what looks to be a smiling bug) by the communication tower Stavanger square by the church. You can see a market going on there too. Macro style shot I took of some candles in the church Stained glass Edited July 17, 2012 by Syrreal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted July 17, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Love following along on your posts, seeing pictures, hearing details, etc. From your schedule, it looks like you hit Geiranger, Ålesund and Bergen that we enjoyed so much in July 2010 on our sailing up to the North Cape on another cruise line (as detailed below on my live/blog). We enjoyed Oslo in July 2008 during a Baltics/Russia cruise. Look forward to reading your impressions and seeing your pictures from these four ports we visited in the past. Brings back nice memories!! Keep up the good work!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 92,806 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 76,514 views. http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Church Facade Cool looking heads Stavanger street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 17, 2012 Author #14 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Love following along on your posts, seeing pictures, hearing details, etc. From your schedule, it looks like you hit Geiranger, Ålesund and Bergen that we enjoyed so much in July 2010 on our sailing up to the North Cape on another cruise line (as detailed below on my live/blog). We enjoyed Oslo in July 2008 during a Baltics/Russia cruise. Look forward to reading your impressions and seeing your pictures from these four ports we visited in the past. Brings back nice memories!! Keep up the good work!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Terry, actually your pictures helped us decide on this cruise :) What part of Ohio are you in? We live in KY and were in Cincinnati yesterday on a trip to Jungle Jims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted July 17, 2012 #15 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Terry, actually your pictures helped us decide on this cruise :) What part of Ohio are you in? We live in KY and were in Cincinnati yesterday on a trip to Jungle Jims. Great to hear that my pictures helped push you towards this cruise. I'm honored and flattered. I take it you were not disappointed, and that things worked well. I'm sure you noted that on your survey form so that my "commission" check will be coming soon in the mail from Celebrity, right? Just kidding!! We are in Columbus, the northern part, an area called "Clintonville", north of the OSU campus and near Worthington. Have a good friend who works closely with the Jungle Jim owner. He tells me Jungle Jims is really a unique store and that they are getting ready to open a second one closer to reach for those from Kentucky. Is it open, yet, or did you go to the one in northern Hamilton County near the outerbelt? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 92,806 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted July 17, 2012 #16 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Enjoying your review and wonderful pictures. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portofrome Posted July 17, 2012 #17 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Thanks for your photos and review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilli Posted July 17, 2012 #18 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Be careful with Delta. Their policy is to overbook so the planes are full. A few years ago we were bumped and MISSED the ship in Rome. They didn't care. They were no help. We were sailing on a HAL ship, and they figured out how we could meet up with the ship at the second port. Delta had bumped 16 people from our flight! When I argued, Homeland Security took over and a state police man sat next to me so I didn't start a riot! Be careful flying with Delta. Glad you got to your ship on time and didn't mess up your cruise! Thanks for your review! Flying today on KLM, ship leaves on Thursday!!!!!!!! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dln929 Posted July 17, 2012 #19 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I'm enjoying your review, especially the first few photos of Amsterdam. What a wonderful city that is! One of these days we'd like to take a cruise with the same itinerary as yours but until then we will read your report. Thanks for sharing your experience and keep on going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 18, 2012 Author #20 Share Posted July 18, 2012 We are in Columbus, the northern part, an area called "Clintonville", north of the OSU campus and near Worthington. Have a good friend who works closely with the Jungle Jim owner. He tells me Jungle Jims is really a unique store and that they are getting ready to open a second one closer to reach for those from Kentucky. Is it open, yet, or did you go to the one in northern Hamilton County near the outerbelt? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio I love Jungle Jim's. They have a HUGE international section and they are the only place anywhere near here where I can get Brazilian products like my coffee (I'm a total self admitted coffee snob) and cheese bread mix as well as other things from there. We went this time to see if they had Chicken Fries (these chips we had found in Norway) but didn't have any luck in that department. The one we went to is in, I believe, Fairfield, just off Dixie Hwy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 18, 2012 Author #21 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Be careful with Delta. Their policy is to overbook so the planes are full. A few years ago we were bumped and MISSED the ship in Rome. They didn't care. They were no help. We were sailing on a HAL ship, and they figured out how we could meet up with the ship at the second port. Delta had bumped 16 people from our flight! When I argued, Homeland Security took over and a state police man sat next to me so I didn't start a riot! Be careful flying with Delta. Glad you got to your ship on time and didn't mess up your cruise! Thanks for your review! Flying today on KLM, ship leaves on Thursday!!!!!!!! Cheers! It really doesn't please me how we can no longer complain about anything when it comes to airports and flying without being threatened with DHS stuff. Most airlines do the whole overbooking thing and you're supposed to confirm about 2 days before an international flight. It's worked out to our advantage a time or two when we've been bumped up to 1st class (on Transbrasil a long time ago before the lay flat seats. I was a very happy 13 yr old being treated to 1st class LOL) but can be a major pain too. I'm not a big Delta fan or anything. This time I got really great service and the supervisor I talked to got us on the last 2 seats out of Atlanta that night, but I know that it would have been just as likely to go the other way. That's why we wanted to make sure to fly in a day before we were supposed to be on the ship. It was an extra day of vacation that I had to take (my job has saturday hours too) but it was worth it for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 18, 2012 Author #22 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Thank you all for reading my review so far. I'm having a good time remembering the trip and writing it all down :) Next stop was Olden. Olden was one of my most favorite stop on the cruise! The day rose bright and beautiful. One of those Chamber of Commerce picture days that make you feel as if everything is awaiting for you to take on. This was a farm on the Fjord and then some fjord countryside http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d103/syrreal/Norway%202012/IMG_1160.jpg C woke up that morning not feeling well. He had a fever (probably something he caught in that cesspool called an airplane). We had an excursion to the Briksdal glacier that morning and there was no way he was going to make it. After making sure he had everything he needed and handing him some tylenol and ensuring he would be ok for the few hours I was gone, off I went. This was actually pretty good for me. I rarely do anything by myself and going on an excursion by myself would definitely be in the stuff I don’t do alone category. After all, there are bugs outside and plants give me allergic reactions… and there are bugs outside. But off I went. I climbed on the bus and then we were off. Our first stop was a photo op by this stream that fed a big lake. You could see the mountains in the distance reflecting on the lake. There were some wildflowers on the side of the road where the stream was. Mountains and Lake Wildflowers Wild strawberries by the stream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 18, 2012 Author #23 Share Posted July 18, 2012 We arrived at Jostedalsbreen National Park and were left off the bus. Our only instructions were to be back in 3 hours. Works for me! These were the best instructions I heard in any of the tours we took. Ha ha! Off I went. When I read the description of the hike, it was listed as strenuous. Now, I openly admit scoffing at this. After all, how strenuous can something be where both small children and much older individuals are all going to be participating in? The answer is VERY strenuous. That was one hard hike on the way up. It only took about 45 minutes for me to make it to the glacier, but it felt like forever. Stream on the way up the hike Big waterfall Me by the waterfall About three quarters of the way up, I passed by a campsite and a trailhead. That was when I met a woman who had been behind me for a while and said that I looked like her daughter from behind and it made her feel like she was hiking with her daughter. I get that kind of stuff a lot (where people think I look like someone they know). I guess I just have one of those faces (or in this case, back of the head). Trailhead with the Glacier in the background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted July 18, 2012 #24 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) I love Jungle Jim's. They have a HUGE international section and they are the only place anywhere near here where I can get Brazilian products like my coffee (I'm a total self admitted coffee snob) and cheese bread mix as well as other things from there. We went this time to see if they had Chicken Fries (these chips we had found in Norway) but didn't have any luck in that department. The one we went to is in, I believe, Fairfield, just off Dixie Hwy. Jungle Jim's seems great and very interesting. Look forward to seeing it some time in the future. Sept. 25 is when Jungle Jim's new Eastgate location will open. It's aimed right at making things easier for people from Northern Kentucky to reach them and shop there. You heard it here first on Cruise Critic!! Update us after it opens. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 93,008 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 Edited July 18, 2012 by TLCOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrreal Posted July 18, 2012 Author #25 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Shortly after passing the trailhead I heard the familiar sounds of Brazilian Portuguese. At first, being where I was, I thought I was hallucinating and just hearing Portugal Portuguese, but no, it was the sounds of my mother country. Being Brazilian myself, I walked up and started a conversation with these strangers, who very quickly were strangers no more. My new friends were from Rio and were staying in two of the Celebrity Suites. They were celebrating the 45th birthday of one of the ladies and having a grand time. They said the suites were very well appointed and spacious. The ship is going to go into refurb and these same suites will be given a balcony which will make them even cooler in my book. Briksdal Glacier These stone markers were all over the place on the hike A different view of the Glacier The glacier calved a little bit for us while we were there. Not as huge as in Alaska, but it was still a little "hello." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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