Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[scubacruiserx2]

Another one of Tower Bridge.

London landmarks at sunrise from Air Canada flight.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/7BdgMG5sNumwS5kp6

 

Thanks for sharing the photo Jackie , it's a great and unique shot of the bridge !!

:) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Continuing our walk along the embankment

 

 

 

There is some good information about the river on the sign

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TY in front of the iconic Tower of London

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back at the Shard and the HMS Belfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We stopped at the Starbucks near the bridge and saw a Tyler sized car nearby

 

 

 

 

I wanted to get the light at my back for a photo of Ty for his mom in front of the 'London Bridge' .

 

 

 

 

I wanted to take a few more photos near here and I told Pat that I would take the photos and then catch up to them when I finished .

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite shot of the bridge

 

 

 

 

 

When I got back here , Pat and Tyler were gone .

 

 

 

At first I thought that they were pranking me . I then tried searching the 3 avenues of escape - under , along and over the bridge . But they were nowhere to be found ( along with my wallet , money , jacket and umbrella ) . I then returned to the point last seen for a brief wait .

 

It finally dawned on me that not only was it lunch time , but - that I was in a pickle , and I don't mean the Gerkin !!

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[AntjeG]

Well, that´s what I would call a stress test! But as you are at your home posting a review I suppose you got your belongings and your loved ones back :D

 

Did you take Tyler inside Tower Bridge? Fascinating. Here is an inside photo taken on my NCL Escape cruise Oct. 2015 which had a London city tour after the cruise:

 

 

And the view from The Shard´s observation platform:

 

I met the Eclipse on my recent AIDAsol Western Europe cruise. We were docked very close to her in Lisbon:

 

Can´t wait to know how you managed to find Pat and Ty in big crowded London.

All the best for your upcoming health stress test!

Edited November 8, 2016 by AntjeG

[scubacruiserx2]

Well, that´s what I would call a stress test! But as you are at your home posting a review I suppose you got your belongings and your loved ones back :D

 

Did you take Tyler inside Tower Bridge? Fascinating. Here is an inside photo taken on my NCL Escape cruise Oct. 2015 which had a London city tour after the cruise:

 

 

And the view from The Shard´s observation platform:

 

I met the Eclipse on my recent AIDAsol Western Europe cruise. We were docked very close to her in Lisbon:

 

Can´t wait to know how you managed to find Pat and Ty in big crowded London.

All the best for your upcoming health stress test!

 

 

Yes AntjeG we made it home safe and sound , but for some strange reason , I can't see your photos , only icons which won't link when I click on them . ;)

 

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Our narrative continues :

 

Our original plan was to first go to the Borough Market for some a visit and some lunch .

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another view of the Shard

 

 

 

 

Since we didn't have working phones with us , I had no way of knowing if Pat went there , or was somewhere else . I knew that she would eventually go to the hotel and so I considered how to best reach the hotel . Observing a cab stand I explained my plight to the first driver in the queue and asked if he would transport me to the hotel , with me paying after we arrived at the hotel . The driver explained that he also had experienced a similar event and he agreed to take me to the hotel . I suggested that he phone the hotel to confirm that we were staying there but he said that he trusted me . And as we chatted during the 20 minute ride I felt that I had met Mein Englisch doppelganger , not in terms of physical appearance , but rather in terms of shared behavior traits and life experiences .

 

It was a nice act of human kindness to a stranger and I was thrilled to share a nice 'Tip' with the kind man after retrieving some money from our safe . I knew that Tyler was in capable company and so rather than fretting their demise , I ordered room service and took a nap .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

When they returned to the hotel they said that they had crossed Tower Bridge and had waited at Borough Market . For last night's dinner we decided to go back to the White Swan where I found some Indian food .

 

 

 

 

We walked on the Vauxhall bridge

 

 

 

where we encountered a massive bicycle parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess the excitement was contagious as Tyler developed a case of happy feet .

 

 

 

Pat and Tyler choose to split a cab near the hotel .

 

 

 

 

And finally , the look on Samantha Cameron's face after the Brexit vote spoke volumes about the results .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AntjeG]

Yes AntjeG we made it home safe and sound , but for some strange reason , I can't see your photos , only icons which won't link when I click on them . ;)

 

 

 

:eek: don´t know what happend. I´ll try again:

 

inside Tower Bridge

 

 

the view from the Shard

 

 

the Eclipse and AIDAsol in Lisbon

 

Edited November 9, 2016 by AntjeG

[scubacruiserx2]

:eek: don´t know what happend. I´ll try again:

 

inside Tower Bridge

 

 

the view from the Shard

 

 

the Eclipse and AIDAsol in Lisbon

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos of some places that we missed in London . Hopefully we will see them in person with a future visit . We did see the AIDA sol in Lisbon when we did a TA on the Eclipse in 2015 .

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[AntjeG]

I like the AIDAsol best of all the AIDA ships I sailed on so far.

AIDAsol and her sister ships and Celebrity Solstice class ships all come from Meyer shipyard in Papenburg/Germany.

[scubacruiserx2]

I like the AIDAsol best of all the AIDA ships I sailed on so far.

AIDAsol and her sister ships and Celebrity Solstice class ships all come from Meyer shipyard in Papenburg/Germany.

 

 

They build some beautiful ships there ! I took a look at their web cam and it showed the NCL Joy currently under construction .

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/norwegian-joy

 

 

I underwent my angiogram yesterday and we look forward to seeing the doctor next week for our medical plan of treatment and also planning our upcoming B2B cruises on the Princess ships Regal and Caribbean Princess in a couple of weeks . Here they are together , visiting Cozumel :) :D

 

 

 

 

 

The Regal reminds us of the Solstice class ships .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We were fortunate to find an upgrade to Upper Class which we were willing to pay , which includes the Upper Class Wing experience , as described here :

 

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/the-virgin-experience/upperclass/upper-class-wing.html

 

It was , without a doubt , the best check in and pre flight which we have ever experienced . As I googled it , this article just posted by Business Traveller about the Virgin Atlantic Heathrow Clubhouse's refurbishment , popped up :

 

 

https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2016/11/11/virgin-atlantic-heathrow-clubhouse-undergo-refurbishment/

 

 

And after the flawless and speedy check in , we found some seats and a menu

 

 

and some drinks were brought to us

 

 

 

After placing our orders I walked around , finding :

 

 

A fire on the telly

 

 

 

 

the stairs in the background led to the loft

 

 

 

 

and a outdoor viewing deck

 

 

 

 

our duck Bánh mì .

 

 

 

 

Here's a full description and review , with some great photos from Business Traveler

 

 

 

 

https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested/773874/

 

Edited November 11, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

As soon as we were seated we were given a welcome glass of bubbly , just like boarding the Eclipse

 

 

 

Dinner menus

 

 

 

 

and more

 

 

 

 

This photo from the pre flight safety video reminded me of the story of Muhammad Ali refusing to wear a safety belt while flying :

 

 

 

 

here is a story told of the one-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Muhammad Ali, flying to one of his engagements. Ali’s name has never been synonymous with humility, and thus whether this story is fact or fiction, the notoriously yet affectionately branded “Louisville Lip” at least made possible such an anecdote. During the flight the aircraft ran into foul weather, and mild to moderate turbulence began to toss it about. All nervous fliers well know that when a pilot signals “moderate turbulence,” he is implying, “if you have any religious beliefs, it is time to start expressing them.” The passengers were accordingly instructed to fasten their seatbelts immediately. Everyone complied but Ali. Noticing this, the flight attendant approached him and requested that he observe the captain’s order, only to hear Ali audaciously respond, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” The flight attendant did not miss a beat and replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.” (Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publ., Dallas: 1994), p. 7)

 

 

Ready for take off

 

 

 

 

 

Taxiing down the runway and Lift off .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After getting airborne , this map came up on our screen

 

 

 

which I found out is interactive . And through the magic of technology , we were able to see our neighborhood , over the horizon .

 

 

 

 

As dinner was being served , I was reminded of one of our favorite cheap wine brands - Barefoot .

 

 

 

Prawns with Avruga Caviar

 

Avruga is a product made from herring and other products (water, herring-40%, salt, corn starch, lemon juice, citric acid, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate, squid ink) that is marketed as a caviar substitute. Unlike caviar, it does not contain fish roe.

 

wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Stuffed pepper

 

 

 

We feel blessed to have grown up in the old , low-tech days which taught us some patience , and to also live in the modern , high tech days which allow common people to take uncommon trips , never imagined , when I was a boy in the post war / cold war era . We are glad that you could go along with us , and as we drew closer to home , we could see a view of our little house in the woods , which I would have never dreamed of - when I was young !

 

 

 

 

[hazelmaye]

Tank yu for this wonderful review. I enjoyed every minute of your trip. judy

[afto]

Great review! I have bookmarked sections for future travel planning. Thanks for taking the time to post with all the terrific pictures.

[scubacruiserx2]

Tank yu for this wonderful review. I enjoyed every minute of your trip. judy

 

Thank you Judy , it's been a long trip but we're glad that you could go along ! :) :D

[Gracie115]

We're back from our TA on Equinox! It was a fun trip and I much prefer the 25 hour days to the 23 hour ones going East.

 

I just finished reading the rest of your review....the next time I fly to/from Europe I want to go Virgin too!! It looked marvelous!!

 

I hope your angiogram came out okay and you don't have to undergo much treatment at all.

 

Also hope you had a wonderful time in Cozumel!

 

Thank you for such a wonderful review.....while on board we booked a "future cruise" deposit with the intention of booking a TA and b2b it with a Baltic trip on Silhouette in April 2018....but those itineraries aren't due out for about 2 weeks........and now I read that X will home port a ship(Eclipse) out of Dublin at the same time...so we may go that way instead as it appears Iceland will be an included part of the itinerary....so looking forward towhen the new schedules come out Nov 29.....so many cruises, so little time...

 

Thanks again for all the time you took with this review....it has been marvelous following along!!!:)

[upwarduk]

now I read that X will home port a ship(Eclipse) out of Dublin

 

I read a Solstice ship, it wasn't named.

[Gracie115]

I read a Solstice ship, it wasn't named.

 

Yes an "S" class ship and I was "assuming" it's Eclipse.....the only other possibility is Silhouette but that ship normally is doing Baltic trips at that time and only other "S" class even in Europe is Reflection and she does Med trips only....but who knows what the new itineraries will bring......I don't care which one...they're all great ships!!:)

[scubacruiserx2]

Great review! I have bookmarked sections for future travel planning. Thanks for taking the time to post with all the terrific pictures.

 

Thank you and thank you for sharing your great photos . Can we look forward to some photo reviews from you in the future ? :) :D

[upwarduk]

Yes an "S" class ship and I was "assuming" it's Eclipse.....the only other possibility is Silhouette but that ship normally is doing Baltic trips at that time and only other "S" class even in Europe is Reflection and she does Med trips only....but who knows what the new itineraries will bring......I don't care which one...they're all great ships!!:)

 

Yes, your assumption may be correct, but it's only for a 'mini season' 5 sailings from April- June 2018.

So possibly Eclipse will start the season in Dublin, then transfer back to Southampton.

Pure speculation!

 

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/63890/celebrity-cruises-to-base-ship-in-Dublin

Edited November 13, 2016 by upwarduk

[afto]

Thank you and thank you for sharing your great photos . Can we look forward to some photo reviews from you in the future ? :) :D

 

Following in your footsteps to the Baltic in May of next year, so for that cruise I might try my first photo review. I appreciate all the time and effort that people put into doing these; I find them very helpful.

[scubacruiserx2]

Following in your footsteps to the Baltic in May of next year, so for that cruise I might try my first photo review. I appreciate all the time and effort that people put into doing these; I find them very helpful.

 

May was our favorite time of year to visit this beautiful and historic part of the world . We're glad that this thread is helpful to you and hope that you will share your adventures and photos with us . I enjoyed your photos and wanted to share this one of the sunset in Alaska , which I really like . ;)

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We're back from our TA on Equinox! It was a fun trip and I much prefer the 25 hour days to the 23 hour ones going East.

 

I just finished reading the rest of your review....the next time I fly to/from Europe I want to go Virgin too!! It looked marvelous!!

 

I hope your angiogram came out okay and you don't have to undergo much treatment at all.

 

Also hope you had a wonderful time in Cozumel!

 

Thank you for such a wonderful review.....while on board we booked a "future cruise" deposit with the intention of booking a TA and b2b it with a Baltic trip on Silhouette in April 2018....but those itineraries aren't due out for about 2 weeks........and now I read that X will home port a ship(Eclipse) out of Dublin at the same time...so we may go that way instead as it appears Iceland will be an included part of the itinerary....so looking forward towhen the new schedules come out Nov 29.....so many cruises, so little time...

 

Thanks again for all the time you took with this review....it has been marvelous following along!!!:)

 

 

Welcome back Gracie . That it sounds like you had a good cruise in the calm Atlantic , and some interesting choices to make with Iceland and Ireland in the mix ! Maybe a B2B2B TA , British Isles and a Baltic , for good measure ! ;)

 

 

The angiogram showed only a 40 % blockage , and we will get the full details , and plan of action on Friday . We don't think that it's too bad though , and hope that it won't change our upcoming cruises on the Princess sisters . :) :D

 

 

And while we like Celebrity , HAL and Princess for cruises VA is our airline of choice , and with their UK flight crews , we feel like we're already in the UK before leaving the ground in Florida ! Incidentally , they do fly from Orlando as well as MIA .