GregD

Just had a moment of panic. Remember how earlier I mentioned that the times were off for Alesund and might interfere with the Stranda Mountain Explorer? Well I just opened my email and saw 4 emails from [email protected] with the subject of change confirmation…… with trepidation I opened it to find this phew…..now I can relax and go back to packing. 28hrs 42 min until wheels up.

Me leaving work this morning one more sleep then it’s time to get on the plane!

I woke today with a message from Leroy wishing us a Happy 4th of July. I just have to get through my 24hr shift at the firehouse today and then I’m officially on vacation!

@Lovetocruise2002 Have a great flight!

I’ve made progress in my packing!! I got my suitcase out of the closet…..baby steps….

@Bill Johnson Welcome!! Typically you can order as many appetizers and desserts as you want, but only 1 entree per person. Sometimes people have reported they were able to order more than 1 entree. YMMV.

My 9 y/o likes them, but I’m not sure my older back would. Like others said you can get pads/toppers from the stewards, but I have seen many people brining their own things on board. If you can fit it in your luggage, I would think that would be one of those items that fall in the category of better to have, and not need vs need, and not have.

I agree, fly out at least a day early. Try to be on the first flight out in the morning. Have plans b-z as well. Travel insurance is highly recommended too, and do make sure to read the policy and understand it’s provisions and limitations before purchasing to make sure you are covered. Prepare to be flexible. I know I’m doing this for my trip next week. I’ve been monitoring the flights and working my way through the backup plan.

Hopefully I’m just a few days and a couple flight behind you!

Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful Plumage!

Ughhhh, I'm loving these pictures. I can't wait to get to Norway....1 more week.....

I have not started packing yet either. I'll eventually get to it. We have to be at the airport around 2pm on Wednesday. I'll pack that morning.

I’m not getting one. The IDP basically translates your US license information into the language of the country you are visiting. Since it’s the UK, a translation isn’t needed. Other members of my family have rented cars in the UK without an IDP. I’ve booked with Enterprise too to keep it simple/familiar.

whoops....pretend you didn't see that

it’s nice in here!

I keep saying everything will go according to plan, though to say I’m not stressed about it too would be a lie. I keep monitoring the flights we are taking since the schedule is the same for the next few weeks, and they have all been leaving on time, or within 20 minutes of the scheduled departure. @Lovetocruise2002, while I know it’s not Delta (that’s your typical airline of choice, right?) if you do encounter issues, and you can get to Philadelphia, American has three direct flights to LHR on Sunday. I would say for your flight arrive at least 3hrs early, if not even earlier. I feel we do have a good omen for our sail away tequila shots…We won a bottle of tequila at a fundraiser raffle today, so I think that means it’s meant to be!

Single digit dance!!

All the on board activities are booked through the app once on board. Once you get on the ship you can connect to the ships WIFI (no package needed) and then you can select them. I’m hoping for the excursions with potential conflicts with when we dock just get their times adjusted. We will know for sure when we get to our staterooms because the tickets will be there. Hope to see you on board!! Feel free to say hi if you see me or my family.

I agree, So far his communication has been great!

I'm scheduled to work on the 4th, Im not giving up my double-time paycheck

Good to know, though I doubt I will mind

Post cruise antics: As I mentioned earlier, we are staying in London for 5 days after the cruise to do all of the touristy things. We ended up booking a Premier Inn as our hotel. This one is super convenient because its right near Paddington Station. This gives us easy access to the tube, and when it's time for our journey to end, we can take the Heathrow Express to get to the airport. While in London we have plans to try to see many of the sights. On the list is the hop on hop off bus tours, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, We have tickets to go up into The Shard, we will probably also do the London Eye. We too are big Harry Potter fans, so we have a walking tour booked. We would also like to see Windsor Castle, and we have a Palaces and Parliament tour booked that will take us through Westminster, and see changing of the guard etc. Our final day in England we have rented a car and I get to practice driving on the other side of the road. The Boss is a huge Downton Abbey fan, so we are going to spend the day at Highclere Castle where the show and many other movies etc were filmed.

Stateroom: As we all know, we are star class neighbours (neighbors?) After Sabrina sent me that message and I had the “STAR CLASS IS A REQUIREMENT” ultimatum from The Boss I quickly pulled up the cruise online, and sent the TA an email to move the 2021 Norway cruise to 2022. We specifically wanted Grand Loft Suite 10324. The whole time I was waiting for the response I was panicking because we were quite specific on the room we wanted because; 1) being neighbors (neighbours?) To the OG suite snob allows me to check that off the bucket list. 2) Not have to worry about noise from 270, 3) have a better room layout than the corner suites. I can’t think of a better way to view the fjords while sipping on a cocktail with those aft views. After two days of We got the confirmation and we were officially moved. I’m super excited for this stateroom. This will be our first foray into the loft category. Normally my sister is with us, so we are limited in our choices with 5 passengers, but this will just be the 4 of us. The wow factor of these rooms will be awesome too with surprising the kids.

This poor genie has no idea what's in store for him......