Sleep7

👋Wow.. just skimmed (and will go back and read more carefully when I have time) your absolutely amazing reporting of what was truly a Magical Mystery Tour. The details, the photos and the continuity truly captures a time in all of our lives that were unprecedented. Viking really outdid itself in taking care of their flock in a world wide emergency. What a journey.. what a story that you recorded and reported. I'm truly wowed! 👏BRAVO!👏

👋Hi Heidi13! I'm following this thread with great interest! Did you say that you were on the cruise with only a handful of others? What happened? Were they sick? When was this? Please fill me in!😊

The American West is a true treasure.. I agree. We flew into Salt Lake City and then drove north into Idaho for a night and then east onto Jackson, Wyoming and the Grand Tetons and then back down to Salt Lake City. So many wonderful destinations to see at home and abroad.. it's hard to narrow down where to go next.😊

Thank you so much for your sweet compliments on both threads Travel R! I'm so glad that my review was helpful. 🤗 Also thanks for the new phrase I have learned in Hebrew. I had to google the meaning and now it shall stay with me. I'm pondering and pondering what I would have changed on our cruise.. I know it sounds kooky but I don't think I would have changed anything. It really all was as happy and trouble free as my blog made it out to be. Every day just sailed along so pleasantly at just the right pace. I will keep thinking though and if I come up with anything I will post again.

👋Hi again OnTheJourney! So funny you mention your Baltic cruise as being one of the best. We actually were booked on a Baltic cruise at the end of June and when that got cancelled we moved our trip to the Viking Ancient Treasures of the Mediterranean cruise that I had blogged about. Maybe someday we shall get to Russia.. 🤷‍♀️ Also a coincidence that you mentioned that Utah is one of your fave trips too. We just came back from a week in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming and it was wonderful.😊

Oh thanks for the sweet shout out Peregrina651! 😍 Of course I'm happy to answer any questions you have Travel R. 😊

Ahhh.. from your mouth to Viking's ears.. wouldn't that be sweet.🛳️ Thank you so much flare3192! I"m so glad that my blog made your trip to be come alive. You will just LOVE your first Viking cruise! I always feel the first time is always the most wondrous. And made even more special that you are celebrating 30 years of cruising life together.😍 The one you booked is a doozy! 3 weeks aboard.. I'm very very jealous.😊 A perfect way to spend your anniversary. Have the best time ever and enjoy enjoy enjoy!!

Baltimore would be kinda far for us but Bayonne is a pretty easy drive on the weekends. We have cruised from there a few times. Now most of the cruises we take are in Europe and I'm ALWAYS thankful that our home airport is JFK. That westbound flight home is L O N G and I always feel so bad for those people connecting beyond New York. Especially the west coasters. I guess they feel sorry for us when a flight lands from Hawaii to California and they are home but we still have a day of travel to go.😄

👋Hi KTRaveller! I'm so glad that you enjoyed "sailing" along with me.. thanks for your compliments. Wow.. you have a lot of wonderful cruises coming up in the near and far future.. that's awesome. It's so nice to capture the daily pleasure so you can share the smiles with others and also refer back to them in the future when you want to remember the fun!😊 I have done a few blogs like this in the past and all on Cruise Critic. The earliest one from 2014 (which was probably the least "professional" one as it was a learning experience) seems to have lost most of the pictures but the others from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 are all intact. I can still pull them up to enjoy just by clicking on the links to them. I don't have them saved in any other way. Your Grand European River Cruise is coming up so soon!! Enjoy every moment!!!

Ahh... not having to fly is a huge plus. Baltimore and Bayonne would be my number one choices too!😊

I will be truly honored.🤗

Oh yay OnTheJourney! So glad that you found this Azamara blog.. our last cruise before COVID. A simpler time for sure. Have you ever sailed with Azamara? Way back in 2010 we sailed on our first Mediterranean cruise aboard the Quest with Captain Carl. We have had a multitude of fantastic cruises with them... a marvelous cruise line indeed!!!👏

😁Actually I made up "Around the World in 8000 Days" when I saw how long their blog was. If I ever start one of my own now I have a title.👍 One (or both) of us not feeling well while away is always a fear in the back of my mind.. a fear that will probably only get worse the older we get I suppose. I guess that's life. There are always limiting factors.. whether it's time off from work or health issues or available funds. So now with both of us at 60 I hope to travel as much as we can.. DH is a little less enthusiastic as he just would like to relax at home on a week he takes off from work. Hahaaa.. not if I can help it! 😆

Ahhaaaa! Didn't realize the blog was "Around the World in 8000 Days!" 🤣 So interesting about being stranded abroad during COVID.. what a fright. At this point DH is still working so going away for a large block of time is a no go. Sometime in the future though.. would be nice to get away for at least 2 weeks at a time.😊

Oooo! So interesting! I will read through it tonight. Thanks for the link!!!😊

💁‍♀️Well thanks again OnTheJourney! I am so happy that this blog seems to have been just the right balance of photos, storytelling, and a sense of humor. And yes.. I do agree that running your own blog is a lot of work.. I think however think the rewards could be great. I'm a little stymied (and a touch lazy) about creating one. I do have three 20something daughters who would be happy to help me get started, as I'm a little technically challenged, but I guess that this existing Cruise Critic set up is something I am able to do by myself and it scratches my itch to "publish." I also totally agree that successful travel blogging on ones own site has to be done every day to be current, while this forum can be done after I get home and the laundry is done.🤗

Hello geordi_jim! We embarked in Athens on June 25th and we needed a COVID test to board the ship. It seemed like it could have been taken it before leaving home or they were providing free ones on the spot when we got to the port. We were asked if we had been tested within the last 24 or 72 hours and we said no. So we were sent to the testing area a few yards away from the outdoor check in area. Although it was unexpected (because I didn't do my homework.. my bad) it was very easy and took only 10 or 15 minutes. I'm sure things change daily so hopefully somebody who has boarded in Greece closer to your cruise will chime in as that might be more accurate for a sailing in October. Good luck! Have fun!

👋Hi Sunflower &The Scientist! Thank you so much for your detailed and balanced review.. I found it so interesting! Would love to do a Great Lakes cruise one day.😃

Thursday is found!🤩

Hello! Actually I think I do! Didn’t realize that I left Thursday out. I will post them as soon as I get to my home computer.😃

👋Well thanks so much OnTheJourney! What an amazing compliment that is and I am truly touched at what you wrote. My husband and daughters frequently tell me that I should start a travel blog but inertia has gotten the best of me so far. It's always lurking in the back of my head though.. I do write travel articles gratis for a local print and online magazine and it's a fun past time. https://www.etweekmedia.com/author/claudia-fenner/ Those articles are only about 400 words so they don't afford much room for the nitty gritty details like the reports on Cruise Critic which I much prefer. Can't wax on about hair dryers and empty laundry rooms with a 400 word limit!🤭 Thank you again for your very sweet post.🤗

👋 Oh thanks so much for the compliments sleepygirl1! I'm so glad that my review was helpful and made you extra excited about your upcoming cruise. October will be here before you know it.. enjoy every moment!😃

👋Hi shorton!! I'm sooo glad that you enjoyed my blog and that it made you anticipate with a smile your upcoming cruise in October! Even better is that you will have twice the fun as yours is twice as long. October is coming soon.. thank you and enjoy enjoy enjoy!!😃

Oh thanks so much for your kind words Ontario/AZ!! I'm so glad that my blog made you extra excited about your trip. And what a trip it is! Wow.. a month at sea and pre and post extensions. Lucky you!!!! I love Viking Ocean too and it's wonderful that you have leisure to fully such a long and lovely sailing. We were on the end of your cruise last fall (from Barcelona to Rome) and I did a very similar blog about that if you are interested. Here is the link. Thank you again and enjoy every moment!!

Hi! Don't fret.. the same thing happened to us a month ago. We just went to Guest Services on the first or second day of the cruise and by that time they had added on extra departures for the sold out included tour.😃