Indy - Norwegian Fjords cruise 18th-26th May review (lots of pics!!!)

[Coolcruise02]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/8982571160_e92a83fd68_b.jpg' alt='8982571160_e92a83fd68_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

I love this t-shirt! May I ask where it's from or what it represents? I live in Ohio and I was born in 1955. I wonder if it is still available somewhere?? :D Thanks!!

[drummerdavebmth]

Dave, not only do you post some superb pics from my bucket list cruise, you then top it all with a Rush reference!!! You Sir, are officially a legend.

 

The figure is called an inukshuk. "Created by the Inuit, an inukshuk is a stone figure in the shape of a human used to mark a food cache, hunting ground or a place where someone lost their life".

 

That's what it says on Wiki, so it must be true!

 

Congratulations on the engagement.

 

Haha...hello fellow Rush fan!

 

Thanks for your wisdom regarding the "inukshuk" - I'm ignoring the fact you looked it up on Wiki ;)

[drummerdavebmth]

I love this t-shirt! May I ask where it's from or what it represents? I live in Ohio and I was born in 1955. I wonder if it is still available somewhere?? :D Thanks!!

 

I'm glad you like my T-shirt.

 

I'm afraid to say that I just picked it up because I thought it looked good (and it didn't cost much). I suspect it's mass produced, I bought it at Primark....Their stores are well known in the UK for very affordable clothing.

 

Sorry there's no story behind it other than that :o

 

Cool that you were born in '55 and live in Ohio though (funny thing is, I'm actually wearing the same T-shirt today! And yes, it has been washed!) :cool:

[dmackay46]

I love this t-shirt! May I ask where it's from or what it represents? I live in Ohio and I was born in 1955. I wonder if it is still available somewhere?? :D Thanks!!

 

Do you want me to find you one? There is a Primark store in Scotland near me.

 

We are cruising on Indy on a couple of weeks and there are others that are from Ohio that could send it onto you (if I can find one!) :)

[dmackay46]

Sorry DrummerDave to temporarily divert your thread re the Ohio T-shirt thing...and also sorry for having forgotten to say "CONGRATULATIONS".

 

I did the same thing on Carnival Liberty 5 years ago passing the Grand Canal in Venice....a cruise ship is a brilliant place to do the deed!:D

[Coolcruise02]

Do you want me to find you one? There is a Primark store in Scotland near me. We are cruising on Indy on a couple of weeks and there are others that are from Ohio that could send it onto you (if I can find one!) :)

 

If you find one that would be great but don't go to any trouble!! (I am female and wear a size Medium in USA, but Large is fine if Med is not available and I will be more than happy to repay you or send a t-shirt from here) I will find your roll call and see who is from Ohio.

 

We were in Dundee last year on our way from St. Andrews to Aberdeen. Loved our trip to the UK!! Scotland is beautiful. :)

 

Sorry OP, didn't mean to get "off topic". I'm loving your review!

[Coolcruise02]

I'm glad you like my T-shirt.

 

I'm afraid to say that I just picked it up because I thought it looked good (and it didn't cost much). I suspect it's mass produced, I bought it at Primark....Their stores are well known in the UK for very affordable clothing.Sorry there's no story behind it other than that :o

Cool that you were born in '55 and live in Ohio though (funny thing is, I'm actually wearing the same T-shirt today! And yes, it has been washed!) :cool:

 

haha :) Oh well, that's a good story, even if the shirt doesn't have a story!

[dmackay46]

If you find one that would be great but don't go to any trouble!! (I am female and wear a size Medium in USA, but Large is fine if Med is not available and I will be more than happy to repay you or send a t-shirt from here) I will find your roll call and see who is from Ohio.

 

We were in Dundee last year on our way from St. Andrews to Aberdeen. Loved our trip to the UK!! Scotland is beautiful. :)

 

Sorry OP, didn't mean to get "off topic". I'm loving your review!

 

Sorry again OP.....CoolCruise, I have found a medium T-shirt on eBay, but I can have a look for a large at Primark when I go there on Friday....absolutely no trouble at all. I can send it by post for next to nothing(...well $6)

I live just outside Dundee, and chances are that if you drove, or took the train from St Andrews (Leuchars) to Aberdeen, you passed my house by a few yards...small world?

Suggest you add me as a contact on here for contact purposes, or me you, whatever is easier, rather than mucking up the OPs thread :D

[Zhane's mum]

Sorry again OP.....CoolCruise, I have found a medium T-shirt on eBay, but I can have a look for a large at Primark when I go there on Friday....absolutely no trouble at all. I can send it by post for next to nothing(...well $6)

I live just outside Dundee, and chances are that if you drove, or took the train from St Andrews (Leuchars) to Aberdeen, you passed my house by a few yards...small world?

Suggest you add me as a contact on here for contact purposes, or me you, whatever is easier, rather than mucking up the OPs thread :D

 

And that right there is one of the reasons why I love CC. You guys are so helpful with information and now t-shirts.... So cool

 

 

Send from device_name using Cruise Critic your_app_name App

[Canadian Tyler]

Loving the review. Couldn't wait to come read about the engagement on my commute home from work. Congrats!

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

Congrats and good to see you celebrated with my favourite champagne Veuve Clicquot! And your shots of Alesund are fantastic.

[saw777]

Loving this review and nice to see IOS in different waters away to the warm med or the caribbean.

 

Congrats on the engagement.:D

 

Ps - dmackay46 - im from dundee aswell :p

 

Steven

[dmackay46]

 

Ps - dmackay46 - im from dundee aswell :p

 

Steven

 

Hi Steven:D

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks again for all the kind words everyone (and I find it funny that my T-shirt - which I got in the Primark sale for about £1 - has caused such a stir!)

 

Anyway.....where was I?

 

Oh yes....Ålesund.

 

Well, we made back down the 418 steps in one piece and had a nice walk around the town itself....a really nice fishing town with great looking buildings (and the sun was starting to make an appearance!)

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

Trying to do a pano shot was tricky with cars going past....but I wanted to get Indy in behind the buildings - shame the cars look squashed (makes for an interesting photo though!)

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

LUNCH!!

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

I was sat out on our balcony with just my shorts on it was so warm (I'll spare you those photos!). It was glorious...

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/8981394255_42ec19e758_b.jpg' alt='8981394255_42ec19e758_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/8981395565_5f3a75c651_b.jpg' alt='8981395565_5f3a75c651_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Because it was so sunny, we decided a visit to the pools and over-hanging hot tubs was called for.

 

We chilled out by the Solarium pool (I swam whilst Jen relaxed in the hot tub...although I soon joined her).

 

At one point Indy's horn blasted, indicating we were just about to leave Ålesund - I have to admit it made me jump out of my skin!

 

We pulled away and started making our way into open seas again. Once the ship had left it's little sun trap in port, it started to get a little cold, so we decided to go back to our stateroom.

 

And this is what we found...

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

A quick story behind this...

 

The week before our cruise I'd spoken to Jen's Dad to formally ask his permission to marry his daughter (Jen's parents were very pleased and asked me to call or text them when I'd popped the question).

 

It so happened, Jen's parents had friends of theirs on the same cruise and said we should hook up with them for a drink (they hadn't seen Jen since she was little).

 

Jen's Dad managed to contact his friend to ask him if he could organise the Champagne, promising to pay him back later. It so happens once Royal Caribbean knew it was to celebrate our engagement, they said the bottle of Champagne was on the house (a very nice touch, I thought!).

 

We did meet up with Jen's parents friends eventually, on the last night :)

 

Later that night we had tickets to the 'Mystery Dinner Theatre' at Giovanni's Table (we had to meet in Olive Or Twist first for Champagne and canapés ). The ship was rolling a little at this point because we were now heading back down the Norwegian coast towards Stavanger (our next port of call)

 

The character's set the scene of the "Badda Boom, Badda Bing" evening before we went to Giovanni's Table.

 

There, we had a great set meal and the wine was free flowing (your glass was never left empty). It was nice to chat to the people on our table, and the characters (played by some of the ships dancers) came around to each table so we could "question" them.

 

It was a good fun evening.

 

We ended the night in the Pyramid Lounge to watch 'Rock The Boat' before calling it a day.

 

Tomorrow is day 7 and we'll be in our last port of call...Stavanger.

 

Stay tuned!

[drummerdavebmth]

A few pics from last night when we went to the Pyramid Lounge...

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/8981404599_6da9ed0983_b.jpg' alt='8981404599_6da9ed0983_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Day 7 - Stavanger

 

Again we were doing our own thing today...no excursions, just exploring, so we had breakfast in the MDR again (very nice).

 

We woke up to find we were approaching Stavanger and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day with lots of sunshine.

 

 

 

Good Morning Stavanger!

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

We decided to have a walk around the ship again on Deck 4 and onto the Helipad. P&O's 'Arcadia' was docked next to us (a pretty big ship too, which surprised me - for some reason I thought she was one of the small ships in P&O's fleet)

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2814/8981412509_2897712d52_b.jpg' alt='8981412509_2897712d52_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

I had to get a photo of myself with Indy in the background so posed for this photo (in case you're wondering what my T-shirt says, it's "hit drums, not people" On the back it says "....ok, some people!")

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/8981420673_29e18e89a4_b.jpg' alt='8981420673_29e18e89a4_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

One of the places we'd decided to visit was the Petroleum Museum...it took a while for us to find it - I took this quick photo along the way.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/8982622324_9d913bf885_b.jpg' alt='8982622324_9d913bf885_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[woodlands]

Congrats on the engagement !

 

I was on this cruise with my mum so it was lovely to relive it through your photos. How funny to spot me and my mum in your photos!!!! The top one here, bottom right, I'm in the grey coat and mum in the blue.

 

I loved Norway and can't wait to go back!!

[drummerdavebmth]

Congrats on the engagement !

 

I was on this cruise with my mum so it was lovely to relive it through your photos. How funny to spot me and my mum in your photos!!!! The top one here, bottom right, I'm in the grey coat and mum in the blue.

 

I loved Norway and can't wait to go back!!

 

Haha...how funny! I was wondering if some of the people in my photos also posted on here.

 

Glad my photos are bringing back happy memories for you....it truly was a great holiday, wasn't it :)

[drummerdavebmth]

We finally managed to find the Petroleum Museum....a nice way to spend a couple of hours and was more interesting than I thought it would be.

 

Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

 

This photo makes me laugh. I took 3 attempts to take this because the light wasn't good so I had to keep moving to a better position. By the time I took a photo I was happy with, Jen's patience was running thin...

 

 

After this, we decided to head back to the ship. Seeing as it was such a nice day, the pools/hot tubs were calling us!

 

I like this photo :)

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2847/8982627662_d09175af84_b.jpg' alt='8982627662_d09175af84_b.jpg'> Independence Of The Seas - Norway 18th-26th May 2013 by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[Realtor at Sea]

Have had a lovely time "sailing" along with you! We did a similar cruise on the Brilliance years ago and loved this part of the world. Indy is one of our favorite ships, also! Congrats on your engagement! When will you get married?