Rare jaycruising Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 This post was recognized by LauraS! "And another from jaycruising! Thank you for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic! See your post featured on our: Click: Cruise Reports page. When you return, please consider submitting it to the site for publication as well: Click: Write a Review" jaycruising was awarded the badge '"Live from...."' and 5 points. I’m excited to begin another live from, I love documenting our trip and sharing photos that I take on the way. This cruise is a 7 day Norwegian Fjords cruise on Sky Princess! I will follow the same format I did on the last one of semi live updates, including patters, menus and food pictures. And then will finish up with some overall impressions. Also, please feel free to ask questions and I’ll try and answer as best I can. This trip as usual for cruises is me (Jay) and my DM (B). We travel really well together and like to get away at least once or twice a year together. While our last cruise in February wasn’t a dream cruise, this one sure is. We booked this cruise in January, which is not a ton of notice for a cruise like this, but I think we have it almost all together. Just a few odds and ends to put together. This will actually be our first time in Europe, so to say we are excited would be an understatement. I am also really excited for this ship, it is the newest one we have ever been on). I am actually writing this intro 18 days before we leave as I have a crazy schedule before we go, including 2 business trips and a family camping trip (I’m only scheduled to be home for5 nights before we go). I have put some of my usual cruise stuff out already. I keep a cruise travel pouch, that holds my medallion wrist band, a sharpie wrapped in painters tape to cover the motion lights, luggage tags and a pop up hamper). I also have done up a packing list that should hopefully help as well. I still need to pick up some British pounds, and Norwegian Kroner, and some new sandals. We have a direct overnight flight from Calgary to Heathrow. We have 1.5 days in London prior to boarding the ship. WOW hotels in London in summer are very expensive, so we have decided to stay close to LHR and will take the tube into the city for our adventures. . Since we are staying close to LHR, we decided to book Princess transfers to the ship. Our itinerary for this cruise is Southampton, Bergen, Skjolden, olden, Stavanger and back to Southampton. We have booked a departing excursion via Princess to end the cruise which will take us to Windsor and then drop us off at LHR. Where we are actually flying back to Oslo where we will spend the next 6 days touring around by land. 2 of my great-grandparents immigrated from Norway and so we will be spending some time with Family and explore some other areas of Norway. Including a train ride back to Bergen. So I will also add some interesting parts, but won’t be like the rest of my live from. I am really looking forward to sharing this trip (I do go back and reread them later) and I hope you like travelling along with us. Update to my intro… we are about 48 hours away from our flight to London. I just got home about 4 hours ago from our camping trip, put all my laundry in to wash and have started to lay out my packing. I was able to get my currency and shoes before my last business trip, and did get to wear them a bit, so am checking items off of the list. Even with my list I am finding this trip quite tricky to pack for, it seems that we are going to have variable weather and I think it is too early to trust a forecast anyway. Here is my packing laid out and ready to go last night. Side note, the wooden chest in the background is the one my great grandpa used when he emigrated from Norway. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 11 Author #2 Share Posted July 11 Wednesday, July 10 - travel day Now to catch up to real time! Our flight to London leaves at 8:40pm local tonight! since it is an overnight flight I did decide to go to work today, hopefully having a full day there will have me tired enough to sleep on the plane! DM drove 6 hours to my house in Calgary so we could fly together direct from here. we have been having a heatwave here and this was the temperature reading on my car on the way home from work I got home around 4 and finished up all the packing and was quite happy to head out of my house early, since I don’t have AC and it was rather hot in there, side note, the airport is quite warm too! Booked a Lyft to the airport, got here, and through security quite quickly. we are currently sitting in the lounge enjoying a glass of wine since we have about 45 more minutes before we have to head to the gate! This may be my last update before we land in London tomorrow afternoon. Luckily we have a direct flight on the Dreamliner so it should be a somewhat comfortable flight. We don’t have anything planned for tomorrow so we will play it by ear. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare dickinson Posted July 11 #3 Share Posted July 11 We'll be going on August 3. There is another live from already started by someone else but it will be interesting to hear about different people's trips. Have a safe flight! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 11 Author #4 Share Posted July 11 Before we left the lounge we drank some flightfud, It’s supposed to help with jet lag and all the fun that comes with that… not sure how it works yet, but am feeling pretty good so far. Our flight was on the Weatjet Dreamliner, which is quite a nice ride as far as long haul flights can be. We were slightly delayed in leaving Calgary, but we had beautiful views over the city as we left. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 11 Author #5 Share Posted July 11 Thursday, July 11 - Travel & London day Our flight was quite good, we had economy seats, but we did have preferred seats which have extra legroom and are at the front of economy. They fed us dinner (had pasta and it was pretty good) and finally managed to sleep a bit at midnight, I didn’t get much sleep though We shall see how long we last, but really trying to stay awake as long as possible! Thanks to a great tailwind we made it into Heathrow early, even got to circle over the city before we landed From the time I took this photo until we were in a black cab on our way to the hotel was about 45 minutes, pretty impressed since I had heard nightmare stories about Heathrow. Side note, there was a Princess rep waiting directly after you came out of baggage claim. If I haven’t already mentioned it, this is our first trip to Europe, so I am excited about quite a few things, including the first ride in a black cab! When booking the hotel we did look at staying right in London, but the prices were crazy, and with our terrible exchange rate even worse. I had originally looked at a Best Western at Paddington station and it was going to be £500, which was outside our budget. Instead we are staying at the Courtyard Marriott Heathrow for £270 for 2 nights. And it includes breakfast. We arrived just before 1pm and they were able to check us in right away! Our room is very much like the cabins on the ship, so far we are very happy with it! Now to stay awake and figure out what to do for the afternoon! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milolii Posted July 11 #6 Share Posted July 11 32 minutes ago, jaycruising said: Thursday, July 11 - Travel & London day Our flight was quite good, we had economy seats, but we did have preferred seats which have extra legroom and are at the front of economy. They fed us dinner (had pasta and it was pretty good) and finally managed to sleep a bit at midnight, I didn’t get much sleep though We shall see how long we last, but really trying to stay awake as long as possible! Thanks to a great tailwind we made it into Heathrow early, even got to circle over the city before we landed From the time I took this photo until we were in a black cab on our way to the hotel was about 45 minutes, pretty impressed since I had heard nightmare stories about Heathrow. Side note, there was a Princess rep waiting directly after you came out of baggage claim. If I haven’t already mentioned it, this is our first trip to Europe, so I am excited about quite a few things, including the first ride in a black cab! When booking the hotel we did look at staying right in London, but the prices were crazy, and with our terrible exchange rate even worse. I had originally looked at a Best Western at Paddington station and it was going to be £500, which was outside our budget. Instead we are staying at the Courtyard Marriott Heathrow for £270 for 2 nights. And it includes breakfast. We arrived just before 1pm and they were able to check us in right away! Our room is very much like the cabins on the ship, so far we are very happy with it! Now to stay awake and figure out what to do for the afternoon! We’ve stayed here a few times, including when I had Covid in 2022. It’s a great place and 5 minutes back to LHR. You can pre order a cab from the large monitor next to guest services. We found pre booked Ubers to be crazy expensive. The front desk agreed. You are going to have a great time. We just returned from a similar cruise on the Sky. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 11 Author #7 Share Posted July 11 Well… so much for not sleeping this afternoon, but it was just for about 1.5 hours and really rejuvenated me, so not disappointed. We did not do much of anything else this afternoon too, I read for a while and did walk around and check out more of the hotel. It is really nicely renovated. this is where they serve breakfast, I’ll update tomorrow for what is included. For dinner we headed upstairs to the Sky Lounge and enjoyed sitting on the patio, the weather was lovely and we watched planes land for a couple hours. They have a great cocktail menu! I really enjoyed my Calamari! Just back in the room resting and will be calling it an early night as we have a big day tomorrow, including lots of sightseeing and a West End show! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoe 59 Posted July 12 #8 Share Posted July 12 (edited) I look forward to following along on your trip. I have to wait until May 2026 for our turn. Edited July 12 by joejoe 59 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted July 12 #9 Share Posted July 12 We're on this trip with you. We're down in Southampton at the Moxy. Looking forward to getting onboard tomorrow morning? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcr70 Posted July 12 #10 Share Posted July 12 We’re on this cruise too … heading down to Southampton in the morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #11 Share Posted July 12 53 minutes ago, PATRLR said: We're on this trip with you. We're down in Southampton at the Moxy. Looking forward to getting onboard tomorrow morning? Very excited, we have been touring around London this morning going to a show this afternoon and then the evening back at the hotel to get ready for the cruise! 18 minutes ago, Jcr70 said: We’re on this cruise too … heading down to Southampton in the morning Us too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoMom!! Posted July 12 #12 Share Posted July 12 5 hours ago, jaycruising said: Very excited, we have been touring around London this morning going to a show this afternoon and then the evening back at the hotel to get ready for the cruise! Us too! Following along! How was London and the show? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #13 Share Posted July 12 1 hour ago, ColoradoMom!! said: Following along! How was London and the show? So good! We just got back to the hotel and I am going through photos now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #14 Share Posted July 12 Friday, July 12 - London Didn’t sleep like a rockstar, but definitely slept better than the night before. I do have to say I think the Flightfud worked, neither of us feel off at all, aside from being tired, but that happens when you barely sleep in over 24 hours! We had the included breakfast at the hotel and it was nice, and nice not to have to worry about finding somewhere to eat. We headed out of the hotel around 8:15am, we needed to make it into downtown London by 9:45am, and I hate being late. We took a bus and 2 trains to arrive at Green Park. I highly recommend the Citymapper app to help you with London transit, it walks you through every point to get you from A to Z, and makes it really easy. Since we arrived nice and early we were able to enjoy he park for a little while. I booked us into the Westminster Tour by Free Tours by Foot. The meeting instructions were great and our guide, Sinead and our group were right on time for us to head out right at 10:00am. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace. We didn’t get up close and personal as our guide told us that anyone who is close up doesn’t really get to see anything, all the action happens on the far side of the gate. She also said she is very good at tracking down the King and arranging for her groups to get to see him. She couldn’t tell for sure if he was in residence today, as he usually isn’t in on Fridays, but she said she thought he was since there were 4 guards out front as opposed to the usual 2 if he isn’t. A few minutes later the action started and one motorcycle police officer came by and then King Charles drove by and we had a front row seat (those close to the castle didn’t get to see him). 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #15 Share Posted July 12 King Charles headed to Clarence House so we headed that way and Sinead watched for signs if he was going to be heading out again or staying in. The motorcycles were still out front so Sinead thought he might be going out again, so we hung around for a while and she told us some different stories. Then the Bentley came by again, but seems they were parking it, as the motorcycles went away shortly after. These lampposts were gorgeous At this point we moved on as Sinead said it didn’t look like we was going anywhere soon and we had to head over and get our spots for the changing of the guard. The Horses are so gorgeous! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #16 Share Posted July 12 First up were the Pipes and Whistles Followed by guards Then the police Everyone else then headed towards the palace and we actually crossed the street to wait for the rest of the changing just outside St. James’ Park. Beautiful views down to the Palace. It’s beautiful to watch, so full of tradition. And seeing these costumes and things I have only ever saw on TV before was great! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #17 Share Posted July 12 Then we headed into the park They have these chairs throughout that you can have a little break on They have washrooms here you can use, they will cost 20p though. Here are some other beautiful things we saw as we made our way through the park This little cottage is totally what I envision when thinking of homes in Europe! This ice cream bus is adorable 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 12 Author #18 Share Posted July 12 We headed out of the park, past Chruchhill’s War Rooms We made our way to Parliment and the abbey. And of course Elizabeth Tower and Bg Ben! Stopped to say Hi to Churchill! And a couple more views of the tower! I am going to stop here for the night, I took about 300 photos today, so it is taking some time. We also want to be up early and head back to the airport so we can get the shuttle to Southampton, and that will give me time to catchup! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidsNana Posted July 12 #19 Share Posted July 12 Loving your review. My late husband and I rented an apartment in London many years ago for 2 weeks and your pictures are bringing back such wonderful memories. Looking forward to the rest of your adventures as you continue and board the ship. Have a great cruise. If you ever are in London again and have time, the War Rooms are fascinating. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabsinTX Posted July 13 #20 Share Posted July 13 We were on the previous cruise (14-day to Norway and Iceland) and are staying on for your cruise. So far, very good! We did ask for a top sheet and light blanket, since there was only a pretty heavy duvet on the bed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 13 Author #21 Share Posted July 13 Next we made our way to the Cenotaph, it is a beautiful memorial I very much appreciated this tribute to the women of World War 2, as their contributions are often overlooked Next we we to watch the changing of the horse guard. Our guide was so fantastic, she knew and got us to all the best spots to witness happenings. We lined up right on the line and she told us to be sure we held our spots, people did try and get in, but we stood our ground as instructed and we had a wonderful front row view 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 13 Author #22 Share Posted July 13 I loved the entire process, it is beautifully choreographed 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 13 Author #23 Share Posted July 13 Our final destination with our tour group was Trafalgar Square. We couldn’t get right there as they were erecting a giant screen, presumably to broadcast the upcoming football game. We said goodbye to our guide, not before she recommended a few places for lunch. I highly recommend this Tour, it was the Westminster tour by Free Tours by Foot. There is a $6.50 booking fee, but that is the only charge up front, and then at the end you pay what you can or feel it was worth. They do several different tours and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again. Now was time for lunch and of course we needed to head to a pub and of course we needed fish and chips! It was different having to go to the bar and put in my own order We just split the order of Fish and Chips. And yes I did try the mushy peas, they were good, just lacking much flavour After lunch we spent some time walking through the area as we had time to kill before our next event. We found Canada House And it wouldn’t be a trip to London without a photo of a red phone booth 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 13 Author #24 Share Posted July 13 For our afternoon we decided to go see a West End matinee show. And we chose The Book of Mormon! We both really enjoyed it, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes more than once. But, you need to have an open mind to watch this show it is definitely PG-13 and you cannot be offended easily. After our show we headed towards the Leicester Square to catch the train back to our hotel. It’s not really my scene and was quite happy to get out of the area as quick as possible. Our return journey to the hotel was nice and easy again thanks to Citymapper. We just went upstairs for dinner and then got our stuff ready for cruise day!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jaycruising Posted July 13 Author #25 Share Posted July 13 Saturday, July 13 - Boarding Day i was awake before my alarm today, but had slept well! At 6:30 is was time to get moving as today is CRUISE DAY! I should have taken it as an omen this morning that things were not going to go well as I kept dropping things in the bathroom! We went and had a light breakfast downstairs, then went and did a last look around the room and headed out around 8:15 to catch our shuttle back to the airport to catch our PCL shuttle to Southampton. And this is where our morning went south… It was a shared transfer and as we got in, our luggage tags confused the driver and we told him we were going to Terminal 2 to catch the transfer. He then says, no, I am going to Terminal 5. We then discover that the other people in the shuttle were supposed to go to terminal 2, but their flight got cancelled and they were then going out of terminal 5 and were in a big rush, did we mind if they went first. We said sure, we can actually go out of any terminal so we can get out here too. MISTAKE! We arrived at the terminal shortly after 8:30, we quickly found the Princess reps, they put a sticker on us and told us to go sit by this cafe and they would come and get us when it was time to go. While sitting there DM realized that somewhere along the way she had dropped her medallion, so we were going to have to take care of that too! And the minutes began to tick by, got all my photos from yesterday edited, walked to the far end of the terminal and back and now minutes had turned into an hour and then an hour turned into two and I finally got on a shuttle bus at 10:40 am! Off we go on the shuttle to Southampton… NOPE, we need to stop at Terminal 3 and pick up more guests. I’m not actually sure what time we got on the road. Traffic was horrible though, so we did a lot of waiting for that too! Once we got to Southampton roads seem to be shut down that our driver usually takes and he wasn’t using the maps app on his iPhone to tell him about these. So we got to watch him turn our big bus around in the middle of traffic not once, but twice! The second time was cause he tried to take us to Iona! We finally parked that bus for us to get off of it at 12:40pm! 4 hours to get to the ship… you can bet that this will be the last time we use a PCL transfer! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now