FionaMG

This is my new “go to” spot for a quick breakfast! I normally go to park cafe but decided this morning to try something different. The steak & eggs sandwich and classic breakfast sandwich (sausage,egg,cheese,ham) are equally delicious! The service was very quick at 6:45am. There are 2 lines that eventually form, one to the left for speciality coffee (most likely drink packers speciality coffee option) and one to the right for food. The food line was short!

Nice! 😊
I haven't been to Flam but I too have read that the train sells out so it was a good move to get the tickets in advance.

I had to look that up to see what Wiggles are. 😂

I had to look that up to see what Wiggles are. 😂

The Key Bridge in Baltimore was struck by a cargo ship and collapsed into the water. The whole bridge just fell... some autos and work vehicles were on the bridge. Looks like Vision of the Seas is out for a few days, so I guess we will see if there is any impact or delay in them getting back. Really crazy video of the bridge collapsing....
  

We got back to the ship around 3:30pm (all aboard was 5:30) so we decided to go down the Perfect Storm since we were already in bathing suits. Then rushed to get ready for dinner - it was white night - and then had reservations for Hairspray. I enjoyed it somewhat, especially the upbeat songs. Since we had rushed dinner, we stopped in the Windjammer after the performance and nibbled on a few things. 
I was really surprised at how many people dressed for white night. I don't think I've seen this level before. My best estimate is that at least 80% of the people out and about were wearing white.

Today was Falmouth where we had picked a river tubing trip from Viator. They sent me a message yesterday to meet at 10:30am Jamaica time and I screwed up the time zone. We got there an hour early because Jamaica is on Eastern time but no daylight savings 😳
HOWEVER, my husband, who is beloved by grandmother-aged women everywhere, sweet talked the lady into letting us go with the earlier tour. There wasn't much of a description and it ended up being a bit too strenuous for my parents (although they did make it!). There was a walk to a small falls, over a wobbly plank bridge, and down a path quite a ways. Then everyone got in the water and essentially got dunked under the falls. We didn't get a great explanation, other than just "to get used to the water." It was fun for me and the kids but difficult for my parents.
We went down a bunch of wet rocks which was especially hard for my dad who has had two hip replacements. The guides were absolutely fabulous. Helping and joking in a way that did not make him feel bad. There were people of all ages and sizes on the tour and all of the guides were phenomenal with everyone. They kept calling my dad Papi which he got a kick out of.
So after the waterfall dunking, we backtracked a little bit and got in our tubes. Oh, we had to carry our own tubes all the way down the long path with us too, including over the wobble bridge. Each group had one guide with them and we each held our neighbor's tube with one hand to make a circle. We floated all the way down this river, some parts very calm and some parts with small rapids. My mom started to feel unwell here and thinks it was because of the helmet pushing her neck in a weird way and it made her nauseous.
There was one place to stop and get out and jump into the river from a platform. My son did a flip. Towards the end, we switched to a raft and paddled into the ocean/bay where we pulled up at a beach. Once we got in the raft, my mom was able to take off the helmet and started to feel better after that We walked all the way down the beach to a place with a bar and tables and a lifeguard. The beach & ocean here were absolutely beautiful. 
My son has been very interested in alcohol and asking if he can try stuff. We know officially we can't on the boat, but we kind of feel at home that if we let him have a sip of stuff here and there generally with family, European style, he might be less likely to do it in an unsafe way. So he was curious about the offerings at the bar, and I said - I wonder what the drinking age is in Jamaica. Then my husband said to the bartender, my son wants to know what the drinking age in Jamaica is and the bartender asks my son, how old are you. My son - "14". Bartender- "then 14!" So we got one Red Stripe beer for my husband and I to split and let him have a few small drinks of it. Later at dinner, he asked me, "why do people even drink beer? It's not like it tastes good." 😂
We had no wifi or cell coverage so only took 1 phone along and didn't use it to take pictures. My husband had a go pro but we don't have a computer to download to videos until we get home.
 

Hi! I will be on Anthem this summer with my two youngest (teenagers) and it will be our first time on a Norway cruise - this thread is very timely! Based on one of the posts Matt shared and @FionaMG's and @cedricmr great advice, I booked direct. From what I understand, the Flam rail times do sell out so I booked through Norways Best to ensure I have my first choice of time slots because we have a RIB tour that afternoon. It was also a fraction of the price Royal is offering. Unless you have a tender port, you may not need the Key unless you get a fantastic deal- especially if you get the dining package. 

Odyssey of the Seas.      April 27, 2025     TransAtlantic from Bayonne to Rome

That extra night makes ALL the difference. 😊

UPDATE:
Due to the fact that one of our port stops was cancelled and replaced with a sea day, we were able to get lunch reservations at Izumi Hibachi for that day once on board the ship. It was excellent and the kids had a blast!

Love the little orange and black magnet guys!  I'm really hoping to see Hiro as Symphony is on my short list of next cruises, it looks great!!!   
An NDA?? Now we really wanna know! lol 

Sad news out of Holland America.
 
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/2-crew-members-die-incident-holland-america-cruise-108423549

Hi @New Cruiser from Kansas and welcome to the boards. 😊
Check out this thread on the Shore Excursions board. I posted my research in it for our Norwegian fjords cruise last year. You don't mention which ports you're visiting except for Stavanger but at least it will give you a starting point.
Also @Plasticbrain is from Norway and has posted lots of useful information. The easiest way to find it is to open the Shore Excursions board and type the word "Norway" into the search box towards the top right.
Hope it helps. 😊

My parents went to the thing today and actually had to sign an NDA. So they haven't even told US what it was about.

Mini golf was fun but hot, and I screamed the whole way down the Ultimate Abyss. Much faster and darker than I expected.

Cute towel animal, and next to it was a note saying to return luggage that is not yours. 


Crepes in WJ tonight!


And I love this stairwell landing.

So we went to go to dinner last night in the MDR and on the way down, we looked at our table number. With the huge embarkation delay and running around all afternoon, we hadn't stopped to check before. We have all been linked since we booked, but somehow we were all assigned to different tables! The kids were on a different floor!! The manager fixed it for us and found three two tops to push together and we ended up by the window so we ended up with a really nice table, but we still can't understand how that happened.

Last food pic (although I brought home enough ranger cookies for a few more days, lol)…

Random Thoughts - Cabin Attendant
We’ve honestly never had a bad one. They have ranged from quiet but efficient to extremely friendly & exceptional. This was only our 2nd cruise with once/day service though… and our cabin attendant was exceptional. I already mentioned meeting him early on day one & receiving extra hangers within 10 minutes of asking even though we told him no rush. We also saw him at least twice a day, he brought fresh ice each evening even though we had morning service, and we never had a problem catching him in the hallway for a minor request like extra towels. He even snuck my wife some of the peppermint bar soap they have in suites b/c she told him how much she likes it. Honestly, the only difference for us with once/day service is no one re-makes the bed in the evening… and we couldn’t care less. Oh, and I guess a few plates/cups may sit in the corner for a little longer than before… also not remotely an issue for us.

Finally made it home. We left ship around 730ish with wonderful Norman and Kenny concierge escort. On road before 8am and arrived home after 500 plus miles of driving around 430pm. I’m smoked and have added joy of work tomorrow. Did I mention I wish I was retired? 
awesome week with getting to meet @OCSC Mike and his lovely bride and seeing matt briefly twice. Wonder is just an awesome ship. Crew killed it as always. Royal for the win!
Next cruise is icon in August. y’all thanks for following our posts. 

I can't believe it's over already. Where did the week go?
Safe travels home @OCSC Mike and @GatorCruiser and thanks for the ride. 😊

Hi @New Cruiser from Kansas and welcome to the boards. 😊
Check out this thread on the Shore Excursions board. I posted my research in it for our Norwegian fjords cruise last year. You don't mention which ports you're visiting except for Stavanger but at least it will give you a starting point.
Also @Plasticbrain is from Norway and has posted lots of useful information. The easiest way to find it is to open the Shore Excursions board and type the word "Norway" into the search box towards the top right.
Hope it helps. 😊

Happy that everyone seemed to enjoy the blog so much. Also happy that I accomplished my goal of more shorter posts with pics.
That said, I'm still a work in progress and I may have been posting a little TOO frequently. My goal in June will be to mostly emulate this one but save some posts for later (as opposed to closer to real-time) when we're truly not doing anything for a while so that I'm not on my phone so much during short breaks in the action. Obviously I enjoy sharing everything with you guys... but I don't want to take anything away from enjoying the time with my wife. I know there's room for both, I just have to find the happy medium.
For so many obvious reasons... I'm feeling very fortunate knowing that we'll be back on Wonder in exactly 10 weeks... and then 5 weeks after that one ends.

I can't believe it's over already. Where did the week go?
Safe travels home @OCSC Mike and @GatorCruiser and thanks for the ride. 😊

I can't believe it's over already. Where did the week go?
Safe travels home @OCSC Mike and @GatorCruiser and thanks for the ride. 😊