LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

[twangster]

[twangster]

It's colder up on deck 12 in the wind now that the sun is hiding behind some clouds.  

 

 

[twangster]

That lady has been swimming laps for at least 30 minutes so the pool can't be that cold.  

[Hoopster95]

OMG… the wind has picked up on deck 11 and it feels 10 degrees colder than a few minutes ago! This is gross!!!!

 

[Hoopster95]

Mr. Polar Bear has arrived!

[twangster]

Good sized crowd has formed.   

 

 

[twangster]

 

[twangster]

Video coming shortly...

[Hoopster95]

I think twangster got some great footage! Here’s the secondary ceremony for people not wanting to jump in the pool … ice water down your back

that’s the Activity Manager Bern “ Bern baby Bern!”. Met him on Indy last year… great guy

 

Edited June 5 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

And a final salute with a Blue Kamakaze shot

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5 by Hoopster95

[twangster]

I've cut out some ramblings and included just a few participants or else I'd be up there for an hour capturing video.

 

Last victim, I mean participant in this video was @Hoopster95!

 

 

Everyone wins a prize!  (we all get a certificate)

 

The Latitude and Longitude they used in the ceremony:

 

 

Oops.

 

Those coordinates looks a lot like our path on the first cruise of my B2B to Iceland.  Wanna bet they had a crew ceremony?

 

 

Edited June 5 by twangster

[FionaMG]

That looked like a lot of fun. 😂

 

It reminds me of the crossing the Equator ceremony that we had on Splendour many years ago, except it was a LOT warmer then.

[twangster]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Watching the Starliner launch over Starlink.

 

HDMI cable to my phone.  

 

Edited June 5 by twangster

[cruiselvr04]

DH says he’s ready to jump in!  I’ll pass and hold his towel and robe.

 

[Jimbo]

4 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Those photos above that twangster shared reminds me a lot of the entry into the Alaskan Inside Passage… a wall of mountains stretching for miles.

 

You can see below where we are in the Norwegian Sea and that stretch of mountains we were sailing alongside for some time is coming to an end. And you can where we’re heading for tomorrow in Ålesund, much farther south than the arctic circle once we cross later this evening. 
 

 

Agreed alot of  the mountain shots in Norway look alot like mountain shots you see in Alaska.

[island lady]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

A couple of days ago the Wash & Fold laundry bag appeared.  This is now also the Crown and Anchor laundry perk bag.  
 

 

The CAS deal used to be a plastic bag that you could cram creatively.   That’s a lot harder to do with a paper bag, it tears easily.  
 

Hmmm.  Maybe bring plastic shopping bags to cram and insert into the paper bag?   I guess that defeats the reduce plastics on board movement.  
 

Thoughts? 

 

 

I roll my items very tightly to fit inside.  Seems to help.  

[island lady]

4 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

OMG… the wind has picked up on deck 11 and it feels 10 degrees colder than a few minutes ago! This is gross!!!!

 

 

Jack needs a drink!  

[alexgtp]

So much fun following along! Brings back great memories, as we did the Norwegian Fjords last year!

Blue nose ceremony was hilarious! 

[twangster]

42 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I roll my items very tightly to fit inside.  Seems to help.  

 

For sure but was a lot easier with a plastic bag.  I ripped my paper bag on cruise #1 🙂 

[njkruzer]

15 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

For sure but was a lot easier with a plastic bag.  I ripped my paper bag on cruise #1 🙂 

Dh is really good at packing the bag.  Yes, the plastic bag was easier.

[RFerrington]

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

For sure but was a lot easier with a plastic bag.  I ripped my paper bag on cruise #1 🙂 

There is definitely an acquired skill with the paper laundry bag.  The trick is to gently shove (I realize that’s an oxymoron) some smaller items (think, socks) into the corners of the bag before you gently shove the bigger stuff in.  Rolling the clothes is helpful.  Don’t worry about trying to “close” the bag.  Just leave it open at the top.  The room attendants throw the paper bag inside of a larger plastic bag (my experience, anyway) so it gets secured in the end.  
 

Trust me, I have hopelessly ripped plenty of them over the years.  I now filch extra bags from off the attendants’ carts (a huge no-no….I am aware) whenever the opportunity presents itself.

 

I am a master of the paper laundry bag…😂😜. 21 items is my current record.

[island lady]

17 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

For sure but was a lot easier with a plastic bag.  I ripped my paper bag on cruise #1 🙂 

 

Yeah, I never liked those paper bags either.  With having to use the laundry often (for things I would not be devastated to be destroyed) on WC first quarter...we fortunately had the cloth bags.  They were great, since the crew simply washed and reused them.  

 

Seems to make sense to me.  🙂 

[Hoopster95]

Just crossed the arctic circle 5 minutes ago

 

 

Edited June 5 by Hoopster95

[dstein]

6 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The word "sale" on a sea day always generates a crowd.  Add "Wine" in front of that and it's busy up here!

 

Royal is quite consistent with wine pricing.  I once spent time comparing their wine list to prices at Total Wine.  (TW is a chain of liquor superstores in 28 US states, and they are particularly well-represented in the SF Bay Area, where I have a choice of several stores of 20K+ sqft in easy driving distance.  Their selection is HUGE and pricing is excellent compared to other places.)  Royal charge the full bottle price for a glass, and 2x the bottle price for a "sale".  In other words, if bottle X is selling for $20 at Total Wine then the per glass price onboard will be $20 and the sale price for the whole bottle will be $40.