Day 13, July 4th, Day at Sea

Our original itinerary had a stop at Isafjordur in northwest Iceland. When we boarded they presented us with a change with no stop here. All we could learn was the port was not open so our cruise ship could not enter. That was disappointing and we had to cancel our excursion to the Westfjords and Dynjandi waterfalls. Instead we had our third sea day.
The shops on the ship were open for business for the last time. We had onboard credit to use so made our purchases. The shops can sell things tax-free while not docked at a port.
Again, the day is leisurely. The Ocean Blvd is closed most of the time due to inclement weather. We have to report to Iceland Immigration authorities in the afternoon while onboard.
Later we caught up with a new friend, Katy from Katy, Texas, for drinks. We met her in London while waiting for the Uber boat. She is a history school teacher and is one of the Traveling Texans group we are with on this cruise. She didn't do the same excursions as we did so this was our chance to hear her stories.
Tonight is dinner at Le Bistro, the French specialty restaurant on this ship. I have learned to pre-order my meals 24 hours ahead since they have to be gluten free. I get better desserts that way.
Tomorrow we have our last specialty dining venue at the Hasuki, Japanese grill. That was a fun restaurant.
I'm including photos of foods from the trip. My son is always taking food photos so I'm partially doing it because of his habit. Of course, most of the time I'm already halfway through my food before I remember to take the photo.
We did take some foreign currency, Pounds (GBP) for London, Euros for Brussels & Amsterdam, and Krona (ISK) for Iceland. I feel we would have been just fine without it. Everywhere we went they accepted credit cards or cashless electronic payments. I became adept at using My Wallet on my phone. Double-click, scan, go.
Prices in Norway (Krone) and Iceland were a bit scary. I paid 145.00 Krone for entrance to the Norwegian Fjord Center. That was $13.58 USD. In Iceland we paid 1300 ISK for entrance to the church tower. In USD that was $9.49.
A word about European restrooms. They are commonly called Toilets or Water Closets so we learned to look for signs to the WC. You do have to pay for them unless you are in the train stations, airports, or have eaten or purchased something at their restaurant or store. Once at the WC in Brussels the attendant wanted coin payment. I waved my phone at her then reached for my coin but by the time I had my coin she was ready to accept my phone for scanning. Scan and go.
I am including a photo of a curious sign I saw inside a toilet. Check it out. There's only one way to use the toilet.Läs mer