Norwaylady

Tonight’s show is Mark Donoghue, multiplayer musician. He was backed by the orchestra. Good show and music. But almost empty theatre… all toured out😂😂😂 All senior officers were standing by the Martini bar after the show. Today’s dinner starts by a beeper😝 Lots of late eaters…. (Many returning last minute) So we are enjoying the string duo in Cellar Master and a aperitif 🥂

After some hours on the beach, we moved up to the waterfront to have some coffee & Perrier. Around 15.45 we decided to head back to the ship. The tender was ready, so we went straight away to the ship. The tenders has been supported by VilleFranche port. So it’s a big boat/not lifeboat tender. Some of the celebrity tenders has been operated during peak times. I was very happy for my mother❤️ (I could have ruined it completely on Jewel🫠🤥) My mother is the more concerned type then me….😳🫣🤔 She refused to fly for over 20years. She is terrified if there are turbulence or anything not a4 standard during the flight. And she has never been a strong sailor or enjoyed the ocean as I or my father do. She’s very in the zone for is it safe??? So ship is okay, boat is a little more 😰😱 When I took her on Jewel of the seas we had a tender operation from the ship to the private island for a beach day. Nothing unusual and this would normally go well. We boarded the tender, left the ship and halfway to the island, the motor alarms went off. The motors stopped and we started to drift away in the wrong direction of the island and ship. The 3 crews onboard was definitely not from the senior department of stripes🙄🫠 My mother and a large group of US ladies was starting to be a bit concerned. They tried to restart the engines, but it only died out and the alarm was screaming🚨🚨🚨 It started to smell fuel heavy and they had NO control of the situation. After 25.mins they managed to get us to the island. My mother and the large ladies party were ready to take a life jacket and jump in the ocean. It was really a bad day at work and not well handelt. They did not call for back-up or help on the radio before we had been dipping around for 20.minutes. We were all half asleep of the fuel smell. When we took the tenders back, my mother was pale white and prayed all the way to get back safely. She was a nervous wreck the rest of the cruise and said NO tenders! The crew said nothing, no excuse or any questions if all were fine after this event on arrival on the island or back on the ship. Later that evening of the event, it was a Diamond and beyond party/senior officers and captain event. So I attended, my mother needed to have some downtime. On Jewel is was a Norwegian captain and Finnish engine officer. So I asked them if they were happy about today’s situation and that from a passenger’s view, the situation was very poor handled. I told them that my mother was very scared, same as the big group of the US ladies we had on our tender….. The next day, the captain came by our table during lunch. He was really sorry and told my mother that he was very sorry for the situation. It had been a leek on the fuel cable in the engine. And he completely understood that it was stressful situation for her and the others onboard the tender. So when I booked the Baltic cruise on Voyager, I made sure it wasn’t tender ports. And on this sailing….. I crossed my fingers for a smooth ride & uneventful🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 ❤️ X it all went perfectly! after arrival on the ship, I introduced her to the ice tea in Al Bacio👍🏻 Then it was time to prepare for evening chic🤩

Safe travels❤️ fingers crossed the rest goes easy😇 It’s a pleasure to follow your adventure☺️

So, not fitting the usual box on x😂😂 Thank you to the lovely crew😘😘 I’m not on holiday by my grandma 👵🏻 And I’m not a crew, it was a mumbling discussion during our tour in Avignon. Since I went by myself and not by another person😝 So eventually someone asked…. But I know I’m looking younger than my age🤣🤣🤣 #fishishealtyandgoodforyouandfreshair Happy Cruising⚓️

So we are in VilleFranche😎 It’s Rally Monte Carlo this weekend. So Monaco is packed and closed off heavily due to the racetrack and races. We have visited Monaco several times before, so no big deal for us. (When we are in Nice for a weekend getaway, we like to take a tour to Monaco for lunch) We don’t have a big need to go into Nice city centre either🙃 So we took it slow this morning, enjoying our anchor process from our balcony and then went down to breakfast in Blu around 8.30. It was quiet and the rush was definitely finished for breakfast. We had some coffee, fruit, yoghurt and omelette. After breakfast we went upstairs to get ready to leave the ship. Towels, beach wear and sunglasses packed, off we went😎 They hadn’t announced free tenders yet, so we went down to the meeting point for captain’s club priority tenders on deck 5. They had left a notification on our door last night. We waited 5.mins before we were escorted down to a tender. Really appreciate this perk as a benefit for my captain’s club level. Tender dropped us off in the city centre of VilleFranche. So easy to take the bus or train further. We walked by the city centre to the beach. You are passing the train station when you walk in the city centre (not down by the beach/waterfront) the platform to Monaco was packed, people were standing in the stairs up to the platform entrance. We continued down to the beach. Found a good spot and now we are staying here. Gone to the beach 🏖️ The beach has 3 bar/restaurants. So you can get something to drink & eat. If you walk by the ocean, it’s several places to eat & drink on the waterfront.

So, this sale you/aka non Nordic guests are able to utilise, it’s not available for me…. I checked all my future bookings and nothing is on sale/campaign. Just the usual discount they offer for pre booking. So again, your country of residence/booking is impacting your offer. So fingers crossed they will have something for me later😂😂😂

Thank you❤️ I will give you a status in a few days. as of now, she’s definitely not in worse shape then Mille just before she went to dry dock😉 One big thing that reveals the age are the lack of sliding doors/electric doors around the ship and water taps on sensors in public toilets😅

Good morning from VilleFranche😎 IMG_6696.mov

Today’s cruise compass Nice/Villefranche

⛈️⛈️⛈️ did I hear thunder🤔🤔🤔 Oh yes! Had a look in directions of Marseilles city centre…. All dark and heavy rain ☔️ Said to the Queen, we need to move😅 She looked up from the book and said… 😮 ohh, let’s walk🫡 So we moved to dry deck downstairs by the pool. Few minutes later the Sky opened up😝 and they started playing The weather girls, it’s raining men on the speaker’s😂🌧️🌧️🌧️ Tonight’s plan is show and dinner. It’s celebrity production show tonight, Broken Strings🎶🎶 I have seen it before, so we will see what this cast has to offer👍🏻 I really love the theatre of M-class. The sofas and tables are ❤️ (just missing Mr in the sofa😂) The cast and musicians did a good job. It will be fun to see the rest of the production shows. Captain was running by before the show to say 👋🏻 hello and to present some of his senior officers. We went straight from the show to dinner. Senior officers was out and about when we walked from the theatre to Blu. No line, so perfect👍🏻 Same zone as last night. Taken good care of by Alex and his teammates. We had the salmon tartare and barramundi. For dessert Lava cake and no sugar panna cotta. Entrée and main course was excellent, on target of perfect! The dessert was not bad, but the lava cake was cold and the banana would be much better if it was heated properly before it’s glacéd. The description of the panna cotta and what’s actually served is not completely matching. The toppings are not super. The red sauce/ raspberry coulis is definitely not perfect. So minor detail’s, but it’s important details🫡🤓 After dinner it was bedtime time😴

I returned to the ship 14.00. The weather was clearing up and the sun was shining. You can really feel the difference in temperature for gray or sun out. The Queen was finished on the meeting and was waiting for me in Al Bacio😊 Ohh, what did I see in today’s selection of cake??? 😋😋😋 🍋 🍋 Lemon Tarts😍 the good edition, the plain style NO meringue topping😍👍🏻👏🏻🫶🏻 (I’m doomed…) so of course I had to have one😁 The Queen went for today’s sugar free option. A really lovely profiterole😊 looking like a small piece of art🤩 After the coffee we decided to walk upstairs to our room. The weather was good, so we decided to get some salad for lunch and find a lounger on deck. They were going to play some live music on pool deck. So it’s nice to just relax a bit her😎

Travel time from the port to Avignon is 1h 15.min. We arrived around 10.00. When we left Marseilles, it stopped raining. On arrival Avignon it was all gray. Avignon city centre is a walled city/ UNESCO World heritage site. It’s 7 gates in. The bus drops and picked up at the same gate. It’s not possible to take a larger bus inside the city centre. It’s a 5.minute walk to the pop square. It’s a toilet stop on arrival. Tour started at the Pop’s palace. It’s 25 rooms. Video/pictures are forbidden in painted rooms. (It’s painted and covered in mosaics) Beautiful🤩 So pictures are only allowed in the non decorated rooms. The tour in the palace was 1h. After the tour, it was free time for 50.mins before departure back to the ship. It was drizzle outside☔️☔️☔️ I took a quick tour in the pedestrian shopping area before it was time to return to the bus. meet a fluffy friend🐈‍⬛ On the square next to the palace is the cathedral. This tour has several stairs and uneven walk. It says in the tour info: must be able to walk stairs during the tour. There are no elevators. On arrival going into the palace, the first victim of “not a good walker, don’t lift the feet” fell up the stairs….. It went good👍🏻 But you need to pay attention and be a good walker. If it’s too hard to walk stairs on the ship, this is not a good tour for you! The majority of guests on this tour had a hard time walking up and down the stairs, since they are uneven and taller than a new staircase. So our guide was keeping a sharp eye on those struggling. I case they were falling. All-in-all a decent tour, it’s a teaser of Avignon. It would be nice if it had a bit more time in Avignon before returning to the ship. So now we are on the way back to Marseilles⚓️

Stopped by the lovely crew in Al Bacio to have a Espresso Macchiato☕️ (need to get the day started) Was quiet as a hunting cat when I went up from bed. (No need to wake up the Queen, the thunder will do it😂😂😂) Today’s tour is booked last minute yesterday. The tours offered onboard are less options than online in the cruise planner. So if you find a tour online you like, book it. It’s not always offered onboard. So it was only 2- options that I haven’t visited before. So today’s tour is: Destination Highlight Avignon and Pop’s Palace. Paperwork says 6h the app says 5h. Time will tell😉

Good morning from a ⛈️☔️⛈️ Marseilles! It’s thundering and raining ☔️ The show started around 5.30am🤩 I’m in the zoo eating breakfast. Some plain yoghurt and a croissant 🥐 The Queen is sleeping in before the meeting😴😴😴

Tonight’s show was stand-up, Phil Walker. He was fun and entertaining. Maybe not everyone’s humour😂😂😂 We went from the show to dinner in Blu. It was not crowded and we had a nice table in the back of the restaurant. We went for the fish & seafood theme🦐🐟 We had the octopus and shrimp soup for starters. We both had the red snapper🐟🐟 For dessert…… 🥁 drumroll please! Ice cream and espresso macchiato👍🏻 All tasted excellent and presented good. Now it’s time for bed😴 Update from service team Mr Norwaylady: Water is back👍🏻 no leeks, a piece of metal was to close to the sensor, so it was mistakenly detected as water😂😂 Everyone happy👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Tomorrow we had planned to take the shuttle to Marseilles city centre… But the Queen needs to attend a important meeting from 11-13🫡 (she was notified today) So a change of plan🙃 The Queen will sleep in and then attend the meeting….. I have booked myself an excursion to Avignon & Pope’s palace…. Mr & I have visited Cassis, Luberon, Aix etc. So this is a new adventure👍🏻 It’s meeting time 08.00 in the theatre. Today’s paperwork:

Okey, I had to ask for assistance from i-lounge…. WiFi urgent needed during the evening🚨🚨🚨 And when we leave the local connection it’s a problem😳 My brother called the Queen…. The water alarm had closed off the water in his home and it was screaming🚨🚨🚨. (My younger brother is not 100% perfect…. He had a bumpy start of his life, so he has some defects of this. He is living by himself, but he needs help from time to time) So we called technical department😄 aka Mr Norwaylady🤩👍🏻 He is on the way for service and helping him out🤓🏎️🔨🔧 Fingers crossed it’s nothing wrong, just a sensor eager in service😇 WiFi connection: On this ship it’s impossible to use the WiFi if you have your settings to private. Speedtest from the theatre

NO🤣🤣🤣 We have not had a visit from our stateroom attendant yet… So I hope X will come by before we go for show & dinner. (need to empty the mini bar… my mother needs it for some medical things)

Sharing is caring? YES👍🏻 Since I’m in Europe, my cellphone work just as home. So what I need my included basic WiFi for is sending messages to Mr Norwaylady late in the evenings when I’m not able to connect to “local” cellular service. (It’s nice to be able to send him a good night message😘) As of now, the router by our stateroom has the same issue as the pool deck…. So this will be interesting to see if it will be functional🤔🤔🤔 The biggest problem is that I’m not allowed to use the app as wanted. Since I need to be logged onto the WiFi😣

We have spent the day on a sun lounger by the pool. I picked up some salad and fruit from the buffet for lunch outside😎 It was crowded in the buffet😝 I tried to connect to the WiFi by the pool…. Let’s just say they need more capacity at the routers AND they need to reboot them🤓 (this is in Norwegian, but it means that the routers are full of clients and that you need to reboot it for updates) I went down to an empty Cafe Al Bacio🤔 Good for me🤩 Me & Al Bacio Crew is of to a great start🥰 At 14.30 I went to the stateroom to see if our bags were dropped off. 1 out 2 had arrived😝 Lucky me, it was mine👍🏻 So I have unpacked✔️ Paperwork in our stateroom: Todays Program:

So we walked to the cruise bus. All flat and easy walking by suitcases on wheels. We are the only ship in port today🤩🥳 Dropped off our bags 11.25 and checked in 2.mins later. It has to be a first time for everything…. We received a waiting group😅🤭 number 14. They were calling group 7 when we entered the building. And it was quick up to 9. They also handed out the information paper we received by mail 2-weeks ago. Reminding everyone that Giro d Italia is closing off Rome. So X has cancelled all tours in the city centre. But they have lots of offers to other locations. Special for this sailing. We waited 15.mins before they called group 12-16👍🏻 So we are officially onboard⚓️ Bags are dropped off, sign is up, card’s collected and muster station is beeped✔️💃🏻🥳 0282C67E-4094-4880-9660-6F71E8568DAC.mov The Queen has walked the spa and introduced for Persian Garden🤩👍🏻✔️ Now it’s time to lean back in a sun lounger😎🥰🥳 Cheers to a great cruise🥂

Hope you had a fabulous last night onboard! and that it went smooth this morning❤️⚓️ Thank you for a great live report🥰👍🏻

Goood Morning! What day is it???? It’s CRUISING DAY🥳💃🏻⚓️ We are up and jumping🤩 ( maybe not the Queen😅 She doesn’t share my enthusiasm for early mornings😂) We slept good and the beds/room has everything we need. Breakfast is included in the price. It’s buffet style. It’s fruit, cold cuts, bakery items , cheese, yoghurt, juices, coffee & tea. So everything you need🍴 Attached is a map of our hotel location and cruise bus. It’s 400m walking distance on flat ground. The 🔵 dots are our hotel and bus stop. A metro map And Barcelona Bus Turistico sightseeing bus. Map of routes. Their stop and service Center is 150m away from the hotel. All flat walking. Our hotel gave us a paper of their tour partners they use/can book in the reception or you can book directly online. Now it’s time to do some last minute duties on work before we head to the port! Sea you onboard⚓️💃🏻🤩

Looking forward to your adventure⚓️😎🤩 as said before, the sail in/out of Stockholm is gorgeous🤩

After dropping off the bags and a light change off clothes. We went out for a little walk and some coffee. We went to the Bacilica of our lady Mercy, then had some coffee outside on the placa. After our coffee break we took a in The Gothic area and then along the ocean before we went back to our room. (It’s not to warm for me🤣 so need to get a sweater) Tonight we are having dinner together by a friend of mine from university. She is working on a project in chemical engineering at a laboratory in Barcelona. So she’s living in Barcelona for a period. So very happy to be able to see her for dinner and a chat❤️ We had a lovely dinner at Sensi Tapas. Recommend to book a table in advance. It’s a very popular place. Great food & service🍴 Some of our delicious plates for sharing and their own wine aperitif: Tomorrow is CRUISING DAY⚓️😎🚢 💃🏻 We have 12.00pm check in time. (That’s super early for me😂🤭 normally Mr & I are the latest to walk the gangway;) So we will have an easy morning, breakfast and then walk over to the cruise bus.

So we parked at A26, just a short walk up the escalator to the LH Biz Lounge. It’s one of the smaller lounges they have in FRA. But they have showers, a decent staffed bar. And a selection of coffee, tea, cold beverage and food. It was still breakfast service. So scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, yoghurt, cold cuts, cheese, croissants , baguette and melon. So we had some coffee and fruit. (Unfortunately it was fruit salad 🍍🍍🍍 no go for me🥴) Our next flight to BCN is an A321Neo, Biz 2+2, Eco 3+3. It leaves from A24, so very convenient from the lounge. When we arrived on gate for boarding, they announced that it will be a 20.min delay before they start boarding due to gate change….. Flight was overbooked, so completely full😅 no empty middle seat🙃 We left the gate 11.30 and take-off 11.45. This flight has same service concept as last flight. (But this flight had catering delivered😌) Water bottle was delivered out just after the seatbelt sign was switched off and the complimentary chocolate. No WiFi on this aircraft. The red eye Blues kicked in during the flight😴 So a small power nap on the way. We touch down in BCN at 13.30. Bags arrived on the belt asap when we walked into arrival. So out in a taxi at 14.05 and checked in at our hotel 14.35😎 The hotel Medinaceli looks good. Large room and very friendly staff.