Home Sweet Home

This morning we were the last to be called off the ship as our SW plane does not leave until 2pm.  We sat in the Vortex with Margaret and Carl, Judy and Barry, and Gary and Sue until our numbers were called around 10am.

We caught a van to the airport and had an uneventful trip home.  Thank goodness!  We found the house well cared for – thanks to neighbors and friends.

All in all the cruise was wonderful.  We had good times in each port with our friends.  St. Petersburg was the highlight with the beautiful Hermitage, Catherine’s Palace, Peterhof, the many museums, cathedrals, etc.

Iceland was different – just a huge volcano, waiting to erupt. lol

We know how fortunate we are to have taken such a trip and look forward to many more.

Day 28 – Day at Sea

Today is the last day on the ship.  The seas are acting up and the Captain says the weather is worse than forecasted.  I haven’t felt seasick so the high winds must be pushing us the right way. 
Marty Allen and Karon Kate Blackwell performed tonight in the Coral Theater.  They are always a good act and we enjoy them very much.  Karon plays the piano and sings and acts as straight man to Marty.  He is 88 - she keeps him young!


The Farewell Show
Tonight we had to say goodbye to our waiters Gabrielle and Leonardo.  Gabby is from Peru and Leo from Brazil.

Tomorrow:  Home Sweet Home

Day 26 & 27 – 9/15 & 16 – Sydney, Nova Scotia

We’ve had a leisurely day and should arrive in Sydney at 4pm.  We played trivia, wii, and had a light lunch as we have plans to go to Chops steakhouse tonight.

Marty Allen and his wife Karon Kate Blackwell are on the ship and will perform tomorrow night.  He is always funny and we really enjoy him.  This will be the third ship we have been on to have them for entertainment.  They are always popular.

Sydney has a population of almost 30,000 and is Nova Scotia’s second largest city.  Sydney is an industrial and metropolitan center on the beautiful Cape Breton Island.  Tourism is the leading industry.  We will overnight here.

Sydney is a nice town but not much to do so many just stayed on the ship.  There is a small arts and crafts show going on right off the ship.  Bill and Liz walked to the casino.

Margaret and Carl sat with an officer and I caught them walking down the stairs.  Later I caught Cathye, Willis, Virginia and Rick in the Concierge.

Our room steward Robert left tower animals throughout the cruise. :)

Tomorrow – the last day at sea.  It will be good to get home.

Days 23- 26 – 9/12-15 -Days at Sea

The Captian announced today that we will have to miss St. Johns Newfoundland.  There is storm heading our way and he will go around it.  In order to miss the storm we will have to go out of the way and will not have to to port in Newfoundland.  We will overnight in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Terri had sent emails that their Princess ship has had to miss Belfast and Iceland because of weather so we’re not doing too badly having to miss 1 port.

Many sightings of whales around the ship.  Hope to see one soon.

Next posting:  Sydney, Nova Scotia

Day 22 – 9/11 - Reykjavik, Iceland

When the first Nordic settler washed up on the Icelandic shores, he named hisnew home Reykjavik, or “smoky bay.”  It must have been a stunning sight to see all that steam rising from the geothermal springs.  Still is!  The city is now full of art galleries, museums and architectural marvels.  The countryside has glaciers, geysers and lava plains covered in green moss. 

We started our day again with a tour with Margaret and Carl, Gary and Sue, Herb and Debbie.  We met our driver on the pier and began our adventure to the Golden Circle of Reykjavik.  At first sight Reykjavik is different from Akureyri by being more mountainous – more volcanic.  Lava from 6,000 years ago still lies along the roadway as well as modern pipelines that pipe hot water and steam to the city.

First stop – Thingvillir National Park where the first National Assembly was morn and the site of unique natural beauty.  Located atop the Tectonic plates, the plates continue to pull apart. Here we are standing in between two plates.

 

 

Stopped at the Gullfoss Waterfall and found a beautiful rainbow.

And, of course the Strokkur Geyser

Tomorrow:  Day at Sea

Day 21 – 9/10 – Akureyri, Iceland

Akureyri is known as the “capital of the North.”  It is a bustling commercial center and college town.  The city’s greatest natural assets provide the prefect conditions for a thriving fishing and agricultural economy.

Today we toured with Margaret and Carl and Gary and Sue.  We met our taxi driver on the pier and headed off to see what we had never seen before – Iceland.

First stop was Godafoss Falls - “Waterfall of the Gods..”  History tells us the in year 1000, Thorgeir, chieftain of the parliament at that time was entrusted with the task of deciding whether icelanders would adopt the Christian faith.  When his decision was formally accepted, he went home and threw his statues of the pagan gods into the waterfall. 

We continued to Lake Myvatn which is one of Iceland’s natural treasures.  It is a protected nesting area to thousands of birds.  There are numerous pseudo-craters there.    Then on to Dimmuborgir, a lava landscape with strange formations, columns and arches.

On to the geothermal firld next to Namafjall Mountain is another highlight – full of mud pots, steam vents, sulphur deposits, boiling springs and fumaroles.  Then on to the city and back to the ship.

Tomorrow:  Reykjavik, Iceland

Days 19 and 20 – 9/8 – 9/9 - Days at Sea

Lazy days at sea – some trivia, some casino, little bit of everything.

On Thursday, September 9 we will cross the Arctic Circle.  Big celebrations are planned at 7:30pm.  Those that have never crossed the Arctic Circle are called Red Noses.  Once you have been initiated you may call yourself on of the Blue Noses.  The initiation consists of the Captain pouring ice water down your back, have a shot, and have your nose painted blue.  Oh what fun we had!

King Neptune, the Captain having way too much pouring cold water down our necks, and Liz’s reaction to her initiation. :)

Fun crossing the Arctic Circle.

Tomorrow:  Akureyri, Iceland

Day 18 – 9/7 – Cork, Ireland

Today we have a tour to Cahir, Ireland with Margaret and Carl, Herb and Debbie, Bill and Liz, Ray and Janet, Gary and Sue, and Jack Ski.  We had all done the Blarney Stone and Kinsale previously so decided to visit a castle in the North.

Cork is the Republic of Ireland’s second largest metropolitan area and the county town of County Cork, the largest county in Ireland.   We arrived in Cork to multi-colored homes and the beautiful St. Finbarr’s Cathedral.

 

We began at the Swiss Cottage situated on a elevated site with access by stone steps.  It was built in the early 1800’s by Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall to a design by the famous regency architect John Nash.  Its interior contains a graceful spiral staircase and some elegantly decorated room.  The wallpaper in the Salon, manufactured by the Dufour factory, is one of the first commercially producted Parisian wallpapers.

We had a nice tour of the Swiss Cottage.

Next, we traveled to Cahir Castle.  The Castle was once the stronghold of the powerful Butler family and it retains its impressive keep, tower and much of its originnal defensive structure.  It is one of Ireland’s largest and best preserved castles.  It is situated on a rocky island on the River Suir.  There are many exhibitions and and an audio visual show.

 

After a visit to the Castle we walked around the tiny village of Cahir enjoying the scenery in beautiful Ireland.

Tomorrow:  A Day at Sea

Day 17 – 9/6 - Cherbourg, France

Today we didn’t plan a tour.  Bill and Liz went to the Normandy beaches and American Cemetary.  We were there on our last visit, so decided to just walk around the town.

We met up with Cathye and Willies and their friends and walked into town for a couple of hours.   We stopped at a little cafe across from the port and had a beer.

 

Tomorrow:  Cork, Ireland

Day 16 – 9/5 – LeHavre, France

LeHavre is a very important port city.  Napoleon stationed his navy here and it was a key port during both World wars.

Many cruisers go to Paris from LeHavre.  We chose to go to Mont St. Michel on a ship’s tour.  It is one of the greatest religious buildings in Europe.  The first abbey was built after the archangel Michael appeared to Bishop Aubert.  The abbey stands at the summit of a huge rock 250 feet above the sea and dates from the heyday of  Norman power.

We took the twisted passageway lined by old houses where we climbed up to the top of the rock crowned by the Abbey Church, with its spire rising more than 500 feet – with Michel the archangel atop.  The Abbey is considered as a masterpiece of Norman architecture.  It is said that there are 365 steps leading up to the Abbey.

We first stopped for lunch at a local hotel.  We had a French pate, chicken and rice, a brie with lettuce, and an apple tart and got our first glance at the majestic Mont St. Michel.

 

After winding our way up to the Abbey, our tour guide took us through several rooms which were all stone but the architecture was beautiful for an Abbey built in the 1100’s.

 

After climbing almost 900 steps during our visit we were exhausted.  The bus ride back to the ship was approx. 3 hours. 

It was open seating for dinner so we went to the Windjammer after a drink in the concierge.

Tomorrow:  Cherbourg, France

Day 15 – 9/4 – Embarkation Day for the TA Cruise

This morning we packed our luggage so that we could move to Deck 7 (7602) on the hump.  It is a little smaller but we did manage to get things in order before 10am.  Our cabin faced the port and watched the new cruisers as they boarded. 

Our Cruise Critic group was named the Icy Jewels mainly because we travel to Iceland.  When we leave the port today we will have three port days, LeHarve, Cherbourg, and Cork.  The Meet and Mingle will be on our first sea day on 9/8.

Looking forward to meeting our friends in the concierge.

Tomorrow:  LeHarve, France

Day 14 – 9/3 – Day at Sea

Another beautiful day at sea.  We have absolutely had the best weather – only one day of drizzling rain in St. Petersburg. 

We attended the Captain’s Talk this morning.  It is always interesting to hear the question and answer session. :)  The Captain says the weather could get a little bad on the crossing.  We only have CNN so we watch a lot of repeat news and weather. 

Our friends Carl and Ginny will have to fly to Newark tomorrow.  Here’s hoping for better weather than we hear on Hurricane Earl.  Good travels Carl and Ginny – we will miss you on the TA.

We will have to move from our aft cabin to a “hump” cabin.  Will pack the contents of drawers and shelves and the cabin stewards will do the rest.  There will be a nice luncheon for all of us 115 consecutive cruisers tomorrow. 

We had a nice photo taken of the CCers on the steps in the Centrum.  Since we now get a free photo again in our coupons, we used one for the photo – we have a lot of good memories from this cruise.

 

Tomorrow:   Transatlantic Passengers Embark for a fantastic voyage across the Atlantic.

Day 13 – 9/2 – Gothenburg, Sweden

Today we stayed on the ship.  Del is getting the sniffles so we decided to stay on and rest - after all we do have another 15 days ahead of us.

We read our books and played some trivia.  Friends that went on tours enjoyed the canal boat tour and tour of the town, but said it was not unlike the previous ports of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki.

We enjoyed our day on board.  Some pictures of leaving Gothenburg – lots of windmills in this part of the world.

Tomorrow:  Day at Sea