Curt From Canada

I dress for no one. Not at work (OK, maybe for customers), not at home, and not on a cruise. With one massive exception. I dress for my soulmate. Since I really can’t see what I am wearing, and I really could care less about what anyone else thinks, I dress for only one person ... the woman I fell in love with 43 years ago and the woman I want to make happy every single day of my life. 
I also do not care what other people wear … I am looking at my soulmate, everyone else is the equivalent of “visual background noise” … Sorry if some of you are upset.
These genuine requests for what is normal and tolerated in the MDR and on Formal nights are sincere questions (and good ones). My advice is ... Ask your soulmate(s). Ask the person(s) who you are devoted to. Ask the only person(s) on the earth that matters. You and they will be much happier as a result. 
On a cruise (and many times at home), I wear what my soulmate wants.  She also asks me what I prefer that she wears, and I am honest and very appreciative when she responds. When we do this, almost always she says I “look sexy”, and I feel great (I also laugh a little ... OK, maybe a lot). I think she is the most beautiful woman on the ship, and I would wear anything to make her happy. 
I hope everyone can have this feeling when they go cruising. 
Curt from Canada. 

I dress for no one. Not at work (OK, maybe for customers), not at home, and not on a cruise. With one massive exception. I dress for my soulmate. Since I really can’t see what I am wearing, and I really could care less about what anyone else thinks, I dress for only one person ... the woman I fell in love with 43 years ago and the woman I want to make happy every single day of my life. 
I also do not care what other people wear … I am looking at my soulmate, everyone else is the equivalent of “visual background noise” … Sorry if some of you are upset.
These genuine requests for what is normal and tolerated in the MDR and on Formal nights are sincere questions (and good ones). My advice is ... Ask your soulmate(s). Ask the person(s) who you are devoted to. Ask the only person(s) on the earth that matters. You and they will be much happier as a result. 
On a cruise (and many times at home), I wear what my soulmate wants.  She also asks me what I prefer that she wears, and I am honest and very appreciative when she responds. When we do this, almost always she says I “look sexy”, and I feel great (I also laugh a little ... OK, maybe a lot). I think she is the most beautiful woman on the ship, and I would wear anything to make her happy. 
I hope everyone can have this feeling when they go cruising. 
Curt from Canada. 

I dress for no one. Not at work (OK, maybe for customers), not at home, and not on a cruise. With one massive exception. I dress for my soulmate. Since I really can’t see what I am wearing, and I really could care less about what anyone else thinks, I dress for only one person ... the woman I fell in love with 43 years ago and the woman I want to make happy every single day of my life. 
I also do not care what other people wear … I am looking at my soulmate, everyone else is the equivalent of “visual background noise” … Sorry if some of you are upset.
These genuine requests for what is normal and tolerated in the MDR and on Formal nights are sincere questions (and good ones). My advice is ... Ask your soulmate(s). Ask the person(s) who you are devoted to. Ask the only person(s) on the earth that matters. You and they will be much happier as a result. 
On a cruise (and many times at home), I wear what my soulmate wants.  She also asks me what I prefer that she wears, and I am honest and very appreciative when she responds. When we do this, almost always she says I “look sexy”, and I feel great (I also laugh a little ... OK, maybe a lot). I think she is the most beautiful woman on the ship, and I would wear anything to make her happy. 
I hope everyone can have this feeling when they go cruising. 
Curt from Canada. 

1). Live Music.  Dancing is "OK" with a DJ, but dancing to live music is a real treat.  Boleros and Music Hall ... here we come.
2). "A la carte" cruising.  Being able to choose what the experience is (rather than "Always Included style") allows us to pick only the things we really want.  The amount we drink, eat, stay connected, and "play" with the "expensive" toys (Coco Cay, on board extras, excursions, etc) varies from cruise to cruise ... choice is something we must have.
3). Entertainment ... To see Broadway/West End at sea is a real treat.  Some of the other larger ship entertainment is "off the charts" (The Gift ... definitely not you).
4). Higher Level Loyalty Perks ... we have not done our homework, but the Royal program seems to have some significant advantages.  Our sense is they will "pull back" over time, but compared to others they seem to have a significant advantage.
5). Did I mention Live Music?
😉
 
Curt from Canada

1). Live Music.  Dancing is "OK" with a DJ, but dancing to live music is a real treat.  Boleros and Music Hall ... here we come.
2). "A la carte" cruising.  Being able to choose what the experience is (rather than "Always Included style") allows us to pick only the things we really want.  The amount we drink, eat, stay connected, and "play" with the "expensive" toys (Coco Cay, on board extras, excursions, etc) varies from cruise to cruise ... choice is something we must have.
3). Entertainment ... To see Broadway/West End at sea is a real treat.  Some of the other larger ship entertainment is "off the charts" (The Gift ... definitely not you).
4). Higher Level Loyalty Perks ... we have not done our homework, but the Royal program seems to have some significant advantages.  Our sense is they will "pull back" over time, but compared to others they seem to have a significant advantage.
5). Did I mention Live Music?
😉
 
Curt from Canada

Day 8 - Alesund
This is a very picturesque town, much more what you think of when you think of Norway. Our weather was not as good as it had been, but still decent. We got sprinkled on a bit and there were more clouds. We did the Stranda Mountain Explorer excursion. Our guide was a French woman, again excellent. This tour is more bus and less active than we like, but still enjoyable. 
Alesund on arrival. The port where we docked is tucked inside a little inlet, so there were some interesting gyrations getting us in.


While this was a bus tour, we had to take two ferries to get around. They just put the whole bus on the ferry, which was fun. Also, some of the ferries are electric and get charged for a few minutes each time durning unloading and loading. See the white shed on the right, that’s the charging station.


Stranda Mountain is a ski resort that tries to have year round activities. They can ski here until the beginning of June usually. We took the gondola to the top and got some nice views. There was also a waffle, of course!




The church from the 1800s in the town a Stranda. The older church was destroyed by a tsunami caused by an avalanche into the fjord:

Various scenes from the trip:








 
 

Day 10 - Haugesund
This was the port stop that got added fairly last minute, and shore excursions took over a week to populate. Even after they were up in the Cruise Planner, there were no descriptions. So I picked the Akrafjord and Langford Waterfall excursion a bit randomly, with pretty much no research. Not like me at all! Turned out to be a great day, with lovely weather. No regrets!
Sailing in to port:

Driving through town, and the very pink town hall:


Monument to the Viking warlord that united Norway:

Farmhouse restaurant for lunch, plus a photo stop at said farmhouse:




Boat cruise on the fjord to the gorgeous Langfoss:










A campsite you can rent, with a view of the falls:

11pm:

 

Day 9 - Flam
Flam is the first port on this trip where tourism is actually the main industry, catering to both internal and external tourists. A gorgeous, long sail in through the second largest fjord in the world, and then a tiny village of 500 people. And our weather today was phenomenal!
We chose the Aurland, Laerdal, and Borgund Stave Church tour. It was excellent. We drove through the longest car tunnel in the world, which was fun but not very photogenic 😉 We saw arguably the oldest stave church in the world. Then fantastic scenery along a very narrow mountain road, with a stop at Stegastein overlook. Our guide was very good too.
Coming in to Flam:


The stave church:






The “new” church from the late 1800s, currently under restoration:

View from Stegastein overlook:


Scenery:

 

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

Day 7 - At Sea
I thought I’d use today to talk about the stray observations I’ve had so far. I usually wait until the end, but we’re going to be so busy the next few days I’ll probably forget everything from the beginning of the cruise!
 - We have passengers from 52 different countries onboard. I love it! Americans are less than half the group, which is rare on Royal outside of China. So many languages!
 - This cabin (9656) is listed on the Royal site as holding 8 people. NOPE. There’s no way. Maybe 6, if four of them were tiny humans. Better 4 or even 2. It is perfect for the three of us.
 - There are a lot of new staff in training, in all areas. Also, a number of the crew have had their contracts extended or are expecting an extension shortly. The ship doesn’t feel particularly understaffed, but it does feel a bit stretched. No complaints about service so far though!
 - This is a great itinerary, but if I had a choice I would take one that included Longyearbyen. If I’m going this far north I might as well go all the way!
 - Our weather so far has been absolutely phenomenal. It may not hold, but I’m so grateful for what we’ve had so far. 
 - Shows have been a bit limited so far, at least on the production side. Supposedly we’ll have one later in the week, but so far everything has been magicians or guest singers. Not sure if that is covid related, or due to the large number of languages to accommodate, or what.
 - Food has so far been quite good overall. MDR service has been not quite as good a pre-pandemic (same as the other two cruises I’ve been on since the restart). I think the dining room staff is less experienced than they were before.
 - While I’m certain the answer to my walrus question is going to be no, we have seen Minke whales a couple of times, which I wasn’t expecting (not sure why I wasn’t expecting it, but there you go).
 - We have been exiting the ship on deck 2. This is because all the ports we’ve been to lack a long enough gangway ramp; our choice has been deck 2 or stairs to deck 5 that no wheelchair passengers could navigate. In order to accommodate the tidal flux, we’ve had to shift ballast in the ship to lift our dock side up so we could exit on deck 2. This has meant almost crawling out of the ship at times, the clearance was so low. Apparently the ports have been unwilling to buy new gangways due to pandemic related cash flow problems.
Half way through!

@Curt From CanadaPinnacles are allowed in the Concierge Club but not Diamond Plus. Hope that helps!

Thank you ... this is not a surprise and it is nice to have confirmation.  
Separately, your summaries are a treat.  Really well done, and Norway is stunning (so the pictures help me feel like I am there).  Radiance class ships are one of our favourites.  Lots of connection with the sea.  We have done 20 foot swells ... looking forward to the 30 foot versions to set a "new record".
Can't wait for your next post.
Thanks again,
Curt from Canada

Thank you ... this is not a surprise and it is nice to have confirmation.  
Separately, your summaries are a treat.  Really well done, and Norway is stunning (so the pictures help me feel like I am there).  Radiance class ships are one of our favourites.  Lots of connection with the sea.  We have done 20 foot swells ... looking forward to the 30 foot versions to set a "new record".
Can't wait for your next post.
Thanks again,
Curt from Canada

We crossed over the Arctic Circle today (Thursday) at 10am. The Captain announced that sunset will be at 11:48pm. On Monday. 😯😯😯

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

I believe Pinnacles are allowed in the Concierge Club. I’ll ask for sure and let you know! 

Question:  Is the Concierge Lounge now suites only?  The D+ note seemed to imply that the Diamond Lounge is now (at least for this sailing) for D, D+ and Pinnacles.
Following very closely.  We are on Jewel for this itinerary a year from now.
Thanks for all your time and effort
Curt from Canada

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

Following this one (top of the list).  This looks identical to our 2023 sailing.  Enjoy the "Top of the World".
Curt from Canada

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

In 2017, we were on Freedom.  We were lined up in the first night MDR "cattle call" (waiting to get into the MDR).  I hate being in this line ... I have no idea what we were doing.  Sardines have more room in their can.  
A tall gentleman two or three couples in front of us turned around to look at the length of the line and the "crush" of it.  In a loud and booming voice he said:
"These poor people ... they have not eaten in 20 minutes".
That was funny enough for my soulmate and I (I certainly laughed out loud).  Funnier still, 80% of the people did not get the joke.
We have not stood in that line since.
😉
Curt from Canada

We just got off of Celebrity Summit and had over 900 in non-refundable OBC.  Celebrity has the same wording for their use of OBC in the casino.  I was able to use the OBC for a couple of spins then cash out without anyone flinching.   There is no way to know what OBC was used once you print out your ticket.

Anything charged to your Seapass card will consume your OBC (refundable or not).