AroundWithMAPTravels

We did this on Symphony in June. Loved the ship. Have not been on Splendor. Symphony was light and bright… and most everything still felt “new”. Itinerary was vey quiet and laid back, but we were interested in the music focus in the region, In my opinion, either ship would be fine, the itinerary was the best part

We are , but not on that date. We love the arctic! Hope you enjoy…. And come back here afterwards to give your thoughts (we are going in September 2026). 😄

At least in Feb this year, Polar Park in Nrvik was an option. That was our second favorite (after Night with the Huskies). There were several Sami culture options … due to our schedule the one we chose was in Tromso. Also high on our list of best ever excursions… and due to dietary restrictions and “smoke” inside, we spent a good portion of time at sunset outside photographing moon and late afternoon Sami activities . Again, very worthwhile. All of that was after our sled ride and feeding reindeer. We did get a lovely cultural talk as well. 😄 Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong with any choice on a NL trip.

If you like dogs… the Night with the Huskies in Alta was probably one of our favorite Viking excursions ever. No NL (but nobody on any excursion saw them that night). But the extra doggie time was precious. And the lavoo was extremely comfy to sleep in. I like excitement it I think I’ll pass on the “ropes course” mentioned by @OnTheJourney we did the NL twice from the ship in February. 😄. And yes, phones rule for seeing/photgraphing.

To take this further… I have not met a port in Norway that didn’t leave me speechless (even in February!)

I have sailed into Valletta Grand Harbor twice (once on Viking Star and once on Sea Cloud). Very different experiences, but the sail in was spectacular both times. To date, that was the BEST sail-in experience ever. I have other ports that I love, but none compare to this sail-in. other ports that we love, based on city/local experience: Barcelona; Palma, Mallorca; Bergen; Monaco; Reykjavik. Also, many smaller river ports …. Sigh. Each trip we have a “Favorite “.

Not the only one, but sailing into Grand Harbor Valletta, Malta ranks at the top. i may add a few later, but that’s my favorite as a “port”.

Have been to Malta twice (once on a VO trip, once on Sea Cloud). It still amazes us how many well preserved archaeological sites there are there! Spent some time on our own on trip. Relatively easy to get around. We missed Tunis and Algeria on our VO trip in 2016. We were surprised to see them back in the picture, hoping they would “stick” as regular ports so we could plan another trip that included them…so watching this discussion to see the outcome.

It’s a decent way to kill a few hours… drive through town with a few stops. If Sunday, cannot go inside notre dame. For us, it was was better than any alternative that we could see that would pass a few hours.

New to Azamara. Scheduled on Baltic intensive next year… which I think is a new itinerary. So far, I cannot find any mention of Azamazing evening . I think, since it’s new itinerary that it has not yet been set. Where would/should I see it listed?

Depending on number and mobility of people, Flybus is the way to go! have done it twice, one just this past February. if you have a large group other options may be better. its a 45 minute drive from international airport to any where downtown. downtown hotels are not near the “large ship” port. if you plan to spend any time, downtown is the the place to be however… just plan on a transfer across town to port (we were lucky as we on a ship that docked in old/small ship port). However, there are shuttles from big cruise port to downtown area (Harpa center) that appear to run frequently (no experience but saw them frequently) I don’t think that they allow luggage (may be worth looking into)so cannot be used as transport from downtown to ship… in any case… if you are spending more than just “passing time til boarding “, downtown is best, and there ARE options 😄

Booked Lindblad/nat geo Sea Lion for oct 2025. Last time on sea lion was 2009. Have been on many newer Lindblad and ACL ships since then. Will let you know how Sea Lion is doing…. This will be our first food/wine focused trip. Have been looking forward to trying one. Hope it lives up to our expectations😁🥩🍷

Had a missed call from Viking today… we have a River trip next month. Caller followed up with email saying that (may be specific to River, since there is no booking of future trips onboard) they are now offering the onboard booking perks to future trips, so you can “book from the comfort of home”. i have not spoken to him, but that is what I gleaned from the follow up email. seems like if you have an upcoming trip there may be a proactive call to book prior to trip to alleviate stress on onboard booking agent…. ? was not anything I remember to happen in the past… new marketing option?

We did find that the Huntsville space museum was NOT listed until we got onboard. It was what we were looking to do. otherwise, there should be about 3 listed for each stop (not sure what you are seeing). Believe it or not, every one we did was worthwhile. We did mostly the included trips but picked up two very reasonable options. One thing we weren’t aware of until we got onboard is that the Local Loop options actually include admission to the museums/homes at the stops. Did not expect that, and were able to do several museums unexpectedly. One thing: DO NOT miss the quilt museum in Paducah (even a non-quilt lover should be awed by the artistry). There is an optional tour that does the murals and the museum, or the local loop stops there and should allow for at least a quick visit.

On the “flip side” of Tromso… we were there in February. lots of snow and ice (spikes needed for walking tour). Still a beautiful city. For an hour of silly fun, go to the Troll Museum. ”security” guard to get back on ship Tromso in Feb silly fun at the Troll Museum 🙏 to all!

The best part are the planes that are seemingly trying to land on ship deck😱😵‍💫

That was before it went to the dogs….🤪

A huge, heartfelt THANK YOU for all of the birthday wishes! 🙏 to all !

I was thankful that I had AirTag in luggage on a recent trip. should have been Newark- Frankfurt- Valencia. however, Frankfurt folks put my luggage on a flight to Los Angeles… I was on a ship headed elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Thanks to AirTag I was able to (after many NSFW words and many deep breaths) place the luggage in LAX and contact airline with that info. Happy ending… 14000 miles and only 3 days late, luggage met up with me 2 countries later…. All due to air tag and willingness of airline to use that info fyi… that day was my “ window”…. Due to closed ports for most of rest of itinerary would not be able to reunite with luggage… so best option would be home in 2 weeks. Amazing that air tags came to my rescue (with a LOT of unprintable words in between)

FYI. Respite care at some locations can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. All meant for a break for the caregiver while providing care and evaluations on patient. All good.

I am convinced that communication is NOT a strong point. I had excruciatingly similar experience with communication, as did my TA. just returned from a Greenland trip with HX. Ship was stellar. Communication was not - even onboard. They did an awesome job attempting to provide all communication in English, German and French (English speakers were definitely in the minority). However, many necessary details were left out of many communications, leaving people to wonder “Where are we supposed to go?” Or “exactly what is the plan?”. i too have dietary requirements… luckily the executive chef had a meeting just after boarding with anyone who had dietary needs… and he took notes and described exactly what to do. This was very helpful and helped alleviate food fears. (By the way, all food onboard was awesome!) Unfortunately the communication lack still has both me and my TA scratching our heads. I think it’s “just the way it is”. Good product, except for that!

Also loved the MOW meme… both my husband and I drive for MOW locally….we have shared the meme with the local office… we are in a quasi-rural area, so the thought of the meme is not that far-fetched. Everyone loves it!

A huge THANK YOU for all of the birthday wishes! 😁. this time last year, I was I Boston waiting to board Zaandam for my first HAL cruise (Boston to Montreal) on my birthday. And IIRC, same for @Blackduck59 ( first HAL and birthday). thanks for all of thoughts, info, open arms…. And daily fun. I think my inner nerd is always apparent, will take Chardonnay any day (but especially on my birthday). Need to see the kebab recipes before I decide…. Have been to Prince Rupert once (in between ferries) in 1988. I booked a B&B , which happened to be a room in an empty-nester’s house. She picked us up with her camper van, so we rode to her house in the dinette portion of her van (one of the more “interesting “ transfers we have taken!) Thanks again for the flowers and birthday wishes. And happy birthday to @Vict0riann too!

I can still visualize my first VO trip in 2016…. And my reaction to the beautiful clear blue glasses and plates acting as “suncatchers” to offset the light/bright Scandinavian decor.

I will go to Norway ANYTIME…. Either physically or virtually 😁