Curt From Canada

Although this is disappointing, for my next cruise I have devised a strategy for forgetting about most of it: At 7:00AM, I will have Lovely Latte in the Diamond ... er Crown Lounge. At 9:00AM, I will have a Celebratory Caesar on the pool deck. At 12:30PM, I will have a Resplendent Rose with lunch. (I can not believe they have one as good as they do on RC ships these days). At 5:00PM, I will have a Marvellous Martini at my favourite Bar (with a Bartender I have "trained" to make the Martini absolutely perfect ). At 7:30ish PM, I will have a glass of Wonderful Wine (probably as big a red that they can find). At 9:30PM. I will have a Superb Scotch in the Schooner Bar (probably one of their best MacAllan's) AND gladly pay the additional charge. As I roll into bed, none of the changes will matter. I will sleep well. If, and when, I wake up the next day, and I am a little bit down ... I will "rinse & repeat" steps 1 to 6 above. I hope this helps ... Curt from Canada

I have missed something or something is missing. For APR 2025 to JUL 2025, there are no ships using Amsterdam or Copenhagen as a home port. I know there are issues with Amsterdam (I thought they would just use Rotterdam), but I was unaware of anything “Rotten in Denmark”.Are there some others ships to still come?Curt from Canada

Just got back from Norway in June. It was spectacular. Do not assume all cruise sail ins (and sail aways) will be like the 2-3 hour Fjord "sail ins" you will experience. Some quick thoughts: 1). @JFCruise is 100% right. If you have a balcony you are in for a treat. We had breakfasts, pre-dinner drinks, after dinner drinks on our Balcony ... we spent more time on our Balcony in 1 cruise than on the 25 odd Balcony cruises we took before. If you do not have a Balcony, find a quiet spot close to the water and "soak up" the fjords. If you let us know what ship we could steer you towards some spots. 2). For our 43 wedding anniversary (coming up in January), we booked a speciality restaurant for dinner. If you do get stuck at a table for more than two, at least one night you will be able to focus on each other. 3). Once in port, the sight seeing is phenomenal. It is difficult to go wrong in any port. If you enjoy hiking, the sights are even more "other worldly". If you know the ports, we might have more detailed suggestions. 4). Only for out of the box thinkers: If you want to really focus on each other, take basic dance lessons before the cruise and take advantage of the live music throughout the ship. My soulmate and I spend hours on RCL ships (which have great live music) holding each other close and making every night "date night" on a cruise ship. 5). @JFCruise is 100% wrong about the Love & Marriage show. YOU HAVE TO TRY OUT. It will be the highlight of your cruise (or maybe the highlight for the other 2,000 to 4,000 other cruisers ). @JFCruise ... please say you were just joking . We need a steady stream of new competitors. They need to know it is very calm, sedate and not embarrassing in the least. The prizes are incredible. I set the record for s in one paragraph. I hope people get the humour in that paragraph. As @twangster says ... "Canadian humour is sometimes hard to get". Curt from Canada

We just visited Norway in June. There were only 2 cities on our cruise that overlaps with the World Cruise. A few quick thoughts: Olden: No need to book an excursion through Royal. Olden is very close to Loen (which has a SkyLift that takes you very quickly up the mountains). The views are spectacular (picture below) and there are some very nice hiking trails. We really liked the restaurant where the SkyLift lets you off (Hoven). We spent part of the morning, lunch and the early afternoon before returning to the ship. Warning: Everything in Norway is expensive. The bus to the lift was expensive, the lift was expensive and the lunch was expensive. Still, it was one of the best days on our 12 day cruise. Do your research on how to get to the lift and back. We did the "lazy" way and got off the ship and paid a lot of money for the combined Bus/SkyLift ticket ... there may be cheaper options. Alesund: We went on an RCL Highlights bus ride. It was pretty good. The best part was the Sunnmore Museum which had Viking Boats (if you are cruising, you might like boats ) and Viking houses from different eras. Make sure your tour includes the Sunnmore. Another option is to stay in the town (you can easily walk). There are lots of canals (it is nicknamed Norway's Venice). We tried to go to lunch at a restaurant by a canal, but many of the restaurants were over booked. Go early if you take this approach. Have a blast ... we did. We are going on the Antarctica portion of the World Cruise (January 2024). We will try to post something that describes the experience for a non-World Cruiser being on the World Cruise. Curt from Canada

Be careful what you ask for ... because there will be lots of pictures of gears, engine rooms and bridges and no pictures of wildlife, scenery or cultural activities. Curt from Canada Professional Engineer and extremely poor photographer.

It's time to play the "Blame @twangster Game": Galapagos has been booked for NOV 2025. I told my soulmate that is was all @twangster's fault and she agreed. I cheated (a lot) by showing her all his pictures first. There was very little coaxing required. Everyone feel free to use this not-yet-patented process. Curt from Canada

I KNEW you were a "bot". Everyone ... it is confirmed. @twangster ... thank you for taking us along on your incredible journey. (I think I am going to forward this blog link to a ton of people and buy shares in cruise lines that go to the Galapagos.) Thanks again ... Curt from Canada

Geeeez @twangster ... off the charts (and you adventure is just beginning). I have too many questions, so just a critical one. If a "bot" did not do their homework, I would be shocked. Therefore, did you consider Celebrity's Galapagos similar sailings, or was the SilverSea "expedition style" a deciding factor? We would be very interested in your thought process in booking SilverSea over Celebrity (and others as well). Galapagos is very high on our wish list. Thanks for taking us along ... Curt from Canada

Our first ship and one of our favourites. Hope the future sailings get back to something more "normal". Curt from Canada

Appears to be poor seas conditions (30 ft waves) as the reason. New itinerary: Curt from Canada

Plaid shirts and toques please ... Curt from Canada

This is a very, very special trip. My stop in Nassau in October does not quite measure up. BRAVO … this is one that I will watch with great interest. Curt from Canada.

Has anyone tried (recently) to ask for a side order of steamed vegetables? Curt from Canada

I am certain our gang will have a blast. Some boundary conditions, if it is hidden: on any Dance Floor, it will be found by the end of Day 2 in and around the Flowrider, it will never be found in the Schooner Bar, it will be found by the end of Day 3 in the Bionic Bar, it will never be found in the Cafe 270, it will be found on Day 1 in the North Star, it will never be found in the Music Hall, it will be found by the end of Day 2 in Adventure Ocean, it will never be found in the Windjammer, it will be found by Day 7 in the Fitness Club, it will never be found in the Ripcord, it will be found by Day 5 in the Sky Pad, it will never be found on the running track, it will be found by Day 3 anywhere on the ship AND we max out our drink package, we will never be found Looking forward to looking ... Curt from Canada

Hilarious ... "we're booked on the 11 night 1/5 (he just doesn't know it yet )." My soulmate gets similar treatment. JAN 16 (We love Barbados and The Yoda Guy) ... Looks like another scouting report will be available (tell your better half that you have an assignment now). Curt from Canada