Roll Call-Silver Cloud 1-16 July, Norwegian Fjords

[gdlamberth]

Well, I know there are several of us who've posted indicating we're on this cruise. Thought it might be worth while to get all in one place.

 

We are three. Myself, my wife Gretchen and cousin Cheryl. We've done four cruises together on Regent and this will be our first time on Silversea. We are mid 50-mid 60 range who like "outdoorsy" sorts of things. I've been following the postings of duct tape and others regarding Cloud pretty closely. Only trepidation we have is regarding "smoking rules." Don't care to be around it much but in past cruises (before Regent restricted smoking in suites and balconies) we've been able to avoid. Only fear is if the folks "upwind" from us smoke a lot on their balcony.

 

We arrive in Copenhagen on 30 June and are staying near the train station. Gretchen and I have been to Copenhagen before but this will be Cheryl's first trip there. Post cruise we're staying over at a farmhouse in Jutland (near Arhus) for 3 days and on the beach at a B&B in Skane for 3 more days.

 

We have reserved excursions for the North Cape trip and Flam to Gudvangen overland trip. I think that may be all the ship's excursions we take.

 

Love to hear from anyone else going.

Greg

[poolcat]

Three here, also: my husband, mother and myself. Mom has been to Norway, but it has been many years ago. It is one place that she has always wanted to return to. We are all veterans of Silversea. Our plans are to arrive on the 30th (Hilton) and give my husband a whirlwind tour of Copenhagen before we embark (my mother and I were there four years ago). From everything that I have read and heard, this is going to be a fantastic destination and voyage. We look forward to meeting you and your family.

Carol Ann

[TLCOhio]

We are three. Myself, my wife Gretchen and cousin Cheryl. We've done four cruises together on Regent and this will be our first time on Silversea. We are mid 50-mid 60 range who like "outdoorsy" sorts of things. We arrive in Copenhagen on 30 June and are staying near the train station. Gretchen and I have been to Copenhagen before but this will be Cheryl's first trip there. Post cruise we're staying over at a farmhouse in Jutland (near Arhus) for 3 days and on the beach at a B&B in Skane for 3 more days. Love to hear from anyone else going. Greg

 

THANKS, Greg, for starting this post and offering the added info! It's also good to hear from Carol Ann/Poolcat. On this cruise, DuctTape is super famous from his many postings on the long, long journey around South America and up to the USA on the Silver Cloud now. I've also seen posts from Mayflower1 from Essex England with many Silversea and Silver Cloud sailings; the super sailing king Conte Di Savoia from Bay Shore, NY; RichardMK from Nevada. I am sure we'll be hearing from more.

 

My wife and I have only done two cruises. We're almost "newbies" compared to some of these super experienced veterans. Our first cruise was in late June 2006 on Seabourn Spirit from Athens to Istanbul, enjoying three Greek Isles and two stops along the Turkish Coast with added time in both of those historic capitals before and after the cruise. Then, in late July and early August 2008, we did Crystal Symphony for eleven days from Dover to Stockholm, seeing the key Baltic Capitals, plus St. Petersburg and Moscow. It has all been great fun and very enjoyable!!! On that Baltics cruise, we did have a nice and interesting day in Oslo and then a super day in Copenhagen. I also had a little extra "education" about Norway from a luncheon meeting prior to that cruise with the former 2001-05 US Ambassador to this country. He's from the Akron area. I learned lots about the unusual role of their King in their government, Norway's important roles during World War II and their current, significant oil production. And during the recent Winter Olympics, Norway, especially for a country with only 4.7 million people, did super well with their harvesting of medals.

 

Another couple from Columbus, Ohio, will be traveling with us. They are best friends and will be using this trip to celebrate their 40th anniversary. They love to do lots of birding and have an in-law-to-be now living in Copenhagen. I like to take lots of pictures and enjoy the history and architecture of these many places. We've been to twenty different countries in Europe, mostly by land tours, including multiple times to many of the key cities. I do lots of posting on another website for France, Italy, etc. Look forward to learning and hearing more from others.

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Mayflower1]

Good morning folks. My wife & I, together with our good friends from Boca Raton will be embarking this trip in Copenhagen. We have visited some of the Norwegian fjords before but have not travelled as far north as The North Cape. We look forward to having fun aboard and to enjoying this truly scenic area ( hopefully in good weather - always a gamble !!! ).

 

Now that Duct Tape has advised that Colin will not be our CD, we await news with interest - hopefully it will be someone who will whip up support for Trivia & Golf putting !!!

 

We are meeting our friends in London, then heading for a few days in Copenhagen ( an excellent city for sightseeing & wandering ) prior to embarkation. We look forward to meeting you around the Ship and wish everyone a superb and safe time.

[duct tape]

Hi, everyone! I am still here. Another beautiful day in St Lucia. Off on the ferry to lunch at the Coal Pot. See you all in Copenhagen!

[newlondon]

Hi gdlamberth, May I suggest 2 other shore excursions. The summer farm in the mountains is both beautiful and interesting. We did a slightly different version of overland from hellesylt to geiranger, and it is a lot of riding in a bus, but the scenery is unbelievable and the styrnefjell road is almost a must see. There are many other good ones and imo you made 2 good choices.

[gdlamberth]

newlondon,

Which port had the "summer farm in the mountains" you described? And you said wanted to suggest two other shore excursions; I guess I didn't understand which was the second.

 

As an aside what excursions is everyone else planning??

 

 

 

As another aside, don't know if anyone has looked at any astronomical web sites checking sunrise/sunset or beginning/end of nautical twilight (enough light to still see the horizon so mariners can still take star shots (for us old timers who did that before GPS)); but it appears we'll have continuous twilight from about 2 AM on 4 July until the evening of 12 July and won't see sunset from 6 July until 11 July (I may be off a day or so since I can only guess about our latitude on a particular day).

 

poolcat, just out of curiosity when are you getting in on the 30th? Gretchen and I live in the mountains of SE Arizona and Cheryl a bit east of Los Angeles. Sot we are flying via LAX and ORD to CPH so we can link up with Cheryl. We don't get into CPH until 1320 on an SK flight out of ORD.

 

Terry,

Tell you friends that we live in Sierra Vista, AZ. See if they know where that is. Turns out our area is pretty well know by birders. Can't get a hotel room here in May or October without reservations way in advance. The Ramsey Canyon Conservancy (about a mile and a half up the hill from our house is the home of 18 or so hummingbird species and because we are the primary "sky island" in this part of the west we hundreds (so my birder friends tell me) of species who make their homes in South America and Canada migrate through here in May and Oct (or so).

 

Greg

[newlondon]

"Summer Farm in the Mountains" is from Geiranger. The other "Overland from Hellesylt to Geiranger" is as it states. I believe you would do the first on the way up the coast and the second on the way back. I repeat both well worth it.

[gdlamberth]

newlondon,

Thanks forthe info. Unfortunately we only visit Hellesylt/Geiranger on the way back south. I can't tell you how comforting it is to hear about excursions and such from someone who's "been there, done that." So again, thank you!:)

 

Greg

[newlondon]

I looked at your itinerary and you can do both of these. If it's too many go for the farm.

[gdlamberth]

newlondon,

The excursion form shows the overland Hellesylt-Geiranger as being an 8 hour tour and the Farm a 3.5 afternoon tour. I'm going to assume that means the Farm tour leaves before the Overland arrives back at the ship. Bt you are absolutely right that fitting in the farm would be a piece of cake. Thanks again for the suggestion.

Greg

[TLCOhio]

Terry, Tell you friends that we live in Sierra Vista, AZ. See if they know where that is. Turns out our area is pretty well know by birders. Can't get a hotel room here in May or October without reservations way in advance. The Ramsey Canyon Conservancy (about a mile and a half up the hill from our house is the home of 18 or so hummingbird species and because we are the primary "sky island" in this part of the west we hundreds (so my birder friends tell me) of species who make their homes in South America and Canada migrate through here in May and Oct (or so).

Greg

 

Hi, Greg! I've sent a note to our friends checking on your specific Arizona location. I know a few years back they did a location near Tucson that is supposed to be "THE PLACE" for birds. That might be it. I'll let you know when I hear more back. We have some other friends in the Mesa area who do lots of birding in Arizona. Will check with them, also.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

Hi, Greg! Here's the info from our friends from Columbus who will be on this July 1-16 Norway Coast cruise. They told me: "we have visited twice in birding areas of Arizona - both at the following bed and breakfast (translated ruby hummingbird) Love the area Where we saw our first Trogon!" They stayed at Chuparosa Inn, Bed and Breakfast, Madera Canyon, Arizona. Is that near you?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[gdlamberth]

Madera Canyon is about 30 miles WNW of us see

 

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=ie7&q=Madera+Canyon,+Arizona&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7SNNT_enUS359US360&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Madera+Canyon,+AZ&gl=us&ei=XtmgS_GhGJDitgOhxYTkBg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA

 

 

 

Start at Madera Canyon and go to the right and when you hit Hwy 92 Sierra Vista will be just to the south. Madera is in the Santa Rita and we're in the Huachuca Mts. As you may be abel to tell even though we're fairly close it's a good hour drive because you either have to go through Tucson or (almost) to Nogales to get from here to there. In the Google Terrain picture that whole set of Mountains in the Coronado Nat'l forrest is hte "sky island" I was talking about. Huachucas are a bit taller than the Santa Ritas though. Miller and Carr Peaks (both less than two miles from our house are both about 9,800ft and our house at the base of Ramsey Canyon is about 5,200ft. So we're, in general, a bit higher than the whole Santa Cruz Valley (where I-19 runs in the Google link). Your friends shoud try our side of the mountains sometime; there are some great B&Bs here and in Bisbee. Plus Tombstone (yes you can "stand where they stood and fall where they fell":rolleyes: if you're so inclined) is about 20 minutes away.

[TLCOhio]

Madera Canyon is about 30 miles WNW of us. Your friends shoud try our side of the mountains sometime; there are some great B&Bs here and in Bisbee. Plus Tombstone (yes you can "stand where they stood and fall where they fell":rolleyes: if you're so inclined) is about 20 minutes away.

 

THANKS, Greg! Yes, I checked out the Google map earlier and saw that the two locations are nearby. We've been to Tucson once and loved that outdoor zoo-garden-museum combo there. Very, very nice!!! Plus, had some great things to eat in Tucson. I've shared your info/suggestions with our friends. Not sure when we will be back out to Arizona. Great memories in that state from past visits to Grand Canyon, Sedona, around Phoenix, Ohio State's thrilling 2002 National Title football game against Miami in Tempe, etc., etc.

 

From our good friends in Mesa (he just retired as the newspaper editor there), they said: "Yep, we sure were. Very …very! Beautiful. We’ve been to Sierra Vista a lot. Jim wrote a column about our trip to Beatty Ranch."

 

So, YES, we have lots of connections to near and around where you live. Can share more on the cruise. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[gdlamberth]

Well, we're 100 nights out! Final payment due next week for us. Starting to get excited.

 

Greg

[gdlamberth]

Got a package from Silversea today. A guest infromation form (or it said I could fill out on line) and a note about their baggage service. I think I'll mail in my Guest information form (even though I already filled out on line) to see if I can enter some preferences that I couldn't get their web page to take.

Greg

[ging466]

I am so jealous of u guys going on this cruise.

 

The Norwegian fjords cruise is No. 1 on my bucket list...hope I can do it before I kick the bucket:D:D (note to self: not any time soon).

 

Cheers

Jennifer (ging466)

[duct tape]

You could join us!

[Docjrs]

I have just secured a room at the Nimb hotel for 3 days before the cruise. Would anyone want to join us? You will love Tivoli gardens! We are looking forward to norway and are iterested in what tours seem to be the best??

DRJIM

[ging466]

You could join us!

 

I wish! I've got too much on my plate this year...plus no more holidays:mad:

 

Cheers

Jennifer (ging466)

[TLCOhio]

I have just secured a room at the Nimb hotel for 3 days before the cruise. Would anyone want to join us? You will love Tivoli gardens! We are looking forward to norway and are iterested in what tours seem to be the best??

DRJIM

 

THANKS, Dr. Jim for posting here! I just did this afternoon the "credit card hit" for making the final payment on this cruise. Are you feeling my pain?

 

With the other couple from Central Ohio along with us, we have been studying the tour options. I have also pulled together a listing of what other ships will be in the ports during our July 1-16 Silver Cloud cruise. Here's my summary:

 

July 1, Copenhagen: Silver Cloud 8 am-7 pm with Star Princess 5:00 AM - 7:00 PM

July 3: Flam am and Gudvangen, 2-6 pm. just Silver Cloud there. July 4: Alesund; July 5: Trondheim; July 6: Leknes/Lofoten Island; July 8: Tromsø; July 9: Hammerfest; July 9-10: Honningsvag (North Cape); July 11: Svolvaer/Lofoten Island, no other cruise ships scheduled there on these seven days.

For July 13 at Helleysylt, 8-10 am, then Geiranger, 12:30-5 pm, we will share these two ports with the 2700-passenger Costa Magica.

For Bergen on Wednesday, July 14, during our 8 am-11 pm docking, there will also be the Costa Magica 8 am-5 pm; Seabourn’s newest ship, the 450-passenger Sojourn 8 am-10 pm; and 2568-passenger MSC Poesia 9am-5 pm. July 15, Thursday: Sea Day; heading to docking July 16, Friday in Copenhagen at 7 am. Only Silver Cloud is stopped in Copenhagen that day.

 

Bergen will be busy that day we are there. These port docking don't count the stops by ships from Hurtigruten and their ferry-type service along the coast.

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[newlondon]

Good research Terry! I can tell you from experience that none of those ports will be overcrowded. It's not like 6-7 ships in Santorini or Dubrovnik at the same time. In addition none are mega-ships.

[TLCOhio]

Good research Terry! I can tell you from experience that none of those ports will be overcrowded. It's not like 6-7 ships in Santorini or Dubrovnik at the same time. In addition none are mega-ships.

 

THANKS, newlondon! Any special loves, tips or secrets in any of these ports from your experiences there along that Norway Coast? A 2500-2700-passenger ship is still large and does have its impact, but I agree it could be lots worse. The stop in Helleysylt-Geiranger ports worries me a little with that 2700-passenger Costa Magica also competing for space and access. Both of these towns are very small. That ship is not a 3000-5000 passenger mega ship, but it is still good sized. How well do these small fjord villages absorb these numbers of folks during that short period of time? Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[gdlamberth]

Just made our final payment. Seems closer now:D