Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I love writing travel log style reviews about out adventures. Just back yesterday from our long and exciting adventure , so let us begin! For those interested only in the ship , this review may be too long. I certainly will discuss the lovely Eurodam , but the ports are of major importance to me , so pictures and comments will abound! Test photo Eurodam in Alesund Will write more soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted August 5, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Eagerly awaiting your review....as I was there as well. Interested in your point of view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtn2Sea Posted August 5, 2013 #3 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Looking forward to your review & photos! We hope to cruise that area of the world soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Some background about our family. DH and are our both 44 ( my birthday was the day we sailed!) and we have three children , ages 9 , 13 and 16. We travel a great deal. I am American , married to a Brazilian , so we have traveled with the kids internationally since they were babies in order to visit my family in the US. They are expert travelers , lol! We love cruising . We mostly cruise for ports. I really analyze itineraries with care and plan far ahead. We have been lucky enough to have visited the MED , the Baltics , SA and Antarctica , the Galapagos as well as several Caribbean cruises. This itinerary was at the top of my bucket list: Copenhagen , Oslo , Bergen , Skjolden , Alesund , The Shetland Islands , Greenock , Dublin , Dunmore East ( Ireland) then disembarking in Amsterdam. It did not disappoint. We had never sailed HAL...we are one cruise away from Elite on Celebrity , have sailed RCI , Carnival and Seawind ( now defunct ) as well. HAL did not disappoint as well. Back soon ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #5 Share Posted August 5, 2013 We spent a week visiting family in the US before flying to Denmark , where we'd spend 5 days precruise. Nice visit , but middle son got a bad case if bronchitis before leaving for Copenhagen . Worried about long flight , used our travel insurance for the first time ever. Took antibiotics and was cleared for flight. We arrived in Copenhagen , spent the night then rented a car and took a ferry to the amazing island of Aero . I have traveled a lot and this was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been . Rick Steves highly recommends it and he is right. The village of Aeroskobing , Denmark Beach Huts on the island We stayed at an utterly charming B&B called Pension Vestergrade 44 ... So special and warm , right in the village center. We hiked , hunted for fossils , went to the beach and to a falconry show . Just lovely. Then back to Copenhagen for a couple of days before the cruise . We stayed at the Scandic Front near Nyhaven which was fine. Sure glad they had AC as Copenhagen was hot!! Nyhaven Feel free to ask questions! Cruise is coming up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted August 5, 2013 #6 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Such good pictures. I am looking forward to the rest of your review. It sure looks like a promising one:D and welcome home:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Such good pictures. I am looking forward to the rest of your review. It sure looks like a promising one:D and welcome home:D Thanks! I love taking photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Copenhagen Zoo , the kids loved it! Rooftop , Rosenborg slot , Copenhagen We bought the Copenhagen Card which was quite nice for visiting the tourist sights. A highlight near Odense was Egeskov slot ( we went by car) , lovely!! DH and I at Egeskov Slot. I just love Denmark!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted August 5, 2013 #9 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Your pics are awesome. Looking forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Your pics are awesome. Looking forward to the rest. Thanks ! Posting pics for the first time using Tapatalk... On Smart Phones the all look the same size , but on the PC they are all different sizes. Will try to figure out why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted August 5, 2013 July 20th- Embarkation day and my birthday! What a treat!! It was a glorious day , blue skies and sunshine. We arrived at the port around 12:15. The porters were very efficient and polite . The lines were quite long. The boarding was one of the few negatives of the cruise. We had 2 rooms ( 8039 and 8041) and there were computer problems it took a good amount of time to get checked in. Our friends were awaiting us at the MDR for the Mariner's Lunch... We barely made it , as we arrived at 12:59. They were a bit huffy about letting us in! It was nice to sit down and relax . Not crowded at all and good food. I enjoyed salad with grilled chicken , mango and cashew. I don't take photos of food... Too busy eating it! Lol! The Rembrandt dining room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted August 5, 2013 #12 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Thanks ! Posting pics for the first time using Tapatalk... On Smart Phones the all look the same size , but on the PC they are all different sizes. Will try to figure out why! Do you have to use a site first ie shutterfly or whatever it's called before you post? I'm thinking of doing a bit of posting from Alaska but I don't want to make it a painful experience. Thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I used to use a site called tinypic , which is good , but time consuming...now I am posting directly from my phone with the Tapatalk app , veryyyy easy , but as I said , the size of the photos are all different on the PC , not sure why!! But it is easy! Download the Tapatalk app and you can post photos directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted August 5, 2013 #14 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I used to use a site called tinypic , which is good , but time consuming...now I am posting directly from my phone with the Tapatalk app , veryyyy easy , but as I said , the size of the photos are all different on the PC , not sure why!! But it is easy! Download the Tapatalk app and you can post photos directly. I have that app on my iPad but I never use it :o. Looks like I should practice. I appreciate you answering my question:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I have that app on my iPad but I never use it :o. Looks like I should practice. I appreciate you answering my question:). My pleasure , good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted August 5, 2013 #16 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Enjoying your pics and review. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAOk1945 Posted August 5, 2013 #17 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Your pictures are beautiful! What type of camera did you use on your trip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #18 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Some are with my iphone , lol and others with my Canon Rebel. Ipones are sure easy , but the good old Rebel is better :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #19 Share Posted August 5, 2013 After lunch , straight to our staterooms to unpack ( a daunting task for 5 people!). I loved our cabin location , on the Navigation deck midship ( deck 8). Our kids shared a cabin directly in front of ours. Theirs was an inside and ours a V balcony cabin. The kids' cabin was huge and very well laid out. Sadly , no photo! It was the best triple I have seen... All their friends commented on the size when stopping by and comparing. It actually was more spacious than our cabin , but we love a balcony! Good storage space , nice tub , comfy beds! Good for HAL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #20 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Here is our stateroom ( 8039 The balcony is nice , with comfy chairs and a table. I will state that I would have to vote for the Celebrity FV aft corner staterooms as the best for our family. All 5 of us can stay together and the balcony is heaven , sooooo big. But , I liked our room and thought the kids' room was excellent. I would say HAL has better bathrooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol3 Posted August 5, 2013 #21 Share Posted August 5, 2013 what a great review so far!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #22 Share Posted August 5, 2013 The evening of embarkation , I had reserved a table of 10 at the Tamarind for my family and friends traveling with us. What a perfect evening. The food and service was perfection. They brought a nice surprise and sang to me at the end of the meal. We returned to the Tamarind for dinner and also tried the Pinnacle Grill. Both were excellent , but I would give my vote to Tamarind. A great first day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted August 5, 2013 #23 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Nice touch with the birthday cake! As always, we enjoyed Tamarind, except for the Tamarind Chocolate dessert, which had so much ginger in it, my wife actually became ill. It almost totally over powered the chocolate taste. Too bad, without the ginger, the dessert was a wonderful chocolate delight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #24 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Our first port was Oslo... We had Oslo Cards and ended up visiting the City Hall , Peace Museum , the Viking Museum , the Folk Museum and Vigeland Park . We used the ferry and bus system , very easy. It was a hot , sunny day. We had a long day . Our first evening in the MDR was mixed. We needed a table for ten and were seated very quickly. However it took over 35 minutes to get a menu and start to have our orders taken. The drink service was uneven in the MDR as well. However , once the meal came , it was delicious and we enjoyed it . The situation really varied... We had good and bad nights as far as timely service. But , we were with friends , the food was good , so really no big issue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 5, 2013 Author #25 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Nice touch with the birthday cake! As always, we enjoyed Tamarind, except for the Tamarind Chocolate dessert, which had so much ginger in it, my wife actually became ill. It almost totally over powered the chocolate taste. Too bad, without the ginger, the dessert was a wonderful chocolate delight. So funny... The same happened to my DH . He ordered the same dessert and had the same reaction , although he didn't become ill because he pushed it away in distaste! He ate my cake instead. He really disliked it too. The rest of the meal was great. The fortune cookie is a better choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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