KristiZ Posted June 21 Author Report Share Posted June 21 To recap boarding day, we were onboard before noon. We went directly to Chops to book our BOGOs. We intended to eat at Chops that night and Giovanni’s the second (MisterZ and I each have a BOGO to use, so MomMe’s dinner was covered each night. Yes, I am an excellent daughter ) However, Chops was completely sold out on nights 1 & 2! So we ended up at Giovanni’s on day 1 and Chops on day 3. They were able to honor our BOGO for Wednesday by us paying for it ahead — apparently the ability to use the Diamond + BOGO disappears from the system after the second day but pre-charging get around it. Fine by me! Next we did our safety brief and checked in at our muster station. Took less than 5 minutes total. Finally I went to Guest Services to see about our balance due. It was a shortage in the cruise fare payment somehow. They offered to let me call Sharla at no charge to check on it, but she was probably still sleeping Also, since we paid for this trip with three FCCs plus some new money, and then applied 5 other FCCs (transfers from relatives) after final payment, I’m not surprised something got messed up. So they charged the last bit to our room and we went on our way. I’ll look into it when we get home. We then swung by the Windjammer for a lunch snack. It was packed, and they were making the “eat and get out” announcements. Fortunately most people don’t know about the tables outside Izumi that you can access from the stairs inside the Windjammer. We headed up and have a lovely view for our lunch. Helped that the weather was lovely as well! By then it was just past 1p and the rooms were ready. Our suitcases arrived about 10 minutes after we did. After unpacking I went to the spa to book a massage and then scouted out the Diamond Lounge and the Concierge Club. Dinner at Giovanni’s was nice, and the view was terrific during sailaway. Still a bit jetlagged, we were in bed before 10p. RWDW1204, WAAAYTOOO, twangster and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt From Canada Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 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 KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 21 Author Report Share Posted June 21 33 minutes ago, Curt From Canada said: 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 I believe Pinnacles are allowed in the Concierge Club. I’ll ask for sure and let you know! Curt From Canada 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 22 Author Report Share Posted June 22 Day 2 - At Sea I set a “just in case” alarm for this morning because I had a massage at 8a. I needed it! Jumped up at 745a and booked it to the spa. MisterZ slept until I got back, so I guess we were both tired! The rest of the day was pretty casual, just drifting wherever things looked interesting. We had dinner in the MDR. We have a table to ourselves right against the window. It’s quite nice. MDR shots: Pumpkin soup: Tenderloin: Chicken and Asparagus Pie: Duck a L’Orange: Carrot cake: Apple pie: As you can see from the chicken pie and the actual apple pie (not an Apple Blossom), we recently left the British Isles and have some leftovers Looking down the center of the Centrum from the Loyalty Desk on deck 11: We saw the Jack Pack, a swing group that did well on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014. They were decent: Our studious towel animal: WAAAYTOOO, Lovetocruise2002, ellcee and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 Better to have a studious towel animal than a dunce. PPPJJ-GCVAB, Yesiamthere6, ellcee and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 22 Author Report Share Posted June 22 (edited) Day 3 - Molde Sunrise was at 349am. I did not get up for it. We arrived at Molde at 8a, after a leisurely entrance to Moldefjord. Some entrance shots: We had company coming in, but the Perla wandered off and didn’t come to Molde until much later in the day: Our tour was in the afternoon, called Hiking Varden. We rode up to the top of the hill outside of town and walked back to the ship. From the top: And then on the way down: Then we stopped for coffee and lefse at the Romsdahl Open Air museum. They had moved historic house examples from all over the county: A couple more shots of Molde on our way out of town: Edited June 22 by KristiZ Reorder pics PPPJJ-GCVAB, Yesiamthere6, RWDW1204 and 8 others 9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 22 Author Report Share Posted June 22 15 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Better to have a studious towel animal than a dunce. Oh totally! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 23 Author Report Share Posted June 23 There are 1792 passengers aboard. It’s fun to hear all the different languages and accents! A very international crowd for sure. Crown and anchor numbers: 356 Gold 79 Platinum 56 Emerald 197 Diamond 213 Diamond Plus 79 Pinnacle The highest point count was 4000. Definitely an itinerary that draws experienced cruisers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellcee Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 Loving this blog! KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 23 Author Report Share Posted June 23 We crossed over the Arctic Circle today (Thursday) at 10am. The Captain announced that sunset will be at 11:48pm. On Monday. Curt From Canada, SpeedNoodles, WAAAYTOOO and 3 others 2 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 24 Author Report Share Posted June 24 Day 4 - At Sea I will say that if you tend toward seasickness, an itinerary in the North Sea might not be for you. Last night we had 30 foot swells most of the night. Several passengers actually switched rooms in the middle of the night because their cabins were “too loud, with lots of creaking and popping”, including the one directly below us. Personally I feel it just sounded like a ship at sea, but maybe they were more used to larger ships. Dunno. Morning saw much smoother sailing. There was a Blue Nose ceremony at 10:30am, a champagne toast at 5pm, and a balloon drop at 5:15pm. We also got certificates for crossing the Arctic Circle. There have been lots of activities, including various trivia, bingo, art auctions, and the like. I will send in the Cruise Compasses at the end. I’ve gotten behind already in posting food pictures, so here’s a bunch, in no particular order, to catch up! Lunch at Izumi, but we mostly failed at getting photos. Here’s karaage and potstickers: From the MDR or room service: Pepper Steak Pie: Classic Cheesecake: Seafood cake: Braised Short Ribs: Chicken Schnitzel: Classic chocolate cake: Steak Oscar: Jaffa cake: And here’s a jaunty hippo! Skigoofy, ellcee, Lovetocruise2002 and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 25 Author Report Share Posted June 25 Day 5 - Tromso This is one of the larger cities in northern Norway, about 80,000 people. They are also going from 50 cruise ships docking in 2019 to nearly 500 expected in 2022. Crazy! A lot is due to uncertainty in the Baltics, so many lines are looking for alternate ports. Also, Norway opened up a bit faster than many other countries in the region. They have a huge tunnel system for getting between the sections of town scattered on different island. I’ve never been in a tunnel system so expansive that it needed traffic circles We did the Highlights of Tromso tour. We saw part of the Tromso Museum, specifically the portion dedicated to the Sami people who were the indigenous reindeer herders that occupied northern Scandinavia starting about 2000 years ago. Our guide did an excellent job of talking us through this section. Next we took a cable car to the top of the hill outside of town. A four minute ride and then some amazing views. The weather was excellent again today! We also had a tasty local waffle with jam and brown cheese. Last we visited the Arctic Cathedral. There was a concert going on at the time so we didn’t get too many pictures on the inside. Here’s a decent shot of the Cathedral as we were sailing away: One of the other tour buses broke down, so we got to see what a heavy duty Norwegian tow truck looks like: Shots of town during arrival and sailaway, in no particular order: And some scenery as we headed north: WAAAYTOOO, RWDW1204, FionaMG and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 25 Author Report Share Posted June 25 We ate dinner at Chops as we sailed out of Tromso. I have to say this Chops experience was just decent. Not bad, but not excellent — either in food or in service. ellcee, PPPJJ-GCVAB, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 25 Report Share Posted June 25 On 6/24/2022 at 3:13 AM, KristiZ said: I will say that if you tend toward seasickness, an itinerary in the North Sea might not be for you. This makes me nervous now….we are only going as far North as Alesund though so hopefully it won’t be too bad. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 25 Author Report Share Posted June 25 34 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: This makes me nervous now….we are only going as far North as Alesund though so hopefully it won’t be too bad. The route will make a difference too — if the captain can keep more “inside” you’ll have no issue at all. Our trip from Tromso to Honningsvag was smooth as glass! And you’re later in the season, so more likely to be better weather! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaNole Posted June 25 Report Share Posted June 25 Love following the posts. Vreat pictures. Trying to talk wife into artic cruise for our next one. Doing a baltic one tomorrow leaving stockholm. KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 @Curt From CanadaPinnacles are allowed in the Concierge Club but not Diamond Plus. Hope that helps! Curt From Canada 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt From Canada Posted June 26 Report Share Posted June 26 17 minutes ago, KristiZ said: @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 twangster and KristiZ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 Day 6 - Honningsvag Seems like in just one day we went to a completely different planet. Honningsvag is at the 71st parallel, which is above the tree line. The landscape is very desolate and windswept. We did the Bird Safari excursion and chose to go as early as possible in hopes of seeing the maximum amount of wildlife. We were not disappointed! Reindeer, puffins, razorbills, golden eagles, white tailed eagles, kittiwakes, oyster catchers, cormorants, gannets, guillemots, shags, and seals. The drive from the ship was about 45 minutes and the guide was excellent about describing what we were seeing. Yesiamthere6, ellcee, RWDW1204 and 8 others 9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted June 26 Report Share Posted June 26 Absolutely gorgeous KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted June 26 Report Share Posted June 26 I know someone who is going to be very excited about this post ! Yes, I’m looking at you, @SpeedNoodles. KristiZ and SpeedNoodles 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 We were not the only tourists today in Honningsvag. The Viking Venus arrived ahead of us: Also, these two characters were in the protected bird sanctuary. Perhaps on their honeymoon?? MDR dinner was pretty good. Asparagus soup, Cottage Pie, and strip steak: Ribbbbittt! Lovetocruise2002, MaryS, ellcee and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 The Midnight Sun: The sun did not get any lower than this. It just circled around until it was in the east and then rose again. Super interesting! WAAAYTOOO, ellcee, SpeedNoodles and 9 others 4 4 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted June 26 Report Share Posted June 26 11 minutes ago, KristiZ said: You'd think they could come up with something a bit more creative to serve with cottage pie than mashed potatoes! KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted June 26 Author Report Share Posted June 26 8 minutes ago, FionaMG said: You'd think they could come up with something a bit more creative to serve with cottage pie than mashed potatoes! Right?! But I’m just happy we’re getting the leftover pies from the British Isles cruise before this — I love a little regional food focus but I’m not very interested in salt cod and lutefisk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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