Nattyg1723 Posted July 18 #151 Share Posted July 18 5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: That’s too bad. We were just there in May for 22 days on the Grand Princess and took photos of a bunch of wildlife (see Live From in my below signature area). However, I will say we only saw bears on excursions in Sitka and Haines and only in protected habitats. But we did see some fresh bear scat a few times along the roadside. So they were definitely around. We also saw either Humpback and Gray whales at most of the ports, especially while on excursions in Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan along with a bunch of bald eagles at all the ports as well as quite the variety of other bird life along with plenty of otters, seals, goats, and even a few porcupines. But again, most of the time we were on excursions when we saw them. Last time Hubby and I cruised to Alaska, we didn't see a single bear. Got back home to Western Washington and there was a dang black bear stealing a bird feeder from a tree in our backyard 🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted July 18 #152 Share Posted July 18 6 hours ago, OTrail said: Just one question though, is there anything in the daily newsletter regarding solo meet ups? Look at Ken's post #79, the first day's Patter. 6:30PM there was an unhosted meetup. I don't recall if there were others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #153 Share Posted July 18 (edited) 7 hours ago, OTrail said: I'm loving this thread, it's getting me so excited to go on the Sky next year but also bringing back so many memories of when I did a similar cruise. I actually have a picture of the sunsetting behind the island in your last pic on Tuesday. It's such a beautiful place. Just one question though, is there anything in the daily newsletter regarding solo meet ups? I've been trying to read down the schedules but didn't spot anything Thanks @PATRLR! From what I could see in the various Patters, it seems the (unhosted) Singles and Solos Get-Together is held every day from 5:30-6 pm in Take Five, which BTW is next to the Casino on Deck 6 port side. Edited July 18 by Ken the cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #154 Share Posted July 18 (edited) We have arrived in Stavanger, Norway! Anyone curious how long jet lag hangs around when dealing with a 7-hour time change coming from the US to Europe? For us, last night was the first night we had a normal night sleep. “Normal” meaning that the alarm woke us up at 8:30 am rather than us waking up at 5:30 am. 😁 Yay!! Glad that’s over with! Edited July 18 by Ken the cruiser 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #155 Share Posted July 18 One thing about cruising to southern Norway, the Herring Gulls are back in force flying around the ship! I even saw a bee flying by as I was sitting on the balcony just enjoying the pleasant morning overlooking the town. 😂 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esprit Posted July 18 #156 Share Posted July 18 On our last Baltic cruise I would get bread from the buffet and hand feed the lesser black backed gulls that followed the ship. One got stuck on the balcony below us trying to retrieve the bread it dropped! It just couldn't work out that if it flew onto the balcony chair it could then fly away from the balcony glass. Had to call the steward to have it rescued! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gettingwarmer Posted July 18 #157 Share Posted July 18 We had an annoying person feeding the birds above us on a ship. They poop everywhere. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTrail Posted July 18 #158 Share Posted July 18 3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: Thanks @PATRLR! From what I could see in the various Patters, it seems the (unhosted) Singles and Solos Get-Together is held every day from 5:30-6 pm in Take Five, which BTW is next to the Casino on Deck 6 port side. Ah perfect, thanks! I thought it might have been a morning thing on so hadn't checked that far down. Hope you're having a fantastic time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #159 Share Posted July 18 Here’s an interesting tidbit for those thinking of purchasing the 4-device internet package. In our case my DW purchased it and each of us use 2 connections, and the “Internet” connections when activated on both my iPad and iPhone work great. However, when I launch the PCL App, my “Internet” connection gets disabled on that particular device. I’m guessing it’s because the App is using “my” free onboard “Intranet” connection to access the App, thus disabling the “Internet” connection on that device that was paid for by my DW. She OTOH is not experiencing this issue at all. It’s no big deal since we’re getting the 4-device package at a cheaper rate than if we each purchased the 1-device package. I just log back on. But it was puzzling at first as to why that was happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TenneSea Posted July 18 #160 Share Posted July 18 @Ken the cruiser I'm following because my sister and brother-in-law are on the Norway cruise with you. Great picture you took of them !! 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #161 Share Posted July 18 2 minutes ago, TenneSea said: @Ken the cruiser I'm following because my sister and brother-in-law are on the Norway cruise with you. Great picture you took of them !! I had a feeling I took that Candid Camera shot for a reason! 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #162 Share Posted July 18 Speaking of excursions, I guess it’s time to start getting ready for our afternoon drive around the area. 😁 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Norwaylady Posted July 18 #163 Share Posted July 18 Im following along from Oslo😎 Seems like you are up to a good start🤩 Cheers to wonderful cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #164 Share Posted July 18 2 hours ago, Norwaylady said: Im following along from Oslo😎 Seems like you are up to a good start🤩 Cheers to wonderful cruise! Thanks! Hopefully the photos I’ve taken so far have at least hinted as to how beautiful your country is! 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #165 Share Posted July 18 We just got back from taking a relaxing drive around Stavanger. When I took a closer look, I realized these were just big sheep! Initially I thought they were cows. 😂 Grey Heron These are cows! 😂 Sola Beach sand dunes Our only stop was at the monument along Hafrsfjord where King Harold Fairhair united Norway. This was just a cool hotel design. A bunch of white swans swimming around in the pond while the Herring gulls sat on the sidelines and watched. Then it was time to head back to the ship. I think these are Phlox. In any event, they are very pretty! 😁 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #166 Share Posted July 18 And we’re off! Next stop Southampton, England day after tomorrow! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimarron42 Posted July 18 #167 Share Posted July 18 13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: And we’re off! Next stop Southampton, England day after tomorrow! We are getting on board on Saturday. Can’t wait - love Sky Princess. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedferg Posted July 18 #168 Share Posted July 18 We are considering the 7-day fjords cruise and thought Ocean View would be adequate since it is port intensive. Do you have any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #169 Share Posted July 18 1 hour ago, Tedferg said: We are considering the 7-day fjords cruise and thought Ocean View would be adequate since it is port intensive. Do you have any thoughts? The thing for us with going on a fjords cruise like this one rather than a normal cruise is being able to enjoy the views during the evening while the ship slowly makes its way through the long fjords from one port to the next. Remember, the sun doesn’t drop below the horizon in Norway until around 10:30 pm this time of year. I don’t know if you’ve glanced at the photos on my thread. But other than the ones I posted from the various excursions we went on, the rest of the scenery and wildlife shots were taken from our balcony on the starboard side of the ship, to include those sunset ones at post 131. But then we very much enjoy just sitting on the balcony rather than mingling with people around the ship during our downtimes. But of course that’s a personal decision. Hope this helps. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #170 Share Posted July 18 After dinner tonight, we did our normal routine of going about 30 minutes early to get our favorite seats to watch the production show Spotlight Bar. And then we were off the watch the always hilarious Marriage Match game show in the Vista Lounge! 😂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedferg Posted July 18 #171 Share Posted July 18 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: The thing for us with going on a fjords cruise like this one rather than a normal cruise is being able to enjoy the views during the evening while the ship slowly makes its way through the long fjords from one port to the next. Remember, the sun doesn’t drop below the horizon in Norway until around 10:30 pm this time of year. I don’t know if you’ve glanced at the photos on my thread. But other than the ones I posted from the various excursions we went on, the rest of the scenery and wildlife shots were taken from our balcony on the starboard side of the ship, to include those sunset ones at post 131. But then we very much enjoy just sitting on the balcony rather than mingling with people around the ship during our downtimes. But of course that’s a personal decision. Hope this helps. Thank you, good clarification in comparison with other port intensive itineraries. It was your photographs that lead to my question 🙂 Edited July 18 by Tedferg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 18 Author #172 Share Posted July 18 (edited) Day 7 - July 19 - Day at sea This evening we also received some “transition day” information regarding our arrival at Southampton Saturday morning. The other letter was general disembarkation information. Also when we got back to the cabin, the sun was just setting. Not the prettiest sunset we’ve ever seen. But still just seeing it while cruising on the high seas is cool enough for us! 😁 Edited July 18 by Ken the cruiser 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cr8tiv1 Posted July 19 #173 Share Posted July 19 Much better to receive the in-transit memo instead of the colored tags. I am sorry to hear that it took almost an entire cruise to get over jet lag. That’s no fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malleykatt Posted July 19 #174 Share Posted July 19 We will be driving down to Southampton tomorrow morning to join Sky Princess. Everything all ready to go, can't wait for the Baltic. The photos have been lovely to see Ken thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted July 19 #175 Share Posted July 19 9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: This evening we also received some “transition day” information Boo! Hiss! We didn't get one of those, we got luggage tags instead 😞. (Our time will come, just need to finish up the careers and retire) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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