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World Cruise

December 2023 - May 2024
We are embarking on our long awaited World Cruise featuring the Northern Hemisphere. Read more
+15
  • 140footprints
  • 23countries
  • 142days
  • 927photos
  • 18videos
  • 73.9kkilometers
  • 4.5ksea miles
  • 7.0kkilometers
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  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    Day 141

    London, England

    May 8 in England ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Bob went to breakfast in the World Cafe.

    I continued to pack. I discovered that my duffle bag had a hole in it. I borrowed a sewing kit from Jenni and did my best to sew up the hole. We also got some duct tape from our room steward. Can any one say Clampetts? I am hoping that it holds! I will have nightmares of my belongings being slung all over the baggage claim carousel.

    I was relieved that everything fit in our luggage and most bags were under weight. My sweet husband was right AGAIN!

    We had lunch in the World Cafe with Dale and Jenni. While we were having lunch, we sailed by the newly installed flood control gates. They were testing these gates this morning which may have been the reason that we are coming into London so late

    We relaxed in the afternoon while finishing adding the last items to our luggage. We gave items away that we are leaving in the ship.

    We watched the ship dock in Greenwich. We arrived at 3:30 PM which is an hour and a half late. Shore excursions did not begin until after 4 PM. We are moored in the Thames next to a floating platform. One must disembark via the platform to an awaiting boat than to shore.

    This is the first time that we have sailed into the Thames during the day. We usually sail during the early morning which leaves a full day to explore London. Many people are upset that what is advertised as two days in London ends up being just one afternoon as most people have very early morning flights.

    We went down to the atrium to give our snorkel masks to Apple (our wonderful waitress in the Restaurant).

    We had our last aperitif before heading to the private dining room at Manfredi's. The Hollands arranged a dinner for Dale, Jenni, Jim, Janet, George, Barbara, Patty, Keifer and yourselves. It was nice to have the last diner with this group. It also minimized the amount of goodbyes we have to say.

    After dinner, we went back to our stateroom to put our luggage out. I wish that I had taken a picture of our luggage but I am fighting this cold so my brain is a bit fuzzy.

    We said goodnight for the last time aboard the Viking Neptune.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    Day 140

    Dover, England

    May 7 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    I am not feeling well so I took the day off.

    We did not have an excursion scheduled because we did find the offerings very inspiring.

    Bob decided that he would go on the included tour. Although it was fully booked, they told him that he could just head to the check in location and they will probably be able to accommodate him.

    After breakfast, he headed down to the check in area.

    I had to go through face to face immigration after which I worked on packing for a brief period.

    I ordered room service for lunch.

    We are scheduled to have dinner with Dale, Jenni, Jim, and Janet in the restaurant.

    I will update this footprint with Bob's experience in the near future.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    Day 139

    Paris (Honfleur), France-Normandy

    May 6 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Well...I woke up this morning and figured out why I have been so exhausted. I must have been fighting a bug. This morning it officially won.

    Our excursion is not until 10:15 AM so we had a slow morning, ate breakfast (since I am taking tons of medicine - I needed something in my stomach).

    Our excursion for today is Normandy and D-Day. We both know that this will be a very emotional day.

    We got in the same bus with Henry, Krystal, Jim, Lynn, Donna, and Art.

    We had about a two hour drive during which our guide gave us the history of Operation Overlord. Our guide had a very heavy French accent and she spoke very fast. It was really hard for me to understand her which was beyond frustrating. I have limited knowledge of WWII and would have loved to have gotten the background information.

    We stopped at Arromanches for lunch and a tour of the museum. When we got to the museum, we were given headsets and told that they would work automatically as we moved through the museum.

    The first stop in the museum was a film about the building of Mulberry Harbor. This is such an amazing feat of engineering and military subterfuge.

    As we made our way to the next exhibits, our device would not play anything for exhibits 2-10. After wasting a bunch of time trying to get the device to work, I asked a guide who was clueless. I then made my way back to the entrance and spoke with the front desk. They informed me that since we were with a group and had only a short time allotted at the museum, our devices were programmed to only play the films and a few of the exhibits. I was beyond frustrated! This excursion was to learn about WWII and D-Day not to waste time eating and shopping!

    Needless to say, with all the time I spent trying to figure out the device, I was one of the last people in our group out of the museum.

    I walked along the beach viewing the remnants of Mulberry Harbor and then found Bob browsing in the city. We decided to walk some of the quaint streets. We came upon another museum whose exhibits had all been donated by WWII veterans or their families. This was a wonderful and much more personal museum and we wish we would have had more time to spend here.

    We made our way back to the square outside of the first museum. Our guide was frantically looking for us. We were exactly on time but were last ones to the bus.

    Our next stop was the Normandy American Cemetery. This cementery contains graves of nearly 9,400 and a Wall of the Missing with 1,600 names.

    Just as we reached the area by the Wall of the Missing, the Star Spangle Banner. I barely held it together.

    As we began walking to the chapel, Taps began playing....I totally lost it. It is hard to grasp the magnitude of loss that these graves represent. Young men who answered the call to defend not only our nation but the World from evil.

    Looking at the current state of the world, it pains me to conclude that we have either not learned the lessons of the past or we have forgotten.

    After the emotional visit to the American cemetery, we drive to Omaha Beach for a short time.

    We then drove back to the ship via the town of Honfleur. Honfleur is a beautiful town. I would have loved to spend some time here.

    I will once again add pictures taken with my phone and will edit pictures and add more later.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    12
    Day 138

    Saint Malo, France

    May 5 in France ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We arrived in St. Malo just as the sun was coming up. We are fortunate to have a great view of the city from our stateroom.

    Today we have an 8 hour excursion to Le Mont-Saint-Michel. We waited outside the Star Theater for Jim, Lynn, Karen, Dave, Donna and Art (this is the same group that went to Marrakesh). When we all arrived, we were able to get assigned to the same bus.

    After a short tender ride, we caught a brief sight of St. Malo.

    This is a port that I would have loved to be able to do more than one excursion. The included excursion is Saint Malo on foot. After listening to All The Light We Cannot See (Patty and I listened to this book during our drive to Telluride and I am currently relistening to it), I would have loved to tour the city. But we always see Le Mont-Saint-Michel on the Tour De France when it travels through Normandy so we decided to sign up to see Le Mont-Saint-Michel.

    Our tour began with a little over an hour drive during which we saw beautiful countryside (I even saw several deer), charming villages, and rolling pastures.

    Upon arriving at a large parking lot, we were transferring to a shuttle which drove us a short distance to the base of Le Mont-Saint-Michel. We made a short walk before we entered the first gate.

    The history of Mont-Saint-Michel is thought to date back to 708, when Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a sanctuary built in honor of the Archangel. The mount soon became a major focus of pilgrimage. In the 10th century, the Benedictines settled in the abbey, while a village grew up below its walls. By the 14th century it extended as far as the foot of the rock. An impregnable stronghold during the Hundreds Year War, Mont-Saint-Michel is also an example of military architecture. Its ramparts and fortifications resisted all the English assaults and, as a result, the Mount became a symbol of national identity.

    Following the dissolution of the religious community during the Revolution and until 1863, the abbey was used as a prison.

    Classified as a historic monument in 1874, Mont-Saint-Michel underwent major restoration work. Since then, the work has gone on regularly all over the site. The result is that visitors can now experience the splender of the abbey as the people of the Middle Ages did during their time.

    We began our tour by walking under one of many gates to a very narrow road lined with many shops and restaurants.

    Next we walked up flight after flight of stairs. I think after all is said and done, we probably did the equivalent of almost 25 flights of stairs. (322 individual steps). I am once again so thankful that Bob is doing so well! But I am also wondering, once again, what Viking was thinking. They categorized this excursion as moderate and they did not announce the number of flights of stairs that one is required to hike up.

    After our tour we walked back down to a restaurant located just inside the first gate. We sat with a delightful couple, Red and Joe. They were both bicycle riders. Joe had also done many marathons and triathlons. Although she has given up running long ago, they both continue to bike.

    We were given free time to shop after lunch. I am done shopping so instead of taking the shuttle back to the bus, I wanted to walk. Joe said she would join me so off we went. I let her set the pace. She is a really fast walker.

    We had great views of Mont St. Michele during our walk. We also saw some pilgrims holding crosses while they sang hymns as they made their way to Mont St. Michele.

    After Joe and I made the 40 minute walk, we made it to the parking lot before Bob and Red.

    We then made the drive back to the port at St. Malo. It was an absolutely beautiful day which made me wish all the more that we would have spent more time in this port.

    We had dinner at the World Cafe with Jim, Lynn, Donna, Art, Henry and Krystal.

    Upon returning to the stateroom, I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. We were just commenting on how healthy Bob and I have been on the cruise. Guess we spoke too soon.

    I am going to make this post with the photos that I have taken with my phone. When I get a minute to edit my other photos, I will add them.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    1
    Day 137

    Sea Day!!!!

    May 4, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    We slept in until 9:45AM.

    We started packing. I am still questioning if all of our stuff will fit. So far we have 3 - 70 pound bags packed.

    We went to the farewell brunch on the pool deck. It was impressive. I am embarrassed to admit that I had two lobster tails.

    We headed back to the stateroom to continue the packing process.

    We had a final Lady's get together in the Winter garden between 4 - 5. I will miss the fun times that we have had during this cruise. Lynn had organized conversation starters but they were totally unnecessary. We got so caught up in conversation that I was late in getting to the restaurant for dinner with Dale, Jenni, and Bob.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    2
    Day 136

    A Coruna, Spain

    May 3 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We are feeling much better after having taken yesterday off.

    We skipped breakfast and watched the port talk for A Coruna.

    Our excursion today is A Day in Santiago de Compostela.

    We drove an hour through beautiful hilly terrain. It was very green with well kept farms.

    We arrived at Santiago De Compostela. We were told that this is the third most holy site in Christianity after Jerusalem and Rome. Many pilgrims make their pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela.

    We arrived at Santiago and began our walk to the square.

    The square consists of 4 buildings. The Cathedral representing religion, the University representing education, the Parliament representing Justice and the hotel representing hospitality.

    We made our way to the cathedral's museum. On display were artifacts that has once adorned the cathedral but were removed during various renovations of the cathedral. These artifacts were stored in the cathedral 's storage areas.

    We entered the cathedral and had a brief moment to take pictures from the rear aisle. We then toured a small chapel.

    When we returned to the main area of the cathedral, I had hope to get closer to the high alter. Unfortunately, mass was beginning so we were ushered out of the cathedral.

    I wished that we had spent less time in the museum and more time in the cathedral. Come to find out, mass does not occur at a specific time. When the pilgrims fill the cathedral, they begin the mass. It was pouring outsided so I think that the pilgrims hastened their arrival to the cathedral resulting in mass beginning 30 minutes before estimated time.

    We then walked around the cathedral and back into the square. It was really raining hard so we skipped free time and headed to the hotel. We waited in the lobby until lunch was ready to be served.

    Lunch was really good.

    After lunch, we walked back to the bus for the hour drive back to the ship.

    We had dinner in the restaurant with Dale and Jenni.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    11111
    Day 134

    Lisbon, Portugal Day 2

    May 1 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We opted for a private Tuk Tuk ride today.

    We met our guide at 9 AM.

    We had a wonderful day learning about all of Lisbon's important structures, parks, street art, and tile mafia.

    Our guide was wonderful.

    We returned to the ship around 1 PM and had lunch.

    I worked on blog.

    We were invited to an event this evening where we would eat at the Captain's Table with the group we went to Marrakesh with along with Heather Clancy, Henry, Krystal, Luann and Rob. I got the time wrong and we showed up about 45 minutes late. I know that I am really exhausted because I rarely get my times mixed up.

    We had a lovely evening.    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    11111
    Day 133

    Lisbon, Portugal

    April 30 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The hairstylist had to cancel my previous appointment due to illness, so I had it rescheduled for today at 8:00.

    After my hair appointment, I went back to the room and tried to pay our roofing contractor one more time.

    We went to lunch at 11:30 AM. Jenni joined us at lunch. I tried to talk her into seeing if she could join our tour as she didn't have a tour for the day. She said that she would think about it.

    I ran downstairs and picked up our passport for the final time.

    We then got our coats on and headed out for the tour.

    We asked the excursion person if there was room for Jenni. She indicated that they had confirmed Jenni on the tour and we were assigned to the same bus.

    Once on the bus, I called Bank of America's fraud department because they blocked my online payment to our roofing contractor. I am hoping that this payment will finally go through.
    We could immediately tell that we had a good guide today. He gave us a lot on information and had a great sense of humor.

    We drove to the Queluz Royal Palace while the guide gave us information on the history of Portugal.

    The Queluz Royal Palace was impressive. We toured several wings of the palace and the garden.

    We then drove to the quaint, hilly town of Sintra. Our guide was from Sintra so he was a wealth of information regarding the town. There is a National Palace located in Sintra but entrance to this palace was not part of the tour. We toured the "garden" of the National Palace which was really a pour excuse a garden.

    Bob, Jenni and I walked through the town. We toured an actual artist school where students were working on tiles and other ceramic art.

    We met the group just outside the National Palace, walked to the bus, and then had a drive along the coastline.

    The traffic was bad so we didn't get back to the ship until around 7:00 PM. We quickly changed and had dinner in the restaurant with Jenni because lobster thermidor was on the menu.

    We really enjoyed our first day in Portugal. It was nice to have a great guide.
    Drove to Sinatra
    Toured garden which was a poor excuse for a garden
    Walked through town
    Toured an actual art school    Read more

  • TravelerWorld Cruise
    12
    Day 132

    Cadiz Seville Spain

    April 29 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    It was an early morning wake up as we have a eight hour long excursion.

    We ordered room service for breakfast.

    I tried to get some money sent to one of our roofing contractors. It proved to be more of a challenge than I hoped it would be. I will have to contact the bank after our tour today.

    We headed down to the Star Theater a little after 7 AM. I was distracted with the frustration with the bank this morning and forgot my stateroom key card so I had to run back to the room.

    When we approached the Star Theater, Krystal was just coming down the stairs and Jenni was waiting outside the theater so our delayed arrival due to me forgetting my key card ended up creating perfect timing for us all to get on the same bus.

    After the usual sound check, we departed through a beautiful port area and across a suspension bridge just as the sun was rising.

    As we were driving by picturesque rolling farmland dotted with wind turbines, I worked on this blog. Meanwhile, Bob sent a text to Rob. Technology is amazing until it isn't -like this morning's fiasco.

    On the almost 2 hour drive to Seville, the "guide" on the bus didn't give us any information regarding the history of Seville or Spain.

    We arrived at Seville and we picked up a local guide. We made a short drive to Plaza Espanol. I had to google the Plaza Espanol because our guide gave us a brief description on the Plaza but no contextual history. The Plaza was completed in 1929 and took 15 years to complete. It was built to show Spain embracing the Americas.

    We next drove to Casa de Pilatos.

    According to Wikipedia:
    The House of Pilate is a palace located in the Spanish city of Seville , in Andalusia , belonging to the House of Medinaceli . It constitutes one of the most emblematic buildings of Andalusian civil architecture of the 16th century and presents a combination of Italian Renaissance and Spanish Mudejar styles, the result of the different interventions that occurred, from the last third of the 15th century to the 17th century .

    Portions of the Game of Thrones were filmed at the Casa de Pilatos. We have not watched Game of Thrones.

    I had to once again Google Casa de Pilatos. The guide must have thought that we all had researched the history of Spain. We felt like we were dropped into a college course half way through the term.

    After leaving the Casa de Pilatos, we walked down absolutely beautiful streets until we reached the Cathedral.

    We walked around the Cathedral area and in the courtyard of the Royal Palace.

    Next we were given freetime to have lunch.

    Dale, Jenni, Bob and I found a quaint restaurant and had lunch.

    We then met our group, walked to the bus, and drove back to the ship.

    Our impression of Seville is that it is a beautiful city. We just wish that we had a different tour and guide. We would have loved to go inside the cathedral but the line was too long. The guide was really lacking.    Read more

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