so three Linbergs and a Zarif walk into an Irish pub...

So!
It's been quite an eventful two weeks here on the MS Prinsendam...

The biggest news, of course, being that I had both my parents on for the whole cruise, plus the added bonus of having one of my best friends, Yaniv, on for the first four days!!! I was pretty much showered in love and support for these two weeks, and I am very thankful for it.

 

So here's what our itinerary looked like (ignore the Scotland/Iceland route, that's our current itinerary):

the one on the left

This was billed as the "British Isles and Celtic Cruise" or something along those lines, and it did not disappoint.

The cruise started off with a chorus of excited screams and lots and lots of hugs all around for my visitors, and then we pushed away from IJmuiden port on our way to St. Peter Port in Guernsey. Unfortunately, one of our passengers came down with some sort of really bad eye infection (or so I was told), and the ship had to turn around and re-dock in Holland to medically disembark the two passengers. True to form, our captain gave what I considered to be waaaaaaaay too much personal and detailed information about this change of plans over the PA system, but hey, what do I know.

We eventually made it to St. Peter Port, where Yaniv and I got to be tour escorts for a fun little walking tour of the city, complete with a trip to the old castle/fort. The town itself is absolutely charming, and the cobblestone streets were lined with bunting and very colorful flower basket displays. We later discovered that they were competing for the title of Most Beautiful Flower Basket Display in Britain, which is yet another indication that I truly do not understand the English mindset.

still, though. super cute.

That afternoon, I sat in with the orchestra for their jazz set, but this time, i surprised my parents with a duet of "Unforgettable" with Yaniv. It was a song we had done together in the show Gold back on the Maasdam, and it was such a joy to get to sing it with him again, especially in front of my parents. I also got to take Yaniv and my parents to the Pinnacle for dinner that night, which is the fancier restaurant on board. It was only my second time in the Prinsendam's Pinnacle, and it did not disappoint. We rolled ourselves out of there, happy and well-fed.

seriously, what is this thing??

Next I got to escort a tour to the beautiful Tresco Gardens off the Isle of Scilly (pronounced "Silly"....much to mine and my father's enjoyment), from the port of St. Mary's. Yaniv was suffering from some severe jet lag (from a non-stop red-eye flight from NYC to Amsterdam, bless him!!), so it was just the Lonberg clan who ventured forth. The day was a little overcast, but the sun absolutely came out and lit up the beautiful gardens. It was nothing like what I expected, with plants from every Mediterranean place you could imagine..I had to keep reminding myself I was in the English Channel! Apparently, the Isle get sthe benefits of the Gulf Stream to keep it temperate and avoid huge winter frosts like the rest of the UK would get. As such, we saw flowers and trees and plants hailing from Chile, South Africa, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the like. It was bizarre, but very beautifully kept up. Also, our botanist/tour guide was super cute and English, so I certainly enjoyed that part...

The next day was Dublin, which was also, sadly, my last day with Yaniv. I was tragically put on In-Port Manning (IPM) for the day, so Yaniv and I took it easy, relaxed outside by the pool, played a few rounds of Yaniv (a card game, not neessarily related to my Yaniv) with Matan out on deck, and generally just took it easy. At the last minute, our Culinary Arts host announced he was not getting off for the rest of the day, so we seized the chance and made it into Dublin for a few glorious hours. The weatehrw as absolute perfection ,and we said our goodbyes over a few sensible glasses of Jameson and Bushmill's Irish whiskey.

class. we haz it.

I am so grateful that Yaniv flew all the way to the other side of the world to spend just a few days with me. I am a very lucky girl to have a friend like him. :)

The next day was Liverpool, and I escorted a tour with my parents to the nearby city of Chester. Chester was once a Roman stronghold in Britain, and they seem to keep unearthing old Roman ruins from the soil. It was generally a very scenic little town, and it was a nice change from Liverpool, which I'd visited previously on the Maasdam.

so cute!

We made it back to Liverpool, where I set my parents off on their own because I was BEAT from the last four days! I had forgotten what it was like to have family/friends on board, who aren't used to my semi-sedantary lifestyle. I got my stamina up this cruise, that's for sure!

We docked the next morning in Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK), but I had a raft drill and a tech rehearsalf ro our show, Amour, that afternnon, so my time was a bit limited. My parents enjoyed their time on their own in the port, and I had a chance to roam around at my leisure. The shopping in Belfast is FANTASTIC, and I had to keep myself from going nuts (I did buy a great dress, however. I'm not a savage). On my way back to the ship, however, the streets became blockaded by a protest rally in support of Palestine. It was a disturbing sight to see so many people riled up, even so far from the conflict itself. I had to wander down to the waterfront and hail a cab to get myself back to the ship on time, and I arrived out of breath and more than slightly upset about the whole ordeal. I have people on both sides of the conflict, and it was just too much to process.

 We followed a great set of shows (expertly pimped out by both my parents) with a sea day, which was chock-full--in true Linberg fashion--with trivia, trivia, and more trivia. And wine. Definitely wine. And bingo, and slot tournaments, and Name That Tune....my parents have definitely taken to the cruise life!

We  next stopped in Killybegs, Ireland, which is a teeeeeeeeny little place in county Donegal that's renowned for hand-knotted carpets and as a good jumping off point for some spectacular cliffs and whatnot. We didn't go to see these, but we did enjoy our time in th elittle town, and finished up our day listening to live Irish folk music....and even having a wee sit-in with the band singing "Brown Eyed Girl" (I was only slightly mortified).

also, this happened.

The Officer's Bar hosted a 50s/60s night that night, and I somehow got talked into several games of Jenga and Twister.

I refuse to say any more on the subject.

Galway, Ireland was our next port, and the city surprised us by being much more developed than we had expected. On the advice of my cab driver from Belfast, we went to the cathedral, and we were not dispapointed. Although it was only 50 years old, it was a spectacular inside and very surprising.

right?

 

At the recommendation of the guitarist from Killybegs, we also found our way downtown to the pub Tig Coeligh (pronounced "Tee Co-lee" or something...Gaelic is baffling to me), and enjoyed a few pints and some great live music out in the square.

charming view, innit?

I got to escort another tour with my parents in Dunmore East, Ireland. It's traditionally the jumping-off point for Waterford (Where Waterford Crystal is made), but we went instead to a huge estate about 90 minutes away that had acres and acres of beautiful gardens from the bygone era. It was stunning, and we got to see  a bit of the cute little town (with yet another unpronounceable Gaelic name) beneath it, but it was quite a long haul from the port, so we were all pretty pooped by the time we got back.

still though...

We totted back to England for a stop in Fowey (pronounced "Foy"), a town in Cornwall. It was just about the cutest place on this cruise, with pasty shops and cobblestone alleys and pirate stories everywhere you looked. We took the little tourist tram around the city which was wonderfully narrated by a very enthusiastic guide ("Viv" maybe? She seemed like a Viv). She regaled us with town gossip, old stories, fun facts, and kind of made me want to adopt her as my new auntie. Unfortunately, the rain started just as we got back, so my mom headed back to the ship while my dad and I stopped into the pub for some crab sandwiches, fish and chips, and some local ales.

it was a wise choice.

Our last port was a re-route from our original itinerary. We were scheduled to port in St-Malo, France, but at some point it was changed to the city of Cherbourg. This was another lazy-ish day for me, as I simply could not get my body to rally early enough to get off ship with my parents. Which was not such a bad thing, as the city was not much to write home about. I wandered around with Matan, roaming through the street fair and using my halfway-decent French on unsuspecting locals (most of whom seemed to understand me!). We took a nap in the sunshine up by the waterfront and headed back to the ship. A relaxing day, if not a particularly interesting one.
We also performed our final show, Rock at the Opera, that night, and I got so many wonderful compliments from people my parents had befriended over the cours eof the cruise. It was very clear to me that my parents were incredibly proud of me and were so happy to be able to watch me perform. It probably didn't hurt that they got to play the Proud Parent card to anyone unwise enough to linger by them for more than a few minutes!! I kid...but I also have a feeling that the ratings for Entertainment for this cruise are going to be higher, and reflect the expert "pimping" my parents had been doing for us for two weeks.

The cruise wrapped up with one final sea day. I got my  mom a massage with my favorite diminuitivbe Ukraninan masseuse, Tania, who was very happy to work on my mother. My dad and I did the Walk for the Cure, a HAL-wide event that has so far raised over $3 million for cancer research. We spiced things up by changing our home stretch entrance for every lap. I sure we weren't annoying at all. :) I later toured my parents around the crew areas of the ship and introduced them to my itty bitty cabin (but she's mine, all mine....).

The next morning, I made it into Amsterdam to spend a few last hours with my parents. We went to the Royal Palace, the interior of which I'd never seen, despite visitng Amsterdam many times. It was very beautiful, but I was startiung to flag a bit. We refueled with a few pints of Amstel and a cone of pommes frites before I had to say goodbye at Centraal Station and make it back to the shuttle bus in Haarlem in time....which I did, but by the skin of my teeth (and to the amusement of all my friends who were pleasantly surprised to see I'd actually made it aboard).

This was definitely my most involved cruise so far, but I cannot repeat enough how happy I was to have my parents and Yaniv on board with me. It's such a treat to get to show people how you live, especially once you've gotten the hang of how things work and what special little treats you can give them. My parents (and Yaniv!) are already apllaning to come on another cruise, probably when I'm on the ODyssey next summer in the Mediterranean!


I'm looking for to it.  :)

This current cruise will encompass Scotland and Iceland...so, until next time...lots of love to you all!

You can't "a-fjord" to miss this post!!

Aaaahhhhhahahahaaaa.....haa......ha......hehhhh.....

Terrible puns NEVER go out of style.
I swear.

This cruise has been a battle royale for the prize of Most Picturesque Norwegian Fjord, and I am happy to announce that YOU ARE ALL WINNERS. Seriously, each port is just as stunning, clean, quaint, and super-Scandanavian as the last, and it's been a pleasure to go exploring as much as I can.

We started our Legions of Norwegians (that's totally a thing now) with a stop in Bergen, which was the only Norwegian port I didn't get to see when the Maasdam did her Voyage of thw Vikings in 2010. Partly because I was on IPM, but more partly because I was knocked out on Vicodin from my ankle injury (y'all remember "Maurice"?). So all i saw of Bergen was whatever was captured on the bow and stern cameras broadcasting on the TV channels, and an assortment of pictures taken for me by Oli. So it was really nice to be able to actually get out and explore the area in earnest!
It was a SPECTACULARLY beautiful day, to the point that I was worried we'd gone to some other port in the Med and they just added some clapboard facades to the buildings to make them look Norwegian. It must have been about 85 degrees and completely sunny. Not only did I get to cruise around the port, but I came back to the ship, put on a bikini, and actually honest-to-god laid out on Deck 9 and got a decent tan! 


Next up was our first dip into the crazy fjords, sailing into Geirangerfjord. This place was absolutely spectacular, and it's one of the few times I have voluntarily gotten up early to watch a sail-in (see also: Sydney Harbor, Milford Sound in NZ, and Eiskafjordur in Iceland). It was lovely, sipping coffee while passing by the famous Seven Sisters waterfall, as we rounded the bend to dock in the tiny town of Geiranger. Anthony and I had yet another of our famous Dream Days on a practically cloudless blue-sky day hiking up the side of the fjord to a bevy of incredible views. We toasted our success with sandwiches and Heineken at the top, and a cadre of military jet fighters inexplicably flew by overhead. Not gonna lie, that was a little disconcerting, but it was also a very interesting cherry on top of a beautiful day.

Then it was on to Trondheim, a port I knew absolutely nothing about, but earnestly wish I had researched before we go there (luckily, we go back in August). I woke up late (which was nice), to look out on the bow camera and see a bustling metropolis in the afternoon sun, and here I was, lazing away the day (which was less nice). I rallied and got to go out for a good three hours or so, where I was so  pleased to discover sweet little cobblestone streets, pretty Scandanavian clapboard houses painted red and yellow and blue, summer flowers in bloom, excellent WiFi and questionably delciious bacon hot dogs in a small mall in the middle of town, and best of all, a random Marching Band Festival all around the city center. There must have been at least 15 separate bands, of varying ages, all staking out a street corner and playing all types of music. It was really wonderful, and totally surprising! I washed this all down with a coffee called "Thor's Hammer" (what Americans would call a "Red Eye"), and I ambled back to the ship feeling excited for the next time around here....they even had a museum dedicated to Norwegian rock and pop music! I mean, come on... No more sleeping in on Trondheim Day for me!

That night, I also had the extreme pleasure around this time to dine with Anthony, Annabel, and Chris in the Pinnacle Grill, which is the fancy-schmancy restaurant on the ship. We pretty much closed the place down, and very much enjoyed dressing up and eating steaks and grilled asparagus and far too much creme brulee.

Just kidding, there is no such thing as too much creme brulee.

A sea day, a port in Tromso which I spent on IPM (no worries, we'll be back in August) , then it was yet another Amazing Place With a Fjord: Honningsvag. This little guy is waaaaaaaay up at the top of Norway, and is also the jumping off point for Nordkapp, or the North Cape, the northernmost spot in continetnal Europe. I didn't get a chance to see Nordkapp (this time), but I did go hiking up the mountain just outside the port, which afforded incredible views of the fjord and of the Norwegian Sea. It also afforded views of the very steep and rocky/mossy way down the moutain we'd just climbed, and it took us twice as long to hike down as up....my calves were paying for it the next day! But all in all, it was a really lovely day, and yet another gift from the weather gods, who seem to be treating us very nicely on this cruise.

The next day was Canada Day, and besides a watermelon in the Lido being carved to look like the maple leaf flag and me spouting as many Canadian stereotypes as I could at our very sweet saxophonist, Cassandra (from Toronto) for my own amsuement, there wasn't a whole lot of hoopla. Although everyone did seem much more polite that day.... :)

The next day was Longyearbyen, our first port on the island of Svalbard, which is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY the hell up there, between Greenland and where Santa Claus lives. The city itself isn't much, but I did get to take a picture next to the world's largest mailbox, which supposedly receives all of Santa's mail. So, you know, that was pretty cool. Another high point of this day was discovering that Anthony, another of our singers in this cast, also accepted the contract offer from Belinda King that I was offered!! It's such a joy to know that I'll get to work with this wonderful gent for another contract...the question is, can he withstand another year with ME?
:-D
We came back on the ship, shivered a bit, drank some hot chocolate, and then i got to do something I have been longing to do for quite some time: I sat in with the orchestra during their afternoon jazz set and sang a bunch of songs with them! I was more nervous during this set than I think I've ever been for a stage show, purely because these arrangement aren't always what I'm used to hearing, and I had never done these songs with this band before, so I was on high alert the entire time. I was told later that my participation was appreciated, if nothing else, than for a good change of pace. I sat in with them again a few days later, and it was MUCH less nerve-wracking, but I definitely needed a glass of wine after this first set was through!

The next day, we sailed even further north, the most north I have ever been in my whole life, and we reached the edg eof the polar ice cap. Meredith, whose boyfriend is sailing with us this cruise and has a PIMPIN' suite up on Deck 10 with a blacony, invited the cast to come and watch the sail-in from their cabin, complete with mimosas and warm blankets. It was a blast, and we enjoyed seeing our fellow crew members piloting a tender out into the ice floes to go harvest a chunk of iceberg to be served in the bars later that night.

We turned back around and headed south again to Ny Alesund, which is a research station waaaaaaay waaaaay waaaaaay up north. We were originally supposed to be tendering into this port, and as such, the crew were only allowed to get off if we volunteered to "stand guard" along the trail through the station, making sure the guests didn't stray from the path, disturbing the protected wildlife (or getting mauled by a polar bear). I offered myself for a 30-minute slot, but we ended up anchoring at the port anyway, so the appeal wore off quickly. However, it was a really interesting place to see, and the sheer desolate feeling of the place really threw into stark relief the lives of the researchers who dedicate their days to living up here. They are a hearty bunch, to say the least!

Two more days at sea with a performance of my favorite show--Red Hot and Blue-- then we were in Alesund. Such a cute little town, and we started our day off by scaling the mountain (ok, the "mountain") at the head of the city for some really nice panoramas and little nature trails. We wended our way down again for some coffee and WiFi (and by far the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten), and then the rain and wind kicked in. Apparently, only tourists carry umbrellas here, as we discovered the hard way. The place is renowned for its high winds, so the locals just hunker down and bear it. BUnch of crazies, these Norwegians!
I bought some home decor at a cute little shop here, and my room is slowly resembling a tarot reader/soroity girl's boudoir. I'm digging it. It beats the off-white metal walls with no natural sunlight that make up my cabin!
I have been noticing, too, that Norway is CHOCK full of adorable little home decor places. I feel like they almost outnumber the clothing stores! I like the style, but a lot of their decor is very stark (very IKEA-esque)....oh, and also outrageously expensive. Seriously, if you're planning a trip up here, save up. Or shop at thrift stores, like me! :)

Next stop was Flåm, at the tip of Yet Another Stunningly Beautiful Fjord (Sognefjord, this time). I was all ready to get my first kayaking experience in, but as we had to tender into the port, we got out-booked by about five minutes due to our later arrival. Luckily, the weather was spectacular, and we took ourselves on a hike up to Brekkefoss, a beautiful waterfall not too far from town. If you've ever been to Yosemite, it reminded me of a smaller version of Vernal Falls. It was a steep hike, and my arm still hurts from the walking sticks we salvaged to help us get up to the top, but it was well worth it. The best part was running into another 15 or so crew members at the top! Matan, Anthony, and I spent a good 20 minutes lounging on the grass, making shapes from the clouds forming overhead. It was beautiful. We hiked back down, I had a beer with our pianist, John, and I came back on board for a very relaxing night, accented by Brazil's spectacular loss to Germany. The Dutch on board were excited to be going so far in the World Cup, but alas, it was not to be...

Stavanger was next, and it could not have been a more convenient port. We were docked righ tin the center of town, a mere 3-minute walk to all the points of interest, and everything in the city was very walkable and accessible. I spent far too much money on decor and clothes (thanks, Salvation Army!), but it was just a delightful little place. And there was some sort of promotional fair going on, so I got a free bag on cinnamon rolls. Don't mind if I doooooo!!!


Then on to Kristiansand, which is apparently the sunniest holiday spot in all of Norway. And boy, did it live up to that title!! It was a VERY warm day, maybe in the low 80s. I escorted a tour to Mineral Park, a rock exhibition and nerd-kingdom hidden up in the forests. There was also inexplicably a beautiful lakeside beach there which i didn't have enough time to enjoy, sadly. What I did get to enjoy, however, were the incredible specimens of rocks an dminerals from around the world, in some of the most mind-blowing forwmations I'd ever seen. I was interested in this tour mainly because of my brother Corey (lovingly nicknamed "Rock Boy" by the family), and I knew that he would have some interesting tidbits to add to my pictures when i came home. It really was interesting, and even more exciting, it got me back to the ship with enough time to head into the city and go exploring with my favorite travel buddy, Anthony. We walked along the waterfront chatting about life, the universe, and everything, got some tasty ice cream, and decided that the hottest dads inthe entire world apparently come from Norway because OH MY GOD.
I think the Danes still take the top prize for Most Jaw-Droppingly Beautiful People, but the Swedes and norwegians are definitely duking it out for second! The Finns and the Icelanders, however....they'll have to step up their game. :-D

That night was another round of crew-only fun in the spa, and I indulged in acupuncture and a massage. It was divine.


Finally, we docked in Oslo, our last port of this epic 21-day cruise.I got to meet up with my fiend Phil and his friend Terri on the getaway "beachy" (I use that term VERY loosely) island of Langøyene. It wasn't much to write home about, but it was really cool to see a hometown friend on the opposite side of the world. We splashed around in the water for a bit, but then I had a tech rehearsal for our last show, Rock at the Opera (which got a standing ovation, thankyouverymuch). I did have some time and a very lucky run-in with my friend Kevin who lent me his bike, so I popped back out in to the city to see the sights. This was one port that I had been to before, on the Maasdam back in 2010, but as I was injured then, I didn't get to see a hwole lot. Now, on the bike, plus the absoilutely stunningly beautiful day, meant that I got to crusie around all of Oslo and take it all in. i did a bit of shopping, but mostly I just biked everywhere I could, including up the gravel path that lead to the Royal Palace as well as the sloped outer paths around the National Opera House.
OK, that's partly a lie, I only walked my bike up that ramp. That thing is STEEP! But it did give me some great views of the harbor and the city.


So that's the last I'll see of Norway for a few weeks, when we revisit many of these ports in August, barring Svalbard, Kristiansand, and Oslo (but adding Leknes, wherever that is...). But in the meantime, we have quite an incredible itinerary coming up, made even better by the fact that MY PARENTS AND ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IN THE WHOLE WORLD are coming on this ship TOMORROW!!!
I am so happy and blessed to get to share this ship and this part of the world with three of my favorite people, and I can't wait to treat them to everything the Prinsendam has to offer. I've already been told by several key players here that whatever they need, all I have to do is ask.

I MEAN...

So, until next time, I hope you're all well, and I'm sure I'll have lots to report after this dreamy dreamy cruise!!! Maybe I can even get my dad to compete in the chacha for Dancing With the Stars....???