I'm Back

HI:
Just (as in about 8 hours ago) got back from the 11-day run through
British Isles and Norwegian Fjords on the Jewel OTS. Started out rocky
(if you will remember we lost a day in London to the Weekly Severe
Thunderstorms when the flight was cancelled). Then the French unions
were upset about gas prices and stuck so we couldn't get to Paris (for
reasons unknown to the French Unionists, this did not seem to a have
large impact on oil prices..go figger), although Cherbourg (spelling??)
was nice. (And of course we entertained ourselves for hours with "We'll
always have Cherbourg" in our best (??) Bogart voices.
Second stop (Plymouth England) was cancelled because gale force winds
made tendering a less than a great idea (although an extra sea day was
nice). After that smooth sailing for most of the rest of the trip. We
got lightly sprinkled on twice, not a bad weather response given the
area and time of year.
The staff of the Jewel was fantabulous, especially the wait staff.
My youngest turned 30 on the trip, and (for some reason lost in the
mists of Ullman Time) she wanted her traditional BREAKFAST ice cream.
They went and got it.
Breathtaking don't even begin to describe the Fjords. Those on the
cruise who had been to Alaska said there was no comparing the two.
Norway won out hands down.
Flam was neat. I was out on the balcony enjoying the view that day
as the Jewel lazily tooled down the waterway. Stopped all of a sudden
and started to back up. Looked around and thought to myself.. "hmm,
looks like the Capt. missed a turn". Then I saw the tie-offs and
realized we were at the port, although port was probably pushing it a
little.
Then, just to finish things off appropriately, our flight out of
O'Hare was delayed about 30 minutes because of the Weekly Natural
Fireworks displays going on between the Windy and the Circle Cities.
My youngest is preparing a detailed report to her buddies, which I
shall shamelessly steal and publish here when she gets it done.

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
HI:
Just (as in about 8 hours ago) got back from the 11-day run through
British Isles and Norwegian Fjords on the Jewel OTS. Started out rocky

Welcome back, Kurt! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Jewel of the Seas...too bad
you had some bad weather and had to miss a port, but it sounds as if you
enjoyed the cruise anyway. What was the passenger age on your crossing? On
ours last March/April, it was 55-95... maybe older! Since yours was when
school was out, you probably had a younger group.
I'm looking forward to your daughter's review on the cruise so please do not
forget to post it!

--Jean

In article ,
"Jean O'Boyle" wrote:

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
HI:
Just (as in about 8 hours ago) got back from the 11-day run through
British Isles and Norwegian Fjords on the Jewel OTS. Started out rocky

Welcome back, Kurt! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Jewel of the Seas...too bad
you had some bad weather and had to miss a port, but it sounds as if you
enjoyed the cruise anyway. What was the passenger age on your crossing?

I think my wife and I were the only ones in our 50s. It seemed to be
broken into 15 and under, 20-40 (the parents of the first set), and then
70+ (grin). It was also veteran cruisers as over half were Crown and
Anchor members and almost 1 in 10 were diamond according to the stats
the capt and cruise director gave out at the C&A party. Both of these
were very high stats according to them.

Welcome back, Kurt!

So glad to hear you had such a great trip in spite of the bad weather
start. You left us wondering after your post about the delayed flight
to London. And wow, it sounds like you're right up there with Tom K in
the "Do The Norwegian Fjords" fan club!

Thanks, also, for your report on the Jewel. I love that RCI ship
class.

I will look forward to reading your daughter's take. Do you "owe" her
a trip to Paris??!

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

In article
,
D Ball wrote:


I will look forward to reading your daughter's take. Do you "owe" her
a trip to Paris??!

Nah. She was quite happy with what she got. Now my wife is another
matter...