Saturday, June 29, 2013, Stockholm, Sweden

Saturday, June 29, 2013, Stockholm, Sweden

The day began with mimosas on the balcony as we made our way through an archipelago of 24,000 islands and islets. This is another popular area for holidays and there are about 50,000 summer homes and chalets along the way. There were these great little gazebos on some of the properties, and some of the little islets had only one summer home; just imagine spending the weekends in these beautiful places! It took us three hours to make it through the distance and it was an amazing, relaxing time.

We went into Gamia Stan which is the oldest part of Stockholm. The narrow cobblestone streets were lined with beautiful buildings dating back to the 14th century. We learned that Stockholm actually spans 14 islands, from the very tiny to larger islands. There are 57 bridges to connect these islands. We had lunch and continued our beers of the Baltic's tour at this little restaurant/bar in the square. The open faced sandwich I has was the best I have ever eaten!! It was on an airy toasted/crunchy bread, topped with ham, cheeses, tomatoes, and grilled to perfection.  We later learned that the cash conversion we did at the restaurant was accurate (we were sure we did not have it right); those sandwiches and beers cost us ~$100!  Good thing they were that amazing! At the restaurant, I asked to use the 'wash closet' and was given a wire whisk with a key on the end, directed around the corner, down the alley, first black door on the left. I don't think I can adequately describe this experience. The first door was this tiny medieval looking door - sure this was not the right location, I tried the key anyway. The door opened to a very dark stone hallway and staircase, down into the dungeon! I did find the WC at the bottom, but it was both interesting and scary getting there!

There are these small symbols above the door of many homes. It's a Phoenix rising up from the flames and has a crown on top. This meant you had purchased fire insurance. If your home caught fire and you had no insurance, they would leave if burn. Of course, it no longer works that way.

In the afternoon we did the Rooftop tour. This consisted of traversing across narrow (maybe 15-18 inch) catwalks, without railings, on the roof to the 8 story courthouse building. WOW, what an adrenaline rush! There was one span that went from one end of the building to the other at the peak of the roof; very scary! There are only two rooftop tours in the world and both are in Sweden. Glenn fought back a few demons and I almost chickened out at the beginning. At each tie down for the catwalk, you had to use one foot to guide your harness through the intersection, you had to maintain your balance on one foot while keeping your composure on this tiny walkway far up.

I don't want to sound paranoid or anything, but yesterday it felt like we were being followed, today we are pretty sure that is true. We ducked into alleyways (where the beers of the Baltic's tour continued) and we heard these words of whispering in Russian behind us. Though we have continued to keep moose and squirrel safe so far, the KGB is only one step behind us.

It's so sad for me that this vacation is coming to an end. It has truly been an amazing experience. We have stood on the edge of a volcano, toured palaces and museums, strolled through tiny fishing villages, experienced a beers of the Baltic's tour, got wet in the Baltic Sea, stood on the spot where all of our past and present leaders have spoken, walked through medieval sites, and profoundly experienced the scope and the impact of WWII on the people of these countries and the rawness that still exists today. This was an absolutely unforgettable experience!

Helsinki, Finland

Friday, June 28, 2013 Helsinki, Finland. 

The day started out as another beautiful weather day, slightly cool and breezy with a temperature of about 68 degrees. We booked the exclusive Helsinki and Porvoo tour through AAA and it did not disappoint. There were only 4 people along with the guide and bus/van driver. I knew it was going to be great when we stepped into the luxury mini bus. 



Helsinki is the capital of Finland and has about 590,000 inhabitants. It is predominately a modern city because the first buildings were made of wood and over time, fires and the ravages of war destroyed the wooden structures. In Helsinki, like most of the cities and countries we visited, the most common mode of transportation is the bicycle or walking. Though more families own cars here than any of the other places we've visited, bikes still dominate the streets. I also find it interesting and very disturbing to see the way in which these countries were destroyed in WWII. Most all of the historic buildings and sites we've visited on this trip have been rebuilt or restored back to the original appearances. We are so fortunate to live in America. 



First off to Porvoo which is about 30 miles east of Finland and the second oldest town in Finland established in 1346 by King Magnus Eriksson. The old part of the town is extremely charming with quaint wooden buildings and winding cobblestone streets with very narrow alleys. The streets were full of antique shops and other tourist shops. I found it very funny that any of the Russian antiques were very low priced because the Finnish people have no value or interest in Russia or their antiquities. We went looking for a pharmacy and strolled over to a marketplace. Standing on the corner between the 'old and new' Porvoo provided us with a unique dichotomy. The street border we stood on was a bustling Main Street like any other in the Baltic while one block away in the other direction the cobblestone and narrow streets go back to the 12th century. 



Next stop was Temppeliaukio Church, also known as rock church. This church was carved out of solid rock. The dome is massive and is covered on the interior by 15 miles of copper wire. We were not able to enter the church since it is a working church and a funeral was in progress. 



Senate Square was our next stop to view the Government Palace and other buildings surrounding the square. We had a nice walk around the area and naturally stopped somewhere to enjoy a few local beers. 



There are also almost as many summer houses as residents in most of these countries. It seems as though every family has a summer house in the wood or on a shoreline in which to spend their summer weekends.



We've been warned repeatedly about pickpockets on this trip and several of the people we've met on board or on tours have been victims. Today's tour guide indicated these are mafia run (first time we had heard that) throughout Scandinavia and they are after money and credit cards; American passports and exceptionally desirable. 

St. Petersburg, Russia - Day 3

Thursday, June 27, 2013

St. Petersburg, Russia - day 3

We were up early again today but headed into St. Petersburg for a day on our own. We had about 5-6 hours to wander around the historic area and it was a really nice time. We went in search of moose and squirrel, with a few sightings in various pubs along the way. They seem to enjoy pubs.

We hung around in the Alexander Pushkin park for a bit, wandered through stores and stopped at interesting locations for a few beers. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed the museums and palaces over the past two days, this was a great culmination of our stay, immersing ourselves in the interesting culture and history of this city - overall an awesome day!

'That voice. Where have I heard that voice before?' 'In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.' They are securely onboard and headed back to America!

St. Petersburg, Russia - day 2

Wednesday, June 26, 2013



St. Petersburg, Russia - day 2



We started the day at Catherine's Palace which was built for the wife of Peter the Great in Pushkin, about a 45 minute drive from St. Petersburg. The exterior facade extends for about 1,000 feet. I asked our mean tour guide (many good stories about her) why the statues were all looking down, she said can't you tell, it's because they are holding up the palace. The interior was another amazing display of extreme opulence. Built in the grand Baroque style, this palace closely resembled the extreme gilding and decoration of the Peterhof Palace from yesterday, but it far exceeded the size. We toured the "lost Amber room" where pictures were not allowed. This room was covered in amber mosaics, floor to ceiling. It is believed that amber has healing powers and the amber room was used for healing. There was room after room of gold and ceiling paintings all of which are completely unbelievable. We had lunch in the palace which was interesting and fun. 



Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral were the next stop in our tour and it was a fairly quick stop since we all wanted to get to the Hermitage. Peter and Paul fortress was built in 1703 to protect the area from Swedish invasion and the first site chosen by Peter the Great to build his new city. Inside were the impressive Citadel and the former Royal Mint and the Peter and Paul Cathedral, with its tall golden spire. The cathedral is the burial place of all the Russian Czars and their wives and children, including Peter the Great and Catherine. 



Our final stop was at the Hermitage Museum is located on Palace Square in the former winter palace. This is one of the world’s largest exhibits of treasures of fine art and applied art with over 3 million exhibits. This enormous collection is in direct competition with the impressive palace and its furnishings. Unfortunately we were 1.5 hours late arriving at the museum so we practically raced through and saw only a tiny portion of the rooms.  

It’s been two days, but we believe we are close to finding moose and squirrel. At the Hermitage we found squirrel and maybe moose, but it looked more like a deer (I have photos to prove it).

St. Petersburg, Russia - Day 1

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

St. Petersburg, Russia - day 1

Today we hit Russia. It was just 5 minutes off the ship, standing in the passport control line with all our paperwork and our 'migration' cards and we’re surrounded by armed security.  Glenn decided to share with the guy behind us that "Putin is nuts!" Really, you gotta be kidding me!

Must say I was a little disappointed by the number of people on tour, I thought there were no more than 20 but it turned out to be 30 people. Not as bad as a RCCL tour, but still a lot. Traffic was super crazy, with a free for all everywhere...imagine NYC with no traffic lanes/painted lines. WOW!

Anyway, our first stop was Peterhof Palace, the summer palace of Peter the Great and his wife Catherine. Photos were not allowed in the interior, but it was absolutely stunning. Never before have we seen such opulence. Gilded rooms, with gold gilding on intricate carvings nearly covered all of the walls. Each room of the palace was themed differently than the next, yet not so differently that the themes themselves clashed with one another. There are tons of pictures on the internet of the interior; they do not do the place justice.  During the 2006 G8 summit, the world leaders had dinner in the palace. The dining room display was full table setting. Under the dinner plates were bowls that were used to hold hot water and keep the foods warm because dinner typically lasted for 3-4 hours. After the interior visit you stroll through the Grand Cascade which is an amazing display of a series of fountains, each more stunning than the next.

We drove back to downtown and had an authentic Russian lunch which was quite good. We had a beautiful salad followed by a creamed chicken with rice and fresh veggies. Dessert was a jelly roll with a raspberry filling...yummy!

Next stop was St Isaac's Cathedral. This was commissioned in 1818 and took more than three decades to complete. It has a massive gold dome, one of the largest in the world and it’s covered by 220 pounds of pure gold. All of the paintings were mosaics with the exception of those they removed and replaced with actual paintings in order to display the mosaics close up. It was exceptional artistry to create these masterpieces; in the pictures it is impossible to determine these are mosaics.

Then on to the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood which was built on the site of where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. It's built in the Russian revival style with the onion domes. This was absolutely stunning inside and out. The mosaics inside were built in the traditional style so a little less painting looking.

What an amazing day...even got Glenn back on board with no arrests!

June 24, 2013 - Tallin, Eastonia

We ventured into town this morning to find ourselves a beer and a wifi hot spot and ended up at this little place just outside of the old town area. There was a really, really drunk guy who moved our camera bag and sat down with us. Not sure what he was drinking but it was only 11 a.m. He gave us hell for playing on the Internet and not touring the town and told us multiple times how much he likes women. Needless to say, the visit to that establishment was cut way short. The waitress yelled at him but they continued to serve him and he kept moving from table to table. It's midsummer celebration all over this area and each country seems to celebrate it on a different day, we've been following it through the Baltic where every day has been a holiday since Visby.

We did a great tour today with a small group that I booked through AAA. We were joined by a family from NCL (Norwegian star I believe), what a bunch of uptight assholes, they were traveling with Mom, Dad, kids and grandparents - nobody seemed to care that though Grandpa was in great shape all the walking and cobblestones and step were a pretty hard on him. Our tour girl was a skinny blonde and she kept saying 'so, yea' during every story she was sharing. She gave us great information and neat little stories.

The tour started at the presidential home (white house) which is actually pink. The flag of the President of Estonia flies whenever the President is in Estonia, it was flying today. Behind the presidential home is Catherine's Valley which is an English garden founded by Peter the Great and contains Kadroirg Palace built in 1718 as one of the summer palaces. Unfortunately, the palace was getting a face lift and not easily viewed.

Stopped by the amphitheater where many American musicians have performed....Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and many more. Next was a stop by the Olympic village and a dip in the Baltic Sea!! The water temperature was 19 degrees centigrade, and though I only dipped my toes in, I was wading in the Baltic Sea!

Old city was definitely our favorite with many old and interesting buildings and stories. Maidens Tower next to the Dutch Kings Garden dates to the 14th Century. Naming it Maidens or Virgins tower is another example of the wacky Medieval irony because this building used to house a prison for prostitutes.

We walked up the 158 steps up the side of the cliff to visit the upper side of town where we had a fabulous view of both old and new Tallinn.

We toured numerous old churches including the cathedral of St. Mary which has an incredible display of coats of arms from the wealthy residents. Pictures were not allowed inside the churches but there were dozens of beautiful displays.

Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built by the Russians in the 1900's when they were occupying that area. This was a traditional looking onion dome church that was absolutely gilded in gold inside. What a site!

The oldest business in Tallinn is a pharmacy from 1422 and is still in business today. Nearby, tombstones from 14th and 15th century St. Catherine's Dominican Friary were on display along the one walkway. Interesting to see that rebuilding from WWII devastation is still in process throughout the Baltic region.

June 23, 2013 Riga, Latvia

Riga, founded in 1201, is the geographical center of the Baltic States.  Tourism is just now beginning to boom so it does not feel like a tourist town...where is Diamonds International?!?!.

The city of 800,000 on the Daugava River is the capital of Latvia, a country finding its place in a new world after being occupied for 50 years (1941 to 1991), first by the Nazis and then by the Soviet Union. Today, school kids are learning English as a second language instead of Russian. Most intriguing is how the city still feels like a bridge between what I would imagine the Old Soviet feels like and modern Europe. The old women were shuffling down the street, on the way to church and we stumbled upon an old man using a very crude broom to sweep the church steps - this reminded me of the Billy Joel song, Vienna.

We spent hours exploring the twisting cobblestone streets and alleyways, viewing historic buildings that have for the most part been restored from bombings during World War II. We ventured out today on our own with no tours scheduled. 

Old Riga was the Center of commerce during the middle ages. We entered Dome Square in the very middle of Old Riga. The massive 13th century red brick Dome Cathedral is situated on the square.  We also looked at House of Cats which is famous for the cat sculptures perched on the roof as well as the story that is associated with them. Not only did the beasts curse their first sculptor, he fatally fell while putting them up, but their purpose was to cause trouble. As legend has it, roughly 100 years ago, the Latvian owner of the building was excluded from the powerful Big Guild across the road by its ethnocentric German occupants. He ordered the cats to be turned around, backside up, as an insult to his enemies. They were turned around after a lengthy court battle and he was eventually admitted to the Guild.

It was an awesome day wondering through these areas. We stopped for a little wifi (and pizza and beer) at one of the beautiful sidewalk eateries. The weather was perfect for relaxing in the cafe. 

June 22, 2013 - Visby, Sweden

Visby, Sweden. Visby is the largest city on the west coast of Gotland. Gotland is situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea about 50 miles from mainland Sweden. Visby is considered the best preserved medieval town in Scandinavia with a population of 58,000 residents. You must also have a job in order to live here. If you go off to University on the mainland, you are not allowed to come back unless you have employment. Our tour guide graduated with 22 in his class in the 60's and he is the only one who currently lives in Gotland because the others could not find work.

Like all of the countries we've visited thus far, American music is played everywhere you go. Mostly Bee gees, Queen, really a 50's, 60's, 70's variety - interesting to hear these familiar songs wherever we go.

Our first stop was at Almedalen which is a park where the actual medieval sea port was once located in Visby. When Visby was a trading partner with the Hanseatic League, the harbor was the trading center of the Baltic. Today, Almedelan is a peaceful park where a little child was trying valiantly to catch herself a duck.

We drove through the beautiful countryside and made a stop at a very old church. There are many old churches in Gotland, most with a very similar history and almost all of them were Lutheran. The alter was built in 722 and the cross was created in 1200. Most churches have the original building in the center with additions in the front and back. The church cemetery had water spigots and watering cans and gardening tools scattered around so people could maintain the graves. The graves were only 50 year leases then someone else was buried in that plot. The old headstones were placed against the wall.

Next we climbed a ladder over a fence (these ladders appear everywhere) to view a boat shaped grave. Graves of the Late Bronze Age were arranged in the shape of large ships, outlined by rocks. Bodies were cremated then the bones were crushed and cleaned and place in an earthenware urn and buried either in the boat or just outside. There have been 350 graves identified in Gotland.

We ventured down to a fishing station where bygone days Gotlanders gathered during a few intense weeks in spring and autumn to catch fish. There are many poles for drying nets and the village currently is used as summer houses near the sea. There were tiny huts where the fisherman stored their tackle and equipment and sometime slept. I found the wooden roofs very interesting, they are said to last for 50 years and are a common roofing material on the island.

Hogklint nature preserve was our next stop, this is basically a beautiful cliff side location with stunning views of Visby and the shore lines. We named the one rock formation bear head because, we'll, it’s a very obvious reason.

No beers here, the locals make their own beer for their own consumption. We didn't see any pubs, but maybe we didn't walk around the port city enough, ended up with homemade ice cream instead and it was wonderful!

Journal - June 18-19, 2013 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Off to Copenhagen!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

We had a close call with the luggage, the flight from Boston (with our bags) was delayed and landed 10 minutes prior our scheduled departure from Iceland. Fortunately we were delayed slightly and we met up with our bags in Copenhagen.

We checked into the Opera Hotel, one of Copenhagen’s oldest hotels. Originally built as a guest house in 1869 and converted to a hotel in 1950, Hotel Opera is decorated in a cozy yet classical style, creating a charming and peaceful atmosphere that really reigns throughout the hotel.  At the hotel entrance, you are welcomed by the Little Mermaid – one of the sculptures upon which the famed original version was based. The neighboring Royal Danish Theatre also makes its artistic presence felt at Hotel Opera.  During check in we noticed the room keys with brass tags, engraved with the room number, hanging from cup hooks behind the front desk – it somehow reminds us of the tower of terror.  The elevator holds 4 and only 4 people and there is a bedroom door like entrance. The Spiral staircase ascends from the 0 to 5th floor; the walls are lined with many photos of famous people who have stayed here. Definitely not a modern facility but has a great 20's like charm! The windows are open to the courtyard - and yes, they actually open!

This afternoon and evening we went out roaming around the area, lots of historic buildings and great architecture! The main mode of transportation seems to be by bike, thousands of them wheeling around the city – they are very old fashioned looking bikes, with baskets on the front - they remind me of the ones our parents had when we were kids.

We had dinner at this tiny restaurant called Restaurant Krebsegaarden that I had found in my research. It definitely lived up to the reviews. The owners base their menus on the latest gallery artist opening - the gallery is directly behind the restaurant. This week the artist was from Estonia so the menu was influenced by that region. I had a fantastic meal of pike perch and Glenn had wild boar. Add in the appetizers and desserts and it was yet another great meal on this adventure.

Across the street from the restaurant was a gay bar called the jail house. Our chef told us that if straight men were brave enough to enter, they would be locked up in cells. I could just see Glenn and his friends going there for the hell of it.

Tomorrow we board Vision of the Sea

Wednesday, June 19, 2013



Boarded the ship and did the normal ship things – time to chill out from the whirl wind trip so far and most importantly, rest up for the remainder of the journey. Vision of the Seas is an Enchantment size ship with the diamond lounge off of the Viking crown lounge.  She is a very tired looking ship, in desperate need of the refurbishment that’s scheduled to take place in 2-3 months.  

The Captain and the crew on this ship were wonderful.  Never have I had so many conversations with officers as we had onboard this ship.  Every night while we were relaxing in the Diamond lounge multiple officers would stop by to chat about our day or check up on the food and/or service.  Multiple times throughout this voyage I observed the Captain interacting with all levels of personnel; it was plain to see that he was a true leader.     

Journal - June 17-18 - Iceland

Sunday, June 16, 2013





We're beat! Up very early this morning after a very late night last night. Still no official word on our luggage this morning, maybe tomorrow. They did find it in Boston from what we understand so that is a good thing.
When driving in from the airport last night we noticed some unique patterns with traffic. First off, there are NO STOP signs, just lots of yields and lots of circles-almost like being in Jersey, but not quite. Additionally, the red lights light red and yellow prior to turning green. It's very similar to the start off of a drag race. Fortunately people stop for red lights because everyone jumps the greens.

We started the day in Hveragerdi, 28 miles east of Reykjavik.  This town was struck hard by an earthquake in 2008.  In the middle of one all-purpose area (store, post office, museum, café, bakery…) they have installed a glass floor where you can stand on top of the fissure in the earth from the quake.  It’s this long divide, not terribly wide but very deep.  Next we went hiking and I must say that after about 1.5 miles straight up, I quit - it ceased to be fun when gasping for air. Glenn and I broke off from the group and had a really cool, beautiful and leisurely hike back down the mountain. Lots of cool pictures! The hot springs were incredible. What a site to see waters that are actually boiling and churning with the steam rising in 40-50 degree outside temperatures. The guide strongly cautioned us to stay on the trails so we would not fall and get burned by the waters. We hung out at the cafe drinking a few beers and waiting for the rest of the group (the cafe owner comes to Orlando occasionally to buy shoes with her husband - apparently he has really big feet; doesn't amazon deliver here?)...very nice afternoon.

When we got back to the hotel we walked a mile or so to a Target/K Mart like store to buy some essentials. Over 18k Iceland Krons later we have some new socks, etc.

We had this amazing dinner in the downtown area which reminded me a little of some of the Canada places we had visited previously. Dinner was at Sjavargrillid which means seafood grill - all I can say is amazing! The food and service was impeccable.

We played a little Emily wins after dinner, she got a children's book on puffins, we won't tell her that was also on the menu at Sjavargrillid.

Ok, one more note...all I can say about the toilets is weird! I've been in about 6 restrooms and EVERY one had a different flushing mechanism...pull up the ball on top, push the large pad on the wall, push one or both of the two buttons on top of the tank, it takes me a few minutes each time to figure out the flush...where is consistency !?!!?

Tomorrow we hope to go to the Blue Lagoon (assuming luggage and swim suits arrive).

Monday, June 17, 2013

So we got great news on our luggage today, NOT! Apparently the luggage was not checked all the way through to Reykjavik and our bags are being held by customs - still in Boston! We leave here tomorrow morning for Copenhagen then Wednesday for the ship. I've now got AAA, and the insurance we purchased trying to get our bags out of hostage and on a plane here today. Don't know if it will happen or not, nobody has a high sense of urgency in this matter but us. We’re canceling our trip to the hot springs today to deal with this and to shop for some clothes. 

Our second day in Iceland pretty much sucked. We spent the day trying to locate our luggage and trying to find some clothes and toiletry items to pull us through another day or two, so 38k kron later more new clothes that don't fit correctly. The bras were size 75, 80, 85, 90's - who knows?  The rest of the sizing was in European so had to figure out my size. We really wanted to hit the hot springs but had no swimsuits and needed to give priority to securing our luggage. Worth the investment if the luggage actually shows up tonight - we think finally it may.

We finally ventured out late this afternoon for a little fun. Went to a little sports bar for another Iceland beer and then ventured off to a sandwich shop called Lemon. Everything on the menu was in Icelandic but near as I could tell I ended up with a pressed sandwich with prosciutto and mozzarella and tomato with a pesto like sauce on whole grain bread (which seems to be the norm here). It was incredibly good! Glenn even liked it and he somehow ordered his without the tomato. 

This evening was the golden circle tour. The weather could have been much better it was very windy, cold and rainy but the tour was magnificent! We started with a stop in Þingvellir which means where parliament thinks. This is the site of a Rift Valley that marks the crest of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The natural environment is unique in the world.  It is also home to Pingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. Here it is said to be no man’s land...that space between the Europe and the Americas continents at the junction of the two tectonic plates.  No man’s land is sinking into the ocean a little each year. The craters marking the divide are clearly visible as these tectonic plates that continually shift are leaving violent scars on the landscape.

We then stopped at Gulfoos where I mailed postcards...I'd say to look for them in 2014 sometime.  The post box was at the rest stop for Gulfoos.  It was a small box, like one would have mounted by the front door in a city home, and it was stuffed full with postcards to be picked up!  Gullfoss (English: Golden Falls) is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. The wide Hvítá rushes southward. This is a two-step waterfall that is absolutely magnificent! As one first approaches the falls, the crevice is obscured from view, so that it appears that a mighty river simply vanishes into the earth.

From there we visited the Geysie, sometimes known as The Great Geysir (pronounced gay-sir) located in southwestern Iceland. It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans and they are very proud to say that we mis-pronounce the word when speaking about 'old faithful'! The nearby geyser Strokkur erupts much more frequently than Geysir which has been affected by several earthquakes throughout history.  Strokkur's activity has also been affected by earthquakes, although to a lesser extent than the Great Geysir. Essentially this is eruptions of boiling water hurling up to 80 feet in the air every 5-10 minutes. Overall it was an incredible display. There are around thirty much smaller geysers and hot pools churning boiling water in the area, including one called Litli Geysir ('Little Geysir'). Did I mention that while surrounded by boiling waters, we were freezing, in the wind and rain at this point? 

On the return trip we stopped to visit with some of the 80,000 horses that roam the area - except for Fabio, I have never seen such flowing manes, these were beautiful animals! The Icelandic people go to great extents to protect this breed of horse.  If any horse leaves Iceland for a completion or any reason, it can never return to Iceland.  Additionally, our driver made a side trip to a dormant erupted volcano which was nothing but a crater in the ground, the lava fields went on for miles in this area. We stood on the rim of a volcano! 

The final stop of the evening was to another smaller waterfall but also very beautiful. There was a man made salmon ladder on the side of the waterfall to allow the salmon to migrate further into Iceland. I'd bet it is an inspiring site to see the salmon climbing the ladder in the spring to find a place to spawn. 

Have to say our driver was very scary! He showed us a video documentary of the 2010 volcano and Glenn finally pulled to the front of the bus to operate the DVD before the dude killed us...there were many such moments on this tour as the guide read the spiel he had to give while weaving back and forth on the road! 

We got back to the hotel at about 1 a.m., we need to be up at 5 for our flight to Copenhagen. 

Journal - Saturday, June 15 - Journey to Iceland

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Up bright and early to start our adventure. Considering that we moved into our new house less than a week ago, Glenn started a new job two weeks ago, and Glenn has been out of town all week, we're in pretty good shape to get started. We dropped our dog Marvin off at Moms then Uncle Pat drove us to the airport for a long day of flights. Our departure was at 8:50 and connecting in Boston for the 5 hour flight to Iceland.

We made it to Iceland safe and sound...its 1:30a.m. Local time and still light out. We're at our hotel; the same cannot be said for our luggage which is either in Boston or the Bahamas.

Cruising in Europe - June, 2013

I decided to write about our Europe Cruise from June 16 - July 1, 2013.  I'm not sure that enough can be said to reinforce how critical research and planning are to a trip of this size.  We hit 9 countries in 15 days!

Our itinerary began in Iceland.  How we ended up in Iceland is an artifact of said research.  I was looking for business class airfare at a reasonable price - an oxymoron, right?  Not so much!  Iceland air has great prices on business class airfare; granted 'business class' on Icelandair is more reminiscent to 'first class' on domestic flights and not the cushy reclining seats offered by the mainstream airlines.  It was, however, exactly what we were looking for - extra leg room, wider seats (so you can tuck your legs up), and foot rests so there is some level of elevation for your legs.  Food and service was great, as was the 'Saga Lounge' access at the airports. The clincher; Icelandair offers all passengers to other Icelandair destinations in Europe a Stopover in Iceland – up to seven nights – at no additional airfare.  The appeal - Fire and ice, volcanoes and glaciers - these are the inescapable dichotomies of life on this North Atlantic island - home of the Northern Lights (which I will see someday) and the awesome Midnight Sun (which we saw this trip).

Once we landed on the destinations, research, research, research!  How do you narrow it down when you want to "see everything"!  What do we really want to do and see - prioritize a list each destination?  What experiences are we interested in?  What restaurants do we want to try?  What tours are available - both from within the cruise lines and externally.  What are the must see things, what are the 'been there, done that' things?  I'd heard that external tours are typically smaller, more intimate tour groups that add an extra level of flexibility and personalization in your overall experience.  When do the external vendors make sense and when do you want to stick with the cruise tours?  In our experience, long tours that push the boundaries of your time in a country are probably best served by the cruise line - mostly because, if the tour runs over the time allotted, the cruise line is responsible for ensuring you are back on the ship prior to departure.  I must also add, we booked through AAA for our trip from start to finish and we used only AAA recommended tours or tours from the cruise line itself.

Be sure to plan on dedicating 80-100 hours or more when coordinating a trip where you want to see and do as much as possible.  Also, don't forget about general logistics - passports valid at least 6 months after your trip, registering with the Department of State, providing copies of your passports to someone at home, taking copies of your passports with you in the event the real deal is lost or stolen, immunization requirements, etc...

Upcoming posts will detail the individual countries and ports we saw along the way.

Carnival Cruise Lines reports 2 people overboard in Australia

Now everyone who knows me knows that I'm not a fan of Carnival at all, but this really isn't something that can be blamed on them.  You can read the news story at ABC News for all of the details.

What I wanted to say here is that people falling overboard is really something that can plague any cruise line, but the reality is that it's' extremely difficult to go over the railings.  You have to be extremely drunk to be able to do it accidentally and even then you need to be goofing off pretty good.  I think, at least in my opinion, you really have to either want to go over or someone else has to want you to go over for someone to be overboard a ship.

We will see in the coming days/weeks what the security footage shows and see if these two either were victims of an awful crime, decided to take a suicide plunge together or were victims of a spectacular accident.  Regards of what the situation, unless a railing failed, this is one case where Carnival will get bad press that it didn't deserve.

About Jr

This blog was my idea after going on my most recent cruise and wanting to share that experience with others.  This far I have been on 17 different cruises, all listed below.  All but one of my cruises has been with Royal Caribbean and I am very loyal to Royal, achieving the status of Diamond member, nearing the Diamond Plus level.   My wife Denise and I have been on 7 cruises together since we started dating at the end of 2009.  I've even once cruised entirely by myself, so I have a completely unique perspective about that experience which I'll blog about at some point!

Cruise history:

3/30/1990 - The Big Red Boat - 3 night Bahamas
6/14/1998 - Enchantment of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
9/24/2006 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Western Caribbean
9/16/2007 - Mariner of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
1/17/2008 - Grandeur of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
10/9/2008 - Explorer of the Seas - 9 night Canada
11/27/2008 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
3/19/2009 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
7/17/2009 - Monarch of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas
10/22/2009 - Enchantment of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
9/24/2010 - Radiance of the Seas - 15 night Eastbound Panama Cana
11/11/2010 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
2/17/2011 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
2/3/2012 - Monarch of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas
2/19/2012 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Western Caribbean
2/26/2012 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
5/3/2013 - Enchantment of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas

Enchantment of the Seas - May 3, 2013 - 3 night Bahamas

This last weekend Denise and I went on a 3 day sailing to the Bahamas of Enchantment of the Seas and overall it was a very great experience.

The Good

• The Ship is in AMAZING shape, this was my third sailing on the Enchantment and it was probably the nicest the ship has been.  I went in 1998 (my first Royal Caribbean cruise) and again in October 2009.  I was not expecting much from the ship, but with the new revitalizations they just completed in December it's a much better experience.  Everything is new and upgraded to the best of their abilities.  Going on this I was expecting it to be like the old Monarch of the Seas which is no longer part of the Royal Caribbean fleet, and was very happily surprised to see that my assumptions were wrong.
• The customer service was outstanding.  We had a very minor issue where there was flooding from one of the adjoining rooms that was causing our carpet to be soaked.  We told the suite attendant just to let them know and hopefully get it dried up.  They went ahead and not only cleaned it up but offered us a 30% refund on the sailing in the form of a future cruise credit.  Since we were planning on booking two new sailings on board this was a great surprise and awesome treat for us!
• The Diamond Lounge is great!  I can't speak enough for how wonderful this addition has been to their line, it basically allowed me to drink for free each day (as long as I was willing to wait until 5pm to start drinking).  Not only that, but it provides a concierge option to those of us who have sailed a lot, but not enough to join the true concierge lounge left for Diamond Plus and the higher level suites.



Our beautiful and spacious balcony!

• We had a very spacious suite on the aft of the ship with an extra large balcony.  It really gave us a great view of where we'd been and as we backed in to port at Nassau it was fun to see how the ship maneuvered in to it's dock.
• We got a free bottle of champagne from our travel agent, it's a minor thing but it really adds a great touch to the trip.  We went through AAA travel agency this time and could not be happier with the services they provided and will definitely be using them again.
• This cruise left from Port Canaveral, that's always a plus since it's just more than an hour away from our house.  One of the things we look for when booking trips are that they leave from Canaveral and Tampa and with fewer and fewer sailings leaving from Tampa it seems like Canaveral is going to continue to be our preferred departure port.
• We were able to walk right off the ship thanks to our Diamond status.  The walk off line for Diamond members was almost 0 while the line for others was probably a good 100-200 people deep.  From when we left our cabin till we were off the ship and in our car was less than 10 minutes.  That kind of efficiency can't be beat
• The suite had an iPad there for use, it came loaded up with a lot of classic books and several movies and TV shows that were available for purchase.  It was a really nice and neat touch that we didn't take advantage of but definitely something that I could see being very useful.

The Bad

• Tendering at Coco Cay, I can't stand having to tender so I wouldn't have gotten off the ship even if I felt like laying on the beach all day.   I can't believe they haven't built a doc here for their ships like they have in Labadee
• The food was just not up to par, we didn't eat in the dining room at all, but I still expect more from Windjammer.  In the end most of my dinners were from the appetizers offered at the Diamond Lounge



Denise putting on a brave face when
she was feeling awful

• Denise was sick from the start, she was having stomach issues and just did not feel like being out and about on the ship.  This put a huge damper on our trip since it was supposed to be a trip for just the two of us it was hard to have fun while she was spending most of her time in bed with stomach pains.  That being said she did a great job of walking around Nassau with me and getting out from time to time, including some time in the casino.
• Parking at the port was a little pricey, $60 for a 3 night cruise.  We could have done off property parking and taken a shuttle but with how Denise was feeling we didn't want to risk that.  Still if this is the price we have to pay for them to upgrade the port for bigger (Oasis please) ships then I'll deal with it.

Overall Impression

I have to give this cruise very high marks, the ship was in great shape and the crew was very friendly and helpful throughout.  Despite Denise's sickness I had a really good time and enjoyed the weekend!  I definitely would go back on Enchantment for another quick weekend getaway out of Port Canaveral. 

Royal Caribbean current Diamond level coupon book

We didn't think that this coupon book has changed too much, if at all, since we last used it lsat February.  Here is a rundown of the items within the book as of May 2013:

• Buy one wine, beer or soda by the glass and get a second one free
• Purchase any glass of wine, beer or soda and receive a 20% discount
• One complimentary non-alcoholic speciality coffee drink with the purchase of dinner in a speciality restaurant
• 2 for 1 milkshakes at Johnny Rockets
• Get 10% off a Digital Photo package or a custom created PhotoBook
• Free any size photo of your choice from your existing printed photograph selection (cannot be a reprint or special request)
• 30 Free Internet Minutes
• 20% off any internet package purchase
• $2 per stateroom phone rate (75% discount)
• $10 off one $25 bag of laundry on Wash and Fold day (4+ night sailing only)
• $5 off any dry cleaning or pressing services of $25 or more
• Free Spin to Win (3)
• $5 Match Play casino certificate (3)
• Purchase any bingo package and receive one free strip of six jackpot bingo cards
• Spend $25 or more on Royal Caribbean logo products and receive a 15% discount
• 20% off custom framing on any Art on Royal purchase
• Spend $1,000 or more on fine jewelry and receive a 15% discount
• 10% off any temporary tattoo purchase
• 15% off your Pets at Sea package which includes a pet and outfit
• 15% off any tuxedo rental package
• 25% off the purchase of Royal Caribbean International's cookbook
• 20% off any one spa or salon service
• 15% off any one BRITTO Collectible
• Crown and Anchor society members enjoy 15% off their Bedding Collection purchase!

Welcome!

Welcome to our cruising family's little blog.  Here we will provide tips to those new to cruising as well as give reviews and updates on our own adventures.  I am Glenn and I've been on 17 cruises thus far, just getting off a ship earlier today for which I'll be posting a review later this evening.  While on that trip my wife Denise and I booked two new trips, one in December with our 1 year old and one in February to celebrate our 2 year anniversary.  We will try to keep updating this as much as possible with news and insight on our cruising experiences.