We just got back from a 9 day cruise up to the Norwegian Fjords which are spectacular! I had no internet access from the ship as there is no way I am spending €20 for an hour! I did write a blog post everyday at port so get ready for a few days of cruise fun and a few stories to leave you shaking your head in wonder.
(Actual Dates: June 8/9):
Interesting start to our cruise. The ship, the MSC Opera, was nearly 8 hours late getting to port due to very windy weather. Here is where she was supposed to be at published embarkation time:
This is where the MSC Opera should have been. It was about 8 hours late arriving.
MSC Cruise Safety Concerns:
We finally boarded about 7pm, went to open seating dinner and just after we ordered our dinner the mandatory safety drill was announced. I asked my waiter if I could still eat if I participated and I was told “Stay here, it’s not important.” (In the wake of the Costa Concordia sinking just a few months ago, this was a real shocker). Add that to the fact that they issued Sarah with a “childs” life jacket based on her age, even though it was clearly too small for her. (we made sure she had the proper life jacket). Does leave you with a bit of MSC safety concerns.
(Don’t worry, things picked up from there, and we did have a great cruise).
First Port: Haarlem, Netherlands
After a not too rocky crossing of the English Channel our first stop was the port of Ijmuiden in The Netherlands. Excursion options to Amsterdam were all canceled as we were quite late arriving here due to our very late start leaving Southampton. Our only option was the lovely town of Haarlem. Check it out:
We crossed the River to get to the main part of town
The Grote of St. Bavokerk - the main cathedral in Haarlem
Seems that everyone in this town has a bicycle.
The big game against Denmark was that night and orange was everywhere.
This is the closest we got to a windmill in Holland
Travel Counter: We are in the third month of our 250 day overseas adventure. We embarked on a nine day cruise aboard the MSC Opera on June 8 and visited Haarlem on June 9.
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Travel with us as we laugh our way around the globe. I am Rhonda Albom, wife, mom, photographer and blogger, sharing the lighter side of our traveling family's life with two teens. 
There is nothing like a cruise, and I’m glad things got better. So which person lives on the cruise ship? Pretty cool house swap, huh?
Joyce recently posted..#GBE2: Memory
Would be nice of the house swap was a cruise. We are headed to “our house” soon. It is in Spain.
Oh dear, looks like a grey dismal start to your cruise!
Lynne recently posted..One Day I Want To Visit The Maldives
Don’t worry, it get’s better.
Pleased the cruise turned out ok in the end. I was watching the ship on the tracker, and it almost got here then headed back into the English Channel as I guess it was too dangerous to go up the river with the high wind.
Looking forward to photos of the fjords.
Tony Payne recently posted..Father’s Day Weekend
Once we finally sat in the dock to wait (we went into town at the beginning, back for some more shopping, believe it or not), once in the terminal we had Wifi so we were watching it too. Apparently the Captain felt it was unsafe to bring the ship in, so he turned her around. I felt more sorry for those who sailed all the way from Norway in crap weather, and were staying on-board. They missed their excursions. The ship passengers embarked in Southampton and in Ijmuiden.
My teenager daughter, her friend and I returned from a most enjoyable 4 night cruise on board the Sinfonia on Friday 18 February 2011. It was interesting to read the various contradicting comments below. I feel very few people realize the amount of planning and work involved in catering for so many passengers. Of course sometimes things don’t work out as expected. No one is perfect. Whether on a cruise, at home or at work we have all experienced unpleasant situations. That’s life! To expect our holidays to be perfect is unrealistic. So let’s enjoy them and take the good and bad happenings in our stride. Happiness is a choice.
mercadeo en linea recently posted..No last blog posts to return.
I am really glad you had a wonderful MSC cruise. Ours was mostly great but there were a few glaring issues that are hard to let pass. Safety is far too important and when life depends on it, I don’t let it slide. However, for the most part I completely agree with you and that is why our tag line changed to laughing my way around the globe. Thanks for your comments, and welcome to Laugh Quotes..