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Congrats! We sailed on the Escape several years ago. Way before I started doing TH-cam so no videos about it from me. If you like a thermal spa, you will love the one on the Escape. I remember O'sheehans to have much faster service on the Escape than it did on the Star - It may be due to the location. We are also Diamond on Royal - should be diamond plus next year. I just published a tour of the Utopia - very much like the other Oasis ships but LOUD - they are really promoting the party weekend. Still plenty to do, though, since after 10:30PM, my idea of a good time is to go to bed:) And I think the Aqua Show was the best one I have seen on the Oasis Class ships. I'm not sure where the Escape will be docked in NYC, but I do have a post about the Brooklyn cruise port when we did a New England itinerary on Princess. If it ends in Barcelona, and you are staying a few days, I do have a blog post at shirleysjourneys.com under the title of Mediterranean ports. I used to blog before I started TH-cam.

I'm so glad I got to visit by cruise ship. It made me want to explore Norway another time in a different way. I feel sorry for those who will probably never go since ships won't be allowed unless they go electric. However, I can certainly understand the appeal of having less tourists in such a beautiful place.

@shirleysjourneys9505 It's not so much the numbers as to protect a world heritage site from being polluted by the very large cruise ships exhaust fumes. Even when they burn low Sulphur light fuel oil it still pollutes and this can collect in the fjord creating a haze. Smaller ships like the Havilla coastal ferries that also do cruises can sail for up to 4 hours on electric so will still access the fjord in summer and will be more local fjord trips available.

I hate to hear that. We don't eat in the Lido much, but when we do, I want my hot food hot. We have a cruise scheduled on the Noordam, so I will definitely check that out and report in a video when we are back

Thanks! I appreciate it!

You're welcome! 😊

We booked another one, but Club Orange was already sold out when we booked. Bummer! But the MDR is good, too, I just got spoiled.

The shows in 270 are complimentary. When Bingo is in 270, there is a charge for Bingo. The 270 cafe' has complimentary food and self service water, ice, coffee, tea stations. The coffee in the 270 cafe' has a charge to pay individually unless you purchase a drinks package.

I really hope they get their act together. I don’t know if they are purposely misleading guests in order to get the bookings, or if it is poor planning and they cannot secure the dock space they had hoped to secure. But it really affects who will book a second time with them.

I agree! So many ships do not have that feature. I’m currently on the Royal Caribbean Utopia of the Seas. It has a definite party vibe, a louder ship overall, and a younger age range. Very different from Holland America, but it DOES have a full walk around Promenade which I love.

I appreciate that!

Thanks for your comment. I completely agree with your assessment about Princess and Celebrity. We are planning to sail on the Noordam next year, and I look forward to how it compares tothe Nieuw Statendam. Any insights there?

@@shirleysjourneys9505 Not really. I think it's an earlier version of HAL and has most of the familiar spaces and should deliver a similar product with perhaps fewer dining options.

It’s really frustrating when it happens! So sorry it happened to you, too.

We love Princess! Hope you have a great time!

@tillyortiz346 did it fit in the mail box?

I'm so glad the videos have been useful! We loved the original itinerary, and even as the itinerary went through multiple changes over the course of the sailing, I really DID enjoy the ports we saw. I will get all the Iceland ports and the Greenland port uploaded within the next week. Then I may shift gears a little bit to film Utopia of the Seas as I will be sailing on her. But then I will get back to the other ports on the Reykjavik to New York itinerary after that little detour, so don't think I have given up. Thanks for watching.

I'm sure I would eat it if it was the only thing offered. I do eat cute little cows, pigs, chickens and deer, but it just seems so foreign to me to think about eating a horse.

We have a cruise booked on the Noordam in a few months. I look forward to the experience on the smaller ship. We definitely plan to try some specialty restaurants on that sailing.

Glad it was helpful! I have videos of each port and what we did there. Perhaps they might help you in the planning process, too!

@@shirleysjourneys9505 I’ve checked out your Cartagena video; we are doing the same tour. Looks wonderful! We are on a partial transit so a few of our ports are the same.

I always find random things on my feed, too. Some intrigue me and I watch. Others get a hard, “No.” Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment on my little channel.

I appreciate your comments!

I hope you don't have additional changes.

Agreed! It was just over the top this time.

I hope your itinerary goes without a hitch. Maybe they will see all the bad press they are getting about the itinerary changes and try to adequately plan in advance. I am working on my videos about our hotel and tours in Reykjavik, and the things we did in the other ports. Hopefully, some of them will be helpful, too.

Agreed that it is not unique to NCL, but this was my first experience to changes at this extent. A family member had a whole cruise rerouted from Western Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean due to a hurricane in the path - That one was completely understandable, and the change took them into beautiful weather.

That is a great plan!

You're welcome 😊

Thank you for the comment. I believe it has recently been expanded to also include Canada and Puerto Rico for delivery with Princess Plus or Princess Premier.

@@shirleysjourneys9505 We are on the other side of the world in Australia. maybe they will catch up with us soon. Your video was interesting we cruise in 2 weeks on Princess so I have been doing some homework

You bet

Glad it was helpful!

Sounds like a great day trip!

It’s a great place to walk around!

Hope you get to enjoy it over and over!

Thank you.

Thanks!

It's a really good option!

Wonderful!

Be sure to see my video of things to know. I have one of our behind the scenes tour coming out tomorrow, and I hope to have a food review ready by Saturday

Interesting. Thanks

@shirleysjourneys9505 i could be wrong but mine isn't showing...Called RC they said 30 days before the cruise it shows up on the app but I thought I had gotten it before that. Will see in 8 days

Glad to help!

Thankfully, no one can store a thick book in there! I have some videos of ports in Norway we visited last year if you happen to be hitting any of the same ports and want to do a little research: Gerainger, Flam, Alesund, Honingsvaag, and Olden.

@@shirleysjourneys9505 We're in Stavanger, Alesund, Tromso, Alta, Kristiansund, Bergen, Haugesund. We're hoping for a good Aurora showing with this cruise. Going to check out your Alesund information. Thanks again

Were on the cruise before, enjoy.

Good advice. I think the ships that have the dedicated dining room make it more worth it.

Thank you so much for your comment. I have replaced the thumbnail and description and edited the video to comply with your suggestion so as not to offend. The Edits said they may take a couple of hours to update, but soon it will be fixed for anyone who might view in the future. I appreciate you letting me know. And I am working on editing a cabin review I have for a Holland America Accessible cabin, too.

@@shirleysjourneys9505 Your did the right thing. Everyone does the same type of video when it comes to accessible cruising. Try going on a different journey for evaluating a cruise ship. When it comes to mobility challenges you have a few different types of people, scooter people you can see them all around the ship and the scooters parked in the hallway and all around. Then the rollators of all types for individuals who are having balance issues and often need a seat to rest. Then transport wheelchairs they are the people being pushed around by their partner. And then electric wheelchairs with individuals who have more difficulty in getting around. Then you have active wheelchair users those who are self propelled and don’t need assistance very often. Doing cruise ship tours most often all of us who have mobility issues are looking for the same information. Things like does the stateroom have automatic doors and is there a means to keep the door open so you can get in and out without dealing with the door. The hand washing station is it wheelchair accessible so many times they are not. Is there a way to clean the handles on their mobile devices like the joystick and rollators handle, wheelchair rims and any equipment used when getting food. Do they have accessible seats reserved for wheelchairs. Will they offer a food tray or just someone who puts their thumb on your dish. In the theater how many wheelchair accessible seats and where are they located do they have a place for the rollators . Do they let people with disabilities in before the regular crowd so you don’t have to compete for a seat. Is there any location on the deck that allows people in wheelchairs to have a view without having to look over or under the railing that people lean on. What is the floor like is there carpet with padding so it’s like rolling out of a hole that moves around with you or is there a route with hard surfaces so you can coast between pushing. How tall are the speed bumps in around the ship, how difficult is it to get off into a tender , do they have an elevator with mobility device priorities. Do they always have a clear path on the outside decks and can you get to all of the decks without needing to crew members to operate a wheelchair lift. This is the information I look for and very seldom find. Keep on doing great videos.

That sounds amazing!

Glad it was helpful.

Glad it was helpful!

I thought it was worth the ticket. It seemed to be an authentic telling of their creation story. It helped me to understand their native Alaskan cultural heritage better. They did not allow filming, except for the one little excerpt, as they said different tribes have different variations of the stories.

Thanks for that positive encouragement!

Yes, you can upload from your saved photos.

Thank you very much!

You are so welcome

You are welcome!