LIVE Norwaylady sails on Edge World Cruise from Rome to Singapore 30.10 to 25.11.23 , 26.night

[Norwaylady]

6 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Has the QM2 saluted you with her whistles?    It’s always fun when you are onboard the QM2 and another ship challenges her.   This may be frowned on with todays world situation.   The QM2 has two “steam” whistles, one from the original Queen Mary.   There is a definite difference in sound and in timing.

She has not. It’s very quiet and no horns in the area. 

[Norwaylady]

Queen Elisabeth 
 

Silver Spirit 

[Cap_D]

@Norwaylady thank you for sharing your trip with us.  Your writing style is delightful.  Hope you are having a great time.  

 

@Jim_Iain Jim, thanks for supplementing with the ship's position, the screenshot of the map, video, insights, and more.  

 

* * *

 

Jessica Jane performed on our Apex sailing last Spring before she went on tour in the United States during the summer.  Her show was terrific, and what was as delightful was how interactive she'd be with passengers throughout the cruise, including our 5y old child who found her show inspiring. 

 

(As an aside, a ticket to a touring magic show making a stop at a local theater starts around $85 plus fees per seat).

 

We see Charlie Pothecary may be on board too. He was also on Apex, and a terrific guitar, violinist, and singer; and positive guy to have on a ship. 

[Lastdance]

I am so glad that you are traveling through the canal during the day, at least for now that is the plan.  Cannot wait to hear your experience!🤔

[Norwaylady]

Ladies & Gentlemen 

 

I have not forgotten you! 

It’s been super busy today😂😂👀🙌🏻

 

I made a Timelapse from our stateroom, starboard side💚 

I set up the camera 07.35. So it covers from we started the process to get in line and almost Suez, stopping 17.35. 

 

Back to our day! 

 

After setting up the Timelapse, we went downstairs to Eden. They served breakfast from 08.00 and we could hear the OceanView buzzing…. 

Downstairs it was empty, not a single guest inside… And only a few out on deck in Eden area. Perfect! 

 

 

 

 

 

Great view to follow the progress of getting on the pilots and other crew members. 

CD Guiseppe is the “voice” from above during the transit. 

 

We have USS Eisenhower-Silver Spirit in front of us and Queen Elisabeth behind us in our transit.

And cargo vessels. 

 

 

 

We sat downstairs outside from 07.40 to 10.30. 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for our concierge gathering. 

Guiseppe was toastmaster and hotel manager etc was attending. 

They had 2 ships models and 4 bottles of wine in a raffle. 

 

They served drinks similar to the captain’s club party. 

 

After attending the concierge meeting, we decided to change into pool deck outfits. 

I went for my walk, walking on Suez! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outside was packed by guests and crew. 

 

 

 

Mr was sitting in the sun and walked a bit around to see the difference’s in the landscape. (I need a new sun hat… might need to burn it😂😂)

 

(Do I know this guy😝?)

 

Around lunchtime it started to get less crowded. 

 

We had lunch in AquaSpa café today around 13.30. 

 

It’s very fascinating how different port and starboard side is during the crossing. 

 

 

Starboard is more green/vegetation. 

Port is sand, sand….

 

At 16.00 we called it the day on deck. 

Then it was time to relax and watch the view from the bed for some downtime. 

 

Today’s canapés: 

[Norwaylady]

Timelapse Suez Canal starboard 💚

 

 

[mocruzer]

Great review @Norwaylady😀

[Norwaylady]

We went up to Sunset Bar around 18.20 to follow the last part before we left Suez. 

It was lots of people. 

We had escort from an armed vessel when the pilot left us and we started to speed up. 

 

At 18.55 we ran down to tonight’s show: Standup Wayne Cotter. 

It was fun and not on the edge in any way. 

Even grandma could come😆👌🏻

 

Tonight’s show was “early” finished 19.45. So lots of time to kill before dinner😝

So we went to grand foyer to watch the martini flair and listen to the live music🎶🎶

 

 

Today’s dinner is in Cosmopolitan. 

 

[chemmo]

So enjoying your cruise!

 

Thank you so much for taking us along…

[2023]

Thankyou Norwaylady for your wonderful pictures and commentary. I am really enjoying your journey. The photos of the canal are so interesting- I have added this to my bucket list! I will be joining the Edge when she gets to Sydney for our second cruise with her. So, the excitement is building by the day. I love seeing how the menu items appear on the plate too. Sometimes you imagine a menu item differently so the visual is helpful.

[DaKahuna]

@Norwaylady  I really like that hat.  My DW has one very much like it. 

 

 

[Norwaylady]

So, dinner…. 

It’s a fun fact. 

5 years ago, when we did our b2b on Edge, we found cosmopolitan restaurant to be the weakest link of the 4 MDR….

 

Well, today we had a little flash back😝 (Remember in day 2 we had dinner and the fish was10/10 and everything 👌🏻) 

 

Tonight seating was not super. Place of table (location) was nothing to say yeah for😜 

 

Todays service: 

 

Today’s menu: 

 

 

We both had the green leaf salad. 

 

Mr had the clam chowder and pot pie. 

 

 

I went for the cod again…

 

The good: 

the salad was crispy and fresh. No problem👍🏻

Mr Pie was satisfied. 

 

The bad and the ugly….

Our waiter team was not the original ones working together. So a miss/match In rhythm. Assistant waiter was a temporary substitute. 

Not their fault and not a huge problem, but you notice. Our main server was a bit “off”. 

 

My cod was overcooked and not close to the 2 perfect pieces we had on day 2. It was not pan fried, just heated by oven, skin had not touch a frying pan tonight. 

The fish was dry and not shiny, so it wasn’t something to say 😋😋😋 about🧐 

 

Today dessert: 

 

Mr wanted the eclair and some orange 🍊 sorbet 

 

 

I went for the apple blueberry turnover. 

 

Mr said the eclair itself in bread was very fresh and good, but the cream was a bit strange… cheesecake and Eclair was strange😆

Sorbet was very good, tasted just like Solo ice cream from home🥰

 

The turnover was good 👍🏻 

We ordered coffee and her it didn’t go to well…..😜

 

Mr wanted a cafe mocha and I had a espresso macchiato….. (espresso macchiato is a tiny coffee ☕️)

 

Two coffee cups arrived, but they are not correct…. 

 

It was 2 café lattes to be correct. 

It’s not the underground of the world… 

 

Someone have to take the 5/10 score days…. Hopefully they get back on “track” again😇🥰

 

After dinner it was time for bed😴😴

[Norwaylady]

Cruise Compass Day 7 Sea Day +1H time change. (We are now in Saudi Arabia time) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Norwaylady]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

@Norwaylady  I really like that hat.  My DW has one very much like it. 

 

 

It’s my favourite sun hat😩😩😩 it has a large shade and it’s packing safe. 

I had it for ages…. But it’s still very nice and soft. And it fits my head perfectly❤️

I shopped it in Key West in 2013 and it has traveled around the world a few times…..

 

Mr on the other hand is literally eating hats for breakfast🙈

[swigso]

Hi Great review seems like we are sailing with you.

What if any are the incentives to book a future cruise on board

thanks

[Norwaylady]

49 minutes ago, swigso said:

Hi Great review seems like we are sailing with you.

What if any are the incentives to book a future cruise on board

thanks

It has been posted twice together by the daily newspaper. 
 

It’s OBC according to the list. 
 

if a new offer is on the table, I will post it together by the daily newspaper. (What’s delivered to my bed) 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Norwaylady
Info

[Norwaylady]

I was up and awake around 06.30 Saudi time. 

Mr was snoring 💤 next to me, all dead🙈

 

I read the newspaper and took it slow. 

I went out around 8.00, not particularly busy… have a feeling lots of people was sleeping late….

 

After my walking it was time to wake up Mr💤💤

He was SO slow this morning…😝

“My phone is just 08.45 no need to stress, we have plenty of time for breakfast options😝” 

Hello Darling🧐 You know it’s +1 from what you phone says???

So YES that meant one more breakfast in the buffet😩

 

It was busy when we arrived… I went for my yoghurt and apricot… 

And Mr was lining up for omelette😋

Mr reports that they have a great selection of toppings to put on your omelette to order🙌🏻 Super happy camper there🤣

 

We found a large table outside, we had a lady asking to be seated by us. She traveled solo. 

We had a pleasant chat, so we were seated for a long time. 

 

After finishing up breakfast chatting, we went downstairs to change into pool deck clothes. 

 

On the bed it was a notification of passport collection tomorrow…

 

Why didn’t they just collect them in Athen on the destination gangway? 

Everyone had to clear immigration and had it in hand when you pinged onto the ship🤓 

Well, well…. We will drop them off tomorrow. 

 

At 13.00 it was time for pool volleyball. Marines vs interior. 

Interior had a less good start….

 

The Marines and Captain Matt did well. 

They played for winning 🥇 

 

At 14.25 it was last call for lunch. 

So off we went to OceanView. 

Today’s specials was kebabs, Libanese food and everything of the usual…

 

Mr went for kebabs and salad. 

 

He said the kebabs was tasty and good bites of meat. 

 

I took the easy option of tex mex nachos…

 

We had some coffee and just enjoying the terrace lunch. 

 

Around 15.20 we called it for today upstairs… 

Our canapés had arrived: 

[Norwaylady]

After some downtime watching CD Guiseppes talk about Italy 🇮🇹 (fun as always😂) it was time to get ready for evening chic✨

 

We went downstairs around 18.00. 

Tonight’s show is The Barricade Boys. 

 

 

 

 

They delivered a great performance and the theatre was I good mood. 

 

Todays dinner was Normandie. 

Service by: 

 

Todays menu: 

 

 

Mr had the beet salad, carrot salad and jerk chicken. 

 

 

I had the carrot salad and saint jacques.

 

 

 

For dessert I had ice cream and Mr went for cherry trifle 

 

 

All tasted good and service was good 👍🏻 

 

After dinner we moved for coffee in Al Bacio. 

Gitarrist Charlie was playing in Grand Foyer. He is really good and everyone was singing along and having a great time🥰🎶 

Tonight the ship is buzzing🙂💙🎶

[Norwaylady]

Cruise Compass Day 8, sea day

 

 

 

 

 

 

[upwarduk]

The Barricade boys were on Silhouette just a month ago.

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, upwarduk said:

The Barricade boys were on Silhouette just a month ago.

I don't remember which ship we saw them on, but we really enjoyed them.

[theopup]

Sounds like you both had a wonderful day 

[bjahil47]

I’m enjoying your pictures and commentary!  Keep on enjoying your cruise!

[Norwaylady]

So we are arriving to day nr 8 of our first part of our b2b. 

So I wanted to say some words about our experience so far…

 

The infinity balcony

This is a hate or love object. 

You either love it or list it ( see the tv-show reference?) 

For me, it’s list it! 

 

It’s not a real balcony in anyway🤔🤔

 

For warmer climates:

It’s not a real balcony, it’s like having a big window. 

And since it has a blind and no curtains, it’s not a great deal for us, since I’m awake early and Mr likes to sleep 💤 

So I can not sneak outside to read or just enjoying the sea view. 

If you open the blind, the entire stateroom is lighted up. The glass doors are not that dark. 

And since the blind is electric, you make noise that you can hear and all other nearby cabins.

 

So I will stick to my porthole veranda or sunset verandas✔️ (you know el cheapo me will not book suites unless we get a great deal😜😅🤓) 

I will seriously consider booking a window stateroom on Edge class in the front instead of an infinity veranda. (We did see one on a stateroom tour we had during our first Edge cruise, great window) 

 

It do not appeal in any way to have breakfast on my “balcony” since it’s not a proper balcony. (This is where I get a little sad 😢 That’s my Number 1 ❤️ on a ⚓️) 

 

One place I can see it be a much better fit, is on colder cruises. I think this will work better on Norwegian Fjords/Alaska/Icelandic itineraries. 

Then you can enjoy the viewing from a big window in warm location. ( I don’t count, we are used to 💙🥶🥶🥶🤣💙) 

 

I will be thinking twice about booking further cruises on Edge class ships…. 

Can’t help it, we love the “golden oldie” millennium class🥰💙👌🏻⚓️

 

As mentioned before from others, the Edge class do not have a Sky Lounge. 

The retreat “occupies” the “Sky lounge” view. So you miss an area of front view. 

(You can go to the gym) but it’s very limited options for front view. 

This was something that personally was a bummer for taking pictures from our Suez transit. (I needed to work on the curves👌🏻😂) 

 

The ship itself is beautiful💙⚓️👌🏻

Crew is working very hard and they have so far delivered excellent service (some hiccups, but not as in ruined holiday🤪). We can see it’s work in progress in some areas, so it’s slowly getting into rhythm onboard for the crew🤓

 

Some specific details (my inner geek/ attention to details is coming out🧐) 

-What I can’t understand is why they didn’t change the locks and doorknobs in public toilets during dry dock. 

When we did our b2b in April 2019 it was impossible for people to understand if it’s occupied or available, due to the solution of locked/unlocked on doors(not the usual 🔴/🟢). And already then, some of the doorknobs were loosely in fit and needed to be tightened up. 

What I see all over is that several doorknobs are hanging loose. They are not tight/hanging correctly. 

I have in 2 occasions had 2 ladies in minor panic 😱 knocking on the door saying I can’t get out! 

Because the doorknob are so loose, so they put it down to open, but you need to push further down ( way more then normal) so the mechanism for opening the door is broken/used up. 

This specifically apply to toilets on deck 14 and deck 4 . Since they are very close to crowded areas. 

 

OceanView (yes, you know my hate object Nr 1) 

The food selection and presentation is good. (I do have a visual 👀 look) I just hate to hunt down my own food, it’s lots of people and it’s not a peaceful thing for me… So personally it’s 🫠🤪😵‍💫 to have meals her….

But what not to sacrifice for your loved ☝🏿 one🥰😘 Mr! 

He loves buffet💙

He finds the options and quality good and it’s always lots of things to eat. 

Mr says the bread selection is very decent for cruise standards (also compared to other X sailings) 

So he is very happy to have breakfast or lunch here. 

 

Senior Officers is out and about. They are visible around the ship. 

We have seen several of them before…💙

 

NextCruise has sent some offers to our room in the CruiseCompass. 

We know it’s a “sale” coming up. Black Friday etc. 

And its new deployment schedule for 25/26. 

They have stayed awfully quiet… 

So fingers crossed they will be more active and bring out the “good” sailings on next part of our b2b. As the development season is starting to roll out🙌🏻

 

Entertainment has delivered and live music is good. No problem to find live music around the ship. 

 

CD Guiseppe is 👌🏻💙 ( love his shoe selection by the way….) 

 

WiFi is working fine✔️

 

Other than this, we are all good 👍🏻 

We are happy for our sailing⚓️💙👌🏻

 

For those who follow from onboard, feel free to say hello 👋🏻 I do not bite and we think it’s nice to meet fellow passengers. 

(Just don’t tell Mr that we move into The retreat on next part of our journey🤫 he still doesn’t know. He thinks we just move to another location in an infinity veranda as planned from the beginning🤫) 

[Norwaylady]

So Day 8 onboard….

 

I was sleeping a bit longer💙💤

Needed to get some princess sleep💙

I woke up around 07.45. 

 

I was not fit-for-running as I walked out of bed. ( I have a Pseudo-sciatica that comes and goes from time to time) it has pinched me on/off for a longer time… So this morning it was just to much to walke it off…. (It normally calms down, so fingers crossed for a walk later) 

 

At 09.45 we went for breakfast, OceanView🫠 

Mr had his usual things and milk, apricot and cereal. (Aka cat food pellets🐈 according to Mr😜) 

 

After breakfast we went downstairs to change into pool deck outfits and deliver our passports. 

Mr got ready and I waited in line to deliver the passports. (Typically they couldn’t find our paper pieces to give out and putting into the passports… So they need to make 2 manually papers handwritten) 

They had pre printed for all staterooms, it contained nationality, name and stateroom number. 

They did not put on a sticker to the backside containing stateroom number, only the paperwork on photo page containing no glue/paper clips. 

They have done this on all other ships where we have delivered passports (X, RCL, MSC) So fingers crossed they don’t loose that box onto the floor or it tilts to the side🫣

 

It took 20.minutes to deliver. 

After the drop off, I went to get ready for outside. It was a turtle 🐢 in the water swimming next to us. 

It’s a bit windy today, but temperature is warm😎

 

They are showing Barbie outside in the Rooftop Garden today. 

I have a plan to watch the second showing 14.00✔️ (haven’t had time to see it in the cinema at home🤪)