Rare PATRLR Posted July 19 #176 Share Posted July 19 10 hours ago, Tedferg said: We are considering the 7-day fjords cruise and thought Ocean View would be adequate since it is port intensive. Do you have any thoughts? I agree with Ken's answer, I think a balcony is very important for a cruise like this one. One thing to keep in mind is that it can be cool in this part of the world. We often times found that our balcony was the most comfortable place to sit outside and watch the world go by because there was wind protection. And for the Sky Princess specifically, we found that it doesn't have an abundance of outside space where one can sit and watch the scenery and even less space where you might be able to get out of the wind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalynan Posted July 19 #177 Share Posted July 19 18 minutes ago, PATRLR said: Boo! Hiss! We didn't get one of those, we got luggage tags instead 😞. (Our time will come, just need to finish up the careers and retire) Totally agree, without wishing your life away finishing up the careers and retiring is the way to go!! Our next adventure is a new one on a B2B in September to Canada and Alaska, although DW is fully retired (apart from occasional baby-sitting for the grandchildren) and I still work from time-to time to help supplement the vacation fund. As they say, "time marches on...." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalynan Posted July 19 #178 Share Posted July 19 15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: Thanks! Hopefully the photos I’ve taken so far have at least hinted as to how beautiful your country is! 😁 Sorry forgot to say Ken, following along as usual your excellent 'live' and some brilliant photos 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #179 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said: Much better to receive the in-transit memo instead of the colored tags. I am sorry to hear that it took almost an entire cruise to get over jet lag. That’s no fun. That’s ok. That’s why we go on 3-5 week cruises! 😂 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #180 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, PATRLR said: Boo! Hiss! We didn't get one of those, we got luggage tags instead 😞. (Our time will come, just need to finish up the careers and retire) Just remember once you retire, there will so many things to do! On some days you might even have to budget your time to get it all done! Then there’s the lure of those longer 3+ week cruises going to far off land like Africa, Australia, and of course Antarctica where you’ll have to do B2B cruises to have enough time to appreciate all the awesome these and other places around the world have to offer! But if you become cruiseaholics like us, just know it’s a slippery slope that there is no coming back from! 😂 10 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #181 Share Posted July 19 This morning we went to the Culinary Demonstration in the theater, which was followed by the galley tour. As usual, the presentations were quite entertaining, with some of the crew coming on stage to sing a few songs afterwards. Since we’ve been on the galley tour many times before, we passed on it. But if you haven’t been before, it’s fun to see. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Norwaylady Posted July 19 #182 Share Posted July 19 Looks like your having a great time❤️ I really hit the I-miss-cruising fever this week🫠 7days on INF was just 2-3 days to short....(not that I haven't sailed this year😆) So it's great to follow your adventure! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike A Posted July 19 #183 Share Posted July 19 (edited) On 7/18/2024 at 11:12 AM, Ken the cruiser said: Then it was time to head back to the ship. @Ken the cruiser First off, I want to thank you for the labor of love that you have put into your Live From. I have followed it each day and have loved your words and pictures. That being said, the picture above from Stavanger brings back many memories. I vividly remember walking on that pier when I was 9 years old to board our T/A sailing on the Oslofjord on 7/29/1965 for my family's return home to New York from Norway. The Oslofjord was docked at the same place as the Sky Princess. As much as things change, they stay the same. Many thanks!!! 🙂 Edited July 19 by Mike A 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedferg Posted July 19 #184 Share Posted July 19 Regarding OV versus Balcony, I just checked, and the saved booking and we are looking at Obstructed Balcony Deck 8. So, no problem 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #185 Share Posted July 19 2 hours ago, Norwaylady said: Looks like your having a great time❤️ I really hit the I-miss-cruising fever this week🫠 7days on INF was just 2-3 days to short....(not that I haven't sailed this year😆) So it's great to follow your adventure! We agree. For us, unless we’re going to some place like the Galapagos, we need at least a 3 week cruise to temporarily satisfy our addiction. But then once we get back home, it’s not long before we’re ready to go on our next one, which is usually within 3 months. Any longer and we start twitching! 😂 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #186 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, Mike A said: @Ken the cruiser First off, I want to thank you for the labor of love that you have put into your Live From. I have followed it each day and have loved your words and pictures. That being said, the picture above from Stavanger brings back many memories. I vividly remember walking on that pier when I was 9 years old to board our T/A sailing on the Oslofjord on 7/29/1965 for my family's return home to New York from Norway. The Oslofjord was docked at the same place as the Sky Princess. As much as things change, they stay the same. Many thanks!!! 🙂 That is so cool! Thanks for sharing that memory. 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #187 Share Posted July 19 (edited) As we cruise our way back to Southampton today, the seas were come but a little eerie looking at times. This first shot was taken off the coast of England near Great Yarmouth while the Celebrity Apex was blasting past us on the port side also heading towards Southampton for a 6 am arrival. Then when we got back to the cabin after an early dinner, this was the “blurry” view of the horizon from our balcony. Hopefully it’s a prelude to an awesome sunset later on! 🤞 Edited July 19 by Ken the cruiser 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 19 Author #188 Share Posted July 19 (edited) What a fun evening on the final day of the 7-day Norway leg of our cruise! The evening show tonight was called A Royal Variety Show, which was a very colorful and energetic performance! This photo was taken 20 minutes before the show started. We then quickly headed to the Vista Lounge at the other end of the ship to get some great seats at the Laugh Lounge to watch the encore performance of one of the funniest comedian/magicians we can ever remember watching! When we got back to the cabin, our timing couldn’t have been better as the sun was just starting to set! What an awesome way to end this wonderful first leg of our cruise! 😁 Edited July 19 by Ken the cruiser 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cr8tiv1 Posted July 19 #189 Share Posted July 19 Perfect ending to Leg #1. Thanks for the ride. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanandmark Posted July 20 #190 Share Posted July 20 We are doing just the second leg of this cruise next year, exactly 365 days from now! I am really looking forward to watching your experience! Thanks so much for logging all this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #191 Share Posted July 20 We have arrived back in Southampton, England! Now it’s time to get ready for our 14-day cruise around the Baltic where our daughter and grandson will also be joining us! 😁 14-Day Norway, Denmark & Sweden Date Port Arrival Depart 7/20 Southampton UK 4:00 PM 7/21 At Sea 7/22 Skagen DE 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 7/23 Copenhagen DE 7:00 AM 5:00 PM 7/24 Warnemunde GE 8:00 AM 10:00 PM 7/25 At Sea 7/26 Stockholm SE 8:30 PM 7/27 Stockholm SE 2:00 PM 7/28 Tallinn EE 8:00 AM 6:00 PM 7/29 Helsinki FI 7:00 AM 5:00 PM 7/30 Visby SE 8:00 AM 6:00 PM 7/31 At Sea 8/1 Kristiansand NO 8:00 AM 6:00 PM 8/2 At Sea 8/3 Southampton UK 7:00 AM 9:00 AM LHR Ship Transfer 11:00 AM 3:55 PM As a side note, do you know what the difference is between the terms Great Britain and the United Kingdom? I’ve always heard the terms, but was curious if they meant the same thing. Now I know. 😁 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #192 Share Posted July 20 Day 8 - July 20 - Southampton, England 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted July 20 #193 Share Posted July 20 Enjoy the rest of the journey Ken, I'll be following along from home. Sitting in the lounge at LHR now waiting for our 13:05 flight. Do you know how many passengers are doing the B2B like you are? At the 10PM Royal Variety show, they asked who was staying on and I surprised at how many people indicated they were. Disembarkation was one of the easiest I've ever experienced. 10 minutes from room to curb. When we got to deck 5 mid, I thought for sure I must have been in the wrong place because there was no crowds! We were one of the earlier groups who put our luggage out the night before, maybe everyone else was coming after us or did self assist, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Justpackingmybags Posted July 20 #194 Share Posted July 20 I loved the area around Warnemünde when I did a similar itinerary in the days when St Petersburg was permitted. It’s a lovely traditional seaside resort. Rostock also convenient. I passed on the Berlin trips - I can fly from home in the same time it takes from the ship on an excursion. However if it’s the only way you can get to see Berlin, then go for it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #195 Share Posted July 20 24 minutes ago, PATRLR said: Enjoy the rest of the journey Ken, I'll be following along from home. Sitting in the lounge at LHR now waiting for our 13:05 flight. Do you know how many passengers are doing the B2B like you are? At the 10PM Royal Variety show, they asked who was staying on and I surprised at how many people indicated they were. Disembarkation was one of the easiest I've ever experienced. 10 minutes from room to curb. When we got to deck 5 mid, I thought for sure I must have been in the wrong place because there was no crowds! We were one of the earlier groups who put our luggage out the night before, maybe everyone else was coming after us or did self assist, I don't know. Glad everything went so smoothly disembarking the ship and transfer to LHR. I’ll try to find out later on how many stayed on like us for the next leg plus how many guests will be on all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #196 Share Posted July 20 9 minutes ago, Justpackingmybags said: I loved the area around Warnemünde when I did a similar itinerary in the days when St Petersburg was permitted. It’s a lovely traditional seaside resort. Rostock also convenient. I passed on the Berlin trips - I can fly from home in the same time it takes from the ship on an excursion. However if it’s the only way you can get to see Berlin, then go for it. That is great to hear as we will be taking this tour instead of one of the Berlin excursions. I was stationed in Germany for 7 years back in the late 80s/early 90s and visited Berlin just after the wall had come down. It’s a cool city, but this tour looked like more fun and a lot closer! 😁 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #197 Share Posted July 20 48 minutes ago, PATRLR said: Do you know how many passengers are doing the B2B like you are? At the 10PM Royal Variety show, they asked who was staying on and I surprised at how many people indicated they were. I just checked and there are 576 staying on for the next cruise with about 3,000 guests altogether. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #198 Share Posted July 20 As I was chilling on the balcony, I noticed on the terminal roof across the way there was a small Herring Gull rookery, with quite a few young juveniles practicing how to fly. I’m also thinking those clumps are actually nests, as I also some some gulls sitting on them the whole time I was watching them. and there were a few of the elusive Southampton pigeons hanging out as well! 😂 I know, it doesn’t take much to keep me entertained! 😂 6 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 20 Author #199 Share Posted July 20 (edited) OK, the Southampton pigeon sendoff committee has arrived. It won’t be long now before we’re back on the high seas once again! And hopefully with clear skies and calm seas ahead of us once we reach the English Channel! 😁 Edited July 20 by Ken the cruiser 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malleykatt Posted July 20 #200 Share Posted July 20 More seagulls there than last year. We're on board and on the balcony. Further down the water from us we can see Celebrity Apex and P&O Ventura & Iona. Waiting as a "number" of people have not completed the safety instructions 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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