Tricia’s Travelogue

When we awoke this morning (after gaining an hour overnight), we were already docked in Southampton.  We left our cabin about 8:00 to go join a long line of other back-to-backers to get our new key cards.  It was pretty well-organized, thank goodness.  We noticed right away that we had different key cards, but didn't think too much about it. But when Charlie went to Guest Services to activate our WOW bands, the woman asked if he wanted a plain key card instead of a birthday one.  He said "Absolutely!" We don't want the restaurant staff singing happy birthday to us all the time!  But the birthday keycard is a cute idea, I admit. After moving our bags into our new suite, we went up to the suites lounge. I checked my watch, and it was 8:39. So, pretty fast! We stayed there until almost 11:00, when we went down to check in at our muster station. They were passing out champagne or mimosas to ALL the arriving guests, so we nabbed a couple of those and sat down in Scho...

Yesterday we enjoyed lunch at Johnny Rocket's, which was absolutely slammed with customers.  We sat at the counter and ordered salads topped with chicken, which were very good! Of course, my side dish was fries, so it was hardly a diet meal. . . . We enjoyed watching the beautiful scenery as we left Oslo and traveled back into the North Sea.   After a quiet but somewhat rocky afternoon, due to rougher seas, we had dinner at Giovanni's.  Charlie really enjoyed the eggplant Parmigiana appetizer, which is much better than the version at Jamie's Italian on other ships.  I had the osso bucco, which is reliably delicious. And we splurged on dessert, the chocolate-hazelnut cake. This morning we had our usual walk around the ship, determined to find some photo ops for our devoted readers.  With Halloween approaching, the decorations are growing each day.  This friendly crew member posed for a pic outside the Windjammer. Alas, you can't get the full effect of h...

Alas, Oslo was a bust for us. When we docked, the weather was terrible -- windchill of 35 and light rain.  We waited to see if the rain would stop, but finally decided to stay on the ship. We were disappointed, but glad we'd been here before, in better weather.  And, wouldn't you know, this morning it was sunny and in the mid-40s! But with all-aboard at 11:30, there wasn't enough time to really get out and see much. If you'd like to see pics from last year in Oslo, here's a link . Here are a few more Charlie took yesterday and this morning: Approach to Oslo Ski slope at top center Area where we explored last year We ordered from Room Service last night and enjoyed our salads with a really good chicken korma.  Here are some art pieces in shadow boxes on our deck that amused me: Off to lunch now! Tomorrow is a Sea Day, then we arrive in Southampton early Friday morning for Turnaround Day.

Yesterday we arrived in Stavanger around 8:00, but we opted to wait for the rain to stop and the temperature to warm a bit. The scenery from the ship was very picturesque. We left the ship about 10:30 to explore a bit of Stavanger.  It was chilly and windy, but I was warm enough in a wool short-sleeved tee and a fleece jacket.  We were thankful for no rain!  The sidewalks were mostly cobblestones and some were quite steep.  Here's a photo of Liberty's stern from the pier: As you might expect, there was a string of souvenir shops, some with photo ops outside: I stopped in one souvenir shop to ask where to shop for yarn, and the clerk obligingly gave me somewhat complex directions. We did eventually find it! Here I am, choosing a complicated sock kit. We also enjoyed browsing in a huge and well-curated kitchen/home store.  Here are a few more photos from our stroll through the shopping area in the old part of town. (We did not eat Norwegian tacos.) We were back on...

After sleeping late (for us) and a leisurely morning, we went down to deck 3 for the Top Tier event.  The captain told us that 500 passengers on this cruise will be continuing on to Galveston with us!  They organized a meeting tomorrow for that group, I suppose to manage the logistics of checking out and back in so many guests. Here are the stats for this cruise: With that many Diamond and Diamond+ guests, we heard that the Diamond Lounge is a zoo this week. Pinnacles also can go there, all but the top 50 who can be in the Suites Lounge. We may not be able to spend much time in the Diamond Lounge on the transatlantic cruise!  For lunch, we decided to go to Johnny Rockets' for burgers and milkshakes. It did not disappoint! Their milkshakes are decadent -- and the servers and chefs all participate in the dance party. Our server is apparently also a ketchup artist. We spent the afternoon mostly in our cabin, and Charlie spotted a full rainbow from the balcony. We went to the...

Embarkation Day could not have gone more smoothly yesterday!  We managed to catch an elevator down at the hotel, then retrieved our big suitcases and waited in the lobby for our Uber. I chatted with two women who were about to take a Princess cruise, also to Norway. Our Uber driver arrived just before 10:00 for the VERY brief drive to the cruise terminal. We dropped our bags and as we are suite guests, were ushered directly to Security (we were the only ones there) for bagchecks, then were seated in the suites area by 10:13, when this photo was taken of me acquiring a pastry. You can see how empty the area was at that hour. At 10:30, we were able to board the ship. We checked in at our muster station and headed to Schooner's for the traditional embarkation day adult beverages. We stayed there until time for our noon reservation at Chops Grille. It's at the opposite end of the ship, so we walked through the casino, which is HUGE and very fancy. I think it must have been the majo...