Our Transatlantic Crossing

Our Itinerary

On September 8, 2014 Don and I set sail from SouthHampton England to cross the Atlantic. We are traveling on the Ruby Princess from the same port that the Titanic sailed from in April of 1912. We will be crossing the Arctic Circle on the 13th of September. We first head north through the North Sea past many oil platforms that dot the sea heading towards Bergen, Norway. The ocean is fairly calm, and we have a couple of days to enjoy the ship and find our way around.

We arrived in Bergen, Norway on the 10th of September, a beautiful seaside city which is the gateway to the Norwegian Fjords. We took the Floibanen Funicular 320 metres above sea level and had a spectacular view of Bergen and the harbor. Natives told us we had a perfect day for the view as most often it is rainy and foggy. Just as an aside, Holly's journey this summer started in Svarlbard. As you can see on the map she was way farther north and that was her starting point. 

That evening we sailed away and are now headed north and west towards the Shetland Islands in northernmost Scotland. We arrived on September 11th, and that day there was a memorial on the ship  for the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. 

Bergen Waterfront

Our visit to the Shetland Islands was very interesting and brief. The islands are very isolated from the rest of the world, and we had to be tendered to the shore as the harbor at the dock was not deep enough to accommodate our huge ship. One of the neatest things of the day was before we left the ship, I noticed a group of schoolchildren and their teachers having a tour of the ship. I spoke with the teacher and she said they were from a school of 56 children. This group were in ages from 9 to 11, and they had seen the ships arrive daily and had always wanted to see what they were like. I applaud Princess as they tendered this group aboard and gave them a grand tour. Their eyes were as big as saucers. They even had lunch aboard. What a great public relations coup. 

Lerwick, Scotland

The town we visited in the Shetland Islands is called Lerwick. The Shetland Islands have very close ties to Norway and during WWII  a special operations group called the Shetland Bus  operated.  The main purpose of the group was to transfer agents in and out of Norway and supply them with weapons, radios and other supplies.The bus consisted of fishing boats going back and forth under cover of darkness on dangerous seas from 1941  until May of 1945. We spent the day visiting Scalloway Castle and a Shetland Pony Farm.Anything that has to do with horses is right up Don's alley. Just click and learn more. 

Scalloway Castle

Don and the Ponies

After our visit to the Shetland Islands it was time to leave for Iceland, the main purpose of our doing this trip. We have two days at sea ahead of us, and we will cross the Arctic Circle. We were given a special certificate at the end of the trip memorializing the crossing. We had a day with rough seas, but neither of us ever get seasick. Being on the ocean is a special experience. It makes you feel very small, and you get realization of how vast and powerful the oceans are.

Sunset over the Northern Atlantic

On our sea days we walk and swim. Very few people using the pool as most people on this cruise thought it too cold, even though heated to 85 degrees. Watched a movie on the deck all bundled against the chill. They serve popcorn, cookies, and milk and provide blankets....kind of fun. Don kept up with Fantasy Football, and always had satellite coverage of the games which was a good thing. Internet very expensive on a ship so I had purchased a data plan for my phone and that worked out well so we could keep in touch with everyone.

On September 13th we arrived in Akureryri, Iceland. Iceland has been under the threat of the Bárðarbunga Volcano erupting since August. There are daily earthquakes and the lava is flowing and people are frightened. We were worried about it disrupting our trip but so far so good. 

Ok Holly....I know you saw the real ones.

Godafoss Falls

In Akureryi we boarded a bus and headed out to the Godafoss Waterfall. The Goðafoss (Icelandic: waterfall of the gods or waterfall of the goði) is a spectacular natural phenomenon.

The Icelandic Landscape on our ride

On Sunday, September 14th we were supposed to stop in Isafjordur, Iceland, but there were high winds and our captain made a decision to skip this port  as it was unsafe to dock in the harbor. We were disappointed, but spent that day at sea, and  were glad to be safe.
On Monday the 15th we arrived in Reykjavik Iceland's capital city. We spent the day touring again and our main destination was the famous "Blue Lagoon." We opted not to dip but it looked so inviting. 

We have always wanted to visit Iceland, and have talked about going back for a road trip. Because of Iceland's ties to Norway and Denmark they use the Kroner for currency and things are very expensive there. My sister visited there for two weeks while in college and I had always envied that trip. There is basically one road that goes around the island. Children attend boarding schools and in the summer they use those schools for hotels. Ninety per cent of their homes are heated with geothermal heat from the volcanoes, and it costs very little to heat a home.

After touring the countryside we returned to the ship and prepared ourselves for three days at sea. It will be the longest time for sea days as we are headed for St John's Newfoundland. We kept busy, walking, going to informational lectures, reading, and of course eating. The food aboard ship is delicious. Lobster tails for dinner was Don's treat.

On Friday September 19th we arrived in St Joh's Newfoundland. Don and I had spent some time on Newfoundland a couple of years ago. We drove there with our RV, and that trip is also described in this blog. We had not seen St John's as it was on the far eastern side of the island, and we had spent our time on the west coast. We climbed Signal Hill and hiked down again and then walked all over downtown. We found Don's favorite spot a Tim Horton's and grabbed a coffee and the wifi so he could check on his fantasy team. All in all a great day.

Signal Hill

We were quite impressed with the people who maneuvered this gigantic ship out of the narrow inlet. Turned it 180 degrees then headed out to sea. We also had a bluebird day weather wise. people in the city said they only had two days of sunshine in August. We were so lucky.  That night at approximately 9 o'clock we passed over the wreck of the Titanic. Wow!!!!!!    

The narrow inlet out of St John's Harbor

Two days at sea, and then on September 22nd we arrived in the port of Brooklyn. All in all a wonderful two weeks. I got up before dawn to see this spectacular view of our Statue and then when the sun rose, we had this amazing view of Manhatten's skyline. 

Our shuttle back to Hartford was right on time, and we headed home that same day after a wonderful two week journey.