She Sails Away

We used Juneau. We used AlaskaShoreExcursions dot com. The camp had a banner that said Alaska X, so that may be the name of the group.
 

they were phenomenal, but it was not a glacier thing. We went to a dog sledding camp; everyone there was training for the Iditarod. It was incredibly fun.

Freedom holds a special place for me. It was the first cruise after the epic re-opening of cruising, after the Covid shutdown. It was thrilling to be on board and I thought Freedom was the most beautiful thing ever. I brought my husband, he was six months post-hospitalization from original Covid and he was weak and tired. (Still dealing with some longterm Covid fallout even now). We spent hours lying in those colorful cabanas on deck and watching the ocean. So relaxing!

loving your blog and photos. Solo cruising is awesome! And Miami is very fun to sail from.

This will be fun!

Belated happy birthday! 
 

love Aruba, and Symphony is my favorite! Really enjoying your blog!

3 hours ago, GregD said:

Certain creatures were in their own enclosure because they could kill you like this guy, a Komodo Dragon

Fruit bats

and vampire bats

By the way... do we want to know what that is hanging out of his mouth? It looks like a tail or possibly a chicken leg.

Oh, right! Sorry, I lost track for a second.

Appreciate the non bugs.

Where are you cruising to on the 17th? Did I miss it? You probably already mentioned this.

I will be cruising at the same time! (But on a different line, so I can't share here.) I will look forward to your next blog! This has been so much fun. Thank you for bringing us along!

11 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

For the record, I enjoy the tag shout outs, but I am not the only one who likes food porn.

I'm beginning to get a complex, lol. I am not ashamed to talk about how much I enjoy eating on cruises but I'm starting to think I've portrayed myself as some gluttonous sloth of a man who does nothing but eat all day.

So for the record, I spend plenty of time with my wife in the Solarium (no, not eating), playing some trivia, going to shows, going to game shows, listening to people butcher karaoke, and usually going on one long-ish excursion per cruise besides CocoCay.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Now that you mentioned it, you DO tend to get called out for all food-related happy plates.
 

Love that Luis bag!

On 2/24/2024 at 12:54 PM, jbrinkm said:

Paging @She Sails Away & @Ampurp85

Oh my stars. Still having flashbacks to that horror show bloodbath in the solarium on Oasis. It appears to be something I'll never forget!

Such fun to follow along! And SYMPHONY. My personal favorite! I will be on Utopia that week! Looking forward to your blog! 
 

This is going to be great!

I am definitely a long-winded blogger, but....I enjoy it, and since I only blog when traveling solo, it's a fun thing to do, to share all the everythings.

This has bern a fantastic blog, so fun to travel along and get swept up in that crazy CocoCay weather!  

It feels like Oasis is such a beloved and ever-popular ship, doesn't it?

NO DEATHS this time! That's a win!

I am looking forward to your final thoughts.

That sock person on the plane.....what on earth. At some point, people seem to have decided personal comfort trumps common manners. And....civilization. 

I've only gone to the natural bridge and the lighthouse. They were both interesting but honestly they were both 10 minute stops in my humble opinion. Nice photos, not much else to see.
 

for what it's worth, I heard the butterfly farm is nice, and the donkey farm is also nice but also something to be seen in under 30 minutes.

11 hours ago, GregD said:

@She Sails Away When in Alesund, if activity level allows book through RC it's called Stranda Mountain Explorer. It's a bus tour that eventually takes you to a ski resort. You ride in a gondola to the top of the mountain. The transitions to the gondola are easy. There is a bit of an uphill walk from there, but it's very short and the views are breathtaking. Added bonus, there are waffles!

That sounds amazing!! Our relatives would love that. Thank you!

what amazing photos!

Love a surprise Aqua show!

Ditto! Thank you so much for your service. And thank you for sharing your adventure with us. This was really fun to travel along with you. 

Thank you so much. This is a big undertaking with our two elderly relatives. I will message you with a couple of more first time visitor naïve tourist questions.

I appreciate this. I am cruising to Norway for the first time in July. I am traveling with two elderly relatives who are hoping for a bus tour or two at best. Does that sound like something reasonable to hope for? Would you recommend a bus tour that does a big loop around several areas, or a small city bus tour or something like that?

some of us in the party are hoping to do some hiking or bike riding. Any specific recommendations there? Thank you so much.

We are in Kristiansand, Olden, Alesund, Stavenger.

this is very helpful information and I will be sharing with the group. Looks like there's a lot to do!

2 hours ago, asquared17 said:

stray observations:

- there are A LOT of tiny tiny smalls aboard. like 2 and under. i’ve never seen so many young tiny smalls before. 

- there seems to be an alarming trend of folks going barefoot throughout the ship. of all ages. CONSTANTLY.  like…. why. just. no. 

- i have never seen such short hemlines in my entire human life. the things i have seen due to lack of an appropriate skirt length CANNOT BE UNSEEN.

- while we mostly stick to our typical common areas, this particular sailing feels more packed than previous cruises. i know we are at least at double occupancy but we have to be over that, given the number of smalls running around. i’d be curious to know the final pax count honestly.

- SO MANY PEOPLE are coughing and sneezing into the air and not covering their mouths. and forget hand washing it’s like an unlearnable concept.  

Saw several of the same few people on Ascent always barefoot or just walking around in socks. Socks. Why...?

And yes, all of my recent cruises, people coughing and sneezing without covering, including elevators or around the food.

Soooo many people refuse to wash hands at the buffet.

Saw one guy at the buffet wash his hands, then stand there and blow his nose (HARD) into the towel he used to dry his hands. Then he wiped his nose a lot, tossed the towel, and strolled to the buffet, ignoring the staff person offering hand sanitizer. She and I exchanged a look--she clearly was appalled as well.

Stay safe!

I found this shirt and thought of you

Great review!

So glad you had a beautiful day in Labadee with no men overboard or medical evacuations! Looks wonderful. Maybe the good weather is here to stay!

Wow, what a day! I hope you guys stay safe and the wind passes and all is well. Keep us posted!
 

I saw that fake seagull and I did a double take when I saw it. Happy that you got to see Francesco the piano player! Agree with you about Aqua show. Phenomenal show! Can't imagine it would be the same inside of a dome

So glad you have great weather for today!
 

i'm not a meat eater but that plate of portside barbecue and sides looks delicious!

It's been great following along on your adventures. You've seen so much and experienced so much on the different ships and each cruise had such a different tone! Thanks for sharing, it's been great. I bet your fur baby can't wait to see you.