twotravellersLondon

And what a cruise that was... do you remember the standing ovation that he received from the passenger ?

Our brochure ended on the doormat this morning... with quite a thud...it's a heavy one! Not only has the FOCL website been revamped and made a bit more attractive the new brochure is beautifully produced. Lots of inspiration; pics and very well set out and ordered pages. Some of the print on pp136-138 is a bit small... in the old days editors would never ever have allowed that. Looking at the prices for cruises from Rosyth... much the same next year as they are this year... so initial thoughts are positive. Cruising to Iceland from Rosyth is from about £164 pppn. Rosyth is a little more expensive than sailing from Liverpool where a similar cruise is only from about £158 a night... but it's like that this season as well. But... nowhere near as expensive as making the trip South.

Probably best to look at a good travel agents site... one in mind... but CC will not allow us to name travel agents by name. Suggest that you do a search... key words might include... Seabourn, Windstar, Azmara, Ambassador, Oceanana and Silver Sea... or even "Cruises Departing From Rosyth." Having been brought up on the North-East coast of Scotland and lived in Aberdeen for a few years after we were married... we know full well the additional problems of having to get to places like Southampton to join a cruise! Good luck. Hope that you find something that you like.

Now had another look... and there are eight Balmoral cruises listed from Rosyth in 2025... the same number as in 2018 when we were last interested. So no drop in the number of FOCL cruises. FOCl's schedules for 2025 are already published. The Balmoral is doing the rounds of Rosyth, Newcastle and Southampton and there seems to be no opportunity for other cruises from Rosyth to be added. The two other FOCL ships are also fully tasked. The big difference is that there are now more cruise companies leaving from the Rosyth/Leith/Edinburgh area than there was in the past... so there seems to be a greater choice.

Just have a look at the FOCL website. There are 6 cruises on the Balmoral from Rosyth advertised for the summer of 2025. They include the Scottish Isles and the West Country, Norway, the Baltic, Iceland and a one-night mini-cruise. Balcony cabins are available on the cruise that we've looked at.

Many thanks for your clear and concise facts. Elsewhere, there seems to be a lot of rumour, supposition and speculation over the tinkling tea-cups about what may happen at Bar Harbor but things could well be clarified by the Town of Bar Harbor in the very near future... even this week. You might already know that there's already a Memorandum Of Agreement between the Town of Bar Harbor and the cruise lines. That is; an agreement will be made each year covering all bookings of ships which plan to visit in the 18 months following a schedule being agreed. These Memorandum Of Agreements are signed with each cruise line annually In 2021, any combination of cruise ships booked between May 1 and October 30th of a season had to be at or below the daily caps based on the published lower berth capacity for each ship. That was; 3,800 for May, June, September, and October and 3,500 for July and August. (The lower berth idea is a very American thing... if the lower berths are sold the ship would been at 100% capacity (loading) and additional passengers in upper berths could well push the loading well over 100%.) However... an essential part of this Memorandum Of Agreement was that the Harbor Master would stop accepting reservations of any additional ships once the monthly caps (based on accumulation of the published lower berth capacity of each booked ship) had been filled: 30,000 for May 40,000 for July 65,000 for September: 30,000 for June 40,000 for August 65,000 for October. At the time this Memorandum Of Agreement was made in 2021, bookings made prior to July 21, 2021 were to be honoured... even if they exceeded the agreed limits. This Memorandum Of Agreement was to be effective from September 21, 2022 for scheduling of the calendar year 2023 and 2024 cruise seasons. A review was due in November 2023, at the end of the 2023 season with a view to scheduling the 2025 season. What people who are less well informed need to know is... in November 2022 folks living in Bar Harbour voted for a cap of just 1,000 passengers a day with other restrictions on cruise ships and the operators of the pier. As you've helpfully explained, On 29 February 2024 Federal Judge Lance Walker on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine ruled that the limit on the number of cruise passengers was legal and could be enforced by the town council. Harbor Bar Town officials are reported to have said they were pleased with the ruling and that they would provide more information after a scheduled town meeting in the first week of March 2024. It's difficult not to have mixed emotions about this one... a feeling of empathy with cruise passengers who may not have the same opportunity to visit Bar Harbor, as others have had in the past, and the residents of Bar Harbor who have to navigate thousands of cruisers a day in their small community. Sadly for us... we're in the former group!

Wet, cold and grey but what better a day to get in the mood for a warm balmy evening in Athens in the middle of July... July? Who else but us would have tickets for a Midsummer Night's Dream in Stratford upon Avon for this evening? Perhaps the Tempest or A Winter's Tale would be more appropriate! As we navigate through the wind, the rain, the sleet and the possibility of snow... with tomorrow's forecast looking like 1˚C or 2˚C at best and feeling more like -1˚C or -2˚C... the RSC will need to conjure all of its considerable talents to create the atmosphere of an olive in Athens tonight! We've remembered not to pack sunglasses. Hope all are well!

It's a cold 5˚C. It's rainy hard and there's a blustery wind. Major grocery delivery due... but... there are Almond Croissants and "hot Lava Java" coffee for breakfast! Hope all are looking forward to the weather improving!

We did. It was the "Crocodile Walk" in those days holding on to the shoulder of the person in front and shuffling to the lifeboat. We did suggest to one Cruise Director that we should make it into the a "Caribbean Conga"... but our suggestion was never taken up!

When we did something very similar we were well looked after... especially as we had to change cabins as well. All of the lounges were available and the tea/coffee stations were fully operational. Lunch was provided in the dining room... it was the full works... and there was wine and beer on request if we wanted it. It was obvious that there were contractors, port officials and other visitors on board and they were also fed very well. Afternoon tea was served just as the first new passengers began to arrive. Our new cabin was available early afternoon. We were free to come and go from the ship as we pleased. Our post from home was delivered to the ship's reception (by arrangement) for us to collect. Our new cabin was available from about 10.30 am and our cases were in there when we arrived. The only downside... the ship did feel a bit lonely and the corridors were full of linen. However that was pre-covid... times may well have changed.

Like you we were at Reynold's Pier (James Bond Pier) when we visited Ocho Rios a few years ago and now you've jogged the memories we decided to begin a blitz of all of the Bond films from start to finish... one a week! One of us (a keen reader at the time who'd read all of the Ian Fleming's Bond books) saw the first Bond film at its release in the town hall of a tiny place on the East coast of Scotland one cold, wet Saturday. It was... totally amazing... not just the Bond action bits... but being transported to the Caribbean... it was "a million miles away"... so totally different from our own rugged bit of Scottish coastline... and it was beyond our wildest dreams to ever be able to visit such a place... unless we joined the navy! So last night... your post was the inspiration for the beginning of our personal Bond "season"... starting at the beginning... with Dr No... and there was the pier, "in all its glory"... complete later with what was state of the art pyrotechnics in 1962. So one picture, a passing comment... will now provide us with hours of entertainment over the next few weeks and months. Many Thanks!

We've heard him a couple of times... very much to our taste... a very talented musician.

Good? Morning.... 10C... coolish... greyish and it looks like it will be rainyish... but it's... Leap Year! So... we're going to have fun. Tonight a Belgian meal of rabbit with croquettes... with a suitable starter and a Tarte Tatin for pud... What some people will do just to crack open a bottle or two of Belgian beer! For those who were born on this date.... "Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday & Happy Birthday again!" Hope all are wel!

There are times that it's better not to be down "wind!"

Three hours down but one day up... must be chaos at the international date line.😅😅

Another great post.

Another great post. We remember that train well... good way to check that the dental fillings are all secure!

We were there a few months ago. From Stadsgården It's also a short walk to the Line 2 bus that's 20 minutes to the Opera. A taxi took less that 5 minutes... there's the Line 82 ferry across to the Vasa and the ABBA Museums. The ferry ran every half-hour and cost about £5. Things have changed very rapidly in the Baltic since St Petersburg was dropped from cruise itineraries... and almost ever ship that now doesn’t visit St Petersburg requires two nights in berths elsewhere in the Baltic... in locations where there are facilities and the potential for excursions. That's put enormous pressure on quays and caused immense concern about environmental issues... so much so that the EU is financing quays and power connections. Stockholm is looking for Stadsgården to be the major cruise quay. When we were there, they were building the facilities at Stadsgården quay berths 167 and 160 makes ports of Stockholm the first port in Sweden to offer cruise ships onshore power connection... that will remove 6,000 tonnes of cruise-ship exhaust gasses from the centrum ever year. So the emphasis is on making Stadsgården accessible. Sometime cruise-ships go to the adjacent Masthamnen Cruise Terminal but it's also equally well commented to the centrum and the museum area. There were lots of shuttle busses when we were there... but many people also used the public transport system.

We had posted without knowing which cruise you were on. This might be useful... https://thehiddennorth.com/highlights-of-alesund-self-guided-walking-tour/ Have a great time.

Just... inspirational!

Morrisons is about 1000 yards from the cruise quay... and many of the shops aren't much further. It's a level enough, easy walk but can be a bit uncomfortable if it's a hot day. We've watched as people have panted back to the ship with heavy bags of duty free and others have arrived back by taxi... so it's very much a matter of personal choice.

Earlier this morning it was 3˚C, bright, sunshine and the Bluetits were taking turns at the birdfeeder outside the kitchen window. We enjoyed it as long as it lasted... now we have a yellow weather warning for rain... and are looking forward to sorting out some more cruise-holiday photos. Best Wishes to all.

That's just so true. An excellent post! It's the sense of community, the sense of history, the sense of belonging, the sense of who people are that so important. `these circles, parishes, communities... where people were baptised and became members of the church, where they were confirmed in the faith, where there met their partners, were marries, presented their children in from of their friends, the community and the congregation for baptism and invited the love of God and the support of the assembled folks was and is immensely important. Funerals are also Immensely important... a change to say goodbye to long time friends with the surety that folks will meet again on the day that the trumpet will sound. Many of us, but certainly not all of us, live in a world that we just don't understand the intricate and complex interrelationship between people/faith/culture & history. In so many places, as our friends in the Caribbean will testify, churches and parishes are an integral part of who people, families and communities are... and have always been. In our opinion, it's quite a privilege for a casual tourist to be offered an insight.

Another really great post that brought back memories of when we were in Ocho Rio’s a few years ago. We took an excursion to Strawberry Hill where Bob Marley hung out after the attempt on his life. (It's now a rather expensive watering hole where the super-hyped "Gods" of the music world, such as Madonna, hang out with their entourages.) The busses were exactly as you describe them, so were the prices and the lateness of the return to the ship... and we did use the "James Bond Pier!" We visited the Taj Mahal shopping centre... where we were encouraged to haggle for... diamonds! Not on our shopping list that day! However... hindsight is a wonderful thing... and we're left with very happy memories. Thanks so much for reigniting our interest.

Even pre-pandemic Norway was virtually a cashless society and it's now even more so. We were up there last year and visited Bergen, Ålesund, Tromsø, Honningsvåg, the North Cape and Alta... didn't use cash anywhere. People seem to prefer cards. All of the taxis take cards, museums are free or take cards and even in the churches... donations are welcomed by card. In some cases cash is simply declined... just like in many places in the UK... especially London. Evening tourist markets... not that many will be open at this time of the year, take cards. In Tromsø bus tickets are available from the Tourist office. Walking in Tromso... you may need to take the shuttle up to the city centre nut from there there is a very attrative walk along the main street and down to the shore and harbour. there are really good views over to Tromsdalen Kirk (Nicknamed "the Arctic Cathedral") It you want to see the real cathedral it's in the center of town by the Ferry Quay. Waking in Honningsvåg just follow the coast line and the harbour... it's very atmospheric. There is a Christmas shop and a very bohemian cafe/bar to look out for. Walking in Bergen... We've been to Bergen lots of time over the years and have sometimes stayed there these are some suggestions within easy walking distance of the cruise terminal... From the main cruise terminal, it's just a couple of minutes’ walk to the fortress which is immediately outside. It was virtually destroyed when a German ship blew up in the harbour during the second world war but has been rebuilt. There's a park, military museum. banqueting hall and tower with good views. About 100 yards further on there's UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Bryggen... a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings dating back a 1,000 years and lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour. It is a world class must-see site and has lots of museums, shops, restaurants and pubs. Be sure to penetrate the alleyways. About 100 yards further towards town and the end of the harbour there's a very classy McDonalds. Call to fame... Bill Clinton once sneaked in unannounced for a burger! From there turn left up Vetrlidsallmenningen and in less that 100 yards you'll find the Fløibanen... a cable car that takes tourists of a trip to the top of the mountain... sensational views... when it's clear. If you have the time, there are some interesting walks down the peninsula to the west of the harbour and some good views back to the Bryggen and there's the Akvariet i Bergen - Det Nasjonale Akvariet (Aquarium) at the end. Alternatively from either the Bryggen or the Fløibanentake take the Øvregatenl behind Bryggen and the Fortress to Mariakiken and then up the hill along Nye Sandviksveien... take the turning to the left down Skuteviksveien. This is a very pretty traditional street with some houses dating from the 1700s... the strange cobbles in the middle are to help horses in the snow... we've found them to be ideal for elderly tourists in the wet! At the end you'll come across the wharfs and refurbished warehouses around Skutevik. From one of the wharfs by the Seaman's mission... brilliant views towards your ship... and with luck... Eider Ducks on the water. (Hooded Crows are everywhere!) There's a sneaky way back to the ship via the beach and on a DIY board walk at the back of a shed or you might prefer the road... either way... it's only a few minutes. The sail away can be stunning in the right light and weather... we try to be on deck. A few pics to whet the appetite... Tromsø... Ålesund... Bergen... Alta... If you can sleep out overnight,,, we're done it five time n different places... just amazing... especially when the lights come out. North Cape... Honningsvåg... And keep looking out... we saw the lights on six consecutive nights... mostly were most others were in bed! We hope that you have a really great time.