A few weeks ago I posted a thread for tips for fear of flying. I am back from my trip (Cruising Norway, Scotland) and everything went fine. The trip was a graduation present -one D graduating college and another HS.We picked a cruise because our Ds have very different traveling styles (one D is all go and one needs quiet time) and also Norway is expensive -so the cruise could offer us cheaper room and board. We had cruised before -but they were always leisurely Caribbean type cruises.
When flying, I followed much of the advice given to me here. When I was getting anxious would just think about the thread and it helped some too just thinking about everyone on CC. I did take Xanax -but I don’t think my dosage was very strong. Landing and take off were the worst.
We flew to Copenhagen and got on a ship. One the way out we had a flight delay and missed a connection. So we were re-routed to Amsterdam had a 8 hour layover there -then Copenhagen. Luckily my D had studied in Amsterdam for a summer -so she was our guide there for a few hours.
As for the trip -cruising the Fjords was an amazing experience. We did white water rafting, kayaking (in the Fjord -it was Fabulous ) a speed boat ride and lots of hiking.
It was a bit of a taster type experience. A bit of this and a bit of that. I don’t think I would choose to tour Europe this way on a regular basis. We were always watching the clock sometimes feeling like we didn’t have enough time at one place and too much time at another. There is no way we would have ever made our way to the Shetland islands (long Ferry from the mainland) -so I am particularly glad we got to go there.
Cruising would be a good option for a multi generational trip. Grandparents could choose gentle excursions and more active members could do more athletic pursuits. We are all very tired and jet lagged but so glad we went.
Thanks again for all your support and let me know if you have questions.
Holland America. I would recommend it with some Caveats.
The crew was great. The food was fine. It sort of depends on your expectations. For the price I felt like it was great value. There is no way we could have went to that many places with room and board at that price point without great planning and use of public transport.
The food was OK not great. The service was great. Views (I can’t stress this enough) amazing. The ship is older (going in for a refurb this fall). A great many senior citizens. Like many cruise lines they up- sell -drink packages, art auctions, special meals , casino, spa . We skipped all that.
We brought lots of books and toured or stayed so active that in the evenings we would go to a bar -get a table by the widow and enjoy a drink while we admired the views or read on our devices. We were too tired to go to a show or dance. We had two staterooms. One with a balcony so we spent a lot of time looking at the scenery.
If it had not been port intensive -I think I would have been bored. Fellow passengers were friendly. Mostly Americans, with lots of Aussies, Germans and Dutch.
We had researched it going in -so we knew it was going to be quiet. I am so glad we went -and I so appreciate my CC friends giving me a push.
We rented a car. My dh got invited to some conference in Glasgow and we spent a week without a car using public transportation. Then got a car and drove. The first time we did a circuit which went as far west as the Isle of Mull and Ioan and as far north as Loch Ness. The second time we drove up to the ferry for Orkney, and then came back via the Isle of Skye. I really liked Orkney (wonderful stuff from prehistoric and Viking times), but we didn’t spend nearly enough time on Skye which has just fabulous landscapes and hiking (and pretty good whiskey too!) Luckily my dh doesn’t mind driving on the left side of the road or dealing with one lane roads where someone has to back up to the nearest turnout.
