Live solo report from the 22 day European Splendor and Voyage of the Midnight Sun on N. Statendam

[jcnick]

A noisy rooster for your little neighbor? Hope the walls aren’t too thin! 😂 Seriously, what a kind gesture! 💗

Your photos are wonderful! Take care of your toe—that chocolate looks medicinal to me!

[kazu]

17 hours ago, cruising sister said:

I bought a stuff rooster ( that makes noise) for the little girl who is quarantined with chicken pox in the cabin next to me. The rooster is a symbol of good luck and well being in Portugal.  Her mom will be cursing me later!
 

I did not get my giant chocolate ball today. I will try for tomorrow when we have 2 days at sea. The sea days  will be nice as my broken toe needs a break. 

 

Ahh - how sweet of you to gift the little girl.  I doubt her mother will curse you - she’ll be grateful.

 

With all your toe has borne, you DESERVE that chocolate.  Go for it and rest that toe on your sea days.  I hope it improves quickly for you with the break 🤞 

[cruising sister]

It is about time for more food. We are at sea today and tomorrow and will be in Le Havre on the 12th. I ate lunch in the main dining room today to see how it was and I think it will be a one and done. There are so many other food options to choose from. I don’t remember if I mentioned I have the spa pass. I’ve had no trouble getting any of the heated loungers and the therapy pool has not been busy. My cabin is on deck 10 right above the spa so it’s very easy for me to run down there.
 

There are a ton of activities going on all day. I don’t know how anyone can say there’s nothing to do. Personally, I don’t do many of them but that’s just me. I like sea days to read and relax.

 

I did try the big chocolate ball and I have to say I did not like it. It’s very unusual for me not to like something chocolate. So that too will be a one and done.

 

Tonight is “dressy night“. It’s very cold on ship. I will not be very dressed up. After all the sweets, I may just go up to the Lido and get a big salad. I did make it to the show last night, which was the Seven Worlds One Planet. The string Quartet played music along with the video and I thought it was very good. I usually don’t go to shows, but that one was different and I’m glad I went.

 

The little girl next-door was thrilled with her gift. She squeezed it a lot in the beginning, but I haven’t heard it since. She may get sprung free tomorrow if all of her lesions are crusted over.  I have attached today’s schedules. I hope you can read them. 

[Sea42]

Thanks for continuing with all of the information. It's really helping to pass the time until we board on Sunday.

I'm thinking about getting a spa pass so I appreciate the information on that. I think I'm going to have to make up my own mind on the chocolate ball because it sure looks yummy to me☺️

I hope we see you at the M&G!

Carol

[Avery's Gram]

I’m curious about the hours the spa is open….could you tell me?  I’m doing a very port intensive cruise in August and trying to figure out if there will be enough time to use it, to justify the cost.  Thanks so much!

 

Barbara M. In NH

[cruising sister]

The spa has been open until 10 pm. 

[cruising sister]

It’s getting towards the end of another day. Last night the seas were a bit rough, but that’s how I like it! Today around 5 o’clock it became calm. 
 

I could not get near the Dutch café today. It was always crowded so I saved myself several thousand calories. The food has been fairly good. The service has been excellent. I went up to the Lido for a salad today and before I could even sit down, they were there asking me what I wanted to drink.

 

The music venues have been busy. The dueling pianos are very good. the rock group is OK and I’m not a fan of jazz, so BB Kings is not for me.

 

There is plenty for people to do and I see a lot of people out and about. The ship has been cold and I’m sure it will get colder once we get to Norway . Tomorrow I’m going on excursion with people from my roll call to see the D Day memorial. It is a nine hour tour. No pictures today. I am sure I will have some tomorrow. 

[jakkojakko]

Is it cold in all the public places? We will be boarding on sunday so it is nice to know what to pack . How is the temp in the stateroom?

[cruising sister]

They have improved the temp today. It still is a little brisk but not as bad. I would bring layers if you get chilled at all. Walking outside has been cold. The decks unless in direct sun have been cold the aft pool was very cold. I wear layers and remove if I get too warm. I hope that helps. 

[cruising sister]

Sorry I did not post yesterday. It was a long day and we did not get back from our Normandie excursion till 8 o’clock. I ate a quick bite in club orange and relaxed in my room. I was truly moved by the memorial. I was on a small excursion with six other members of the real call which I think was perfect. I looked at the big buses and thought wow it would take a whole lot longer and probably not see as much as we did. Besides going to Normandie we made a stop in HonFleur. I really enjoyed exploring the town.

 

today is our last sea day before reaching Amsterdam tomorrow. I will have to say goodbye to some new friends. Some thoughts on the last eight days which may not be other peoples experience, but it was mine.

 

I did not notice any shortages. I cannot say about the alcohol because I do not drink. They had Sprite zero and Diet Coke so I was happy. I felt the food was good but I mainly ate in club, orange, Dutch Café, and salads in the Lido.

 

I checked my statement daily, and I had no wrong charges. I hope that was other peoples experience on this cruise.

 

There always seem to be something going on. the last music set started at 11:15 PM none of which I made it to. I am an early riser.

 

Yes, there are chair hogs even on cold itineraries. My cabin is on deck 10 and there are those comfy loungers that are divided by curtains on deck 10. I would walk by in the morning before 8 AM you would find books, hats and other things saving chairs. One day it was almost 3 hours before someone came and claimed their chair.

 

The casino was empty most the time. I heard the cruise before this one was a casino offer. The casino was much busier.

 

I really did enjoy the first eight day days. I am looking forward to meeting new people from the rollcall that will be coming on tfot the next 14 days.

[Cruisercl]

Yourcruise so far sounds wonderful, a nice combination, IMO, of busy at times and relaxing. Glad you are enjoying it.

I have not been to Normandie, it is on my list.

Your shore excursion yesterday, sounds great. I agree the big bus shore excursions tend not to be as good as a smaller group especially when it is a long day. Having to deal with a big crowd can be exhausting.

How is your injured toe behaving?

 

Continued fun on the next part of your cruise. 😊

Caron

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Cruisercl

[cruising sister]

We are on our first sea day on the second part of my voyage. The sail out of Amsterdam was enjoyable. It took a couple hours as we slowly made our way out to sea. As we approached the lock they were wind turbines alongside the oil refineries billowing smoke, quite the dichotomy. There was a tight squeeze to get through the lock. You can tell by how close the edge is to the lifeboat. 
 

Today is foggy and I saw my first orca whale. We had our first cruise critic, meet and mingle. It’s nice to put faces to the names. 
 

The ship is full and buzzing with activity. I will go to a port talk this afternoon to learn more about the ports coming up. I do not have excursions booked in every port. Many look walkable, and I enjoy exploring on my own.

 

The celebrity Apex was parked behind us in Amsterdam. I it looked huge. You can see the new passengers getting on the ship. 

 

 

 

 

[oakridger]

I love the pictures leaving Amsterdam!  I certainly hope that the Netherlands does not permit "smoke" pollutants spewing into the air! California definitely doesn't!!  I'm going to guess that what you see is actually steam.  Since I'm interested in the answer to this (retired Environmental/Petroleum Chemist) I'll dig around in Google to see if I can find out.  

 

It's a good start to your trip and I will be watching for more of your posts as you have time!

 

Thanks,

~Nancy

[cruising sister]

We are sailing away from Stavenger Norway and a cold brisk breeze makes standing on the balcony very cold. I had a great day, exploring the city. I first went on a hop on hop off bus, and got a lay of the land. I then walked around visiting the sites

tI wanted to explore deeper. I loved the little white houses and their tile roofs. We will have rough seas between 6 PM and midnight until we enter the fjord into Flam. I have a tour tomorrow with Holland America on the Flam railway, waterfalls and waffles. I have met a few people who are also on that excursion and some have done it before.

 

My cell service has been great when on land. I get free data up to 5 GB and if I want to make a call to $.25 a minute I have been able to FaceTime the grandkids which helps.

Until tomorrow

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 hours ago, oakridger said:

I love the pictures leaving Amsterdam!  I certainly hope that the Netherlands does not permit "smoke" pollutants spewing into the air! California definitely doesn't!!  I'm going to guess that what you see is actually steam.  Since I'm interested in the answer to this (retired Environmental/Petroleum Chemist) I'll dig around in Google to see if I can find out.  

 

It's a good start to your trip and I will be watching for more of your posts as you have time!

 

Thanks,

~Nancy

 

From the way it appears to dissipate, I'd say it's steam. Sure hope so!

[3rdGenCunarder]

9 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

We are sailing away from Stavenger Norway and a cold brisk breeze makes standing on the balcony very cold. I had a great day, exploring the city. I first went on a hop on hop off bus, and got a lay of the land. I then walked around visiting the sites

tI wanted to explore deeper. I loved the little white houses and their tile roofs. We will have rough seas between 6 PM and midnight until we enter the fjord into Flam. I have a tour tomorrow with Holland America on the Flam railway, waterfalls and waffles. I have met a few people who are also on that excursion and some have done it before.

 

My cell service has been great when on land. I get free data up to 5 GB and if I want to make a call to $.25 a minute I have been able to FaceTime the grandkids which helps.

Until tomorrow

 

 

Ohh, Stavanger. It's so lovely. We wandered the town and also went to the sardine museum--one of the best museum guides I've ever met. 

 

And Flam! another great port. If you have time, visit the museum about the building of the railway. It has excellent insights into the work that went into it. And I recall really good souvenirs, too.

 

I hope the seas aren't too strong tonight. Are the grandkids impressed with where you're going?

 

 

[cruising sister]

My grandson has been watching Ice Road Rescue on Disney+. The show takes place in the mountains of Norway. He has been excited since he heard I was going to Norway. He has a map at home and has been following the ships progress. I talked to him this morning before he left to school to tell him, I finally made it to Norway. 

[Iamthesea]

Great photos!   I have taken a few, as well.  Those turbine things are steam.  
 

Funny! My grandson is 10 and asked for a few Viking soldiers for his collection.  So far, I have purchased two trolls dressed like Vikings.  
 

It started raining when we returned from our excursion, so I forgot all about calling the kids on my Verizon plan.  The ships internet is working pretty good for texting and emailing, however. 

[jcnick]

It looks like you had some blue sky for a time!

Hope the seas weren’t too rough. How was it being up so high in the ship? (Had 10045 and wondered if there would be more movement.) I’m appreciating the opportunity to at least take this cruise vicariously through your blog! Thank you! Have a wonderful time in Flam! Can’t wait to see your photos from there, too!

[cruising sister]

Hello from Flam Norway,

I am back on board after the Flam Railway, Waffles and Waterfalls excursion. Who knew sour cream along with raspberry jam would be good on waffles. The scenery was beautiful and there were still a lot of snow. There were some waterfalls, but probably not as many as if there has been more snow melt. Today is constitution day in Norway, so it is a national holiday. I saw a few people dressed in traditional clothing, but I have not seen any parade or any celebration here in Flam. I saw a bit of the fjord as we were sailing in and starting around 6 PM they will have narration as we leave. I’m hoping I can hear their narration other than in the crows nest because that will be very crowded. We saw the Huldra (lady in red) and at one of the waterfalls. She moved too quickly to other points on the landscape so there must’ve been more than one. As far as I know, she did not entice any man to go back in the mountains with her.

 

I have excursions booked for the next two days in Alesund and Trondheim. We have a day at sea before two more ports. Other than being a little chilly the weather has really cooperated.

[cruising sister]

7 hours ago, jcnick said:

It looks like you had some blue sky for a time!

Hope the seas weren’t too rough. How was it being up so high in the ship? (Had 10045 and wondered if there would be more movement.) I’m appreciating the opportunity to at least take this cruise vicariously through your blog! Thank you! Have a wonderful time in Flam! Can’t wait to see your photos from there, too!

You could feel the rocking on Deck 10. I don’t mind it so not a problem. It did end as the captain said it would around midnight. 

[Iamthesea]

Love the Huldra spotting! 😁

 

You may have still been gone on the train ride, but there was a celebration on the little beach near the campground.  Planes flew overhead while hand-gliders jumped out and competed to hit the marked spot on the beach.  We saw 3 hit the water, instead.  Burrrrrr  The others, while sprouting colored smoke ( colors of the flag) from their shoes, hit the beach.  One very near to the target.  Fun to watch.  I took videos, but no photos to post.

[cruising sister]

Hello everyone,

I had another great day on on this voyage. I took a bus trip that I was a little worried about because it was eight hours long. The time really did go pretty fast, we drove through some beautiful scenery, and stopped at the troll wall. We were supposed to be on the troll path, but the snow has not melted and they’re waiting for one more avalanche. I took some pictures, and if you look closely at the stone wall behind the troll statues, you could actually see troll faces. The tour guide told a disturbing story that the Norwegians told their  children troll stories to keep them safe. That in itself isn’t bad but the story goes that if you see a troll behind a waterfall, they will bite your head off. They also believe that if the troll sees sunlight it will break into 1 million pieces and that is why they are granite rocks in the streams and rivers. I guess they were desperate in the spring thaw to keep their children safe. 
 

We have had beautiful weather. It looks like it may hold for tomorrow as well when we are in Trondheim. For the Harry Potter fans, I took a picture of a bridge that was featured in one of the movies.   and water. The the story goes that the trolls hide behind the waterfalls and if they see you they will bite off your head.  If the troll comes into sunlight, it breaks into 1 million pieces and that’s why there are big granite stones in the streams and rivers. At one of the stops, I took pictures of the trolls in front of the granite troll wall. If you look closely on a couple of them, you can see some faces of trolls in the wall. 

Tomorrow we will be in Trondheim, Norway, where I have a walking tour of the town. 

Tonight we will again slowly sail out of the fjord. It stays light very long and the sun is coming up earlier. We have had near perfect weather. 

For you Harry Potter fans I have included a picture of one of the bridges they used in the movie. 

Time to eat again!Hello everyone,

I just got back from a long excursion from Alesund, Norway. We were supposed to go on the troll path, but it is closed until the snow melts. It was an eight hour bus tour (very comfy bus) with about two hours off the bus. We drove through through the valleys and up into higher elevation to the troll wall. Norwegians, believe in trolls and told troll stories to their children to keep them safe from waterfalls and water. The the story goes that the trolls hide behind the waterfalls and if they see you they will bite off your head.  If the into sunlight, it breaks into 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Gorgeous pictures! I do think Norway is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, even edging out Alaska. 

 

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I hope it continues to go well.

[RuthC]

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Gorgeous pictures! I do think Norway is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, even edging out Alaska. 

I agree. Not to mention, from the east coast of the US, it is easier to get to/from cruises to Norway. 
I am booked on a most desirable cruise to Alaska next year, round trip from Seattle, but looking at the flights this year---they are horrendous! Especially coming back is terrible hours. 
Does this adorable little old lady have the endurance for that???