Monday, August 24th At Sea Another at sea day, and we were very busy doing necessities! Although we took the laundry package, our silk underwear needed to be washed by hand. This has been a two-man job, as I dunk and swish and then Jack uses a large towel to roll our "dainties" up and press as dry as possible. Then I clip them onto our "Container Store" clothes rack and hang it over the bathtub. By morning we have dry things to put away. With domestic duties, done, we headed for the Dining Room for a Luncheon Extravaganza. There were ice carvings, food carvings and lots of people. Jack gorged himself on shrimps and fish things. We ate with the Larry, Carol, Babs and Gary group and then we moved on to the Lido for some real food. Tired from eating, Jack and I retired for a nap in order to get enough energy for the next food frenzy! We did formal night in the Dining Room and then we rushed to the Theatre to see The Unexpected Boys. These were not boys at all, but male singers who did a whole show of Franke Valle and the Four Seasons tunes. They were really very entertaining and they had great harmony. We really enjoyed this show and we look forward to seeing them again in a few nights.

Tuesday, August 25th Port# 19 St Anthony, Newfoundland We didn't have anything planned for today, but Cindy & Phil wanted to go to the Viking ruins at L'Anse Aux Meadows. Jack and Phil made the first tender and rushed out to find a cab. They found a van driver looking for people and we were on, along with 11 other ship people. We were squashed in, but it was only about 30 minutes. This is a place were Leif Erikson landed after being banished from Greenland in about 1000AD. Although only about 15% of the area has been dug, they have enough information to reconstruct some buildings and it gives you a feel for the bog huts and primitive life there. They say that some Norse people must have discovered some part of the coast of North America during this period, even though our history books say no. When looking at how they sailed from Scandinavia to Greenland and then to Newfoundland, in the seas that we traveled through, it seems impossible that they couldn't make it through the calmer seas to the coast of our country! It was a very cool and windy day, but we enjoyed the outing. I stayed cold into the evening, so I bundled up with a book while Jack walked the ship taking pictures, etc.

Wednesday, August 26th Port# 20 St John's, Newfoundland Hurray, it is sunny in St Johns, Newfoundland! Ok, it didn't last but that's fine. We ate and made our way to the pier, looking for a van with our name. Sure enough, it was there! We waited just a while until they found some others to join us, including Cindy & Phil, and then we were off for a City tour. This is a very hilly city nestled on a small inlet. The cruise ship almost scraped its sides getting in! We were taken to Signal Hill where we could look down and see how the place was protected from the pirates and the Europeans. We also were taken to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America. It was very windy and chilly there. The guide took the group through bunkers and then to the very top of the Point where the lighthouse was, but Cindy and I decided to sit it out, thank God, as there were a million steps to the top! I did see three whales jumping about while I was waiting for Cindy to come back from the bunkers. It was a pleasant day out and we enjoyed the guide and the company. Tonight was another performance from the Unexpected Boys, and again they did not disappoint. The sang some Franke Valle tunes but mostly other show tunes, like from Les Miserable.

Friday & Saturday, August 21st & 22nd At Sea We slept in this morning and enjoyed every minute of it! I decided to go to the Mariner's Luncheon for our gift Delft Tiles and Jack just walked around. I went to lunch with him and then we were pooped, so we took another nap! Dinner was formal this evening, but we were not wanting to get "dolled up" so we put on our formal evening attire (black slacks, black tops) and ate in the Lido. Now we are settling in for the evening with a TV movie or some episodes of Boston Legal, which I brought from home! We received a note from the Captain tonight about hurricane Bill. He said that "they are reviewing alternate arrangements in case we need to revise our itinerary. The storm will not impact our arrival in Boston on August 29th." Last night was quite rock'n'roll, with a few big bumps and all day today we have had some sway. Jack and still haven't needed our bracelets, yet! We'll have to see what "Bill" does to us!

Oh yes, days at sea! Today we cruised the Prins Christian Sund(Sound) again. Last time I was too sick to even look out the window, but today I was ready to go out & watch. And watch we did! I found a perch at the very top deck and watched this beauty go by. It is very much like the inside passage in Alaska, where at times you could spit to land. But there also were 6 or 8 glaciers where calfing was going on and there were still a lot of icebergs, although far less than when we were through 4 weeks ago! The day started very blue and sunny, although quite cold, but I really enjoyed sitting in the sun all bundled up while Jack walked about taking pictures and chewing peoples' ears off. Today we did hot chocolate a few times to keep warm. After the sun and fresh air it was time for a snooze and then off to the Dining Room for dinner with some of our 1258 new friends. Tonight was with two couples we have never sat with before and the conversation, at this point in our 5 weeks, has turned to "gripes"! Everyone has had some room problems and rude people problems so it has become the most popular mode of communication! Jack is doing fine with most things, but he is also starting to "gripe"! You know it takes him a long time for him to get to that point, but he is starting to "gripe" with the best of them! I have become so bored with the food that at dinner I only eat fruit, soup and salad, with no dessert, only a decaf cappuccino. Tonight the Captain told us that we were going to continue with our regular itinerary for the remainder of the cruise, as "Bill" should be passed us by the time we get to the Canadian waters. He also said that we could encounter winds that could prevent us from tendering at St Anthony, Newfoundland. Ok, so we'll keep the sea bracelets handy!

Wednesday & Thursday, August 19th & 20th Port# 17 Reykjavik, Iceland We arrived in Reykjavik after 2:00pm and we immediately set out for the bus. Would you believe it was drizzling? It actually didn't rain for too long, so we set off to see some of the capitol city. We walked, rested, walked, rested for a while then we returned to the ship for dinner and an early bedtime. At 7:45am we met with our tour group and boarded our van of the day. Our driver/guide was wonderful and very informative about Icelandic culture and government. We visited an interior area where the land had separated and sunk leaving a huge beautiful lowland and lake. It was here that all of the original tribes met to hold councils and make laws. We next visited a thermogeo area that has geysers, or as they say, old geezers. Now on to the Gulfoss, or Golden waterfall. This was also a very beautiful place, but it was quite cool and the spray from the waterfall was really thick. Jack went on to take pictures while I returned to the van with the other women, trying to stay warm and dry! We ate a quick lunch of lamb stew, which was really good. Next we were on to a huge thermo-electric plant where they converted their "geezers" into heat and hot water for the entire city. There was one person on the bus who was "not feeling well" so our driver took her back to the ship and then took us for a tour of the city. It was terrific and we got to see everything that we couldn't walk to. We saw The Perlan (the Pearl) which is actually the water supply tanks for the city, all fancied up with a dome on top and a viewing walk. What a perfect way to hide ugly water tanks! We also went to the biggest church, which was beautiful and had a wonderful organ and the organist was playing while we were there. We also went to the City Hall where there was a large model of the country: very interesting. Then we were on to the modern stainless art piece of a Viking ship, in the harbor. We got back to the ship in just enough time and had a great day. Our driver liked us and took us on much more of a day than we paid for! We were so exhausted from the day that we were sound asleep before 9:30pm.

Friday & Saturday, August 21st & 22nd At Sea We slept in this morning and enjoyed every minute of it! I decided to go to the Mariner's Luncheon for our gift Delft Tiles and Jack just walked around. I went to lunch with him and then we were pooped, so we took another nap! Dinner was formal this evening, but we were not wanting to get "dolled up" so we put on our formal evening attire (black slacks, black tops) and ate in the Lido. Now we are settling in for the evening with a TV movie or some episodes of Boston Legal, which I brought from home! We received a note from the Captain tonight about hurricane Bill. He said that "they are reviewing alternate arrangements in case we need to revise our itinerary. The storm will not impact our arrival in Boston on August 29th." Last night was quite rock'n'roll, with a few big bumps and all day today we have had some sway. Jack and still haven't needed our bracelets, yet! We'll have to see what "Bill" does to us!

Monday, August 17th Port# 15 Torshavn, Fareo Islands We were up, dressed and fed quickly this morning as we were meeting Cindy & Phil on the pier for a Taxi Tour. We had pre-arranged for a 1½ hour ride into the inners of the island. What a sight this place is! National Geographic has listed this the "#1 Best Place in the World" and I can see why. The islands are all joined by tunnels or bridges. There is even a bridge that is "the only bridge crossing the Atlantic", which it actually does, between two small islands. This is a mountainous, very green country with NO trees, except for in the towns, where they are cultivated. We also saw Viking ruins, a ride through the old town and then we did a little walking.

Tuesday, August 18th Port# 16 Djupivogur, Iceland We are back in Iceland this morning, and of course, it is cloudy! It rained as we were tendering but actually stopped shortly after we got ashore. This is a very small town so we just walked a little bit and then returned to the ship. After a small lunch, we did our best to stay awake but finally succumbed to our daily nap! Hard to believe after having a full nights sleep of gentle rock n roll between the Fareos' and Iceland!

Friday, August 14th Port# 13 Liverpool, UK The skies are cloudy as we arrive at the Liverpool harbour. We decided to take our time getting off the ship, hoping that the weather will improve. There was a very steep climb up a long ramp to the port and by the time we reached the top, I was pooped! They had a golf cart for the "gray-hairs" and I should have taken it! Anyway, we walked a while, until I couldn't go any more than we jumped on the Hop On/Hop Off for a spin of the city. It is a very old city that still has war-damaged buildings. It is also not a very pretty place, in fact, quite dreary! Yes, this is the home of the Beatles, but we weren't too interested in all that hype!

Saturday, August 15th Port# 14 (Greenock) Glasgow, Scotland Ok, what's new? We woke up to drizzle! We had a private tour planned today, but I decided to stay in; still tired from Liverpool and not ready to spend the day in the rain. As it turned out, Jack went and stood out waiting for the tour for over an hour then he finally went into the Tourist Office and took a local bus tour! Sooo glad I didn't go! Jack was back by 1130am, so we went "grazing" in the Lido then returned to our room. The sun did come out in time for us to leave port. I was talking to Jim while the Scotsmen were piping and drumming away on the pier, again! We were at dinner tonight, seating in the back of the ship watching the wake as we sailed out of Grennock. All of a sudden, we started to list very far to on side, sending many dinner meals flying off of the waiter service areas, crashing on to the floor! What racket, glasses and dinnerware breaking and people a goggle and watching the entire thing out the huge windows! Many people had to wait for new meals to be brought from the kitchens! We were given no explanation, but we were in view of land, in the channel and the seas were a lot rougher than before because the wind had picked up during the day.

Sunday, August 16th At Sea We slept in again today. We had a Cruise Critic gathering in the Crows Nest this morning. We decided to go, as we have become friendly with a lot of others from Cruise Critic. Immediately following we followed the gang to the theatre for a Mariner's Club Thank you gathering. We drank Mimosa's and ate little snacks with the others until we realized that we should have been in the Dining Room having a Brunch with a different group...so off we skipped to the dining room for more wine, etc and brunch. We sat with another couple, who were also late, and they were once from New York and they also had airline children, so we talked airline shop talk! The captain, during the brunch said that we listed the night before because "the wind caught us when we slowed to let the pilot off" We knew better because we were watching out the window! This couple said that they took pictures of the pilot getting off and it was later, when they were in the elevator, that they ship listed. I really believe that someone fell asleep at the wheel, missed a bouy in the channel (there were many) and made a very fast turn to get us back on course. That is what we saw from the windows. Our wake showed a huge curve toward the center of the channel. Anyway, we had a bumpy night last night, not terrible but enough for us to know we were at sea. Jack has gone to another seminar so I might go for a walk or read for an hour. Tonight is formal night, again, so we'll have to decide about this!

Wednesday, August 12th At Sea We really slept in today! Breakfast was late, lunch was late and dinner was early! Tomorrow is another long day and I am still recouping! There are the new arrivals on board...the ones joining us in Rotterdam! Newbies! You can always spot the ones who can't figure out where they are going! The complaints about this ship are mounting as the days go by. Everyday there seems to be new problems! We are okay after our initial heat/AC problems, which they were able to fix quickly. But every day we hear of things that are more and more bazaar! One couple told us that when they checked in in Boston they were told that they were upgraded. They were thrilled about the better room but when they got to the door the key wouldn't work! They messed with it for a few minutes and then a crew person came by so he tried, but his pass key wouldn't work either. The man left his wife and went to the front desk and was told someone would be right there! They waited almost a whole hour before someone finally showed up. This person couldn't get in either. Finally they decided that the door mechanism batteries must be dead and after some more time they got the door open. Now the couple could get into the room but they couldn't leave! If they left they had to prop the door open, so they had to go to dinner separately. The crew person came back to say that there were no more batteries on the ship!!! Finally the couple said that they would take the batteries out of their camera if they would put them in the lock! So they did and they were told that they would be given new batteries the next day. Sure enough, the next day they arrived to give them 3 batteries that had expired over a year ago!!! It amazes us to think about how many doors that are on this ship....and no batteries!!!!!

Thursday, August 13th Port # 12 Waterford, Ireland Finally, we woke to sun! The Emerald Isle was a blaze of green! We ate, got our tender tickets and were off for a cab ride into town..we shared with Cindy & Phil. We went to the Waterford Treasures Museum, which was really interesting, and then on to a Walking Tour of the city. The guide was a crusty Irishman who was informative and very entertaining, and we really enjoyed the walk..but I am really tired! We took a cab back to the ship, in time for another show aboard by some local Irish singers and dancers. They were good and we were exhausted by the time we got to our room. I peeled myself off the bed, dressed and we were off for dinner early so that we can rest up for tomorrow! We have had very good luck with our dinner table companions, except for one night early on. Tonight a couple from Indiana and another from Sydney. Very interesting conversations!

Tuesday, August 11th Port# 11 Rotterdam, Netherlands We woke to cloudy skies, again! Our excursion today is on a river canal boat to the Kinderdyik, where the windmills are. We walked over the Maas River on the famous Erasmus Bridge in the rain, our rain panchos blowing in the breezes. We met some others from the ship and we all joined together for the day. The sun finally came out and we had a nice afternoon, even getting some sunburn on our faces and arms. There was a group called the Rotterdam Shanty Singers who performed on the pier just before we sailed. It was very entertaining. As we left port we were treated to a Fireboat water display about 14 stories high. Rotterdam is the home port for Holland America, so we were given the royal treatment! We were away and ready for a quiet evening after a long day!

Monday, August 10th At Sea We woke up to another rainy day. We went to get our passports back from the ship and we noticed that we were in the middle of a quick U turn. Just then they announced that we were returning to Newcastle, UK because of an emergency. As I write, there is a RAF rescue helicopter hovering just outside of our cabin window. The sea is quite choppy and they have removed everyone from the 11th & 12th decks now. I guess that they are waiting for the right time to drop the basket and remove the sick or wounded passenger. We were eating breakfast with a guy who was in the Marines and he said that when the basket is dropped that they have to ground it against the railing to get rid of the static electricity before they can board the evacuee. I have a perfect view of the helicopter medivacs preparing for their pickup. I really don't know where Jack is with his camera because they won't let anyone above the 10th deck and I really don't think you can see anything from anywhere else. The chopper has moved on over the bow of the ship now, so I hope that they have a successful pickup. Rumor has it that an elderly man lost his balance in the shower, grabbed for the handrail, and it came out of the wall because the screws were rotted. Ok, the captain has just announced that the evacuation is complete. So, now, on with the day!

Saturday, August 8th Port# 9 Invergordon, Scotland Today is an early departure. We were up at 6:00am to get dressed, eat and go ashore for our first group tour. This is the one I arranged, so we needed to be sure that we could find our paying people and the guides. It turned out to be a wonderful day! It was cloudy with a few light showers, but for the most part, the weather was ok! We got a very early start because our bus of eight were prompt and we left just before 8:00am. Our driver/guide took us to the small Scottish Royal Burgh of Dornoch, where we had time to walk around the village and visit the ancient Cathedral. Because we were ahead of the other two small vans, Graham took us to another ancient site called Carn Liath, which was constructed in around 500AD and used to protect local villagers from attacks of the Vikings. We rejoined the rest at Dunrobin Castle, where was walked the gardens and then went to the Falconry display, which was terrific! Nigel, the tour owner, asked the Falconer to have the owl sit on my head! Good thing I had a cap on! The show was great and after, Nigel allowed me to ride in his van (with the other seniors) back up to the top of the hill, where I met Cindy and we toured the Castle together. We then met the others and boarded our van for our ride to The Falls of Shin, a place along a salmon stream owned by Mohammad Fayedd (spelling) of Princess Diana fame! There was a Harrods shop (of course) and a wonderful cafeteria where we had baked potatoes with interesting toppings. I had potato with egg salad, lettuce and tomato salad. It was really good. We sat with our group of eight and had a great lunch. Some then went to the stream to see the salmon, but another woman, Barbara and I stayed behind, no wanting to have to go down the steep hill and then have to climb up it again! My cough is better, but I'm still tired! Barbara is a nurse and we talked about my crud! She said that they had also had the crud just before sailing and the Doctor had told her to take the Z pack and then take the Prednisone, which I also had. I will start taking this tonight! We were back to the vans and off on a ride through the beautiful Scottish Highlands, passing wonderful flowered towns and vistas. We weaved our way back to Invergordon and stopped at the Dalmore Distillery. It was holiday time for the Distillery workers, but we were each given a "wee dram" of whisky and we were taught to take a snip and chew it to get the full flavor! It was really good! We then watched a video about the place and we were off again to the port. It was a great day and every one in our van had a great time!

Sunday, August 9th Port# 10, Edinburgh, Scotland Guess what! Another cloudy and rainy day. We took our time to get to the tender in Queensferry, then we caught the free shuttle into Edinburgh. The city is very crowded because of the famous Tatoo and Fringe Festivals. We walked a little then it began to rain so we jumped on the Hop on/Hop off bus to tour the city in dry-style. It was still very crowded around the city so our circular trip took a very long time. It was still raining so we decided to go back to the ship after late lunch at Burger King. We ate dinner with a very nice couple and then raced to see the Scottish Review, brought onboard for our enjoyment. They were very good. Immediately after, the evening entertainment was Katzenjammer This was two young men who played piano duets on one piano at the same time! They were wonderful and very humorous. I am very happy to be feeling better and able to enjoy the cruise again!