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Andrew JeromeAndrew Jerome
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I was born in Newcastle, Australia but now live in Adelaide, Australia with my husband Ted.
I currently work as a Flight Attendant for Qantas, and as an ESL teacher.
I have traveled to over 68 countries so far, and am hoping to visit many more. En savoir plus Adelaide, Australia
  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 13

    Day 13

    8 juin, Norvège ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Unfortunately neither Ted nor I were blessed with a good night’s sleep, as Ted was sick during most of the night with coughing and a sore throat. We still managed to drag ourselves to breakfast though as we weren’t going to let a lack of sleep hold us back from a day of sightseeing! We had a cruise of Lysefjord which went out towards Pulpit Rock booked for 10am, so we had a quick wander around the waterfront before boarding our cruise.

    Pulpit Rock was something I’ve wanted to see for a long time and would have preferred to see it from above but since the weather was plain and you required hiking shoes, the cruise seemed like a good alternative. Pulpit Rock was in the news this week too, as a tourist sadly fell to his death whilst sightseeing the rock.

    As it turned out, the cruise itself was not that interesting. It wasn’t the fault of the cruise line, as the boat itself was very nice and well equipped. It was just that, after all the fjords we’ve already seen prior to today, the Lysefjord didn’t offer anything new. And similarly, the view of Pulpit Rock from far below was very underwhelming! It wasn’t a total loss though - the sight of the beautiful houses along the water with a massive fjord as their daily view were impressive to see.

    After returning to Stavanger, we went back to the cruise ship for lunch before heading out again. As we still hadn’t seen much of the town yet, we went straight towards Gamle Stavanger, which is the old town with its white wooden buildings. From there we went to the stunning Fargegaten, a street with colourful houses, bars and restaurants. We then headed over to the Cathedral which wasn’t really photo-worthy, as it was covered in scaffolding for some renovations, so we explored the nearby park instead.

    We went back to Fargegaten again since, like the Viking Bar from yesterday, the place seemed like a wonderful location to have a drink. I had a red wine whilst Ted had an Underberg Bitters, which the waitress recommended for his cough. Ted ended up really liking it, so here’s hoping it has some good medicinal benefits.

    As we headed back to the boat, it started to rain heavily, so we were grateful to have done our sightseeing earlier. We had dinner with the boys from Reno before returning to our stateroom. I had a really bad headache, no doubt from lack of sleep, so I was more than happy to have an early night.

    The cruising this evening was somewhat interesting, as there was a storm nearby in the North Sea. Whilst the view of rising waves and winds was somewhat interesting, they were also a bit unsettling! Tomorrow we will visit Kristiansand - we don’t have any concrete plans for there so it should be a relaxing day.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 12

    Day 12

    7 juin, Norvège ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    This morning when we opened our curtains, we were greeted with the beautiful sight of the Norwegian fjords on our approach to Flåm. We continued to enjoy this view at breakfast as we sailed into port. We didn’t know what to expect with Flåm but we were surprised to see how small it is, compared to previous towns like Ålesund and Geiranger. As it turned out, that was a real blessing, as it really felt like we were among nature with fresher air and beautiful scenery.

    Ted and I were among the first passengers to disembark as we were eager to see the town. Weather wise, this has been the coolest port so far (about 2 degrees) but truthfully we don’t feel cold at all, which we assume is because there is no wind or humidity. Flåm is a very beautiful place, which we enjoyed just walking about and appreciating the peace and quiet. Originally we thought it would be too low key but we ended up loving it.

    Since our tour to Stegastein Lookout wasn’t until 10am, we considered hiring a mini electric vehicle like we’d seen in Geiranger but the price was way too exorbitant. While waiting for our tour, we met two guys from Brisbane whom we hadn’t met earlier so it was good to see some fellow Aussies. Our driver was so obnoxious! Not only did he talk down to the passengers, but he was aggressive on the road with other drivers.

    Fortunately the viewpoint was worth it, and we were also given reasonably good weather. The drive up took us past the beautiful village of Aurlandsvangen before driving for 20 minutes up a very winding road. Not only were the oncoming drivers a hazard, but so were the many mountain goats that would wander onto the road.

    Thankfully we had pretty decent weather at the viewpoint, which provided an amazing vista 650 metres above Aurlandsfjord. Once again, we took plenty of photos which we will have to cull later! After another hair-raising drive back to Flåm, we headed back to the cruise ship for lunch. One of the waitresses whom we’ve befriended recommended a Viking Bar in Flåm so we thought it seemed like a good excuse to go exploring again.

    The place in question was the Ægir Bryggeri (brewery), which was fully decked out in Viking lore, including a carving of a Norse god’s face in a tree trunk (which may have represented Yggdrasil, the central sacred tree). It seemed like a great place to enjoy the atmosphere, so I ordered an ale, and were joined shortly after by Blaine and Suzanne.

    After returning to the boat, we enjoyed our dinner with some of our American friends as we were treated to beautiful fjord scenery whilst departing. Ted was feeling under the weather again, so he went to bed early whilst I stayed for a few drinks in the Schooner Bar. Tomorrow we visit a new destination, Stavanger!    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 11

    Day 11

    6 juin, Norvège ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After a pretty good sleep (jet lag begone!) we went for breakfast before arriving at Ålesund around 11am. Once again, the cruise ship top deck was a great viewpoint of the city upon arrival, so we took several pics of the beautiful city which already looks more impressive than Honningsvåg!

    Since we have just found out that guests are not allowed to take food off the ship (whoops!), we waited in the Solarium until disembarkation, and filled ourselves up on croissants so we wouldn’t be hungry later. We were greeted with beautiful weather, as well as troll footprints painted on the footpath, making sure that finding the centre of town would be easy.

    As soon as we saw the waterfront, we knew we would like Ålesund. We weren’t sure where to head to next, so we just wandered around before inadvertently encountering a walking tour, and following them to a nearby viewpoint at Storhaugen Park. From there we wandered down to Ålesund church, before making our way to the Aksla Viewpoint, which was definitely the highlight of our visit.

    Before reaching the viewpoint, you first walk through beautiful Byparken park before climbing the 418 steps to the top. The climb was not particularly difficult, however it also guaranteed a good workout. We ran into Keith and Wee in the park, as well as seeing the Reno boys on the climb up. I think Ted and I took about a million photos. We did want to get a good selfie from a viewpoint but a group of Americans with a selfie stick didn’t seem willing to give it up.

    We went back down to the waterfront but sadly our beautiful weather turned cold, as the wind and cold blew in. After picking up some food from the supermarket, we returned to the cruise ship for lunch. Our afternoon ended up being low key as Ted has been feeling unwell, which isn’t that surprising considering how many people we have seen coughing and sneezing in the Windjammer restaurant.

    Both Charlie and Blaine contacted us about dinner plans, but since Ted wasn’t feeling well, we settled on a quiet night in. Tomorrow we have our next destination of Flåm in western Norway!    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 10

    Day 10

    5 juin, Norwegian Sea ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Going to bed early wasn’t such a bad idea, since Ted and I both had a better sleep than usual. For a change, I thought I would try the dining room for breakfast instead of the chaos of the buffet restaurant, whilst Ted still preferred the latter. Whilst I enjoyed the quieter atmosphere and the portions of food, the service was really quite slow and lacking, with incorrect and forgotten orders. I did give it some allowance though as I’ve since heard that a lot of the waitstaff have fallen ill.

    Ted and I were keen for a quieter day so we spent most of the morning relaxing in the solarium, and fortunately we arrived early enough to avoid the insane grab for a deck chair. The day didn’t remain quiet for long though as several friends arrived to join us. We of course didn’t mind, although it’s getting harder and harder for me to finish my book!

    Morning trivia was on but since I didn’t want to relinquish my deck chair, I messaged some of the answers to Wee who was there. By the afternoon though, we went to “Guess that Tune 80’s” with Mike, Wee, Suzanne, Blaine and Charlie, and came first with an amazing 20/20! We were probably feeling cocky by then so we stayed for a regular trivia game where we only scored 12. By the time we played the third game, with an announcer who could barely pronounce English, our score had plummeted to 6!

    After dinner we relaxed in our room before I joined Blaine, Suzanne and Charlie at the Windjammer restaurant for a tea before bed. Tomorrow we arrive in Ålesund, which is the first of four days in a row of sightseeing.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 9

    Day 9

    4 juin, Norvège ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Today brought us to our northernmost destination of Honningsvåg, Norway, which is the third highest city in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. It also brought us our first bad weather for the holiday, as it was pouring rain when we arrived.

    We managed to sleep in okay, although this 24 hour sunlight is still playing havoc with our systems! Since we didn’t have any excursions booked for today, we were in no rush to disembark the ship when we arrived at 7:30am. From what we could tell on Google, there was nothing open at that early hour anyway, so the morning was far from busy.

    We disembarked after breakfast with a handful of other passengers, and wandered around town. There was very little to see as everything was still closed, but we did still get some good photos of the waterfront as well as from an unofficial viewpoint we found. There was also nobody walking around so it almost felt like a ghost town. Considering how far north we were, the weather still wasn’t that cold although it did start raining again during our walk.

    We went to the local Christmas Shop which specialised in decorations and Christmas themed items, so we bought a Christmas bauble to add to our collection. I did also want to see the statue of Bamse, a local hero dog who was commemorated and well remembered by the townspeople. Since we had pretty much seen everything we wanted to, and the weather was still rainy, we returned to the ship and it was only 10:30am!

    After getting back onboard we warmed up in Café Latte-tudes, whilst the crew were practicing an emergency drill! Ted and I then relaxed in the Solarium, which was perfect because we virtually had the place to ourselves. These have been perfect opportunities to catch up on reading, Netflix and writing this travel blog.

    When I looked at shore excursions for Honningsvåg, nothing really looked that interesting for the price paid and, after speaking to some of our fellow travellers, I’m glad we did our own thing. One excursion I considered was going to Nordkapp, but it sounded like it was very weather dependent and not overly interesting.

    We joined Blaine, his mum Suzanne, and the boys from Reno for dinner in the Windjammer restaurant, before heading to the Schooner Bar for drinks and to enjoy the music and 24 hour sunlight. We also had plenty of whale and dolphin sightings through the huge windows, which would prompt all the passengers to run to one side of the ship each time! We then moved onto the Safari Bar next door which was quieter and more relaxed, although the service was a lot slower!

    The Safari Bar then hosted a game show called “The Perfect Couple” which I’m glad we didn’t volunteer for because by this time (11:00pm), we were really tired. I felt somewhat silly leaving so early since so many other passengers were still up dancing and drinking in the daylight, but we couldn’t stay awake much longer. Tomorrow will be another ship day as we cruise the Arctic Circle, so I think I’ll make the most of the relaxing time.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 8

    Day 8

    3 juin, Norvège ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Now that we have 24 hours of daylight, we woke up way too early again at 5am because, even though we’re using eye masks, our bodies and brains are still telling us to get up. Whilst having breakfast in the buffet restaurant with Keith and Wee, we admired the amazing, mountainous scenery which is reminiscent of the scenery we saw in Alaska.

    Unlike Geiranger, our cruise ship is located a short distance from town so after disembarking, we needed to find a way in rather than doing a 40 minute walk. Since our main priority was going up the cable car, we found a ticket seller which offered this option which included the shuttle bus to and from the cruise port. Since it was around the same price as a regular cable car ticket, it seemed like a good option.

    After boarding the bus, we departed about 10 minutes later, much to the dismay of an elderly Asian gentleman who was still waiting for his wife to board. It was sad to see because the gentleman didn’t understand that he needed to disembark, whilst watching his wife trying to chase the bus as it was leaving.

    The cable car ride wasn’t very long and was fortunately very frequent. It was an amazing view from the top, which we shared with groups of school students and even a handful of dogs. Since the last shuttle was returning to the ship at 1:30pm, we decided to forego that idea as it would’ve meant that we wouldn’t have time to see the city. Our cable car driver told us about the local bus service from town back to the cruise port which sounded like a better idea.

    We walked towards the Arctic Cathedral for some photos before crossing the Tromsø Bridge towards the city. Earlier, Ted and I had mentioned how amazing the weather had been, since it was almost Summer-like and not cold at all. All that changed as we crossed the bridge, as the sun disappeared behind the clouds and a cold breeze picked up. Our beautiful weather had seemingly disappeared!

    We wandered around the town of Tromsø which, at best, was quaint but not much else. One worthwhile stop though was at the Smørtorget cafe which, whilst expensive, offered the best coffee we’ve had so far since starting this holiday! We purchased the bus tickets through an online app and, nine stops later, we were back at the cruise port for a much cheaper price.

    Whilst waiting to board the boat it started to rain, which drew attention to the holes I didn’t know I had in my shoes. We went for lunch in the buffet restaurant before heading to movie theme trivia with Charlie, which we’d already missed most of!

    Our afternoon was mostly a relaxing one, as I read in the solarium before going to dinner with the guys from Reno. This 24 hour daylight is still hard to get used to! I ended up going to bed at 10pm after hanging out with Blaine and Charlie, but the bright light was telling me it was too early to sleep! Tomorrow we head to Honningsvåg, the northernmost point in mainland Europe.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 7

    Day 7

    2 juin, Norwegian Sea ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Last night we had the best sleep so far, as we’re slowly getting used to both the different time zones, and the almost 24 hour daylight. Today was another ship day, so there isn’t much to write about!

    Most of the day was spent socialising, as we went to trivia with Keith and Wee in the morning, and then spent most of the day relaxing in the Solarium, which is an adults only pool area. Considering we are in a Nordic climate, it is fully enclosed and warm enough to swim or just relax.

    I ended up going to the 3pm trivia with Charlie and Blaine (I’m still yet to win a game!), and ended up being joined by Ted and Blaine’s mother Suzanne. We spent so much time afterwards talking about all things political that suddenly, it was time for the 5pm trivia! We then ended up having dinner with the Americans from Reno.

    Today we also crossed the Arctic Circle, which would explain why we’re having 24 hours of daylight now. Apparently there were some Orca whales off the side off the boat but I didn’t see them, so hopefully they’ll reappear again during our cruise.

    Ted was keen to watch the tennis in our stateroom so I went back out for drinks with Blaine and the Americans from Reno. Our arrival tomorrow in Tromsø isn’t until 10:30am but I still didn’t have an overly late night.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 6

    Day 6

    1 juin, Norvège ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Any hopes I had of a sleep-in today were dashed when Ted woke up at 5am and decided to involve himself with every room activity possible, meaning I couldn’t fall back asleep. Since it was still too early for breakfast, we went and got a coffee at the Starbucks-like cafe which, just like the name suggests, serves awful coffee. This morning was also a good opportunity to enjoy our balcony, as we sailed through the fjords and admired views of all the waterfalls, from both there and from the top deck of the ship.

    Ted took a bag to breakfast this morning, so we were able to take some food items with us on our day out in Geiranger today. Due to my early wake up call, I did need another snooze before we packed up and headed out around 10:30am. That almost ended up being a disaster for the crew as one moron passenger decided to open a barrier leading downstairs, which ultimately led passengers to descend towards the exit in a completely chaotic fashion.

    Geiranger is a very pretty town, well hidden within the Norwegian fjords. We were anticipating cooler weather but it is much milder than we’d expected. One thing I had considered hiring for our time here was one of the E-mobility vehicles which looked like a lot of fun but were however, really expensive! We ended up finding our tour bus after asking at the tourist information, and were handed a weird radio-like device, which was meant to deliver the tour to you in your own language (but didn’t work).

    Our German driver Andre first took us to the Flydalsjuvet lookout but it wasn’t exactly like the pictures promised - a heavy fog was still there from the morning and only dissipated slightly to give us a hazy view of the waterfront. Andre kept apologising but didn’t need to as that’s just how life is.

    As we continued to ascend, any remnants of Summer disappeared as we were completely surrounded by snow and ice. After driving past Lake Djupvatnet, we arrived at the Dalsnibba lookout to photograph the glacier. Well, in theory anyway, as the fog was even thicker there! It only ended up being a quick toilet and souvenir stop, as there wasn’t a lot more to do.

    Andre felt bad so he offered us a very quick photo opportunity at Lake Djupvatnet before continuing on. We passed through town and continued in the opposite direction towards the Eagle Bend lookout. Fortunately the weather here was great, which was lucky because this lookout was the best of the lot. We also had extra time here to make up for the earlier sights.

    After returning to town, we wandered through the local shops and restaurants, considering whether to eat there. As predicted, the prices were exorbitant, so we piked out and returned to the ship to drop off our backpack and have lunch there. Ted did however pay $3.15 to use the toilet so at least we contributed something to the local economy.

    After lunch, we headed back out into town again as I wanted to do the local waterfall walk. Ted decided we would take the road up instead and come from the opposite direction which I wasn’t thrilled with as the climb was twice as difficult. The photos we got were great though, as the weather continued to improve. On the walk back to the ship we stopped at a local grocery store where Ted bought some beautiful strawberries for his onboard breakfasts.

    Ted wanted to have dinner on the starboard side of the ship so we could watch the departure process, which included the folding up of an enormous zigzag walkway that is attached to the boat. We saw some of the American guys again at the back of the boat, and joined them in taking photographs of the various waterfalls during the departure.

    Since our sleep patterns have been sketchy, we both thought an early night sounded more appealing than going out for drinks. Tomorrow we have another ship day, so we will probably use it for a bit of R&R.    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 5

    Day 5

    31 mai, North Sea ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    Today was just a ship day for us, which was a great opportunity to explore and meet some of our fellow passengers. I did wake up earlier than I would have liked, so I used the opportunity to take photos of different parts of the cruise ship, like the rock climbing wall, the sky bar and the formal dining room. I also met some of my other early risers, who were either going to the gym or just had jet lag.

    Ted also went to the gym at this time, before we met up to go to breakfast together. Like all our previous cruises, we overindulged, but also knew when to stop. One thing we like about cruising is meeting the different crew on board - I spoke to a lovely Mexican waitstaff lady, which was a good opportunity for us to both practice our English and Spanish.

    Ted and I went to our first onboard trivia where we may have been a bit too confident - we thought the questions were too easy but only ended up coming fifth! We were a bit gobsmacked when a man in an electric wheelchair buggy purposely ran into some chairs near us just so he could have some room. I then went to another trivia competition nearby which was “guess the destination” where you needed to guess somewhere by a photo. I did a lot better at this one, and was personally impressed how many I got correct.

    We went to lunch early at 11:30am since we were already hungry again, but Ted wasn’t feeling well afterwards so we went back to the room until he recovered. After sleeping for about two hours he felt better so it was most likely a combination of different food and lack of sleep. I did have the opportunity to go to another trivia, but foolishly decided to watch Trump’s reaction on TV to his recent guilty verdict. What a waste of 10 minutes that was!

    Since tonight is formal night, we’d had our clothes pressed and booked to have dinner in the formal restaurant instead of the buffet restaurant. Since our dinner wasn’t until 8:15pm, we ended up having something to tie us over before getting ready and going for drinks at the Vintages bar again. We saw some of the guys we’d met last night, before going to the formal dining room.

    We ended up getting a table to ourselves instead of sharing with others and, as much as we enjoy the buffet, it was really nice to have a proper formal meal instead. I had soup and risotto, followed by cream puffs. After dinner, we went to one of the bars where we joined the guys again for drinks. Our group has now grown to ten guys, although it’s still eight Americans and just us two Aussies. We are still adjusting to these long Norwegian days and by 10pm, Ted and I were exhausted and went back to the room. Tomorrow we go to our first port of call, Geiranger!    En savoir plus

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  • VoyageurThe Norwegian Cruise
    Jour 4

    Day 4

    30 mai, North Sea ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Today begins the first day of our cruise! I’d like to say I had a good sleep but unfortunately I woke up early with slight jet lag. Since we had the time, we packed up everything early before heading out for breakfast. The Dutch seem to be late risers as the nearby cafes didn’t open until 8am or later, so we had plenty of time.

    We headed to a cafe named Winkel 43 where we had club sandwiches and coffee which isn’t very breakfast like, but we didn’t mind. We sat outside and watched the city go by, whether it was people, dogs or bicycles, and since it’s a quieter part of the city, it was very relaxing. Ted had originally said he didn’t think he could live in Amsterdam - after our outdoor breakfast, he has now said he definitely could.

    After paying for breakfast (so expensive!), we went back to the accommodation to check out. Since our cruise today didn’t depart until 4pm, we had the whole morning to enjoy, so we decided to visit Haarlem after all. We really wanted to see somewhere outside of the capital and since my foot wasn’t hurting half as much as before, thought it sounded like a good idea.

    We caught a train from Centraal which only took 15 minutes and welcomed us with some beautiful Dutch countryside. I had mentioned to Dennis and John that we would be coming there, and John greeted us halfway from the station. Haarlem is so beautiful - similar to Amsterdam but friendlier, cleaner and more relaxed. John showed us some of the sights such as the Zentralplatz, the old church, and cheese shops before taking us to their apartment to join Dennis for coffee.

    Their apartment is amazing, with a view of a church converted into a brewery, as well as being within walking space of a cinema, cafes and supermarkets. The boys had bought us some Stroopwafel to take with us on our travels too. After leaving the apartment, John took us to the waterfront, where we had a tourist photo with a windmill before returning to the station for our train back to Amsterdam.

    After collecting our bags at the accommodation, Ted called an Uber to take us to the station but the first Uber driver, seeing the size of our bags, drove off! Fortunately the second Uber driver was a lot nicer, and even helped with our bags. Even though we had arrived almost an hour early, the check in process at Royal Caribbean was extremely easy and smooth, whether it was the bag collection, the security or immigration.

    Once onboard, Ted and I went straight to our stateroom to offload our backpacks before heading to the dining room for lunch. We had paid extra for a larger balcony room and, although the room is slightly dated compared to Princess or Celebrity, is still fine for the two of us. Since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, Ted and I overindulged slightly at the buffet, which made us feel somewhat lousy afterwards!

    To work off some extra weight, we did a quick walk around the ship, seeing some of the bars, swimming pools and lounges. We also needed to attend our safety procedures and muster drill which was a surprise. Usually this involves going to one of the onboard theatres and watching a safety demonstration video - this time we merely needed to talk to one of the crew who told us where we would need to go in an emergency. Maybe it’s because of our jobs, but we were surprised how low-key it was.

    Ted ended up finding our suitcases located down the hallway, after wondering where they were all this time! We met our room attendant Terrence who took some of our clothes for pressing as tomorrow night will be one of the formal nights.

    Since we were still so full after lunch, we had a very light dinner before heading to the LGBTQ meetup at the Vintages bar. This can sometimes be hit and miss with us and we only managed to meet three others - a couple from Tennessee and an older man from Fort Lauderdale. The effects of jet lag and little sleep did start to affect us though and we ended up heading back to our room just after 8pm. It has been a slow start but I’m hoping that we can meet some good people on this cruise too.    En savoir plus

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