European 14 day cruise on Star Princess

September 2010, European Cruise on the Star Princess, Copenhagen to Civitavecchia (Rome)

This was a repositioning cruise for Princess; moving the ship from the Baltic's to the Mediterranean. I would recommend this cruise to anyone, as the ports generally were good cities to explore or there were cities close enough to get to, to explore. We could do this same trip again and see all new things, as there is never enough time to do everything in one day.

This 14 day European cruise was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Sooner & Jenny watched Maya, Jenna watched the cat and house and Dad and Carol dropped us off. Our flight departed Sept. 8th at 4:05 p.m. from Detroit Metro on flight KL 6052 arriving in Amsterdam at Sept. 9th, 5:55 a.m. (Amsterdam is 6 hour ahead of Detroit and the flight took 7 hour and 50 minutes going). The next leg departing Sept. 9th at 7:25 a.m. from Amsterdam on flight KL 1125 arriving in Copenhagen at 8:45 a.m.

The flight with KLM was great, pillows, blankets, individual monitors to watch movies, listen to music, with food and drinks included (beer and wine also). It was a long flight, and not cheap at around $860 each, but good for coming and going from different airports and compared to other itineraries we had checked out.

We had transfers from the airport through Princess and when arriving at the ship dropped off one of our carry on bags and put the valuables in a backpack that was our second carry on, to take with us. When we checked into our room after exploring Copenhagen, there was the bouquet of tropical flowers I had preordered to celebrate our 25th anniversary and surprise Lynn. They lasted almost the whole trip.

I have too many pictures to put them all here, but you can click on any below for a larger version. I also have an occasional movie, which I took some times due to not being able to capture all of an image, or a picture just not doing justice to it. The movies are not the best quality, but after they play, you can drag through the picture slower. It takes about three times the megabites in time to down load them, depending on your connection speed (i.e. a 10 meg movie, will take about 30 seconds to download and play).

Cruise route

Star Princess

Star Princess E330

E330 window view

Flowers

Copenhagen, Denmark Thurs, 9/9, boat leaves 7:00 p.m. (you always need to be on board at least 1/2 hour before it sails), the weather was low 60s and clear.

What we did: There was a Hop on, Hop off bus close (3 routes-we did the red line which had 14 stops every 15 minutes for 200 Kroner, or about $37 plus $10 US), to get two tickets.

A city was a mixture of old architecture and modern blended together well. There were also nice canal front streets. We walked around where the royal stay when in town and then up and down a canal front street lined with restaurants. We were there for a good display of herring set up for sampling (curry, barbeque flavors, I liked the curry), and a schnapps tasting table (we didn't like the taste).

We stopped for lunch at Barocks and shared the local beer, Tuborg. Our waitress told us that income is taxed near 50% but services are many like paying for college, childcare, old age pension, etc. A little pricy at 220 Kroner ($41) for a beer, pasta and lobster bisque, but it was on the canal front. We took the hop on back around, going past the missing little mermaid that was on display in China. When we paid for the bus we were told to just tell the driver to drop us off at the ship, but it turned out we had to convince our driver to drop us off close to the ship, as he said he was not allowed to go there. So we had a short walk and boarded the ship about 3 p.m. without incident.

We were very tired after only sleeping a couple hours on the plane, so we went to the anytime dining as soon as it opened at 5:30. We asked for a small table so we wouldn't have to talk much, and it was a good dinner as I had prime rib, and Lynn had Barramundi, a perch fish, and surprise they had Zuppa Inglesia an ice cream she had years ago that she loved (rum, candied fruit, sponge cake, vanilla ice cream, and egg yoke all mixed together and frozen). We were in bed and asleep by 9 p.m. and got a good night sleep to try and try to recoup.

5 second movie

10 second movie

Copenhagen

Changing guards

Copenhagen

Herring

Copenhagen

Schnapps

Barocks

Hop on, Hop off bus

Copenhagen

Oslo, Norway Fri., 9/10, Noon - 7:00 p.m., the weather was low 60s and clear. In 1624 most of the old city was destroyed by a fire. Oslo was captured and occupied by Germany for 5 years during WW2.

What we did: We woke up at 8:30 and took our time getting to breakfast at the buffet on deck 14 aft. After a big breakfast we went outside to view the beautiful scenery and fjords en route to Oslo. We arrived at port aroud 11:30 a.m. and took the Hop on-Hop off City Sightseeing bus (18 stops, every 30 minutes, 160 Krone or $25 each) and got off at Vigeland Sculpture Park which has some 200 statues, some of them huge. They are made of granite, wrought iron, and bronze and depict the many stages and episodes of human life. All the statues are nude, except the one of Gustav Vigeland himself. He was given the space and did all the sculptures for free, with the promise that the park would be open to the public and free admission.

After viewing the park, we had to wait about an hour as the bus did not arrive on the half hour as it was suppose to. From there we got off at the Viking Ship Museum (60 Krone or $10 each) which has three Viking long ships and some other artifacts that were unearthed near the Oslofjord. The vessels are dated 800-900 AD. It was very interesting to see them, but for some reason, not as exciting as I somehow anticipated it to be. We headed back to the boat passing a street with electric cars (Buddys) and plugs for charging then there was a fort by the boat which we decided to explore before going back on board.

We went up to Skywalkers on deck 18 aft for drinks and appetizers before dinner with Susan and Gary who we met from Witcheta, KS. Lynn and I went to the theatre to see comedian Lenny Windsor after, which we both thought was OK.

cruising to Oslo, 8 gig movie

Oslo

Alfred Nobel

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Gustav Vigeland

Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Oslo

Viking Museum

from 800-900 A.D.

Oslo

Buddy electric car

Fort by boat

Oslo

Fort by boat

Oslo

At Sea Saturday, 9/11 the weather was low 60s cloudy and rainy.

What we did: A good nights sleep until about 9:20 a.m. got up and went to the gym to work out before going back and showering. We went to the Amalfi dining room for lunch at noon and roamed around the ship this sea day. There were entertainers in the lobby. We played bridge from 2-4:00 as they had this on sea days (I am slowly learning) and cruised through the North Sea.

We dressed up for formal night, then went to the lobby for the Captains Champaign Tower and drinks after dinner (seemed a bit hokey) and the drinks at these events are very watered down mixed drinks, unless you get wine or champagne. Lastly we both were a bit hungry so we went up to the buffet for a snack before bed.

SkyWalkers

SkyWalkers, deck 18

Captain's party

Rotterdam, Holland, (The Hague is 1/2 hour by train, 1.5 hrs. to Amsterdam) Kingdom of the Netherlands Sun., 9/12, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m, weather was mid 60s starting with sprinkles but ending clear. It is the largest European port that is modern, being rebuilt after the heart of the city was leveled by bombing in WW2. The Netherlands is slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey with about 17 million people.

What we did: Woke up early had a big breakfast and got off to explore. There was a free shuttle bus to town that took 15 minutes and was guided. We got off near the Rotterdam Centraal station and went by train (17.90 euro, for two round trip, about a train every 10 minutes to The Hague, a 25 minute ride) to Den Haag Centraal station in Hague which is the seat of government and the principal residence of the royal family, although technically Amsterdam is the capital. Once in Hague we met our "The Hague Greeters Tour guide" Bart van Oosterhout (last name meaning - Eastwood, in english) for a tour. This group gives tours for no cost.

Bart took us to the Queens palace, where she works but doesn't live; Peace Palace (Andrew Carnegie provided the funds to build); government buildings (where the Prime Minister works and the Queen has her thrown from, which she'll report the "State of the Union" in a few weeks. We saw park exhibits showing Nature of Europe and also a sculpure exhibit by Manolo Valdes. Bart said that in the European union, they travel between country's like we travel between states (no big deal crossing borders). We had lunch with Bart at T Goude Hooft for about 37 euro and then Bart lead us back to the station. Total time in the Hague about four hours touring.

The train and tour were great. One thing we noticed is the amount of bikes and bike paths for the bikes. There were what looked like fields of them parked in some places. We caught the shuttle back to the ship going by strange cube shapped houses, and a 6 degree slant building by Piano? and other unique buildings. We did a great deal of walking so getting back to the ship also felt great. This place was well run with umbrellas for borrowing when getting off the ship, free shuttle to town, and even singing to us as the ship pulled away.

Den Haag Centraal station

Hague

2 right bldgs. nicknamed tits

Hague

Thrown

Hague

Escher museum

Valdes display

Queens palace

Hague

Peace palace

The Stork is the city symbol

T Goude Hooft

Den Haag HS station

Train from Hague

Rotterdam Cube Houses

18 meg movie of Rotterdam from ship

Sailing from Rotterdam

Dover, England (2 hrs. to London) Mon., 9/13, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. weather clear, 63 degrees, with 12 mph winds. United Kingdom is slightly smaller than Oregon with about 61 million people.

What we did: Got up at 6:15 and off to breakfast and off the ship. We walked about 1 miles (30 minutes) to the train station in town and took the train to Canterbury (13 pound, 20 pence for roundtrip for 2). Transportation is really easy to navigate here and we were on a fast train with no stops before ours. We had a lovely walk around the walled city of Canterbury and visited the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral (8 pound each to get in), which is a site of pilgrimage since the martyrdom of Tomas a Becket in 1170. The Cathedral boasts medieval stained glass and carvings, a 12th-century choir and the tombs of the Black Prince, King Henry IV, and his wife Joan of Navarre. We roamed Canterbury for about 3 hours and then caught the train back to Dover.

We looked around Dover for a bit and then took the bus (3 pounds) to Dover Castle on the white chalk cliffs. Dover Castle (27 pounds, 80 pence to get in, for two) had its origins in Roman and Saxon citadels, but it was William the Conqueror who strengthened the walls and towers to create a major fortress. King Henry II rebuilt it on a massive scale (1168-74) to make it one of the world's strongest castles. The imposing Constable's Tower dates from the 13th century. Tunnels and secret chambers were burrowed underneath into the chalky cliffs. These made the castle impervious to all types of bombardment, even during WW2, when Dover became the headquarters for the Normandy invasion. The ruins of a Roman lighthouse standing here (from 49 A.D.) represent the oldest building in Britain. It was said Hitler did not bomb the Castle as he wanted it as a prize.

We toured the WW2 tunnels, which Churchill had been at, and some of the war effort like the Dunkirk evacuation by General Ramsey was directed from. There were hospital areas, radio and war rooms, cots and everything else for around 1,000 people. Back to the ship (2.5 pounds) just before it started to rain. Went to Skywalkers for cocktails with John and Maria from NY who we had met at breakfast and at Dover Castle.

We found out the 20s I had gotten from the Michigan Credit union in May, were discontinued in July, so we had to go to a bank (long line) and trade them in as soon as we got to Canterbury.

21 meg Movie

Dover

Dover, England

Dover

Dover, England

Dover

Dover, England

Dover

Dover, England

Dover

Dover, England

Dover

Dover, England

Train to Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

26 meg Movie

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathederal

Canterbury

Le Havre, France (3 hrs. to Paris, also Normandy is west of Paris, 1 hr. to Rouen) Tues., 9/14, 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. weather 68, with 18 mph winds by the port. France is 4/5ths the size of Texas, with about 64 million people. During WW2 Le Havre was the worst hit port in Europe, but today is the second largest port in France.

What we did: Up early and walked to the train to go to Rouen (56 euro round trip for 2, luckily you can find a teller who speaks some english). It was a 55 minute ride going non-stop and 1 hour 10 minute ride coming back stopping at towns. We saw some L.A. cruisers that we had previously bumped into on the train in Rotterdam (and let Lynn borrow an umbrella), and made tentative plans to go together to Cinque Terre at one of the Italy stops.

We did a lot of walking in Rouen. Stopped for visits to the site of the martrdom of Joan of Arc and at the Notre Dame Cathedral. Many beautiful old churches as we walked to the Seine river that passes here on it's way to Le Havre. We walked about 3 hours before heading back to the train station and Le Havre on the 12:49 train. We considered taking the train to Honfleur (small fishing village) but was worried about time so we walked around Le Havre. The areas we walked through were not exciting, so we headed back to the ship. Some other cruisers we talked to said they were in some nice areas in Le Havre. I notices a lot of scooters here and other city's during this cruise. It makes sense as they don't take much room to park, get good gas milage, and the climate is moderate in a lot of the cities we stopped at. It started giving me the bug, to look into getting one.

Grabbed some appetizers at the buffet, then cancelled our excursion from Genoa to Cinque Terre and grabbed a couple drinks to take to Skywalkers and kick back.

26 meg movie Le Havre

Train to Rouen

Rouen

Scooters everywhere

Rouen

Joan of Arc

16 meg movie

Notre Dame

Seine

At Sea Wed., 9/15 weather cloudy 63 with 10 mph winds as we cruised through the English Channel. Yeah, needed some rest and went to bed around 9 p.m. last night and woke up around 9 this a.m. The ship was rocking and rolling a little since last night and only this afternoon did Lynn not feel so hot. So on with her Relief band and it did its job while we played duplicate bridge from 2-4:00. Up to Skywalkers for cocktails before an early dinner with Al and Marianne from Chicago area and David and Marianne from Battle Creek. After dinner we listened to a good Do Wop 4 some called "Spank" before heading back to our cabin (E330)

At Sea Thurs., 9/16 weather 77 and sunny as we cruised through the Bay of Biscay. Slept in and went to work out before breakfast/lunch. Played bridge again from 2-4:00 and I (Jeff) am still learning and making some mistakes. Then off to dress for formal night and the Captains party. We both had about three drinks (watered down mixed drinks for Jeff, wine for Lynn) then off to dinner then to see the British Invasion, a wonderful performance of different artists works that was very well done with great costumes and choriography. Then back to the lobby to listen to Spank and finally up to Skywalkers for a few dances.

Formal night

Captain's party

Group "Spank"

Lisbon, Portugal Fri., 9/17, 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. weather 77 and clear. Portugal is slightly smaller than Indiana with around 11 million people. Explorers like Cristopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan sailed from here. It has the longest suspension bridge in Europe. A large port at the mouth of the Tagus River, Lisbon is also the capital and cultural heart of Portugal.

What we did: Up at 5:30 a.m. since we are only in port from 7-2:00. After breakfast walked to stand (looked like a paper stand) to buy tickets good for the dayon all busses and trams (4.25 euro per person) and took the #15 bus to the city center and then walked up to St. George's Castle (Castelo de S. Jorge, 7 euro per person to enter). The castle grounds were beautiful, predominately ruins and restored walls. The views of the seaside and town were stunning from atop the city. Walked and shoped a bit before taking thee 28 tram down the hill and walked and shopped on a pedestrian street in town. Then we took the 15 bus back to the ship. Pretty wiped out from all the walking, much uphill and mainly on rocky roads and walkways. To pooped for bridge, so we had lunch, Lynn got a 15 minute chair massage by the pool. Then we sat in lounge chairs by the pool and watched IronMan2 on the outdoor big screen. Lynn snoozed some, and I almost got sunburn.

Lynn went to service, and I relaxed to end the day. Lynn also did one load of laundry before bed.

12 meg. Movie, Lisbon from Castle St. George

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon

Castle St. George info

9 meg movie, Castle St. George

Castelo de Sao Jorge

Castle St. George

Castelo de Sao Jorge

Castle St. George

Castelo de Sao Jorge

#15 tram

Lisbon

observation tower

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon

Monument of Discoveries

Movie, Sailing from Lisbon

At Sea Sat., 9/18 weather was 74 and clear. We got up at 7 a.m. and out on deck to watch as we cruised through the Strait of Gibraltar between Morroco and Spain and hopefully see the Rock of Gibralter.

As we cruised past Morroco it was still a fairly dark morning. Lynn and I were walking on deck 15's outside walkway when we heard yelling which I thought was coming from another ship close by, and Lynn thought might be the wind. We didn't see anything, got back to sight seeing when we heard Captain William Kent call the crew to muster stations and the ship turned around to look for a raft. It was dark with no lights and almost hit by our ship. It was located by our ship and our ship called for the local authority to pick them up as we floated close by as a location marker. There were seven people floating on the raft, three of them looking like young boys. We later learned that it is not uncommon for people to make their way through Africa and try to go to Spain and this raft was filled with people trying to cross borders illegally and they were sent back from whence they came safely, with the captain being commended for his actions.

Around 7:30 we proceeded, passing a hazy Rock of Gibraltar, Alboran Sea and Balmaric Sea and Mediterranian Sea. We later went to the pool watched a nature film and then changed and swam in the pool a little. Played Bridge in the afternoon before a 6 p.m. service. Lynn didn't eat and I just snacked until dinner this day.

Strait of Gibraltar

4 meg movie, call to muster

Strait of Gilbraltar

See the raft?

Lighter after turning about and spotting them

Signaling us

11 meg movie of retrieval

retrieval

13 meg movie, sailing by Morocco

Morroco

Rock of Gilbraltar

Barcelona, Spain Sun. 9/19, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. weather 74 and clear. Around 3/4 the size of Texas, with around 41 million people.

What we did: Woke up early, Lynn with a sore throat. We took the free shuttle to the World trade area and walked and browsed Las Ramblas before talking to a couple women who recommended buying 10 metro tickets for 7.95 euro which we both could use by running it through the machines twice. It worked all day for us on the Metro and buses. We headed to Gaudi's Guell Park, his original idea was to revolutionize town planning by constructing 60 homes around a garden district and decorate the area with mosaic and sculptures. Death interrupted his work, and only a fraction of the project was completed. We explored some of the houses, buildings, mosaic seating, walls and ceilings before moving on to try see the Sagrada Familia Church by Gaudi. We took the 92 bus to the church and explored it from the outside as there was a line to get in and it was already around 3:00, so we figured we would be safe and get back to the ship via the bus and not spend the money to get in for a short time or risk missing the ship.

When we got back to the ship around 4 p.m., we dropped off our stuff and went to see Flamingo dancing by a Barcelona troupe before heading to dinner. Then we watched a "Movie under the Stars" Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carol before heading back to our cabin for the night. Lynn was fighting her sinus most of this day.

MOVIE Barcelona

Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona 25 meg movie

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona 13 meg movie

Barcelona

Gaudi homes

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona

Gaudi

Gaudi's Guell Park

He's alive

Gaudi

Gaudi's Guell Park

Gaudi's Guell Park 7 meg movie

Gaudi's Guell Park

Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain 15 meg movie

Gaudi's Guell Park

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona 12 meg movie

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona 5 meg movie

Sagrada Familia

Cannes, France Mon., 9/20, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. weather was 74 and clear.

What we did: This port was the only one we had to tender to shore. This process takes a couple hours when you have 2,000 passangers that want to go ashore. We got up leisurely, had breakfast and then went to Portofino on deck 6 to get our tender tickets. When we got to shore around 11 a.m. we took Bus Azur (2 euro each to ride the local bus) that went along he shore to Palm Beach and then we rode it back about half way and got out and walked around. There were some lovely sculptures outside a gallery with a number of Dali pieces.

In the shopping area prices were very high, even for half off items. A very pricy area catering to the rich and famous but lovely and famous for its Cannes Film Festival. Headed back ot the peer to catch the tender back about 2 p.m and then had lunch before going back to the cabin to relax before our final formal night and the Captain's Farewell Party at 7:15.

Cannes, France 20 meg movie

Cannes, France

Formal night

Genoa, Italy (about 1.5 hrs. to Milan by train) Tues., 9/21, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. weather was 78 and clear. Italy is about the size of Florida and Georgia combined with about 59 million people.

What we did: Had breakfast and got off the boat around 8:15 and walked around a lot. Went to Christopher Columbus home site and saw a number of monuments honoring him. Also walked along xx Septembre street and went into a few shops and then along Via Garibaldi which had a number of palaces on the street.

We then headed to the train station around 10:30 a.m. and took the 11:03 train to Santa Margarita (9.60 euro for both round trip) and then a bus to Portofino (since we just missed the boat the leaves every half hour). The bus is 1.2 euro per person each way, and the water ferry is 5.50 each. The area and Portofino are stunningly beautiful. Portofino is a quaint waterfront village that is beautiful. I bought a couple shirts and Lynn got a scarf and playing cards. Lynn said this might be her favorite stopped on this cruise.

We walked up to the castle and then back down the stone pathway a full circle. Amazing views from up high. After wondering for about an hour and a half we took the ferry back to Santa margarita, sat and had a beer (Moretti) while waiting for the 3:06 train back to Genoa. Wonderful day and returned to the ship around 4:30 p.m. Started packing and Lynn did a final load of laundry before heading to dinner. It will be a long day tomorrow off to Cinque Terre.

Genoa

Scooters. . .

Genoa

Christopher Columbus's house

xx Septembre street

Genoa

Train to Santa Margarita

Santa Margarita 6 meg movie

Santa Margarita

Santa Margarita 13 meg movie

Santa Margarita

Portofino

Portofino 28 meg movie

Portofino

Portofino W/C

Portofino

Portofino 11 meg movie

Livorno, Italy (about 1/2 hour from Pisa, 2 hr. to Florence) Wed., 9/22, 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. weather was high 70s again

What we did: A tour to Cinque Terre (five waterfront villages), we booked through Princess. There were four buses with 40 people in each. It was a 1.5 hour bus ride to Cinque Terre. On the ride we passed a U.S. base outside the edge of Livorno, had a distant glimpse of Tower of Pisa off the highway, and had good views of the Aubine Alps and their white marble crowns where they are cutting out marble to ship throughout the world.

We had one tour guide on the bus (Diletta) along with our driver Marco and in La Spezia we picked up a local tour guide Laura who lead us around at Cinque Terre. We saw many grapevines and little monorails that they cart down the grapes in. After walking through Manarola avenues then through the tunnel of love which had locks on the fences (to lock in couples love forever, by throwing away the key) to Riomaggiore, we took a water ferry to Mernazza (past Corniglia which is high on the hill) and spent 40 minutes looking around Mernazza before heading to Monterosso where we had about 2 hours to look around and get lunch. We ate at Ristorant di El run by two sisters and their mother. We ordered 1/2 a liter of red wine and a pesto pizza with garlic. The food, family and environment were wonderful. We then met up with the group after doing a little shopping and started winding through the mountain to go back, which caused Lynn to put on her relief band. All the towns and the paths we took were very scenic.

We got back to the ship around 5 p.m. and Lynn's favorite waterfront village in Italy was still Portofino. Back to the ship to finish packing, had cocktails and then back to the cabin. Another early morning tomorrow up at 4:30 so we can meet to go to the airport at 6 a.m.

Cinque Terre

Aubine Alps

White marble

Cinque Terre

Rail for grapes

Manarola

Cinque Terre

Manarola

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre 9 meg movie

Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre 7 meg movie

Corniglia

Mernazza

Cinque Terre

Monterosso

Cinque Terre

Pizzeria Da Ely

Cinque Terre

Pizzeria Da Ely

Cinque Terre

Monterosso

Cinque Terre

Aubine Alps

Bus ride back

Livorno

Walkway to Skywalkers

Last ship dinner

Delta coming home

Civitavecchia, Italy (near Rome) Thur., 9/23, dock at 4 a.m

What we did in: Got up at 4:30 a.m. had breakfast then grab our remaining items for the trip home. We had paid for the tranfers through Princess and meet at 6:00 a.m. to board a bus to the airport in Rome to fly home!
Departing Sept. 23 at 10:05 a.m. from Rome Fiumicino on flight KL 1598 arriving in Amsterdam at 12:45 p.m.
Departing Sept. 9 at 2:40 p.m. from Amsterdam on flight KL 6049 arriving in Detroit at 5:20 p.m. (8 hour, 40 minute flight. Detroit is 6 hours behind Amsterdam)

We decided not to try and sleep on the plane so we could be tired and sleep good Thursday night when we got home. Dad and Carol picked us up around 5:30 p.m. and dropped us off at home. A lot of emails, mail, unpacking and getting back on the right time zone for the next few days. . . It was 77 when we got to Detroit, but dropped to the 50s and windy overnight.

Misc notes
Lynn had done most of our preliminary plans with suggestions of friends and web research. We had a great time exploring and going out just the two of us. This also saved us a lot of money instead of going with the prearranged tours, was less crowded, and allowed us to see what we wanted, more than following the groups. The down side is you need to be willing to muttle through figuring thing out yourself (how to get where, by how, and getting back before the ship leaves) and you miss some of the narative that a tour guide would give you.

I gained five pounds, which could have been worse (some breakfast were 2 eggs, plus a small omelet, 6 sausage link, oatmeal, 1/2 a grapefruit, slice of cantaloupe, smoked fish or danish), but luckily we were out walking a lot and I did not usually eat much for lunch when we were out. Lynn was good with her eating choices and quantity and actually lost 2-3 pounds.

Paying to use bathrooms (WC-water closet) is common in Europe, but new to us.

We came back with about 4 gigs of pictures and movies.

Kroner (Denmark) cost .187; Krone (Norway) cost .17771; Pound (Great Britain) cost 1.60; and Euro cost 1.3898 when I exchanged in May 2010.

This cruise had about 2550 pasengers, plus crew and staff which was surely over 1,000 more. We traveled 3498 nautical miles or 4025 land miles. Cruising speed is 21 Knots.

If you want more info write to: jeffdils@yahoo.com

September 2010, European Cruise on the Star Princess, Copenhagen to Civitavecchia (Rome)

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