Tricia’s Travelogue

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...

Our (very chatty) driver picked us up at the hotel about 10:15 yesterday and drove us to Southampton. It was about a two-hour drive, and traffic was heavy.  Fortunately, when we got to the hotel a little after noon, our room was ready! We left our big suitcases downstairs in their luggage storage and rode a minuscule elevator up to our room. (You may remember from previous trips that people wait for eons for an elevator, given so many cruise passengers with giant bags trying to get downstairs at once.) Then we walked to the Dancing Man pub, a place we've enjoyed before, for burgers and some IPA. It was in the 50s and very windy, so we sat inside this time. Then we walked to a nearby shopping mall to get cruise provisions at Marks and Spencer. It sprinkled on us a bit, so I was glad I'd brought my new, waterproof cap. Along the way I had to take a photo of these flowers for my gardening readers. Tiki Torch Red Hot Poker (according to Google Lens) Once back at the hotel, it was t...

Thursday was nice and sunny after all of Wednesday's rain, with temps in the low 50s as we set out on our walk up to the Oxford Street shopping area. There were some beautiful flowers that caught my eye as we walked along. We went to Marks & Spencer, a department store with a full grocery store on the basement level. We bought a few provisions there to take onto the ship tomorrow. After browsing a bit and some window-shopping, we made our way back towards the hotel to a bakery, where we bought ham and cheese toasties for a light-ish lunch (at least compared with other recent meals!) After his seminar, Thomas came to our hotel for Happy Hour in our suite and we enjoyed talking with him. We walked just a short distance to Tamarind, a very nice Indian restaurant that Thomas found.  We decided to choose their gourmet tasting menu, and it was a good decision!  (All photos courtesy of Thomas) Charlie and I started with ghee-washed old fashioneds, which were excellent, and Thomas...

Our first full day in London brought a big weather change, with a cool, windy, and rainy day.  We headed out mid-morning to explore the area around the hotel a little and saw few other pedestrians.   Some of the impressive hotel lobby flowers I had to get this photo of the phone box! We returned to the hotel for another lunch at the Brasserie. They had a two-course special we chose, opting for a tomato-kale soup (not photogenic, but tasty) and a really delicious fish pie featuring salmon and cod. It was like a shepherd's pie, but with fish, so lots of yummy mashed potatoes. The little fall leaves and fish skeleton were made of pastry! So cute! After lunch, Charlie napped and I Netflixed until time to meet Thomas at Harrod's.  After missing the first bus (which didn't pause for long!), we managed to get the next one and met him on the ground floor. We explored the kitchen and housewares floor and the menswear floor -- the latter offering only top-end designer clothes....